The House That Jack Built

A couple of things about Ron Paul.

1) He seems to be very popular among enthusiastic and active Republicans.  He won the CPAC poll (and came within 1 vote of winning the SRLC poll), but does that translate into actual votes during primary season?  David Frum and other pundits say NO.  The answer was a resounding NO in ’08 to be sure.  But this time Dr. Paul is starting early, and is far more organized.  Frum dismisses these straw polls as the opinions of a bunch of college kids who live in their mothers’ basements.  He is probably right about that!  But these college kids are FAR more organized and FAR more energized this time around!  All they need is gas money or bus fare to get to the polling place and vote!

He then sights a CNN Opinion poll as a “REAL” poll in which Dr. Paul is at 8%.  He says this poll (of 531 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents) is more REAL then a poll of 1825 registered, active, and energized Republicans (living in their mom’s basement or not)

Keep in mind there is a 4.5% Margin of Error in the CNN Opinion poll.  There is virtually a 0% Margin of Error in the Straw Polls.  However, since it is not a scientific poll, there is a possibility of “ballot stuffing”.

Also, keep in mind that this is a PRIMARY which means (in most states that have closed primaries), Independents and other non-Republicans CAN’T VOTE!  (So Republican-leaning independents’ opinions are meaningless.)

UPDATE: WHILE I AM WRITING THIS, I DISCOVER RON PAUL HAS WON ANOTHER STRAW POLL

He has won the straw poll at the Conservative Leadership Conference in Nevada, by a LARGE margin!  (But only 430 voters registered for the poll)

The results are:

• Ron Paul 33%
• Mitt Romney 16%
• Duncan Hunter 15%
• Undecided 11%
• Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani were next in single digits

OK… That being said, he just MIGHT be a more formidable Republican candidate then Frum and other pundits realize.  We’ll see.

But let’s move on to the OTHER thing about Ron Paul.  Item #2.

2) Ron Paul got into some hot water in the 80′s and 90′s about his newsletters with some racist, and anti-semitic remarks.  Dr. Paul himself, made some racially insensitive comments back in the 90′s about African American crime in Los Angeles and the criminals being “fleet-footed”.

Neither of those things make Dr. Paul a racist or an anti-semite.  Further, I can’t find anything anti-Semitic that he has said or done. (EVER) (And I can’t find any even remotely racially insensitive comment that he has made this millennium).  However, what is disturbing, is that Dr. Paul CONTINUES (as far as I know) to keep as his right-hand man, a known racist and anti-semite.  (Mr. Lew Rockwell).  His web site ( I will NOT post a link, you can google it yourself), the “Council of Concerned Citizens” is a basically a blog, 100% focused on racism and anti-semitism.

I watched Dr. Paul’s speech at SRLC on cspan.org today, and I have to say…  WOW!!!!

AMAZING!  He GETS it!  He has been in tune with where this country should be for over 3 decades.  It was an amazing speech.  I could not agree more with it.  It was like my words were coming right out of his mouth.

Listen to the applause and chants of “Ron Paul!”

He starts out with the premise that debt and deficits are a primary issue.  (disagreeing with former VP’s assertion that “deficits don’t matter”)

He then moves on to earmarks, and identifies that they are a great talking point, but not a cause of spending.  And by eliminating state reps in Congress “earmarking funds” for themselves, you end up with the Federal Government doing it, which can be much worse. —  Good one Ron!

Then he advocates for a strong legislative branch (as opposed to an executive branch), (completely the opposite of the power grabbing previous executive branch we had.) – YES!  (NOTE: It was Trent Lott, Bill Frist, and John Boehner who ushered in the era of a weak, submissive legislative branch)

Then he goes on to take on the culture of spending (and the implied corporatism) of the Republican Party.

He says “Now if we were so good at cutting spending, where were we when we had the chance?

LISTEN to the MASSIVE applause on that one line!

