The Land of Ozz

I suggest that we send a $13 check or money order to our Senators and Congressmen to make a point on how serious we are as average Americans in opposition to this bill.  A commenter on one of my other posts has inspired this idea.  Bill says:

I assume that you Christians will return any money that will be sent to you per the stimulus bill. it only right that you do not accept this money but rather send it to a a person in need. Your gift will help those in need may the good lord bless you kind republicans.

In response to Bill I would argue that “you Christians” are already personally giving more to those in need than President Obama.

Although liberal families’ incomes average 6 percent higher than those of conservative families, conservative-headed households give, on average, 30 percent more to charity than the average liberal-headed household ($1,600 per year vs. $1,227). RealClearPolitics

Most of us are already giving to the needy and will not be hurt by giving back just one weeks’ worth of what the average American is going to see from this stimulus in tax credits.  Join me by mailing a $13 check or money order to your Senator or Congressman within the next week.  We need to make sure the checks are made out to someone who can actually see that the money is used for those in need of help.

Stand by for more information.  Follow me on Twitter or subscribe to this blog by email or RSS feed for further instructions.

UPDATE: Obviously Senator Jim DeMint and his aids are too busy to respond to constituants.  I did try to contact him to see if such an effort as mention above would do any good? While Senator DeMint has been on the right side (no pun intended) of all the spending bills, he has done a poor job on constituant serviecs.  He must be thinking more naitonally in terms of the 2012 presidential race.  It should not be too hard to give Obama a run for his our money in 2012 since he barely beat McCain and is not fairing so well out of the shoot.

The perfect storm is brewing and few people can read the signs. Many in Washington wrongly believe the root of the economic problems are in the housing market. I believe that the root of the entire economic meltdown is rooted in greed and no amount of government programs, tax cuts, or funny money from Washington with fix that root cause. A lot of people and businesses are going to have to feel some real pain before this problem goes away.

As the news slowly trickles out of Washington on how the stimulus/bailout/rescue will actually be spent, we are learning more every day that very few politicians expect this bill to create or save a mass of jobs within the next two years. As a government civil service member I can assure you that major infrastructure projects will not translate into jobs very fast. The programs have to be staffed and then the contracts have to written and then the contractors have to develop plans, etc, etc. Most of the benefit of this stimulus will likely begin to be realized in U.S. economy in about three years as admitted by most of Washington. Yes that is very convenient timing for a presidential reelection bid but I think the economic problems could correct themselves in about that amount of time even if congress does absolutely nothing. But by doing nothing they will not be able to claim credit for casting a vote for “something” which they think “is better than nothing”.

The disturbing reality of the state of the U.S. economy came to me in a headline titled Visa Reports Profit Rose 35% with Increased Use of Cards. The NY Times did not explain this news in the same way I perceived that headline at first glance. The first thing I thought was that record job losses plus lower retail spending equals a high likelihood that folks are using their Visa credit cards and “convenience” checks to pay their mortgages, utilities, and car payments. So the “Increased Use” of Visa is probably not good news for our economy if you get down in the weeds of how that credit might be being used. Since the magic carpet (stimulus) from Washington is not expected to land in a neighborhood near you any time soon to create or save jobs this makes for the perfect storm. The more jobs that are lost the more likely we are to see non-traditional expenses put on credit credit cards. Then when the credit limit is reached before the new jobs reach the unemployed credit card owners, well you get the picture I am sure. The exact timing of when this storm will hit hardest is dependent on the amount of credit the average jobless head of household has available after the loss of their job. Once the income stops and the bottom is reached (top of credit card limit) then there will be no ability to get refinanced and you might start seeing homeless rates rise like only a small sample of the U.S. population is old enough to remember from the 1930’s. The notion that fixing the housing market will solve all the problems is a fantasy. A borrower without a job is not going to be able to pay mortgage payments even at 0% interest. No amount of mortgage system overhaul, tax cuts, or infrastructure projects are going to solve the rapidly rising unemployment numbers.

The stimulus programs implemented by President Bush did not prevent this economic meltdown and the stimulus being sold by President Obama and his friends in congress will not fix the economy. What exactly this country will look like once the perfect storm comes ashore is impossible to forecast but you should prepare to witness some extreme damage.

