Monday, July 19, 2010

Liberals Demand GOP Ideas while Democrats Fail to Pass a Budget - Who is being honest?

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As summer drags on and we continue to be hit by record heat waves it seems as if the temperature in people has turned up as well. Here just south of our nation's capitol we have had 35 days over 90 degrees this year and this week we are forecast to get 4 more days over 90 degrees. Last summer we got a total of 22 days over 90 degrees.

It seems the hotter we get the more goofy the politicians and media get when it comes to reporting stories and telling the truth. Maybe it would do us well to review some of the more glaring untruths being bantered around by our "informed" media.



First there is the constant droning by NBC and MSNBC commentators and reporters along with other liberal media about the fact the Republicans are not offering any potential solutions to Obama legislation nor are they identifying ways to cut the budget.

This criticism has come from David Gregory, Chuck Todd, Rachael Maddox, Chris Matthews, even reporters like Norah O'Donnell and others who really should know better than to spout off such untruths. Since all of the NBC/MSNBC people are supposed to have extensive political experience their demand that the Republicans come forward with proposals for new legislation and budget cuts right now are silly.

I too have been involved in politics including over 30 political campaigns at the local, state and national levels including House, Senate and presidential races. No where in the political strategy handbooks is there a rule that says when journalists demand answers you have to give it to them. In fact a political campaign that caters to the whims of the media is probably doomed to failure in the first place.



Campaigns are complex undertakings guided by the principle they must peak on election day, not one day before. All work in the campaigns from the grassroots to the media buys must adhere to this principle. In America we already have campaigns that run far too long to maintain the public interest and enthusiasm.

Thus timing in every aspect of the campaign will dictate the success of any proposals to the public. The summer months between the primary and general elections is often referred to as the dead zone when people are tired of the politics and want a break before the fall elections. They deserve such a break.

Campaigns that release political positions and budget cuts during the summer months are stupid, unless the candidate is unknown and needs the media attention. Media people who go on the air during the summer blasting the campaigns for not giving them the answers they seek are equally stupid because they know better and are trying to mislead the public.



News must be slow right now because the NBC and MSNBC gang is on the air every day demanding answers from the Republicans. If a Republican were president right now there would be media favoring the GOP who would be demanding answers from the Democrats so both the liberal and conservative media are equally guilty of being stupid.

The fall election swings into high gear after Labor Day and if there are going to be new legislative proposals or recommended budget cuts they will be introduced after that time. In the meantime the media should give us a break and stop demanding something that is not forthcoming. It would be nice if the media were also honest and didn't act as if the Republicans were hiding something from the public. NBC and MSNBC are preoccupied with helping Obama and getting Democrats elected, plain and simple.



The real truth of the matter is this. The Democrats control congress and the presidency. The Democrat leadership has not even attempted to pass a budget this year. If the ruling party does not have the guts to pass a budget, then the media should demand answers from them first. Of course that won't happen since any budget by the Democrats would include record deficit spending and a record increase in the national, debt. The liberal media does not want to talk about that.

So let NBC and MSNBC continue with the Obama cover up and keep trying to hide from the public the fact the Democrats, who owe us the budget since they are in control, have failed to be honest with the public. People know those who are not honest and those who cover up for those who are not honest. The ratings for MSNBC are the clearest measure of the honesty of the people and MSNBC is mired deep in the ratings cellar where they belong.

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Friday, July 16, 2010

Obama Gets Financial Reform as Wall Street Giant Goldman gets off the Hook again!

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The same day President Obama got his watered down Financial Reform bill through Congress his Administration let the top Wall Street contributor to his campaign, bad boy Goldman Sachs, off the hook with a paltry settlement for financial misconduct to the surprise of Wall Street watchers.

While claiming victory with the financial regulations, it might prove bittersweet to the Administration since Goldman, whose reckless investing many believe nearly brought down the economy, was given a paltry fine of $550 million for stock fraud and lying to investors.