Then he says: “What we (as Republicans over the past several decades) have created, is a credibility gap.  We talk a good game, but when we get the chance to something, we haven’t done the job that we should have.” – YES!!!!

NOTE: The “credibility gap” is like the GRAND CANYON (x100)

He says, (paraphrasing) that “If we only elected individuals who would obey the Constitution, we would get out of this mess in no time.”   YES!!!!!  Other then Ron Paul, I can’t think of any Republican who has a clue what the constitution means.  (It’s pretty hard to think of a current Democrat that does either!)

He then CORRECTLY identifies Obama.   (This guy GETS it!)  He says: “The question has been raised, whether or not our President is a Socialist” – (Raised by Neocons and not by anyone who understands what the word means)

He then states that there are some in the audience who believe it.  He says it’s a fair discussion because Obama deserves a lot of criticism. He then says “In the technical sense, in the economic definition, he is not a socialist. He’s a corporatist. And unfortunately we have corporatists inside the Republican Party and that means you take care of corporations and corporations take over and run the country.”

YES!!!!!!!!!! Ron Paul GETS it!  He actually understands what the words MEAN!!!!!  He recognizes corporatism as the hijacking of our freedom!

He wants to introduce a bill to repeal the individual mandate (or a Ms. Wasserman Shultz calls it, the “change in tax status”) for people to buy health insurance.  YES!!!!!!!  The mandate was just a STUPID idea.  Completely antithetical to our way of life.

Here is Part 1 (of 3) of his speech:

I found this Heritage Foundation post which accurately predicts a Doctor shortage.  It cites 2 reasons:

1. An increase (in the millions) in the number of insured people.
2. A mass exodus of docs from the field.  This CBS News article is cited.

Well #1 is true.  If #2 is true, why do a third of doctors believe that they are going to be reimbursed less?  After all, that is what the Doctor fix was for!  Are THAT many doctors, just THAT uninformed?

Besides, (depending on the practice, and its patient mix, of course (there are many exceptions)), most docs are paid by private insurance!  (And all these “NEWLY insured” will be on PRIVATE insurance, courtesy of us taxpayers)  So what are these people thinking???

If anyone knows, please comment.

OK…  First the uninformed ideologue, “Jack Cassell”  (WHY do these people have to be named “Jack”?) refuses to treat any patients who voted for Obama.  He cited reductions in senior and hospice care.  (Which there is nothing in the healthcare bill that even remotely could cause such a thing).

When asked by Alan Colmes how much he actually knew about the healthcare bill, his reply was “I can’t tell you exactly what the deal is.”

Colmes then asked, “if you don’t know, why are you speaking out against it?”  His reply was “What I get online, just like any other American. What I’m supposed to understand about the bill should be available to me.”

To me, this was pretty much a non-story.  An uninformed ideologue, who knows nothing about the healthcare bill, acting like an ass.  (After all, there are thousands of uninformed ideologues acting like asses, so what?) The bottom line is, there are thousands of Urologists in Florida.  I have never supported this healthcare bill, and if I saw his sign on the door, I would turn around and go back to my car.  (NO WAY would I even THINK of letting this guy touch me.  ESPECIALLY THERE!!!!!)  I would get on the phone to my referring Doctor’s office (and my insurance company if necessary) and get ANOTHER referral. NO BIG DEAL.  That’s the way Capitalism works.

ok… So that’s no big deal.  Just another a-hole in a world filled with them.

Here is another story about ANOTHER uninformed ideologue, who is NOT turning away patients who voted for Obama, but claims he is LAYING OFF EMPLOYEES WHO VOTED FOR OBAMA!  He is now playing political games with people’s lives!

Like, the last guy, he has no idea what is in the healthcare bill.  He posted (under the name “dermdoc” on a Texas A&M message board: “Laid off my first Obama voting employee today.”

“Our reimbursement rates are spiraling downward, taxes are projected to go up with Obamacare, so I did it,” the person wrote. He later added: “I made this decision because I can.”

