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					  <title><![CDATA[ChronWatch Writer and Columnist Opens Web Site]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.chronwatch-america.com/blogs/1238/ChronWatch-Writer-and-Columnist-Opens-Web-Site.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Bruce Sallan, a new ChronWatch columnist since February, has inaugurated his entertaining new&#160;Web site&#160;this week.&#160; The writer for the distinctive weekly column, &#34;A Dad's Point of View,&#34; can be visited now on the Internet at: www.brucesallan.com. 
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Sallan has had a unique career in Hollywood, before catching the writing bug and deciding to pen weekly columns from a father's point of view about raising two young boys as a single dad, and later as
the&#160;man in a new stepfamily situation.&#160; After earning an MBA from UCLA in Los Angeles, he became a television producer and during the next 25 years he produced over 30 television movies, pilots, and series.
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Along the way, he worked with such stars as Ingrid Bergman, Ron Howard, Mickey Rourke, Don Johnson, Ben Affleck, Hal Holbrook, Barbara Hershey, Sissy Spacek, Henry Winkler, Alan Arkin, and Brian Dennehey.&#160; And he wrote articles for Daily Variety and the Producers Caucus Bulletin.&#160;&#160; One can Google his name to learn his actual credits.
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;After a successful and satisfying career in Hollywood, Sallan left show business to attend to family matters:&#160; to look after his elderly parents, and to care for his two young sons, who had been left by his first wife for him to raise.&#160; The&#160;problems that he faced in his new life were fully as challenging as&#160;those that he had in his&#160;television career, and he began writing a column about parenthood from a man's perspective.&#160; He felt that much of what was being published was from the woman's point-of-view, and that the male point-of-view needed to be expressed.
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; His column is &#34;catching on&#34; and appears now in over 50 papers and Web sites in 18 states.&#160;&#160;More than&#160;20 of Bruce's columns have appeared in this space on ChronWatch, and he is becoming a favorite with our readers.&#160; &#160; Readers can select from a variety of his columns that have appeared&#160;here by going to his Archives site at:&#160;&#160;http://www.chronwatch-america.com/authors/421/Bruce-Sallan
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;A visit to Sallan's new&#160;Web site&#160;can be enlightening and enjoyable, and he is now even offering his&#160;services to&#160;provide advice to parents and others.&#160; So, here again is the address:&#160; www.brucesallan.com.&#160; 
&#160;]]></description>
					  <author>Elaine Long</author>
					  <pubDate>Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[July 4, 2009:  Hold the Fireworks!]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.chronwatch-america.com/blogs/1237/July-4-2009--Hold-the-Fireworks.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; &#160;Ah, the fourth day of July, 2009. &#160;Bring on the barbecues.&#160; Uncork the champagne.&#160; Rev up the RV Party like it is 1776! 
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Stop! &#160;Before we party hardy, I would like us to take a few minutes to examine the state of our nation. &#160;I truly hate to break into the revelry with sobering thoughts about the dismantling of the country that was created by the first &#8220;revelers&#8221; of 1776, but as a loving citizen, I must.&#160; Call it tough love.&#160; Back then, those first soon-to-citizens had real and lethal fireworks with which to contend, with all of those mortar shells flying through the air from the British Army. &#160;But they persevered, and here we are two hundred and thirty three years later, not sure whether to uncork the champagne or leave it on ice.
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Mixed in with the confetti, I am seeing our freedoms fluttering through the air, being snipped with a gargantuan pair of scissors called &#8220;change.&#8221; &#160;&#8220;Change&#8221; has come in the form of the government taking over a presumably private company, thrusting the government into the car-making business.&#160; With the takeover of Government&#160;Motors, er General Motors, does that mean that the U.S. is joining China in the hybrid business, hybrid as in a mix of capitalism and communism?&#160;&#160; 
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Speaking of China, maybe as part of this program of &#8220;change,&#8221; we had all better start practicing Mandarin. &#160;China just about owns the U.S.&#160; Just ask those Chinese students who had a good chuckle at the U.S. secretary of the Treasury when he was on his &#8220;hat in hand&#8221; tour of China. &#160;I was mortified that a representative of the U.S. government was eliciting laughs as he was expounding about the serious business of finance, trying to engender trust in the current methods of &#8220;curing&#8221; the financial disease the world is experiencing. Those students were highly amused by the &#8220;your money is safe&#8221; rhetoric.
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;We have arrived at a state of the union where even some students not yet out in the real world of finance realize that a country cannot survive by continuing to print money, sell toxic assets to itself, and borrow and borrow and borrow from a country whose economy was put on steroids by U.S. businessmen and women looking to exploit cheap labor. Those students were probably thinking about which parts of U.S. industry they would take over as their country takes over more and more of U.S. assets. 