The total fine for Goldman, while not admitting guilt, was half of what the street expected and amounted to just 15 days profit at Wall Street's most profitable bad boy. Since the American public lost trillions of dollars because of this and other actions by Goldman and others it was sorry testament to the enforcement capability of the Administration as they failed to make Goldman an example of Wall Street excess.

To add insult to injury for the American public, the terms of the settlement which allowed Goldman to pay the fine but plea no contest, thus avoid pleading guilty, also allows Goldman to write off the entire cost of the fine, all $550 million, as a business expense thus gaining a huge tax windfall for defrauding investors. Some punishment.



The Obama administration already let Goldman recover 100% of their derivative exposure, which did bring down the economy, when Goldman received $12.9 billion, yes billion, from the federal money going to AIG. In addition Goldman was granted access to discounted Fed funds thus insuring they would make billions of dollars in profits, and spend billions of dollars on executive bonuses, even though their actions helped cause the world economic collapse.

It is clear the Democrats are incapable of launching any kind of reasonable investigation of Goldman with all the former Goldman employees working for the Obama administration, so maybe a Republican victory in the midterm elections could finally result in unveiling the deep, dark secrets of the relationship between Barack Obama and Goldman Sachs.



No answers have ever been offered to questions like the role Goldman played in Obama's 2006 Illinois Senate race when Obama was an underdog and his opponents in the democratic primary and the general election both withdrew from the campaign at the last minute. There are claims one sold his business to Goldman and the other worked for Goldman.

Goldman secretly met with Obama in Chicago before the presidential campaign and became his largest Wall Street contributor as well as bundler for many millions more in contributions. They also sponsored a secret debate in NYC for Obama with Tom Brokaw as moderator to prep him for debating Hillary Clinton in the primary.

Was there any coincidence that the Goldman settlement came the same day as the new financial regulations were approved to crack down on Wall Street? Of course the new regulations are not effective until Obama signs them and he won't do that until next week.



How did Goldman manage to do what they did and only get a slight slap on the wrist when it cost the taxpayers trillions of dollars in losses? Was there any discussion about Goldman between Obama and Warren Buffett, one of the largest stockholders in Goldman, when they met privately the day the settlement was announced.

If the Democrat leaders in Congress are going to ignore the suspicious activity between Goldman and Obama and his campaign, not to mention their influence on his staff which has benefitted Goldman to the tune of billions of dollars since Obama got elected, then what value is any financial reform?

When the truth about what transpired comes out it may indeed be a bittersweet victory for the administration for how can they claim they have cracked down on Wall Street when they just allowed their biggest Wall Street campaign contributor to raid the public treasury for billions of dollars while costing Main Street trillions of dollars in losses?

People should demand Congress rip the veil off of any misconduct that might have taken place between the Obama campaign and Goldman, the billion dollar beneficiary of the Obama Wall Street crackdown.

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Nation's Capitol Hit by Largest Earthquake Ever as Sarah Palin surges in Poll to tie Obama

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The largest earthquake ever recorded within 30 miles of Washington, D.C. rattled the capital early Friday just as a Public Policy Poll was released showing Sarah Palin has now tied Obama for the first time in a head to head match up for 2012 with each receiving 46% of the vote.

This poll by a Democrat leaning organization showed all major GOP candidates tied or ahead of Obama as storm clouds on the election horizon continue to overshadow any achievements touted by the White House. It is not a good omen for the 2010 midterm elections as the Democrats tied to Obama are in danger of losing heavily, perhaps even losing control of the House and Senate.



As for the Palin quake, it hit at 5:04 a.m. ET with a magnitude of 3.6, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was centered near Rockville, Md., the USGS National Earthquake Information Center said. NBC News reported that the quake was felt in the D.C.-area, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Amy Vaughn, a spokesperson for USGS, told WRC-TV that the quake was the largest recorded within 50 kilometers (31 miles) of Washington since a database was created in 1974.



In terms of the Public Policy Poll, the organization said every Republican candidate we polled this month saw a peak in favorability. In individual match ups the gap closed between Obama and his potential Republican competitors this month. This is the first month since we began polling on the 2012 election that Obama is behind or tied with a majority of the Republican candidates.

