One Trick Pony

My Brother made a great observation regarding the Presidents most recent healthcare speech. The president uses a prehistoric sales formula to push his agenda. It’s a technique called problem-agitate-solve. My brother describes it like this; state a problem that the person or group your trying to persuade can identify with. Agitate it a little, pour a little salt on the wound. Solve it, but most importantly, show how what you have will solve the problem and make the pain go away.

My brother is a casual observer to politics, he was just observing the president’s technique, but if you have been following my blog or listening to my talk show, you know I’ve been pointing this out for a while, good sales reps have a variety of tools and techniques in their arsenal, Obama’s problem is that this is his only technique and it's the wrong one for those he really needs to persuade.

The majority of Americans have health insurance, and that same majority is overwhelmingly happy with the coverage they have. Consequently most Americans instinctively know it is impossible to change nothing and change everything at the same time, this is exactly what Obama is selling and why Americans are skeptical.

The president likes to use what I call psycho-semantics, anecdotes designed to get you on board emotionally, like Jimmy Joe Johnson who’s insurance company dropped him in the middle of chemotherapy, but these cases are the exception in this country not the rule, and for every one of these horror stories in the U.S. there are three in countries like the U.K. and Canada, So Although these tactics sound effective but they only really influence the few who have been personally affected by such an event.

Americans are compassionate and generous, The President attempt to exploit this by presenting health insurance as a moral imperative, that it is somehow our righteous duty to provide insurance to those who do not have it. But Americans are not opposed to the uninsured getting insurance, they are opposed to being forced to provide for those who would choose not to provide for themselves and the wealth transfers that would go along with such a policy. They oppose insurance mandates that would force an individual to buy something he feels he does not need. Obama tries to paint anyone who would oppose the absolute immorality of government coercion as somehow being immoral. In this respect he describes the American founding principles as immoral and unjust.

From a policy stand point the President’s speech was much ado about nothing, the setting was more for effect than to convey some new message. The American people have heard this before, this speech is not going to alleviate their doubts because there just where not enough specifics which are what this speech was supposed to be about. So who exactly was the President trying to sell? The answer is that the President used this elaborate forum to try to sure up support in his own party. The president also failed to offer any concrete solutions but that’s just Obama’s nature, he’s not a problem solver he’s a problem seeker. He is not so much concerned with solutions as he is with creating a critical mass against something he sees as an injustice, he then passes it along for someone else to solve, this is why he allows Pelosi and Reid to spearhead all of his legislative initiatives. In the end Obama is just a one trick pony and not a very good salesman.

Anthony D Dolpies

A Redress Of Grievance

To the Congress of The United States


Two-hundred and thirty-three years ago the founding fathers of this nation established a framework for civil society unprecedented in human history, a government based on self evident truth, the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, A representative republic which derives its authority not by coercion but consent, a government justified in one role, its only function, protecting the individual natural rights of man.

It is upon this foundation, that this petition has been laid and garners its legitimacy. Our representative system has been overtaken by the unelected overgrowth of an administrative state. The government as it operates today has become destructive to the liberty of the citizen.

You have ceded your constitutionally assigned legislative authority, allowing a bloated administrative bureaucracy to dictate policy and levy taxes under the guise of administrative fees outside of normal public input or consent.

You have, through convoluted interpretations of various clauses, ignored and perverted the intent of our constitution, radically expanding the power of the federal government.

You have infringed on our natural right of free speech and assembly by establishing "free speech zones" as a way of containing dissent.

You have infringed on our right of self defense, using the commerce clause to levy federal taxes and regulations on ammunition and arms

You have trampled the Tenth amendment, undercutting the sovereignty of the individual states, co-opting their budgets with burdensome federally mandated entitlements and passing legislation that allows local lawmakers to disregard the authority of their governors.

You have threatened the civil society by assembling congress like some third world politburo with show trials of private citizens, and by employing unions and community organizations that strong arm certain businesses and institutions into endorsing a political agenda.

