Here's Another Reason Medical Costs Are High

This piece about a chief pediatrician at King/Drew Medical Center is an eye opener. The doctor was on the clock at the Watts, California location while tending to patients in his Lancaster, California office. This meant he was receiving pay at King/Drew without actually doing work there. That's the taxpayer's and patient's money, being stolen by the doctor. He has now resigned, under fire. In my little world, his actions are theft, plain and simple. If the authorities have any guts, the man will be charged.
Don't hold your breath.

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Magnet School In LA In The (Good) News

A while back I wrote about the problems in Ohio schools.

http://blogresponder.blogspot.com/2005/04/ohio-public-schools-need-to-reform.html


I pointed out the Magnet School program that exists in the LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District) as an alternative to the types of schools Ohio has. I think the program should be copied throughout the country.
In the LA Times today, a piece about King/Drew Medical Magnet High School shows what I was talking about. It's a "good news" piece, please check it out.

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Human Rights Watch Wants US To Lose War

The highlighted piece is an obvious attempt to further the agenda of those who would have the current conflict against terrorism fail. With no proof, a spokesman for the group, special counsel Reed Brody makes charges that there is a lot more stuff going on behind the scenes of Abu Ghraib. His statement just fans world sentiment against the US, without thinking about the consequences. I'll bet if Mr Brody's family or relatives were victims of terrorism, he would be singing a different tune.

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Robert Scheer At It Again

In another ridiculous diatribe, Scheer has again shown a lack of vision. This time it's about what is happening in Iraq, and the reasons the US went there, and a complete lack of knowledge about Ancient Rome.
I'm going to start calling Robert Scheer "Bobby". That way his initials become BS. Quite appropriate, I think.
Anyway, let's start with Bobby's first main point. He ridicules the "hidden" reason that Iraq was invaded. He says that oil was the reason, not WMD's. He makes fun of the price of oil, even though oil would probably be even higher than it is now, as Saddam Hussein was gouging the world with the "Oil for food" program. Oil has gone up in price because demand has increased dramatically. China's demand has increased 16% in ONE YEAR!
Additionally, the US has always kept a watchful eye on the Middle East, at least since the 1940's when it became known to the world that massive amounts of oil were hidden under the sand there. At the end of WW2, the US and Great Britain confronted the Soviets, forcing them out of Iran. Like it or not, our economy runs on oil. Until the Dems get it through their skulls, other types of unlimited energy will be blocked. It isn't the GOP that supports the wacko environmentalists. Nuclear energy will eventually have to become the main power source. As oil supplies dwindle, the country will be forced to pull back from nuclear power restrictions.
Next, as far as "no solid links to Al Qaeda", what more proof is needed? Al Qaeda has openly stated they are in Iraq to kill Americans. Zarqawi is there, as an official representative of the murderous bunch. He met with Iraqi officials, and was given sanctuary in Iraq, prior to the invasion. What else is needed? Maybe Bobby needs a signed confession.
Next, the idea that Iraqi oil sales would fund the war was reasonable when Paul Wolfowitz came up with the statement. Relatively soon is in the eye of the beholder. Soon to me would be five years. Soon to Bobby? Probably no time frame would make him happy.
The money spent on the war will be recovered, at least in part by the fact that the entire Middle East is now on the road towards democracy.
Talking about Medicaid in the framework of world policy is ignorant. We could have forgone WW2, and funded all sorts of domestic programs. Of course, the way the war ended would have been with Germany and Japan in charge, instead of us. I like the way things ended. (We won.)
Bobby doesn't get it. This is WW3. I won't be happy if we lose this time. Screw Medicaid, at least for now.
And using the lawsuit by several states along with the NEA against the "no child left behind " initiative as some sort weapon to justify the vilification of what is happening is absurd. The last time I checked, the reason the schools are failing is the exact reason the president had demanded improvement in our schools. That failure can be laid squarely on the backs of the teacher's unions. Once a teacher gains tenure, performance is no longer required. What a crock. Screw the NEA.
The last point Bobby makes is historically false. Rome was AT ITS HEIGHT, when it was militaristic and expansionistic. Before the rise of militarism, Rome was ripe for the plucking by Carthage, and others. When the Romans decided that the only way to be safe was to kick the crap out of its opponents, suddenly everything was rosy.
The reason Rome collapsed was because of civil war and other subterfuge FROM WITHIN. The Bobby Scheer's of the Roman Empire got their way. The government was weakened by insurrection and lack of internal support. The intellectuals decried all that was bad about Rome, and the people believed it. So they rose up against their leaders, in civil strife. That gave the outside invaders the opportunity to take Rome down. Anyone who knows world history knows that Rome was conquered from within. By those who wanted to force the government to be more caring about the people. The only problem was, that's what the leadership of Rome was doing, by stomping the crap out of Rome's neighbors. That's the way it works. The big dog gets the food.
Anybody out there disagree?