According to the poll, Obama "trails Mitt Romney 46-43, Mike Huckabee 47-45, Newt Gingrich 46-45, and is even tied with Sarah Palin at 46.



In yet another polling triumph Sarah Palin gave more reason for liberals to have a stress test as she was in first place among GOP candidates for President in her favorable rating at 76%, higher than those for Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, and Bobby Jindal. See the following Gallup Poll.

July 16, 2010

Palin's 76% Favorable Among Republicans Tops Others in GOP



PRINCETON, NJ -- Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is the best known and most positively rated of five possible contenders for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Her 76% favorable rating among Republicans is higher than those for Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, and Bobby Jindal.

Even more bad news. Among all voters in the US Palin continues to lead all Republican candidates in favorable rating and is tied with the Obama favorable ratings.



Frank Newport of Gallup says Palin has the strongest name identification and positives among Republicans at this juncture. Only 4% say they don't know enough about her to have an opinion, and, by more than 3-to-1, those opinions are positive rather than negative.

While it is early, way too early to project election impact in 2012, her position at the top of the charts for both Republican voters and the public at large is quite amazing.

With the national media suddenly realizing she continues to be a thorn in the side of Obama in spite of the fact she has never run for president, is not a candidate for any office and is not even a public office holder gives credibility to the Tea Party movement and the Palin appeal.

Stay tuned for more intensive efforts to trash Pain by the old boys network and the liberal left. Maybe one day the left will report on just Palin and her policy instead of every bit of trivia trash about her and her family they can manufacture or find no matter what the cost. Then the people can judge her fairly.

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Thursday, July 15, 2010

Why Can't Obama Talk about Successful American Companies? Hope Works Too!

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Today on MSNBC's Morning Joe Show they had a guest from CNBC, the NBC Financial Network. It seems the CNBC team is always more upbeat about the economy and recovery than MSNBC who find political nonsense and entertainment trivia more news worthy.

This morning Jim Cramer, the Host of Mad Money on CNBC and certainly one of the more entertaining financial analysts you will ever hear was a fill in guest commentator on MSNBC. It was during an interview with Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm, an Obama admirer and apologist for the Administration on the Obama Stimulus program that Cramer got my attention.

You see Obama was scheduled to speak at the groundbreaking for a new plant in Michigan that is alleged to be a result of the Stimulus and the Governor was hosting him. To hear the Governor talk about Obama you would think she is a cheerleader for him like the Governor of Pennsylvania, Edward G. Rendell. I guess neither read the polls and know that only 40% of the people have a favorable view and over 60% say the Stimulus did nothing for them and want no more Stimulus if what we have got is the result.



But then neither is running for reelection and while Rendell also has a fading favorable rating, Granholm cannot run again and she will be history unless Obama hires her. After all, Michigan has the highest unemployment rate in the nation, has lost over 1.3 million jobs recently, and has over 1.8 million people receiving food assistance from the government. The GM and Chrysler bailouts by Obama have not been too good for the local economy.

At any rate while Granholm was droning on about the value of the Stimulus Cramer suddenly interrupted her and asked why she never talked about the successful companies in the US instead of just those who received money from Obama. It caught her cold. Cramer then got excited as only he can do and said the problem with the economy in America is that it is a political football and it should not be a political issue but an economic issue.



He asked her why she never talked about one of the greatest success stories in the world, the Ford Motor Company story, and the phenomenal job being done by the CEO Alan Mulally. Cramer said no one in the Obama Administration ever talks about successful companies unless they received government money and Ford survived without the government auto bailout and is now one of the strongest automakers in the world. Since they are headquartered in Michigan, he thought it was odd the Governor was talking about a company that would employ 400 people sometime in the future and never mentioned Ford who was now employing thousands of workers.

