Stop the War on men!

You've probably heard about the War on Women. Those dastardly Republicans want to deprive women of birth control pills. Well, maybe not deprive them of it, but they want them to pay for it themselves. Dear God! What's next? Next week they'll want women to pay for their own tampons. Then designer shoes! Where does it end? I ask you? Of course, its all phony baloney politics. If I were a woman, I'd be upset that some elected official thinks I'm too stupid or poor to afford my own birth control. But that's just me. But enough, lets get to the real war. The War on men.

The majority of college student are now women. That seems a tad unfair, doncha' think? Perhaps the government needs to step in here and level the playing field. Yes, I'm sure that's what's needed. (They do such a great job with everything else). Maybe we need quotas. And if that means we have to allow more less deserving men into institutions of higher learning and less women - so be it. After all, we need to be fair. Right? College football programs raise the highest sports revenue for the school - allowing less attended and less popular sports (girls field hockey) to exist at all. Hardly fair. Those poor men are out there sweating just so Jennifer can swing that stick thingy at that ball thingy. So unfair. If they can't carry their own weight... ditch the program. It's only fair.

But nowhere is the inequity between the sexes more prominent than when it comes to the issue of sex. While liberal doo-gooders believe a woman should enjoy free birth control, (ever notice how liberals always want someone else to pay for things) there is no outcry for the right of men to enjoy the same liberty. You could agrue that the man's right not to procreate is being served by the woman taking the free birth control. But suppose she's a skank who is lying - trying to trap that poor man into a relationship (or worse) marriage by getting pregnant? Seems to me that the man should have his own free birth control in the form of condoms. Yep, that sounds more fair. Actually, condoms help prevent against STD's where birth control pills do not. The necessity for condoms is even more dire than the woman's birth control pills. Yet, men have to pay out-of-pocket for condoms. Depending how popular the guy is with women, that could easily add up to more than a woman's monthly payout for birth control pills. Under Obama's new health care mandate, women are suppose to get free mammograms. Yet men still have to pay for prostate examinations.  I suppose Democratic politicians just don't care about men's health issues as much as women's. That seems unfair.

The number one killer of women is heart disease. Women needed to be made aware of this. So, February became "Fight heart disease in women" month. Heart disease is also the number one killer of men. We didn't get a month. We didn't even get a day. October is "Breast cancer awareness month". A good thing to be sure. But men also get breast cancer. I didn't hear word one about that during the entire month. Finally, they threw us a bone and made June Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. What's that you say? You never heard that June was Prostate Cancer Awareness month? Well, nobody else knows it either. We don't have a colored ribbon for that yet. I hear Congress may be working on choosing a color for us. Unfortunately, all the really good colors are taken.

Maybe if you have to be told you're in a war of some sort - you're not really in one. Maybe some wars are just fabrications intended to political sleight-of-hand. And maybe, just maybe you're being used as cannon fodder for someone elses plans.
Actually, there is a war. But it's a war on common sense. And from what I've seen - the enemy is winning.

Chik-fil-A. Is it "free speech" if it costs you?

First of all, let me preface this post by saying a few things up front. I don't care if you're gay, straight or bi-sexual. Your sexual orientation is none of my business. I believe individuals must be true to themselves and I respect that. But that applies to me and every other individual as well - or it should. The CEO of Chik-fil-A, Dan Cathy, made a comment the other day that angered some people. He stated that he believed no one should be discriminated because of their sexual preference - but he did not believe in Gay marriage. He holds a view that the majority of state legislatures and American citizens hold - yet he was held up to public ridicule for it. It wasn't long before the protest groups gathered themselves up, painted hip protest signs and marched in front of Chik-fil-A restaurants calling for a boycott. But my question is - exactly what results is it that you want your boycott to produce? Perhaps you'd like Chik-fil-A to go out of business - although that would cost thousands of jobs directly and indirectly. Surely you don't want that. Maybe an apology would suffice. But what is it you'd like Mr. Cathy to apologize for? His personal views? Isn't he entitled to them even if they are opposite of your own? Your views may differ from Mr. Cathy's. Perhaps you owe HIM an apology. See where I'm going with this?

Amazon's CEO donated $2.5 million to the cause of Gay marriage. I don't plan on boycotting Amazon. Starbucks is a left leaning company yet I still purchase my Pikes Peak brew there every Saturday morning. Ben & Jerry of the famous ice cream Ben & Jerry are extremely left leaning and ardent supporters of President Obama. Yet I will still purchase their product when the urge hits me. I know the politics of each of these organizations, yet I do not demand an apology for their views that are opposite of both mine and the majority of the American people.

We are constantly remind by liberals that we need to be tolerant. But apparently, tolerance means something different to them. Apparently, it means to be tolerant of them while they are under no obligation to be tolerant of your views and opinions. Mr. Cathy made it clear that he does not discriminate against Gays who work for him or who patronize his business. He just doesn't believe that marriage extends beyond one man and one woman - a view I hold as well. You may think that makes me "intolerant". You have the right to believe so and I have the right to my convictions.

There is a campaign to support Mr. Cathy's 1st amendment right as well as Chik-fil-A  by patronizing their restaurants this August 1st. Currently 2 million people nationally has subscribed to do so. I will be among them. This stand is not being taken because we are "anti-gay". It is being taken because were are "pro- 1st amendment." Free speech comes at a price. You may have to listen to those who don't always agree with you. But their freedom is no greater or lesserr than yours. Simply accusing the opposing views as being hateful is not conducive to good dialog. Sometimes we must simply agree to disagree. Mr.Cathy had this view. But that wasn't good enough and now his "free" speech may cost him and his business millions. I for one, will not allow the intolerant to define what tolerance means. So on August 1st I will make my own protest statement along with millions of others, by patronizing Chik-fil-A. If you really believe in true tolerance - you may want to get in line behind me. My protest vote supports your right to your opinions as well - even if I disagree with them.

So, how much will YOU pay for Obamacare?

The Supreme Court rendered it's decision on the legality of Obamacare this week. This post will not discuss that here. That's for another day and another column. Today is about the intended and unintended effects of this new far reaching federal legislation. But mostly, its about the massive cost of Obamacare. As the President and the Democrats envision it - Obamacare will add 30 million new people into the healthcare rolls. On the surface, that sounds great. 30 million people with medical coverage who didn't have it prior. But eventually someone will have to pay for it and that someone is... (Get ready. Here it comes) You. That's right. You will be the benevolent benefactor to most of these new enrollees. How? Will it is complicated and yet quite simple. Here goes.