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PS If the link to the piece by Scheer is cut off by the LA Times, I have it as a MS Word document. Email me if needed and I will send it to you.

cwcsquaredcwc@netscape.net

Chinese Flag Raising In China Town: Much Ado About Nothing

The piece about the displaying of the Red Chinese flag in the Chinatown area of Los Angeles is a waste of newsprint. If people from Taiwan don't like it, let them raise their own (Taiwanese) flag.

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California Credit Law Should Be Made A Federal Law

The piece about the California law enabling individuals to "freeze" their credit reports is an eye opener. If all states had such a law, or if the Feds enact it nationwide, identity theft would be reduced, at least somewhat. The arguments against the law are purely selfish.

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New Mexico Governor Hiding His Political Agenda

The governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson has filed suit to stop the development of oil and gas reserves on federal land that resides inside his state. I say his stated reasons (protecting the environment) are a smokescreen. Richardson wants the Dems to regain credibility in the country. One way to gain voter support is to have the current administration look bad. High prices for oil and natural gas make that happen. It's crystal clear to me.

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Dems Unhappy In Georgia: No More Voter Fraud

Georgia has passed a new voter law that has the left up in arms. Voters will now be forced to show a picture ID to verify their identity prior to voting. The arguments against the law are specious, at best. The bottom line is, voter fraud has been a problem in several states. That fraud has been shown to be primarily from the left. The Washington gubernatorial race is still up in the air, and a revote may be required. In that election, the final winner was the Democrat candidate, by less than 200 votes. Numerous irregularities have arisen in that election, all in favor of the Dems. Every state in the union should require photo ID's to vote. It's the only way to be fair. But the Dems don't care about fairness. They just want their own way.

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Michelle Malkin has now written about this:

http://michellemalkin.com/archives/002287.htm

Private Accounts Or Personal Accounts?

The piece in the LA Times by Jonathan Chait makes much ado about nothing. Who cares what the new accounts are called, really? If the GOP wants to call the accounts personal accounts, does it really matter that they are insisting on the terminology? Maybe Mr Chait is afraid of the type of media control that existed in the book 1984. The sky is falling, too.
As a matter of the use of words, personal accounts is actually more accurate than private accounts. The derivation of the word private means just that, private. That would mean hidden, or unknown by others. The personal accounts would still be administered by the government, which means they would be known, not unknown.
Oh, and Mr. Chait's statement that the president plans on privatizing the entire Social Security System is false. Or maybe he doesn't understand how words are placed in a certain order to make a cogent statement. Mr. Chait says:

"Aside from showing the degree to which reporters have internalized the GOP's admonishments, the rebuke was remarkable for two reasons. First, Pelosi never said that Bush advocated privatizing the entire Social Security program, only that he supported "privatization." Second, as a matter of fact, Bush has advocated privatizing the entire program. In 2000, he said, "It's going to take a while to transition to a system where personal savings accounts are the predominant part of the investment vehicle…. This is a step toward a completely different world, and an important step.""

The word predominant means mostly, not all.

