Is he or isn’t he? Conservative commentators are having a dust-up over whether former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is a conservative. The Wall Street Journal’s John Fund and Pat Toomey, President of the Club for Growth, say no. The Washington Times’ Tony Blankley says yes. The debate has focused largely on Huckabee’s record while Governor of Arkansas. So I thought I’d take a look at Huckabee’s website, to try to get an idea of what a Huckabee presidency would look like. And what I saw strongly suggests that Huckabee is a faux conservative.
Baby Boomers hit social security age. Uh-oh!
Viagra ring by Gizmodo. Covered under part B? . Via Pun Salad: PJ O’Rourke, writing for the Weekly Standard, on baby boomers reaching the social security milestone: O rend thy garments, America! Heap ashes upon thy head. We, the generation of generations–triumphant in our multitudes, invincible, indomitable, insufferable–have come into our inheritance. Hereby we claim our … Read more
But I thought they NEVER did anything good…
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Even though there are millions of people here in the US that are able to live quality lives thanks to the many breakthrough medicines provided by the nation’s pharmaceutical companies, most of the time when we hear about them is when they are being railed against by some politician or special interest group. These "evil" drug companies offer nothing but pain and misery, if the detractors are to be believed. Never mind that, thanks to the free market system we enjoy in America, companies constantly strive to bring ever-improved products to market that make life better as time moves on, benefiting everybody. Nothing motivates like the profit incentive. "No," say those sworn to attack the industry’s players, "that would be greed." As a believer in the American system, this type of attitude offends me. Are there bad people? Of course. Bad companies? Of course. To paint an entire industry that provides many of the things people WANT as bad, whether the drug companies, oil & gas, or Wal Mart, is not right.
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The good news is that despite the naysayers, there are people, companies, and entire industries that really DO want to help people. They really DO engage in activities that are meant to help the less fortunate in our society. Here’s one example of something happening right here in our backyard in Central NH:
“Help Is Here Express” Bus Tour Coming to Laconia
To Help Patients in Need Access Prescription MedicinesLaconia, N.H. (Nov 5, 2007) – The “Help is Here Express” bus tour will be in Laconia today, stopping at American Legion Post #1, 849 North Main Street to help uninsured Americans find programs that provide prescription medicines for free or nearly free. The bus tour is part of the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA), a national effort sponsored by America’s pharmaceutical research companies. The PPA has helped more than 4.3 million patients, including more than 18,000 in New Hampshire. Since its launch in April 2005, the PPA bus tour has visited all 50 states and more than 1,500 cities to raise awareness about patient assistance programs..The “Help is Here Express” is staffed by trained specialists able to quickly help low-income, uninsured or underinsured patients access more than 475 patient assistance programs, including more than 180 programs offered by pharmaceutical companies. When the “Help is Here Express” moves on, patients in need can visit PPA’s easy-to-use Web site (www.pparx.org) or call the toll-free phone number (1-888-4PPA-NOW) where trained operators field calls in more than 150 languages.
Terrible, isn’t it? How dare they do this– why this is HELPING people! This doesn’t fit the template! Exactly, which is the root of the problem when it comes to the typical anti-corporate, anti- business, anti-free market movements we find in today’s political landscape. Unfortunately, programs like the aforementioned one offered by the PPA get little to no attention by the mainstream media. But then again, whether it’s stuff like this, or success stories in the Iraqi front of the war, if it’s good news, it gets overlooked. Check out the rest of the details of the PPA’s "Help is Here Express" effort, which is a pretty neat thing they’ve got going:
Granite State Survey. We need your help!
. Regular readers may or may not know that in addition to what we do here at the ‘Grok, Skip and I are active in town politics as well. A trip to our sister site, GilfordGrok reveals the other side of our lives as involved citizens right where we live. . One of the discussions that has … Read more
This is what happens…
.. Me too! Count me in! . The liberal blog Blue Hampshire had a posting Friday that plainly illustrates the problem, as I have long seen it, that the Republicans create for themselves when they continue to allow their elected politicans to stray far afield from core principles & beliefs. They rightfully (unfortunately) finger a … Read more
You cannot slam the UN enough, if you ask me. Fred obliges.
.. Ruger Mini 14– the official "ranch rifle" of the ‘Grok . . One of the dangers a Democratic-controlled Unites States government brings with it is "repairing" our relationship with the UN. With my favorite diplomat of all time, John Bolton ( the smartest man in America) gone from the scene, and a renewed lovefest … Read more
JOIN SENATOR SUNUNU’S FIGHT TO KEEP THE INTERNET TAX FREE
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Senator John E. Sununu has an important message about the Internet we have been asked to share. If you are reading this, you should care. Says Senator Sununu:
“The Clock Is Ticking, Placing Internet Tax Freedom In Real Jeopardy. This National And Global Communication Network And The Economy That Surrounds It Deserves The Certainty Of A Permanent Ban To Ensure That Resources And Sustainable Business Plans Can Be Put Into Action. Taxing The Information Superhighway Is Short-Sighted Policy That Will Discourage Innovation, Slow Broadband Deployment, And Raise Prices For Consumers.”
