Wait until September for the "Surge" report...

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Some of the news from Iraq & Afghanistan that we are not hearing in the media or mentioned in those late night slumber parties being held in Congress by Harry Reid (D)...

Interesting information and article found on StrategyPage.com...

Like the Swamp that Nancy Pelosi promised to drawn in Washington this shows that corruption and abuse is in the middle east but for a different reason...

The Real War and Why It's Ignored
"July 17, 2007: There are several large scale counter-terror operations going on. Each one has five to ten thousand troops (usually about a third of them Iraqi) sweeping through an area long used by terrorists for bases.) One such operation, "Marne Torch" reports that, after six weeks, 1,152 buildings were searched, 83 terrorists killed, 278 arrested or captured (depends on if they were armed and shooting when caught), 51 weapons caches found, 51 terrorist boats (used to move men and weapons via water) destroyed and 872 suspects entered into the electronic database. That last item, the database, is proving more valuable as time goes by. With nearly half a million people entered in it so far, more of the usual suspects are being identified and eventually arrested. Fingerprints and retinal scans eliminates the language barrier. When troops catch a suspicious character, and quickly get a positive ID for someone who has been caught elsewhere in the country, but without enough evidence to keep him confined, you know you have someone you need to have a chat with. Or at least run the test to see if he has handled explosives lately. Or maybe ask the neighbors if this guy has been bothering anyone. You know, the usual death threats against anyone who might give information to the Americans or police. Troops let it be known that cash rewards will be quietly paid for any useful information. The IDs of these informants are not shared with the Iraqi police, to make sure the informant is not found and killed by the terrorists. The war in Iraq is mostly about information, and these days the terrorists have less of it, and Iraqi and coalition troops have more of it."

But the war is still not the major problem. Corruption and incompetent government are.

Healthcare for all, paid for by some…

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Healthcare for all has been in the news for years and was a main part of the Democratic Party’s platform and promise during this past election. The national parties have been talking about it for years, Mikey Moore has another “Documentary” out about it, the Staunton NewsLeader editorial board has provided “some” information, and the local Augusta County coalition has been marching about it for years. But yet there seems to be numerous discrepancies in the numbers that they have been using or not reporting at all… Libertarian Larry Elder provided some numbers in his article:

“Nearly 50 million "Americans" lack health care insurance. At least, director Michael Moore makes this claim in "Sicko," his new "documentary" about America's supposedly awful health care system.”

But some more reliable sources provide numbers that appear to be more accurate and reliable.

“Nearly 50 million? For what it's worth, the Centers for Disease Control puts the number of uninsured at 43.6 million, and the Census Bureau at 44.8 million. “

And who makes up that number that Mikey trots out there, inflated like himself, and all?…

“Second, when Moore asserts that 50 million Americans lack coverage, he most assuredly includes some of the 11 million to 20 million illegal aliens. Of people born here, 86% are covered. For noncitizens, only 57% have insurance.
Now examine those who lack health care insurance.”

The Democratic Party has been blurting out 40-45 million Americans are uninsured for the last two major elections and I am sure it will be trotted out once again in the upcoming campaigns. Yet they do not describe who these “Americans” are, how long they remain un-insured, or if they choose not to be insured.

“Nearly half go without only for four months or less, usually while between jobs. Others with jobs could easily add insurance through their work for a small premium. Many without health care insurance are young people (18 million uninsured are 18 to 34) who consider themselves — given their youth and good health — unlikely to face large health care costs.”

And is it true when the Party and the Coalitions claim that people who are not insured are that way because they can’t afford insurance?

“Over 14 million of the uninsured, according to the Census Bureau, live in households earning $50,000 or more a year. Over 7 million are in households earning more than $75,000 a year. These people could afford coverage, either out-of-pocket or by making minor adjustments to their lifestyles. A small number of the uninsured include criminals. Should taxpayers provide health care for them, as well? “

How bad is the system that we now have? Is it as bad as the Democratic Party, the NewsLeader, and their “Coalitions” claim?

“But according to an ABC News-Kaiser Family Foundation-USA Today survey, 89% of Americans with health care insurance say they are, in fact, satisfied with the quality of care they receive.”

Mikey Moore and many of his friends claim that we would be much better off if we switched to a system like the ones in their favorite “Socialized” countries…

“Canada? A recent government study said only half of ER patients receive care in a timely fashion. Lindsay McCreith of Ontario was supposed to wait four months for an MRI, and then wait several months more to see a neurologist for his malignant brain tumor. Instead, McCreith — like many other ill Canadians — came to the U.S. for life-saving surgery.”

Moore advocates a more “Universal” single-payer healthcare system to correct the problems(?) of the healthcare system that now operates on a more private sector \ free enterprise system which provides the most technological and overall best healthcare system in the world.

