Magic Poop Collector

Now that I have your attention....

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing was on WJR this morning. He reported that on Saturday, fifty bus drivers called in sick. Mayor Bing has been contemplating cutting bus service in Detroit to save money. Detroit may be weeks away from declaring bankruptcy. Bing noted that even with the drivers calling in sick, they were still able to operate the buses efficiently. Guess he now knows who needs to be laid off, huh?


Simply unbelievable...Don't try this at home.

Democrat Charles Rangel Chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee "misreported" his claimed income the past few years by as much as $780,000. I know I'm pretty excited when I find a dollar in my jeans, Rep Rangel must have been overjoyed!

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Property

If you are like me, having your own little corner of green earth to call your home is just about the best feeling in the world. Owning your own piece of land is a dream many of us share. If you don't, then that's OK as well. To each their own.
But the Washington Examiner has an article about a new Government funded study that shows the evils of the "One House, One Property" dream:

DRIVING AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT: THE EFFECTS OF COMPACT DEVELOPMENT ON MOTORIZED TRAVEL, ENERGY USE, AND CO2 EMISSIONS.

The Washington Examiner writes:

Why would living in "denser environments" be better? Well, for you and your family, it wouldn't be, but it would be for Smart Growth progressives in and out of government because it would be so much easier for them to control how you and your family live.

Why? Well, just to take the first example that comes to mind: Instead of relying upon a private car that can take you wherever you decide to go, you will have to use government-owned mass transit that only takes you where the government thinks you should be able to go.

And without independent mobility, you won't have nearly as much freedom to do things, like send your kids to a school you prefer instead of the government school closest to your high rise.

Also, you probably will have to get a job working at one of those massive bureaucratic institutions that thrive in the close-in urban sky scraper environment. So your future economic opportunities will be much more limited than they are now

You knew it was coming, right?

No War for Neodymium

The Prius is hyped as the answer to America's "Addiction to Oil" and will probably single handily save the Earth or something. Turns out while you were going cold turkey on the oil, you became addicted to rare earth metals. The addiction has gotten so bad, they expect a shortage. Nice. But the Prius makes you feel better so everything is OK, right? It will fit into the small parking space you will be allotted in the new urban centers of living, but make sure you pay your taxes unlike Rep. Charles Rangel, because for the rest of us, there are consequences.

And don't forget to pick up your dog poop.

Frost Warning

No, not THAT Frost, this frost:

Issued by The National Weather Service
Alpena/Gaylord, MI
3:57 pm EDT, Sun., Aug. 30, 2009
A FROST ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 2 AM TO 8 AM EDT MONDAY.
TEMPERATURES WILL FALL TO BETWEEN 30 AND 35 DEGREES LATE TONIGHT... LEADING TO AREAS OF FROST.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
TAKE ACTION NOW TO PROTECT TENDER AND YOUNG VEGETATION. IF POSSIBLE... MOVE PLANTS INDOORS. OUTDOOR PLANTS SHOULD BE PROTECTED WITH STRAW, BLANKETS OR PLASTIC SHEETS.
... AREAS OF FROST LATE TONIGHT IN THE INTERIOR OF NORTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN...

AL? Al? What does it mean Al?

"Yeah...about that Global Warming thing.."

The strongest and most effective force in guaranteeing the long-term maintenance of power is not violence in all the forms deployed by the dominant to control the dominated, but consent in all the forms in which the dominated acquiesce in their own domination.

Robert Frost

It Ain't (America) No More, OK?

Incredible YouTube video.



According to the person who taped this:

This video was taken on Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 at Rep. Jim Moran's (D-VA) Town Hall meeting on Obama Deathcare (Howie Dean was there too) held at South Lakes High School in Reston, VA.

Many people were left outside when the school filled to capacity. School security officer Wesley Cheeks, Jr. did not the protester's anti-Obamacare poster which used one of the gone-viral "Joker" graphics.

When he said to Officer Cheeks, "This used to be America!" his response was: "It ain't no more, OK?"

I keep my FlipIt camera handy all the time now. The incredible images coming from these Town Halls and the arrogance of those in power is simply astonishing. We have elected leaders dismissing upset citizens as racist and astroturfers, Union Thugs intimidating protesters and we have incidents that are not being reported on Cable News, or being edited to distort the issue.

