Worcester County Freedom Trail

OK, this is crazy. If I put out my hand, will someone give my business a bailout? Methinks not, even though I have employees. The problem is, I’ve learned how to turn a profit! Maybe I should start running in the red and see if the government will bail me out?!?! And it appears the Democrats haven’t learned from the RINO’s mistakes that pork barrel politics is not appreciated by the voters.

From Newsmax.com:

The $1.17 trillion stimulus bill passed by House Democrats on Wednesday bears little resemblance to the bill originally proposed by President Obama, with less than 5 percent of the funds now going to repair America’s deteriorating infrastructure.

GOP critics point out the bill is loaded with tens of billions for items ranging from Amtrak subsidies to sexually transmitted diseases to the National Endowment for the Arts — much of which won’t actually flow into the economy until long after economists expect the current economic crisis to subside.

In late November, Obama promised: “It will be a two-year, nationwide effort to jumpstart job creation in America, and lay the foundation for a strong and growing economy. We’ll put people back to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges,” modernizing schools and stimulating development of alternative forms of energy.

Even some Democrats are now objecting that the measure contains too few highway and mass transit projects. Moreover Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Economy.com, says most of the infrastructure spending in the plan won’t occur until 2010 or later.

Provisions of the bill that many legislators are questioning:

- $1 billion for Amtrak, which hasn’t earned a profit in four decades.

- $2 billion to help subsidize child care.

- $400 million for research into global warming.

- $2.4 billion for projects to demonstrate how carbon greenhouse gas can be safely removed from the atmosphere.

- $650 million for coupons to help consumers convert their TV sets from analog to digital, part of the digital TV conversion.

- $600 million to buy a new fleet of cars for federal employees and government departments.

- $75 million to fund programs to help people quit smoking.

- $21 million to re-sod the National Mall, which suffered heavy use during the Inauguration.

- $2.25 billion for national parks. This item has sparked calls for an investigation, because the chief lobbyist of the National Parks Association is the son of Rep. David R. Obey, D-Wisc. The $2,25 billion is about equal to the National Park Service’s entire annual budget. The Washington Times reports it is a threefold increase over what was originally proposed for parks in the stimulus bill. Obey is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

- $335 million for treatment and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.

- $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts. $4.19 billion to stave off foreclosures via the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The bill allows nonprofits to compete with cities and states for $3.44 billion of the money, which means a substantial amount of it will be captured by ACORN, the controversial activist group currently under federal investigation for vote fraud. Another $750 million would be exclusively reserved for nonprofits such as ACORN – meaning cities and states are barred from receiving that money. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., charges the money could appear to be a “payoff” for the partisan political activities community groups in the last election cycle.

- $44 million to renovate the headquarters building of the Agriculture Department.

- $32 billion for a “smart electricity grid to minimize waste.

- $87 billion of Medicaid funds, to aid states.

- $53.4 billion for science facilities, high speed Internet, and miscellaneous energy and environmental programs.

- $13 billion to repair and weatherize public housing, help the homeless, repair foreclosed homes.

- $20 billion for quicker depreciation and write-offs for equipment.

- $10.3 billion for tax credits to help families defray the cost of college tuition.

- $20 billion over five years for an expanded food stamp program.

Republican leaders say the stimulus package will add 32 new government programs at a cost of $136 billion. They object that many of the programs, once established, are likely to continue indefinitely.

Most media outlets are reporting the cost of the package at $819 billion. As Newsmax revealed yesterday, however, the Congressional Budget Office calculates that the interest on the debt generated by the bill’s spending will cost another $347.1 billion, making the total cost approximately $1.17 trillion.

Interesting article on workers comp that leads into the topic of health care reform. We have experienced this first-hand. It took months and dozens of doctors before we got an answer on what was causing our daughter’s debilitating pain, almost from head to toe. We now know it’s Lyme disease; sadly, chronic Lyme, which is very hard to beat. Our daughter has been on oral antibiotics for almost a year, then switched to IV antibiotics. We are now, about 3 months into the IV, starting to see a turnaround and the doctors anticipate she will have a full recovery.

