Stimulus and Michigan Posted by Judy Priestley

Posted 08/27/09

I get the RSS feed from CNN Money.  I skip most of them, but one article caught my eye "Lacker:  U.S. may not need all planned stimulus".  Of course we know that we didn't need ANY of it to begin with, but I thought I would read what the "expert" said.

They've had a map that shows unemployment in the nation, with Michigan being the darkest red, thus the worse off.  So, I looked at the map that shows how the stimulus will help each state.  WOW!  Michigan has a light green, which according to Money's color coding and mouse over stats, nets us 109,000 jobs! 

Here's a brief summary of the top end of both maps (not in any particular order):

Hmmm, does this show how ineffectual our Senators/Representatives are?  Or did they think that their lovely, expensive, economically-challenged Cash For Clunkers would bring the state back from ruin?

Kildee Tele-Town Hall Details Posted by Judy Priestley

Posted 08/26/09

 From Tuscola GOP Chair Lisa Valentine:

 U.S. Rep. Kildee invites residents to sign up for health care town hall
by Jeff Kart | The Bay City Times
Tuesday August 25, 2009, 2:25 PM

More details have been set for a Sept. 9 telephone town hall meeting on health care reform, said U.S. Rep. Dale E. Kildee, D-Flint.

Kildee will hold the event at 8:00 p.m., allowing residents of the 5th Congressional District to ask questions about the America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, and express their views regarding health care reform. Other questions also may be asked.

The district includes parts of Bay and Saginaw counties and all of Tuscola and Genesee counties.

Constituents who would like to participate should visit Kildee's Web site or call his office at 1-800-662-2685 to submit their phone number and receive an invitation to join the town hall.

Everyone who wants an invitation to the town hall will get one, Kildee said.

A full recording will be available on his Web site after the meeting.

Here is the link:
http://www.house.gov/kildee/townhall_form.shtml

I managed to sign up.  Hope you can participate too!

Lisa Valentine, Chair
Tuscola County Republican Party
www.thumbgop.org
P O Box 602, Caro, MI  48723

Collecting Personal Data for Heath Care... Posted by Judy Priestley

Posted 07/19/09

From the Flint Journal:

http://blog.mlive.com/get-healthy-in-genesee/2009/07/volunteers_to_knock_on_flint_d.html

They're looking for people with stories to promote Obamacare.

Health Care Reform (My letter to congress) Posted by jonsiglow

Posted 06/18/09

I'm writing to address the coming legislation regarding the expansion of government sponsored health insurance.  To begin, I am philosophically opposed to the idea that the federal government has been endowed with the duty to insure the health of the American public.  This isn't because I don't feel people deserve coverage, but rather quite the opposite.  Our current healthcare system is quite inadequate for the task of insuring the masses.  Tax revenues are already insufficient to cover the budget by over a trillion dollars.  What then is the justification for the additional spending?  If there were a different way to solve this problem facing our country that wouldn't cost the federal budget trillions of dollars wouldn't it be worth taking a look at?  We seem to be obsessed with fixing the problem with more government intervention.  Since Lyndon Johnson sold America his "Great Society" we have had a growing amount of Federally sponsored health care options that simply do not meet the needs of our countries.  I think we can all agree on this fact.

The agreements are likely to end here since I've been seeing nothing but the advocating of the expansion of government programs being set forth as our solution.  I do not understand how this is the only viable option.  We have bypassed the idea of reforming or even repealing the government involvement in the private health care industries, and have set forth on a debate on how the Federal Government (and apparently only the Federal Government) will solve the problem.

First off I will ask where the Constitution authorizes Congress and the President to enact this kind of legislation?  I've read it several times and I just can't seem to locate anywhere that would even imply the authority to do so.   I would ask before any legislation makes it to the floor you would follow the legal process and propose an amendment to allow any legislation of this nature.  Many assert healthcare to be a right the people are entitled to.  I only ask if this is your assertion then do your legal duty and make it so.

Of course an amendment wouldn't be practical, and I would be remiss if this letter was nothing but criticism.  I would suggest any healthcare reform bill that you would support not put the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of congress and consequently the wages of the American people for years to come.  Perhaps the prudent approach would involve the unleashing of competition within the health care industry.  The repealing of many of the counter-productive restrictions we put on insurance companies and medical professionals would go a long way to restoring a sense of American tradition within our Healthcare on a national scale.  

Fostering an industry wherein quality of care is required simply to succeed in the field is certainly a beneficial concept, yet instead in our efforts to level the playing field we created a system full of holes that oppresses innovation.  Consider the story of Dr. John Muney, a Doctor in New York City, who attempted to offer unlimited visits in his offices for a flat monthly rate of $79.  Certainly this would be cheaper than anything the government or Insurance companies could offer.  His plan was required by the state to be revised to preventive care only because he wasn't licensed to offer what the state considered an insurance policy.  Here we have a doctor who is looking for ways to substantially reduce his overhead and then pass the savings onto his patients and the State steps in and more or less informs him his efforts meant to help people can only be limited to preventive care, but not primary care.