We all now know that despite what Mr. Obama told you back in 2008 and 2009, his healthcare plan mandate is actually a tax, not a penalty. The Supreme Court just said so and this time, Obama didn't even flinch when they said it. Those who don't have insurance must buy it somewhere or pay a penal -  OOPS, tax. Many of these people can't afford coverage or else they already would have had it. So the government will subsidize their premiums through your taxes which will most certainly increase to cover the cost of the subsidies.  If you get your coverage through your employer as most people do, expect them to trim benefits to reduce costs. A Pew Research poll recently stated that 68% of employers are considering reducing benefits, deductables and yes, salaries as a way to keep their operating costs down. The same survey found that 71% of employers would consider hiring only part time workers instead of full time workers so as not to have to provide medical benefits. But it gets worse...

Pennsylvania for instance, will have to absorb as many as 700,000 new people enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid at a cost of $2 billion. Where do you think the Commonwealth is going to come up with that kind of scratch?  Hmmm. If you guessed you through increased taxes... Bingo! You win! Or do you?

The governments estimated number of new physicians that will be required to execute Obamacare is 160,000. As a member of the healthcare community, I hear all kinds of conversations. And I can tell you there is no way a number of new physicians even close to that figure will be coming anytime soon. In fact, at the rate that current physicians are choosing to retire because of this massive interference in medicine - that 160,000 number is probably way, way too low. Try doubling it. Medicare & Medicaid reimbursments have fallen so much that medical offices must see many more patients a day to break even. My Mother had two recent doctors visit. In both of those visits she saw a PA (Physician's Assistant) not a doctor. Even with a return visit to further investigate her problem, the PA mis-diagnosed her condition as "geriatric menapause" assuring her everything was normal. Only after she had a hospital stay for appendicitis did they catch the tumor she has growing near her Uterus. The doctors at the hospital couldn't believe that a simple ultra-sound wasn't performed. I'm sure there are fantastic PAs out there. It is not my intent here to maligne them. But a PA is not a substitute for a doctor anymore than a window is a suitable substitute for a door.
In any case - get used to seeing a lot of PAs in your future and a lot less doctors. As for specialists, you'll only get to see the ones you can afford. (They can afford to be pickier about who they see) And since they are even fewer in numbers, and since 30 million new potential patients will be coming their way - you may wait a long time to see the front of the line.

As with most government programs, this one is going to end up cost a lot more than originally envisioned. In 1965, Congress estimated that Medicare would cost about $5 billion by the year 1990. In 1990, the actual cost of Medicare was $95 billion. See where I'm goin' here?  When was the last time a government estimated cost of a program was actually correct? If the cost of Obamacare is even a fraction of the Medicare error ... well, you get the idea. And the bill.

I wish I lived in that fantasy world some do, who think that a major program like this wont cost much if anything. But I live in the real world. And I'm old enough to see the history and patterns of Washington's wild spending and it's dismal outcomes. While smaller more simple ajustments to the current healthcare situation would have been cheaper and easier to put into effect - like allowing insurance companies to compete against each other across state lines - we have been saddled against our wishes with this massive intrusion. Fortunately, we do have a method to undo this mess. Its called an "election". On November 6th I will be voting to elect the people who are commited to repealing Obamacare not to mention promote fiscal sanity and job creation.  However, if Barack Obama is re-elected and Obamacare is allowed to stand, we will have missed the one possible chance we had to return to sanity and reclaim the most fundemental rights our founders gave us.

Evil prospers when good men do nothing.

There were a number of photographs I could have posted. Some included pictures of six year old children lined up on the ground - all dead. Others showed entire families slaughtered on the living room floor. Some were more graphic than others. Ultimately, I settled on the photo above. It shows death and grief. It show the results of President Assad's assault on his own Syrian people. It shows a type of genocide, one inflicted upon a people within their own borders by their own leader, because they dare to want to live in freedom. Since the uprising in Syria began, thousands of civilians have suffered and died at the hands of Assad's regime. If you show any sympathy for the uprising, you and your family are targeted for assassination. Entire cities sympathetic to the freedom fighters are systematically attacked. Not because they are of a military or strategic importance, but because Assad's forces hope to punish those who dare speak up. And while all this goes on... we do nothing.

China and Russia continually veto any UN resolutions that are critical of Assad. Imagine the arguments they must make in the UN chambers against these resolutions. They should be embarrassed but I doubt they know how. While innocents are slaughtered - they argue in favor of those who do the slaughter. I am reminded of the old saying - "All that is necessary for evil to prosper, is for good men to do nothing". We are a good people of a good country. Yet we do nothing. Resolutions fail. Assad continues to kill. We protest. More children die.

I've not heard one person speak in favor of committing American troops in the Syrian cause, and you wont hear it from me either. But U.S. foot soldiers are not necessary nor are the rebels asking for any. What they do want is a chance at determining their own future. That future will be determined for them if they do not have the arms to liberate themselves from tyranny. It would be nice to think that rational conversations among nations and tyrants could resolve such matters. The truth is - they seldom do. Liberation comes at the end of a gun. It was true in WW I, WW II, the 1991 Gulf War, the Iraq War and our own American Revolution.

I cannot imagine how empty the Syrian people must feel. Eager and ready to fight against their own evil and no one will give them the tools to defend themselves. Meanwhile we sit by and beg the U.N. for help. Why must the United States beg those who facilitate this carnage? We should immediately define evil in the name of Bashar Assad. Automatic weapons, rocket launchers, food and medical supplies must be airlifted to the regions where the rebel strongholds exist. We admitted to having "eyes and ears on the ground"  (CIA) in Syria just as we did in Libya. These efforts can be coordinated with minimal effort and costs. The payoff could be the fall of one pillar of evil within the middle east that includes Syria and it's ally, Iran. Russia and China support both these rouge nations. It is time to offer tangible support of our own - and not in the way of meaningless U.N. resolutions. There are those nations who would follow if we led. But clearly, it must be us who leads.

The United States, whether we like it or not, has some responsibility to support those who, like us 236 years ago, sought to throw off the shackles of a tyrannical oppressor. And like us, asks only for the tools to gain that freedom. Can we deny our help to those who seek the same today - as we did so many years ago? In 2009, the United States said nothing during the demonstrations in Iran. Not a word of support. Not a syllable. And they died in the streets asking us why we remained quiet. That was not leadership. We stayed silent and the brave died. Now we have another opportunity. History may well note that this was a defining moment in time. The question is - will it note the liberation of the oppressed with the help of the standard bearer of liberty, the United States? Or will it note the deafening silence of good men who allowed the slaughter to continue?

When "Green jobs" don't produce the green.

