Freedom of expression, guaranteed under the very First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, no longer exists in the country that enshrined the concept. It has been usurped by the malicious political correctness crowd and the elitist cultural commissars whose goal is to censor speech in America.
Disagreement and criticism are regulated by those with social and political agendas. Double-standards are employed to justify the indefensible. Private conversation is no longer protected from public exposure. Independent thought is discouraged in the name of social harmony.
The erosion of freedom of speech did not happen overnight. But the First Amendment officially died when a public corporation fired its chief executive officer for making a private donation to a political campaign to preserve the traditional definition of marriage.
The sacking of Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich capped a decades long crusade by murky forces determined to eradicate any opposition to their social, political and religious paradigms. This trampling of free speech hardly elicited a whimper of outrage from champions of democracy.
It followed on the heels of student and faculty protests over the invitation to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to speak at Rutgers University's commencement. The academic dissidents bullied Ms. Rice into silence by forcing her to voluntarily remove herself from the podium to restore civility.
Remember when colleges were bastions of free speech? Now academia is one of the worse offenders of freedom of expression, ostracizing professors, students and guests who fail some unwritten litmus test over their ideology and principles.
This has happened in the nation that invented free speech because the concept has been redefined by powerful forces: educational institutions, legislative bodies, federal and state courts, pseudo-activist organizations, regulatory bodies and the office of the president of the United States.
These groups have decreed the country cannot tolerate intolerance. Any disagreement with the prevailing norms is labeled prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness. Even if the dispute involves strongly held religious beliefs, the political correct mob insists their agenda trumps faith.
If you believe in traditional marriage, you are homophobic. If you don't think women should wear head scarves for drivers license photos, you are anti-Muslin. If you support charter schools, you are a racist. If you are an advocate of life, you want to enslave women.
No American has a right to an opinion unless your viewpoint is in sync with what the social and political cabal has determined is proper speech. Courts are increasingly codifying this as a legal axiom, ignoring the right to free speech affirmed in the First Amendment.
Take the case in a Pennsylvania court earlier this year. A Muslim man was charged with verbally castigating an atheist who marched in a Halloween parade. The judge railed against the victim instead of the defendant.
Judge Mark Martin lectured the victim of the assault, telling him "our forefathers intended to use the First amendment so we can speak with our mind, not to piss off other people and cultures, which is what you did."
Free speech means exactly the opposite of the judge's soliloquy. Americans are supposed to be able to speak their minds, even if others don't agree with their crudeness, attitudes or beliefs. In a free country, speech can be blasphemous, hateful, discriminatory, controversial or even moronic.
President Obama, allegedly charged with upholding the U.S. Constitution, has done more than his fair share to shred the dogma of free speech. He has attempted to silence his critics, the Tea Party and Republicans among others, with name-calling and by impugning their motives.
The president's disciples, especially the Congressional Black Caucus, have bitterly branded Obama's detractors as "racists." No one is allowed to to say anything negative about the president or his policies. Public speech must dovetail with the political aims of the president or risk being called incendiary.
There are some Americans who still cling to the notion that speech is free. However, their voices have been stilled by the threat of libelous muggings in the media and on social networks. Most have been cowered into accepting the inevitable censorship of speech.
Wake up America. Once freedom of expression is lost then liberty will crumble. Tyranny will replace democracy unless Americans reclaim the ability to speak whatever is on their minds, even if the majority may disagree with their viewpoint.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Monday, May 26, 2014
Scandal Dishonors America's Vets
The President of the United States, the most powerful person in the country, yearns for Americans to believe that he learned from the media about the sleazy scandal over health care for veterans. He didn't hear it from a cabinet member. Nor from his chief-of-staff. Or from one of his countless flunkies.
Bad news always reaches the president's ears via news reports. It is an admission that strains the bounds of credulity. However, if we accept the president's confession as truth, then Obama is the most out-of-touch chief executive in modern history.
Over days, media reports sprouted in various cities about Veterans Administration officials falsifying documents, covering up their own incompetence and conspiring to delay treatments for military men and women which allegedly led to deaths and suicides.
Once the media ruckus erupted, apparently no administration official bothered to call the White House to brief the president. To the disbelief of reporters, presidential mouthpiece Jay Carney continued to insist that Obama was so isolated that he heard about the scandal from a television news report.
Yet information on the problem-riddled veterans hospitals was available at his fingertips. The congressional watchdog Government Accountability Office (GAO) has exposed mismanagement, incompetence and flawed leadership for at least two decades, including as recently as April of this year.
Last month's GAO report cited the "inconsistent implementation of the Veterans Hospital Administration (VHA) scheduling policy (that) may have resulted in increased wait times or delays in scheduling timely medical appointments."
In its investigation, the GAO uncovered evidence that clinics "did not use the electronic wait list to track new patients in need of medical appointments as required by VHA policy, putting these patients at risk for not receiving timely care."
Two years earlier, the GAO issued a scathing indictment of the "lack of leadership" at the highest levels as one of the key issues in resolving problems with veterans care. The agency recommended "sustained leadership attention" to ensure continuity of healthcare for the nation's wounded warriors.
Perhaps, the president was on vacation or playing golf when these and other reports were circulated. But it is unconscionable to suggest that no one pointed out the deficiencies to a president who has pledged to make goverrnment-run health care for veterans a hallmark of his administration.
