Blog Archives
Ken Vaughn for Congress
I wished I could still vote in the 11th District. After all, I now live in the 8th District, where we have a Congressman more interested in getting himself arrested or screaming at constituents (including a 27-year Army Veteran).
In the 11th District, there are two Republicans running for the nomination: Ken Vaughn and Chris Perkins. I have had the opportunity to look over the materials for both candidates, and I believe that Ken Vaughn is the better candidate for the nomination.
Vaughn is a strong defender of the Constitution, and will defend/protect our liberties. After all, Vaughn understands the fiscal issues facing our country and has a plan to get our budget back in order. Additionally, Vaughn is solid on the issue of protecting life (where his opponent has been largely silent). The real issue that completely persuades me to support Vaughn is his positions on liberty. Vaughn realizes that both the PATRIOT Act and TSA have been an infringement on our liberties. With the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, we need someone who will fight to make sure we are within Constitutional means of declaring war (Congress formally declaring, not just following the leader).
After listening to Perkins speak at a YR meeting, I gathered he is not a big fan of Ron Paul (and his supporters). He admitted that to a few of us, who inquired about his positions on SOPA and some economic issues. Rob at The Liberty Zone even added that he is not very interested in Second Amendment related issues and that he will not end entitlements.
As a strong Ron Paul supporter, I am not too keen on Perkins after talking with him about the issues that should concern many in the 11th District. Vaughn offers a refreshing change and could provide Connolly with a strong challenge, if he gets the nomination.
While it is a shame that I am no longer in the 11th, there is no doubt that this primary will be one to watch.
Protect our Community Pharmacies
Business mergers are not uncommon in today’s society. Sometimes they are for the best, and other times they negatively impact consumers and businesses. A proposed merger is likely to devastate community pharmacies and those who benefit from their services. Recently, two pharmacy benefit companies, Express Scripts, Inc. and Medco Health Solutions, Inc., announced that they will be merging in July, with a final transaction closing in the first half of 2012. This would create a company that would have excessive market power that would have the ability to squeeze the already burdened health care system for its own profits at the expense of patient choice.
Additionally, this merger would leave fewer choices for employers seeking cost savings for their health care plans. It would also mean fewer choices for those who rely on local pharmacies to fill their prescriptions, as they would have to travel further to fill their prescriptions or be denied the opportunity to have face-to-face access with their pharmacists. Patient choice would be severely limited under this merger, as those who relied on going to a community pharmacy to fill their prescriptions would be forced to have them filled by Express Scripts/Medco.
The Express Scripts/Medco merger will also have a significant impact on those receiving Medicare Part D benefits, as this would limit competition between pharmacies and the mail order company. This would increase pharmaceutical prices, which would drive up the costs for those receive state aid.
Why should consumers have to pay for an increase in bad service? Express Scripts is a mail order company, and it does not value the relationship between consumers and pharmacists. Congress and the Federal Trade Commission should stop this merger that will be unfair to local pharmacies and health care providers. This merger will further dilute the quality of patient care, while restricting their access to receiving medicines from the pharmacy of their choice. You can learn more about this and sign a petition against this merger by clicking here.
Remy says, "Raise the Debt Ceiling"
This is a pretty awesome rap, and a great way to sum up this debt ceiling bs.
If I were Speaker of the House…
I would issue an ultimatum to President Obama. First, Mr. President, we need to stop spending on wasteful programs, and we can do this by eliminating some unnecessary departments by giving control back to the states. We don’t need the Department of Education, as the states can do more by regulating their own education system and increasing teaching standards, etc. Another department to eliminate would be the Environmental Protection Agency. Once again, the states can handle the regulating the environmental standards. (Oh boy, I am waiting for BSC responses from this idea or those calling me out for such a ludicrous idea.)
If you eliminated the Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency, you would save a total of $78.5 billion (Source: U.S. Dept. of Education and EPA Budget). This would bring more money back to help the deficit.
Perhaps, it is time for the President to consider the solution at hand here. Unfortunately, I know this is not going to fly, since President Obama and the Democrats in Congress believe in expanding the size of government without thinking about the costs that come with the decision. At this point, no deals are being made, so I think we should head towards default. I mean we are headed that way regardless of what Congress or President Obama says in a flashy press conference or not.
Note the Resemblance
When I saw this on the New York Daily News site last night, I had to laugh out loud.
Source: New York Daily News
They do look alike (minus the cartoon effect).