You have contributed to the balkenization of this society with a reckless immigration policy that promotes chaos over assimilation.

You have allowed the executive and the Treasury, to confer on themselves the power to seize private property and dictate the affairs of private enterprise.

You have allowed the executive to usurp the power of the citizen and the citizens representative, by appointing commissioners outside of the constitutional process.

You have sought to weaken our system of checks, by confirming justices who incorporate foreign law into their constitutional interpretations.

You have sought to fatigue and discourage the concerned citizen, by hiding insidious law and cronyism among a thousand or more pages of legislation.

You have stifled debate on damaging legislation, limiting debate not on constitutional grounds but the parliamentary games of whoever controls congress.

You have embraced a government eager to limit economic freedom and prosperity, through progressive taxation and draconian mandate. ignoring the fact that individual freedom and economic freedom are inseparable.

You have sought under the guise of security, to concentrate prosperity into the hands of a few chosen bidders, meanwhile sowing the seeds of fascism.

You have been a reckless steward of our currency, outsourcing your authority to coin and regulate the currency to a private institution, without the constitutional authority to do so, saddling future generations with massive debt, jeopardizing their opportunity for prosperity.

You have cast a shadow of illegitimacy on the work and bravery of our military by engaging in prolonged extensive combat operations, without a formal declaration of war.

These abuses are irrefutable. It is also irrefutable that the expansion of government beyond its constitutional function is only conducive to the recession of liberty. A government in a state of constant expansion, must eventually resort to oppression to sustain itself. In the hopes of avoiding this inevitable tyranny, in an effort to reform our republic to its constitutional boundaries, we the people of the United States hereby enter this redress of grievances.

Anthony D Dolpies
Philadelphia, PA

You can sign this petition @ http://www.petition.fm/petitions/redress/

The Reality of Van Jones

Van Jones is a footnote to a footnote to a footnote, none will remember him in the long run, what this does do is force Obama to be more careful with who he chooses as a replacement, which could well drag on for a longtime being that people like this are the rule for Obama's associations and not the exception. It also shines a lite on who Obama really is and adds to the publics growing suspicions. It also further hurts the mainstream media credibility, they are so quick to discredit any argument that Obama is a Marxist yet the advisor to Obama on one of his highest domestic priorities, green jobs, turns out to be on the record as an admitted communist. Bottom line is that Van Jones is only the open sore of much deeper infection. One down.

Anthony D Dolpies

OBAMA’S CZARS September update

No.10 turns on Obama and Clinton for criticising decision to release Lockerbie bomber

A senior Whitehall aide said Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's reaction to the release of Abdelbaset Al Megrahi was 'disingenuous'.

You People and The Constitution

At a recent town hall meeting Congressman Chaka Fattah routinely prefaced his answers to difficult questions with remarks like “You people and the constitution” or “you weren’t talking about the constitution when we were passing other types of legislation.” He also claimed it was contradictory to embrace the constitution, then push the federal government for tort reform.

The congressman may have a point about tort reform, I don’t see how the federal government could claim authority to set limitations on settlements within the several states, however they do set procedures and guidelines for all the courts, so tort reform on a federal level is very debatable. The tenth amendment however is not. The states would be well within their rights to initiate their own tort reform. Besides, independent studies show that the unholy alliance of congress and the AMA is just as culpable if not more for rising medical costs than congress’ relationship with the trial lawyers. The Bottom line, government’s willingness to meddle on the part of these lobbies is the real culprit.

What I really found illuminating were Fattah’s condescending comments toward those who reference the constitution in their opposition to Obamacare. To insinuate that defending the constitution is somehow hypocritical just because you did not do it before is absurd. It also shows a glaring ignorance of human nature and the current political climate. History has shown that a people will suffer many abuses before being moved to action. This is the case today, many of these folks have never been politically active nor have they ever before immersed themselves so deeply in our founding documents and principles. Quite simply, they have only recently become aware of congress’ transgressions. To follow Fattahs logic one would have no grounds to prosecute their longtime accountant for embezzlement simply because he was unaware of the crime. Ignorance of the Law is no defense, nor does it exempt you from protection under it.