Not that this was easy, but life can get worse when you’re fighting agencies, committees, and the medical establishment:

I give you the condition known as ‘chronic lyme disease’ . This tick borne ailment is pretty common in my area (central coast of Connecticut), in fact I live about twenty miles from Lyme. Walk down the main street in Madison and chances are you’ll encounter at least one person who has had recurrent Lyme disease – the mechanic, artist, college student, mom. Yet try to find a doctor who will treat chronic Lyme and you’ll find very few who will risk their reputation and medical license, as several physicians have been disciplined for just that.

The battle over chronic Lyme (and it is a battle) has been brutal, nasty, and vicious. Nay sayers claim no such disease exists, and cite research and articles in prestigious publications such as the New England Journal of Medicine as support for their opinions. Their opponents decry the poor quality and selective nature of that ‘research’, accuse the authors and study leaders of conflicts of interest, and note the successes – patients treated for chronic Lyme that get better.

Anecdotally, I know at least a half-dozen friends and neighbors who have suffered from some condition that robbed them of their energy, caused great pain, and prevented them from doing many of the things the rest of us take for granted. After extensive treatment (we’re talking over a year) with antibiotics, all have gotten better. Much better.

It is abundantly clear that medicine is an art as much as a science, and art is, as famously described, in the eye of the beholder.

And that’s one reason health reform, which must attack cost, will be so very difficult.

While the numbers aren’t official, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of pro-life people gathered this week in Washington, DC to protest the Roe v Wade decision of 36 years ago. The day before the abortion protest, Congressmen gathered to give floor speeches in support of life. Senator Jim Inhofe produced this video commemorating the grave occasion:

From the Traditional Values Coalition:

“Obama has expressed his support for reducing abortions, but his actions speak louder than his words,” said TVC Executive Director Andrea Lafferty. “I expect him to be the most aggressively pro-abortion President our nation has ever seen.”

While avoiding participation in the March for Life, Obama is expected to sign an Executive Order (EO) to overturn the Mexico City policy that bans tax dollars from being used to fund abortions overseas. Obama’s abortion agenda is underway. He is paying back those in the abortion industry who helped get him elected. A list of abortion industry demands is posted on the TVC web site.

On the day before the March for Life, the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus gathered on the floor of the House to give floor speeches in support of the sanctity of human life. Among those speaking were Representatives Chris Smith, Virginia Foxx, Mike Pence, Bob Latta, Michelle Bachman, Doug Lamborn, David Roe, Jim Jordan, Mark Souder and others. Their speeches can be viewed on here: YouTube – Prolifeinformation’s Channel.

In addition, 105 House Republican leaders sent a letter to President Obama asking that he withdraw his pledge to sign the so-called “Freedom of Choice” Act (FOCA). FOCA will undermine all state abortion laws.

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)

Apparently the federal bailout is finally making its way down to the local level. According to the Telegram:

City officials have identified more than $350 million worth of capital and infrastructure projects that could be eligible for federal funding as part of an $800 billion economic stimulus plan being talked about in Washington.

At the request of Gov. Deval L. Patrick and Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray, the city on Thursday provided the state with a list of capital projects and programs that met two criteria that have been set for the use of the federal stimulus money.

One criterion is that the projects have to be ready for “shovels in the ground” within 180 days of the release of the money and they must be completed within two years.

The other criterion is that the money has to be used for transportation, municipal facilities, clean energy and efficiency, information technology or educational facilities.

I will agree, there’s lots to be done to improve Worcester. But here are my concerns:

1. The purpose of the bailout is to encourage business development, not short term projects. If the federal government is paying for $350M worth of road and school projects, will the Worcester City Council see fit to reduce the onerous corporate income tax? The one that’s so outrageously high businesses are running away screaming. Did you know we haven’t had any new building construction downtown since 1990?

2. If this federal money is being routed through the state and then to the city, does that mean these projects are all considered municipal projects? If so, will they be saddled with the overpriced union-only requirements of the Worcester’s not so smart PLA’s (project labor agreements)? Union members comprise about 20% of the total pool of contractors. If the purpose of the bailout is business development, shouldn’t everyone have a fair shot at the projects — union and non-union?

