Upon winning the AFC Championship Game, New England Patriot's owner, Bob Kraft, thanked all the fans. Quarterback, Tom Brady, called the fans the "12th man". All great words but the actions of the teams and the NFL are just the opposite. Each and every year the season ticket holders, those who support their teams through thick and thin, through the cold, rain, and snow...end up in getting royally screwed when it comes to Super Bowl tickets. The NFL and the teams attempt to hide it, but it is readily evident. Pat Hanlon, spokesman for the NY Giants said he "didn't know how many are reserved for fans". Cappin Bennett, New England Patriot Gillette Stadium Customer Service in response to any inquiry said, " Unfortunately I do not know the number of tickets provided in the Season Ticket Holder lottery". Do you believe them?
Here are the facts. Lucas Stadium in Indianapolis will hold 68,000 people for the Super Bowl. The NFL issues 17.5% or 11,9000 tickets to each participating team, 23,800 in total out of the 68,000, or only 35%. In other words 44,200 or 65% of the Super Bowl tickets go elsewhere...not to the participating teams, and most important not to the loyal season ticket holders.
It gets even worse. Embarrassed on what they do, knowing that they will get severe criticism, they keep it a secret about how many tickets go into the ticket lottery for loyal fans. Past research, however, has shown that only about 5,000 tickets go into the participating team lottery. What this means that only 14.7% of the total tickets at the Super Bowl are provided the season ticket holders of the participating teams. In other words 85.3% go elsewhere...NOT to season ticket holders. This should be an outrage to all and an NFL disgrace.
These 85.3% of tickets available to the Super Bowl go to NFL coaches, players, host team, to advertisers, big money people, politicians, celebrities, and scalpers. It is interesting to note that scalpers, who have a sure system of acquiring tickets each and every year, are so confident of getting tickets that they not only advertise, but guarantee tickets to the Super Bowl weeks in advance.
If a loyal season ticket holder of a participating team wants to attend the Super Bowl, they will most probably have to pay anywhere from $2,200 to $14,250 for a ticket, or higher.
This is an ongoing NFL disgrace. Most disturbing, they don't care, they do it year after year.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Young People, Abortion, The March for Life
The media tends to ignore, marginalize, and underreport the annual March for Life. They will even show photos of a handful of pro-abortion activists and ignore the tens of thousands of Pro-Life marchers giving a false impression as to the numbers attending and what they represent. Yet the most important recent trend that is missed are the growing number of young people attending the March. Two years ago pro-abortion activist, Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL, commented about the March for Life in Washington: “I just thought, my gosh, they are so young,” she told Newsweek. “There are so many of them, and they are so young.” This year there appeared to be even more young people at the 2012 March for Life in Washington, an apparent increasing trend.
The reason why many pure thinking young people are attending in record numbers is due to education. For many years people were fed the propaganda that there is no life within an expectant mother's womb during pregnancy. Contrary to long proven medical science they were told that the life, the baby, was just a lump of flesh, and de-humanizing words like "fetus" were used. Yet the greatest enemy to the pro-abortion movement is the ultrasound where the existence of life can be shown at very early stages. Planned Parenthood discourages the use of ultrasound for that very reason.
Young people today are much more informed. They have read about the factual medical science proving the existence of life. They have seen examples of ultrasound. They are informed about the brutal procedures used in abortion, especially for late term abortions. They are, in fact, horrified by it. As young people, unclouded by all the rhetoric, they inherently know that it is wrong to take a human life...a simple, logical, and compassionate conclusion.
The question that should be raised, if young people can understand this...where is the medical profession? Where are the politicians? Where are all the religious leaders? Where is the media? Since the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade in 1973 the lives of over 53 million innocent babies have been taken, the worst holocaust in human history. Approximately 3,700 abortions are performed daily in the United States. Where is the outrage of ALL Americans?
Young people are leading the way. High school and college students are forming Respect for Life Clubs. They are increasingly networking with each other. Many of them attend the March for Life in Washington. Because of them, young people leading the way, Roe v. Wade WILL be overturned.
How can ANY of the rest of us sleep at night?
The reason why many pure thinking young people are attending in record numbers is due to education. For many years people were fed the propaganda that there is no life within an expectant mother's womb during pregnancy. Contrary to long proven medical science they were told that the life, the baby, was just a lump of flesh, and de-humanizing words like "fetus" were used. Yet the greatest enemy to the pro-abortion movement is the ultrasound where the existence of life can be shown at very early stages. Planned Parenthood discourages the use of ultrasound for that very reason.
