Every pollster, political pundit and media practitioner has weighed in on the nation's midterm elections. Their predictions range from a Republican rout to a Democrat miracle. But their forecasts are exercises in conceit because this election hinges on voter turnout, not on traditional polling results.
Historically, fewer voters go to the polls during years when there is no presidential election. This has been true since the 1840's reversing a trend when midterm elections typically lured more voters than presidential contests. That changed when most states repealed laws requiring voters to own property.
In 2008's presidential election, 57.1 percent of the voting-age populace cast ballots. That was the highest level in four decades. Two years later for the midterms, 36.9 percent of the voting-age population trekked to the polls as the GOP reclaimed the majority in the House of Representatives
Voter turnout slipped to 53.7 percent in the 2012 presidential election. Pew Research, which conducts extensive voter surveys, has predicted that "a lot fewer people" will vote this midterm than did in 2012. If their estimate proves accurate, then Democrats are likely to take a beating at the polls.
Brown University researcher Brian Knight in a recent paper concluded the falloff in voter turnout for midterm elections usually benefits the party that does not hold the White House. He calls it a "presidential penalty" as voters use the mid-terms to express dissatisfaction with the Oval Office holder.
That cannot be good news for Democrats because in the most recent polls President Obama's approval ratings have tumbled to new lows.
As Knight's research indicates, the president's party almost always loses Congressional seats in the midterm elections, regardless of approval ratings. Since 1842, the party of the president has dropped seats in 40 of 43 midterm elections. The lone exceptions were the midterms of 1934, 1998 and 2002.
Some political observers claim the Republicans have a built-in advantage in turnout in the midterm elections. Their rationale is based on exit polling data that reveals midterms attract older and white voters to the polls in disproportionate numbers.
For example, in the last midterm election in 2010 exit polling shows that 21 percent of all voters were over the age of 65. By comparison, seniors comprised only 17 percent of voters in the 2012 presidential election. Voters under the age of 30 cast just 12 percent of the votes in the last midterms, but represented 19 percent of those who cast ballots in the presidential election.
The key for Republicans: in the last midterms 61 percent of those 65-and-older voted with the GOP candidate.
Republicans also have done better with whites in the midterms. For instance, in the 2010 midterms House GOP candidates captured 62 percent of the white vote, while Democrats got 38 percent. In the presidential election of 2012, Democrats did better with whites, winning 60 percent of their votes in Congressional races.
This midterm racial gap favors Republicans because turnout of whites is proportionately higher than non-whites, according to exit polls compiled by The New York Times and CNN. To underscore the point, whites represented 72 percent of all voters in the presidential election, but accounted for 77 percent in the 2010 midterms.
Forget the current polling data. Winners in next week's midterms will be decided by voter turnout. If the past is any indication of this election, then Republicans will enhance their majority in the House and will narrowly capture the Senate. If that happens, the GOP likely will have old, white voters to thank for their victory.
However, if the turnout skews differently than past midterms, then all bets are off.
Monday, October 27, 2014
Monday, October 20, 2014
Ebola: What the CDC Isn't Telling Americans
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has an undeserved cache. Many view the CDC as the country's premiere health organization on the front lines of battling infectious diseases, like Ebola. However, the truth is the CDC is just another dysfunctional government bureaucracy.
Most Americans would be shocked to learn that the CDC's main job is to dole out tax dollars to other agencies. Eighty-five percent of the agency's 2014 annual budget of $6.8 billion will be dispatched in the form of grants to state and local health organizations, global health groups and communities.
The CDC, which opened its doors in Atlanta in 1946, has mushroomed from an agency with a $10 million budget and 400 employees to a federal behemoth. The agency has 10,000 full-time staff members, employs 6,000 contractors and maintains 14 locations throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Despite its size, agency is ill equipped to deal with a major outbreak such as the Ebola virus. The CDC has carved out its niche in the areas of disease surveillance, research funding, statistical reporting and dissemination of information. Response to infectious epidemics ranks far down its list of priorities.
That has become painfully obvious with each misstep and contradictory statement from CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden, an appointee of President Obama who once ran the activist New York City Heath Department. His claim to fame was banning trans fats in restaurants.
Pathetically, Dr. Frieden has clung to the notion that his job is not to panic Americans. But in adhering to this mantra, he has failed in his duty to keep the nation fully informed with truthful information.
Here are some examples of what the CDC hasn't told Americans:
1. This outbreak of Ebola is the deadliest in recorded history. Ebola was first discovered in 1976 and the World Health Organization (WHO) has documented 25 outbreaks that have claimed 1,590 victims in the ensuing years. The current pandemic has killed more people than all the others combined. The most recent estimate from WHO is that 4,493 people have died from Ebola in seven countries since the latest epidemic began earlier this year. The director of WHO calls Ebola one of the "deadliest pathogens on Earth." Dr. Frieden told Americans not to worry because the U.S. medical system knows how to stop Ebola in its tracks.
2. The current Ebola epidemic is vastly different than past outbreaks. Stanford University reports past Ebola outbreaks were initially spread by human contact with infected chimpanzees and fruit bats. This time the pathogen has been transmitted in nearly all cases by human-to-human contact with bodily fluids and tissue. The mortality rate for those who contract the virus has been extremely high. Out of 8,997 confirmed cases of Ebola, nearly one-half (49.93%) have died, according to WHO. However, WHO predicts the mortality rate is likely to soar to 70 percent as the number of cases multiplies.