The Governor was speechless and tried to answer without mentioning Ford, a rather formidable task. It was clear Ford was not in the talking points the White House wanted mentioned but Cramer's point was clear. If politicians would talk about the successful American companies, especially the ones like Ford who are making it without a federal bailout, maybe people would have more confidence in the future. Right now Obama only talks about those receiving Stimulus money and since people do not believe the stimulus is working it only reinforces that the government doesn't know what to do about the economy.



If our politicians want to lead they can start by giving us a positive message, not the negative nitpicking we now get. We need to stop blaming people for what is wrong and start talking about those people who are doing things right. Hope is earned in America and the politicians in America seem to have forgotten the need for hope.



Let us all hope the politicians get the message and start giving us a reason to believe in the future, not look back in disgust. The people, not the politicians, have the knowledge, creativity and drive to get us out of the recession and economic downturn if the politicians would just shut up. If only political ads would be banned from TV there might be a way out of the morass we find ourselves in.

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How Greed Not Obama Controls the Health Care System - CVS Exorbitant Drug Profits

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For several years we have reported on different aspects of the health care industry and how the American public is being charged outrageous prices for prescriptions, examinations, and treatment far beyond what is reasonable and good for our health and economy.

Now Obama has passed his Health Care Reform and rather than attempting to clean out the greed and lies powering the profit of the industry, he has institutionalized it in a way that may make it impossible to fix. The system now works in a way that makes it harder and harder to get to the truth, and that assumes Congress and the president have any desire to investigate those throwing money into their campaign funds.



Let me give you a real life example of how the shell game works that makes you feel good about your health care while others make outrageous profits. In the end you are paying for these profits, all consumers are paying, because your health insurance just increases premiums to make up for it.

I needed an antibiotic for a treatment and I do not have health insurance. Most small businesses like mine cannot afford health insurance and in spite of that Obama intends to fine me for it. But that is another story about the loss of freedom and choice in America.



So my doctor calls in a prescription to CVS Pharmacy in Leonardtown, Maryland, a huge chain that advertises how they are taking care of the needs of their consumers. Since I live down on the Potomac River about 25 miles away I asked a friend to stop by and pick it up. Also I said to check whether it was generic or the brand drug.

I am always nervous about the brand versus generic drugs because as with most products, there is a reason generics are cheaper. In many product lines it may be that inferior materials or packaging are made in China where there is no effective quality control. It may be the size of package or weight of the product are smaller than the brand name they are meant to replace.



Whatever the reason I know when I get something cheaper at WalMart I have most likely given up something in terms of quality and quality control since most stuff is now made in China. However, when it comes to pharmaceutical drugs I am not inclined to take the cheaper route because the government and health care industry say brand names are better because quality control is better since it is made in America, not China.

When my friend stopped by CVS the Pharmacist said if I wanted the brand name I needed to have health insurance and since I didn't they recommended a cheaper generic alternative. The cheaper alternative still cost over $73 for 100 pills, far more than any recent prices I had seen for antibiotics. When he called me back with the information I did some research.



First I called CVS and said why did having health insurance dictate whether I would get brand or generic drugs? She advised me that without health insurance most people cannot afford brand names. If you have health insurance they will just process the insurance claim if that is what you want.

So I asked what the cost for the brand name medicine would be and she looked it up and replied it would be over $700 for the same prescription. Now I was not a math major but I was the Assistant Treasurer of the State of New Jersey, back when we had a state budget surplus, and I questioned how the brand name could cost ten times as much as the generic. She didn't know.



Then I pointed out that virtually all brand prescriptions for penicillin type antibiotics in America now have their major ingredients made in China to lower the cost so they could compete with generics. She was not aware of the recent FDA revelations of the manipulation of brand manufacturing and the use of Chinese components in them.

So I then got the actual cost of the generic medicine from my doctor, who was outraged by the cost of the generic drug, and absolutely astounded by the cost of the brand name. In one phone call he determined the generic drug cost CVS about $7.50 for 100 pills, in other words the pills cost CVS about 7½ cents each. They sold them to me for 73 cents each. But if I had health insurance and bought the brand name they cost $7 each, even though major ingredients were now made in China. That means CVS was marking up the generic drug to me almost ten times! CVS, the friendly neighborhood drug store, was taking me to the cleaners for 10 times their cost for the drug!