Only this occupant of the White House would expect to be absolved of any blame because he knew nothing.
Whatever his explanation, the scandal is a scorching indictment of Obama and his administration. Although the president has managed to duck one scandal after another thanks to a submissive media, this one smacks of corruption that rises to the level of criminal behavior.
What began as an isolated incident at a Phoenix VA hospital, has spread like a contagion to at least 19 states. Whistle blowers, including current and former VA officials, are emerging from the shadows to expose shabby health care practices.
Unlike the Benghazi and IRS scandals, this one has local legs. Television, radio stations, newspapers and online media in cities across the nation are dogging local Veterans Administration officials for answers. The result is a tsunami of coverage that threatens to sink the president's already low standing.
Even as the scandal swirled around him for days, Obama dawdled until he was shamed into publicly addressing the allegations. He promised an investigation, but dodged any responsibility and embraced Eric K. Shinseki, Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
In 2009, Obama choose the retired U.S. Army general for the post, the second largest among the 15 cabinet level departments. His appointment followed a string of campaign promises to improve veterans health care by reducing wait times and streamlining bureaucratic red tape.
In his December 16 report to Congress, Shinseki wrote that his department had succeeded in "improving the timeliness, accessibility and quality of health care and benefits delivery to our Veterans" during 2013.
It is obvious the assessment has no factual basis. Either Shinseki lied or he is so removed from the day-to-day workings of his sprawling department that he was clueless about what was happening in VA hospitals throughout the U.S. In either case, the secretary deserves to be fired immediately.
More heads also need to roll within the veterans department. But under Obama, no one ever gets a pink slip or is held accountable. He always is more concerned with the political spin than he is serious about action to fix any problems. His first priority is to make sure he is not seen as culpable
America's military veterans deserve better. Their service and sacrifices on behalf of our nation are dishonored when they are denied timely medical treatment and ignored by a bureaucracy that tries to hide the truth with deception.
These brave men and women should not be made to wait while Obama's lackeys launch a long overdue investigation that will take months or years. The GAO has already documented a litany of malfeasance. Action is needed now. Today. Every second wasted another veteran will die unnecessarily.
Bad news always reaches the president's ears via news reports. It is an admission that strains the bounds of credulity. However, if we accept the president's confession as truth, then Obama is the most out-of-touch chief executive in modern history.
Over days, media reports sprouted in various cities about Veterans Administration officials falsifying documents, covering up their own incompetence and conspiring to delay treatments for military men and women which allegedly led to deaths and suicides.
Once the media ruckus erupted, apparently no administration official bothered to call the White House to brief the president. To the disbelief of reporters, presidential mouthpiece Jay Carney continued to insist that Obama was so isolated that he heard about the scandal from a television news report.
Yet information on the problem-riddled veterans hospitals was available at his fingertips. The congressional watchdog Government Accountability Office (GAO) has exposed mismanagement, incompetence and flawed leadership for at least two decades, including as recently as April of this year.
Last month's GAO report cited the "inconsistent implementation of the Veterans Hospital Administration (VHA) scheduling policy (that) may have resulted in increased wait times or delays in scheduling timely medical appointments."
In its investigation, the GAO uncovered evidence that clinics "did not use the electronic wait list to track new patients in need of medical appointments as required by VHA policy, putting these patients at risk for not receiving timely care."
Two years earlier, the GAO issued a scathing indictment of the "lack of leadership" at the highest levels as one of the key issues in resolving problems with veterans care. The agency recommended "sustained leadership attention" to ensure continuity of healthcare for the nation's wounded warriors.
Perhaps, the president was on vacation or playing golf when these and other reports were circulated. But it is unconscionable to suggest that no one pointed out the deficiencies to a president who has pledged to make goverrnment-run health care for veterans a hallmark of his administration.
Only this occupant of the White House would expect to be absolved of any blame because he knew nothing.
Whatever his explanation, the scandal is a scorching indictment of Obama and his administration. Although the president has managed to duck one scandal after another thanks to a submissive media, this one smacks of corruption that rises to the level of criminal behavior.
What began as an isolated incident at a Phoenix VA hospital, has spread like a contagion to at least 19 states. Whistle blowers, including current and former VA officials, are emerging from the shadows to expose shabby health care practices.
Unlike the Benghazi and IRS scandals, this one has local legs. Television, radio stations, newspapers and online media in cities across the nation are dogging local Veterans Administration officials for answers. The result is a tsunami of coverage that threatens to sink the president's already low standing.
Even as the scandal swirled around him for days, Obama dawdled until he was shamed into publicly addressing the allegations. He promised an investigation, but dodged any responsibility and embraced Eric K. Shinseki, Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
In 2009, Obama choose the retired U.S. Army general for the post, the second largest among the 15 cabinet level departments. His appointment followed a string of campaign promises to improve veterans health care by reducing wait times and streamlining bureaucratic red tape.
In his December 16 report to Congress, Shinseki wrote that his department had succeeded in "improving the timeliness, accessibility and quality of health care and benefits delivery to our Veterans" during 2013.
It is obvious the assessment has no factual basis. Either Shinseki lied or he is so removed from the day-to-day workings of his sprawling department that he was clueless about what was happening in VA hospitals throughout the U.S. In either case, the secretary deserves to be fired immediately.
