KAY IVEY TO ATTEND NATIONAL TEA PARTY CONVENTION IN NASHVILLE THIS WEEKEND
Will post dispatches from event on website and via Facebook & Twitter
(MONTGOMERY – February 4, 2010) State Treasurer and Republican gubernatorial candidate Kay Ivey is heading to Nashville for the very first national Tea Party convention this Friday and Saturday, and she plans on keeping Alabamians informed on what’s happening there.
“The Tea Party movement is shaking up the political landscape all across the country,” Ivey said. “Its members were a key force in Scott Brown’s upset Senate victory in Massachusetts a few weeks ago. And they’re certainly adding an exciting new dimension to politics here in Alabama, too. I’m proud to stand alongside these modern-day patriots.”
Ivey and some staffers will attend convention meetings at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. Ivey will periodically update her supporters on happenings through blog postings on her campaign website and via Facebook and Twitter.
“The Tea Party movement brings passion and commitment to the political process,” Ivey said. “These folks are doers, not talkers. They are genuine conservatives and they care passionately about the same thing I care about, such as getting the government off our backs and keeping it out of our pockets. My campaign for governor is based on making government work more efficiently and more effectively with fewer tax dollars. The Tea Party movement wants that too. I’m happy to share everything that will be going on at this historic gathering with folks in Alabama. We have a long road ahead of us as we set about reclaiming our government. But I am confident we can make it capable of responding to the people’s needs and desires once more.”
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KAY IVEY EMPHASIZES CONSERVATIVE PRINCIPLES
DURING GOP CANDIDATE FORUM
Offers Conservative Leadership with Effective Results
(Opelika, AL – January 28, 2010) State Treasurer and Republican gubernatorial candidate Kay Ivey emphasized her strong conservative principles during Thursday night’s Lee County Republican candidate forum in Opelika.
A large crowd filled Opelika High School’s Performing Arts Center where several GOP candidates for governor appeared on stage. Ivey repeatedly stole the spotlight by staking out firm positions on such issues as restoring financial responsibility to state government.
“People are looking for a genuine, committed conservative to fix our broken government and to lead us out of this financial mess,” she said after the event. “I’m telling them about my record of delivering results, about the nearly $5,000,000, after proration, that I have saved taxpayers while increasing efficiency in the Treasurer’s office. Folks understand our next governor must not only be serious about making all of state government work better with less money, she must know how to make that happen. And I can do it.”
Ivey explained how her work as Assistant Director of ADO (where she brought jobs to Alabama and helped existing companies expand and create new ones), plus her time working as a classroom teacher at the start of her career (where she learned the need for making sure tax dollars actually reach the teachers and students who need them most), make her uniquely qualified to lead Alabama through the challenges of the next four years.
“Tonight I got to share my message directly with the people of Lee County. I told them about my plans for bringing more good paying jobs to Alabama, for reducing the pork spending that bloats our state budgets and wastes our tax dollars, about the need to get students learning at high standards and the steps we must to take – including bringing charter schools here — to make that happen. I offer conservative leadership with effective results, and I’m ready to deliver for the people of Alabama!”
More candidate forums are coming up soon for the Republican candidate. Ivey is scheduled to appear in Monday night’s forum on education issues in Huntsville.
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Robert Kulak received his undergraduate degree in mathematics and economics and his graduate degree in insurance. An Air force veteran,he has consulted nationally and internationally in information systems. He has written international publications on subjects as diverse as political commentary,humor and healthcare. His articles are also regularly published on Examiner.com where he is the 'Hartford Independent Examiner.Ruminations, January 17, 2010
Franklin Delano Obama
Franklin Delano Roosevelt is considered to be one of our most successful presidents. Roosevelt has been credited with successfully leading the nation during World War II, restoring the confidence of America during the early years of Depression and establishing a safety-net for many Americans through unemployment insurance and Social Security.
Roosevelt was not perfect, however. The American economy never did return to anything close to its pre-Depression levels during Roosevelt ’s first two terms. In fact, the unemployment rate averaged 18.7percent for Roosevelt ’s first eight years. One of the keys in the lackluster economy was the reluctance of business to invest and expand. That reluctance was understandable, given Roosevelt ’s tax programs that punished risk-taking and permitted little reward, a perceived plan to nationalize utilities, labor laws that increased costs of production and a generally hostile attitude toward business, at times accusing them of immoral conduct. In fact, it got to the point where economist John Maynard Keynes, in a 1938 letter to Roosevelt , admonished that, “It is a mistake to think businessmen are more immoral than politicians.”