Not even the big bad oil companies have the guts to charge consumers ten times more than their cost to produce gasoline. In fact I know of no industry outside the health care industry where such outrageous profits are charged. This is what the Obama health care reforms have brought to us.

Just as important, if major pharmaceutical companies are now manufacturing some of their drug components in China, why is their price continuing to increase and why is it already ten times more expensive than the generic drug which is already marked up ten times more than the cost to CVS?



We Americans have been sold a bill of goods in health care. No one is looking for meaningful ways to reduce the cost of health care, just to make sure that the outrageous costs are covered by health insurance. Many billions of dollars in excessive profits are being charged by the pharmaceutical industry, and clearly the retail pharmacies like CVS, and no one in Washington seems to care.

Any responsible congressman should initiate a congressional investigation of the pricing structure for drugs by the pharmaceutical companies and their retail partners like CVS. It is not the health of Americans that is driving up health care costs it is the cost of the greed inherent in the industry and the protection the government has given to protect these excessive profits.

Ironically, my congressman is Steny Hoyer, the Majority leader of the House and the force behind the Obama Health Care Reform. Hoyer is the recipient of thousands of dollars from health care providers and has shown no indication of questioning the cost of health care that he is protecting. We citizens are being held hostage by politicians who place a higher value on special interests like health care providers than the value they place on American citizens.



Congress should investigate this matter. The Justice Department should investigate this matter. The Obama administration should investigate this matter and the people should investigate this matter. If we don't go after excessive profiteering, unfair business practices and price manipulation then we have no representation in Washington. No reform will work when the industry is trapped in a cycle of greed like we face.

Prescription drug prices in the United States are the highest in the world. "The prices Americans pay for prescription drugs, which are far higher than those paid by citizens of any other developed country, help explain why the pharmaceutical industry is — and has been for years — the most profitable of all businesses in the U.S. In the annual Fortune 500 survey, the pharmaceutical industry topped the list of the most profitable industries, with a return of 17% on revenue."



As an example of the extremely high U.S. drug prices, consider the cholesterol drug Lipitor, the best selling drug in the world. At CVS, a leading U.S. pharmacy, Lipitor (40 mg/90 tablets) costs $361.99. At Drugstore.com, another U.S. pharmacy, the same drug costs $335.97. While in Canada at CanadianOnlineRx.com pharmacy, the cost is $215.46, in The Netherlands $177, and in India at licensed pharmacy InternationalDrugMart.com, the identical generic drug costs $120.94 (Source: All costs in US$,19 May 2008, from the respective pharmacy websites).



The rise in costs of prescription medicines affects all sectors of the health care industry, including private insurers, public programs, and patients. Spending on prescription drugs continues to be an important health care concern, particularly in light of rising pharmaceutical costs, the aging population, and increased use of costly specialty drugs. In recent history, prescription drug costs have outpaced other categories of health care spending, rising rapidly throughout the latter half of the 1990s and early 2000s. While the rate of growth in spending has slowed somewhat, it is projected to exceed spending on hospital care and other professional services in 2010 and through 2019.

Come on Steny, show us how much you care about deficit spending and runaway costs of your constituents health care by checking this out. As for CVS, for shame. You are the poster boy for the greed that has crippled the health care industry in America.

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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Obama Silent as NAACP Sparks Polarization and Sarah Palin says Let's End Divisive Language

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The NAACP called the Tea Party racists in order to bring attention to their fading image and only Sarah Palin among all the politicians in America including President Obama called for an end to such divisive language by the Civil Rights group and all other groups in America.

Ironically, only the outsider Palin spoke up for the people of America and the cause of ending the legacy of racism which Ronald Reagan first championed. It seems the Democrats and Republicans currently in office were content to let the ridiculous charges by the NAACP go unchallenged. Perhaps they want the polarization as their silence would indicate but their failure to join Palin and calling for an end to it along with the media efforts to imply this is Palin speaking only for the Tea Party when she is truly speaking for any fair minded American shows weakness by politicians, not strength.