Luckily you have The Hippo's Ass scouring the internet so you don't have to.

The End of the Week Round-up: Kennedy, A Rejected Commercial, Real Grassroots and All You Can Eat Pancakes.

It’s Friday!

Time for our weekly dumping of news you may have overlooked this week. While the rest of the media was covering the death of Senator Ted Kennedy, there were several other news items that may have escaped your attention. As we wait to see if Washington takes a Friday News Dump, lets proceed with the roundup, shall we?

A little over a month ago, ABC News was happy to broadcast a one-sided, one hour infomercial on Health Care starring President Obama. No opposing viewpoints were going to be heard since ABC said they promised to be fair. This same network now refuses to broadcast ads from a group opposing the massive government bill on health care.

"The ABC Television Network has a long-standing policy that we do not sell time for advertising that presents a partisan position on a controversial public issue,” spokeswoman Susan Sewell said in a written statement. “Just to be clear,this is a policy for the entire network, not just ABC News.”

So in the interest of fairness, we present to you here the ad, no charge at all to the League of American Voters. (Next time, people, you gotta pay!) . Watch it, judge for yourself and should you feel the need, pass it along to others who might be interested.

I have a small kitchen…a very small kitchen. So small in fact that a loaf of bread takes up half the counter space. But if I had one of those large kitchens you see on The Real Housewives of Orange County (my wife watches it...not me. Really!) then I might just be tempted to pick up this little beauty. The Chefstack! It produces 200 pancakes per hour. I’d like to see your Prius do that! Actually, I’d like to see any car do that.

I just had to post this. It comes to us via Newsbusters. How are people reacting to the death of Senator Kennedy on Martha’s Vineyard? Here is Huffington Post blogger, Matt Cooper's reaction to the scene:

Yeah, that was exactly how I felt the morning of 9/11: Melancholy, but trying to enjoy the achingly beautiful day. Why just the other day, when my boat wouldn't start, I said to myself, “Gee, it’s a wonderful day to be out on the water, but I am stuck at home and it makes me feel like when I heard about Katrina hitting New Orleans". You too?

The protesters at the Town Hall meetings have been called everything from thugs to racists to shills of the insurance companies. (NOTE: If true, I’m still waiting for my payment). But the name that burns my gut is Astroturf, implying that our protests are not real, not “grassroots” enough. Over at Pajamas Media they did a little undercover work to see how the Party of the Community Organizer conducts a “grass roots” protest.

And finally, we welcome the DOJ.gov as a viewer of The Hippo’s Ass. That’s right, the Department of Justice has been looking at my blog. I guess they had a lot of time on their hands after dropping the Black Panthers’ Voter Intimidation Investigation or the Bill Richardson Pay-to-Play investigation (It was "killed in Washington.") In a sense, I feel honored: I average 75 viewers a day and the DOJ thinks I warrant watching.

If they are a fan, then welcome, come back often and leave a message, maybe even Digg or Reddit an article. If they are doing this to make me nervous, well, they’ve succeeded.

It does make me nervous.

Funny thing is, I didn’t do anything wrong, yet I’ve had the House.gov, Senate.gov. and now the DOJ.gov looking at my website.

When you start to feel nervous exercising your inalienable rights, then there is something seriously wrong with your government.

Have a nice weekend Department of Justice. The Hippo’s Ass will be watching you, too.

And while you are at it, look up “inalienable”.

Detroit Mugger Critical After Victim Shoots Back; Great Britain Crime Rates Sky Rocket

Detroit mugger critical after victim with CCW shoots back.

17 year old pulls a gun on a 32 year old man in an armed robbery attempt.
32 year old victim has a MCPL (Michigan Concealed Pistol License) and responds accordingly.
17 year old thug gets the surprise of his life as he ends up critically injured.

This situation happens more than its being reported. If a gunman fires in a restaurant or workplace, its all over the news. When a citizens defends his life by shooting his attacker, the story is either buried or not reported at all. If it is reported, the use of the gun is typically not mentioned. Nice that the Detroit Free Press finally printed a story like this that wasn't slanted toward the criminal being the victim.