Higher unemployment + increased use of credit = more foreclosures to come

The word socializism (some spell it socialisism) is not found in dictionaries or even on Wikipedia. Simply put, it is the value system that results from being socialized. Americans parents will eventually reap what they sow. The 2008 Presidential election win for Barack Obama will likely be credited to the young Americans in this country. Parents who have sent their children into the government run schools and universities without a second thought about what their children were being taught should not be surprised with the values that are appealing to the young voters of this country these days. I went through a spell of detox after I left public education as did my wife. Had this election been held ten years ago my wife and I would have likely voted for Barack Obama based on the beliefs that had been given to us oh so subtly through our country’s public education system. It took a maturing process and a realization that I did not want the government deciding what if any moral character training would be given to my own children. I believe that parents make the best choices for their own children. A liberal democratic run government has proven that they think they know better than parents what is best for children. I will remind you of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in 2006.

“…parents of public school children are not possessed of a constitutional right, either under the
Substantive Due Process Clause or the related right to privacy, to restrict the public schools from providing information on the subject of sex.”

These are the types of decisions you can expect from judges appointed by liberal democrats.

A majority of the children in this country are growing up in a system that teaches them that the system knows what is best for them.  Joel Belz wrote in the November 1/8, 2008 issue of World Magazine in an article titled Children of the state and said:

” Socialized medicine? Most of us recoil at the idea. Socialized airlines? Reminds us of Aeroflot. Socialized banks? When it happened last month, it terrified us.

But socialized schools? Nine out of ten of us patronize them regularly…

…With a nine-to-one edge in value shaping influence, why shouldn’t the government be producing products who think government-sponsored-everything is best?”

We see Barack Obama chosen as the next president of the United States even though he is likely to fight to have the government decide for Americans:

• When a person dies (abortion and euthanasia)
• How much can be earned and still be fair (wealth redistribution)
• Where children go to school (limited choices in private or home school)
• What children learn (including things like sex ed at very young ages and evolution only science)
• What talk show hosts are allowed to say (fairness doctrine)
• Who provides you medical care (nationalized health care)

Let us hope and pray that Barack Obama does as he says and not as he has done in the past. He has made some fairly appealing promises about uniting the country during his presidential campaign. However his voting record leading up to his presidential bid does not line up with what has been coming out of his mouth.

“Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was the most liberal senator in 2007, according to National Journal’s 27th annual vote ratings.”

That is a quote from the National Journal annual assessment of how politicians vote during their terms of office in Washington.

The liberal Democrats tend to lean towards a philosophy of allowing the government and public school systems to prepare children to make wise choices on issues like the ones mentioned above.  I disagree.  I believe that parents do a better job of preparing thier children to make wise choices on these subjects.  What do you think?

Many Americans, especially those without health care coverage are concerned about how they might be able to get health insurance coverage.  There are a lot of promises being made about health care insurance and I want to take a close look at the one that looks the most appealing to many Americans.  I want to break down the cost of health care insurance for small business and their employees based on some conversations I have been having with small business owners who do not currently offer their employees health care insurance.  Barack Obama is quoted as saying, “since 1990 companies with fewer than 20 employees have created 80% of new jobs in America”.

Small Business Health Care Cost Example

To set the stage, let’s say a services related business grosses $500K and makes $50K profit after the expenses, taxes, benefits, and salaries (including owner/operator) are paid.  This business employs 16 people who average making a gross wage of $12 per hour.  Before we go too far let’s take a realistic look at what an employee’s household budget might be in this small business.

Employee’s Household Budget:

* Misc includes clothing, toys, cable, phone, entertainment, gifts, charity, savings, etc.

I created the above household budget example based on a single income family of four including two preschool age children where the mom cannot obtain a full-time job to make enough to pay for childcare for two young children.  I added $250 per month that might come in the form of overtime or an evening part-time job by mom or day that supplements the budget.

Barack Obama’s Promise for Health Care Coverage

Barack Obama’s says that his health care plan would provide small businesses “tax credits to cover up to 50% of employee insurance” premium costs.  How will that work for this company and the employee’s family listed above?  Let’s pull data from a very popular health care plan offered to federal government employees that is available throughout the United States.  Since that is what Barack Obama offers as example in his speachs it is only fitting.  One of the standard plans offered to feds is by Blue Cross Blue Shield and costs a total of $1027 per month in premiums.  That plan costs approximately $12,000 per employee in premiums per year.  Please note that the federal government picks up 70% of the premium and there are thousands of employees in this group plan.  To get this level of coverage for a company of 16 employees, you are almost guaranteed that employee coverage in this company will cost well above $1027 per month per employee.