Still think the government can run the economy better than those rascally capitalists? Well, a couple of years ago the President and his party opted to stimulate the economy with $800 billion borrowed from China that your kids and grand kids will have to pay for. Included in that package was a mere $90 billion for so called "green" jobs. At that time the President boasted that this package would produce 200,000 jobs annually over the next 3 years. Three years later... let's revue.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, that $90 billion has produced 16,000 jobs since its inception at a cost of... (drum roll) $5 million per job. According to my calculator, that means 584,000 less jobs that promised. And at $5 million a job - hardly cost beneficial. But the government can afford to waste our money in such a manner because it cost them nothing. They'll just add it to our tab which currently is approaching $16 trillion.

In the real world where those evil, dastardly capitalists live - you can't afford to blow $90 billion and then tell the stockholders; "Hey, at least we tried".  Yet that is exactly what the President and his party want to tell us. Besides $90 billion is only a small fraction of the $800 billion stimulus package. Kinda' make you wonder how they pissed away the other $710 billion, doesn't it? Considering how much we had to borrow for this fiasco, you'd think we'd be seeing better results. But we aren't and here's why.

First. Economics 101: Governments can't create jobs or wealth.
Economic growth is created when investors risk capital in a venture. If it succeeds, they make a profit... eventually. They hire people to work in this venture. Those people use their income to buy goods and services from other workers who produce other things. All these workers pay taxes. The government uses those taxes to (hopefully) run necessary elements of the government. (Have you noticed that so far the government hasn't done shit in this success story. Good. You're catching on) The government can help facilitate this process by keeping the tax burden on both the company and workers low. But when the government promises more and more entitlements that it can't afford - they have to increase taxes. This robs both the investors and the workers of capital they could better spend elsewhere - like buying goods and services from other workers which keeps this whole scenario rolling.

When the government decides who will be the recipient of the D.C. cash cow, we get things like Solyndra, the solar panel company that Obama gave $550 million which went bankrupt. (Another half-a-billion dollars lost) When you add a billion here and a billion there, it starts to add up to real money! The government cannot create winners and losers. That's what the free market is for and it works quite well. If Solyndra had been such a great offering, why weren't there hundreds if not thousands of private investors lining up to invest their money? Hmmm. Maybe they know something that those brainiac politicians don't.

I'm something of an amateur American historian. And having read the words of our founders, I can tell you they never envisioned a federal government with such sweeping powers and debt. In fact, Jefferson (Tom not George) said that every generation owed the following generation a government without debt to inherit. One can only imagine how he would grasp that 16 trillion number. I've been hearing about the savior of green energy since I was 10 years old. In the decades that followed, that cheap, free energy source we've been promised is neither cheap or free. And is incapable of sustaining itself without government money. Even GM (the recipient of a government bailout) ceased production of its flagship eco-car the Chevy Volt because demand was non-existent even with $4.00 a gallon gas.

I don't doubt that one day our cars will be propelled by non-polluting and plentiful sunshine and lolly pops. But that day is not coming upon us anytime soon. Till then, we better start a real national energy policy that includes drilling here as well as developing new sources of energy. And it can all be done without Washington's involvement and our money. In 1977, President Carter started the Energy Department. Since then, the cost of energy has skyrocketed and no solutions have been developed or enacted. Yet this department  has grown in personnel and budget by 500%. If this was a company - any company, it would have and should have folded decades ago. But don't worry. If we run out of money, we can just borrow more. What's another trillion between the generations anyway.

Why blacks should vote Republican. Yep, that's what I said.

First - a little history. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act became law. Democrats have been taking credit for it ever since as a sign of just how much they care for down-troddened black Americans. But hold on a second. When you check the numbers, you find that a larger percentage of Republicans voted for the bill than Democrats. HUH?! Yep, you read that right. The breakdown was GOP 138 - 34 , Dems 152 - 96  Without the GOP votes, the bill fails. Plus, it was a Democrat (Robert Byrd) who filibustered in an attempt to destroy the bill's chances. He was also a member of the KKK. Your kids will never read that in any history books. Nor will they read that it was the Republican party that pushed for emancipation, not the Democratic party. Or for example, that the first black Secretary of State, Condeleeza Rice was appointed by a GOP President. (G.W. Bush)  as well as the first black Joint Chief of Staff, Colin Powell. (Also by G.W. Bush) In fact, Bush's cabinet and his appointees had the highest percentage of blacks EVER by a President. I could go on and mention that it was JFK (Democrat) who wire tapped Rev. M.L. King's phone, but you get the point. Sadly, 38% of college graduates think Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator was a Democrat. They may need more skoolin'.

Since Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" programs of the 1960's, an estimated $7 trillion dollars have been spent on programs to benefit the poor and blacks in general. We and they, haven't got much for the money. One of the most devastating to the family was that if an unwed woman became pregnant, moved out of the home of her parents, did not name or know who the father was, then Big Daddy in Washington would provide for all her essential needs. Ergo she no longer needed a husband or the support of her family. In fact, the more children she had out of wedlock, the more money she would receive from the government. This program was the death knell for many families, especially in the black community. Unfortunately many black men saw this as the best of all possible worlds. They could father as many children as they wanted, from multiple women, without ever having to accept the responsibility of fatherhood. Many women rejected marriage in favor of a boyfriend who could slip in the back door and not jeopardize her government check. If you think this is just racist talk - you haven't looked at the statistics lately. 60% of black children grow up in fatherless households. 70% of black babies are born to unwed mothers. Almost half of young black men in America's cities are neither working nor in school. And having a black President has made no difference either. Thinking differently will. If you don't see this as a ticking time bomb - you're not paying attention.

Too many elected Democrats believed that by offering generous handouts, they could cultivate a large segment of the black population for votes without having to try very hard. They were right. Blacks vote for Democratic candidates by huge margins, up to 95%.  Most don't even think about an alternative. In most inner cities, Donald Duck could be elected Mayor if he was listed with a "D" next to his name. Republican candidates aren't even considered and are just lambs to be slaughtered at the polls. But the party that pretends to care so much about the black vote has abandoned them. Trillion of dollars spent has yielded little improvement in the black condition. This is because government cannot replace family, honor and commitment.

Imagine a party that actually believes in YOU - not a system of endless entitlements designed to keep you in their fold. Imagine receiving a handUp instead of a handOUT. Then imagine being told that you couldn't possibly compete with the white class and therefore should be content with the cheap freebies as long as you continue to vote for them. Such is the choice. When a constituency - any constituency, constantly gives their support to a particular party without reservation - they have sealed their fate. They no longer have clout.

Its just assumed that the Dems are more tuned to the black community's needs. Yet the reality is that the programs designed to lift them up have kept them down and continues to do so. All while the majority of black Americans blindly stay in the Democratic party's back pocket. It is time for a new political reality. Contrary to popular belief, Republicans especially Conservative Republicans want black Americans to succeed in the system, not be dependent upon it. Because it creates an environment in which every generation that follows can build upon the success that preceded them. A government check will never replace a father or dignity of work. It will never allow true economic liberation and freedom. This is true for all of us regardless of race. If results matter - the time to look elsewhere for answers may have come for black America.