3. The U.S. allowed Ebola to come to its shores because it had no travel ban. The disease was confined to West Africa in the past. The hardest hit countries this year are Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. No one on U.S. soil had ever contracted Ebola until now. Once the virus arrived, America lost its status as a safe haven from Ebola. There are no medically approved vaccines to prevent the spread of Ebola. Two vaccines are being tested at this time but are not commercially available. Blood transfusions have proven effective in helping recent patients fight the virus. However, the blood donors have been Ebola survivors, a very small universe. Despite Dr. Frieden's assurances, once the virus is unleashed it is difficult to contain and to effectively treat.
4. Most U.S. hospitals are not equipped to deal with Ebola. A study this year by the American Journal of Infection Control found that more than one-third of all U.S. hospitals have no certified infection prevention specialist on staff. In addition, state and federal regulators issued citations for infection control deficiencies to more than 250 hospitals during an investigation conducted from 2011 through June of this year. As the Dallas hospital experience with Ebola patients has shown, special training, hazmat equipment and strict protocols are needed to deal with the infectious virus. One or more of those are lacking in most hospitals. Yet Dr. Frieden lectured Americans like little children, informing them that the U.S. medical system was prepared to handle Ebola cases.
4. The CDC has not made funding of infectious disease programs a priority. Desperate Democrats are bellyaching that Republicans cut appropriations to fight Ebola. In fact, President Obama's 2014 budget proposal for the CDC was $270 million less than the agency's funding request. The problem is the CDC has diverted funds from its program to fight infectious disease outbreaks to non-essential items. Under provisions in Obamacare, the CDC has received nearly $3 billion in additional funds in the last five years. Just six percent was earmarked for expanding epidemiology and lab capacity, two critical building blocks in the effort to curb infectious diseases. Meanwhile the agency has spent $517.3 million during those five years on community grant programs to improve sidewalks for walkers and bikers, increase access to grocery stores and to support local farmers. Yet Dr. Frieden maintains fighting infectious diseases is the agency's priority
The Pollyanna approach of the CDC and its director Dr. Frieden have made Americans less vigilant and more vulnerable. Allowing West Africans to travel freely to the U.S. was a mistake that led directly to the spread of the disease in this country. Continuing that policy is unconscionable. At last count, 30 nations had instituted travel bans while the Obama Administration has stubbornly refused.
Americans have been lulled into a false sense of security by the CDC, the president and their shills in the media, who keep reminding everyone that more people die of influenza than Ebola. Unlike the flu virus, Ebola is a deadly pathogen that is expanding and accelerating geographically. WHO predicts the number of cases may zoom to 10,000 a week in West Africa by December.
Now that Ebola has arrived in the U.S., an urgent response is demanded. Reassuring bromides from Dr. Frieden are not a deterrence to the spread of Ebola. Neither is the president's appointment of a Washington political hack to be Ebola Czar. That move is nothing more than window dressing.
The contagion that poses the biggest threat to Americans is the ineptness of the current administration, the CDC and the federal government in responding to this crisis.
Most Americans would be shocked to learn that the CDC's main job is to dole out tax dollars to other agencies. Eighty-five percent of the agency's 2014 annual budget of $6.8 billion will be dispatched in the form of grants to state and local health organizations, global health groups and communities.
The CDC, which opened its doors in Atlanta in 1946, has mushroomed from an agency with a $10 million budget and 400 employees to a federal behemoth. The agency has 10,000 full-time staff members, employs 6,000 contractors and maintains 14 locations throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Despite its size, agency is ill equipped to deal with a major outbreak such as the Ebola virus. The CDC has carved out its niche in the areas of disease surveillance, research funding, statistical reporting and dissemination of information. Response to infectious epidemics ranks far down its list of priorities.
That has become painfully obvious with each misstep and contradictory statement from CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden, an appointee of President Obama who once ran the activist New York City Heath Department. His claim to fame was banning trans fats in restaurants.
Pathetically, Dr. Frieden has clung to the notion that his job is not to panic Americans. But in adhering to this mantra, he has failed in his duty to keep the nation fully informed with truthful information.
Here are some examples of what the CDC hasn't told Americans:
1. This outbreak of Ebola is the deadliest in recorded history. Ebola was first discovered in 1976 and the World Health Organization (WHO) has documented 25 outbreaks that have claimed 1,590 victims in the ensuing years. The current pandemic has killed more people than all the others combined. The most recent estimate from WHO is that 4,493 people have died from Ebola in seven countries since the latest epidemic began earlier this year. The director of WHO calls Ebola one of the "deadliest pathogens on Earth." Dr. Frieden told Americans not to worry because the U.S. medical system knows how to stop Ebola in its tracks.
2. The current Ebola epidemic is vastly different than past outbreaks. Stanford University reports past Ebola outbreaks were initially spread by human contact with infected chimpanzees and fruit bats. This time the pathogen has been transmitted in nearly all cases by human-to-human contact with bodily fluids and tissue. The mortality rate for those who contract the virus has been extremely high. Out of 8,997 confirmed cases of Ebola, nearly one-half (49.93%) have died, according to WHO. However, WHO predicts the mortality rate is likely to soar to 70 percent as the number of cases multiplies.