Health Care Cost:

Now remember that the business only has $50k profit to apply to the Net Premium Left to Pay.  If the employer decides to purchase as much premium as possible, each employee will still be required to come up with at $256 for in premiums.

With Company Help (No profit left to grow company)

$98k prem - 50k profit = $48k remaining

$48k remaining / 16 employees = $3k per employee per year

$3,000 per employee / 12 months = $250 per employee per month

No Company Help ($50k profit used to grow company)

$98,592k prem / 16 employees = $6,162 per employee per year

$6,162 per employee / 12 months = $513.50 per employee per month

The employee’s household budget will not support this premium and will likely not choose to purchase health care insurance in a similar scenario.  This is not just a speculation for small business employees that I know, but this is a fact.  These are the Plumber Joe type of folks who are already running on tight budgets and will likely pocket the $250-500 per month and pray that they don’t have health care issues that cost more than they have stuffed in the mason jar.   Every employee who has been offered health insurance where they would have to sacrifice premiums out of their check has passed on this option. The result shows that the average small business employee cannot afford health insurance even with Barack Obama’s health insurance plan for small busniess.  The average family making wages in the range listed above simply cannot afford to fork out $250-$500 per month in heath care premiums if, IF the employer can get decent health care coverage at this price per employee.

Barack Obama says that for small businesses he will “help them not just create new jobs but good jobs with health care”.  What we can clearly see it that Barack Obama is out of touch with reality when it comes to how many small businesses and households operate in this country.

References:

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/
http://www.opm.gov/ [PDF] - U.S. Office of Personnel Manaement

Achieve American Dream and then Give It Back

A short note to the rich and famous.  You may soon be required to start refunding movie tickets, CD sales, MP3 royalties, book sales, and concert tickets.  The method of refund will be delivered to your faithful fans by way of the Obama success tax.

One thing that has struck me about the robin hood philosophy of Barack Obama is that it is the enemy of the core reason many people flock to this great country of opportunity.  Obama’s promise of taxing the rich means that if you actually achieve the ultimate American dream and become rich and famous then you will not get to keep all that you worked so hard to obtain for very long.  Your success will be limited to $250K or less per year to remain free from what I call the Obama success tax.

Have you come to the conclusion that Obama’s former pastor had some really bad days in the pulpit? It seems that Obama may have picked a less than stellar spiritual adviser on his first go around. Let’s hope that he does not turn to Oprah as his second choice.

I have received a couple of emails on regarding Oprah’s spiritual activities in recent weeks. The following video does a pretty good job of summing up my concerns over what I have been researching. Oprah Winfrey has an XM radio spot called “Oprah and Friends” that features teachings based on the books by two of these friends of Oprah that are mentioned in the following video.  This video contains footage of Oprah speaking against Jesus being the only way to God even though Jesus told us himself in John 14:6, “…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

I cannot validate the numbers quoted at the beginning of the video and I have no knowledge of the book promoted at the end of the video.

I whole-heartedly agree with the subject of the email that delivered to me a link to this video. The subject of the email said “Scary video…” I had already been doing some research on Oprah’s recent “spiritual” book endorsements and the XM radio shows that have followed. In particular I have reviewed dozens of the “A Course in Miracles” teachings. I have reviewed them with the intention of making sure that I could not be accused of taking one or two lessons out of the context of the series. This is the chief argument that Obama supporters have used to defend the Reverend Wright’s controversial remarks. I can assure you that it only took one lesson for me to become concerned about the “Course“. I later found a one hour video ¹ that takes you through the first fifty lessons from “A Course on Miracles“. I warn you not to view or read this “Course” material unless you are firmly grounded in what the Bible says about Jesus Christ and who you are in Christ. This “Course” is psychotherapy and brain-washing to the highest order. The “about” page for the “Course” states pretty clearly in their own description of the program that this is psychotherapy. Here is a quote from Oprah’s XM radio site regarding “A Course in Miracles“:

“According to Marianne, A Course in Miracles is a self-study program of spiritual psychotherapy contained in three books. It is not a religion, but rather a psychological mind-training base on universal spiritual themes. The practical goal of the Course is the attainment of inner peace through the practice of forgiveness…

“A Course in Miracles (often called just “the Course“) is an educational program for retraining the mind that is spiritual, rather than religious, in its perspective. Although it uses Christian terminology, the Course expresses a universal experience, and its underlying ontology is reminiscent of ancient refrains, echoing the world’s most hallowed traditions. …”" ²

The about page goes on to quote the “Course” as it instructs its participants to ignore any leadings to question the teachings. I take this to mean that even if the Holy Spirit prompts you to question this based on your knowledge of the Bible, you should defer to the “Course” anyway.