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;The last laugh may be on those U.S. businessmen and women who began turning capitalism into cannibalism by feeding on the financial flesh of their victims, AKA fellow citizens.&#160; The hosts, fellow citizens, have been gnawed down to the financial bone, and cannot afford much of what is being offered, not even the cheap Chinese goods.&#160; According to an Economic Policy Institute study, 2.3 million jobs were lost to China over the past seven years. &#160;&#160;I am not going to call for a boycott of Chinese-made/manufactured goods.&#160; As a matter of fact, I am with the Chinese. &#160;If, as a country, you have businessmen of foreign countries knocking on your borders to let them in to exploit, er offer work to your willing workers, it would be foolish to ''just say no.'' &#160;When opportunity knocks, open the factories and let opportunity in!&#160; &#160;Import U.S. dollars in.&#160; Let them out for purchasing U.S. &#8220;securities,&#8221; and own more and more of the &#8220;land of the free and home of the brave.&#8221;&#160; Xie xie (thank you)!
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#8220;Land and assets for sale or for stealing&#8221; should be more on the radar than is the case.&#160; Foreign ownership of American landmarks, industry, tolling booths, is at an all time high.&#160; On this day of &#8220;independence,&#8221; the American people are now more dependent on their government than in any time of their history.&#160; The role of government has been expanded from fixing potholes and maintaining security to taking over car companies, much of the financial industry, and firing Inspector Generals. 
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;The bailout bonanza was supposed to yield thousands upon thousands of jobs. &#160;A ratio of a little over one hundred thousand jobs &#8220;saved or created,&#8221; to somewhere around two million &#8220;stimulated&#8221; right out of the companies that received bailout money, is more deadly than Russian roulette.&#160; Math is not my strong suit, but even I know that millions of folks forced out of work is not going to translate into dollars spent to revive the economy. That &#8220;unholy alliance&#8221; of jobs outsourcing, &#8220;illegal immigrants in-sourcing,&#8221; and the slow march to a society of rich and poor, without a middle, is going to lead to a country collapsing on itself. &#160;Are we there yet? &#160;Almost.&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Enough of this doom and gloom!&#160; Let&#8217;s return to the July&#160;4th parties, now that we have the serious stuff out of the way!&#160; This is such a festive time that the new president has sent out invitations!
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Hold everything!&#160; What is this I am reading, that Iran got an invite to July&#160;4th parties to be held by U.S. embassies around the world?&#160; Why Iran?&#160; Didn&#8217;t the president of Iran &#8220;advise&#8221; America to limit its interference to its own borders?&#160; What part of that is not sufficiently clear? &#160;Are the overtures by the U.S. president part of a wider masochistic foreign policy?&#160; Is it &#8220;kick me some more, because I still have one good leg left to stand on?&#8221;&#160;&#160;My, my.&#160;
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Maybe someone will need to rethink this invite.&#160; There are plenty of fireworks enough going on in Iran. &#160;In a &#8220;democratic and fair&#8221; election, the president of Iran was declared the &#8220;winner&#8221; about two minutes after the polls closed. &#160;Now the police are enthusiastically maintaining law and order.&#160; So far, about two dozen Iranians, and probably counting, have been &#8220;eliminated.&#8221; &#160;A U.S. State Department spokesman has declared that the U.S. needs to know more before condemning the actions in Iran.&#160; I guess the escalating deaths do not merit condemnation. 
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Hold the presses!&#160; The policy of not &#8220;meddling&#8221; has been stepped up an inch.&#160; The Iranian regime was &#8220;advised&#8221; to let its people freely protest.&#160; This latest admonition has fallen on deaf ears. &#160;The regime and its enforcers are clamping down even more repressively. &#160;The posturing that has moved from &#8220;no meddling&#8221; to &#8220;condemnation&#8221; of the crackdown on the protestors in Iran, is turning out to be nothing more than, well, posturing?
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;But, hey, the invites, which were never accepted by the Iranians, were retracted! &#160;I admire the smidgen of ''testicular fortitude'' being exhibited by the &#8220;retractors,&#8221; but that is like inviting someone to a wedding.&#160; They do not RSVP, and you send a letter stating that you are taking back the invitation. &#160;That&#8217;ll show them!
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;I became sidetracked by that &#8220;unusual&#8221; overture to Iran, but I mean it when I say that the celebrations shall now begin in earnest!&#160; What can we celebrate?&#160; We can celebrate that we still have young men and women willing to die for us. &#160;There I go again.&#160; I am veering off into territory that is not exactly &#8220;party&#8221; fare.&#160; Instead of confetti and fireworks, can we light a simple candle for Pvt. William Long, whose life was robbed from him by a &#8220;homegrown&#8221; Muslim extremist? &#160;I was surprised and yet not surprised by the miniscule coverage that this act of terror received. 