The Worcester City Council isn’t really known for making the smartest decisions when it comes to business development and unions. Too much politicking and not enough concern for the city’s taxpayers. Let’s see if they can get the bailout right.

Not surprising, as President Obama is a big fan of large government and socialist policies. Here is his incoming Economic Advisor, Robert Reich, on how the federal government will add mandates to allow them to make end runs around state legislatures. And, of course, Congressman Rangel notes that the middle class is so busy making ends meet, we won’t notice we’re getting poked in the eye.

Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand, is one of my all-time favorite books. It shows how government really only serves government and that hard work and individual responsibility are what pay off in life. I’m not a fan of Ayn Rand’s real life politics, but didn’t she do a great job predicting events of 2008…back when she finished the book in 1957?!

From the Wall Street Journal:

For the uninitiated, the moral of the story is simply this: Politicians invariably respond to crises — that in most cases they themselves created — by spawning new government programs, laws and regulations. These, in turn, generate more havoc and poverty, which inspires the politicians to create more programs . . . and the downward spiral repeats itself until the productive sectors of the economy collapse under the collective weight of taxes and other burdens imposed in the name of fairness, equality and do-goodism.

In the book, these relentless wealth redistributionists and their programs are disparaged as “the looters and their laws.” Every new act of government futility and stupidity carries with it a benevolent-sounding title. These include the “Anti-Greed Act” to redistribute income (sounds like Charlie Rangel’s promises soak-the-rich tax bill) and the “Equalization of Opportunity Act” to prevent people from starting more than one business (to give other people a chance). My personal favorite, the “Anti Dog-Eat-Dog Act,” aims to restrict cut-throat competition between firms and thus slow the wave of business bankruptcies. Why didn’t Hank Paulson think of that?

These acts and edicts sound farcical, yes, but no more so than the actual events in Washington, circa 2008. We already have been served up the $700 billion “Emergency Economic Stabilization Act” and the “Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act.” Now that Barack Obama is in town, he will soon sign into law with great urgency the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.” This latest Hail Mary pass will increase the federal budget (which has already expanded by $1.5 trillion in eight years under George Bush) by an additional $1 trillion — in roughly his first 100 days in office.

The current economic strategy is right out of “Atlas Shrugged”: The more incompetent you are in business, the more handouts the politicians will bestow on you. That’s the justification for the $2 trillion of subsidies doled out already to keep afloat distressed insurance companies, banks, Wall Street investment houses, and auto companies — while standing next in line for their share of the booty are real-estate developers, the steel industry, chemical companies, airlines, ethanol producers, construction firms and even catfish farmers. With each successive bailout to “calm the markets,” another trillion of national wealth is subsequently lost. Yet, as “Atlas” grimly foretold, we now treat the incompetent who wreck their companies as victims, while those resourceful business owners who manage to make a profit are portrayed as recipients of illegitimate “windfalls.”

It’s interesting to see hypocrisy at work among the liberal leadership. For example, liberals are deeply offended when the US spreads the good news about democracy around the world. They claim we are nation-building in cultures where democracy may not work. Personally, I think democracy can work anywhere and is the best form of government human beings have yet to invent. But these same liberals will go out of their way to push other nations to bend their moral values to be in compliance with ours. The UN’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is pushing to make abortion legal everywhere in the world. Kudos to Cameroon, which pushed right back and said “abortion is murder.”

This from LifeSiteNews:

The committee that monitors state compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of

Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) will begin a new session in Geneva next week, but even prior to the meeting six of the eight states who will be reviewed have already been questioned on abortion. In a stinging written response to the CEDAW committee’s advance questions, Cameroon fired back that “abortion is murder.”

CEDAW does not mention abortion, but the committee has courted controversy for years by pressuring over 65 countries to liberalize their abortion laws. In a written communication to the Cameroon government, the CEDAW committee asked the government to account for how they have implemented CEDAW’s previous recommendations to “review the abortion law and increase access to, and availability of, contraception.”