With this whole #Weinergate situation, you have to laugh at Rep. Anthony Weiner’s (D-N.Y.) ignorance. First, he denies that he showed his penis via text messages and Twitter, and this was a constant stream of lies. Then, things blow out of proportion when he comes clean and took responsibility for his actions. With this behavior, it would be best for his district, if he stepped aside. On the other hand, if he stays, Nancy Pelosi and company would really have to distance themselves from Weiner, and it could backfire for them in the 2012 elections.
More Wasteful Spending in Congress
How about when a second jet engine is considered extravagant and unnecessary by the person who should most want it? Or when the second jet engine costs U.S. taxpayers $28 million a month? Or when the second jet engine is the poster child for senseless government waste?
Two is not better than one when the topic is the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. This 5th generation fighter jet needs only one engine, yet it is dogged by the extra engine program. The thinking is that competition would hold down costs and spur innovation. Unfortunately, when the alternative engine has performed so poorly in tests, and is clearly not up to scratch, this argument hardly holds water.
Pratt & Whitney, one of the developers, has an engine that has been certified for the F-35. Its F-135 engine has successfully completed 17,500 hours of testing and numerous vertical landings.
The other developer, GE/Rolls Royce, has little to show for the taxpayer dollars it has spent. Its F-136 engine has accrued nearly $3 billion in expenses at the same time hundreds of American jobs were outsourced to the U.K., where Rolls Royce is headquartered. The first complete F-136 engine began testing about two years ago and may be flight tested for the first time this year or next.
The Bush and Obama Administrations tried to pull funding for the extra engine program. In testimony before Congress, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the second engine would cost another $3 billion to develop. According to Gates, the DOD cannot find a business case in which an alternate engine program makes sense. The Pentagon issued a work termination order to drive home the point.
Some members of Congress were listening. U.S. Rep Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) developed an amendment to the continuing budget resolution that eliminated funding for the extra engine. The amendment passed.
However, the House Armed Services Committee recently passed the 2012 defense budget. Technically, it doesn’t include funding for the extra engine program, but if you read the fine print, you’ll find otherwise.
GE/Rolls Royce is permitted to continue development of its F-136 engine as long as it pays its own way. However, the DOD would be required to give GE/ Rolls Royce access to the engine components the department has already produced and access to government testing sites. Those are not small-ticket items, and American taxpayers will have to foot the bill.
Our congressional leaders need to be reminded that we have to end excessive spending if we’re going to reduce the national deficit. And we have to limit the size of government if we’re going to get the U.S. economy back on track. The extra engine debate is a perfect example of what got us in the mess we are in to begin with and we should not repeat the mistakes of the past. Congress has an opportunity to do the right thing by not increasing the national deficit on a project that even the DoD has said they do not want or need.
Cross Posted at Bearing Drift
DC Mayor, Council Members Arrested
One could say that DC Mayor Vincent Gray and some members of the City Council were not having a great day, as they were arrested yesterday for having a sitting protest on Constitution Avenue outside the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
In case, you were hiding under a rock for the last week, the federal government was not shut down, due to a compromise by both the House and Senate at the last minute that stripped funding from abortion clinics in DC and returned the school voucher program to DC. Of course, this enraged many including Gray and Del. Eleanor Holmes-Norton, who were complaining that the city was being denied services. Check out Holmes-Norton’s response. She was outraged that women were being denied abortion services and got the “raw end of the deal.”
You know, innocent lives (those yet to be born) were given the better end of the deal, as funding for DC abortion clinics was stripped from this compromise. Students in DC will also get the better end of the deal, as their parents will be allowed to decide which school is best for their child, thus enabling them to learn.
DC leaders have long tried to protest that they should be allowed statehood. Yesterday’s arrests, combined with the corrupt leadership of the city, is another reason why they should be denied such a right.
Yet Another Reason to Defund NPR
After the firing of Juan Williams from NPR, I felt that there should have been some changes in the NPR leadership and for Congress to remove funding from this agency immediately. Now, the time has come to end the gravy train for NPR, especially after this video, and the remarks by the senior executive in this video only goes to show the liberal bias of this organization.
Since the release of the video, there have been some changes over at NPR. Ron Schiller, an NPR Senior Executive, and Vivian Schiller, CEO of NPR have been fired from their positions.
While this news is overdue, it is imperative that the Federal government eliminate funding to NPR. NPR and any other form of public broadcasting is not something that should be funded by the government. At least, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and other legislators are recognizing that it is not the government’s role to be funding television or radio programming. I am certain that the taxpayers don’t want to be funding entertainment, rather receiving their money back and allowing them to spend it accordingly.