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Robert Scheer Bashes Traditional Values, Again

Being gay is much more fundamental than a life style choice? That's what Robert Scheer says in this piece about a new Connecticut law granting certain rights to unmarried couples that before were limited to only married people. Scheer tries to compare the rights of gays to the days of segregation based on race. He says that segregation was a "traditional value!":

"Although racial segregation was a "traditional value" for most of this nation's existence, it was belatedly overturned as subversive of the values of a democratic society, as discrimination against gays will be."

Interestingly, it was Republicans who fought the Dems in the South to end racial segregation. Of course, Scheer fails to point that out.
Scheer also attacks the Bible, as if the historical accounts of polygamy and women as chattel were the teachings of Christianity, as opposed to an historical description of the times.
His quoting of the judge in San Francisco is typical. Of course the courts in California are liberal and would be more likely to support the idea of gay marriage. But the country as a whole is decidedly against it. If anything, the acceptance of gay marriage is declining, not increasing.
I guess Mr. Scheer was out of the country during November's election.

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LA Times Touts Bolton

This welcome piece in the LA Times gives a clear, concise view of the situation with the United Nations and the possible appointment of John Bolton as the new US ambassador to the body. Any body who thinks the UN is OK only needs to look at the "Oil For Food" scandal. The head of the UN is embroiled up to his neck, as is his son and the man who is doing the investigation of the problem is himself suspect of malfeasance. Those in congress who are attacking Bolton want to continue with the status quo, but why? My guess it's what some of the right leaning pundits are saying, that no matter what George Bush does, he is going to be thwarted if possible.

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Ohio Public Schools Need To Reform, Look At The LAUSD

Michelle Malkin has brought up the rape (forced oral sex) of an unfortunate Ohio high school girl who has a learning disability.
I have been in favor of vouchers for parents to be allowed to take their kids out of public schools since the 1980's. There has already been a lot of blogging on this incident, so I will just say that the administrators of the school, the district and the mayor of the town (who is trying to defend the incident, and will not commit to any action against the school) are all culpable. The mayor, Michael Coleman has his eyes on the governor's mansion. This case should put an end to that. Glenn Beck, a highly rated radio commentator, has jumped into this with both feet. He interviewed the mayor, albeit only after creating "interview bits" with his staff, and the mayor's attitude was noncommittal. Mr Beck has reached the conclusion that parents need to get their kids out of the public schools in the area. I tend to agree, but until a voucher system is authorized, only the well-to-do parents can do that.
My own personal experience in the Los Angeles area was that the local schools (LAUSD) had their own sanctuaries within the district. "Magnet" programs are provided by the district to give gifted students an opportunity to get out of their resident schools. If a student shows extra ability in one or more specific areas, and scores highly on the Stanford Nine achievement tests, the school district provides the parents the opportunity to apply on behalf of their kids for these programs. There are many varieties of learning offered, including Math, Science, Law Enforcement, Medical, Highly Gifted, Advanced Studies and Performing Arts. There are more, I'm sure. The program can start quite early. My daughter entered the Performing Arts magnet in the 4th grade. The student is then allowed to attend a qualifying magnet school that may be out of the geographical area. The school district even provides free busing, as long as the student lives more than two miles from the magnet school. These magnet programs attract the better teachers, and hence provide a learning experience that is close to that provided by private schools. Van Nuys High School (Don Drysdale went there) has three embedded magnets, with 40% of the overall enrollment of the school. The SAT scores of Van Nuys HS have led the LAUSD for five straight years.
What's interesting about the program is, it evolved from court forced integration in the 1980's. The district was required to bus students from their local school areas to areas where "better" education might be available. This resulted in blacks and hispanics being transported to white areas. The metamorphosis of this situation has proved to be hugely positive for the students, notwithstanding the myopic ruling of the courts in the first place. The busing has cost the district millions, and the original reason has become clouded. Still, it's better than Ohio.