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Robert
Kulak received his undergraduate degree in mathematics and economics and his graduate degree in insurance. An Air force veteran,he has consulted nationally and internationally in information
systems. He has written international publications on subjects as diverse as political commentary,humor and healthcare. His articles are also regularly published on Examiner.com where he is the 'Hartford
Independent Examiner.'Ruminations, January 3, 2010
Ruminations, January 10, 2010
The expense of health care
One of the drivers of health care reform is its high cost. Critics of President Obama’s health care initiative say that it is a government take-over of one-sixth of the economy (actually, according to the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, the figure is close to one-eighth but why ruin a good story?) Supporters of the initiative say, at one-sixth or one-eighth of the GDP, we spend too much on health care.
We spend a lot on health care. Is that necessarily bad? Maybe and maybe not.
Looking at it historically, University of Chicago Nobel economics laureate Robert Fogel examined just where Americans have been spending their money. He found that in 1875, 75 percent of consumers’ income went to food, clothing and shelter.. By 1995, the amount spent on food, clothing and shelter dropped to 12 percent.
Why the drop in the percentage we spend on food, clothing and shelter? Did we all go on diets?
Robert Kulak received his undergraduate degree in mathematics and economics and his graduate degree in insurance. An Air force veteran,he has consulted nationally and internationally in information systems. He has written international publications on subjects as diverse as political commentary,humor and healthcare. His articles are also regularly published on Examiner.com where he is the 'Hartford Independent Examiner.'Ruminations, January 3, 2010
The war on whatever
On September 11, 2001, the United States went to war. It was unlike our previous wars. We had no named opponent as we had in our previous wars – even those wars that were not officially declared had named opponents. In World War II, we fought Japan , Germany and Italy . In the Korean and Vietnam undeclared Wars, our enemies were the North Koreans and the North Vietnamese. On September 11, we went to war against … somebody. Who?
For lack of a better name, it was decreed to be the War on Terror. But the War on Terror is a bad name. Terror – or more accurately, terrorism — is a technique. You can’t declare war on a technique because the technique will always be there and never surrenders. In fact, it’s not even a war on all terrorists. Timothy McVeigh who bombed the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City and killed 168 people was a terrorist and so was “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski who killed three people – but, while not giving them a pass, we are not at “war” with the likes of McVeigh and Kaczynski: We don’t send tanks, aircraft and Marines to take these people out.
Are we truly at war with terrorists in Afghanistan ? What is the definition of a terrorist? According to the Princeton definition, a terrorist is one who employs “the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) againstcivilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear,” (my emphasis).
This isn’t the first time we have taken military action against an amorphous group that had no country.
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Robert Kulak received his undergraduate degree in mathematics and economics and his graduate degree in insurance. An Air force veteran,he has consulted nationally and internationally in information systems. He has written international publications on subjects as diverse as political commentary,humor and healthcare. His articles are also regularly published on Examiner.com where he is the 'Hartford Independent Examiner.'Ruminations, December 27, 2009
Health insurance lives saved vs. lives lost
The
Although this analysis is speculative, it is an interesting and worthwhile exercise to examine the potential effect of health insurance on longevity. Rather than focusing on the dollars and cents side of the health care debate, perhaps adding an additional balance sheet focusing on lives would be worthwhile.
Saving 22,000 lives per year is based upon 30 million of people who are currently uninsured obtaining insurance and thus being able to afford to see their doctors once a year. If 30 million more people will go to their doctor once a year and, according to some estimates, a doctor and an assistant (nurse, physician’s assistant, or another doctor, etc) can see and examine 2,000 people per year (one visit per person). That means we’ll need 30,000 new medical professionals to see 30 million people. Where will they come from? They won’t materialize from thin air. With current staffing levels, regardless of insurance, we won’t have enough medical professionals to see these people. So maybe, unless or until we can expand our medical professionals, the 30 million people currently uninsured still won’t be able to see a doctor and 22,000 lives we estimated that would be saved will be lost anyway.