Since the media will only focus on sound bites I am presenting Sarah Palin's entire message which the news media will not give you because they are not about to do anything to show that her understanding and compassion reflects the mood of America. How long they will continue to favor the beltway view of America and not the Main Street reality is not known, but sharing the entire context of what she said will allow you to understand.

Sarah Palin's Facebook Statement:

The Charge of Racism: It’s Time to Bury the Divisive Politics of the Past

I am saddened by the NAACP’s claim that patriotic Americans who stand up for the United States of America’s Constitutional rights are somehow “racists.” The charge that Tea Party Americans judge people by the color of their skin is false, appalling, and is a regressive and diversionary tactic to change the subject at hand.



President Reagan called America’s past racism “a legacy of evil” against which we have seen the long struggle of minority citizens for equal rights. He condemned any sort of racism, as all good and decent people do today. He also called it a “point of pride for all Americans” that as a nation, we have successfully struggled to overcome this evil. Reagan rightly declared that “there is no room for racism, anti-Semitism, or other forms of ethnic and racial hatred in this country,” and he warned that we must never go back to the racism of our past.

His words rang especially true in the immediate aftermath of the 2008 presidential election. It seemed that with the election of our first black president, our country had become a new “post-racial” society. As one writer in the Washington Post stated: “[Barack Obama’s] election isn’t just about a black president. It’s about a new America. The days of confrontational identity politics have come to an end.”



We, as a united people, applauded that sentiment. We were proud of that progress. That’s why it is so sad to see that 18 months later, the NAACP is once again using the divisive language of the past to unfairly accuse the Tea Party movement of harboring “racist elements.”

Having been on the receiving end of a similar spurious charge of racism (in a recent frivolous lawsuit which was finally dismissed by a federal judge), I know how Tea Party Americans feel to be falsely accused. To be unjustly accused of association with what Reagan so aptly called that “legacy of evil” is a traumatizing experience, and one of which the honest, freedom-loving patriots of the Tea Party movement are truly undeserving.

On this subject, I can recommend the statement issued by a man I was proud to endorse, Tim Scott, the GOP candidate from South Carolina’s First Congressional District. Tim, poised to become the first African-American Republican Congressman from the former Confederacy since Reconstruction, is himself a sign of a hopeful, truly post-racial future for our country. It gives added meaning to his warning that “the NAACP is making a grave mistake in stereotyping a diverse group of Americans who care deeply about their country and who contribute their time, energy and resources to make a difference.”

The only purpose of such an unfair accusation of racism is to dissuade good Americans from joining the Tea Party movement or listening to the common sense message of Tea Party Americans who simply want government to abide by our Constitution, live within its means, and not borrow and spend away our children’s futures. Red and yellow, black and white, this message is precious in all our sights. All decent Americans abhor racism. No one wants to be associated with any organization that is in any way racist in sentiment or origin. I certainly don’t want to be. Thankfully, the Tea Party movement is not racist or motivated by racism. It is motivated by love of country and all that is good and honest about our proud and diverse nation.



Like President Reagan, Tea Party Americans believe that “the glory of this land has been its capacity for transcending the moral evils of our past.” Isn’t it time we put aside the divisive politics of the past once and for all and celebrate the fact that neither race nor gender is any longer a barrier to achieving success in America – even in achieving the highest office in the land?

I just spent a few beautiful Alaskan days with some beautiful Americans in my husband’s birthplace – they are Todd’s family and they are Yupik Eskimo. In the decades that our families have blended, I have never heard one proud, patriotic member judge another member based on skin color. Both Todd and I were raised to measure a person according to their capacity and willingness to love, work, forgive, contribute, and show good character. We’re joined by the vast majority of Americans in this belief whereby we measure a man by his character, not his color. Because of amazing efforts and accomplishments by those who came before my generation, it is foreign to us to consider condemning or condoning anyone’s actions based on race or gender. Being with our diverse family in a melting pot that is a Native village just days ago reminded me of that.

