Observation (Photo credit: mooglet)
-When the health care debate was going on in 2009-10 we were told that our healthcare system was broken and needed to be fixed now. If the passage of Obamacare in 2010 was supposed to cure these pressing problems in our health care system, why was the implementation of Obamacare put off until 2014? Why was the implementation of the employer mandate for employers with 100 or more employees, put off until 2015? Why was the implementation of the employer mandate for employers with 50 to 99 employees put off until 2016? Why would you delay the implementation of a bill that was so important for “the people” when it was passed in 2010, unless implementing it would hurt “the people” and in turn the electoral prospects of the democrat party in an election. When will we learn that politicians and bureaucrats are more interested in themselves and their party than in you. The only thing you possess that they want, besides your tax dollars, is your vote, and they will beg, borrow, and steal to get both.
-When you tell your child what the consequences will be if they act in a particular way, and they act in that manner, and you don’t follow through with the consequences, what does that do to your credibility as a parent? Your child knows that they have just expanded their boundary. This gives them confidence that they can push other boundaries, or try to expand the new boundary even farther. The consequence of the President’s cheap foreign policy rhetoric, since his inauguration, has turned into a costly reality that is being played out in places like Ukraine. As Thomas Sowell has said, “More severe penalties that are not enforced are not as good as less sever penalties that are enforced.” In other words don’t let your mouth write checks that you’re not willing to cash.
-Since the President has set a precedent for the presidency to ignore the constitution and change laws to fit his agenda and help him politically. What would happen if the next President decided to do away with all 2500 pages of the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare? Would the former president support the new president for using the powers that he expanded during his eight years in office?
-The Senate changed the filibuster rule for Presidential appointees in November. Now a simple majority is all that is needed to get an appointment. They changed the rule in order rubber stamp all of President Obama’s appointees for the remainder of his presidency. The Democrats have a 53 to 45 edge with 2 independents who usually vote with the Democrats. How bad of an appointee does Debo Adegbile have to be if 8 Democrats voted against his appointment as the Civil Rights Head at the DOJ.
-A Russia Today Television anchor, Liz Wahl, quit on air because she said, “personally she cannot be part of a network funded by the Russian government that whitewashes the action of Putin…” This takes real guts to stand up to former KGB colonel president Putin and a Government who funds Russia Today. When will an American journalist resign on air because the privately owned network they work for whitewashes the unconstitutional actions of President Obama?
-The anti smoking crowd has fought to stop smoking because of health reasons. Will the legalization of marijuana in many states bring out the anti smoking crowd to fight a new crusade. Smoking pot produces more cancer causing toxins than smoking tobacco. Legalizing marijuana creates an opportunity for them to fight against pot smoking where they had no ground to fight on before it was legal. I wouldn’t bet on them going after pot smoking, they are too busy going after E-Cigs, even though E-Cigs don’t produce cancer causing toxins. E-Cigs are a safe delivery system for nicotine, just like a nicotine patch of nicorette gum. I think the anti smoking crowd has some consistency problems, or they just like to tell people what to do.
– Listening to President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry talking about Putin during this Ukrainian situation leads me to believe that both of them gave their lunch money to the bully when they were in school. Here is foreign policy reality through the analogy of dealing with the bully at school. 1) You give the bully your lunch money, and hope he won’t do it again. 2) You say no daring him to try to take it, which could work if he thinks he can’t take you in a fight. 3) You punch him in the mouth, showing him there is a price to pay for his actions, and he will decide if the price is too high. 4) You start hanging out with guys who can kick his ass. 5) You try to suck up to him in the hope that he will consider you his friend, at the cost of losing your self-respect. 6) You try to talk to him and get him to understand how his actions aren’t acceptable behaviour in todays society. 7) You tell the principle who will help you try to resolve the conflict through dialogue, although when I went to school if a male teacher saw this he would slam the bully against the wall and threaten him, this is a combination of #3 and 4. Based on what you’ve seen and heard from the President and the Secretary of State concerning Russia, which of these foreign policy options do you think the President and the Secretary of State implemented to keep the bully from taking their lunch money?
This cartoon is by Sean Delonas.
This cartoon is by Eric Allie
This cartoon is by David Granlund.
AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS ADDICT 