The government of Cameroon provided a lengthy written answer to the question and repudiated the tendency to “elevate” abortion to “the rank of a right and dignity.” Cameroon continued that abortion “is portrayed as a freedom without mentioning that the mother exercises this freedom to the detriment of the child’s.”

In other not-so-happy news, Jay G. passed this on to us:

Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. is the sole provider in the US for rubella, measles, and mumps vaccines. One strain of their vaccines are made with animal cells (monovalent), the other strain is made with aborted human baby cells. Merck recently decided to discontinue their ethical, monovalent vaccines and only produce vaccines made from aborted baby cells – leaving parents no ethical option to vaccinate their children.

Please join the millions of Pro-Life Americans in asking Merck stop their moral back alley business dealings. Go to Children of God for Life web site for more info and to support the Fair Labeling and Informed Consent Act, which requires that pharmaceutical firms provide full disclosure in the labeling of all products that use aborted fetal or embryonic cell lines, cloned or produced otherwise.

The good news is that there is an alternative: AVM Biotechnology

In a statement written on September 8th and released December 12th, 2008, the Holy See clarified a number of issues in biomedical research and their application to family life that have been hotbeds of contention for decades. The new official Church instruction, dignitas_personae, (Dignity of the Person) expanded Catholic teaching from a number of previously published documents, including Donum Vitae, Veritatis Splendor and Evangelium Vitae to assist Catholics in the ever changing world of modern scientific technologies.

In the section titled, The use of human “biological material” of illicit origin , the Vatican noted:

“Therefore, it needs to be stated that there is a duty to refuse to use such “biological material” even when there is no close connection between the researcher and the actions of those who performed the artificial fertilization or the abortion, or when there was no prior agreement with the centers in which the artificial fertilization took place. This duty springs from the necessity to remove oneself, within the area of one’s own research, from a gravely unjust legal situation and to affirm with clarity the value of human life.”

The Vatican further clarified actions required by parents who may be faced with using vaccines that are produced using aborted fetal materials.

“Grave reasons may be morally proportionate to justify the use of such “biological material”. Thus, for example, danger to the health of children could permit parents to use a vaccine which was developed using cell lines of illicit origin, while keeping in mind that everyone has the duty to make known their disagreement and to ask that their healthcare system make other types of vaccines available. ”

“Once again, it is important that people read the entire statement carefully”, Children of God’s Vinnedge cautioned. “We have already seen some news stories opining that parents can use these vaccines without reporting on the further conditions laid down by the Holy See.” Vinnedge is strongly encouraging concerned families to do as the Church is instructing and begin rallying behind AVM Biotechnology, the only company worldwide whose mission is to bring morally produced alternative vaccines to the United States.

Courtesy of Powerline blog and House Minority Leader John Boehner, here are some not-so-fun facts about the stimulus plan that President-Elect Obama and the Democrats are about to push through Congress. But first, a little reality check. Many people, including myself, are very unhappy with President Bush’s spendthrift ways. But note the uptick in spending when the Democrats took control of Congress a few months ago:

Preference for a smaller, more limited federal government is probably the single most universal feature of all strands of modern conservatism. Yet, as we have noted before, conservatives have failed to have much impact on the steadily increasing federal budget. This graph, which shows federal spending from 1965 to the present in 2007 dollars, pretty much says it all.

Old-style conservatives have been discouraged by the movement’s apparent failure to have any significant impact on the inexorable growth of government. Note, however, the uptick at the end of the graph. If the Democrats get their way over the next couple of years, we may see what happens when conservatives are entirely out of power in Washington: an explosion in federal spending and regulatory reach that threatens the foundation of our free enterprise system. If that doesn’t energize and unify conservatives, nothing will.

A Dozen Fun Facts About the House Democrats’ Massive Spending Bill
(courtesy House Minority Leader John Boehner)

1. The House Democrats’ bill will cost each and every household $6,700 additional debt, paid for by our children and grandchildren.

2. The total cost of this one piece of legislation is almost as much as the annual discretionary budget for the entire federal government.

