One thing that everybody seems to agree on is that we need universal health care in America. All Americans should have health coverage. Nobody should lose their house because they got sick.

We all agree, right? Right?

Okay, good. Now we can get on to a problem that really needs to be addressed.
There are too many people out of work.

There are too many people under-employed. (I don’t hate Wal-Mart and McDonalds, but those are not the type of jobs that can feed and clothe a whole family, let alone INSURE them).

Passing the stimulus package was a good start. Many of the programs will be for critically needed projects, like bridge and highway repair. Reliable streets and bridges are not just safer, they aide the business sector by avoiding interruptions and extra transportation costs.

Some stimulus money is designated for forward-thinking projects, like trying to make the U.S. into a leader in green technology.

The “Green” issue is taking hold world-wide. If anything, the U.S. is already a bit behind the curve. It is not too late, however, to take charge in this arena. If we do, other countries will come to us for our products and expertise. Jobs, jobs, jobs.

People are anxious though, and want the stimulus money to all be allotted NOW.

This is not a good idea. Of course the currently-jobless would prefer this, and I completely understand, but you can’t just fling the entire stimulus budget at this problem. Here is why:

• It would be inflationary, perhaps disastrously so.
• It is not a long term solution. If we spend it all now, what will there be to spend next year, and the year after that? The government doesn’t have unlimited resources (money).
• By spreading it out we can reserve some money to add to projects that prove to be effective, and stop funding ideas/projects that aren’t working.

A slow recovery is bound to be much more long-lasting, and deliver jobs that can remain viable well beyond the end of the stimulus funding.

PS: If you read all the way down to here, congratulations.
This can be boring stuff, but not to the unemployed….
Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Yesterday President Obama went to Norway to pick up his Nobel Peace Prize.  He spent 26 hours there, long line I guess, these days they seem giving them out to everybody.  He get’s to Norway and prepares to deliver his acceptance speech.

What will he talk about? Well it is the Nobel Peace Prize, so I am sure it will be about holding hands, ending all wars, getting rid of all nukes, and the like.  It turns out his speech is partly about the necessity of war, how wars can be justified.

This type of speech should be a State of the Union address in which he outlines the reasons to invade Canada.  This is not exactly the typical “peace speech” that you would expect from a person who just won The Nobel Peace Prize.

Like him or don’t like him, you can’t say President Obama hasn’t done anything since he took office. Here is a partial list, as of August 2009.

I did not compile this, as I am far too lazy. This was put together by Robert Watson, Ph.D., the Coordinator of American Studies at Lynn University.