Just another example of when the government takes control of our lives and determines what is “Best” for us…

“France? Nearly 13,000 people died in the summer of 2003. Why? The number suffering from the heat so overwhelmed the French health care system that hospitals stopped answering their phones, and ambulance attendants told people to take care of themselves. Most of the 13,000 died from simple dehydration.”

http://www.townhall.com/Content/51d75bc8-7485-40c3-91f1-e6e7538eb331

VA. abuser fee exceptions was Democratic Governor Kaines idea?!...

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The "Mason Conservative" found an article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch which shows that the exclusion of out-of-state drivers from paying the new "abuser fees" was actually our Democratic Party Governor Tim Kaine's doing...

"The Richmond Times-Dispatch has come out with an article that shows the Kaine Administration admitting that they were the ones who excluded out-of-state drivers from having to pay the abuser fees."

http://masonconservative.typepad.com/the_mason_conservative/2007/07/the-suddenly-si.html

The Mason Conservative also points out the lack of this tid-bit missing from almost all of the Virginia Political blogs that were quick to blame the "abuser fee" issue on the Republican House...

I myself will be looking hard for the article or report of this fact in my local newspaper The Staunton NewsLeader...

Wish me Luck...

DOW Jones Avg... 7,000 to 14,000

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Back in 2002 the Dow Jones Average was at 7,ooo and this was just after the confirmed Clinton recession and the effects of the attacks on 9/11. Today it broke into new territory at 14,000 but yet coverage on the great economy has been lacking. Our local paper here the Staunton NewsLeader has always gone to great lengths to avoid giving President Bush any "Positive" acknowledgement or credit when they can but its getting harder and harder to avoid the great economy we now have...

The NewsLeader has instead focus on more pressing issues and always looking to take a swipe at the President and they managed to do it again today in their editorial page. Their editorial was talking about the waste of money spent to maintain ICE in a ready status to respond to disaster events such as hurricanes. Now last year it was predicted that we would have more MAJOR hurricanes then the year of Katrina but little evolved. Thats another story, but the NewsLeader was able to end their editorial with a cheap swipe at the President with the following: "Unless — unless we could be missing something here ... could this have been the Bush administration's secret plan to combat global warming? It's a chilling thought" ...
http://www.newsleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070717/OPINION01/707170307/1014/OPINION

But lets take a look at this economy that the NewsLeader seems to be avoiding. Donald Lambro of the Washington Times had a good article about this and the shrinking defecit that we have but gets little attention from the media.

"The Office of Management and Budget announced last week that the annual deficit, estimated at $400 billion just a few years ago, will be $205 billion by the end of this fiscal year (which ends in September). "

But remember back before the Bush taxcuts went into effect all of those who claimed reducing taxes would only result in a shortfall for government revenues?

"These are the same people who said President Kennedy's tax-rate cuts would lead to years of red ink and all sorts of economic dislocations when, in fact, they led to a budget surplus by 1969 and a much stronger economy. "

Wait. I thoughe JKF was a Democrat? Did he understand the value of lowering taxes to improve the economies growth?

"The same people said President Reagan's tax cuts would wreak havoc with the government's fiscal solvency, weaken the economy and worsen inflation. But the economy came roaring back after the worst recession since the Great Depression, inflation abated, the deficit eventually began to come down and we ended up with budget surpluses in the 1990s."

And they came out of the woodwork once again when President Bush proposed his tax-cut package, back when the Dow was at 7,000...

"And the same people said President Bush's tax cuts would produce a long-term fiscal disaster and deficits as far as the eye could see. In fact, the well-timed tax cuts pulled the U.S. economy out of its sharp decline in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and the resulting economic growth they triggered has produced steadily rising tax revenues that have steadily eaten into the deficit year after year."

Now some have claimed this is just a "Bump" and there is no real growth...

"A resurgent economy has been expanding for 22 consecutive quarters with a growth rate (GDP) that has averaged 2.9 percent a year since Mr. Bush came into office. "On an inflation-adjusted basis, the economy is now more than 16 percent larger than in 2001," OMB reported."

And don't forget the un-employment rate...

"Since the Bush tax cuts fully took effect in 2003, the American economy has created more than 8.2 million new jobs, cutting the unemployment rate to 4½ percent. That rate, by the way, is on average lower than the rates for the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, OMB says."

The good news is that it appears the growth will continue but unfortunately this also puts more of our tax money into the hands of the politicans to spend. Not a total bad thing if they spend it wisely like taking care of the Social Security problems but let's wait and see on that one...

"Here's a startling fact that puts these numbers into sharper perspective: The economy has had the longest stretch of nonstop job-creation growth since June 1990. That's why federal tax receipts have risen by more than 37 percent over the last three years and will grow by another 7 percent this year."
http://www.newsleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070717/OPINION01/707170307/1014/OPINION

Now chances are you still will not see anything about the positive economy in the editorial pages of the NewsLeader but be sure to look for the positive comments on the "John Edwards (D) Poverty Tour" and how it's all the Presidents fault...