Well, it’s been a busy week out there, so it’s time for a “week in review” type of post since I’ve been derelict in my blogging duties. I apologize in advance for the post length, and here we go. Read on!
First on the list, CU professor Ward “Maybe I’m an Indian, maybe not” Churchill and his antics from the past several weeks. In my opinion, this man is an abomination and a disgrace to not only the academic community, but to the American Indian cause and humanity in general. Because of his writings on the 9/11 attacks (comparing WTC workers to Nazi collaborators, saying the US caused the attacks, etc.), he has exposed himself as nothing more than an America-hating liberal socialist who would like nothing more than to see our government and society destroyed and replaced by a socialist utopia subservient to the likes of the United Nations.
What’s truly scary about him is that he’s a college professor, in the position to educate our youth and mold them into the leaders of tomorrow. Instead of using his position to expand his student’s knowledge of the world, he instead uses his position to indoctrinate them with his perverse worldview and anti-American propaganda. What’s worse, the school where he teaches (CU Boulder, long known as a liberal hippie refuge) won’t remove him from his position based on a First Amendment argument, even after repeated calls from Gov. Owens, state and national officials and the citizens of Colorado. Prof. Churchill, in a statement last week, said that he doesn’t work for the taxpayers (or the government) but instead for the Board of Regents and the university and because of this he can basically teach and say anything he wants. Funny, I remember that the Board of Regents is a PUBLICLY elected body, elected by those very same taxpayers whose taxes help support CU Boulder and who can vote them all out of office and replace them with regents who are more responsive to the voter’s wishes. Sadly, Prof. Churchill and the CU Boulder administration seem to have forgotten this. They would be best served to remember this pesky little fact, get their act together and remove this “man” from his position before Gov. Owens and the state legislature take more punitive and permanent action, such as freezing or yanking funding from the university.
Sadly, as a member of the U.S. military, I’ve taken an oath to defend the Constitution, which includes the right of this “man” to spew whatever bilge he sees fit to bless the world with. This actually provides me with a nice segue into my next topic, Eason Jordan and the Magic Mythical News Story.
Eason Jordan was, until Friday afternoon, was CNN’s Chief News Executive. In that position he was directly responsible for the quality and factual integrity of the stories that are reported on CNN and its networks. However, as is the case with most of the MSM, he confused factual integrity and truth with personal opinion and bias, and this led to his demise. As has been reported all across the blogosphere and finally picked up (and given little exposure) by the MSM, Mr. Jordan stated that several journalists in Iraq had been intentionally targeted and killed by coalition forces as a matter of fact. However, the blogosphere grabbed on to this statement and, much like what happened with the CBS “Rathergate” memo, quickly exposed the statement for what it was, a statement of personal bias and an glaring example of just how far the MSM has strayed from “just the facts” reporting. According to a
My Way News article on Friday evening, Mr. Jordan resigned after a website demanded a transcript of his remarks and his termination based on this transcript. Even though no transcript was found or provided, Mr. Jordan resigned in order to “…prevent CNN from being unfairly tarnished…” by his remarks.
Mr. Jordan, CNN’s (and the MSM as a whole) reputation has been tarnished not by this one action, but by their actions over the past 30 years, culminating with the CBS antics during the 2004 election. The MSM has evolved into a medium more concerned with pushing a liberal agenda on the American public than with factual reporting and analysis of the events of the day. They don’t even accept the blogosphere as an influential part of the news/information gathering and reporting system, even with current evidence to the contrary. Even as I write this, I’m watching the McLaughlin Group and listening to Eleanor Clift, the Newsweek managing editor, state as fact that Iran has a democratically elected government that’s in charge of running that nation. I’m not sure which Iran she’s thinking of, but I don’t think it’s the one we’re dealing with right now, especially since the Iranian mullah run Iran and the legislature is a rubber-stamp body at best. This just further illustrates how out of touch the MSM is with the world today and how they are quickly descending into a position of irrelevance in the information industry. Mr. Jordan’s resignation just shows how scared the MSM is of the blogosphere, even if they won’t admit or accept it existence. MSM, we’re here to stay and you’d better get used to us sharing the spotlight.