3. The U.S. allowed Ebola to come to its shores because it had no travel ban. The disease was confined to West Africa in the past. The hardest hit countries this year are Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. No one on U.S. soil had ever contracted Ebola until now. Once the virus arrived, America lost its status as a safe haven from Ebola. There are no medically approved vaccines to prevent the spread of Ebola. Two vaccines are being tested at this time but are not commercially available. Blood transfusions have proven effective in helping recent patients fight the virus. However, the blood donors have been Ebola survivors, a very small universe. Despite Dr. Frieden's assurances, once the virus is unleashed it is difficult to contain and to effectively treat.
4. Most U.S. hospitals are not equipped to deal with Ebola. A study this year by the American Journal of Infection Control found that more than one-third of all U.S. hospitals have no certified infection prevention specialist on staff. In addition, state and federal regulators issued citations for infection control deficiencies to more than 250 hospitals during an investigation conducted from 2011 through June of this year. As the Dallas hospital experience with Ebola patients has shown, special training, hazmat equipment and strict protocols are needed to deal with the infectious virus. One or more of those are lacking in most hospitals. Yet Dr. Frieden lectured Americans like little children, informing them that the U.S. medical system was prepared to handle Ebola cases.
4. The CDC has not made funding of infectious disease programs a priority. Desperate Democrats are bellyaching that Republicans cut appropriations to fight Ebola. In fact, President Obama's 2014 budget proposal for the CDC was $270 million less than the agency's funding request. The problem is the CDC has diverted funds from its program to fight infectious disease outbreaks to non-essential items. Under provisions in Obamacare, the CDC has received nearly $3 billion in additional funds in the last five years. Just six percent was earmarked for expanding epidemiology and lab capacity, two critical building blocks in the effort to curb infectious diseases. Meanwhile the agency has spent $517.3 million during those five years on community grant programs to improve sidewalks for walkers and bikers, increase access to grocery stores and to support local farmers. Yet Dr. Frieden maintains fighting infectious diseases is the agency's priority
The Pollyanna approach of the CDC and its director Dr. Frieden have made Americans less vigilant and more vulnerable. Allowing West Africans to travel freely to the U.S. was a mistake that led directly to the spread of the disease in this country. Continuing that policy is unconscionable. At last count, 30 nations had instituted travel bans while the Obama Administration has stubbornly refused.
Americans have been lulled into a false sense of security by the CDC, the president and their shills in the media, who keep reminding everyone that more people die of influenza than Ebola. Unlike the flu virus, Ebola is a deadly pathogen that is expanding and accelerating geographically. WHO predicts the number of cases may zoom to 10,000 a week in West Africa by December.
Now that Ebola has arrived in the U.S., an urgent response is demanded. Reassuring bromides from Dr. Frieden are not a deterrence to the spread of Ebola. Neither is the president's appointment of a Washington political hack to be Ebola Czar. That move is nothing more than window dressing.
The contagion that poses the biggest threat to Americans is the ineptness of the current administration, the CDC and the federal government in responding to this crisis.
Monday, October 13, 2014
ISIS: World's Bloodiest, Brutal Savages
The world has come to know the the blood thirsty jihadists savaging Iraqi citizens as the Islamic State. But that nom de guerre has lulled many into believing their cause is about religion when in fact they are the worst barbaric scourge to be unleashed on the world since Nazi Germany.
While the American media debates whether to call the thugs ISIS or ISIL, news outlets in this country have failed in their duty to document the sheer evil of men who ruthlessly rape women and children, slaughter entire villages of people and commit all manner of horrific atrocities.
Forget the acronym feud. These are cold-blooded killers who use Islam as an excuse to destroy towns, unmercifully attack schools and demolish hospitals. They behead, crucify, amputate and disfigure their victims. The cruelty of these butchers knows no human bounds.
The news media in other countries, especially the United Kingdom, have published pictures and posted disturbing videos online to show the depth of these killers' savagery. One peek at these images would repulse most Americans. But people need to view the horror to appreciate the hateful curse of ISIS.
In one graphic video, a vicious mob operating under the cover of darkness knocks on the door of a Sunni police major in Iraq. When the policeman answers, the gangsters blindfold and handcuff the startled victim. Then they carve off his head with a knife as the cameras capture the ghoulish scene.
Another demonic video shows about 15 Iraqi young men frog-marched to a ditch, hands bound behind their backs. The victims are forced to kneel. Then a firing squad of about 20 triggermen discharge a barrage of AK-47 gunfire. Their execution complete, the murderers hoist their weapons in celebration.
These depraved killings have gone unreported in the U.S. because the media do not want to inflame Americans, most of whom currently do not support using ground troops against these heartless killers. When the beheading of an American journalist fueled patriotic anger, the media switched tactics.
For the most part, the American media now have chosen to cover the carnage by relying on the sanitized Department of State briefings from spokesperson Jen Psaki, the queen of obfuscation and sophistry. Her ambiguity is eclipsed only by her equivocation.
It is a sad state of affairs when the United Nations publishes more reliable information about the deadly campaign than the United States government.
The UN estimates that 9,341 civilians have been murdered and 17,386 wounded in the bloody offensive that has terrorized Iraqi since the year began. These figures do not include the killings in the bloodstained provinces in Syria where ISIS controls large swathes of territory.
The UN High Commission for Human Rights has documented countless depraved acts and abuses from the war-torn area in Iraq. For instance, as many as 2,500 women and children have been captured, subjected to sexual attacks and sold into slavery for $10 a head by extremist militants.