While accepting the estimate of 22,000 lives saved in one year, let’s consider the number of lives that the new health care bill may cost. For instance, won’t cutting nearly $500 billion from Medicare over 10 years have an adverse affect on the life spans of 46 million seniors? That’s an average cut of $10,000 per person over 10 years. It seems that by reducing health care by that amount, for a group whose earning power is limited and whose advancing years makes their health precarious enough without the cuts, will contribute to the lives lost count. Will it contribute to the premature death of more than 150,000 over ten years? Could be.
And, while we are on the subject of saving lives, there is no doubt that American medical innovation over the last decades has saved millions of lives. In fact, it is so advanced and superior, that, according to Deloitte & Touche, last year 400,000 people came from foreign lands to get health care in the
So, on balance, will the new health care bill in Congress save lives? Maybe not.
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Robert Kulak received his undergraduate degree in mathematics and economics and his graduate degree in insurance. An Air force veteran,he has consulted nationally and internationally in information systems. He has written international publications on subjects as diverse as political commentary,humor and healthcare. His articles are also regularly published on Examiner.com where he is the 'Hartford Independent Examiner.'Ruminations, December 13, 2009
Blazing Cap and Trade
In the 1974 movie Blazing Saddles, Cleavon Little portrays Sheriff Bart, a black sheriff who has been given jurisdiction of the town of
The humor in the situation, as if it needed explanation, lies in the non sequitur; I don’t want you to kill me so I’ll kill myself if you don’t stop trying to kill me. I never thought that I would see such outlandish humor outside a Mel Brooks’ movie until last week.
Last week, an unidentified spokesman for the Obama Administration said to Congress: "If you don't pass this [Cap and Trade] legislation, then . . . the EPA is going to have to regulate in a command-and-control way [i.e., Soviet style]…”
Remember that President Obama is the leader of the Administration and the leader of the Democratic Party that controls Congress. So, in effect, the Administration pulled a gun, pointed it at its own head and said: “If I don’t pass legislation that will wreck the economy I will make the country a replica of the failed
In Blazing Saddles, after Sheriff Bart made his escape, he said to himself, “Oh, baby, you are so talented!” And then, thinking of the towns people, added, “And they are so dumb.” I wonder if, in the eyes of the Administration spokesman, we are just as dumb as the citizens of Rock Ridge.
Cap and trade, European style
Some, on the left, say that Cap and Trade will provide a market for speculators and not make a significant reduction in pollutants. Does their argument have any merit? Well, in
Let’s take the case of
Well, we all know how that goes. A company makes an investment in a plant and it doesn’t work out. Too bad for Tata, they made a bad investment. Or did they?
We’ve all seen the melodramatic movie where a tearful protagonist holds up an insurance policy and says, “I’m worth more dead than alive.” In this case, Redcar Steel Works is worth more to Tata dead than alive – and hold the tears.
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Robert Kulak received his undergraduate degree in mathematics and economics and his graduate degree in insurance. An Air force veteran,he has consulted nationally and internationally in information systems. He has written international publications on subjects as diverse as political commentary,humor and healthcare. His articles are also regularly published on Examiner.com where he is the 'Hartford Independent Examiner.'Ruminations, December 6, 2009
In reviewing President Obama’s strategy for the war in
Developing a new strategy for
Obama made the point of why it is in our national interest to win in
“The status quo is not sustainable”
According to Obama, General McChrystal has reported “that the security situation is more serious than he anticipated. In short: The status quo is not sustainable.” Status quos are seldom sustainable but even if this one were, would we want the status quo – continuing attacks on NATO troops and Afghan civilians, the coercing of the civilian population and the continuing protection of al Qaeda – to be sustainable? Probably not.
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Robert Kulak received his undergraduate degree in mathematics and economics and his graduate degree in insurance. An Air force veteran,he has consulted nationally and internationally in information systems. He has written international publications on subjects as diverse as political commentary,humor and healthcare. His articles are also regularly published on Examiner.com where he is the 'Hartford Independent Examiner.'Ruminations, November 22, 2009
In 1921, the resurrected country of
With that in mind, he sought to diplomatically restore the boundaries 17th
When those diplomatic efforts failed,
Recently,
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Robert Kulak received his undergraduate degree in mathematics and economics and his graduate degree in insurance. An Air force veteran,he has consulted nationally and internationally in information systems. He has written international publications on subjects as diverse as political commentary,humor and healthcare. His articles are also regularly published on Examiner.com where he is the 'Hartford Independent Examiner.'Ruminations, November 15, 2009
Presidential decisionmaking on Afghanistan
One of the main functions of a president is to makedecisions. Indeed, while he was president, George W. Bush referred to himselfas “the decision maker-in-chief.” Sometimes presidents make good decisions andsometimes they make bad ones. Even when they make no decision, that is adecision made for the status quo.