Score one for the good guys.

England is typically held up as the example of what a civilized society can do if it enacts strict gun control through the government. We are told that hardly anyone owns a handgun anymore, and while shotguns and rifles are allowed, they are strictly regulated and controlled and are for hunting or sport only.

Now the Daily Mail comes along and tells us that in Great Britain, Gun crime is up by more than half and there are more than 100 serious knife crimes each day, with fatal stabbings having reached the highest level on record. 'The culture of violence that was a feature of U.S. cities a generation ago is now a feature of British cities.'

Those big bad knives...maybe they need strict control over knife ownership as well. Sounds unreasonable? Maybe not... In response to the high rate of crimes committed with knives, the government is now looking at curbing the use of knives. There is even a knife amnesty program:

And this creative PSA lets you "choose your own adventure": Take the knife or don't take the knife. Make a choice and follow through...



Essentially what England has done is disarm its citizens and left them to the mercy of the criminal element. Now they need to educate their citizens about the evils of knife ownership. This has even lead to the invention of a knife that you can't use for stabbing:

Wouldn't it have just been easier to let people have the freedom to defend themselves?

Double Down on KFC's Bread-less Sandwich

I have to admit I am a bit of a Kentucky Fried Chicken junkie. Something about that original recipe breading makes me drool like one of Pavlov's dogs sitting in church listening to Carol of the Bells. The new grilled KFC isn't half bad, but seriously, what good is KFC without the skin?



Then this Double Down Chicken Sandwich comes along and has me thinking there is something terribly wrong and something oh so right about this. Two fried pieces of KFC, cheese, the Colonel's special sauce and bacon.

From what I hear, PETA is going to be pissed off and this may very well disqualify you for Obamacare. In fact, this may just doom the massive health care bill. When people are truly presented with a choice between higher taxes for health care or the NEW KFC Double Down chicken sandwich...my money is on the Colonel.

Death Panels by Another Name Would Smell the Same (Oregon)

There has been a lot of talk about whether "Death Panels" are a part of the proposed massive health care bill. Sarah Palin made news by saying:

The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel” so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their “level of productivity in society,” whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.

Many main stream news sources went out of their way to rescue President Obama and prove that the massive piece of legislation contained no such thing. The President himself has said it was "offensive" to him to suggest that there were Death Panels.

They were right. Nowhere in the legislation does it state "Death Panel."

But a recent story in the Detroit Free Press reports that Palin wasn't all that far off. According to the Free Press:

President Obama has proposed a new body that would enhance Medicare’s ability to deny care to the elderly and disabled based on government bureaucrats’ arbitrary valuations of those patients’ lives.

Say what?

So if this bill ever passes, what would an arbitrary valuation by a government look like?

Let's look at the state of Oregon, Pajamas Media reports that the Oregon Health Services Commission headquarters have come up with a master list of 503 treatments and conditions their “public option” will cover for its enrollees. They have ranked them in ascending order of priority. Should the state ever run out of money or determine that its budget would not allow for a procedure, then top ranked procedures would get priority.

Toward the bottom of the list in priority:
Emergency appendectomy (prioritized 84th)
Covering injuries to major blood vessels (86th),
Surgery to repair injured internal organs (88),
A “deep wound to the neck”
or open fracture of the larynx or trachea (91),
A ruptured aortic aneurysm (306).

Also of note is the fact that treatments for esophageal, liver, and pancreatic cancers take up priority slots 337 through 339, with treatment for stroke at 340

Samples of higher ranked (more important)maladies are:
Obesity (8)
Depression (9)
Asthma (11)
“Tobacco dependence” (6th)
Reproductive services are 7th
HIV 15
Syphilis is 19

As some of you long time readers remember, I underwent an aortic heart valve replacement last year that required open heart surgery. This ranks 116 on the list. Better than cancer, but way behind syphilis

After this bill is voted upon and passed, the Government then is free to "interpret" the bill and we end up with something that sets a valuation on your life. Why, they could even decide to save a little money based upon you terminal status.

Couldn't happen you say? Vast right wing conspiracy lies?

