Passage of Obamacare well cost you

Robin's commentary --

"Congress was within its constitutional powers in requiring Americans to buy insurance by 2014 or pay a penalty"

Those words alone should put fear in your hearts as it opens a Pandora's box do something bigger and worse.

The Obama administration is currently going to court to defend the above statement which has been challenged by 26 of the 50 states.

Opponents of the measure also argue that with passage of Obamacare, the government could technically require everybody to eat broccoli in order to fight obesity or pay a penalty.

Historically... the government has been able to get around the requirement of mandates by calling it a tax e.g. the federal income tax. [Citation to follow]

The argument is that everybody should have health care... and I suppose that by mandating everybody to buy health care is their thinking is one solution.

The problem: is that people without healthcare would love to have health care IF THEY COULD AFFORD IT!

[Any moron can figure that one out...]

Well according to an article from Investor's Business Daily the OUT-OF-POCKET cost to you for FAILURE to have qualified health insurance will range from $695 or 2.5% of your household income.

As I've said many a time... you can kiss your tax refund good bye.

president Obama announces today proposal for illegal aliens

Illegal aliens may reduce time separated from their families under a new proposal from President Obama

The new proposal which is "aimed at keeping families intact" would benefit US citizens who are married to or have children who are illegal aliens.

According to the New York Times, illegal aliens who are married to or are children of American citizens are generally allowed under the law to become legal residents under a visa known as a green card however, to acquire a green card the illegal alien must return to their home country to be eligible.

The catch (or penalty) is that once the aliens leave the United States they are automatically barred from returning to the country for at least three years.  Under the new proposal, the illegal alien can apply for a waiver if they can prove that their absence would cause "extreme hardship" to a United States citizen.

In short, the basic purpose of the proposal is to shorten the time that families are separated from each other.

oh where should I start?


Well first, let me start by saying that I am not a coldhearted bitch when it comes down to separating families, HOWEVER we're back to that same argument that they knew the risks and the penalties of being caught by breaking the law.


"Ignorance of the law is no excuse."


So I'm not going to regurgitate the argument has been said numerous times about what part of illegal don't you understand, etc. and as we all know that the government has opened up a Pandora's box by its failure to address the issue.


But the other thing that's not really being talked about yet is the timing of this proposal coming straight from CANDIDATE OBAMA, who as we all know has been in campaign mode for the last year.


We've heard it in the news numerous times, "we need the Hispanic vote to get elected..."


Isn't that being racist by focusing on one particular race for their vote?


So it will be interesting to listen to the talkshow chatter about this move and see where it goes from there.


So do you agree with the president's proposal or not?  


And of course don't be surprised if the president decides to use "executive presidential power" for amnesty or amnesty by another name.  

do you agree that illegal immigrants should have the right to vote?

Fox News --

New Haven Mayor John DeStefano commented on Tuesday that illegal immigrants [aliens] pay taxes indirectly through rent and send their children to local schools -- and therefore should be able to vote.

Elizabeth Benton, spokesperson for DeStefano said "we're not seeking to apply this to any other city, this is about New Haven and what we think makes sense for New Haven... we want every adult in our community... to be able to vote in local elections that affects their families and futures."

She continued to say that this is not as much as an immigration issue as it is a New Haven resident issue.

in 2007, New Haven made national headlines when it approved a program providing municipal identification cards for all residents including illegal aliens for access to services such as banking and using the library.

when I heard this over the radio, my jaw dropped in dismay as I wondered where our country is coming to.

How many people have died for our freedom and to protect our right to vote?

in my opinion this not only cheapens what it means to be a citizen but it also is a slap in the face to all those people who spent the time, money and effort to come here legally to join American society.

And I don't think I'm being racist when I say "Hell no" to allowing people who are not even supposed to be in the country in the first place, full privileges of being a citizen.

Part of the reason why we have the problem that we have with the illegal immigration is that we turned our backs on enforcement and basically held the door open and now everybody's paying the price for it.

So the next time unfortunately when somebody makes a comment that our country is not for sale...

how would you feel about video recording devices in your vehicle?

Robin's commentary --

We all know that the government looks for any type of excuse to put new regulations on us and I was not a bit surprised that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) voted unanimously to recommend to ban all electronic devices while the driver is driving...

And yes that means the use of hands-free cell phones.

They are also recommending

"Require all heavy commercial vehicles to be equipped with video event recorders that capture data in connection with the driver and the outside environment and roadway in the event of a crash or sudden deceleration event. The device should create recordings that are easily accessible for review when conducting efficiency testing and systemwide performance-monitoring programs. (H-10-10)
Require motor carriers to review and use video event recorder information in conjunction with other performance data to verify that driver actions are in accordance with company and regulatory rules and procedures essential to safety. (H-10-11) read more from the NTSB...

and that's not even the half of it.