More heads also need to roll within the veterans department. But under Obama, no one ever gets a pink slip or is held accountable. He always is more concerned with the political spin than he is serious about action to fix any problems. His first priority is to make sure he is not seen as culpable
America's military veterans deserve better. Their service and sacrifices on behalf of our nation are dishonored when they are denied timely medical treatment and ignored by a bureaucracy that tries to hide the truth with deception.
These brave men and women should not be made to wait while Obama's lackeys launch a long overdue investigation that will take months or years. The GAO has already documented a litany of malfeasance. Action is needed now. Today. Every second wasted another veteran will die unnecessarily.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Climate Change: Propaganda and Fear Mongering
President Obama's recent announcement of an initiative on the environment was newsworthy not for his eloquence, but for what he didn't say. Not once during his magisterial discourse did he utter the words "global warming." In fact, he avoided the term as if it was a Fox News reporter.
Instead, Obama preached about the looming calamity of climate change. His chose his words carefully because the earth is no longer warming as many scientists had forecast just a decade ago. In response, the voices of doom have a new hypothesis: man is causing dramatic changes in the climate.
They will get no argument that the climate is changing. It is well-documented that the earth has undergone dramatic periods of cooling and heating over billions of years. However, these pseudo scientists now proclaim the Earth is in a static state so any shift in weather patterns is cause for alarm.
Every snow melt, tornado, flood or drought is attributed to greenhouse gases, fossil emissions or other man-made pollution. Never mind that the the planet has suffered the ravages of violent and erratic weather since its galactic birth.
These same climate scaremongers were apoplectic over climate models that only recently showed the earth was overheating at a rate that would spark an environmental meltdown like the world has never witnessed. Too bad nature intervened and the warming subsided.
Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) satellite data confirms that average temperatures worldwide have not risen since 1997. Yet in 2001 and again in 2007, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimated world temperatures would rise 0.2 degrees centigrade per decade because of greenhouse gases.
Independent analyses of climate data shows that most of the warming occurred between 1980 and 1997. During that time the planet warmed up by about 0.4 degrees centigrade. That has not deterred global warming zealots armed with discredited mathematical models to dispute the evidence.
The Chicken Little Crowd is now blaming the cooling on a combination of ozone depletion and increased greenhouse gases. However, these same climate extremists also singled out those two forces to explain the warming of the planet.
Ironically, those who employ such disreputable science are the same environmental anarchists who mock their detractors with derogatory terms such as climate denier or junk science practitioner.
More scientists are stepping out of the academic shadows to rebut the radical climate activists despite the threat of vicious personal attacks. That includes Dr. David Whitehouse of the Global Warming Policy Foundation. After reviewing the latest scientific data, here is Dr. Whitehouse's conclusion:
"It is a demonstration that science is not settled and there are great uncertainties in our understanding of the greenhouse (effect)," he said. "We are at the point where the temperature standstill is becoming the dominant feature of the post 1980's warming."
Greenpeace co-founder Dr. Patrick Moore, who resigned from the environmental organization in 1986, went even further. "There is no scientific proof that human emissions of carbon dioxide are the dominant cause of the minor warming of the earth's atmosphere over the past 100 years."
However, the climate fanatics continue to insist that science is on their side of the argument. The liberal Slate magazine declared there is "no scientific controversy" over climate change. Its editors wrote, "Climate change denial is purely 100 percent made-up political and corporate sponsored crap."
The magazine's opinion is illustrative of the frenzied media campaign to brainwash the public. Their goal is to program Americans to believe destruction of the Earth is imminent without intrusive government regulations. It helps their crusade that most people have no science education.
Obama and his global warming torchbearers understand the political and social dynamics. Doing something good for the environment, even if the costs outweigh the benefits, appeals to many uniformed altruists. Obama and his ilk prey on people's desire to be seen as good stewards of the planet.
Dr. Leslie Woodcock, a senior research consultant at NASA's Wright-Patterson Air Force Laboratory, has studied the climate change phenomenon for decades. He eviscerates the so-called green lobby for creating misinformation based on unsubstantiated assertions about global warming.
"If you talk to real scientists who have no political interests, they will tell you there is nothing in global warming. It's an industry which creates vast amounts of money for some people," he insisted.
Many scientists have a vested financial interest in fomenting climate change panic. They receive millions in grant money from business and political sources with agendas to influence scientists to substantiate their premise of global warming. Unfortunately, many professors and climatologists are willing to practice scientific voodoo for their own gain.
Polls show that many Americans have not been swayed by the eco-elitist climate hysteria. Those findings offer hope that common sense and sound scholarship will triumph over the ideological nonsense that masquerades today as environmental science.
Instead, Obama preached about the looming calamity of climate change. His chose his words carefully because the earth is no longer warming as many scientists had forecast just a decade ago. In response, the voices of doom have a new hypothesis: man is causing dramatic changes in the climate.
They will get no argument that the climate is changing. It is well-documented that the earth has undergone dramatic periods of cooling and heating over billions of years. However, these pseudo scientists now proclaim the Earth is in a static state so any shift in weather patterns is cause for alarm.
Every snow melt, tornado, flood or drought is attributed to greenhouse gases, fossil emissions or other man-made pollution. Never mind that the the planet has suffered the ravages of violent and erratic weather since its galactic birth.