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Let us also light candles and place in our windows so that ILT. Michael Behenna can find his way home from Leavenworth prison, to his parents and other loved ones.&#160; His &#8220;crime&#8221; was shooting a Muslim prisoner in self defense.&#160; Are we to infer from Ranger Behenna&#8217;s harsh twenty-five year sentence, that he would have been held in high esteem if he had not protected himself, and had been brought home in a body bag?&#160; Based on the coverage of the murder of Pvt. Long, I don&#8217;t think so. &#160;Stolen lives or stolen honor, our warriors always pay a dear price for protecting us. 
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;I promise that I will end this article with reasons why we can celebrate this birthday. Here goes. &#160;This nation is still the nation where millions of folks from all over the world, if given a choice of homeland, will choose to come.&#160; It is still our freedom that attracts them. &#160;It is still &#8220;my country &#8216;tis of thee, sweet land of liberty!&#8221;&#160; It is still the land of opportunity. &#160;It is still a Judeo-Christian country, where countless numbers of citizens still believe in the tenets of the Ten Commandments, and practice them.&#160; It is still the country of the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, Mount Vernon, and Colonial Williamsburg.&#160; On this July&#160;4th holiday weekend, here are some suggestions for paying homage to America.&#160; Please pay a visit.
&#160;
www.valleyforge.org
&#160;
www.statueofliberty.org
&#160;
www.mtrushmore.net
&#160;
www.arlingtoncemetery.org
&#160;
www.mountvernon.org
&#160;
www.colonialwilliamsburg.org
&#160;
www.musclecarcity.net&#160; 
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;These and other such monuments are lasting testaments to why there is cause for celebration. &#160;What is the ''secret weapon,'' immortalized in those monuments?&#160; It is the people known as Americans. The U.S. has been bountifully blessed with many citizens of sturdy character, who most assuredly cannot be described as ''summer soldiers'' or &#8220;sunshine patriots.&#8221;&#160; Quite frankly, it is the grit of its citizens and God&#8217;s grace that will go a long way to helping this nation celebrate another birthday with joy and pride! &#160;This land is still the land of millions who love this country, and will gladly give up their lives for it.&#160; Let us celebrate it while we still can. &#160;Light up the red, white, and blue fireworks! &#160;Fly that Flag!
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Happy Birthday, &#8220;Land That I Love!&#8221;&#160; And may there be many more!]]></description>
					  <author>Ercille I. Christmas</author>
					  <pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Honduras: Another &#34;Failed State&#34; South of U.S. Borders]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.chronwatch-america.com/blogs/1236/Honduras-Another-quotFailed-Statequot-South-of-US-Borders.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 




&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;What is it about democracy and rule of law that is so repulsive to third-world banana republics?&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Now the pitiful state of Honduras has officially joined the ranks as a &#34;failed state&#34; next to Mexico, the swine flu center of the universe.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;As reported, in part, at AOL:http://news.aol.com/article/secretary-soldiers-arrest-honduran/546931&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#34;TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (June 28)--Soldiers seized the national palace and flew President Manuel Zelaya into exile Sunday, hours before a disputed constitutional referendum.&#160; Zelaya, a leftist ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, said he was victim of a coup.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#34;Hours later, Congress voted to accept what it said was Zelaya's letter of resignation, but Zelaya said the letter wasn't his and vowed to remain in power.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#34;The Supreme Court said it was supporting the military in what it called a defense of democracy, and the Honduran ambassador to the Organization of American States said the military was planning to swear in Congressional President Roberto Micheletti--who is next in line to the presidency--to replace Zelaya.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#34;Zelaya was arrested shortly before polls were to open in a referendum on whether to change the constitution.&#160; The Supreme Court ruled the referendum illegal and everyone from Congress to members of his own party opposed it. &#160;Critics said Zelaya wanted to remove limits to his re-election.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#34;Tanks rolled through the streets and hundreds of soldiers with riot shields surrounded the presidential palace in the capital, Tegucigalpa. &#160;Zelaya, at the airport in the Costa Rican capital, San Jose, called the military action illegal.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#34; 'There is no way to justify an interruption of democracy, a coup d'etat,' he said in a telephone call to the Venezuela-based Telesur television network.&#160;&#160;'This kidnapping is an extortion of the Honduran democratic system.' &#34;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;As could be expected, tinhorn dictator Hugo Chavez of Venezuela voiced his opposition to the &#34;coup.&#34;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;President Barack Obama, the most radical Marxist in the hemisphere, was equally outraged as reported in the referenced link:&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#34;President Barack Obama said he was 'deeply concerned' by Zelaya's expulsion and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the arrest should be condemned.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#34; 'I call on all political and social actors in Honduras to respect democratic norms, the rule of law, and the tenets of the Inter-American Democratic Charter,' Obama's statement read.&#34;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;President Obama would be well advised to quit meddling in the affairs of third-world states and focus instead on securing our borders to keep renegades from Mexico, Honduras, and other failed states from invading America! ]]></description>
					  <author>John Lillpop</author>
					  <pubDate>Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Selling Universal Health Care]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.chronwatch-america.com/blogs/1233/Selling-Universal-Health-Care.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; We have been told that the current financial crisis was caused by the default of sub-prime home loans and we have been told that the way out of the crisis is to create universal government health care.&#160; The plan will add 47 to 50 million to the health care program--and we are told that it will be a cost savings.&#160; The cost savings goals seem dubious.&#160; It is understandable that this fuzzy math confuses the public since it is hard to find a cost effective government program. &#160;Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid all cost significantly more than originally promised. &#160;
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;These programs and other entitlements have made our debt and deficits unsustainable.&#160; David Walker, the former comptroller of the United States and head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), warned that our unfunded liabilities and future obligations exceed $53 trillion. (A trillion is a million x a million.)&#160; These are staggering numbers that few fully understand. &#160;But it is evident that the fiscal problems and lack of confidence in our politicians has made selling the universal health care plan difficult.