Anthony D Dolpies

China's national flag to go up in White House on Sept 20...

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http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/09/white_house_floating_snowe_trigger.php

What Castro Has Put in Place

It is appaling that this Marxist currently infests the house of representatives, the sad truth is that she is not the only one. You will notice that she describes Castro as "one of the brightest leaders she has ever met," this is not saying much considering she claimed that she had returned from allover the far east Visiting "China, Beijing, Honk Kong, China, Taiwan and Guam." The last I checked China, Beijing, Hong Kong and China are all the same country.

Congresswoman Watson also speaks so glowingly of how the Cuban revolution has kicked out all the wealthy. It would seem to me that without the wealthy there are only the poor, sort of like how it is in Cuba where the average salary is about 333 pesos a month or about $16.70, but what do I know I'm not a Marxist. This hipocracy spues from the mouth of a woman who's personal salary is $177,000, who's staff expenses and Cuban vacations have burdened the American Tax payer for more than $1 million is 2009 alone. Which by the way is payed for the top 10% of wage earners.

Let's take a look at "what Castro has put in place" when it comes to healthcare, As far as I can tell Cuba practices a sort of medical segregation. The stories of magnificent medical centers told by advocates of socialist medacine are true to some extent, However places like La PraderaInternational which boast a resort type of atmosphere, large clean rooms, and high end treatment are only the public face of Cubas system.

Facilities such as this cater to the political class, tourist, and other persons of privilege who pay hard currency for services, Health care for the average Cuban is much different. According to many Cuban Refugees & dissidents Health care centers for most Cuban citizens lack important resources are extremely unsanitary and in some case medical equipment predate the communist revolution.

This Photo was taken at the Ancianos Marina Azcuy facility in Pinar Del Rio province

Lab equipment like this has not been seen in an American hospital for at least 50 years.

But this is not all that "Castro has Put in place," Representative Watson's socialist utopia offers,

a food distribution system know as libreta abustecimiento, (supplies booklet) this rationing book entitles the families of Cuba with their monthly stipend of basic food items.

This is an individuals ration for a single month

(Source: http://cubamigo.org/merengue123/alimentacion.html)

Rice6 pounds (2.7 kg) 0.70 / lb

Beans 20 ounces (570 g) 0.32 / lb

White (refined) sugar 3 pounds (1.4 kg) 0.15 / lb

Dark (unrefined) sugar 3 pounds (1.4 kg) 0.10 / lb

Milk (only children under 7 years) 1 lt / day 0.25 / each

Eggs (*) 12/0.15 each

Potatoes/bananas15 pounds (6.8 kg) 0.40 / lb

(*) Only from September through December. (In other words eggs are rationed during this period)

A couple of things you might notice here, First meats are not included, that's because meats are rationed separately, one person is allowed 1 lb of beef or 2lbs of chicken every month, The beef is usually distributed in a ground mixture of soybeans & beef. Second you might notice the subsidized price for example, eggs 15 cents each, this is cheap, but keep in mind Cubans must go outside the rationing system to actually fulfill their nutritional needs, food items purchased on the open market or black market are 20 times more expensive, so outside of the government bodegas a dozen eggs would cost $36.

But if your thinking you can just go into you government subsidized neighborhood bodega and grab what you need, think deliveries of various supplies are often late, which leads to long lines when the products actually show up. Sure makes you appreciate a country where anyone can go into any buffet and grab an 8 0z sirloin.

Advocates for socialism will blame the U.S embargo for Cuba's woes, but not so fast, most of the imported food which is rationed in Cuba was grown in ample supply before the revolution. (Cuba is the 33rd leading importer of American agriculture products.) And the international medical supplies manufacturer Combiomed is based in eastern Havana.

Seems to me what Castro has put in place is a State where Cubans are second class citizens in their own country.

Anthony D Dolpies

So, You Want the Government to Run Health Care Huh?