Voter ID required. About damned time.

I voted in the Pennsylvania Primary this evening. Everything is as it has always been except for a little yellow notice on the door that said voters will have to show an ID before voting. No problem. I brought my wallet with my Pennsylvania Drivers license intact. I showed it to the poll worker and guess what happened next?
I voted.
Yep, it was just that easy. They didn't ask for my birth certificate, deed to my house, 3rd Grade geography test results or blood sample. They didn't even swab my mouth for a DNA test. All they wanted was for me to prove that I was who I said I was. Imagine that! What an incredible obstacle I had to leap. Well, apparently some people thought so. One of the workers told me that earlier, a young woman was quite upset that she had to show ID. (Apparently she thought the notice on the door was for people not as privileged as herself) She made some amusing comment about how we are "losing our freedom" and bolted from the building. She was partly right. We are losing our freedoms - bit by bit, day by day. But not because we're required to show ID when electing local, state and federal officials.

There are numerous things you cannot do without showing identification. Here's a partial list.
Buy a gun. Drive a care. Buy insurance. Visit a Dr's office. Board an airplane. Cash a check. Rent a movie. Get a credit card. Get on welfare. Obtain a Passport. Get a fishing license. Enter a Casino. Buy alcohol. Buy cigarettes. Pick up a package from the post office. Buy a bus ticket. Enroll in college. Rent a hotel room. Apply for a loan. No one would consider asking ID for any of these items "racist". But somehow the hard left has decided to make Voter ID just that. If I were a member of a minority, I'd be raving mad. But not for the reason you might think. I'd be angry because some do-gooder liberals think I'm too ignorant or stupid to actually have identification. Don't minorities drive cars? Then they must have a driver's license - right? If they have have health insurance, even government health insurance, they had to show ID - right? Both of my parents gave up driving in recent years. So Pennsylvania gave them a FREE identification card with their photo and everything. The infirmed and elderly often complain that its just too hard to get to the places where free ID is offered. My question is - then how did you expect to get to the polls?  Its almost as if the opponents of Voter ID actually want fraudulent votes to be possible. Hmmm.

The lowest and I do mean lowest possible threshold one should have to perform in order to vote - is to show identification. If you're too lazy or stupid to produce it, you probably shouldn't be voting anyway. I'm tired of lowering the bar for everything and everyone. Responsibility has been replaced by blame, indignation and entitlement. Here's a news flash. A Presidential election will be held on November 6th this year. That gives you almost 7 months to get your ass off the sofa and get a free ID card from the state. No one is asking you to enlist in the Armed Services and storm a beachhead - just produce a f***in'  ID card. If you find that too taxing to your system - sit this election out. They'll be another one in 4 years. That should give you just enough time to get that card. Idiot.

After 10 years, its time to leave Afghanistan to the Afghans.

Ten years is a long time to pursue a war. A long time to nation build. A long time to commit America's military and finantial assets. To put things into perspective - the United States fought in a World War, won that war, established Democracy in those countries, then rebuilt the former enemies fallen infrastructure in about the same amount of time.

The reason for our military action in Afghanistan was real and yes, necessary. Afghanistan was the home base of Al Quada - the group responsible for attacking America on its own soil on September 11th. They and their assets needed to be neutralized and a safe haven for their activities denied. The Taliban held a brutal hold upon that country. Women were executed for acts as simple as showing too much skin. Some were shot because they dared to teach their female children to read. Others were beheaded because they were raped and apparently, in some bizarre and twisted way, brought dishonor to their families. Once the U.S. led invasion of Afghanistan was successful, these brutal acts ended. Children both boys and girls attended newly built schools. Hospitals reopened. And at a very high cost both in blood and national treasure - security was established. But now a decade has elapsed. It is not unreasonable to think that the Afghan army should be able to provide for their own country's security. But is our commitment greater than the people we liberated? If so, and sadly I believe this to be the case - it is time to depart - at least the major cities, such as they are.

The problem is that Afghanistan is less of a country than it appears. A population that is largely uneducated and tribal, there is no unifying tie that binds them. They have little historical experience in a strong national government. It is an alien concept to them. They are poor - eeking out an existence in a hostile environment both politically, culturally and environmentally. They appear to have no appetite for the hard slog necessary to liberate themselves and establish a nation. To be fair, there have been many Afghans ready to make that sacrifice. But are there enough? And why, after 10 years are there not more of them? Perhaps they are better suited to the existence they know than the one they could have. And perhaps it is time for us to realize that.

I would not abandon the country and our military assets entirely. We should establish and maintain one or two bases outside the major cities, away from populated areas where we could react to AlQuaeda incursions and Taliban military activities. Drones could be used more often to reduce the risk to U.S. military personnel. There is no need for us to risk American lives patrolling Afghan cities and towns. Let Afghan security forces take on the brunt of maintaining security and doing the heavy lifting. After all, it is their country.

In every measurable way, we have been successful in this Afghan war. The enemy has been routed. Defeated. He holds no ground except that which he uses to cross and escape into neighboring Pakistan. An elected government, though corrupt, has been established. A national army trained. Now it is time for us to exit stage left and go home. Whether Afghanistan remains free or not is largely out of our hands. We cannot force the love of democracy upon a people. It is their to embrace - understand the sacrifices necessary or allow themselves to revert to oppression. The choice and the hard work is theirs.

No voter ID? Then vote early and vote often.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has just passed a law that requires a photo ID when casting your vote. I can hear the cries of "racism" already. I never thought of ID being necessary to vote as a racism issue, any more than requiring a drivers license to legally drive a car, a racist issue. Or for that matter, providing ID when you buy liquor, rent a car, cash a check or board a plane. In actuality, the list of things that require a photo ID is quite lengthy. So why does a required ID to vote cause such an uproar? Aren't we all interested in an accurate and fair representative vote? Well, you'd think so wouldn't you, but... uh, uh. Democrats fight tooth and nail against any efforts to require a photo ID when voting. Gee. Its almost as if they want to encourage illegal and fraudulent voting. (sarcastic smirk) They know that most Americans think its a good idea to prove you are who you say you are when voting - and to vote just once, not multiple times. Since that's an argument doomed to fail, they have to address the issue in another manner. They need a boogieman. A diversion. VIOLA! When all else fails and logic takes a nap - enter "racism".