Some of the ideas the workbook presents you will find hard to believe, and others may seem to be quite startling. This does not matter. You are merely asked to apply the ideas as you are directed to do. You are not asked to judge them at all. You are asked only to use them. It is their use that will give them meaning to you, and will show you that they are true.

Remember only this; you need not believe the ideas, you need not accept them, and you need not even welcome them. Some of them you may actively resist. None of this will matter, or decrease their efficacy. But do not allow yourself to make exceptions in applying the ideas the workbook contains, and whatever your reactions to the ideas may be, use them. Nothing more than that is required (Workbook, p. 2).

— Excerpted from A Course in Miracles” ²

Many of the quotes in the YouTube video come directly from the daily mind training offered in the “course”. For instance, Lesson 70 states:

My salvation comes from me. It cannot come from anywhere else.

Then devote a few minutes, with your eyes closed, to reviewing some of the external places where you have looked for salvation in the past—in other people, in possessions, in various situations and events, and in self-concepts that you sought to make real. Recognize that it is not there, and tell yourself:

My salvation cannot come from any of these things. My salvation comes from me and only from me. ³

There are some truths in the explanation paragraph in the center of the quote about where salvation does not come from, but the teaching has the participant drill into their own heads by repeating these sayings that salvation comes from within themselves rather than through Jesus Christ.

This stuff is exactly what they say it is, “psychotherapy…psychological mind-training”. While they plainly state that this is not a religion, the teaching has been heavily peppered with Christian terms that make it sound like it may be associated with the Bible. The “Course” even uses terms like “Son of God”, “Salvation”, “God’s will” and frequently references to “God”. The “Course” even goes as far as to capitalize pronouns like “He”and “His” when referring to God. In fact, the “Course” is based on Dr. Helen Schucman’s claim that she was given this information as some sort of prophesy directly from “inner guidance which she had identified as Jesus.” ⁴ It appears that the content for this “Course” came about much the same way that the teachings of the LDS church came from Joseph Smith. While there are some good sounding Christian like principles in both LDS, the “Course” and many other religions, the core beliefs and more importantly the end results of the sinner do not line up with the Bible.

While Oprah and Marianne Williamson may not want to call this “Course” a religion, they are certainly starting to look and sound like a religion. Let’s just hope that Obama does not convert to this non-religion for his future spiritual guidance.

“…there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly tell their lies about God, turning against even their Master who brought them; but theirs will be a swift and terrible end.”  2 Peter 2:1 TLB

References:

1 - http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=823374042&channel=422544479
2 - http://www2.oprah.com/xm/mwilliamson/mwilliamson_about.jhtml
3 - http://www2.oprah.com/xm/mwilliamson/200803/mwilliamson_20080310.jhtml
4 - http://www.acim.org/AboutUs/FIP/PublisherTrustee.htm

I had my eye on Fred Thompson at first, but my wife and I ended up giving our votes to Huckabee in the SC primary due to what appeared to be a lack of motivation on Thompson’s part. Duncan Hunter was the first choice for me based solely on my answers to an online survey. If supporters of Thompson and Hunter were following them for their core conservative values, then those supporters should easily shun the remaining republicats and follow Huckabee now that he is the only real conservative in the race. Here are my two cents on each of the remaining GOP candidates:

Huckabee - The only true conservative left. Mike Huckabee is most likely of the remaining candidates to stand up for core family values and nominate conservative judges who will uphold the constitution. Nominating judges is one of the most important and longest lasting reason to choose a person for president in my opinion. The only real negative things he has going against him are the cheesy campaign ads with Chuck Norris and the notion that Mexicans don’t know how to climb fences.

And now for the Republicrats:

McCain - He is one of the most likely REP senators to side with Ted Kennedy on anything and that is more than a little scary. What he has going for him is war hero status and name recognition due to past presidential race experience. I could stomach voting for him in the general election if he could get on the right side of gun control and tax cuts. I actually like him better than any of the rest when it comes to immigration even though I think that immigration should not even be an issue in the race.

Romney - Not far enough removed from pro choice stance prior to entering this race. Seems a little convenient of a switch if you ask me. How is it anyway that his religious convictions will cause him to abstain from alcohol and smoking but leave him to support abortion? (source) And another thing, how exactly did he single handedly turn around dozens (the numbers were stated as high as 100s) of companies in one lifetime? He didn’t. He was CEO of a venture capital / consulting firm that did the work. Never mind that this is a race for president and not CFO of the USA.