The commission has uncovered what it calls increasing attacks against Christians and Muslins. One eyewitness in the village of Kobani in Syria told UN investigators of "women being raped and their hearts cut out of their chests and left on the tops of their bodies."
In addition, there have been confirmed reports of mass execution sites and makeshift graves, according to Human Rights Watch. Many of the dead were sadistically gunned down for refusing to renounce their faith. Implausibly, not one single prominent Muslin leader has condemned the violence.
The killing wastelands of Iraq and Syria stand as an indictment of America's lack of willingness to engage an enemy that has publicly vowed to destroy this nation. The Islamic State, or whatever euphemism you want to call these cut throats, should be eradicated from the face of the Earth.
The world cannot stand by while women, children and men are exterminated. Humankind did once before and 6 million Jews perished at the hands of evil madmen. How high must the death toll rise before America and the world act decisively to rid the the planet of this latest terror?
While the American media debates whether to call the thugs ISIS or ISIL, news outlets in this country have failed in their duty to document the sheer evil of men who ruthlessly rape women and children, slaughter entire villages of people and commit all manner of horrific atrocities.
Forget the acronym feud. These are cold-blooded killers who use Islam as an excuse to destroy towns, unmercifully attack schools and demolish hospitals. They behead, crucify, amputate and disfigure their victims. The cruelty of these butchers knows no human bounds.
The news media in other countries, especially the United Kingdom, have published pictures and posted disturbing videos online to show the depth of these killers' savagery. One peek at these images would repulse most Americans. But people need to view the horror to appreciate the hateful curse of ISIS.
In one graphic video, a vicious mob operating under the cover of darkness knocks on the door of a Sunni police major in Iraq. When the policeman answers, the gangsters blindfold and handcuff the startled victim. Then they carve off his head with a knife as the cameras capture the ghoulish scene.
Another demonic video shows about 15 Iraqi young men frog-marched to a ditch, hands bound behind their backs. The victims are forced to kneel. Then a firing squad of about 20 triggermen discharge a barrage of AK-47 gunfire. Their execution complete, the murderers hoist their weapons in celebration.
These depraved killings have gone unreported in the U.S. because the media do not want to inflame Americans, most of whom currently do not support using ground troops against these heartless killers. When the beheading of an American journalist fueled patriotic anger, the media switched tactics.
For the most part, the American media now have chosen to cover the carnage by relying on the sanitized Department of State briefings from spokesperson Jen Psaki, the queen of obfuscation and sophistry. Her ambiguity is eclipsed only by her equivocation.
It is a sad state of affairs when the United Nations publishes more reliable information about the deadly campaign than the United States government.
The UN estimates that 9,341 civilians have been murdered and 17,386 wounded in the bloody offensive that has terrorized Iraqi since the year began. These figures do not include the killings in the bloodstained provinces in Syria where ISIS controls large swathes of territory.
The UN High Commission for Human Rights has documented countless depraved acts and abuses from the war-torn area in Iraq. For instance, as many as 2,500 women and children have been captured, subjected to sexual attacks and sold into slavery for $10 a head by extremist militants.
The commission has uncovered what it calls increasing attacks against Christians and Muslins. One eyewitness in the village of Kobani in Syria told UN investigators of "women being raped and their hearts cut out of their chests and left on the tops of their bodies."
In addition, there have been confirmed reports of mass execution sites and makeshift graves, according to Human Rights Watch. Many of the dead were sadistically gunned down for refusing to renounce their faith. Implausibly, not one single prominent Muslin leader has condemned the violence.
The killing wastelands of Iraq and Syria stand as an indictment of America's lack of willingness to engage an enemy that has publicly vowed to destroy this nation. The Islamic State, or whatever euphemism you want to call these cut throats, should be eradicated from the face of the Earth.
The world cannot stand by while women, children and men are exterminated. Humankind did once before and 6 million Jews perished at the hands of evil madmen. How high must the death toll rise before America and the world act decisively to rid the the planet of this latest terror?
Monday, October 6, 2014
Should Schools Teach Patriotism?
A brouhaha erupted in Colorado recently over a school board proposal to promote patriotism, citizenship and respect for authority in the school curriculum. Students and teachers were so appalled by the notion that they walked out of class. They speciously claimed their actions were patriotic.
The Colorado skirmish was only the most recent rebellion. There have been battles in Texas and South Carolina over similar moves by so-called "conservatives" to tinker with high school education. In these clashes, it is clear that parents and school boards are expected to butt out of school business.
The education establishment treats schools as their own personal property. Never mind that tax paying citizens foot the bill for the schooling of the next generation. They are expected to pony up the money without having any say in education. This is truly taxation without representation.
School boards are supposed to be the duly elected representatives of taxpayers, parents and the public at large. But if board members dare to buck the education establishment, they are drawn and quartered in the media and mugged by teacher unions. That's what makes the Colorado case instructive.
The school board in a suburban Denver district thought students would benefit by focusing on American values, like patriotism. It seemed like a modest proposal to include such topics in history education. Some students and teachers compared the idea to censorship.
Censorship is exercised every day in American schools by principals, teachers and unions. Schools dictate dress, decorum, speech, textbooks, teaching methods, food services and every aspect of education. The sharp stick of censorship is wielded by the education apparatus.
No one has yet explained how teaching patriotism would harm students. The whiners in Colorado think promoting patriotism would downplay America's troubled past. That seems far fetched considering research about students' views of their country.