These same climate scaremongers were apoplectic over climate models that only recently showed the earth was overheating at a rate that would spark an environmental meltdown like the world has never witnessed. Too bad nature intervened and the warming subsided.
Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) satellite data confirms that average temperatures worldwide have not risen since 1997. Yet in 2001 and again in 2007, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimated world temperatures would rise 0.2 degrees centigrade per decade because of greenhouse gases.
Independent analyses of climate data shows that most of the warming occurred between 1980 and 1997. During that time the planet warmed up by about 0.4 degrees centigrade. That has not deterred global warming zealots armed with discredited mathematical models to dispute the evidence.
The Chicken Little Crowd is now blaming the cooling on a combination of ozone depletion and increased greenhouse gases. However, these same climate extremists also singled out those two forces to explain the warming of the planet.
Ironically, those who employ such disreputable science are the same environmental anarchists who mock their detractors with derogatory terms such as climate denier or junk science practitioner.
More scientists are stepping out of the academic shadows to rebut the radical climate activists despite the threat of vicious personal attacks. That includes Dr. David Whitehouse of the Global Warming Policy Foundation. After reviewing the latest scientific data, here is Dr. Whitehouse's conclusion:
"It is a demonstration that science is not settled and there are great uncertainties in our understanding of the greenhouse (effect)," he said. "We are at the point where the temperature standstill is becoming the dominant feature of the post 1980's warming."
Greenpeace co-founder Dr. Patrick Moore, who resigned from the environmental organization in 1986, went even further. "There is no scientific proof that human emissions of carbon dioxide are the dominant cause of the minor warming of the earth's atmosphere over the past 100 years."
However, the climate fanatics continue to insist that science is on their side of the argument. The liberal Slate magazine declared there is "no scientific controversy" over climate change. Its editors wrote, "Climate change denial is purely 100 percent made-up political and corporate sponsored crap."
The magazine's opinion is illustrative of the frenzied media campaign to brainwash the public. Their goal is to program Americans to believe destruction of the Earth is imminent without intrusive government regulations. It helps their crusade that most people have no science education.
Obama and his global warming torchbearers understand the political and social dynamics. Doing something good for the environment, even if the costs outweigh the benefits, appeals to many uniformed altruists. Obama and his ilk prey on people's desire to be seen as good stewards of the planet.
Dr. Leslie Woodcock, a senior research consultant at NASA's Wright-Patterson Air Force Laboratory, has studied the climate change phenomenon for decades. He eviscerates the so-called green lobby for creating misinformation based on unsubstantiated assertions about global warming.
"If you talk to real scientists who have no political interests, they will tell you there is nothing in global warming. It's an industry which creates vast amounts of money for some people," he insisted.
Many scientists have a vested financial interest in fomenting climate change panic. They receive millions in grant money from business and political sources with agendas to influence scientists to substantiate their premise of global warming. Unfortunately, many professors and climatologists are willing to practice scientific voodoo for their own gain.
Polls show that many Americans have not been swayed by the eco-elitist climate hysteria. Those findings offer hope that common sense and sound scholarship will triumph over the ideological nonsense that masquerades today as environmental science.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Obama's War on Seniors
For all the Democrat rancor about the War on Women, President Obama and his administration have carried out their own hostile campaign against seniors without so much as a peep from Republicans. Their silence makes them complicit in the undermining of the future health and welfare of seniors.
With the backing of his party, Obama and his policy wonks have deliberately punished seniors by shaving their health care benefits, savaging their savings and slicing their retirement benefits. Ironically, Democrats and their titular leader claim it is Republicans who want to throw granny off the cliff.
But the facts belie their rhetoric. Since Obama was elevated to the White House, his party and his administration have waged a cruel war on those 65-years and older. Consider how the president's policies, implemented by his minions, have harmed seniors:
The Federal Reserve Board has kept interest rates near zero for most of the Obama presidency. Risk-adverse seniors have traditionally invested their retirement funds in savings accounts, certificates of deposit and U.S. Treasury securities. However, the earnings from these investments have failed to even keep up with low inflation rates. Seniors' nest eggs have been hammered by the Fed's policy, advocated by Obama. There had have been other consequences as well. Low interest rates have increased the cost of long-term care insurance and reduced guaranteed payments on even the safest annuities.
The Obama economic recovery has forced more seniors to keep working. The number of Americans 65 and older in the workforce has risen every year under Obama. For first time since the Labor Department began keeping statistics in 1981, one in nine men and one in 20 women over the age of 75 are toiling in the workforce. Many seniors have no choice but to continue to work. A study by the Washington, D.C.-based Employee Benefit Research Institute blamed the increase in senior workers on the loss of retirement savings, significant increases in Medicare premiums and adverse changes in Social Security benefits.
Obamacare will cut billions of dollars from Medicare over the next decade. President Obama famously claimed that his signature health care reform "won't touch guaranteed Medicare benefits. Not by a single dime." This is a colossal lie. Obamacare will gut $716 billion from Medicare over the next ten years, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Obama has turned Medicare into a cash cow to fund the entitlements guaranteed under the new health care law. Medicare trustees have estimated that the lower Medicare payment rates will force cutbacks in benefits to seniors as hospitals, nursing facilities and home health care agencies are obligated to accept less money for services.
Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) have been practically non-existent under Obama. After years of rising COLA increases, the Social Security administration has put the brakes on hikes. In both 2009 and 2010, seniors received not one penny of increase even as inflation ticked up. Since 2011, the increases have totaled a meager 6.8 percent. By comparison, spending on federal means-tested welfare programs has soared 32 percent since Obama took office, reports the Senate Budget Committee. Funding for food stamp programs has skyrocketed 65 percent under Obama.
In some ways seniors have no one to blame but themselves for the shabby treatment. For decades, Democrats have hoodwinked seniors into believing Republicans wanted to take away their benefits. In response, too many older Americans sheepishly voted for Democrats.
Seniors have the power to shift the political winds. The Census Bureau estimates that the number of people aged 65 and older will double by 2050. There were 43 million people 65+ in 2012. By 2050, the number will eclipse 84 million. One in five Americans will be seniors.
Those statistics should compel Washington to take notice. But only if seniors flex their political muscle and let themselves be heard in the halls of Congress, at the ballot box and in the media. The future belongs to seniors, but only if they arise from their political slumber.
With the backing of his party, Obama and his policy wonks have deliberately punished seniors by shaving their health care benefits, savaging their savings and slicing their retirement benefits. Ironically, Democrats and their titular leader claim it is Republicans who want to throw granny off the cliff.
But the facts belie their rhetoric. Since Obama was elevated to the White House, his party and his administration have waged a cruel war on those 65-years and older. Consider how the president's policies, implemented by his minions, have harmed seniors:
The Federal Reserve Board has kept interest rates near zero for most of the Obama presidency. Risk-adverse seniors have traditionally invested their retirement funds in savings accounts, certificates of deposit and U.S. Treasury securities. However, the earnings from these investments have failed to even keep up with low inflation rates. Seniors' nest eggs have been hammered by the Fed's policy, advocated by Obama. There had have been other consequences as well. Low interest rates have increased the cost of long-term care insurance and reduced guaranteed payments on even the safest annuities.
The Obama economic recovery has forced more seniors to keep working. The number of Americans 65 and older in the workforce has risen every year under Obama. For first time since the Labor Department began keeping statistics in 1981, one in nine men and one in 20 women over the age of 75 are toiling in the workforce. Many seniors have no choice but to continue to work. A study by the Washington, D.C.-based Employee Benefit Research Institute blamed the increase in senior workers on the loss of retirement savings, significant increases in Medicare premiums and adverse changes in Social Security benefits.
Obamacare will cut billions of dollars from Medicare over the next decade. President Obama famously claimed that his signature health care reform "won't touch guaranteed Medicare benefits. Not by a single dime." This is a colossal lie. Obamacare will gut $716 billion from Medicare over the next ten years, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Obama has turned Medicare into a cash cow to fund the entitlements guaranteed under the new health care law. Medicare trustees have estimated that the lower Medicare payment rates will force cutbacks in benefits to seniors as hospitals, nursing facilities and home health care agencies are obligated to accept less money for services.
Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) have been practically non-existent under Obama. After years of rising COLA increases, the Social Security administration has put the brakes on hikes. In both 2009 and 2010, seniors received not one penny of increase even as inflation ticked up. Since 2011, the increases have totaled a meager 6.8 percent. By comparison, spending on federal means-tested welfare programs has soared 32 percent since Obama took office, reports the Senate Budget Committee. Funding for food stamp programs has skyrocketed 65 percent under Obama.
In some ways seniors have no one to blame but themselves for the shabby treatment. For decades, Democrats have hoodwinked seniors into believing Republicans wanted to take away their benefits. In response, too many older Americans sheepishly voted for Democrats.
Seniors have the power to shift the political winds. The Census Bureau estimates that the number of people aged 65 and older will double by 2050. There were 43 million people 65+ in 2012. By 2050, the number will eclipse 84 million. One in five Americans will be seniors.
Those statistics should compel Washington to take notice. But only if seniors flex their political muscle and let themselves be heard in the halls of Congress, at the ballot box and in the media. The future belongs to seniors, but only if they arise from their political slumber.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Commencement Address: Nothing But The Truth
Graduates, parents, faculty and overpaid administrators. Let me begin by saying this commencement address will be like none other you have ever heard or read about. That means doing something no other speaker would dare to do. I will tell you the truth.
I won't be trying to impress you with soaring rhetoric. I refuse to paint a sumptuous picture of the future that awaits you. I don't plan to insult your intelligence by challenging you to change the world. My goal is to explain what awaits you beyond the ivy-covered walls of this institution.
First, your chances of landing a job in your chosen profession are slim. You are facing the most challenging job market in many decades, according to research by the New York Federal Reserve. Most likely you will be forced to take a lower paying job or wind up unemployed.
Don't take my word for it. The New York Fed's research found that 44 percent of recent graduates have been pressured to accept jobs they thought were beneath their education level. A big percentage of grads end up in careers that don't require a degree, such as bartenders and retail clerks.
I know that isn't good news because most of you have accumulated too much debt paying for a high-priced education. About 70 percent of students who graduated in 2012 had borrowed an average of $29,400, a record. It's hard to pay off your loans when you a toiling for minimum wage.
By the way, that's not hyperbole. There are twice as many college graduates working in minimum wage jobs today as there were just five years ago says the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is 71 percent higher than a decade ago.
The reason the future is so bleak is that the United States has experienced a jobless recovery from the economic meltdown in 2008. I know government statistics claim unemployment has declined. But the number of people in the workforce has fallen and we have the largest number of long-term unemployed in the country since the Great Depression.