On November 1st 2007 – six short days from now – the 1998 law that has kept the internet free from taxation is set to expire.
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New Hampshire’s Senator John E. Sununu is leading the fight in Congress to make the internet tax ban permanent. This week he introduced an amendment that would make the current internet tax moratorium PERMANENT. An expert on technology policy, Senator Sununu has been at the forefront of this issue, having worked on similar bills and introduced the “Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act of 2007” at the start of the 110th Congress.
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Meanwhile, Democrats in Washington are fighting to keep the door to internet taxes alive. They are supporting vague and temporary measures that could leave the internet open forms of taxation that were previously prohibited. Taxes on internet access, taxes on email services, taxes on internet purchases…
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Senator Sununu’s amendment could come to a vote on the floor of the Senate as early as this morning. Let’s settle this one for good! If you agree that the ban on internet taxes should be permanent, then Senator Sununu needs to hear a message of support from you!
Join us in signing this petition to tell John Sununu, “I Support Keeping the Internet Tax Free.”
Act now! Time is running out.
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[UPDATE] While you may have heard that a vote indeed was taken last evening on this, Steve Demaura of the NH GOP informs us that
It is not over until Nov 1. They have already voted on a number of the Democrats’ measures which are only temporary bans with loop holes. The Sununu permanent ban will come to the floor for an up or down vote either today or Monday. If that fails they still have one more shot to re-introduce it under rule 14…there is still hope!
[UPDATE # 2] Statement from NHGOP:
GraniteGrok Debate. Counterpoint…Favoring a tax cap.
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The following was forwarded to us by ‘Grok reader Bill Asbell of Dover. After reading Mr. Tunning’s "Point" against NH cities having tax caps, he felt as though it answered several of the incorrect assertations made. It was originally written in response to a letter writer in his local paper, Foster’s…
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I attended both forums on the Dover Tax Cap initiative. In the first one moderated by Councilor David Scott, he laid out the ground rules and how it was an information gathering event for citizens paneled by: himself, three Dover city employees and four guests from Franklin and Laconia (including two mayors), who had experience of a tax cap in their communities. It was therefore balanced with those from the private sector who pay taxes to government and those from municipal government who increase their ranks and compensation through tax hikes and whose earnings are the result of taxes. Two of the first people to break the ground rules and start the ball rolling toward mild anarchy were the tax and spend liberals Betsey Andrews Parker and Mr. Glenn Grasso himself, who felt that they should grandstand rather than ask questions. And no cap opponents asked a question of the Dover staff. The audience was packed with Dover city union employees, some of whom also threw their rhetorical weight around with great melodrama, and warnings of doom, generating far more heat than light..The second, calmer forum, run by unlimited spending advocate Mayor Scott Myers had six panelists all from state agencies and local government; people whose compensation increases and whose jobs are more secure when taxes go up not down. This is objectivity he says, not stacking the deck to achieve a desired outcome. There were no private sector representatives and no one who’d personally experienced first-hand a tax cap…how helpful. He then coached the panelists how to respond when he felt the need..On the same day that Foster’s ran its editorial against the tax cap, the Union Leader editorialized in favor of it. On Thursday, Foster’s editor publishes an unhinged, "infuriated" diatribe playing the class warfare demagogue’s card, then denying it in the next paragraph…truly embarrassing. As if renters don’t pay increased rent when landlords’ property taxes go up. Foster’s editor must really believe all its readers are dupes..
NH GOP CALLS ON HODES AND SHEA-PORTER TO OPPOSE THE “MOTHER” OF ALL TAX HIKES
New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Fergus Cullen Calls On Representatives Paul Hodes And Carol Shea-Porter To Demonstrate Their Independence From Their Democratic Leadership And Oppose Representative Charles Rangel’s Nearly $1 Trillion Reform Plan For Higher Taxes NH GOP Chairman Fergus Cullen: “If There Was Ever A Time For Paul Hodes And Carol Shea-Porter To Show … Read more
GraniteGrok Debate. POINT… Opposing a tax cap.
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The following was sent to me from Ron Tunning, the chairman of the Laconia Democrat Committee. Writes Ron,
Doug,
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I thought I’d share with you a column I’ve submitted to the Foster’s Daily Democrat regarding the proposed tax cap in Dover. I know you’ll never agree with me, but at least you can see where I’m coming from.