Probably the president best known as a decision maker wasHarry Truman. It was said that during Truman’s first day as president, he gotexperts in a room, assembled facts and made seven decisions. In hisautobiography, Truman said, “It has been a policy with me to get the facts andthen make a decision. That decision should be made in the public interest asconditions then prevailing.”
But as is often the case, the pressures of the presidencymake demands on the President’s time, require him to set priorities and actaccordingly. For example, President Obama’s schedule for November 5 throughNovember 19:
In regard to a decision on the Afghanistan strategy, thisprocess has spread over four months. Obama’s press secretary Robert Gibbs saidin Obama’s defense last week, “thePresident wants to make sure that… [we] take the time necessary to get thedecision right.” We all want the President to get it right but shouldn’the spend more time — more than a few hours every two weeks — discussingAfghanistan? Since July, Obama has held just seven meetings on Afghanistan.
Since July, when Obama ordered General Stanley McChrystal todevelop a new military strategy for Afghanistan, some 314 American troops havebeen killed in that country. These troops were killed while executing astrategy that Obama feels is inadequate. If he truly believes, as he has said,that this war in Afghanistan is “a war of necessity” and “worth fighting …[and] fundamental to the defense of our people,” and if he truly believes thatAfghanistan requires a new strategy, then it seems that he could block out aweek or so and come to a conclusion on a new strategy. We don’t need moretroops dying to while executing an old outmoded strategy.
I suspect that Truman would not tolerate a delay of fourmonths to make a decision on Afghanistan strategy. “Keep working on a plan,” hesaid. Make no little plans. Make the biggest one you can think of and spend therest of your life carrying it out…It is not possible for a public man to beworrying constantly about what history and future generations will say aboutthe decisions he has to make. He must live in the present and do what he thinksis right at the time. History will take care of itself.”
President Obama, make a decision.
What makes soldiers fight?
Reprinted fromRuminations February 25, 2007
Historian and Pulitzer Prize winner James McPherson’s 1997book, For Cause and Comrades, addresses the subject of soldiers whofought in the Civil War and their motivations. During the first year of theCivil War, there were over a million men under arms and they were allvolunteers. And when battles were enjoined, the troops charged into artilleryand rifle fire – even the veterans who had been under fire before and knew thehorror of it. McPherson asks, why?
While it’s true that in battle troops fight for theircomrades in arms and perhaps to save themselves, why did they go into battle inthe first place? After examining 25-30 thousand of letters and 250 personaldiaries written by the troops themselves during the war, McPherson comes upwith a conclusion that runs counter too much of what we hear today.
McPherson found that, based on their writings at thetime, the great majority of troops went into battle for a cause. They went fortheir country and they went for duty and honor. Today, we hear cynical rhetoricstating that Americans in the armed forces enlist only for jobs, money, educationbenefits and, some say, that they enlist because they are not very bright. Idon’t think so. I think that people enlist, for the most part, for the samereasons: for country, duty and honor.
Robert Kulak received his undergraduate degree in mathematics and economics and his graduate degree in insurance. An Air force veteran,he has consulted nationally and internationally in information systems. He has written international publications on subjects as diverse as political commentary,humor and healthcare. His articles are also regularly published on Examiner.com where he is the 'Hartford Independent Examiner.'Ruminations, November 8, 2009
Ruminations, November 8, 2009
Defense strategies
On September 17, 2009, the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s surprise attack on
Now, it has been revealed, coincident with the
Poland, which has been one of America’s strongest allies in the war on terror, providing troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan, has request that the U.S. send troops to Poland to help deter any precipitous Russian action. In assessing the situation, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Radoslaw Sikorski said to the
Is
Hmmm. “Strategic reassurance.”
Military strategies have not exactly been Obama’s strong point. It has been reported that Obama recently held his sixth meeting on developing a new strategy for
No meetings are yet scheduled to develop a Polish reassurance strategy.