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;To sell universal heath care the politicians should learn from successful inventors.&#160; Why inventors? Inventors do something unique.&#160; They create something from an idea.&#160; Inventors go through a step by step thought process from idea through development to successful production.&#160; For example, an inventor will have an idea, and from the idea, the inventor will prove the idea by developing a prototype and subject it to necessary tests.&#160; Once proofed, the marketability and the most cost effective way to produce the product will be determined.&#160; If all goes well the idea will turn into a useful product. &#160;Even successful inventors will tell you that not all ideas turn into successful products.
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Our politicians want to jump from the idea of providing a universal government health care program to a fully implemented program.&#160; Our politicians need to take a step back and learn.&#160; The concept of a universal government health care program has not been tested. &#160;No one knows what universal health care will cost or if it will be effective. &#160;No country has a successful universal health care program that we could copy. 
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Therefore, is seems prudent to test the program with a small group before going nationwide.&#160; I suggest that the test be conducted on a test sample of 535 people--all the members of Congress. &#160;After a successful test period, adjustments could be made.&#160; Once these adjustments are made, the test sample could be expanded to include all federal employees.&#160; When these tests are complete, the cost effectiveness and marketability of a universal government health care program can be determined.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; 
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Some may question why use Congress as the initial test sample?&#160; I would ask why not?&#160; Congress works for us.&#160; These&#160;people&#160;are not the elitists that they think they are. &#160;They have showered themselves with fabulous benefits, guaranteed salary, and excluded themselves from some of the onerous laws that they foist on us.&#160; Congress has already planned to exempt&#160;members of Congress&#160;from any universal health care plan.&#160; So, Congress&#160;members&#160;imposes a costly universal government health care plan on us, they should test it on themselves first.]]></description>
					  <author>Jack Ward</author>
					  <pubDate>Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Obamasurance: The Hidden Costs of Health Care]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.chronwatch-america.com/blogs/1232/Obamasurance-The-Hidden-Costs-of-Health-Care.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; President Obama has proposed a multi-trillion dollar plan to revamp health care to the alleged millions of people who are not currently covered.&#160; He claims that his plan would reduce individual costs by $2,500 per year although you may still carry your own private plan (See Barack Obama and Joe Biden&#8217;s Plan to Lower Health Care Costs and Ensure Affordable, Accessible Coverage for All).&#160; 
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Obama's plan claims that &#8220;Inefficient and poor quality care costs the nation $50 to $100 billion every year.&#160; Billions more are wasted on administration and overhead because of inefficiencies in the health care system.&#8221;&#160; In the same article, Obama touts that his administration will &#8220;invest&#8221; $10 billion a year over the next five years for electronic systems.&#160; He claims&#160;that&#160;he and Joe Biden under Obama-Biden, LLP will &#8220;support providers to put in place care management programs and encourage team care&#8230;through home type models&#8230;&#8221;&#160; He will &#8220;require hospitals to collect and publicly report measures of health care costs and quality&#8230;&#8221;&#160; 
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;These and a whole host of other regulations make up&#160;the Obama&#160;program for health care delivery, malpractice cost reduction, enhanced research, reduced anticompetitive actions, and affordability of health care for all.&#160; With all this in mind,&#160;Obama's website, www.barackobama.com, proclaims, &#8220;I am asking you to believe.&#8221;&#160; What this adds up to is a great leap of faith on the part of the public.&#160; Curiously, this is the same mantra Jimmy Carter used to ascend the steps of the White House.&#160; He got booted four years later.
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Business forecasts are always uncertain and depend heavily on numerous variables: economic conditions, markets, competition, available capital, and so on.&#160; Experienced executive managers engage in such forecasting and strategic planning regularly and still shake their heads when their forecasts fail to come to fruition and Wall Street gives them a negative rating.&#160; Many still need to re-address their forecasts even six months later after noting devaluation of their stock.&#160; Some boards show CEOs the door as a result of poor performance and missed forecasts.