Why has this happened in the greatest country on God's green earth?
That answer is that your nation has been led by a president who has done nothing to create jobs. Unless you are so misinformed that you believe raising taxes creates more employment. I point this out because apparently many of you are convinced President Obama has been good for the economy.
I base that on the knowledge that the people in this audience voted overwhelming to grant Mr. Obama a second term. I have the statistics right here. The president won the youth vote (18-to-29-year-olds) by 67% to 30% in the most recent election.
What where you thinking? Apparently, many of you don't pay attention to what's happening beyond this campus. Most of you have never held a real job. By the way, I don't consider being president of your fraternity a highly sought skill.
Some of you didn't belong in college in the first place. You were bullied and shoved into college by your high school counselors and parents. Did you know that many of today's leaders of high tech companies never finished college?
Now that you are saddled with debt and worried about a job, perhaps you will take stock of your future. Don't believe what your college professors preached to you. A degree doesn't guarantee you anything. You certainly are not insured a job.
But let me provide one glimmer of hope. You happen to live in a country that offers you freedom to dream. A nation that provides opportunities for a minimum wage earner to become a CEO. You cannot find that in any other country but the United States.
Cherish the values that made this country great. Hard work. Fierce determination. Sacrifice. Perseverance. Then hitch up your pants and be willing to do whatever it takes to succeed, even if it means starting at the bottom.
This world owes you nothing. It is you who is in debt to the nation for creating opportunities. If you don't take advantage of them, blame no one but yourself.
I won't be trying to impress you with soaring rhetoric. I refuse to paint a sumptuous picture of the future that awaits you. I don't plan to insult your intelligence by challenging you to change the world. My goal is to explain what awaits you beyond the ivy-covered walls of this institution.
First, your chances of landing a job in your chosen profession are slim. You are facing the most challenging job market in many decades, according to research by the New York Federal Reserve. Most likely you will be forced to take a lower paying job or wind up unemployed.
Don't take my word for it. The New York Fed's research found that 44 percent of recent graduates have been pressured to accept jobs they thought were beneath their education level. A big percentage of grads end up in careers that don't require a degree, such as bartenders and retail clerks.
I know that isn't good news because most of you have accumulated too much debt paying for a high-priced education. About 70 percent of students who graduated in 2012 had borrowed an average of $29,400, a record. It's hard to pay off your loans when you a toiling for minimum wage.
By the way, that's not hyperbole. There are twice as many college graduates working in minimum wage jobs today as there were just five years ago says the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is 71 percent higher than a decade ago.
The reason the future is so bleak is that the United States has experienced a jobless recovery from the economic meltdown in 2008. I know government statistics claim unemployment has declined. But the number of people in the workforce has fallen and we have the largest number of long-term unemployed in the country since the Great Depression.
Why has this happened in the greatest country on God's green earth?
That answer is that your nation has been led by a president who has done nothing to create jobs. Unless you are so misinformed that you believe raising taxes creates more employment. I point this out because apparently many of you are convinced President Obama has been good for the economy.
I base that on the knowledge that the people in this audience voted overwhelming to grant Mr. Obama a second term. I have the statistics right here. The president won the youth vote (18-to-29-year-olds) by 67% to 30% in the most recent election.
What where you thinking? Apparently, many of you don't pay attention to what's happening beyond this campus. Most of you have never held a real job. By the way, I don't consider being president of your fraternity a highly sought skill.
Some of you didn't belong in college in the first place. You were bullied and shoved into college by your high school counselors and parents. Did you know that many of today's leaders of high tech companies never finished college?
Now that you are saddled with debt and worried about a job, perhaps you will take stock of your future. Don't believe what your college professors preached to you. A degree doesn't guarantee you anything. You certainly are not insured a job.
But let me provide one glimmer of hope. You happen to live in a country that offers you freedom to dream. A nation that provides opportunities for a minimum wage earner to become a CEO. You cannot find that in any other country but the United States.
Cherish the values that made this country great. Hard work. Fierce determination. Sacrifice. Perseverance. Then hitch up your pants and be willing to do whatever it takes to succeed, even if it means starting at the bottom.
This world owes you nothing. It is you who is in debt to the nation for creating opportunities. If you don't take advantage of them, blame no one but yourself.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Autism Disorder Increasing Among Children
Autism, a little understood disorder, strikes a rising number of children every year in the United States. The increasing growth in autism cases has sounded alarm bells in the medical community even as the search for causes and effective treatments eludes researchers.
Evidence of the prevalence of the autism spectrum disorder was contained in a recently released report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The findings were based on a survey of 11 regions in the country by the centers' Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network.
The report estimated that one in 68 children aged eight years suffers from Autism. The statistics suggest that rates have increased 10 to 17 percent annually in recent years. About 10 percent of the more than two million children with autism were also identified as having Down Syndrome.
In its research, the CDC confirmed that autism is almost five times more common among boys than girls. Non-Hispanic white children were 30 percent more likely to be identified with Autism than African-American kids and 50 percent more likely than Hispanic youths.
Autism is a lifelong developmental disability. It is characterized by problems associated with communication, social interaction, motor coordination and repetitive behavioral patterns. One study found 46 percent of children with autism had average to above average intellectual ability.