A Pew Research Poll this summer found that just 15 percent of young people ( ages 18-29) hold the view that America is the greatest country in the world. And the numbers are plummeting. Just three years ago, 27 percent of youngsters agreed the U.S. stood above all other countries.
The polling firm did not offer any reason for the sharp drop in attitudes. Perhaps, the Colorado school board read the same survey and decided to do something about it. Good for them. A nation without patriots is a country in irreparable decay.
Patriotism is more than just waving an American flag. It is more than the rote recital of the Pledge of Allegiance. It is not blind obedience nor mindless homage to the country or its leaders. Patriotism is about fealty to the uniquely American ideal of liberty, the bedrock on which the nation was chiseled.
America was the first country to declare that all men were free. Today that idea may seem old-fashioned, but in the 18th century democracy was a novel concept, too. No nation had ever been birthed on such a bold theory. Many predicted America would become a failed experiment.
The United States of America has survived nearly 240 years, outliving many countries that have fallen into the abyss of tyranny and oppression. That's why patriotism is worth teaching every citizen, including the youngest and brightest among us. Those who object should be heard but not followed.
If the education establishment finds patriotism so abhorrent, perhaps it is because they consider it an unnatural sentiment. However, there are no greater beneficiaries of unfettered freedom than teachers, principals and students. Perhaps, they need reminding of that fact every day in the classroom.
The Colorado skirmish was only the most recent rebellion. There have been battles in Texas and South Carolina over similar moves by so-called "conservatives" to tinker with high school education. In these clashes, it is clear that parents and school boards are expected to butt out of school business.
The education establishment treats schools as their own personal property. Never mind that tax paying citizens foot the bill for the schooling of the next generation. They are expected to pony up the money without having any say in education. This is truly taxation without representation.
School boards are supposed to be the duly elected representatives of taxpayers, parents and the public at large. But if board members dare to buck the education establishment, they are drawn and quartered in the media and mugged by teacher unions. That's what makes the Colorado case instructive.
The school board in a suburban Denver district thought students would benefit by focusing on American values, like patriotism. It seemed like a modest proposal to include such topics in history education. Some students and teachers compared the idea to censorship.
Censorship is exercised every day in American schools by principals, teachers and unions. Schools dictate dress, decorum, speech, textbooks, teaching methods, food services and every aspect of education. The sharp stick of censorship is wielded by the education apparatus.
No one has yet explained how teaching patriotism would harm students. The whiners in Colorado think promoting patriotism would downplay America's troubled past. That seems far fetched considering research about students' views of their country.
A Pew Research Poll this summer found that just 15 percent of young people ( ages 18-29) hold the view that America is the greatest country in the world. And the numbers are plummeting. Just three years ago, 27 percent of youngsters agreed the U.S. stood above all other countries.
The polling firm did not offer any reason for the sharp drop in attitudes. Perhaps, the Colorado school board read the same survey and decided to do something about it. Good for them. A nation without patriots is a country in irreparable decay.
Patriotism is more than just waving an American flag. It is more than the rote recital of the Pledge of Allegiance. It is not blind obedience nor mindless homage to the country or its leaders. Patriotism is about fealty to the uniquely American ideal of liberty, the bedrock on which the nation was chiseled.
America was the first country to declare that all men were free. Today that idea may seem old-fashioned, but in the 18th century democracy was a novel concept, too. No nation had ever been birthed on such a bold theory. Many predicted America would become a failed experiment.
The United States of America has survived nearly 240 years, outliving many countries that have fallen into the abyss of tyranny and oppression. That's why patriotism is worth teaching every citizen, including the youngest and brightest among us. Those who object should be heard but not followed.
If the education establishment finds patriotism so abhorrent, perhaps it is because they consider it an unnatural sentiment. However, there are no greater beneficiaries of unfettered freedom than teachers, principals and students. Perhaps, they need reminding of that fact every day in the classroom.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Finally, One Thing Most Americans Agree On
In these divisive times, it is virtually impossible to find public agreement on any topic. However, it turns out an overwhelming majority of Americans concur on one issue. Fully 76 percent of citizens have no confidence the next generation will have a better future.
Those are the findings of a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll of Americans from every walk of life. The depth of despair shocked many in the news media, who have tried to paint a picture of American optimism about everything from the economy to health care reform.
The results showed only 21 percent of Americans thought the future would be better. That is the worst ever recorded in the annual poll. Americans have never been this pessimistic. The responses were similar among men, women, Republicans, Democrats, rich, poor, white and Hispanic.
And that isn't the only research to shed light on the national funk. Last month a public opinion poll by The Economist found that 63 percent of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track. Most respondents agreed their government doesn't serve the country's interests any more.
This national gloominess should shock no one paying attention to what is happening in America and abroad. Americans share low opinions of Congress, the president, the Supreme Court, NSA and IRS. They are shaken by terrorist threats worldwide. They are discouraged about the economy.
But that hasn't stopped the media cheerleading. In a recent op-ed column, New York Times writer David Brooks crowed that Americans are living in a "golden age," where there "daily lives are immeasurably better." His view of the country is hopelessly skewed by his penthouse perch.
Americans have experienced feeble wage growth since 2009. Many have been forced into part-time jobs. Millions have become despondent and abandoned their search for work. Perhaps, Mr. Brooks has not scrutinized Labor Department figures because he is too busy sipping lattes at Starbucks.