The story goes something like this;

Requiring poor, inner city people (re: Blacks) to provide ID is an insult and hearkens to the era of the poll tax. It creates fear and resentment. Plus these people probably don't have any ID because after all, they've been kept down by "The Man" so long. (It has nothing to do with the fact that this constituancy reliably votes Democratic 96% of the time) (2nd sarcastic smirk) Plus many old people don't drive, so they don't have drivers licenses. What kind of ID could they possibly have? So in addition to racism we have ageism.

Enter the facts.

First of all. I think it would be difficult to find anyone without a photo ID. My parents are 87 and 83. Both gave up their drivers licenses a few years ago. Yet, they have the FREE photo ID's issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. If you accept government assistance, you also have a photo ID. So the old and the poor are covered. In the event you don't have a photo ID, the state will allow you to cast a provisional ballot that could be included once ID is obtained, should a vote be close. So far, I'm not seeing the racist part - just the "stuff the ballot with bogus votes" part.

I'd have more respect for this farce if the Dems just came out and said; "Hey, we like stuffing ballots like in the old days. Its a Chicago tradition!" But instead they resort to the flimsiest of arguments that have no basis in reality. I imagine that lawyers for the opposition are preparing their legal briefs as we speak. Ready to bring the case before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and eventually, the U.S. Supreme Court. And what will be their main argument? Well, the poor are to stupid to get an ID card and the old are too feeble. And in the upside down world we find ourselves in - sadly, that argument just may work.

Why free birth control is going to cost you... a lot.

Have you heard that local radio advertisement for a car dealership that offers $8000.00 more than your car is worth? Have you ever wondered how they can do that? Well, they can't. But what they can do is manipulate the numbers on the trade-in sheet to make it appear as though you're getting 8 grand. But as any car salesman will privately tell you - it's not the discount you get up front that matters, its' how much you actually pay in total that makes the deal good or not. And such is the magic of forcing private insurance companies to provide free birth control pills. Oh sure, you'll get your BC pills at no charge to you (up front). But do you really think the insurance company is going to take that loss? In a word - "no". They will simply increase your insurance premiums to cover the cost of providing the "freebie". Therefore, its not free. Your simply paying for it on the back end. Got it? Good.
And while we're on the subject of free contraceptives, how come condoms aren't covered? Why are certain BC devices given special status and not others? This seems to be very sexist if you ask me. How can you possibly be for free BC pills and not free condoms? Explain it to me, please. I think I'll organize a "Million Man March on Washington for free condoms" Whose with me?! Okay then. Let's move on.

Since many think the federal government has the authority the mandate free BC pills, why stop there? Why not sign an Executive Order forcing insurance companies to offer free dental care? Seriously. I can't imagine anyone who thinks the Feds have such good intentions with free BC to stand in the way of free dental care? After all. Not everyone has sex. Buy nearly everyone has at least some teeth. How come I'm not hearing the outcry? I'm at a loss for answers on this one. Hmmm.

The proponents of free birth control have successfully made the argument a 'women rights' issue when there are no women's rights being violated. Nice job, guys. I gotta' hand it to you on this one. To hear them talk, you'd think BC pills were on the verge of being outlawed by right wing, bible thumping, Neanderthal zealots intent on seeing every woman bare foot & pregnant. Of course, the real problem is with government dictated policy to religious organizations who don't happen to agree with the administrations ideas on birth control - yet are forced to provide a particular coverage against their teachings. But don't let facts get in the way. Right guys? I assume that Muslim organizations who offer medical coverages will have to offer free birth control pills as well. Nah, Obama will just give them religious waiver. After all, Islam is a religion of Peace, I've been told. Not like those nasty, hate filled Catholics. Yeech!

BC pills will be no less and no more accessible a year from now whether your insurance has to pay for them or not. So exactly what is this argument about then? Well, I was taught that when something doesn't sound like it makes sense, it's probably because it doesn't - but someone somewhere has an agenda to fulfill. It may have to do with money or power. Sometimes both. In this case, it's more of the later. Consolidating power is what the current inhabitant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is all about. Get as many people hooked on as many freebies you can, that way they'll never be able to vote your party out of power. Judging by the comments I hear - it just may work. Or we could go to "Plan B" which is; You want BC pills? Go buy em'. Nobody is stopping you. Go check your local CVS. There are no armed guards inspecting your packages for BC pills. This seems so obvious to me. And why wasn't Obama concerned about your BC purchases a year or two or three ago? Again - Hmmm.

In the end, free birth control pills will cost you in your insurance premium and a whole lot more. Hey, its' up to you if you think mandates and executive orders are a good way to force laws without actually enacting laws, I suppose. But remember, Obama wont be President forever - just the next 1 to 5 years. Eventually, a Republican you personally find disgusting will hold the office. And he or she, may propose mandates and executive orders you don't care for. Then you may be the person called names and have your ideals held up to ridicule. Its' only a matter of time. Til then, I'll embrace the words of Thomas Jefferson; "A government big enough to give you everything you need, is a government big enough to take away everything you have." Those old timey white guys were pretty freakin' brilliant. Even if they did wear powdered wigs.

Why the unemployment numbers don't tell the whole story

The news was trumpeted today from media outlets everywhere, that the unemployment number dropped to 8.3%. HUZZAHS! were heard from MSNBC so loud that the NYC Police Department had to be called in to quiet the newsroom down. Martin Bashir was so gleeful he nearly peed himself. Twice. But before we begin the revelry, perhaps it might be best to take a closer look at a few other numbers. How about the number 1.2 million. That's a pretty big numero! That is the amount of persons who have left the workforce. They're not even being counted anymore. And most new jobs being created are low wage part time jobs. Part time workers have surged to the highest number ever for one month at 700,000. Here's another number of interest - 1.1 million. That's the number of workers who lost full-time jobs last month. Want some more numbers? How about 57.4%. That's the full-time employment rate of 2000. To get back to that, we'd have to see 21 million new jobs created. (Right now we stand at about 46%.) Compare that with the official estimate of the number of unemployed workers at 12.8 million.

Do the simple math and you can quickly see why today's news isn't even half of the story. If you buy into the governments story that 243,000 jobs were created last month - it would take 7 years to get back where we need to be. But amid all these scary numbers the scariest of all may be 16.2 trillion. That is the new National Debt as of last week. Up almost 7 trillion since Barack Obama took office just 3 years ago. And since he has offered NO plans on Social Security or Medicare reforms (other than scaring seniors and demonizing Republicans) that number will grow at least 1.3 trillion every year - borrowing 40 cents of every dollar the Feds spend. Perhaps these numbers reflect the new normal. If they do, maybe we need to rethink the failed leadership that has brought us here. Demonizing the rich and using class warfare as an election tactic may be the path to re-election. But it won't do squat to save our country and it's future.