1. Ordered all federal agencies to undertake a study and make recommendations for ways to cut spending
2. Ordered a review of all federal operations to identify and cut wasteful spending and practices
3. Instituted enforcements for equal pay for women
4. Beginning the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq
5. Families of fallen soldiers have expenses covered to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover A.F.B.
6. Ended media “blackout” on war casualties; reporting full information
7. Ended media “blackout” on covering the return of fallen soldiers to Dover A.F.B.; the media is now permitted to do so pending adherence to respectful rules and approval of fallen soldier’s family
8. The White House and federal government are respecting the Freedom of Information Act
9. Instructed all federal agencies to promote openness and transparency as much as possible
10. Limits on lobbyists’ access to the White House
11. Limits on White House aides working for lobbyists after their tenure in the administration
12. Ended the previous “stop-loss” policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date
13. Phasing out the expensive F-22 war plane and other outdated weapons systems, which weren’t even used or needed in Iraq/Afghanistan
14. Removed restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research
15. Federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research
16. New federal funding for science and research labs
17. States are permitted to enact federal fuel efficiency standards above federal standards
18. Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants…) after years of neglect
19. Funds for high-speed, broadband Internet access to K-12 schools
20. New funds for school construction
21. The prison at Guantanamo Bay is being phased out
22. US Auto industry rescue plan
23. Housing rescue plan
24. $789 billion economic stimulus plan
25. The public can meet with federal housing insurers to refinance (the new plan can be completed in one day) a mortgage if they are having trouble paying
26. US financial and banking rescue plan
27. The “secret detention” facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere are being closed
28. Ended the previous policy; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with the Geneva Convention standards
29. Better body armor is now being provided to our troops
30. The missile defense program is being cut by $1.4 billion in 2010
31. Restarted the nuclear non-proliferation talks and building back up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols
32. Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic
33. Reengaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions
34. Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any president in his first six months in office
35. Successful release of US captain held by Somali pirates; authorized the SEALS to do their job
36. US Navy increasing patrols off Somali coast
37. Attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles
38. “Cash for clunkers” program offers vouchers to trade in fuel inefficient, polluting old cars for new cars; stimulates auto sales
39. Announced plans to purchase fuel efficient American-made fleet for the federal government
40. Expanded the SCHIP program to cover health care for 4 million more children
41. Signed national service legislation; expanded national youth service program
42. Instituted a new policy on Cuba, allowing Cuban families to return “home” to visit loved ones
43. Ended the previous policy of not regulating and labeling carbon dioxide emissions
44. Expanding vaccination programs
45. Immediate and efficient response to the floods in North Dakota and other natural disasters
46. Closed offshore tax safe havens (Premature added by post author)
47. Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals
48. Ended the previous policy of offering tax benefits to corporations who outsource American jobs; the new policy is to promote in-sourcing to bring jobs back
49. Ended the previous practice of protecting credit card companies; in place of it are new consumer protections from credit card industry’s predatory practices
50. Energy producing plants must begin preparing to produce 15% of their energy from renewable sources
51. Lower drug costs for seniors
52. Ended the previous practice of forbidding Medicare from negotiating with drug manufacturers for cheaper drugs; the federal government is now realizing hundreds of millions in savings
53. Increasing pay and benefits for military personnel
54. Improved housing for military personnel
55. Initiating a new policy to promote federal hiring of military spouses
56. Improved conditions at Walter Reed Military Hospital and other military hospitals
57. Increasing student loans
58. Increasing opportunities in AmeriCorps program
59. Sent envoys to Middle East and other parts of the world that had been neglected for years; reengaging in multilateral and bilateral talks and diplomacy
60. Established a new cyber security office
61. Beginning the process of reforming and restructuring the military 20 years after the Cold War to a more modern fighting force… this includes new procurement policies, increasing size of military, new technology and cyber units and operations, etc.
62. Ended previous policy of awarding no-bid defense contracts
63. Ordered a review of hurricane and natural disaster preparedness
64. Established a National Performance Officer charged with saving the federal government money and making federal operations more efficient
65. Students struggling to make college loan payments can have their loans refinanced
66. Improving benefits for veterans
67. Many more press conferences and town halls and much more media access than previous administration
68. Instituted a new focus on mortgage fraud
69. The FDA is now regulating tobacco
70. Ended previous policy of cutting the FDA and circumventing FDA rules
71. Ended previous practice of having White House aides rewrite scientific and environmental rules, regulations, and reports
72. Authorized discussions with North Korea and private mission by Pres. Bill Clinton to secure the release of two Americans held in prisons
73. Authorized discussions with Myanmar and mission by Sen. Jim Web to secure the release of an American held captive
74. Making more loans available to small businesses
75. Established independent commission to make recommendations on slowing the costs of Medicare
76. Appointment of first Latina to the Supreme Court
77. Authorized construction/opening of additional health centers to care for veterans
78. Limited salaries of senior White House aides; cut to $100,000
79. Renewed loan guarantees for Israel
80. Changed the failing/status quo military command in Afghanistan
81. Deployed additional troops to Afghanistan
82. New Afghan War policy that limits aerial bombing and prioritizes aid, development of infrastructure, diplomacy, and good government practices by Afghans
83. Announced the long-term development of a national energy grid with renewable sources and cleaner, efficient energy production
84. Returned money authorized for refurbishment of White House offices and private living quarters
85. Paid for redecorations of White House living quarters out of his own pocket
86. Held first Seder in White House
87. Attempting to reform the nation’s healthcare system which is the most expensive in the world yet leaves almost 50 million without health insurance and millions more underinsured
88. Has put the ball in play for comprehensive immigration reform
89. Has announced his intention to push for energy reform
90. Has announced his intention to push for education reform

“Liberals” have pretty much been on the right side of every major issue in the history of this country.

Ending slavery. Medicare. Social Security. Voting rights. Every one fiercely opposed by conservatives.

Those soft-hearted liberals were against going to war in Vietnam and Iraq. Those ventures both went well, didn’t they?

Now liberals want to make sure everyone has health care benefits.

Is there any hope this will pass, or did Obama just stick his foot in the biggest bear trap?

And if he doesn’t succeed in this, what will his presidency even be about??

“W” had a presidency with a purpose: He wanted to go to war, specifically with Iraq. It took some creativity* to convince the American public that there was a REASON to go to war with Iraq, but he succeeded, and got us into that war. Yeah!