Each individual with autism is unique, making it unfair to generalize about symptoms for children with the disorder. For example, many of those with autism have exceptional abilities in visual skills, music and academics.
Initial signs and symptoms typically are recognizable in the early developmental stage of a child.
However, the study unearthed data showing that the median age remains four years or older before the first autism diagnosis is made. The finding is troubling because studies show that parents usually notice developmental problems by the child's first birthday.
This is not only a U.S. issue. Worldwide, the rates of Autism are increasing twenty to thirty fold. The CDC report suggests the epidemic rise may be attributable to improved awareness and recognition of the disorder among doctors in other countries.
The estimated cost of caring for a child with autism is more than $17,000 per year, according to a study cited in the CDC report. However, severe cases of Autism are costlier to treat. In total, the expenses nationally for care of children with autism top $9 billion annually.
Even armed with this data, researchers remain baffled by the disorder. They know that those parents of autistic children more often have certain generic or chromosomal conditions. Children of older parents are at a higher risk for the disorder. But much is still unknown.
For example, the causes are as numerous as the types of autism. For years, some autism advocates were convinced that child vaccines for illnesses such as influenza were causing the increase in the disorder. The attention prompted a national study of children's vaccines.
The Institute of Medicine examined eight vaccines given to children and adults and found them to be generally safe with rare serious adverse health events. The CDC investigated the findings and supported the conclusion that there is no relationship between vaccines and autism rates.
The CDC has labeled autism an urgent health matter. But it admits that more research needs to be done to better understand the causes of autism. Early detection requires increased focus. Effective treatments present a constant challenge.
Everyone must become involved to solve the autism puzzle. That includes pediatric health care providers, school psychologists, educators, researchers and policymakers. Last but not least voters must hold elected officials accountable for funding additional autism research.
A country that cherishes its children above all else is a nation with its priorities in order.
Evidence of the prevalence of the autism spectrum disorder was contained in a recently released report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The findings were based on a survey of 11 regions in the country by the centers' Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network.
The report estimated that one in 68 children aged eight years suffers from Autism. The statistics suggest that rates have increased 10 to 17 percent annually in recent years. About 10 percent of the more than two million children with autism were also identified as having Down Syndrome.
In its research, the CDC confirmed that autism is almost five times more common among boys than girls. Non-Hispanic white children were 30 percent more likely to be identified with Autism than African-American kids and 50 percent more likely than Hispanic youths.
Autism is a lifelong developmental disability. It is characterized by problems associated with communication, social interaction, motor coordination and repetitive behavioral patterns. One study found 46 percent of children with autism had average to above average intellectual ability.
Each individual with autism is unique, making it unfair to generalize about symptoms for children with the disorder. For example, many of those with autism have exceptional abilities in visual skills, music and academics.
Initial signs and symptoms typically are recognizable in the early developmental stage of a child.
However, the study unearthed data showing that the median age remains four years or older before the first autism diagnosis is made. The finding is troubling because studies show that parents usually notice developmental problems by the child's first birthday.
This is not only a U.S. issue. Worldwide, the rates of Autism are increasing twenty to thirty fold. The CDC report suggests the epidemic rise may be attributable to improved awareness and recognition of the disorder among doctors in other countries.
The estimated cost of caring for a child with autism is more than $17,000 per year, according to a study cited in the CDC report. However, severe cases of Autism are costlier to treat. In total, the expenses nationally for care of children with autism top $9 billion annually.
Even armed with this data, researchers remain baffled by the disorder. They know that those parents of autistic children more often have certain generic or chromosomal conditions. Children of older parents are at a higher risk for the disorder. But much is still unknown.
For example, the causes are as numerous as the types of autism. For years, some autism advocates were convinced that child vaccines for illnesses such as influenza were causing the increase in the disorder. The attention prompted a national study of children's vaccines.
The Institute of Medicine examined eight vaccines given to children and adults and found them to be generally safe with rare serious adverse health events. The CDC investigated the findings and supported the conclusion that there is no relationship between vaccines and autism rates.
The CDC has labeled autism an urgent health matter. But it admits that more research needs to be done to better understand the causes of autism. Early detection requires increased focus. Effective treatments present a constant challenge.
Everyone must become involved to solve the autism puzzle. That includes pediatric health care providers, school psychologists, educators, researchers and policymakers. Last but not least voters must hold elected officials accountable for funding additional autism research.
A country that cherishes its children above all else is a nation with its priorities in order.
Monday, April 21, 2014
Despicable Me: Harry The Hypocrite Reid
The biggest scoundrel in Nevada isn't rancher Ted Bundy, no matter what you read in the lemming-like media. Fellow Nevadian Harry Reid holds that distinction. The Senate Majority Leader has left a political trail of stench worse than those cow pies deposited by Bundy's cattle.
While Bundy was vilified in the media for his dispute with the bellicose Bureau of Land Management, the newsrooms were silent after social media reports began to circulate about the diminutive senator's unseemly involvement in a Chinese energy company's failed $5 billion solar project.
Bundy and the Chinese firm became linked when some accounts claimed the solar project would have been located next to the grazing land occupied by the rancher's cattle. For the record, the solar plant would have been constructed 180 miles away. But that has no bearing on the scandal.
There were ample reasons for the news media to scrutinize the sleazy senator's connections with the ENN Group, the largest energy company in China led by billionaire tycoon Wang Yusuo. The "clean energy" firm operates more than 100 subsidiaries around the world.