3. President-elect Obama has said that his proposed stimulus legislation will create or save three million jobs. This means that this legislation will spend about $275,000 per job. The average household income in the U.S. is $50,000 a year.

4. The House Democrats’ bill provides enough spending – $825 billion – to give every man, woman, and child in America $2,700.

5. $825 billion is enough to give every person living in poverty in the U.S. $22,000.

6. $825 billion is enough to give every person in Ohio $72,000.

7. Although the House Democrats’ proposal has been billed as a transportation and infrastructure investment package, in actuality only $30 billion of the bill – or three percent – is for road and highway spending. A recent study from the Congressional Budget Office said that only 25 percent of infrastructure dollars can be spent in the first year, making the one year total less than $7 billion for infrastructure.

8. Much of the funding within the House Democrats’ proposal will go to programs that already have large, unexpended balances. For example, the bill provides $1 billion for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), which already have $16 billion on hand. And, this year, Congress has plans to rescind $9 billion in highway funding that the states have not yet used.

9. In 1993, the unemployment rate was virtually the same as the rate today (around seven percent). Yet, then-President Clinton’s proposed stimulus legislation ONLY contained $16 billion in spending.

10. Here are just a few of the programs and projects that have been included in the House Democrats’ proposal:

· $650 million for digital TV coupons.
· $6 billion for colleges/universities – many which have billion dollar endowments.
· $166 billion in direct aid to states – many of which have failed to budget wisely.
· $50 million in funding for the National Endowment of the Arts.
· $44 million for repairs to U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters.
· $200 million for the National Mall, including grass planting.
· $400 million for “National Treasures.”

11. Almost one-third of the so called tax relief in the House Democrats’ bill is spending in disguise, meaning that true tax relief makes up only 24 percent of the total package – not the 40 percent that President-elect Obama had requested.

12. $825 billion is just the beginning – many Capitol Hill Democrats want to spend even more taxpayer dollars on their “stimulus” plan.

I am a big advocate of parents’ rights. With rare exception, parents are much smarter than the government about raising their kids. They know when their children are in need of quiet, tender loving moments, and they know when their children are misbehaving and need to face the consequences of their actions. Parents also know what’s best for their children when it comes to education; some fare better in a private school, some need home schooling, and others do well in the public school system (although not as many as in decades gone by).

But the UN has been pushing us to ratify a treaty that would become the law of the land and would significantly weaken the role of parents in the upbringing of their child. We’ve ignored their requests under President Bush. But now President-Elect Obama is making noises he might sign.

Here are the details from the Washington Times:

One of the issues American families could face this year is the ramifications from a treaty called the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

On Nov. 20, 1989, the U.N. adopted the CRC and submitted it for ratification to the member nations. It has been ratified by 193 nations—the United States is one of the few countries that has not ratified it.

The ratification process requires a two-thirds vote by the U.S. Senate. On Feb. 16, 1995, Madeleine Albright, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., signed the CRC on behalf of the United States. The CRC, however, has never been sent to the Senate for ratification because there is insufficient support to pass it.

Due to the recent election, however, there are rumblings from Capitol Hill that there will be an effort to seek ratification of the CRC during the next congressional cycle. Hillary Rodham Clinton is a strong supporter of the treaty, and as secretary of state, would have direct control over the submission of treaties to the Senate.

The CRC would be treated as superior to laws in every state regarding the parent-child relationship. This would include issues regarding education, health care, family discipline, the child’s role in family decision-making, and a host of other subjects.

Article 43 of the CRC establishes an international committee on the rights of the child to examine compliance by member nations. This committee, which sits in Geneva, has final authority concerning interpretation of the language contained in the CRC.

Two central principles of the CRC clearly are contrary to current U.S. laws related to parent-child relationships. The CRC provides that in all matters relating to children, whether private or public, or in courts, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration. Additionally, nations should ensure that children are capable of expressing their views freely in all matters affecting them, giving due weight to the age and maturity of the child.