He’s right about that, but, as he knows, I do like to listen to and ponder what those who stand in opposition to what I believe have to say. Ron is a thoughtful individual, and I always appreciate and enjoy the discourses and debates we have engaged. His piece follows in full as written. Tomorrow, GraniteGrok will present a counterpoint to his argument. Keep in mind that two cities right here in the ‘Grok’s neck of the woods have tax caps: Laconia and Franklin. Feel free to leave comments in the section below…
Opposing the Tax Cap Proposal in Dover, NH
by Ron TunningNo one enjoys paying higher taxes, and it’s safe to say that everyone would prefer a lower tax bill. That is why ideas such as the tax cap being proposed in Dover garner immediate public support. But if voters are honest with themselves they’ll oppose the measure..Let’s be frank. We all know “there’s no such thing as a free lunch“, and experience has taught us that “you get what you pay for.” Those maxims should guide us as we evaluate the sensibility of imposing a tax cap..So, too, should careful consideration of the methodology proposed for determining how much municipal spending will be permitted to rise. The Dover plan mirrors the language adopted in Franklin and Laconia, limiting the annual increase in spending to the annual rise in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index (CPI). After all, proponents of the tax cap argue, why should the cost of government rise more rapidly than the costs of consumer goods?.
CALL NOW OR LIVE WITH DREAM AMNESTY!
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| Senators invited to meet with illegal aliens this afternoon to persuade them to vote amnesty Wed. | ||||
| UPDATEOpen-borders Senators have plummeted to a new low in advocating amnesty by aiding, abetting and harboring a group of illegal aliens in our United States Capitol today!
Sen. Durbin (D-Ill.), Sen. Lugar (R-Ind.) and Sen. Hagel (R-Neb.) have invited Senators and their staffers to a meeting at 3 p.m. today to learn why they need to pass the DREAM Act amnesty on Wednesday. Briefing the Senators in the Capitol will be: |
Universal Health Scare . . .
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We frequently hear politicians bemoaning the fact that there are about forty seven million people without health insurance. Most Democrat Presidential candidates are espousing a national health care system, and one, John Edwards, is further demanding that everyone be required to see a Doctor at least once a year. The public is being led down a path to possible disaster.
There are two areas of concern. The first is what would a universal plan do to an already over regulated and under staffed health care system? The second has to do with the makeup of 47 million uninsured number.
Back in 1980, a study commissioned by the Department of Health and Human Services predicted that there would be a surplus of doctors by the year 2000. That disastrous prediction resulted in reductions of openings in medical schools and a diversion of young people to other professions. Other governmental regulations literally drove United States trained foreign doctors, who used up some of those medical school seats, back to their homeland, further draining our physician resources. And the medical shortage isn’t limited to doctors. According to an article by Dr. Jack Cochran in the Denver Business Journal, the Government is now predicting a shortage of 800,000 nurses by 2020. Recruitment of doctors and nurses has become a big business. Doctors fresh out of their residency are receiving over fifty job offers each.
If John Edwards were to implement his medical wish list…
Embarassed his taxes aren’t high enough!
. Sometimes you really have to wonder… In a letter found in the Foster’s Daily Democrat entitled, Don’t Cap Taxes; Increase them for the sake of the Children, a Mr. Verdenal H. Johnson writes about how distressed he is that when it comes to taxes, the people always want to say "no." He is apparently … Read more
Cali Public Schools Ban Mom and Dad!
Well, don’t ya know I warned about this in previous postings, click here. Wake Up New Hampshire…this is where civil union legislation signed by Gov. Lynch is heading in our state and rather quickly if people don’t wake up out of their apathy and take a stand now! Personally, if I still had children in the public school … Read more
I hate when that happens… [UPDATED]
.. . Imagine our surprise when we checked our SiteMeter this morning and it was like it was a year ago all over again. In a mere 8 hours, we lost some 40% off our average daily visitor tally. Did this happen to anybody else out there? When going to bed, we had nearly 800 visit "hits" … Read more
Attention Wal-Mart shoppers…
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In recent years, I have come to appreciate and admire the marvel of American logistics and ingenuity that is Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, others don’t see it in the same light. In a number of posts stretching back over the past year and more, I have written quite a bit about the ongoing campaign against Wal-Mart by labor unions and their friends in the Democratic Party . In a posting from last November, I reported:
The Democratic war against Wal Mart moves on. With the socialist-leaning party in power, one wonders if the assault on the premier American retailer/ logistics giant will intensify and begin to cause the company real damage.
As I said in this one,
Last October, I discussed the vehicle chosen by those joining in the assault: the WakeUpWalMart campaign. At the time, I was writing about the NEA teacher’s union’s joining with that group as they attacked Wal-Mart. As found on their website, one sees the union roots of the effort:
Participation in the campaign, which is organized by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), the AFL-CIO union with primary jurisdiction for employees of retail stores, was approved by the NEA Executive Committee in May 2005 and endorsed by the 2005 Representative Assembly in July 2005.