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;The question then arises, &#8220;What makes Barack Obama, a man with no experience in managing a business and no successful business model on which to rely, think he can successfully implement a strategic initiative for over 300 million people over a decade while reducing costs and increasing productivity?&#160; I doubt that he has even read a financial statement or even knows how to interpret one.&#160; 
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Obama suggests his ignorance when claiming he will be &#8220;investing&#8221; $10 billion in electronic systems.&#160; Investment under its standard usage in the private sector suggests a return and a profit.&#160; Yet he claims that he can do better over a nation than most executive managers can do in managing a much smaller corporation.&#160; What he really means is &#8220;consumption&#8221; and &#8220;expenditures&#8221; and not investment.&#160; What is the source for his &#8220;investment&#8221;?&#160; The federal government is not in the business of turning a profit, and normally investment derives from working capital of which the major source is profits from sales.&#160;&#160; Are we to &#8220;believe&#8221; in ignorance to guide such a large strategic initiative with an entire nation?&#160; The answer is obvious.
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Obama's claim of $10 billion per year over the next&#160;five years does not represent the total costs of his plan.&#160; It is only for electronic systems management.&#160; The real costs are completely uncertain, especially when it encompasses a nation as large as the United States.&#160; The projected costs for the entire strategic initiative are in the trillions of dollars all of which must come from taxpayers since the government cannot turn and earn a profit or show a return on investment.&#160; Consequently, these trillions of dollars represent a huge tax increase on every individual.&#160; The Congressional Budget Office in its June 15, 2009, report to Senator Kennedy reported that the federal deficit would increase $1.3 trillion for health care coverage alone from 2010&#160;- 2019.&#160; This does not include an additional deficit spending on health care of $60 billion over the next 10 years for tax credits for small employers.
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Another question arises concerning cost savings.&#160; Where are they?&#160; If this strategic initiative is going to cause a federal deficit of over a ten year period, the costs to the taxpayer will skyrocket.&#160; How will Obama-Biden, LLP deal with the huge leap in deficit spending on top of the normal deficit spending already projected of $1.3 trillion annually for other operations of the federal government?&#160; How will costs skyrocket?&#160; Taxpayers are footing the bill for the entire federal budget as well as state and local governments.&#160; 
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;The deficit will also require the government to enter into greater debt financing and the printing of money to finance the budget and health care.&#160; The other alternative, which Obama-Biden, LLP has already explicitly declared, is raising taxes.&#160; He will be raising corporate taxes, individual taxes, and commodity taxes.&#160; However, tax increases will hardly be sufficient to offset the projected deficits.&#160; This leaves the greatest hidden tax--a cheaper dollar and consequent inflation.&#160; Inflation eats into individual disposable income by causing prices on all goods and services to increase.&#160; Given the deficit picture over the next ten years, this inflation will be exponential and double digit.&#160; You and I will be contributing to financing this huge health care program.&#160; 
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;The costs of taxes and inflation are the hidden price of health care not included in the Obama-Biden, LLP plan. &#160;He only counts out of pocket premiums and co-pays.&#160; Our pockets will be hit in two ways for paying for health care: directly as we seek treatment and indirectly as we pay a higher rate of taxes on income and commodities (for example, alcohol, sugar products, tobacco, food products, services, and so on) and see inflation shrink our disposable income.&#160; Therefore, the real price we pay will be more than our annual premiums and co-pays.&#160; Obamasurance does not include his tax levy and cheaper money into its price to us.&#160; 
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; The formula below represents the real price that you will pay for your health insurance:
Premiums + Co-pays + Income and commodity Taxes + Inflation = Total insurance costs
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;This is only the financial picture of Obamasurance.&#160; It does not include reduced service and selective treatment (rationing of health care) to attempt to trim costs.&#160; It will also not include the scarcity of doctors to serve a greater number of patience.&#160; As Obamasurance assumes greater control, the federal government will also control physician salaries, driving them out of the market.&#160; Individuals will be discouraged from pursuing medical degree because their potential for income will no longer be attractive as they recognize the expense it will take to become a physician.&#160;&#160; 
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Are you ready to take Obama&#8217;s leap of faith?&#160; Perhaps it is time to tell Obama-Biden, LLP to take a flying leap through the exit door of the White House before it is too late.]]></description>
					  <author>Floyd Talbot</author>
					  <pubDate>Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Summertime and the Livin&#39; Is Easy]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.chronwatch-america.com/blogs/1231/Summertime-and-the-Livin-Is-Easy.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; &#160;I love that song.&#160; Who can&#8217;t help but love it?&#160; It&#8217;s nearing summertime by this dad&#8217;s astute intuition and the school calendar, and that tells me it&#8217;s summer once again and what are we going to do with the kids?&#160; A stay-at-home parent&#8217;s life is dictated by driving.&#160; Driving his or her kids to and from school, to their various extra-curricular activities, to doctor&#8217;s appointments, etc.&#160; We live in the car, so summer is actually my break, too.]]></description>
					  <author>Bruce Sallan</author>
					  <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Obama &#34;Votes Present&#34; on Iran]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.chronwatch-america.com/blogs/1230/Obama-quotVotes-Presentquot-on-Iran.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; After thirty years of brutal repression under a theocratic dictatorship, the Iranian people are finally taking to the streets to protest what many of them have always known--that their votes, like their lives, never mattered at all to their government.&#160; &#160;Millions of people are bravely ignoring threats from the regime to march in the streets vowing &#34;Death to the Dictator&#34; and asking &#34;Where Is My Vote?&#34;&#160; 
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;For every person in the street, there are many more just as angry, but too afraid to march.&#160; People around the world have taken to the streets in solidarity with the Iranian people. &#160;Both houses of Congress have voted to condemn the Iranian government for&#160;its crackdown on protesters. (web site)&#160;&#160; And what do we hear from our precious, &#34;historic&#34; president?&#160; Some empty words.&#160; A quote from Martin Luther King.