Barack Obama -The self proclaimed energy President

I saw President Obama's first re-election campaign ad today on television. His latest tact is to portray himself as the "Energy President". I'm serious, stop laughing. Let's review. First, gasoline prices are $1.00 a gallon higher today than when he took office.
He stopped off shore oil drilling in the the Gulf of Mexico after the BP leak which not only crippled oil industry jobs in places like Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi - but crushed ancillary businesses that catered to the industry. The Gulf has recovered nicely from the spill but the economies have not. Many oil platforms have permanently relocated elsewhere. It's no coincidence that these 3 gulf states have even higher than the national average of unemployed.
Then he gives Brazil $2 billion to develop their own off shore drilling capabilities so we can - in his words, "be your best customer". Unfreakin'-believable.
To cap it off, the "energy President" gives the thumbs down to the Keystone XL pipeline that would deliver oil from Canada to the U.S. creating 20,000 jobs and keep the resource here, while making us rely a little less on middle east oil. Canada announced that if the new application is declined again - they will build the pipeline west to the Pacific and export it to Asian countries. Brilliant.
He has KowTowed to the environmentalist wacko fringe in order to keep them reliably in his column come election time. His administration has made it more difficult if not impossible, to get permits and licensing for energy projects ranging from oil piplines to accessing natural gas deposits. It may be smart politics but not smart energy policy.
Ofcourse, President Obama is a great fan of solar energy. And he put his (our) money where his mouth is when he loaned the solar panel company, Solyndra $535 Billion. Sadly, Solyndra went under along with 1,100 jobs and the money is bye-bye. But I suppose all that matters is that he cares. I'm not sure we can afford much more of Mr. Obama's empathy. Just imagine the outrage you would have heard if Bush lost half-a-trillion dollars like that. Just sayin'.
The President touts the creation of so-called "green jobs" at every turn. But these green jobs create very little energy and even fewer jobs. We used to live in a free enterprise, capitalist system where success was not guaranteed or artificially propped up by government money. In that system, we had real winners and real losers. Now we manufacture winning with federal funds - not the marketplace.
You can fool some of the people some of the time and sadly, the number of people so fooled seems to be a rather high number. But facts are indeed pesky animals that eventually will be heard from. And they may be quite loud come November.

The National debt. Why raising taxes on anyone wont work.

There's an old saying - if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. If only our leaders in Washington had taken that to heart oh so many years ago. Instead they listened to their constituents (us) who told them that they wanted more and more entitlements paid for, preferably, by someone else. This week we passed the $15 Trillion mark in our national debt. Just 10 short years ago our debt stood at $5.6 Trillion. The year I was born (1957) the national debt was $275 billion. To put that in perspective, $275 billion is about the same amount of interest that will have to be paid on President Obama's $900 billion stimulus package and the $400 billion Omnibus spending bill. And yes, the Chinese will want that in cash.

The President and his party have decided to run a class warfare campaign this election cycle. When you have no more ideas, you must demonize someone. And who better than the rich or near rich. After all, don't we all hate the rich? Well, not me. I love the 1%. They create jobs and opportunity. They take the financial risks that most of us wont take. They also pay 37% of federal taxes. The top 5% pay 58%. The bottom 50% pay 2.3%. Hardly equitable if you ask me. What about the shared sacrifice I hear so much about? When will the bottom 50% kick in just a little bit more? Just a tad. Just a smidgen.

Here's the dirty little secret you're not going to hear much. If all the wealth of people who earn over $250,000 a year were confiscated, it wouldn't be enough to run the government for 3 months. Bear in mind, we're talking about taking it all. 100%. That should give you an idea how much we spend at the federal level. $10 billion a day, to be exact. Every day. And we borrow $4 billion of that. Please explain to me how making the wealthy pay even more is going to erase that? The fact is - it wont.

It's entitlements. That's where the money is. Did you ever see that pie chart that shows how much federal spending goes towards entitlements? Of course you have. Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid gobble up 56% of the chart. By 2049, just 37 years from now, Medicare and Social Security will consume 100% of all tax revenues. Because entitlement spending is funded on autopilot, no revenue will be left to pay for other government spending such as defense. Scared yet? You ought to be. Read on.

Total government spending has doubled since 1965.
Federal spending is growing faster than federal revenue.
Mandatory spending has increased 5X faster than discretionary spending. Federal spending outpaces inflation.
Defence spending has declined while entitlement spending has increased.
Total means-tested welfare spending (cash, food, housing, medical care, and social services for the poor) has increased 17-fold since the beginning of Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty in 1964. Though the current trend is unsustainable, the Obama Administration plans to increase future welfare spending rather than enact true policy reforms.
The main driver behind long-term deficits is government spending—not low revenues. While revenue will surpass its historical average of 18.0 percent of GDP by 2021, spending will shoot past its historical average of 20.3 percent, reaching 26.4 percent in the same year.

BUT! Rather than enact real, necessary and yes, perhaps painful cuts - we've been told all we have to do if soak the rich for more. This tact insults my intelligence and it should insult yours as well. The geniuses in Washington have known for decades that this overspending would lead to collapse. But most of them would be long gone before the day of reckoning occurred so they didn't really care that they sold-out the country. They hooked us on entitlements - the crack of government spending. And now we must go through withdrawal to survive or collapse and die.

Class warfare is just a ruse, a tactic. It keeps people from seeing the real problem - spending. And if successful, will keep a certain party in power - free to exercise even more spending and more debt. Perhaps the day will come when a $15 trillion debt looked minuscule. Should that happen, I hope you have a lot of canned goods stored in your basement. Right next to the ammunition. You may need both.

As long as they stay on the plantation - Democrats love blacks.

Herman Cain is black. But not Jesse Jackson or Louis Farrakhan black. And therein lies the problem. Mr. Cain is a start-from-nothing-pull-yourself-up-self-made success Conservative black. He believes in guaranteed equal opportunity, not guaranteed equal outcomes. That's a big no-no and threat to the black establishment that allies itself with the Democratic Party. Yeah, he's been called an Uncle Tom. But that's among the nicest things the left has to say about him. I expected the foulball comments from Harry Belafonte and Jenine Garofalo. But an alleged reporter should know better. Then again, the reporter is from MSNBC - also know as the television arm of the White House and Democratic National Committee. MSNBC's Karen Finney commented: “Very seriously, and this is a little harsh, but one of the things about Herman Cain is, I think that he makes that white Republican base of the party feel OK, feel like they are not racist because they can like this guy. I think he is giving that base a free pass and I think they like him because they think he is a black man that knows his place. And I know that’s harsh, but that’s how it sure seems to me.” Nice, huh. "A black man who knows his place". This brought to you by the people who say they believe in diversity - as long as we're not talking about political diversity among American blacks. Can you imagine the outrage had any Conservative said anything similar about a black liberal Democrat?