Reagan had two goals, giving tax cuts to the wealthy and spending more on the military. He succeeded on both counts.

Obama did have one goal foisted on him, to bring the U.S. out of the economic chaos of a recession. It is way too early to determine his success on this.

Oops, almost forgot, getting us out of Iraq was another pressing goal. While the end in Iraq (to some extent) appears to be in sight, we may be in Afghanistan a long-long time.

Those are not Obama’s programs though, they are just pre-existing issues that needed fixing. Health care for all Americans is really his baby. His legacy.

Will he succeed? The verbal fighting is fierce, with lots of insane red herrings being tossed about (death panels??).

Regardless, SOME DAY there will be national health care in America.

Republicans are now staunch defenders of Social Security and Medicare. To NOT do so is political suicide. When these programs were proposed, however, they used the same scare tactics they are using now …too expensive, socialist, communist.

They have a great new scary word though…. Nazi. Yep, apparently the scariest thing about the Nazi’s was a plan to provide health care for all their citizens. JUST LIKE OBAMA !!!

The Nazi’s also had BMW provide many/most of their vehicles and other war equipment. Wouldn’t that make any American who buys a BMW a Nazi? It works for me!

If and when it is passed, you can put large amounts of money on this: Republicans will eventually say that national health care is one of the things that makes America great, and they would never dream of dismantling it.

*Creativity = Huge lies repeated endlessly so that morons believe them to this day.
Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Sometimes I am really naïve. I thought my July 22 article about Barack Obama’s U.S. citizenship would not be controversial. Let me synopsize:

1) Obama is a U.S. citizen
2) Anyone who says he isn’t is an idiot

Some of the responses were fun, but not Matt’s. Matt is a very serious person, and he is serious about Obama’s citizenship and our Constitution!

In Matt’s response he said I should “try addressing the real issues involved with this topic instead of using the Al Sharpton approach.” I guess by the “Al Sharpton approach” he means blaming racism for everything.

You know, I have never really been a big fan of Al Sharpton. More than once he has yelled ‘fire’ (racism) in a crowded theater before he knew all the facts.

Know this though, Sharpton’s main motivation seems to be to represent the powerless and voiceless among us, and he is not always wrong. Because of his missteps he has paid a price in credibility so that, even when he is right, some people will not listen to him.

But Matt, aren’t you being just as judgmental? You imply that I think everyone who expresses doubts about Obama’s birth is a racist.

Nothing could be further from the truth. I am just looking for facts. When ALL THE FACTS point one way, and you point the other, I begin to question your motivation.

As I said previously, your search doesn’t appear to be for truth, because truth has already been established: Obama was born in the U.S.

You simply choose to deny his citizenship in spite of all the evidence.

- Anyone can see the birth certificate. It is on-line.
- The hospital says it is valid.
- The Republican governor of Hawaii says it is valid.
- There is an August 1961 birth announcement in the Honolulu paper saying his mom and dad had a baby boy.

None of what I just wrote matters to you, does it…

Why, Matt, do you deny the obvious evidence? Admit it, NO AMOUNT of evidence will satisfy you.

Matt opines: “Oh, anybody who wants to exercise their Constitutional Rights is a racist?”

Golly Matt, NO! All of us here at Winkest Link are delighted that you care so deeply for the Constitution. I presume you were equally concerned when Bush and Cheney were using it as a floor mat.

In fact, I have the constitutional right to imply that you are gay. I would never say that, because I don’t know you, but I appreciate your granting that I have that right. That doesn’t bother you, does it?

Likewise, you have the right to question whether Obama was born in the U.S.

Same deal, right?

Look Matt, my article wasn’t about ‘rights,’ it was about motivation. What is your purpose in denying the evidence, on its face, that President Obama was born in the United States?

Well, I don’t know you Matt. I have no idea if you are a racist or not. Maybe you are just a conservative shill who hates Obama for political reasons and will do and say ANYTHING to try to destroy him. (Okay, I am really confident that this is true.)

C’mon Matt, even if you are not racist you have to admit the obvious: At least some, and maybe most, of those who are making an issue of the birth certificate, are not TOTALLY comfortable with the idea that a ‘black guy’ is president.

I don’t know if you are a racist Matt, but I know one thing for sure: If you think Obama was not born in the United States, you are an idiot.
Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

As everybody knows by now, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, a top African-American scholar, was arrested on July 16 and accused of disorderly conduct after police responded to a report of a possible burglary at his Cambridge home.