Here is story of how one woman went up against the Oregon State run health care program:



Essentially, it costs less produce suicide pills than to give a dying patient pills that may extend her life a bit longer. SO the State decided she wasn't important enough to live. Besides, I'm sure the 18 - 35 voter group will be pleased.

So no, Virginia, there is no Death Panel. What there is may be worse.

Garofalo Shows her Softer Side

Isn't this getting a bit old? Janeane Garofalo uses a barrage of insults to refer to anti-ObamaCare protesters, referring to them as "racists, functionally retarded adults," and "teabaggers." Seems like Janeane is in need of a little bit of attention. My dog, Sam, does this when we don't give her a treat or play with her, or when she needs a walk.

Maybe Janeane needs a walk or a good chew toy.



Well, I'll just let Jack Bauer deal with this one..Jack?



Thank you Jack.

The Daily Prophet Comes Alive

We were amazed at the creativity of J. K. Rowling when she described the "moving" pictures of the fictional newspaper The Daily Prophet from The Harry Potter Series.

Now in a step towards life imitating art, the moving pictures come to the world of the Muggles.

See the complete story here



I'm still waiting for the Lightsaber. Seriously, I might just Wee Wee my pants should that ever happen. (Is this the proper use of Wee Wee? I'll have to ask our President to be sure.)

Update!



The Obama Administration: Raising the level of Discourse and Intelligence in Politics.

End of the Week Drop: Tort Reform, Clunkers and Selective Editing

It's Friday!

Politicians will usually use the end of the week, typically around 4:30 p.m. EST, to "drop" a particularly unpopular story to the press. The purpose is that hopefully the American public will be too busy getting ready for their weekend to take notice of the Government's screw-ups. Both parties are masters in this technique. The Sunday morning gab-fests already have their line-ups set, so the story usually gets lost before the Monday morning shows start their week.

Here at The Hippo's Ass, we hope to counter some of the "fog of information" and highlight some things you may have missed this past week.

Tort Reform

Sarah Palin continued to use the popular Facebook to spread her thoughts on current events. Citizen Palin's recent message had to do with Tort Reform:

First, we cannot have health care reform without tort reform. The two are intertwined. For example, one supposed justification for socialized medicine is the high cost of health care. As Dr. Scott Gottlieb recently noted, “If Mr. Obama is serious about lowering costs, he’ll need to reform the economic structures in medicine—especially programs like Medicare.” [1] Two examples of these “economic structures” are high malpractice insurance premiums foisted on physicians (and ultimately passed on to consumers as “high health care costs”) and the billions wasted on defensive medicine.

What does the Washington establishment think about Tort Reform? Let's hear from one of the co-authors of the "popular" Health Care Reform Bill, Congressman John Dingell:

Cash for Clunkers

Over at IHateTheMedia.com, they report on a survey from the National Automobile Dealers Association concerning the Cash for Clunkers Program, which ends on Monday:

NADA surveyed nearly 800 dealers and the results may be the Obama administration’s worst nightmare:

97% of dealers who responded, say the government is not reimbursing fast enough
13% of dealers have dropped out the program because the government is not reimbursing fast enough and overall concern payment problems
87% percent of dealers are concerned the money will be exhausted
3% of CARS program deals have been reimbursed
66% of dealers have not received one payment from the government
25% of dealers are experiencing servere cash flow problems that require short-term loans to fix
11% of submitted applications have been approved (though dealers still are waiting for the money)
16% of submitted applications have been rejected
55% of dealers are not confident they will get reimbursed for every deal

Here is a fun game to play:

Substitute the word Hospital/Doctors for the word Dealer/Dealers
Substitute AMA for NADA
Substitute Health Care Reform Program for CARS

Who Watches MSNBC Anyway?

Here is an item from Newsbusters.com:

On Tuesday, MSNBC’s Contessa Brewer fretted over health care reform protesters legally carrying guns: "A man at a pro-health care reform rally...wore a semiautomatic assault rifle on his shoulder and a pistol on his hip....there are questions about whether this has racial overtones....white people showing up with guns." Brewer failed to mention the man she described was African American.

Seriously, does anyone watch this news channel? Regardless, people are demanding that heads roll: Click Here for more to the story.