But economic despair does not by itself explain the national depression. After all, the country has undergone recessions, depressions, runaway inflation and other economic maladies in the past. Yet Americans as a rule cling to their optimism. It's part of the American DNA.
However, the absence of inspirational leadership, especially in Washington, is responsible for much of the despondency. Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner are about as uplifting as a kidney stone. President Obama spends more time golfing than governing.
That's significant because Americans usually look to their leaders for the promise of a better tomorrow. Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan rallied Americans in the darkest of times. Where do Americans turn today for their daily dose of encouragement?
Elections, like the upcoming mid-terms, used to renew optimism for positive change. But today politicians sling mud and fill the airwaves with nasty attack ads. More people are turned off every election by the sleazy process, resulting in a shrinking turn out of voters at the polls.
So how do Americans shake their current malaise? The answer is to quit looking to the Belt Way and politicians for motivation. Stop thinking that for every problem there is a government solution. Put your faith in yourself and your neighbor and not in some out-of-touch bureaucrat.
America works best when Americans rely on themselves. They start their own businesses, build their own futures, dream big and act confidently. If Americans start behaving like Americans, then the future will appear as bright as the shiniest star in the evening sky.
National unity is within our grasp. But only if Americans stop defining their future and their country by political parties and the morass they see in Washington. This still is the greatest country on God's green Earth. Opportunity still knocks on every door. Time to answer the door America.
Those are the findings of a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll of Americans from every walk of life. The depth of despair shocked many in the news media, who have tried to paint a picture of American optimism about everything from the economy to health care reform.
The results showed only 21 percent of Americans thought the future would be better. That is the worst ever recorded in the annual poll. Americans have never been this pessimistic. The responses were similar among men, women, Republicans, Democrats, rich, poor, white and Hispanic.
And that isn't the only research to shed light on the national funk. Last month a public opinion poll by The Economist found that 63 percent of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track. Most respondents agreed their government doesn't serve the country's interests any more.
This national gloominess should shock no one paying attention to what is happening in America and abroad. Americans share low opinions of Congress, the president, the Supreme Court, NSA and IRS. They are shaken by terrorist threats worldwide. They are discouraged about the economy.
But that hasn't stopped the media cheerleading. In a recent op-ed column, New York Times writer David Brooks crowed that Americans are living in a "golden age," where there "daily lives are immeasurably better." His view of the country is hopelessly skewed by his penthouse perch.
Americans have experienced feeble wage growth since 2009. Many have been forced into part-time jobs. Millions have become despondent and abandoned their search for work. Perhaps, Mr. Brooks has not scrutinized Labor Department figures because he is too busy sipping lattes at Starbucks.
But economic despair does not by itself explain the national depression. After all, the country has undergone recessions, depressions, runaway inflation and other economic maladies in the past. Yet Americans as a rule cling to their optimism. It's part of the American DNA.
However, the absence of inspirational leadership, especially in Washington, is responsible for much of the despondency. Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner are about as uplifting as a kidney stone. President Obama spends more time golfing than governing.
That's significant because Americans usually look to their leaders for the promise of a better tomorrow. Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan rallied Americans in the darkest of times. Where do Americans turn today for their daily dose of encouragement?
Elections, like the upcoming mid-terms, used to renew optimism for positive change. But today politicians sling mud and fill the airwaves with nasty attack ads. More people are turned off every election by the sleazy process, resulting in a shrinking turn out of voters at the polls.
So how do Americans shake their current malaise? The answer is to quit looking to the Belt Way and politicians for motivation. Stop thinking that for every problem there is a government solution. Put your faith in yourself and your neighbor and not in some out-of-touch bureaucrat.
America works best when Americans rely on themselves. They start their own businesses, build their own futures, dream big and act confidently. If Americans start behaving like Americans, then the future will appear as bright as the shiniest star in the evening sky.
National unity is within our grasp. But only if Americans stop defining their future and their country by political parties and the morass they see in Washington. This still is the greatest country on God's green Earth. Opportunity still knocks on every door. Time to answer the door America.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Obama Phones: Poster Child For Government Waste
Millions of Americans are receiving free cell phones, free minutes and free texts, courtesy of taxpayers. It's easy to qualify for the government freebie. And best of all, this is a life time deal. All you need to do is re-qualify once a year to keep your free stuff.
The official government name of the program is Budget Mobile Lifeline Service. However, users and the community at large know it by another moniker: the Obama Phone. It acquired this sobriquet after a viral video spread the word that the Obama administration was handing out free phones to the poor.
The program, riddled with waste, fraud and abuse, has drawn new scrutiny on Capitol Hill. According to the most recent Congressional figures, the cost of providing those free phones was a staggering $2.2 billion in 2012. One report claimed there were 12.5 million subscribers to the programs.
A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report in 2010 pegged the expenses at $802 million for the years 2005-2008. The costs skyrocketed to $1 billion in 2009. The number of participants had grown to 8.6 million in 2009, the GAO investigation found.
However, statistics are hard to verify because the agency in charge of the scheme, the Federal Communications Commission, has been guilty of shoddy record-keeping. In fact, the FCC only began to compile a subscriber database late last year. So far, no statistics have been released.
Meanwhile, the program costs have spiraled out of control. Just since President Obama took office, expenditures have nearly tripled from $800 million to more than $2 billion. Obama Phones are the perfect example of how government programs start small and mushroom out of control.