None of us were there, but we can probably guess what happened. The policeman, responding to a legitimate break-in call, found a man in the house who turned out to be the homeowner.

The much-esteemed prof probably blew his top at the cop. Highly thought-of professors tend to think highly of themselves.  I am confident he reacted badly to the questioning he took. Bad form.

The police officer also acted badly. Once he established that the professor owned the house, he should have made a quick getaway and saved his “that professor is an A——” story for the squad room.

Nope. He had to escalate it by arresting a gimpy little 58-year old man in his own house. The charge later was dropped, but the black/white issue was too tempting for the national press to resist.

Then Obama stuck his foot in it, and finally he invited both men to the White House for a beer….   blah, blah, blah.

That should have been the end of it.

Somewhere along the line a Boston Globe columnist asked readers, “Would you stand for this kind of treatment, in your own home, by a police officer who by now clearly has no right to be there?”

Uh-oh. Boston police officer Justin Barrett, with a black-belt in “Moron,” decided he could not let that (seemingly rhetorical) question go unanswered.

So he sent a mass e-mail to some of his fellow members of the National Guard and also to the Boston Globe. In it he referred to professor Gates as a “banana-eating jungle monkey,”

He used that phrase, “banana-eating jungle monkey,” FOUR TIMES in the e-mail and indicated, were HE the arresting officer, he also would have pepper-sprayed the professor.

This is a guy that LOVES being a cop.

According to a statement from Boston police, Commissioner Edward Davis took action immediately on learning of Barrett’s remarks, stripping the officer of his gun and badge.

They indicated that Barrett is now “on administrative leave, pending the outcome of a termination hearing.”

Not surprisingly, officer Barrett has apologized, saying he’s not a racist.He told a Boston television station that he was sorry for the e-mail. “I regret that I used such words, I have so many friends of every type of culture and race you can name. I am not a racist.”

Listen, soon-to-be-former officer Barrett, don’t bother telling us you have a black friend. We sort of doubt it anyhow, but if you do have a black ‘friend,’ he either doesn’t really know you, or knows you better than you think.

Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

The Senate has voted to block expansion of one of the country’s most controversial and expensive defense programs, the F-22 fighter jet. The vote gave the White House and Pentagon a key victory over congressional supporters of the F-22, many of whom represent states and districts where jobs are tied to the production of the jet.

The President didn’t want it.

John McCain didn’t want it.

The military didn’t want it.

The Air Force recently reported that the F-22 requires more than 30 hours of maintenance for every flight hour, The Office of the Secretary of Defense put that figure at 34 hours of maintenance per single hour of flight.

Thirty to thirty-four hours of maintenance for every hour of flight? Is this worse than helicopters? (Note: helicopters require tons of maintenance)

The primary cause of its maintenance is a constant need to repair radar-absorbing metallic skin.

Another source of maintenance problems is that many components require custom hand-fitting and are not interchangeable.

Non-interchangeable parts? What a boondoggle!

Why did it take so long to kill this beast? Because your congressmen and senators insisted on keeping it, Democrats and Republicans alike.

In the olden days (50+ years ago) the military budget increased because the military kept asking for new and expensive weaponry. Congress pretty much always gave them everything they wanted.

In more recent years an interesting change has happened. The military budget is increasing because Congress has been ordering weapons that the military doesn’t even want. The F-22 is but one example.

This is the ultimate pork. It is safe to assume many in Congress knew these weapons would NEVER be used. They were just spending money to create jobs in their districts.

Disgraced ex-Senator Ted Steven’s $398 million ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ was horribly wasteful, but at least it would have helped 35 people get from the island they live on to the mainland Alaska. This is positively frugal when compared to Congress-ordered weapons programs.

Because they face reelection every two years, Congressmen are never NOT running for reelection. They repeatedly vote to maintain useless weapons programs and start new ones because it keeps money going to their districts, which keep getting them re-elected. This is my money, and your money, being poured down a rat hole.

Creating jobs is not a horrible idea. It shouldn’t take a rocket scientist (like me) to find better ways to create jobs.

Rather than building a $2 billion weapon that doesn’t work (and the military doesn’t even want), how about fixing an interstate bridge (see Minneapolis) before it falls into the river? How disruptive was the missing bridge to the Minnesota economy?

Our infrastructure, bridges, roads, highways, sewage systems, etc, are old and crumbling. The stimulus package is aimed at resolving that.