Young people today are much more informed. They have read about the factual medical science proving the existence of life. They have seen examples of ultrasound. They are informed about the brutal procedures used in abortion, especially for late term abortions. They are, in fact, horrified by it. As young people, unclouded by all the rhetoric, they inherently know that it is wrong to take a human life...a simple, logical, and compassionate conclusion.
The question that should be raised, if young people can understand this...where is the medical profession? Where are the politicians? Where are all the religious leaders? Where is the media? Since the Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade in 1973 the lives of over 53 million innocent babies have been taken, the worst holocaust in human history. Approximately 3,700 abortions are performed daily in the United States. Where is the outrage of ALL Americans?
Young people are leading the way. High school and college students are forming Respect for Life Clubs. They are increasingly networking with each other. Many of them attend the March for Life in Washington. Because of them, young people leading the way, Roe v. Wade WILL be overturned.
How can ANY of the rest of us sleep at night?
Saturday, January 21, 2012
The Economic Ruin of America
Submitted as an Op-ed
When confronted with a problem the rational thing to do is define it, look for its root cause, and work to solve it. Yet in the United States we seem to be ignoring the certain economic death spin that we are in as we rapidly approach a point of no return. Successive administrations in Washington and Congress, both parties, are failing to take the necessary action to stop our certain economic ruin. Politics, not what is best for our country, rules. Yet the sad and disturbing fact is that it is a correctable situation if only we wake up and take the necessary action.
Here are the facts:
* Our current national debt is $15.3 trillion. A new request to raise our debt by $1.2 trillion is on the horizon that will drive it to $16.5 trillion over night. In just a few short years our debt will be over $25 trillion. Currently our debt is increasing by $4 billion per day. These facts alone will lead to the economic ruin of America. Communist China, unfriendly to America, holds over $1.1 trillion of our debt and it is increasing.
* The states are not only broke but deeply in debt. They are forced to balance a budget, contrary to the federal government. They do this by increasing dependency on the federal government for money and by manipulating financing, gimmicks, and borrowing money. This all has been reported by CNN Money, and by a CBS 60 Minutes program on the subject. Respected economist, Meredith Whitney, who was one of the few to forecast our current financial crisis is now bringing to light the financial crisis of the states. All you have to do is read reports from Meredith, or watch the You Tube video, "the states are broke.wmv" and it will scare the hell out of you. Yet it is factual.
* We have essentially given up manufacturing in the United States, our core strength as a nation. The AFL-CIO has reported that over 3 million manufacturing jobs have been lost since 2001. What this means is that we are becoming a dependent nation for manufactured goods. In addition this will lead to giving up research, process technology, and manufacturing know how. All this is not only devastating to our economy, but is a threat to our national security.
* The current reported unemployment in America is 8.5%, but it is much worse than that. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics latest report shows that there are 241 million people in the civilian non institutional population (total potential workforce). There are 13.1 million unemployed (5.6 million out of work for 27 weeks or longer), 8.1 million in part time work, and 2.5 million who have given up looking for a job. This totals 23.7 million people who are unemployed, working part time in order to survive, or who have given up looking for work. In these same Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers, however, it shows that there are 141 million employed people, out of a total potential workforce of 241 million...or 100 million people who are not working even if for legitimate reasons. This needs further understanding.
* There is widespread welfare and social security disability fraud. There are people who have nothing wrong with them and are able to work, yet chose not to. They are actually encouraged not to! As one example, if you go into any Social Security building in any city in America you would expect to see mostly seniors. Yet what you see are predominately people in their 30's, 40's, and early 50's. The reason, and there is no secret about it, is that many have learned how to cheat the system and receive social security disability benefits. This not only hurts America, but hurts those who have a legitimate need for assistance. Nothing is being done to address this issue today as well as other widespread fraud.
* Including all categories of jobs, as well as manufacturing, CNN Money reported on July 2, 2010 that 7.9 million jobs have been lost during the recent recession and they may be lost forever. Many of the lost jobs were in industries that most likely will not recover their former strength.
* Energy, and energy dependence is intimately and significantly tied into the current and future economy of the United States. Yet we have no comprehensive plan for energy independence even though all the pieces of accomplishing this are readily available to us. The failure of an energy independence plan will have a major negative impact on our economy, drive us more toward becoming a dependent nation, and prevent us from adding millions of jobs. This is still another threat to our national security.