The decline and fall of exceptional nations
Up to the early 17th century,
Looking ahead, the Spanish government saw a bright but challenging future. In order to finance their ambitious programs they began a program of deficit spending financed by debasing their currency and promoting inflation.
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Robert Kulak received his undergraduate degree in mathematics and economics and his graduate degree in insurance. An Air force veteran,he has consulted nationally and internationally in information systems. He has written international publications on subjects as diverse as political commentary,humor and healthcare. His articles are also regularly published on Examiner.com where he is the 'Hartford Independent Examiner.'Ruminations, November 1, 2009
Presidential salute
For a conservative, there is a lot for which President Obama can — and should – be criticized. But there are also things that he does and says that are above criticism and some things for which conservatives should bestow praise.
Last week, the President made a trip to Dover Air Force Base in
Some of his critics have impugned the Obama’s motives for going to
Michelle Bachmann is calling all patriots to descend on the Capitol on Thursday at 1 pm with her to stop this abomination. 1,990 pages of UNCONSTITUTIONAL communist tyranny being rammed down our throats...we must drive the stake through the hearts of these evil democrat vampires...!! KILL THIS BILL
Rep. Michelle Bachman is calling all Americans to join her on the steps of the Capital Building in Washington DC on Thursday November 5th to stop "the Crown Jewel of Socialism" - the democrat's bill to take over the healthcare industry.
Bachman joined Hannity on October 30 to discuss this massive power grab.
This video has received a lot of attention. As of right now, it is showing well over a half a million hits since it was posted on March 1. It is also controversial. Many Obama supporters have claimed to debunk the video by pointing out that the events were not comparable. They argue that the event in Anbar province that President Bush attended in September 2007 was informal. The Camp Lejune event that President Obama attended, on the other hand, was more formal. They point out that it is not fair to compare two events in which the Marines are subject to different rules of behavior.
In fairness, they are correct. The events were different in many ways and the Marines present were subject to different behavioral expectations. There is, however, more to this video than that. If the content of this video were that easily debunked it would not still be drawing tens of thousands of hits per day. The different degrees of formality aside, this video is quite revealing.
In the video, the Marines exhibit obvious love and respect for President Bush. His visit was not an event that followed closely on the heels of 9/11. This video was taken after the worst days of the war and after the surge created major progress in the region. The president is visiting the troops in Anbar Province, the home of the infamous Falluja and Ar Ramadi killing grounds. This visit took place after the province had been pacified. In other words, the Marines showed their love of Mr. Bush even after the darkest days of the war.
The Lejune video, on the other hand, shows Obama entering with all the pomp and circumstance of a royal visit to the peasants. Hail to the Chief plays in the background; something that President Bush didnt allow during his military visits. Obama knows that keeping the Marines locked at the position of attention means that no comparison can ever be made to the loving reception President Bush regularly received from the troops. Obama knows how the Marines feel and will always treat them exactly like the rabble he sees.
This is the real truth of the video and why it is so popular. It warms the heart of Bush supporters to see President Bush receive the love, gratitude and respect of these warriors. It angers Obama supporters because they also see the love President Bush receives and they know their man will never see anything similar from the troops. They know that these warriors loved the last president and will never give similar respect to this one.
A good YouTube video stirs the emotions and this one does that. It elicits different emotions in different people but the underlying truth that is the catalyst for the emotional response is the same for everyone. The Marines loved President Bush in a way they will never love President Obama.
Robert Kulak received his undergraduate degree in mathematics and economics and his graduate degree in insurance. An Air force veteran,he has consulted nationally and internationally in information systems. He has written international publications on subjects as diverse as political commentary,humor and healthcare. His articles are also regularly published on Examiner.com where he is the 'Hartford Independent Examiner.'Ruminations, October 18, 2009
The war in
The war In
Maybe not. If we look at the military deaths, it does seem that the war is winding down. If we look at Iraqi civilian deaths figures (from the Brookings Institute), they show 1,831 Iraqi civilian deaths in 2008. Taking Brookings’ figures for January 2009 through August 2009, we can project a slight increase to 1,898 deaths for 2009. If Iraqi civilian deaths are increasing, how can we claim the war is winding down? We may be ready to leave but somebody is sure staying and fighting.
If we look at our objectives for the war, in no particular order, they seem largely satisfied:
Since we are in the midst of a phased withdrawal, why are terrorists continuing to kill civilians?
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