Google "comments by Democrats about Herman Cain" and you'll see that the above comment is one of the tamer things said about Mr. Cain. But why? Aren't Democrats the party who has looked out for African Americans ? Well, we'll come back to that in a moment.

The Democratic party does love black America. As long as its the black America they want. Since the 1960's, the federal government has spent over $4 trillion in social programs that most often benefited lower income blacks. Mostly Democratic programs that often offered a hand out but not much of a hand up. The proof is in the numbers. Today, there is a larger percentage of poor blacks than there was in 1964. 70% of black babies are born out-of-wedlock. By every measurable method, American blacks have shown little benefit in government monies meant to help them. Unfortunately, that hasn't stopped them from voting Democratic en mass. Personally, I can't imagine pledging my unwavering allegiance to an ideology or party that, in over half a century, has failed miserably to assist in my upward mobility and quality of life. But maybe that's just me. The Democratic party has convinced black Americans that they don't have much of a chance at any measurable level of success, unless they align themselves with the party. To quote Mr. Cain; "I refuse to stay on the plantation, that's why they attack me."

Herman Cain threatens that monopoly as does every other black Conservative/Republican. He and others like him must be ridiculed as lap dogs to the Republican party. Once black America dares to look over the fence to the other side, the Democratic hold on the black demographic is in danger. Blacks vote 95% for Democratic candidates. And their votes are often the difference in many an election, especially in large urban centers. Democrats cannot afford to lose their allegiance - in other words, their votes. And so they must play the race card. I suppose they have to. The power given to them by the unions is dwindling with union membership - even though they can still count on 98% of union campaign dollars going to Democrats. That's right. 98%. And just as with black Americans - hows' that blind allegiance working out for you?

You may assume I am a Cain supporter. I am not. But I love his success story and his ideology of personal responsibility and pro-growth agenda. And isn't it ironic that in this environment it is Conservative voices (you know, the ones who hate minorities) who stand arm and arm with Mr. Cain? You see, contrary to what you may be spoon fed by major media outlets, the majority of Conservatives don't care what color you are. Or what you sexual preference is. We have quite a big tent, actually. Nor do we call those who oppose us politically disgusting and vile names. Unlike our opposition - we really don't care about those things. We care about character. We care about civility. We care about ideas. And it matters not to us the color of the person presenting them. That is another distinction between us and our opposition.

ObamaCare. Free birth control! Or is it?

Upon debating the new government health insurance reform bill (ObamaCare) then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi stated; "We have to pass the bill to know what's in the bill". Scary stuff from an elected official who has the ability to run roughshod over our liberties. But as it turns out, she was right. The most recent affirmation happened this week when it was revealed that starting August 1, 2012 birth control pills for women will be free. Insurance companies will no longer be able to bill you for the pills nor charge you a co-pay. And it wont count against your deductible either. Great news, right? After all who doesn't like free stuff. Hell, our whole country is built on free stuff paid for by others. (Look up "social justice") Well, free may not exactly mean free. At least not in the end.

The cost of providing free contraceptives to women (but not men, Hmmm) will cost you a bundle in increased insurance premiums. The insurance companies will take a financial hit in the billions. Did you expect them to just absorb such a loss? Uh, no. They will pass on the cost to you, me and if you have a job - your employer. But it's worse than just that. Since the cost of providing health care insurance to employees will rise, one has to wonder how many employers will be eager to hire new personnel knowing the additional costs they'll incur. More job killing legislation.
But why stop at free birth control? Why not free aspirin? Or free ACE bandages? Maybe even free valet parking at your next Dr's visit. And make the evil insurance companies pay dearly for it.

There is such a thing as the cost of unintended consequences. Apparently, our illustrious leaders in Washington aren't familiar with this notion. Or maybe they are. The idea has been floated that the whole idea of the feds massive intrusion into the health care system was its eventual complete takeover. Sound crazy? Well hold on. Barack Obama stated in 2006 that he would like to see a single payer (government) system. But acknowledged that it would be too difficult to implement in one fell swoop. So it would have to be implemented "incrementally". In fact, many on the left were not in favor of the ObamaCare legislation precisely because it didn't offer a single payer option. Once the government controls your health care, they've got it all. When combined with your retirement (Social Security) they will have you dependent on them for nearly everything. And they'll be no other option for you once they eliminate private competition. The feds can crush private business either through legislation like this or by competing with them directly with a government plan. Since the feds can run massive red ink and a private company can't... say goodbye to private insurance. If you think private insurance has its problems (mostly because of government mandates & regulations) wait till the government controls it and they're your only option. They've done such a great job with everything else.

In countries such as Canada where health care is the exclusive domain of the government, patients cross the US border to have procedures performed here rather than wait for months and months for surgery. The wait time for a mammogram in Italy is 6 months. In England you must be seen by a doctor within 1 hour of your arrival. But the clock doesn't start till you actually enter the hospital. So ambulances are stacked outside in the parking lot. And to pay for this magnificent privilege of government run health care, the average wage earner gets to pay massive taxes.

There is no free lunch. Everything costs something and you usually get what you pay for. Unless of course you're talking birth control pills. And why no free condoms? This smacks of sexism to me. Sometimes additional lubrication might be required. Why not free K-Y jelly? It only makes sense if your mandating free birth control. Sound crazy? Well, Washington is the home base of crazy and the White House is it's current epicenter. If only Barack's Mom had access to free birth control.

The end of America. Death by suicide.

I tend to be a pretty optimistic person. But events of the past few weeks leave me with very little to be positive about regarding the future of our Republic. (And yes, it's a Republic, Not a Democracy. Look it up) The debt ceiling has been raised, yet no one who crafted the deal seems particularly happy about the arrangement. Well, neither am I. This elevation of the debt ceiling allows the government to borrow even more money it doesn't have without serious spending cuts. Currently the federal government borrow 40 cents of every dollar it spends. Go back and re-read that last sentence. Go ahead - I'll wait here. If that isn't frightening to you then you may not quite understand the implications. Imagine borrowing 40 cents of every dollar your household spends. How long could that go on without experiencing serious financial repercussions? Exactly. But that's what we're doing to satiate our appetite for federal spending. The annual federal budget is about $3.7 trillion. We borrow via the sale of treasury bills about $1.3 trillion.

Entitlement account for the largest share of that $3.7 trillion. And for many elected officials - those entitlements are "off the table" because they don't want to alienate a specific constituancy - the elderly, families with kids in school, unions, etc. (Apparently they're not concerned with alienting the constituancy that will actually have to pay for those entitlements - the next two generations because they'll be long gone by then). Thomas Jefferson said that each generation should pass a debt free nation on to the next. Yeah. Good luck with that. That ship has sailed and is on it's way to sinking.