I wish that I could post the whole article on here but of course copyright regulations prevents me from doing it so I highly recommend that you go to the link above and read the entire article and the NTSB's recommendations.

some will say that the NTSB can not create new regulations they can only make recommendations however, the new nationwide handheld cell phone ban was recently passed due to the NTSB recommendations.

so when is enough... enough?

How much of big brother do we have to have in our lives?

I get pretty tired of using safety as an excuse for replacing common sense to add new regulations.

And while some will say especially regarding commercial vehicles that having a video recording of the driver in order to fight (get ready for here's the buzzword) driver fatigue, they don't look at the real reasons for the fatigue which I will not go into at this writing.

Just remember, today they're talking about commercial vehicles for the installation of video recording devices. Cars already have black boxes in them to reconstruct an accident it's only a matter of time before agencies like the NTSB recommends video recording devices in all vehicles.

Just my opinion.

NTSB finds excuse to take your cell phone's totally away

The Star Telegraph



take a real close look at this picture before you do anything else.

Look at real careful and before reading the article try to picture how this happened.

And yes that is a pickup rolled up in a ball between the semi and the school bus.

Good... now would you believe that a 19-year-old texting on a cell phone could cause this?.

That's what they want you to believe...

in fact, the NTSB is wanting to take away all electronic communications including hands-free cell phone devices and is using this accident as an excuse to do so.

BUT THERE IS MORE...

according to the NTSB investigation, the teenager was traveling at 55 miles an hour while the semi-had already slowed or stopped for a work zone, and then the two buses plowed into the pickup that the teenager was driving. Investigators are also saying that there is a total of 11 text that were sent and received by the teenager within or close to the time period of the accident.

but what you believe?

in fact, while putting together this article, I try to look at different sources to try and get the best information and one of the things that I came up with was a contrary information which I am showing below here.

mixed information!
one article says that

"Investigators also found significant problems with the brakes of both school buses involved in the accident. A third school bus sent to a hospital after the accident to pick up students crashed in the hospital parking lot when that bus' brakes failed.

Read more:Star Telegraph

another article claims

an inspection 10 days before the accident did not reveal faulty brakes on one of the buses, the NTSB said. The faulty brakes were not a factor in the accident, the NTSB said, because the driver said she did not hit the brakes before the crash.
read more:CNN

the unfortunate thing is that several people did lose their lives resulting from this accident and that's what the NTSB is focusing on to try and push a total electronic ban.

While the teenager was at fault, the lead bus driver wasn't paying that much attention and claims that they didn't see the brakes on the pickup come on.

tragic yes... a reason to ban all electronic devices in your car or commercial vehicle?

NO!

'M-A-S-H' star Harry Morgan dies at age 96

Star Gazette

Harry Morgan who played Col. Sherman Potter on MASH died today at the age of 96 at his Brentwood home after having pneumonia.

Morgan was also know for his role as Sgt. Joe Friday's loyal partner in later "Dragnet" episodes.

Harry Morgan RIP

Presidential Candidates -- do your homework

CBS News--
on a morning radio program, Newt Gingrich was asked what he would do about Syria in 30 seconds or less where antigovernment protests has led to a violent crackdown.
his response...

"I can give you a three-second answer. Replace Assad. I mean Assad is our enemy. He is an ally of Iran. It is a bad dictatorship. It is to our interest to get rid of dictators of this kind."

although Gingrich did not specify which methods that he would use, he did acknowledge that there would be consequences.

before commenting, I recommend reading the entire article at the link above.

My first impression when I read the article however was, "here we go again trying to be the world police and we cannot even take care of our own house."

the other point that he made that stood out was, "it is in our best interest to get rid of dictators of this kind."

I understand the thinking that we need to get involved if it goes against OUR best interest... but my thinking is that unless they prove to be a direct threat to the United States or other countries with undeniable evidence [referring to the false allegations of weapons of mass destruction] what right do we have to go overseas and get involved in other countries affairs?

In fact, have we ever had a presidency where we have NOT been in a war?

Our own country is falling apart at its knees to the point that like you would normally see overseas with people marching in the streets who would've thought that some of those images would actually from our own country.

Granted, the occupied movement is getting a little carried away... however, if you look at the original nationwide movement and the fact that people from all walks of life participated, that says that there may be a problem going on.

However, when coverups and denial have become the norm for government, where our leaders approval rating has reached below 9%, we need to not be so worried about other countries and less like I said they are a DIRECT threat to us.

Like the old saying... you can't help somebody unless you can help yourself.