So to leave that remote village and return back to “modern civilization” only to hear of the NAACP’s resolution today suggesting that we Tea Party Americans don’t respect equality makes me sad for those who choose to divide these great United States. It is time to end the divisive politics.

-- Sarah Palin

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Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Another Yankee Legend joins the Century of Legends already Lost - George Steinbrenner

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The New York Yankees lost a legend today with the death of owner George Steinbrenner. As with everything done by the flamboyant King of New York, he went out in grand fashion on the day of the All Star game and just a few days before the Yankees were to meet for the annual old timers game.

The Boss bought the Yankees in 1973 for $10 million when they were in a streak of mediocrity, rare for the most successful sports franchise in the world, and rebuild the Bronx Bombers into the world champions where they belonged.

Under George the Yankees not only remained the most successful sports franchise in the world, with a value this year of over $1.6 billion, but they added 7 more World Series Championships and 11 American League Championships to their glorious legacy, giving them 27 World Series titles and 40 league championships since they were one of the 8 charter teams of Major League Baseball in 1901.



Hard nosed but loyal to his players, as long as the players were giving 100% effort, George made the Yankees the class act of baseball and the most popular and historic team in baseball history. There is simply no other team in any sport like the Yankees.

I was born a Yankee's fan, even though I lived in Iowa. One of the most fascinating trips in my life was going to NYC during the World's Fair in 1964 and having a press pass to the Yankees dugout. I spent most of two weeks hanging out with the players and watching practice from the dugout and during an Old Timers reunion I even got to meet and take pictures of Yankee legends Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra and Casey Stengel.



When I worked for the governor of New Jersey in the 1980's I got to be friends with Jersey natives Yogi Berra and Phil Rizzuto and at one reception even got to meet Steinbrenner. He dominated any room. He set out to rebuild the greatest franchise in baseball and did just that, with his Yankees winning the World Series the last year of his life.

Among the many things few people knew about Steinbrenner was that he paid for the college education of every child of New York City police officers killed in the line of duty and his Yankees Foundation has been involved in many NYC activities.



Yet another Yankee legend was lost just days ago, Bob Sheppard, the famed announcer of the Yankees who was known as the Voice of the Yankees, the Voice of Baseball -- even the Voice of God. Bob spent nearly six decades as the voice of the Yankees in Yankee Stadium.

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A Trillionaires Delight - The 21st Century of Rothschild, Morgan and Rockefeller

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Somewhere in the trillionaires room of Heaven three old codgers are sitting around a table smoking cigars and chuckling over the J. P Morgan Chase & Company buyout of Bear Stearns for a paltry $2.00 a share. Not so much because the price had been over $130 a share a few weeks earlier but because the Federal Reserve Board put up $30 billion of the government’s money to guarantee the sale.



Yes, Mayer Amschel Rothschild, J. P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller, patriarchs of three of the most powerful family fortunes in history have waited nearly two centuries to see their dreams fulfilled. Perhaps such patience is why their families have remained successful by steadfastly maintaining the rules of the game as set down by their founders.



It was 248 years ago, in 1760 that Mayer Amschel Rothschild created the House of Rothschild that was to pave the way for international banking and control of the world’s resources on a scale unparalleled and somewhat mysterious to this date. He disbursed his five sons to set up banking operations throughout Europe and the various European empires.



"Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who makes the laws."
Mayer Amschel Rothschild


In time the House of Rothschild was able to take control of the Bank of France and Bank of England and relentlessly pursued an effort over two centuries to control a national bank in the USA. By 1850 it was said the Rothschild family was worth over $6billion and owned one half of the world’s wealth.



From oil (Shell) to diamonds (DeBeers) to gold (from 1919 until 2004 a Rothschild was permanent Chairman of the London Gold Fixing committee which met twice a day in the Rothschild offices in London) the Rothschild’s quietly accumulated a foothold in critical industries and commodities throughout the world.