Of course, just because those on the outside looking in say something is bad, it turns out, sometimes, when you consult people actually having firsthand information, the real story turns out to be quite different. In this post about a group comprised of Wal-Mart employees (Working Families for Wal-Mart), I pointed out:
I know several people that work for Wal Mart, and they genuinely like their jobs. Nobody forces anybody to work there.
Followed by this:
Nobody forces anyone to shop there. Imagine that- willing employees serving willing customers- What a concept!
Indeed. Did you know that Wal-Mart, under constant attack by those who always claim to be for "the little guy," saves the average American family who willingly patronizes them more than $2,500 per year? And now, for those willing customers, there’s a way to get involved and help defend the company that provides such a level of satisfaction: Wal-Mart New England’s Customer Action Network (CAN).
The smartest man in America?
Former Ambassador Bolton . Back in January, I noted Of all the casualties of the past election, the loss of John Bolton as our UN ambassador is the one that I regret the most. To have had a plain spoken person advocating first for what’s best FOR AMERICA on the world stage during the last … Read more
The Chaz and Skip Debate – Round 1 – Point
Ok Thanks for your patience Skip et al. As you may have noticed, I endorsed Hillary Clinton for President this week. That has kept me occupied on the blogosphere. That plus building and preparing for winter is keeping me in "catch up" mode. I do think this is a great project though and one that I will commit to. So let me start with a short opening statement.
In my endorsement of Senator Clinton I called healthcare my number one domestic issue. No matter your vantage point, its a big one that isn’t going away. I think we all agree on that, correct me if I’m wrong. Health care is of course a huge economic issue. Industries in the western world have a capital advantage over us because of either universal or single payer systems. All you have to do is watch what is happening in our auto industry to see how crucial the difference is.
Our hodgepodge system began when I was born shortly after World War two. Employers at that time were able to sustain health care premiums for its steady workers. That system became outdated thirty years ago, but we still use it. Lose your job, lose your healthcare. If you don’t work for a major corporation chances are you won’t have ANY healthcare. Most self-employed people can’t afford it, or if they are paying it their operating costs become so thin that its hard to stay motivated. These are just a few of the problems, but from where most Americans sit, this is a broken antiquated system that needs fundamental change.
I also believe that the American people, through the American government should be able to use the most powerful capitalistic tools available to bring down the cost of health care. In other words I don’t see "buying in bulk to drive down costs" as anything remotely socialistic. I’m happy to go into any of this in detail when the time comes. End of intro.
Let’s start with the question of whether I am a socialist.
The Skip and Chaz Debate – Round 1 – Counterpoint
Well, my turn! Chaz has started the debate off with two points:
- He’s not a socialist
- Universal Healthcare is not socialistic
Well, I tend to be a "fisker", so let me go through his thesis and let the air gently out of his ballon. So let’s dive in!
Formatting note: indented and bold is the person who has presented the Point (in this case, Chaz). The person doing the Counterpoint will have the full width, regular text (me for now).
As you may have noticed I endorsed Hillary Clinton for President this week.
Well, that doesn’t bode well for your argument! But hey, given your earlier posts on Universal Healthcare, it is not unexpected.
That has kept me occupied on the blogosphere. That plus building and preparing for winter is keeping me in "catch up" mode. I do think this is a great project though and one that I will commit to. So let me start with a short opening statement:
In my endorsement of Senator Clinton I called healthcare my number one domestic issue. No matter your vantage point, its a big one that isn’t going away. I think we all agree on that, correct me if I’m wrong.
Oh no – on this point we do agree (uh-oh, does this bode well?). I agree that healthcare is one of the biggest domestic issues, but I think that illegal immigration is the number one domestic issue.
Given that, healthcare is my third issue for the Presidential race. In fact, a twofer:
- Healthcare and how it should be managed
- Government and its perceived role in society.
The combination of the two, and how they are handled, have tremendous ramifications on how our society undergoes its next metamorphasis. In fact, in a way, it may have a tremendous impact on personal choice and self-responsibilities.
Health care is of course a huge economic issue.
Indeed. The economic make up of our GDP is 16% and will only grow, and grow faster, as the Boomers age and pass into retirement. Costs will spiral as more advanced technologies come into vogue in keeping the most narcissistic generation ever.
Healthcare has always been rationed – no matter what road America chooses, this will remain constant. The question is by "how". We have two diametrically opposing models:
- Free market capitalism
- Government control
Far be it for us to decide which will win out – but let us argue, rant, and rave as if we did.
John McCain rips the bark off of Romney!
Wow! As many of you might have figured out, I’m the kind of guy that LOVES the heat of political battle. I can’t get enough of those able to deliver the conservative message in such a way that it becomes for all intents and purposes indisputable to all those who hear it. Additionally, I appreciate … Read more