Herman Cain decides to suspend his campaign

CBS news --

Herman Cain said that he would be "technically suspending" his bid for the presidency after the latest in five allegations from women who claimed that they have had relations with Cain.

The now former GOP candidate said in a statement alongside his wife Gloria, "I'm not going to be silenced and I'm not going away.... I am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distraction, the continued hurt caused on me and my family..."

does that sound familiar?

If you recall, when Ross Perot was running for president as an independent, he rose in popularity very quickly in a short period of time, in fact, both the Democrats and Republicans were so worried about him that they started mimicking his style. Yes, in short we were being "charted" to death. I have a chart that I would like to show you... :-)

In the end, Ross Perot dropped out of the race when his family began to be threatened.

In my opinion, I think that's was going on here as Herman Cain is obviously a serious threat to the GOP as if looks like he could realistically win the Republican nomination.

#1 just like with Ross Perot, how fast he came up in the ranks out of nowhere got the good old boys extremely worried.

#2 his sudden popularity in the following even though he is not an experienced politician. It is for that reason that a lot of people are really excited about them.

#3 he has a history in business and a proven track record of fixing failing businesses. The organization or business known as the United States of America need somebody who is experienced in managing a large corporation successfully. Politicians at the helm as best they those with no previous business or work experience is not what we need in the Oval Office at this moment.

#4 although not perfect, his popularity in wanting to change the tax code. OUCH! There is too much power and money at risk to start meddling with the system.

#5 it would be really hard for president Obama to pull the race card out again when his opponent is the same color.

#6 the same reason that president Obama got elected was that Americans are tired of the same old same old in DC. The common thinking at least in my little circle of friends, was that there was no way that we wanted to put Bush or a bush like candidate in office and pretty much that's what Senator John McCain was.

Course on the other hand, president Obama got elected by acting like a used car salesman and telling people what they wanted to hear.

"Hope and change."

What is interesting however is that how easily a sexual allegation can destroy a candidate and since the first four did not have a serious impact on Herman Cain's numbers, #5 turned out to be the death blow.

Even though Herman Cain still vows to continue to be a presence in the background just like Sarah Palin starting with his website, you really need to step back for a moment and look at the big picture of what recently happened.

Start with looking at the timing of these women that have come out and made the allegations and almost in perfect order, how each one's allegations topped the other one.

Sadly, I think many people would agree that if Herman Cain did not drop out of the race with now, that there would soon be threats on his life.

In the meantime, the not ready for prime time presidential candidates show must go on.

Lane transit District (LTD) -- EmX expanding?

Robin's Commentary

LTD got the message alright about how welcome they are with all the no build signs in West Eugene so they're going to focus their efforts more on the LCC and East Springfield lines.

A question regarding the EmX which not been answered yet, is how having specially designed buses that travel on a dedicated route actually pencil out in both time and money.

The only answer that LTD has given in the past, is that there is federal grant money for the project.

Speaking of, LTD has been awarded $750,000 to evaluate the expansion of the EmX service.

Additionally, LTD has been awarded $3 million in funds to replace aging diesel buses that are more than 12 years old with hybrid electric buses.

Personally, I can see that as a better move than expanding the EmX project as I feel that putting more buses on the road would better serve the community versus having fewer buses in a dedicated line.

But when asked the question, who keeps pushing for these projects... I would point the fingers at Congressman Peter DeFazio, Senator Ron Wyden and Senator Jeff Merkley which is interesting, because I think two out of the three actually live in Lane County although not 100% positive of that.

... Congress ineligible for reelection if the deficit is more than 3% of GDP

CNBC --
Warren Buffett, was interviewed on Thursday July seven 2011 and during his interview, he was asked what he would do about the deficit.

""I could end the deficit in 5 minutes," he told CNBC. "You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election."

this is such a simple and novel idea coming from someone with a proven successful background... I'll see why we shouldn't work to implement it.

One of the arguments already is that once Congress (or anybody else) gets into office, the first thing that they do after they settle in is to start campaigning for reelection.

Congress and the president both however have too many rules and regulations that they pass for us (their bosses) that they are excluded from.

Below, there is been this little message that has gone viral around the Internet claiming that it's Warren Buffett's idea for the 28th amendment. By the way, Warren Buffett denies that he came up with these ideas... in either case, they sound good.



*Congressional Reform Act of 2011*_

1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they're out of office.

2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women. Congressmen/women made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.

according to CNBC,An attorney in St. Louis, Jarrad Holst points out that there is actually a way under article 5 of the U.S. Constitution titled "convention for proposing amendments" to enact the idea without the corporation of Congress.

Congress's approval ratings are at an all time low... perhaps now, it's time to start looking at real change.