Ending crazy pork projects like the F-22 can help fund the stimulus package.

JFK had multiple killers. The moon landing was faked. Israel crashed those jets into the twin towers. The Holocaust didn’t happen. On and on they go.

I don’t really understand the pathetic people who continue to push these conspiracies, except for those whose sole desire is to sell books.( “Bermuda Triangle” anybody?)

There are also the fun/prank versions. (“Bigfoot” anybody?)

But a long-since debunked conspiracy is resurfacing, that Barack Obama was not born in the United States.

His birth certificate is now in the public domain, and has been certified by the state of Hawaii, and verified by FactCheck.org. Please note: Hawaii became a state before he was born there on August 4, 1961.

A Delaware Republican Congressman recently held a town hall meeting to take questions from his constituents, the type of thing a true public servant should do. Sadly, wingnuts tend to show up at these and try to turn the whole event toward their agenda. I will synopsize what happened…

Wingnut Gal: “I am holding a copy of my birth certificate that says…” (Wingnut proceeds to read the WHOLE birth certificate). “Barack Obama has never shown his, and he is not a citizen of the United States. He is a citizen of Kenya, and why can’t we get him removed as the president and …” (10 more minutes of blah-blah-blah)

Congressman: (after a long pause) “Barack Obama is a citizen of the United States.”

Crowd: “Booooooooooooo!”

God bless this Republican Congressman, who dared try to speak the truth to the wingnuts. He never stood a chance.

John McCain says Barack Obama is an American citizen.

It doesn’t matter. You could hold a certified copy of the birth certificate in the face of one of these wack-jobs and they would refute it, saying it was a fake.

“Truth” is not their aim. They are frustrated because the concept of a “President Obama” does not fit their agenda, be it pro-choice, anti-gay, pro-gun or whatever.

Nope. It probably isn’t even any of that.

When someone says: “Obama does not have a valid birth certificate.” what I hear them REALLY saying is…

“I ain’t gonna keep my mouth shut while that N***** is still president.”

How much influence does the Surgeon General of the U.S. have? Precious little, I think. It always seemed to me more ceremonial than functional. I imagine seeing the budget for this position would make me cry.

I guess being a ‘spokesman’ is a job. Previous ones have spoken out against smoking and in favor of exercise.

If I were the U. S. Surgeon General I would tell people to eat less and go for a walk. Repeat daily.

Regardless, President Obama just announced his choice to fill this position, Dr. Regina Benjamin.

Dr Benjamin is a family practice doctor who has spent most of her career working with poor patients in a Gulf Coast clinic in Alabama.

When announcing the pick, President Obama said: “When people couldn’t pay, she didn’t charge them. When the clinic wasn’t making money, she didn’t take a salary for herself.”

Does this sound familiar? President Obama was a community organizer who worked, hands on, to improve the lives of the less fortunate.

He could, no doubt, identify with Dr’ Benjamin’s purpose and dedication.

Lots of people talk about how poor people can help themselves. You know, the old ‘pull yourselves up by your own bootstraps’ speech.

Others, such as Obama and Dr Benjamin, do more than talk, they go out and get their hands dirty actually helping the needy.

So what is the influence of the U. S. Surgeon General?

We can’t all become president. That is a job with a finite number of openings, but hey, you don’t have to be elected to be a doctor.

Maybe, as much as anything, inspiring people in toward academic excellence can be part of the legacy of Dr. Benjamin, whether they become doctors or not.

The May 18 Winkest link article was obviously written several days before it was printed.

In it we wrote that the Defense Department, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, was going to release photos showing alleged abuse of prisoners in detention facilities in Afghanistan and Iraq.

This did not happen. The Obama Administration has had a change of heart and, for now at least, will not release the photos.

This appears to be an attempt by Obama to maintain goodwill with the political center. He will need them (moderates) later to tackle bigger issues, such as health care. He probably feels he can’t spend the political capital right now.

Winkest Link is against this decision, because we ALWAYS support transparency in our government. We pay for it, we should know what we are getting.

Plus, we want to know if our paid officials are breaking the law.

Opaque government is what we had, for eight years, during the Bush years. Information was only parceled out on a ‘need to know’ basis, and Bush/Cheney thought the public NEVER had a need to know.

The more a government lies, the more they need to hide, thus “opaque government.”

The signs are strong that the current administration will be much more forthcoming than the previous one. They couldn’t possibly be less forthcoming.

By the way, what good is the “Freedom of Information Act” if we can’t ‘free’ the information?