Source:  http://www.nypost.com/seven/03042009/news/regionalnews/state_slaps_dr__do_good_157907.htm

How many other stories like this exist across the nation?

How can we expect innovation from government when they are limiting the innovation of private citizens?

In closing, I would simply suggest a practicality.  If a Health Care Bill is to come to the floor at the very least push for budget cuts to cover the costs so as not to create even more unnecessary inflation.

Thank You,

Jonathan Siglow

Organization Meeting Posted by Judy Priestley

Posted 05/29/09 Last updated 05/29/09

I was asked to become the interim County Coordinator.  Genesee County has been too silent.  We need to become vocal because we have LOTS to do to be effective.

The next election is in August.  Although it isn't a national or state election, it is important for the grassroots community because this is where it starts.  It's our first line of "defense".  We'll learn alot in the next year and be ready to combat those who aren't like-minded in 2010.

I've created a poll so that I can determine which date is the best for a meeting.  We need to discuss our strategies and what we can do to get our message to the voters and candidates, with one voice.  I have a couple of locations where we can hold a meeting. 

Because of my work schedule, I cannot attend a day time Monday - Friday and created the poll accordingly. 

The Cybersecurity Act of 2009 (S. 773) grants Obama power to shut down internet, ignore laws Posted by libertypunk822

Posted 05/17/09 Last updated 05/17/09

A new Cybersecurity bill would grant the President unprecedented power to shut down the internet and ignore privacy laws. Learn more:

Resources:
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s773/show
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-773

Contact your reps:
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/officials/congress

Contact your reps and local newspapers:
http://www.usalone.net/cgi-bin/oen.cgi?qnum=7499

More information:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/cybersecurity-act
http://blog.cdt.org/2009/05/11/rockefellersnowe-bill-jumpstarts-cybersec...
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/What-Will-the-Cybersecurity-Act-of-200...
http://www.breakthematrix.com/content/Congress-Introduces-Cybersecurity-...

Transcript of video:
More of our freedoms are under attack, this time through S. 773, The Cybersecurity Act of 2009. Introduced by Senators Rockefeller (D-WV) and Snowe (R-ME), this bill aims to improve security for critical technology systems within government AND private sectors.

In actuality, all this bill would do is vastly expand government's control by granting the President the authority to shut down Internet traffic, regardless of whether it's in the govt or the private sector.

Worse yet, section 14b states:
"The Secretary of Commerce— shall have access to all relevant data concerning [critical infrastructure] networks without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule, or policy restricting such access…"

Basically, this provision authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to disregard any law protecting our privacy - like the Wiretap Act or the Electronic Communications Privacy Act - which will allow virtually unrestricted access to our private data, for any reason.

This bill fits an alarming trend of legislation that vastly expands the role and power of government, while doing absolutely nothing to address the root cause of the problem.

As security expert Bruce Schneier points out, the true causes of government cyber-insecurity include insufficient access controls, a lack of encryption where necessary, poor network management,
failure to install patches, inadequate audit procedures, and incomplete or ineffective information security programs.

The Cybersecurity Act does nothing to address these BASIC 'computer hygeine' issues, and instead, poses a serious threat to our personal freedom & privacy.

So you know the drill - do your own research, then call and email your reps urging them to oppose this bill and start standing up for our freedom! It's up to us to protect our rapidly-eroding freedoms, so please share this video with your friends and help spread the word.

(Also related, posted by Average Joe on Fri, 05/15/2009 in the comments, adds strength to what is going on with this kind of power in other parts of the world:

To compete with China's rise to global supremacy, the Federal Government of the United States wants to implement the same policies of China. It wants an American Golden Shield Project . . . .

Amnesty slams tech giants for ‘aiding’ Chinese human rights abuse   ++ click here ++

The great and the good of the IT industry - including Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems and Websense - stand accused of aiding and abetting human rights violations in China.

The charge comes in a critique by human rights watchdog Amnesty International entitled State Control Of The Internet In China, published this week.

Amnesty chronicles how the Chinese authorities have "introduced scores of regulations, closed Internet cafes, blocked e-mails, search engines, foreign news and politically-sensitive websites, and recently introduced a filtering system for web searches on a list of prohibited key words and terms".

Amnesty International has compiled records of 33 prisoners of conscience who have been detained for using the Internet to circulate or download information.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights calls on "every individual and every organ of society" to play its part in securing human rights for all. Amnesty International believes that multinational companies are failing to act as good corporate citizens.

In particular, Amnesty highlights China's Golden Shield project. This project, launched in October 2000, aims to use advanced information and communication technology to strengthen police control in China and a massive surveillance database system will reportedly provide access to records of every citizen.

What China has, Obama wants to keep. Oh, yeah. America Golden Shield has been operating since 9-11. You just didn't know it.