Under President Reagan, the federal government decided to provide a subsidy for so-called Lifeline telephone service to the poor in 1985. It was designed to give low income individuals the opportunity to call 911, an ambulance or for other emergency use. It applied only to landline telephones.
To pay for the program, the federal government tacked on fees to the phone bills of most customers. Although it is called a fee, wireline subscribers are being forced to pay what amounts to a tax for the privilege of having a telephone.
The program was expanded under President George W. Bush to include cell phone service. The rationale was that most poor people had disconnected their landline phones and opted for wireless devices. The problem is the original intent was lost in the expansion.
Now low income people get a free cell phone, 250 free minutes of usage and 250 free texts each month. Everyone who receives almost any type of government assistance qualifies. That includes people who get food stamps, energy assistance, Medicaid or housing assistance, to name just a few.
Once an individual qualifies, the service is provided for 12 months. After that, recipients can re-qualify every year. The government will even contact the user to make it easy to renew the free service annually. However, the program is replete with fraud because of slipshod administration.
This year the Justice Department charged three men with defrauding the program of $32 million after an investigation uncovered their scheme to bilk the government to finance a well-heeled lifestyle. It was unclear how the trio was able to pull off the elaborate con.
Last year the FCC filed two separate actions against eight firms who swindled the Obama Phone program of a total of $47.4 million. The companies were accused of such chicanery as receiving duplicate payments for consumers who already had the free cell service from their firm.
Meanwhile, the promotion of the program continues unabated. Google "Obama Phone" and up pops a smiling picture of the president talking on a landline phone. Underneath, the caption screams: "Get Your Free Obama Phone."
Scores of firms are peddling the phones because they collect a bounty from the government. The FCC pays $10 to the companies for every new subscriber. There is no incentive for these companies to verify eligibility and the FCC has failed to do an adequate job of policing the program.
Republicans have introduced legislation to pull the plug on the cell phone program. Of course, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid will never allow a vote on such a bill. That means the scam will continue unchecked costing Americans billions of dollars. Only in Washington is this deemed acceptable.
The official government name of the program is Budget Mobile Lifeline Service. However, users and the community at large know it by another moniker: the Obama Phone. It acquired this sobriquet after a viral video spread the word that the Obama administration was handing out free phones to the poor.
The program, riddled with waste, fraud and abuse, has drawn new scrutiny on Capitol Hill. According to the most recent Congressional figures, the cost of providing those free phones was a staggering $2.2 billion in 2012. One report claimed there were 12.5 million subscribers to the programs.
A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report in 2010 pegged the expenses at $802 million for the years 2005-2008. The costs skyrocketed to $1 billion in 2009. The number of participants had grown to 8.6 million in 2009, the GAO investigation found.
However, statistics are hard to verify because the agency in charge of the scheme, the Federal Communications Commission, has been guilty of shoddy record-keeping. In fact, the FCC only began to compile a subscriber database late last year. So far, no statistics have been released.
Meanwhile, the program costs have spiraled out of control. Just since President Obama took office, expenditures have nearly tripled from $800 million to more than $2 billion. Obama Phones are the perfect example of how government programs start small and mushroom out of control.
Under President Reagan, the federal government decided to provide a subsidy for so-called Lifeline telephone service to the poor in 1985. It was designed to give low income individuals the opportunity to call 911, an ambulance or for other emergency use. It applied only to landline telephones.
To pay for the program, the federal government tacked on fees to the phone bills of most customers. Although it is called a fee, wireline subscribers are being forced to pay what amounts to a tax for the privilege of having a telephone.
The program was expanded under President George W. Bush to include cell phone service. The rationale was that most poor people had disconnected their landline phones and opted for wireless devices. The problem is the original intent was lost in the expansion.
Now low income people get a free cell phone, 250 free minutes of usage and 250 free texts each month. Everyone who receives almost any type of government assistance qualifies. That includes people who get food stamps, energy assistance, Medicaid or housing assistance, to name just a few.
Once an individual qualifies, the service is provided for 12 months. After that, recipients can re-qualify every year. The government will even contact the user to make it easy to renew the free service annually. However, the program is replete with fraud because of slipshod administration.
This year the Justice Department charged three men with defrauding the program of $32 million after an investigation uncovered their scheme to bilk the government to finance a well-heeled lifestyle. It was unclear how the trio was able to pull off the elaborate con.
Last year the FCC filed two separate actions against eight firms who swindled the Obama Phone program of a total of $47.4 million. The companies were accused of such chicanery as receiving duplicate payments for consumers who already had the free cell service from their firm.
Meanwhile, the promotion of the program continues unabated. Google "Obama Phone" and up pops a smiling picture of the president talking on a landline phone. Underneath, the caption screams: "Get Your Free Obama Phone."
Scores of firms are peddling the phones because they collect a bounty from the government. The FCC pays $10 to the companies for every new subscriber. There is no incentive for these companies to verify eligibility and the FCC has failed to do an adequate job of policing the program.
Republicans have introduced legislation to pull the plug on the cell phone program. Of course, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid will never allow a vote on such a bill. That means the scam will continue unchecked costing Americans billions of dollars. Only in Washington is this deemed acceptable.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Obamacare: Unhealthy Changes Doom Law
Obamacare, the president's eponymous health care reform, barely resembles the law passed in 2010. In the intervening months, the legislation has been changed 24 times by President Obama. On each occasion, he has acted unilaterally without Congressional consent to alter the bill.