Fixing the problem and not kicking it down the road would require telling the American people things they probably don't want to hear. Within the next 10 years our debt may match our Gross Domestic Product. If you're guessing that that's not a good thing - you're correct. Move ahead two spaces but don't collect $200. because we don't have it. Increasing taxes upon the rich seems to be the target du' jour. I only wish we had enough rich people to pay for the debt as some people think. But the truth is we don't. Not even close. In fact if ALL the wealth of everyone who makes over $250,000 were confiscated by the government - it would only be enough money to run the government for 3 months. Everytime the eggheads in Washington crow about saving $10 billion just remember, that's about 24 hours of federal spending. It's that bad. Federal spending has increased 39% in the last 3 years. Are you 39% better off?

The solution is bitter medicine. Medicare has to be restructured completely in the near future. It is by far the biggest chunk of the budget & has unfunded liablities of $33 trillion. Tinkering around the edges wont cut it. Social Security isn't quite as bad off but it's close. People are living much longer than the life expectancy of 65 when the program was initiated. That means people are collecting for a much longer period than the program was ever designed for. The retirement age must be raised and benefits trimmed - and soon or there wont be anything available for future generations. As it stand now - we only have IOU's in the form of Treasury bills in the Social Security fund. It was drained of actual cash long ago. Like most Ponzi schemes, you had to be there at the beginning to get your money.

Since the President says everyone must sacrifice, I assume he means everyone. That means trimming Medicaid entitlements and other programs the federal government never was intended to enact. (Read the 10th Ammendment) When the ailment is life threatening, the medicine must be strong. But don't worry.
None of this is going to happen.

Why? Because most politicians vote according to the wishes of their constituants so they can get re-elected. And who's going to vote for somebody who levels this truth at them? It's not a very pleasant truth. Certainly not one most people want to hear much less have to deal with. But facts are stubborn things and the math is pretty simple. So enjoy the ride as much as you can. America is doomed to flame out all because our greed for eating at the government trough couldn't be satiated. Not because we didn't pay enough in taxes. We just assumed someone else was going to pay the bulk of our benefits. Someone who could afford to pay more than us. And we assumed that those grand fellows and ladies in Washington we elected must be so much brighter than the rest of us. Surely they have it all figured out, right? Yeah, they've got it figured out alright. Invoke class warfare. Keep factions fighting with each other. Claim the "other guys" don't care about you. Maybe no one will notice you're giving them sugar cookie treats that their kids & grandkids will be paying for.

America could never be conquored by a foreign army. Instead it will die at it's own hands. Not with the bang of a cannon or thrust of a bayonette. It will wither and succomb under it's own financial suicide. The funny thing is - most of us saw it coming. But nobody wanted to arrange an intervention.

Absent a plan Democrats employ "MEDISCARE"

Senior citizens have been, as a whole, a reliable voting block for the Democratic party. I have to wonder why, considering how little regard they have for them. Rep. Paul Ryan's proposed Medicare plan doesn't affect seniors currently on Medicare at all. In fact it wouldn't affect anyone over the age of 55. But that hasn't stopped the Dems from frightening seniors with horror stories of how the GOP wants to change their Medicare health coverage. You've seen the Dems TV ad showing grandma being pushed off a cliff by a not-to-dissimilar Paul Ryan character. Classy ad. It's one thing to have a passionate debate - it's quite another to deliberately distort facts in an effort to scare your constituents. That serves no one.

Medicare is in serious trouble. By comparison, Social Security is a cash fountain. Independent sources have Medicare going flat broke on 10 years. That ain't that far off kiddies. Tinkering around the edges wont cure what ails this program. It's way past time for a serious discussion as to what Medicare will evolve into within the next decade and beyond. Paul Ryan's plan calls for what essentially is a voucher program. The government issues seniors a check and allows them to purchase coverage by whatever insurance company they like. Unlike Medicare, you will have "choice". Most seniors currently have a secondary insurance plan. Medicare covers 80% of their costs while the secondary picks up the balance. The current cost of Medicare to a senior is about $100.00 a month. A bargain when you consider the secondary insurance can charge $175.00 or more just to pick up the remaining 20%. For a $100.00 a month premium, the bulk of your healthcare needs are met at a time when you are most likely to use it and with great frequency. Is it any wonder why the program is in such trouble?

Currently, the Medicare program has unfunded liabilities near 30 trillion dollars. The program is unsustainable. That's a fact no matter what your party affiliation. Future senior healthcare recipients will have two choices. A higher cost for good benefits. Or lower costs for virtually no benefits - witness Medicaid. These are the choices that 40 years of unsustainable promises has left us. I work in healthcare. 20 years ago an Ophthalmologist would collect about $1200.00 for a cataract surgery. Today Medicare pays nearly half that amount. Yet the doctor's staffing, malpractice insurance, etc. have not gone down 50%. Cataract surgery is the number one surgery performed in America today. As baby boomers age, it will still be the number one surgery but by a far greater percentage. Based upon past history - a doctor can expect to be paid about $250.00 by the time I'm ready. I pay more than that for a brake job. Many Ophthalmologists have decided to give up performing cataract surgery and who can blame them. Some doctors are refusing to participate with Medicare. It's just not financially feasible. So much for the benefits of government run healthcare. And make no mistake - that's what Medicare is.

To keep costs contained, medical surgeries and procedures will be denied. But not by the evil insurance companies - but by the new government Affordable Healthcare program. For all the scare tactics used such as how insurance companies will deny you a procedure - government insurance, Medicare denies benefits at a higher ratio. That's something you'll never hear on the 6:00 news.

In the end, Paul Ryan's plan wont pass the Senate. And if it did, The President wouldn't sign it so you can forget about it. But eventually some plan will have to be designed, accepted and implemented to save the program. It wont look the same as our parent's Medicare. It will have to evolve or cease to exist at all. Medicare as it was enacted in 1965 was always unsustainable. But politicians can do the math and many figured they'd be long gone by the time this impending disaster arrived - leaving someone else to clean up the mess.

Till now, Democrats have been getting away with calling any Republican Medicare restructuring efforts, "barbaric" and "draconian". But eventually, people will demand to see the Democratic plan. And trashing your opponent without producing a plan of your own is no plan at all. I'm certain there's a compromise out there that will provide for future seniors (me) and do it in a financially solvent way. I just don't know it it will actually happen soon enough before the wheels come off the whole damn thing. And if it does, remember - it happened in part because we put so much trust in elected officials who told us what we wanted to hear - not what we needed to hear.