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Obama's silence on this matter is the most shameful action (or, in &#160;this case, inaction) by the supposed leader of the Free World since Jimmy Carter twiddled his thumbs while 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days 30 years ago by the same group of terrorists now running Iran.&#160; 
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#34;The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. &#160;We mourn each innocent life that is lost,&#34; Obama finally said. (web site)&#160; What kind of weak-kneed spineless platitude is that to offer people struggling to throw off not just a stolen election, but three decades of totalitarian rule?&#160; What would Obama have said at the Berlin Wall in Reagan's place?&#160; I can only imagine it might have been &#34;Mr. Gorbachev, some say that walls don't always make good neighbors, but it's not our place to meddle.&#34;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;The Iranian people are finally awake and demanding their rights, and the U.S. government--once the greatest force for liberty and freedom in the world--is hitting the snooze button and rolling over for another ten minutes of sleep.&#160; Obama claims he is waiting to see what happens in Iran before &#34;meddling.&#34;&#160; In essence, Obama is still voting &#34;present,&#34; as he did often during his stint in the Illinois legislature. &#160;Why is it acceptable to &#34;meddle&#34; with the inner politics of a democratic government like that of Israel, but not a dictatorship like Iran?
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;We've come a long way down from &#34;we shall pay any price, (web site) bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty&#34; to &#34;the last thing that I want to do (web site) is to have the United States be a foil for those forces inside Iran who would love nothing better than to make this an argument about the United States.&#34;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; In counterpoint to Michelle Obama's infamous statement (web site) during her husband's campaign, for the first time in my adult life I think I am actually ashamed of my country. &#160;Or at least our president.]]></description>
					  <author>Joe Mariani</author>
					  <pubDate>Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[ABC Becomes the &#34;All Barack Channel&#34;]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.chronwatch-america.com/blogs/1229/ABC-Becomes-the-quotAll-Barack-Channelquot.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; During the 1990s, conservatives referred to CNN as the &#8220;Clinton News Network&#8221; based on the fact that crazy old Ted Turner&#8217;s news station was so ridiculously biased in favor of the Clinton White House that no honest person could deny it. &#160;Now, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has sardonically pointed out that&#160;ABC has become the &#8220;All Barack Channel.&#8221; 
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;The American Broadcasting Company, as it was known back when it still pretended to be fair and balanced, has gone far beyond the days of CNN&#8217;s fawning coverage of the felon-in-chief, his choleric bride, and the gang that couldn&#8217;t lie straight.&#160; The mainstream media is so in love with Barack Obama that they continually try to one-up each other in their sycophantic coverage of their new president. &#160;But ABC has raised the stakes by taking up residence in the White House for a day in order to spew the Official Party Line on health care.
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Imagine if from sunup to sunset--and beyond--ABC were to broadcast its news shows for an entire day from the heart of the executive branch of our federal government.&#160; The lineup would start with &#8220;Good Morning, America&#8221; from the Obama White House and progress through the day&#8217;s entire lineup of news programs, culminating in a &#8220;Town Hall&#8221; meeting at the White House that night.&#160; The topic?&#160; President Obama&#8217;s plans for a government takeover of the nation&#8217;s health care system. 
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;No opposing points of view would be permitted, which means that those in the &#8220;Town Hall&#8221; would be hand-selected by ABC and the White House.&#160; Additionally, ABC would decline to run any advertising that day presenting any other points of view. 
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Well, imagine no more, because that day has arrived. &#160;Are you comprehending this, America? Welcome to Pravda USA!