As if the presidential tampering wasn't enough, the courts have stepped in and dealt crippling blows to the law. In the latest decision, a federal appeals court ruled the feds could not provide tax subsidies for millions of people who purchased insurance policies through the federal marketplace.
If the ruling stands, it will derail one of the law's key provisions effecting millions of health insurance purchasers. Health and Human Services (HHS) has estimated that 85 percent of those Americans who enrolled in Obamacare were promised they would receive premium subsidies.
As a result, the health care law has been left in tatters. What remains is a hodgepodge of rules and regulations that few individuals can comprehend. There is a growing awareness that Obamacare has metamorphosed into health care retrogression instead of reform.
For instance, a powerful union that first endorsed Obama for president just released a scorching report on the health care law, charging the administration with destroying insurance plans that benefited its members.
"The ACA (Affordable Care Act) threatens the middle class with higher premiums, loss of hours and a shift to part-time work and less comprehensive coverage," the UNITE HERE union said in its report, entitled, "The Irony of Obamacare: Making Inequality Worse."
UNITE HERE has more than 265,000 active members, who predominantly work in the hotel, food service, laundry, warehouse and casino gaming industries. Its report, released in July, was not covered by a single news media outlet because most have been hushed by the Obama Administration.
Insurance companies, most of which supported the law, are in full retreat. The nation's third largest health insurance firm Aetna recently disclosed figures that cast doubt on the administration's claims that 8 million Americans signed up for Obamacare.
Aetna originally declared it signed up 720,000 people during the enrollment period. By the end of June, it had fewer than 600,000 paying customers. The company now expects the final number to be a shade over 500,000, a 30 percent drop since the sign-up figures were trumpeted by the president.
The news is worse for those who enrolled in Obamacare. Data compiled by the Health Research Institute reveals that most health insurance buyers will see their premiums rise by at least 7.5 percent next year. Some states, such as Nevada, could potentially be socked with a 36 percent hike.
In its latest forecast, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated the federal government would spend an astronomical $1.032 trillion between 2015 and 2024 on subsidies for insurance premiums paid by low earners. The average subsidy is projected to be $4,250 annually per family.
However, with all the adjustments to the law, even the CBO is hedging its bets. The government agency announced earlier this year that it can no longer estimate Obamacare's total cost to taxpayers, in part, due to the "ever-changing rules in the laws implementation."
Worst of all, President Obama's promises about health care reform have all crumbled. Americans cannot keep their insurance. They cannot continue to see their same doctor. Consumers' insurance costs aren't going down.
The only change that will salvage health care reform is to dump Obamacare and start all over. That would be change most Americans would welcome as opposed to the kind the president promised in his propaganda campaign to peddle government health care.
As if the presidential tampering wasn't enough, the courts have stepped in and dealt crippling blows to the law. In the latest decision, a federal appeals court ruled the feds could not provide tax subsidies for millions of people who purchased insurance policies through the federal marketplace.
If the ruling stands, it will derail one of the law's key provisions effecting millions of health insurance purchasers. Health and Human Services (HHS) has estimated that 85 percent of those Americans who enrolled in Obamacare were promised they would receive premium subsidies.
As a result, the health care law has been left in tatters. What remains is a hodgepodge of rules and regulations that few individuals can comprehend. There is a growing awareness that Obamacare has metamorphosed into health care retrogression instead of reform.
For instance, a powerful union that first endorsed Obama for president just released a scorching report on the health care law, charging the administration with destroying insurance plans that benefited its members.
"The ACA (Affordable Care Act) threatens the middle class with higher premiums, loss of hours and a shift to part-time work and less comprehensive coverage," the UNITE HERE union said in its report, entitled, "The Irony of Obamacare: Making Inequality Worse."
UNITE HERE has more than 265,000 active members, who predominantly work in the hotel, food service, laundry, warehouse and casino gaming industries. Its report, released in July, was not covered by a single news media outlet because most have been hushed by the Obama Administration.
Insurance companies, most of which supported the law, are in full retreat. The nation's third largest health insurance firm Aetna recently disclosed figures that cast doubt on the administration's claims that 8 million Americans signed up for Obamacare.
Aetna originally declared it signed up 720,000 people during the enrollment period. By the end of June, it had fewer than 600,000 paying customers. The company now expects the final number to be a shade over 500,000, a 30 percent drop since the sign-up figures were trumpeted by the president.
The news is worse for those who enrolled in Obamacare. Data compiled by the Health Research Institute reveals that most health insurance buyers will see their premiums rise by at least 7.5 percent next year. Some states, such as Nevada, could potentially be socked with a 36 percent hike.
In its latest forecast, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated the federal government would spend an astronomical $1.032 trillion between 2015 and 2024 on subsidies for insurance premiums paid by low earners. The average subsidy is projected to be $4,250 annually per family.
However, with all the adjustments to the law, even the CBO is hedging its bets. The government agency announced earlier this year that it can no longer estimate Obamacare's total cost to taxpayers, in part, due to the "ever-changing rules in the laws implementation."
Worst of all, President Obama's promises about health care reform have all crumbled. Americans cannot keep their insurance. They cannot continue to see their same doctor. Consumers' insurance costs aren't going down.
The only change that will salvage health care reform is to dump Obamacare and start all over. That would be change most Americans would welcome as opposed to the kind the president promised in his propaganda campaign to peddle government health care.
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