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Sex Seeking Girl Suing AOL

The highlighted piece talks about a "young" girl who was allegedly exploited by an AOL employee.
I'm not sure what the girl thought she was doing in this case. She agreed to meet this guy for sex. She sent him "explicit" photos, whatever that means. She had "phone sex" with him, whatever that means. Now it's AOL's fault? Give me a break. No actual sex occured between them, because of intervention by another AOL employee. But would it have? And a couple other things come to mind. The mom was monitering her daughter's online chatting, to the extent that she showed no trust of her daughter. Maybe the girl felt that, and was rebelling. Also, is the girl a virgin? That is another point not in the piece. And where is her dad in this? No word from him in the piece.
Some states allow sex by females as young as 15. She sent the guy her photos. Who shot them?
This whole thing stinks. It sounds like her mom is looking at AOL as the big cookie jar to get her daughter a college education.

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Howard Dean Still Doesn't Get It

Howard Dean says that the Dems will use the Terri Schiavo situation against the GOP in future elections. He says:

"The issue is: Are we going to live in a theocracy where the highest powers tell us what to do? Or are we going to be allowed to consult our own high powers when we make very difficult decisions?"

Now I don't think that the government should get involved in this type of situation when the real wishes of the patient are known. But in the Schiavo case, there was no guarantee that what her ex husband was saying was true, that she wanted to die. In fact there were numerous individuals who came forward saying just the opposite.
Dr. Dean, in all his arrogance, just dosen't get it. The "red state majority" has already set the tone, and those voters are sympathetic to life, not death. Howard, GET A CLUE!

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Political Correctness A Problem In Argentina

This piece about a soccer player thrown in jail for calling a black player on the opposing team some sort of name should warm the hearts of the Left here in the US. I remember when I was a kid, there was a saying that went "sticks and stones can break my bones, but names can never hurt me."
It was a child's way of dealing with hate and prejudice, but it seems OK even in the adult world, at least to me.

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What Happens If North Korea Collapses?

The piece in question talks about some plan that the US had put forth in the event that the regime in North Korea suddenly collapses. South Korea has apparently rejected the plan, for no reason that makes sense to me. The US plan had US troops entering North Korea, with the US commanders being in charge of the operation. South Korea wants to be the one in charge, since they feel that the peninsula of Korea is (or should be) one country.
What is left out here is any mention of what China would do if North Korea suddenly collapsed. I'm of the opinion that since history repeats itself, and the Chinese already entered North Korea the last time it collapsed (1950), why should things be different this time?
Our government has the idea that the South Koreans won't be able to unify the peninsula, but the threat of the entry of China into the area is a far greater problem.
War with Red China is inevitable, in my humble opinion. The leadership there is just nuts enough to let a situation like North Korea's collapse be the spark to the fire of war. The other opportunity would be a confrontation over Taiwan.
Hope I'm wrong, sort of.

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Chief Dem In California On The Take?

Here's one that speaks for itself. The leading Democrat in the California legislature has taken money from private interests in return for favors. Too bad the voters in the state are too stupid to vote for a conservative.

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Outsider's View Of France And Its Anti Bush Stance

The highlighted piece is a wonderful outsider's view of the lack of morals on the part of France and it's goverment. France's role in the Middle East has changed to that of the supporter of the regimes that the USSR used to support:

"The contradictions of French policy have been especially sharp in regard to Middle East issues. In diplomatic terms, France to a large extent replaced the Soviet Union as the protector of radical regimes in Iran, Iraq and -- at least until recently, Syria. When Yasser Arafat died, under the reverent protection of the French government, public opinion polls showed that he was more popular in France than he was among Palestinians."

Read the piece, it's an eye opener.

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Bolton Has Problems

I am ready to throw in with the Dems on the John Bolton nomination. If the information in the highlighted piece is true, I can't see him being ready to take on any new job. The withholding of information that probably needed to be forwarded to others is unconscionable. The information problems within the government are out of control. The reason the war on terror is not proceeding as fast as it should is the lack of communication between the affected government agencies. When the FBI, CIA and NSA are still hiding information between themselves and with local enforcement agencies, we can fully expect another incident or more. The Bolton situation is just another example of the every man for himself attitude that runs rampant throughout the government.

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ACLU breaks the law on the border

I have said before, that ACLU stands for Anarchy Cravers Love Us. Here is a nice piece about the latest chicanery on the part of these mental midgets. Check out the photos, and tell me what they are smoking.