And finally, The Blue Hippo Fantasy Football League picked their draft date this year, Sept 9th. The League celebrates 11 years of Fantasy Football. The Editor of The Hippo's Ass finished 12th out of 12 teams last year and is hoping for a rebuilding season. In the spirit of Obamanomics, he will be asking to install a rule this year that will take one player from a "good" team and give it to a team that is playing poorly.

Its not that we want to punish them, its just that we want to spread their success around.

UPDATE! The dropped arrived right on schedule.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration will raise its 10-year budget deficit projection to approximately $9 trillion from $7.108 trillion in a report next week, a senior administration official told Reuters on Friday.

Shining a Light on Evil Fishing

In an effort to help save many of the lighthouses across the country, the federal government is encouraging non-profit organizations to apply to help pick up the cost of preservation. The non-profit would then be responsible for the upkeep and running of the historic light houses. See here for a link to the full story.

Excellent idea! One can see the non-profits educating the public about maritime shipping history, the use of light-houses before GPS, the local impact a light-house would have on a community and the unique architecture of these vanishing landmarks.

One group has already applied: PETA. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wants to turn the Grand Haven Lighthouse, in Michigan, into its headquarters to educate the public about the evils of fishing and eating fish.

"We want to renovate the Grand Haven lights as a memorial to the billions of fish killed annually by sport fishermen, as well as for their flesh (commercial fishing industry)," said Lindsey Rajt, manager of PETA's campaigns department. "We also want to make it a fun and educational place."

Signs would likely announce the lighthouse as home of PETA's Fish Empathy Center.

Because... memorials to the eating of flesh are always fun and educational. Maybe when you take your kids to the PETA Fish Flesh Memorial, they will recieve a free comic book published by the non-profit:

Let me shine some light on the “EVIL” fishing (and hunting) industry in Michigan:

• Sportsmen (and women) spend $3.4 BILLION each year in Michigan.


• It supports 46,000 Jobs; $1.7 Billion in Salaries


• Provides $278 million in state and local tax revenue


• Has a $5.9 Billion ripple effect on the economy.


• There are 1.07 million anglers in Michigan.


• Anglers spend $2 billion alone.


• Sportsmen support more jobs than the University of Michigan in the Peoples Republic of Ann Arbor.
  

And this is just the sport fishing industry, commercial fishing adds even more.

How exactly does PETA support the economy? They don’t. They destroy it.

That’s the whole point.

Your Tax Dollars at Work (Part 2)

The Good News: President Obama has decided to invest your tax dollars to finance the exploration of new oil fields off shore, a major boon for an oil company that could lead to copious amounts oil and help alleviate a supposed coming energy crisis and reduce our national dependence on foreign oil.

Oh wait..did I say "our"?

The Wall Street Journal reports that President Obama has changed his mind about drilling off shore for oil. Good news...if you are a South American. A $2 billion investment.

But wait, there's more!

Hot Air reports that the Brazilian Oil Company which is the recipient of your $2 Billion loan has a major investor. Wonder if you can guess who that is?

Hot Air writes:

Is it a coincidence that Obama backer George Soros repositioned himself in Petrobras to get dividends just a few days before Obama committed $2 billion in loans and guarantees for Petrobras’ offshore operations? Hmmmmmmmmmm.

Putting America First..If you live in South America. While you are going see your taxes and product prices increase due to Cap and Trade, Brazil will reap the benefits of your hard earned tax money. Wouldn't it be nice to KEEP your tax money here where it will benefit YOU?

Your Tax Dollars at Work

Residents in Berrien County, Michigan are questioning the county's proposed replacement of a bridge. The bridge is estimated to cost $600,000...paid for through tax dollars. The bridge would replace a short, 85-year-old span that crosses a creek in Berrien County's Pipestone Township.

The county road commission recommended in April that the bridge be replaced.

So what's the problem? This is supposedly what "government" is for, to replace crumbling infrastructure.

It gets better.

Seems that the bridge is on a dead end road that serves a farm field.

Still...the county has a responsibility to maintain access even though the bridge basically serves only a farm field, right?

Wait for it...wait for it......