This is contrary to traditional American law, which provides that absent proof of harm, courts and social workers simply do not have the authority to intervene in parent-child relationships and decision-making. The importance of this tradition and practice is that the government may not substitute its judgment for that of the parent until there is proof of harm to the child sufficient to justify governmental intervention. It is clear that in two very important areas of the parent-child relationship, religion and education, there will be potential for tremendous conflict.

The international committee in Geneva, in reviewing the laws of practice of countries that have ratified the CRC, has expressed its concern that parents could homeschool without the view of the child being considered; that parents could remove their children from sex-education classes without the view of the child being considered; that parents were legally permitted to use corporal punishment; and that children didn’t have access to reproductive health information without parental knowledge.

The bottom line is the CRC would drastically weaken the United States’ sovereignty over family life, which would have a substantial impact on every American family. For more information on the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, visit www.parentalrights.org/learn.

Massachusetts is apparently getting fatter faster than the rest of the US. Our numbers are no worse than the nation as a whole, but the speed with which our waistlines are expanding has caught the attention of the legislators on Beacon Hill. So now they’re going to creep into our businesses and homes and tell us what we already know — we’re getting fat.

Once again, Gov Deval “Obama” Patrick believes that “we the people” are idiots. His administration seems to think we don’t know that a Big Mac, large shake, and large fries is more calories than the average person needs in a whole day. Or that eating a whole sleeve of Oreos while watching NCIS is a bad thing. For heaven’s sake, Governor, we know. Between our insurance companies and our doctors and the local health facilities, we know everything we need to know to improve our weight — eat less, exercise more. But like it or not, Governor, we live in a country where we get to choose what we want to eat, where, and when.

The same goes for our children. With rare exception, parents know best when it comes to their children. We will teach them how to eat right, how to exercise, etc. We do not need the school interfering when they can’t even do what they’re supposed to be doing — teaching reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a nutrition class in school and let’s bring back gym class. But the Governor’s new proposal goes too far.

According to Patrick’s proposed Mass in Motion program, restaurants will have to tell you all the nutritional/caloric details behind their foods (that’s fine, but who’s going to pay for the testing and calculations…we, the eaters, of course). In addition, schools will measure the height, weight, and now BMI (body mass index) of our children in Grades 1, 4, 7, and 10 and send reports home.

Yes, you heard that right. As if there wasn’t enough peer pressure and bullying going on in school, now Gov Patrick is going to add fuel to the fire by making the whole weighing and measuring a more public and more detailed activity. Can you imagine, standing in the gym with all the other 7th graders, waiting to be measured…in front of dozens or hundreds of kids? Kids can be cruel and bullying has become a national epidemic. It’s so bad that the American Girls doll collection’s 2009 doll of the year is Chrissa, who say’s no to bullies.

According to the Chicago Sun Times:

Here’s the story behind the doll: Ten year-old Chrissa Maxwell is the new girl at school. On her first day, she encounters a group of girls who first ignore her, then begin teasing her, which soon escalates into bullying. Chrissa, determined to find a way to deal with the pranks and taunting, is taught she must be strong and learn to stand up to the girls. Putting aside her fear, Chrissa learns to become a stronger person and deal in a positive way with the girls and their hurtful behavior.

The subject for Chrissa’s story was determined based on letters sent to American Girl by young girls asking for guidance on how to handle bullying situations in their own lives.

“Bullying is a hot-button topic in schools, on sports playing fields and other arenas were you find young girls,” said Julie Parks, public relations manager for American Girl.

American Girl has taken multiple steps to help combat bullying, including establishing an interactive site that offers discussions, questions, online craft projects and an inspirational pledge.

The company, going a step further, has established the Stand Together, Stop the Bullying Curriculum, an in-school program for grades 3-5 designed to educate students on peer aggression.

Let’s not add fuel to the bullying fire. All that will do is produce more stress in our kids and encourage them to either eat more or fall prey to the anorexia-loving messages coming out of Hollywood.

If the schools want to get involved, then have all students to take a nutrition class, maybe once in elementary school and once in high school. Then get gym back into the school week. When did that disappear and why?

If this bill passes, what will be interesting is to watch the “we know better than you when it comes to your health” liberal faction come up against the “we need to build your self-esteem” liberal faction.