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;The media in this country have been championing the liberal cause of Democrats at least since FDR; but with the election of Obama, they have taken this cheerleading to a new level.&#160; Webster defines Fascism as &#8220;a political philosophy, movement or regime that exalts nation, and often race, above the individual, and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.&#8221;&#160;&#160;
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;The regime of Barack Obama, with its unaccountable &#8220;Czars&#8221; and its partnership with the most biased news media in the history of the country, is giving us the framework for just such a chilling government system. 
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Even the tyrannical Islamic Republic of Iran has been more open than this!&#160; As the violence in that country escalated following the recent &#8220;election,&#8221; the government eventually banned all official photographs, thereby reducing the coverage to grainy video shot on cell phones and sent out to the world via text messages. &#160;But during the first week of unrest among the Iranian people, one photo opportunity was afforded by the government to the world press each day. &#160;Compare that to the complete blackout the All Barack Channel is giving America.
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Just as it is startling to realize that the governments of Russia and China are now cautioning the U.S. to slow down in our out-of-control spending, and Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez makes jokes about Obama being to his political left, it is equally astonishing to realize that the government of Iran was, at least for a while, more open in its press avails than Obama and his new pet network intend to be in their little health care charade. 
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;American innovation fuels progress in medicine across the globe.&#160; Nowhere on the planet has collectivist health care worked without rationing and medical mediocrity. &#160;We cannot allow this left-wing coalition of media and government to destroy the greatest health care system in the world.&#160; If we do, we may never get it back. 
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;The American Republic has withstood much over the past two-plus centuries, from Civil War to an expansion of government that would have taken the Founders&#8217; breath away. &#160;But this nearly total collusion of press and government is a subtle assault from which we may never recover. 
&#160;
&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;To protest this outrage, write: David Westin, President, ABC News, 7 West 66th Street, New York, N.Y.10023.]]></description>
					  <author>Doug Patton</author>
					  <pubDate>Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Should ACORN Be Involved in the 2010 Census?]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.chronwatch-america.com/blogs/1228/Should-ACORN-Be-Involved-in-the-2010-Census.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; With respect to the requirement for a census every ten years, the U.S. Constitution states, &#34;[An] Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.&#34;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Webster's defines ''Enumeration'' as: To determine the number of; count.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Over the years Washington bureaucrats have turned the mandated enumeration into an opportunity to snoop into the private lives of Americans with all manner of inquiry about race, economic class, foreign languages spoken, religious practices, and other intrusive questions.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Even more distressing is the outrageous overreach of deluded bureaucrats, such as when, in 2007, the Census Bureau actually requested that deportations of illegal aliens be suspended during the 2010 census.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Imagine how framers of the Constitution would react to a bureaucracy so warped and full of itself that it would propose to suspend the rule of law in order to &#34;enumerate&#34; the people?&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Incidentally, since the Census Bureau is in the business of foolish ideas, why not outlaw abortions during the census, in the name of accuracy in counting?&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;During previous censuses, most Americans simply shrugged off concerns about intrusiveness and dutifully answered all questions.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Back then, We the People generally had a grudging respect for government; many of us even trusted the rascals in Washington, D.C., to do the right thing.&#160; At least some of the time.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;That was then; this is now.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Things are much, much different now.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Now, both the executive and legislative branches of government are controlled by left wing extremists intent on replacing our free market capitalism with nanny-state socialism.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Which means that government bureaucrats are seeking to usurp the prerogatives of a free and independent people when it comes to critical issues like health care and distribution of wealth.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Consequently, the American people cannot, and must not, trust the Obama administration or the Democrat-controlled Congress, especially on issues like the census.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;That perspective is shared by a courageous and wise Republican woman from Minnesota, Representative Michele Bachmann.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;As reported, in part, at the Washington Times: http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/17/exclusive-minn-lawmaker-fears-census-abuse/print/&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#34;Outspoken Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann says she's so worried that information from next year's national census will be abused that she will refuse to fill out anything more than the number of people in her household.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#34;In an interview Wednesday morning with The Washington Times 'America's Morning News,' Mrs. Bachmann, Minnesota Republican, said the questions have become 'very intricate, very personal' and she also fears ACORN, the community organizing group that came under fire for its voter registration efforts last year, will be part of the Census Bureau's door-to-door information collection efforts.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#34; 'I know for my family the only question we will be answering is how many people are in our home,' she said. 'We won't be answering any information beyond that, because the Constitution doesn't require any information beyond that.' ''&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Bravo to Representative Bachmann for giving credibility to an issue whose time is here and now, and for identifying a cause that could rival the &#34;Tea Party&#34; uprising in relevance.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Perhaps her courage will inspire scores of millions of American patriots to answer one, and only one, question when that ACORN volunteer knocks.&#160; That being, &#34;How many people live here?&#34;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;Any inquiry beyond that is an unconstitutional invasion of privacy by the Obama administration and leftists in Congress. 