The Herald-Palladium of St. Joseph says part of the problem residents have is that township Supervisor Hazen Harner owns the land that would become inaccessible without the bridge.

One Man
An Elected Official of the Township
$600,000
For a bridge to his property
Paid for by Taxpayers

But don't worry...Harner says the road commission always overestimates the cost of such projects and believes it can be built for less.

Well, at least he can sleep at night.

Fishing was fine...Catching sucked

I'm back from vacation and trying to catch up is always a pain. The grass needs cutting and watering and there is a small tree in my back yard where there wasn't one before. (I wasn't gone THAT long). We arrived home to find a few spiders squatting in the windows. Plus the cat is mad.

My work email had more than 100 messages. Luckily none were unsolicited messages from the White House. (Are things that tough that the White House is resorting to spamming?)

I already miss vacation: the lapping of the waves against the side of the boat, the call of the loon on a foggy August morning, the silent flight of the Eagle as it circles the lake and dives to catch his breakfast, that NO SIGNAL response from my iPhone even when standing on the roof of the boat house, that simple pleasure of having enough time to read 1-1/2 books (Alas, Babylon and Death Mask) while the fishing pole is perched lazily in the crevice next to your big toe as you drift slowly across the lake at sunset. And of course seeing my wife get up on water skis for the first time.

We spent the week about 45 minutes north of Standish, Michigan. You may have heard that Standish is offering to take the terrorist prisoners from Gitmo. The Standish Correctional Facility is scheduled to close and 300 people will lose their jobs, but Governor Jenny "not in my back yard" Granholm is not being a good party member and said she would rather take California prisoners. She has no problem taking Canadian trash though.

The video I took of Congressman John Dingell telling a very irate crowd that there is only so much Congress can do about Tort Reform (a major reason why health costs are so high) gathered almost 10,000 hits. Not quite the doped-up kid coming from the dentist level, but for this little blogger, it's my personal 15 minutes of fame. Too bad they didn't link to my blog and helped drive traffic here (which you can do by the way).

As I wrote earlier, someone from house.gov has been reading The Hippo's Ass (which is more than I can say for some of my friends); now I find out that I've had some hits from Senate.gov has as well. I wonder if anyone reported me to Flag@whitehouse.gov?

Oh..and my mother, who is in her sixties, works part-time, lives pay check to pay check and has to go to AARP to get a discount on the preparation of her taxes (which she pays every year unlike some people in the new administration) is getting audited by the Federal Government.

...just a coincidence right?

The government water project here in Dearborn that is over budget and behind schedule is having additional problems. Who didn't see THAT one coming? Speaker Pelosi is upset over the depiction of the President as Hitler saying that town hall protesters are taking the Nazi imagery too far..

Can't quite figure out what she is talking about, seems like dehumanizing your opposition is SOP for radicals and dissenters....I saw this one just last night on season one of True Blood:

All Animals are equal; Some Animals are more equal than others.

Meanwhile, I have till September 3rd to decide who I want to draft in my Fantasy Football league. Last year I came in dead last. Maybe I should draft Michael Vick? And why the heck is Buffalo Wild Wings called BW3? Where is the missing W?

Oh..and there is this ditty from our friends in Canada. Canada's Top Doc says their Government Health Care isn't doing so well. Who didn't see THAT one coming? Shh....don't tell Michael Moore.

Right now the boat is parked in the driveway, the fishing poles are put away, the luggage is unpacked and our last bit of food splurging is completed; back to the Wii Active routine this week. The cat isn't mad anymore; amazing what a little Friskies Deluxe will do. Meanwhile, post offices may close on Saturdays, a sugar shortfall will cause the price of ethanol to rise, and Fake Doctors are infiltrating town halls in support of Government Run Health Care.

Is it time for a vacation yet?

I Always Feel Like...Somebody's Watching Me!

Well I am off for a while; going fishing. The Hippos Ass will return in about a week. Till then talk amongst yourselves. Feel free to leave a comment, visit my links for some interesting point of views and spread the word to your family and friends. If you have something interesting you'd like to see posted, drop me a line.