Giuliani - Gun control, LIFE of unborn children, marriage protection. Need I say more?

Pon Raul - Who? Anti-war stance sounds like it came right out of the last DEM debate.

“I hope my friends will follow my lead and vote for Senator Fred Thompson when the polls open in 2008.”

Those were my words, but I am not sure I will be sticking to them. I wrote that at the end of a blog post on November 24th. Then I saw the debate and really liked what I saw from Huckabee and not so much what I saw from Thompson. Just call it a flip-flop if I pull in behind Huckabee. That’s fine with me because I am not running for office. Right now I am firmly on the fence. One of the questions that I had considered for asking Thompson if I had a chance was, “who would you vote for if you were not running and why?” I would like to ask Huckabee the same one and a few others.

I am confident that either Fred Thompson or Mike Huckabee will win the South Carolina Republican primary this coming January regardless of what the polls say. Out of all the front runners, these two most closely represent the southern conservative point of view in my opinion. I am pleased to see Huckabee gaining ground on the more liberal Republican contenders. Fred Thompson, definitely not a liberal contender, has been my favorite until recently mainly due to my belief that Thompson is more electable candidate. However, I value my Christian friends’ opinions and have looked closely at Huckabee as a result of some of them leaning in Huckabee’s direction. I am now much more on the fence during this primary election than I have ever been for any election. I am also more knowledgeable about the candidates at an earlier point than I have ever been.

One thing is for certain. I am not going to agree with any single candidate on all of the issues. None of them is a clone of me. I do believe that strong family values and a solid commitment to maintaining the security of this country are the most important issues at stake.

It was really more like Sticky Fingers had Fred Thompson. Presidential candidate Fred Thompson made his rounds in the low country of South Carolina today with stops at a gun show and then a brief visit with supporters at Sticky Fingers in Summerville. I attended the rally at Sticky Fingers and got to hear Senator Thompson speak in person for the first time.

There were no ground breaking surprises in what Senator Thompson had to say today in Summerville, SC, but that is exactly the way he plans to keep things. Senator Thompson is grounded in strong conservative values unlike many of his republican opponents who could have easily switched parties and run on a democratic ticket due to their liberal views. Senator Thompson spoke of his strong support for the idea of appointing federal judges that will uphold the Constitution of the United States above their personal beliefs and prejudices. He ranked the presidential duties of appointing judges right up next to national security in terms of importance.

While appointing judges and national security rank high on Senator Thompson’s list of important presidential duties, it was the immigration issue that seemed to get the most attention today. This grates on my nerves a little since the immigration issues in this country have only been a big concern since September 11, 2001. A large portion of the general population of this country seems to have been put under some sort of hypnosis that makes them think that unsecured borders and illegal immigrants are closely tied to the events of 9/11. I will concede that immigration and border security are valid issues that a president should be concerned about, but in my opinion, these should not be the main issues that determine how people vote in 2008.  The root of the immigration issues did not crop up since 9/11 and will not be solved by the president alone. Unfortunately these issues seemed to be much more of a crowd pleaser than any other issues on the stump today.

I would like to have asked the Senator a few questions, but time and opportunity was not available for more than a few questions. I would like to have heard some specifics on the following:

• Given his experience in Hollywood and in Washington, elaborate on his publicly stated views on how he as president could help strengthen family values.
• What is the first thing he would do as president to help put money back into the hands of the American people the way SC did with the recent sales tax changes that netted my family of five almost enough tax savings to buy a month’s worth of groceries per year.

I have yet to see the heat get turned up on Senator Thompson’s lack of specifics regarding his Christian faith. Many of the front runners claim to be Christians and that may factor into the results here in the deep south when the primary day rolls around. Some big name players in the Christian community have questioned Thompson’s Christianity. I would certainly prefer that our president be a committed Christian. At the same time, I know plenty of self proclaiming Christians who are not qualified to be president of the United States of America. It is entirely possible that many of the presidential candidates are not true believers when they get out from in front of the camera. Regardless of how outspoken Senator Thompson is or not regard his faith, the fruits of his public service support his claims to uphold values that all of my Christian friends hold dear.

Senator Thompson has as good chance of winning SC in the up coming South Carolina Republican primary according to the most recent Rassmussen Poll. I hope my friends will follow my lead and vote for Senator Fred Thompson when the polls open in 2008.