Thirdly, let’s touch on the Social Security issue. My take on it: scrap the current system for people 40 and under, allow the private accounts for people 50 and over, and maintain the current system for current retirees. Folks, I WANT MY MONEY BACK so I can invest it for my own future instead of sending it to the “stewards” in Washington, D.C. (long known for their prowess in money handling) and allowing them to squander it on pet projects and dolling it back to me in increments that equal pennies on the dollars I’ve dumped into the system. If we could do this, everyone 40 and younger would get a 12.4% pay raise and would be able to invest how we choose. Imagine the power you could have over your future in this scenario; also, imagine the burden that would be lifted from your employer and small business by being allowed to pay you the money instead of siphoning it off and giving it to the government.
However, that option isn’t on the table. But President Bush’s plan is a good step in the right direction. Even FDR, creator of the Social Security system, said that by 1965 we’d have to create personal accounts in order to maintain and fund the system. We’re only 40 years late on that objective, so let’s get started. On
Dave Ramsey’s website is a calculator that computes the amount you’d have if you were able to invest the 4% on the table into the market; depending upon your age, the results are amazing, and these don’t take into account future pay raises and independent retirement plans you might make, plus the fact that the Social Security net will still be there, albeit reduced by the amount you invested in the “personal account”. Plus you can opt completely out of the system; and if you’re over 55, you’re ineligible and will receive your benefits under the current guidelines. Folks, its time to take our retirement and future into our own hands and away from the bureaucrats in D.C., so run the numbers and see if that changes your opinion on the subject.
Finally, a couple of lighter items from the week:
- First, I saw a something in Chuck Muth’s daily newsletter discussing an idea to repeal the 17th Amendment. For those who don’t know, the 17th Amendment changed the way U.S. senators are elected from state government appointment to popular election. I was intrigued by the idea because the framers intended the House to be the representatives of the people and the Senate to be the states’ representatives in D.C. This issue divides my opinion because while I’m a big advocate of states rights and devolution of power form D.C. back to the state level, I know that we couldn’t have achieved the GOP revolution without the 17th amendment. This is something that I’ll have to research and ponder in the days and weeks to come.
- Second, it looks like the Delegates in Virginia are finally going to do what the voters asked and follow through with the promise to eliminate the car tax, especially in the face of a $1.4 billion budget surplus and after a $1.6 billion tax hike last year that was approved with the help of Senate Republicans. Yet even talk of doing this has panicked both Gov. Warren (D) and the Republican (RINO) dominated Senate, saying that this is financially irresponsible and will derail the state’s economy. That’s like saying that you can’t live without credit cards. Since moving to VA from CO, I’ve learned that this state loves to
tax people to death for everything and without the approval of the citizens. Research the “flush tax” on Google and you’ll see what I mean. Once again I’ll make my call for a TABOR-style amendment to the state constitution to place the purse strings back in the hands of the taxpayers in order to get a handle on the rampant mismanagement of money that we experience here in the “Commonwealth”.
- Finally, more state nannyism in the form of useless legislative ideas. Sponsored legislation in Richmond that would have fined people $50 for having exposed underwear or low-riding pants was defeated this week, and rightly so. Unfortunately, so was legislation that would have repealed the motorcycle helmet law. Both of these are examples of the state having too much say and control over our individual lives and attempting to legislate away stupidity. While I personally don’t like the “droopy drawers” fashion statement, I don’t agree with the state getting involved in an area which should be governed by personal common sense and societal awareness. The same holds true for helmet and seat belt laws; while they do save lives, the state shouldn’t mandate their use to help minimize costs for
the insurance and medical industries. People should be taught to rely more on common sense, personal responsibility and learning from their actions instead of being coddled by the state.
Well, that’s my wrap up for the week, complete with my views on the issues. Feel free to comment on anything written here.