Oh.. and to the person or persons from www.house.gov who spent all of 18 minutes this morning at 10:30am viewing my blog, I hope you got the message. I see the Government is busy keeping track of its dissenters. Glad to now know we are being watched...

But know that we are watching you, too.

Ain't Democracy grand?

Got complaints? Email them directly to Flag@whitehouse.gov. Make sure you include the web address.

...with Liberty and Justice for all.

Congressman Dingell Gets An Earfull

Well, it turns out more people knew about Congressman John Dingell's Town Hall Meeting on Health Care that I thought. Nearly 600 people showed up to protest against the bill he co-authored. Strange really, because the event was never publicized. They heard through word of mouth. How is THAT for organizing huh?

The meeting was so packed they had to hold TWO of them. I was lucky enough to get into the second one and took this video. I'll write more later, but as you can see from these videos, Congressman Dingell's constituents are not a bunch of happy campers.

Oh..and by the way, these people were PISSED that the liberal blogs and media were refering to them as shills or paid operatives of the insurance companies. These are everyday people who are fed up with the way Government is treating them.

I was expecting a bigger turnout from the Ann Arbor crowd. Starbucks must have been giving away free WiFi or something. The Audience WAS stacked by the way, the front rows were mostly made up of Dingell supporters. Funny how many of them were never outside waiting in line like the rest of us peasants. There were numerous policemen, ambulances and only one News Station came to cover the event. The only person they appeared to tape was the one lone Lyndon LaRouche supporter holding an Obama as Hitler sign.

Debbie Dingell tried to talk to the crowd but looked very overwhelmed at the size of the crowd. Things are always a big strange outside the bubble they live in.

I think, after all was said and done, Congressman Dingell got the point that his voters were not happy. Fat lot of good it will do. As Congressman Dingell said at one point, when referring to his constituents, "you just don't know". Typical politician, thinking its up to them to edumacate us backwoods hicks who don't know any better when Government wants to take over our lives.

I have news for you, Mr. Dingell. We know. We know all too well.

Double Secret Town Hall Meeting

I find this pretty interesting.

Congressman John Dingell is holding a Town Hall on Health Care, tonight in Romulus Michigan. Dingell represents the 15th Congressional District where I make my home and pay my taxes.

Health Care is the single biggest issue on the minds of Americans (we are told) so having my elected representative hear from his constituents must be a good thing.

The funny thing is I didn’t hear a word about it until yesterday.

I checked my email inbox to see if I missed reading the Congressman Dingell’s newsletter. Even though I didn’t vote for him, I still subscribe to the newsletter just to keep up on how he is representing me. There was nothing there. Maybe he found out I’m a libertarian and deleted me from his email list.

Then I went straight to the source: John Dingell’s Congressional Web site. After an exhaustive search on the site, I couldn’t find one reference to a scheduled Town Hall Meeting in Romulus. Google has a nice advanced search engine where you can search whole domains. After a little more double checking, still nothing.

It was time to do a little internet surfing.

http://www.rightmichigan.com/ had an action alert. This is obviously a conservative web site so I doubt Congressman Dingell would promote his meeting there. The Tea Party of Western Michigan also had a notice. The Michigan Liberal's web site had their own alert, claiming that right wing operatives were planning to disrupt the meeting. They referenced a Facebook group that has all of three members.

The The Ann Arbor Chronicle had a notice. Ok, that’s one. We all know which way the Peoples Republic of Ann Arbor leans. Surely Congressman Dingell would have promoted this very important meeting more, to get as many diverse opinions as possible. I checked the two major newspapers in Detroit, the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press. Neither one had a notice.

How can this be? The majority of Americans (or at least people living in the States) support a Government controlled health care system (so we are told). So why be secretive about a town hall meeting? Only one public notice about the event? Dingell is a co-author of the darn bill! Could it be Congressman Dingell is a little apprehensive after seeing how common everyday citizens are standing up across this country to voice their concerns over a growing government and socialized health care? Nah…

I will be at the event tonight. Judging from the lack of advanced notice this Town Hall on Health Care had, I expect a very low turn out. Still I have to wonder, if there are people there, who will they be and who invited them?

UPDATE!