A master at building impenetrable walls around his family assets the current value of the Rothschild holdings are estimated to be between $100 and $300 trillion, yes that is trillion dollars! Now for a point of reference the current United States National Debt is $11 trillion.

J. P. Morgan began as the New York agent for his father’s business in London in 1860 and by 1877 was floating $260 million in US Bonds to save the government from an economic collapse. In 1890 he inherited the business and in 1895 bought $200 million in US Bonds with gold to again save the US economy.



“If you have to ask how much it costs, you can't afford it.”
J. P. Morgan


By 1912 he controlled $22 billion and had started companies such as US Steel and General Electric while he owned several railroads. Morgan was also an American agent for the House of Rothschild in London and used the Rothschild resources to help people like John D. Rockefeller.



Rockefeller, who started Standard Oil in 1863 with the help of Morgan, grew his company into the largest oil company in the world and by 1916 Rockefeller was the first billionaire in American history. In 1909 he had set up the Rockefeller Foundation with $225 million and donated nearly a billion more dollars to various causes. The Rockefeller family fortune is estimated to be around $11 trillion today.



“The way to make money is to buy when blood is running in the streets.”
John D. Rockefeller


So what did they have in common these extraordinary capitalists? They all were dedicated to owning a national bank in America so they could determine the fiscal policies of the nation and earn interest on the debt of the nation.

Rothschild agents in 1791 formed the First Bank of the United States but intense opposition to foreign ownership by President Jefferson and others helped kill it by 1811. A Second Bank of the United States was formed in 1816 once again by Rothschild agents and this time they secured a 20-year charter. However, President Andrew Jackson was also opposed to foreign ownership and withdrew the federal deposits in 1832 as part of his plan to kill the bank charter in 1836.

An attempt to assassinate Jackson in 1834 left him wounded but more determined than ever to stop the central bank. Thirty years later President Lincoln refused to pay international bankers extremely high interest rates during the Civil War and ordered the printing of government bonds. With the help of Russian Czar Alexander II who also blocked a similar national bank from being set up in Russia by the international bankers they were able to survive the economic squeeze.

Lincoln said, "The money powers prey upon the nation in times of peace and conspire against it in times of adversity. The banking powers are more despotic than a monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, more selfish than bureaucracy. They denounce as public enemies all who question their methods or throw light upon their crimes. I have two great enemies, the Southern Army in front of me and the bankers in the rear. Of the two, the one at my rear is my greatest foe. Corporations have been enthroned, and an era of corruption in high places will follow. The money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in the hands of a few, and the Republic is destroyed."



Both Lincoln and Alexander II were assassinated. In 1881 James Garfield became president and he was dedicated to restoring the right of the federal government to issue money like Lincoln did in the Civil War and he was also assassinated.

Finally along came 1913 and the US was again suffering from a weak economy and there was a threat of another costly war, a world war this time, and business tycoons J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller and E.H. Harriman were part of a group that got Woodrow Wilson to sign into law the Federal Reserve Act creating a network of 12 privately owned banks as part of a new Federal Reserve network.



One of the largest stockholders in the new Federal Reserve was the House of Rothschild through their direct and indirect holdings. A few years later it was disclosed that the Rothschilds also owned about 20% of J. P. Morgan. In time Morgan would merge with the Chase Manhattan Bank of the Rockefellers.

Years later John F. Kennedy opposed a private national bank and was assassinated in 1963 and Ronald Reagan opposed a private national bank and in 1981 an attempt was made to assassinate him. Coincidence or not the opposition to a privately owned national bank was a common characteristic to all these successful assassinations and assassination attempts.

Which brings us full circle to the present bailout of Bear Stearns by J.P. Morgan Chase & Company and we find the Rothschild, Morgan and Rockefeller families are all conveniently part of the same group benefiting from the bailout and the $30 billion guarantee by the Federal Reserve. This is the third time the J. P. Morgan Company has come to the rescue of the American banking system and economy.

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