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United Nations Chief Tries To Imitate Patton

The latest Kofi Annan crap reminds me of George S Patton's attitude in WW2. Patton always had the attitude that the best defence is a good offence. Annan is trying to deflect scrutiny on the UN by attacking the US and Britain for allegedly conspiring with Saddam Hussein in another oil conspiracy. The whole thing is ludicrous, of course. Annan is like the trapped badger, lashing out at his (perceived) enemies to deflect interest in his own complicity in the UN oil for food kickback situation.
I'm hoping that this gets the interest it deserves from the media. Chances are though, it will take Bill O'Reilly or Michelle Malkin to bring it to the attention of the public.

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Immigration Addendums To Military Spending Bill

I've always said that the idea of congress adding ammendments to bills that are entirely unrelated to that bills main purpose should be illegal. Even though I agree with a number of the immigration ideas attached to the defence bill, I can't condone the practice. The addition of these ammendments is how congress forces through pork barrel spending, and if the practice were eliminated, there might even be a balanced budget in the future. What an original thought!

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LA Times New Writer A Breath Of Fresh Air

Today I have read a piece that warms the heart, at least if one is pro US. The Los Angeles Times has a new opinion writer, DAVID GELERNTER. His writings don't fit the usual left leaning garbage that is spewed out from most of the rest of the writers at the Times. Hopefully this will start a trend, with the Times matriculating towards a more balanced format. I know it will make Bill O'Reilly happy. Just last night, on The Factor, Bill was commenting about the problems with left leaning MSM's, and The Times was one of his main examples. He pointed out that the papers with extreme views in their opinions were losing readership at an increasing rate. What a coincidence that this new writer has emerged! I'm still sceptical that the Times will pursue a quest for more balance. We shall see.

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Young Patriot A Gang Member?

The piece highlighted reveals a school administration that is out of control, and not in step with main stream sentiment throughout the country. The middle school student who wants to wear red, white, and blue as a salute to our soldiers is not allowed to because those are "gang" colors.
What a crock. Here's the email of the superintendant of schools in the Schenectady area. Let him know your feelings.

jeffjaniszewski@hotmail.com <jeffjaniszewski@hotmail.com>

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Another Story That Justifies Racial Profiling

In this piece, Michelle Malkin points out a situation where an illegal alien was able to obtain flight training inside the US and get out of the country. The man is obviously of Middle Eastern descent, and in my mind should never have been able to start the training, let alone finish it and leave the US. I just finished watching Michelle on FOX, where she has updated the situation. She says the man is now a British citizen. Tony Blair, what's going on over there?

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L A Times Paying For Its Indiscretions

In my blog I have attacked the Los Angeles Times for faulty or slanted reporting and opinion pieces. Now the newspaper's bottom line is being affected by those problems. General Motors has decided to pull its ads (for now) from the paper:

"The world's largest automaker, in a rare move for a major corporation, said late on Thursday it was pulling its ads from one of the country's biggest dailies over what it called factual errors and misrepresentations in the L.A. Times' editorial coverage."

If the LA Times is smart, the author of the G6 piece, Pulitzer Prize-winning auto critic Dan Neil, will be shown the door.

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CBS Still Anti American?

This wonderful piece showed up today. It looks like CBS can't stand the fact that George Bush won the election. Now a photographer for the network has been detained for suspected insurgent activities in Iraq. It's just another black eye for the left leaning MSM (main stream media).

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Here's Another Reason To Tighten Our Borders

The highlighted piece brings to the forefront the reason our borders should be tightened. The statement that:

"......there was no connection to terrorism or other suspicious activity."

That makes me feel so safe. Before 9/11, I'll bet there was no discernable connection between the hijackers and terrorism either.

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Americans Killing Americans In The Middle East?

Here's a terrible bit of news. Our system to allow citizenship is extremely flawed, in my opinion. With the capture of another "American" involved in fighting our forces, this time in Iraq, I can only suggest that we make it a lot harder to gain citizenship. These arrests are quite troubling. We need to make our passports electronic, so our government knows where its "citizens" are. At least then there would be some extra accountability.

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