“It is kind of interesting watching their face as you explain to them the economic consequences of the policies of the guy they voted for,”

“And most analysts think reimbursement rates for docs will go down about 20-25% the next 2 years, and that is BEFORE Obamacare really kicks in.”

Again, this guy has no idea what he is talking about.  First of all, he’s a Dermatologist.  By “reimbursement rates”, I assume he is talking about Medicare/Medicaid.  Specialists like Dermatologists ALWAYS have enjoyed higher reimbursement rates then primary care physicians, and they are by NO means spiraling downward.  “Most Analysts”?  Really?

So, he decides to layoff an employee and brag about it on a college message board.  All  I can say to this guy is, G-d is watching EVERYTHING you do.  My prayers go out to this employee and his/her family.

Once he was outed, his reply was:

“That is the way business works,” …If that makes me an ahole, so be it.”

No Mr. A-HOLE, that’s NOT the way ethical business works in a Capitalist society.  We have a meritocracy.  People are NOT laid off because of their political views.  Obamacare (no matter HOW flawed) will have ZERO negative impact on your practice.  ZERO.  If you can’t run a business efficiently enough to maintain employment for your employees (who lack any performance issues, as there is no evidence of any in this case), that’s on YOU!  (Not Obama, or the healthcare bill)

You are TRULY an A-hole in every sense of the word.

When I saw the headline, “GOP Better Plan To Promote Jobs”, I thought, I bet it was going to be, gee “Let’s cut taxes for the rich!  That will create jobs!”

I watched the video, and guess what? I was right!  What a surprise!

msnbc.com Sen. Kyl GOP has a better plan to promote jobs

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Mr. Kyl rambles on about these HUGE tax increases on working families.  He fails to mention that the only families impacted are those making over $250,000/yr.  (Keep in mind he excludes the healthcare bill from the discussion).  He then says “most business pay their taxes through their personal income tax.”  He fails to mention the less than 1.5% of “small” business owners pay THEMSELVES over $250,000/yr!!!!  Almost NO small business owners can afford to take anywhere NEAR that amount annually out of their own businesses.

He also likes to cite the Obama Administration’s massive “failure to create jobs.”

Well, let’s compare this administration’s job record with the last administration’s (using the “tax cuts create jobs” theory)  Keep in mind, the RED section is under the Bush tax cuts.  Hmmmm  Mr. Kyl, you might me on to something with this “out-of-the-box” thinking….  Perhaps not.

Former Fox News, (and likely soon to be) former MSNBC anchor, David Shuster has been suspended indefinitely from MSNBC (why don’t they just fire him?) for taping a pilot for CNN in violation of his contract.

That’s a bit sad.  I haven’t seen much of him, but I always liked the reporting I have seen.  (Apparently, he made some offensive comments about Chelsea Clinton?)  However, if he violated his contract, MSNBC should just get rid of him.

It made me chuckle a bit, when fair and balanced Fox News called him a “liberal loudmouth”.  (a bit if whiny sour grapes)

Who knows, maybe he can go back to Fox News????

Rod Nordland’s article in the NY Times is indicating that Iran is now supporting Ayad Allawi (Iraq’s first Prime Minister) over Shiite-leaning Al Maliki.  That is a REAL surprise!  He suggests that it might be a pragmatic move.  It’s possible that disenfranchised Sunnis would not support Al-Maliki for another term, and the country could unravel.

Of course, Iran already got what it wanted from the U.S. invasion of Iraq (the elimination of a belligerent anti-Shiite, anti-Iranian, war-mongering dictator) so perhaps the Iranians don’t want to push their luck with a pure Shiite government in Iraq and risk an anti-Shiite (and most likely anti-Iranian) uprising.

In any case, this is GREAT news!

It still doesn’t mean that there is tremendous unity in Iraq and everyone still buys into a unified Iraq.  We’ll see what happens.