Just as I was posting this, there was FINALLY an article on the The Detroit Free Press . Here is the kicker...they called out the cops. Three uniformed officers will be on hand. Liberal blogs have been bemoaning the uprising of citizens in response to their dear leaders Health Care Plan asking why we can't have a civil discussion about it. Here is an example of their idea of civil discussion:

Or maybe this?


Barbara Boxer called the citizens too well dressed to be sincere. Some are calling them Brooks Brothers mobs. These people are so out of touch its not even funny. People are upset that both Democrats AND Republicans are running amok in Washington. When liberals protest Iraq or a sitting President, it's called Grassroots. When common everyday people get fed up with politicians and their obsence spending, its called Astroturf and is dismissed. Linda Douglass, Communications Director for the White House’s Health Reform Office just this week asked all citizens to report any “fishy” talk, emails or websites to the White House so they can investigate any “disinformation” about healthcare.

I'll be there tonight (in my Brooks Brothers shirt and pants) and let you know more tomorrow. Then its off on vacation for me.

Oh..and I'll save you some time: here is the website where you can report me flag@whitehouse.gov. Have at it.

Tin Foil Hat Alert

I like a good conspiracy theory. There is something about the scope and scale of these theories that get the old adrenaline running in the What-IF? gland of the brain. I even have a subscription to Coast-to-Coast AM so I can download their recent radio program to my iPod and listen anytime I want. Fake moon landing? Roswell cover-up? New World Order? All of it makes for some real good entertainment.

Conspiracy theories have been around since forever. Caveman Grog once thought that the tree on the outskirts of his village was conspiring to take away his fire by waving its branches and creating wind to blow the fire out.

In more recent times, theories have become ingrained in our culture and nearly accepted as fact by many people. Did you know that 25 percent of young adults aged 18 -29 do not believe that we landed on the moon? (I’d like to see who they voted for in the last election…) It’s hard today to find someone who believes that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. Conspiracies are fun; just look at the X-Files, or the Da Vinci Code.

But some can be down outright annoying, like Global Warming.

During the Bush Administration, the wacky left floated the idea that 9/11 was an inside job, a false flag operation conducted by a shadow government controlled by Dick Cheney and the BigOil companies. Concrete and steel can not be melted and destroyed by massive amounts of fuel. (See here for a smaller version of what can happen when fuel, concrete and metal combine in a fireball).

Now under the Obama Administration, there is another conspiracy theory floating around, gaining ground with every day that passes. Birthers, people who don’t believe that President Obama is a U.S. Citizen, have emerged from the right of the political spectrum as the heir apparent to the 9/11 Truthers. They have compiled lists of data and coincidences that they say is proof that President Obama was not born in Hawaii, but actually in Kenya.

I can’t say it’s not intriguing. How can it not be? Conspiracy theories are fun because should they happen to BE TRUE, the consequences are always so earth shattering that it would cause an upheaval in society that it would literally change everyone's lives, even if only for a short period of time. A government that would kill 3,000 of its own citizens? The hding of Space Aliens in Area 51? The Walrus was NOT Paul? Earth shattering indeed.

While conspiracy theories surrounding President Obama's birth are amusing, they are distracting. We have an administration that is on the verge of passing one of the largest government social programs in the history of this country. We have a government that is so out of control in spending that future generations will need to be socialists just to write off the debt. We have a minority party that can't live up to moral standards it set for itself. We have a Congress that is rushing massive bills to vote without properly reading them. We have two political parties that live so outside the bubble of everyday life, they continue to alienate their very own constituencies to the point where voters are rising up and openly calling out their elected representatives. And we have a fawning media that tingles with excitement at the President’s every word.

I am not saying that upholding the citizenship clause of the Constitution is not important, but let’s keep focused here. Not even a quarter of the stimulas money has been spent, yet the administration is already taking credit for "saving the economy". We all know, only Government can save us. We can't do this on our own. /sarcasm

All the President has to do is show the original copy of his birth certificate, the same one being held under lock and key in a vault in Hawaii and the matter is over and done with. The Birthers will be humiliated, the GOP will further sink into disarray and the Democrats will lock-up a victory in the mid-term elections.

Unless there IS something to this whole birth certificate thing….then all bets are off and hang on.