John W. Lillpop
voiceoflillpop.blogspot.com]]></description>
					  <author>John Lillpop</author>
					  <pubDate>Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
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					  <title><![CDATA[Thought for the Day:  Advice for Fathers]]></title>
					  <link>http://www.chronwatch-america.com/blogs/1227/Thought-for-the-Day--Advice-for-Fathers.html</link>
					  <description><![CDATA[&#160;A mother was out walking with her four-year-old daughter.&#160; The child picked up something off the ground and started to put it into her mouth. &#160;The mother took it away and said &#8220;Don&#8217;t do that!&#8221;&#160; &#160;&#160; &#8220;Why not?&#8221; asked the child.&#160; &#160;&#160; &#8220;Because it&#8217;s on the ground,&#8221; said her mother.&#160; &#8220;You don&#8217;t know where it&#8217;s been.&#160; It&#8217;s dirty, and it&#8217;s probably loaded with germs that could make you sick.&#8221;&#160; &#160;&#160; The child looked at her mother with total admiration and said: &#8220;Mommy, how do you know all this stuff? You&#8217;re so smart.&#8221;&#160; &#160;&#160; The mother said, &#8220;All Moms know this stuff.&#160; It&#8217;s on the Mom&#8217;s Test.&#160; You have to know it or they don&#8217;t let you be a Mom.&#8221;&#160; &#160;&#160; There was silence for a&#160;few moments&#160;as the child thought this through. &#160;&#8220;Oh, I get it,&#8221; she said at last. &#8220;And if you don&#8217;t pass the test you have to be the Daddy?&#8221;&#160; &#160;&#160; Fathers don&#8217;t always get the respect that mothers do.&#160; That will become evident on Sunday.&#160; The truth is that&#160;Father&#8217;s Day is just not as big as Mother&#8217;s Day.&#160; On Mother&#8217;s Day, there&#8217;s a higher attendance at church, mothers have corsages on, emotions run high, and restaurants do a booming business.&#160; On Father&#8217;s day, well, there are more collect phone calls than any other day of the year (yes, that&#8217;s a fact).&#160; &#160;&#160; Despite the fact that fathers are sometimes overlooked, the Bible is clear about the great responsibility given to those of us who are fathers.&#160; God challenges husbands to be the leaders in their homes.&#160; He challenges fathers to be someone their kids can look up to.&#160; Allow me to share a few biblical pieces of advice with those of you who are fathers.&#160; &#160;&#160; Love your wife!&#160; Paul said in Ephesians 5:28, &#8220;So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.&#8221;&#160; That&#8217;s one of the most important things you can do as a father.&#160; Trust me--your children do watch how you treat their mother.&#160; They watch--and they are learning and forming their concept of marriage from you.&#160; &#160;&#160; Spend time with your children.&#160; The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 127:3, &#8220;Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.&#8221;&#160; In other words, our children are a great blessing.&#160; Children are given to us to enjoy--not to be a burden--not to avoid--not to ignore. &#160;But to enjoy!&#160; And in order to enjoy them, you&#8217;ve got to be with them &#8230; have fun with them &#8230; share your life with them.&#160; &#160;&#160; Listen to your children.&#160; Give them your undivided attention &#8230; not with one eye on the TV and the other eye on them. &#160;When they have a problem, they don&#8217;t need cartoons, they don&#8217;t need a video game, they don&#8217;t even need their best friends.&#160; Dad &#8230; they need you!&#160; We need to be approachable. &#160;Be the kind of father that they can come to and say anything that&#8217;s on their mind. &#160; &#160;&#160; Train your children.&#160; Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:4, &#8220;And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.&#8221;&#160; Notice what Paul said.&#160; He didn&#8217;t say &#8220;parents.&#8221;&#160; And he didn&#8217;t say &#8220;Sunday School teachers.&#8221;&#160; He said, &#8220;fathers.&#8221;&#160; As we train our children, our goal is not merely to get our kids to outwardly conform to a list of rules.&#160; Our goal is to train and develop children who seek to glorify God with their lives.&#160; &#160;&#160; Be a positive role model.&#160; Much of what our kids learn is caught rather than taught; they learn from what they observe.&#160; This means that we can&#8217;t afford to cheat on our taxes, lie to our boss, or be rude to a salesperson.&#160; You are a role model for your children and, like it or not &#8230; good or bad &#8230; they will, to one degree or another, model their lives after you. &#160;You have inherited some of your father&#8217;s characteristics and your children are inheriting some of yours.&#160; &#160;&#160; May God bless those of you who are fathers, and may we always look to our Heavenly Father as a perfect example of what a father should be!&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Have a great day!Alan Smith&#160; Fayetteville, North Carolina&#160; 
&#160;
To&#160;subscribe to Alan Smith's free ''Thought for the Day,&#34;&#160;send a blank e-mail to join-thought-for-the-day@hub.xc.org. &#160;]]></description>
					  <author>Alan Smith</author>
					  <pubDate>Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
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