Working behind the scenes, the droll senator lured the foreign giant to build a solar plant in Nevada during a 2011 junket to China and then supplied the political muscle to get the project built. Within months of the trip, the senator's son Rory Reid landed a lucrative contract for his law firm to represent ENN Group.
According to a Reuters report on August 31, 2012, the alien energy company was able to purchase a 9,000-acre site near Laughlin "well below the appraised value from Clark County." Guess who was the former chairman of the county commission? That's right. Rory Reid.
Upon further inspection, the transaction could be called a steal for ENN. Reid's son cobbled together a deal to purchase the site for $4.5 million. That was a mere fraction of the acreage's appraised value that ranged from $29.6 million to $38.6 million on the county tax rolls.
The Chinese-backed company pulled the plug on the multi-billion dollar project in June of last year after it was unable to find customers for the solar power that was to be generated. When the project went up in smoke, the county was stuck with trying to unload the acreage.
This isn't dirty Harry Reid's first brush with shady land deals. In 2004, the mumble-mouthed Reid pocketed a cool $700,000 from a sale of land that he didn't technically own. A complex legal covenant with a holding company enabled Reid to get rich in the unorthodox purchase.
The Los Angeles Times reported in November of 2006 that the stilted Senate Majority Leader snuck $18 million in the federal budget for a bridge in Nevada. The project wasn't a priority of Nevada's transportation agency. But that didn't matter to Reid because he owned 160 acres nearby and stood to benefit financially.
Dubious land shams are only part of Reid's shenanigans. This month a Nevada power broker was convicted in U.S. District Court of illegally funneling $150,000 to the senator's re-election campaign in 2007. The campaign bigwig headed up a billion dollar real estate firm.
But Harry is nothing if not hypocritical. Using the cloak of Congressional immunity, Reid stood on the floor of the Senate and smeared businessmen Charles and David Koch as "un-American" for supporting Republicans and their causes. It wasn't long after the tirade that OpenSecrets.org revealed that the Koch brothers had lavishly donated to at least 36 Democrats in Congress.
Wonder why humbug Harry never complained that the brothers were trying to "buy" Democrats?
It should come as no surprise that Harry Reid recently landed on the Judicial Watch's list of "Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians." He wasn't number one. But he certainly has done everything in his power to earn that spot.
While Bundy was vilified in the media for his dispute with the bellicose Bureau of Land Management, the newsrooms were silent after social media reports began to circulate about the diminutive senator's unseemly involvement in a Chinese energy company's failed $5 billion solar project.
Bundy and the Chinese firm became linked when some accounts claimed the solar project would have been located next to the grazing land occupied by the rancher's cattle. For the record, the solar plant would have been constructed 180 miles away. But that has no bearing on the scandal.
There were ample reasons for the news media to scrutinize the sleazy senator's connections with the ENN Group, the largest energy company in China led by billionaire tycoon Wang Yusuo. The "clean energy" firm operates more than 100 subsidiaries around the world.
Working behind the scenes, the droll senator lured the foreign giant to build a solar plant in Nevada during a 2011 junket to China and then supplied the political muscle to get the project built. Within months of the trip, the senator's son Rory Reid landed a lucrative contract for his law firm to represent ENN Group.
According to a Reuters report on August 31, 2012, the alien energy company was able to purchase a 9,000-acre site near Laughlin "well below the appraised value from Clark County." Guess who was the former chairman of the county commission? That's right. Rory Reid.
Upon further inspection, the transaction could be called a steal for ENN. Reid's son cobbled together a deal to purchase the site for $4.5 million. That was a mere fraction of the acreage's appraised value that ranged from $29.6 million to $38.6 million on the county tax rolls.
The Chinese-backed company pulled the plug on the multi-billion dollar project in June of last year after it was unable to find customers for the solar power that was to be generated. When the project went up in smoke, the county was stuck with trying to unload the acreage.
This isn't dirty Harry Reid's first brush with shady land deals. In 2004, the mumble-mouthed Reid pocketed a cool $700,000 from a sale of land that he didn't technically own. A complex legal covenant with a holding company enabled Reid to get rich in the unorthodox purchase.
The Los Angeles Times reported in November of 2006 that the stilted Senate Majority Leader snuck $18 million in the federal budget for a bridge in Nevada. The project wasn't a priority of Nevada's transportation agency. But that didn't matter to Reid because he owned 160 acres nearby and stood to benefit financially.
Dubious land shams are only part of Reid's shenanigans. This month a Nevada power broker was convicted in U.S. District Court of illegally funneling $150,000 to the senator's re-election campaign in 2007. The campaign bigwig headed up a billion dollar real estate firm.
But Harry is nothing if not hypocritical. Using the cloak of Congressional immunity, Reid stood on the floor of the Senate and smeared businessmen Charles and David Koch as "un-American" for supporting Republicans and their causes. It wasn't long after the tirade that OpenSecrets.org revealed that the Koch brothers had lavishly donated to at least 36 Democrats in Congress.
Wonder why humbug Harry never complained that the brothers were trying to "buy" Democrats?
It should come as no surprise that Harry Reid recently landed on the Judicial Watch's list of "Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians." He wasn't number one. But he certainly has done everything in his power to earn that spot.
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