* Reality Trac has reported that 70% of current mortgage defaults were not listed in MLS (Multiple Listing Service), but kept off the books in 2011 because it would have impacted the economy with a major negative impact on the stock market and our dollar. This manipulation means that a lot of the foreclosures that would have happened in 2011 have been pushed to 2012. There are some who are trying to paint the housing market positive, it is not. We did not learn much from the housing crisis since we are doing the same thing all over again. Fannie Mae has asked for another $7.8 billion in bail out for losses in the 3rd quarter of 2011, and Freddie Mac $6 billion.
* The U.S. Trade deficit increased by $47.8 billion in November 2011 as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau on January 13, 2011. This is a continuing sign of the loss of manufacturing in America driving us more and more into becoming a dependent nation for goods and services. Not only is this destructive to our economy and jobs, as previously mentioned it is a threat to our national security.
* Social Security and Medicare are already bankrupt and are being called the twin disasters. The unfunded liability of the two programs is now about $84 trillion. These 2 programs, along with Medicaid, consume about 50 % of the U.S. budget. This has been covered by Professor Kent Smetters at the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, and by a USA Today front page article as far back as November 15, 2005 detailing the crisis. Yet we do nothing.
* In a Rasmussen Report issued January 12, 2012 66% of those polled were not confident, or not at all confident, in the U.S. banking industry.
* There is a huge bubble forming that will lead to still another economic disaster in our country due to artificially depressed interest rates and real inflation. Although it is generally good for low interest rates in order to encourage investment and to minimize debt burden, a dramatic and continual artificial suppression of interest rates during inflation is a recipe for disaster. Even before the bubble bursts, and it will, there is a downside to artificially forcing down interest rates. Many people who have savings and CDs, especially the growing senior population, get almost no return on their savings, therefore there is much less consumer spending. In addition very low interest rates significantly hurts the profitability of banks since their profit margin is squeezed. In addition, there is little incentive for banks to issue loans. Yet all this is occurring when the "real inflation" is running around 10 to 15%. Real inflation is defined as what it really costs people to live including food, clothing, utilities costs, healthcare costs, all sorts of taxes, household goods, fuel costs, etc. Real inflation will only increase over time.
The Federal Reserve's answer to this is to print more money, yet today there is no anchor, no gold standard, therefore the dollar increasingly becomes less valuable "paper". We are headed toward a dollar that won't be worth much and it will no longer be considered the international standard for currency. When you do not face reality; when you dramatically suppress or force economic factors artificially, you are inviting disaster. This will become a huge, huge problem for the United States and could in itself destroy our economy. This issue coupled with all the items listed above confronting us could lead to a situation worse than the Great Depression. We are headed in that direction.
* Instead of offering incentives to business in the Untitled States they are faced with increasing uncertainty, heavier costs and taxes, and major over regulation that essentially amounts to "handcuffs". This is just the opposite of what is needed.
* Immigration anarchy, as well as a host of other problems, is severely affecting the economy of our country as well as individual states. There is no logical, legal, enforced process of immigration.
There is even more, but any or all of the above should be enough to show the deep, deep, crisis that we are in and where we are headed as a nation. A "kick the can down the road" approach by Washington (and the states) will not prevent the disaster, it will only add to it. It will become worse.
Yet the saving part of this is that each and every one of the problems identified above is solvable. All it takes is openly recognizing the problem, defining the root cause, and having the guts to come up with a plan to deal with it. This takes leadership, not politics. It takes logical and common sense planning, not short term pacifying delays that accomplish nothing and only make matters worse. It takes action, not just words. It takes courage.
There needs to be a sense of urgency created BY THE PEOPLE of America in order to prevent a crisis like we have never before seen in our country. We are already on a path toward severe economic ruin that will affect all people in our country in a dramatic negative manner. Not only will our standard of living be severely affected but we will be left grasping for the bare essentials of life itself. It is that serious. The people of our country need to wake up, speak up, and act. This is our only hope. It is time to take our heads out of the sand.
When confronted with a problem the rational thing to do is define it, look for its root cause, and work to solve it. Yet in the United States we seem to be ignoring the certain economic death spin that we are in as we rapidly approach a point of no return. Successive administrations in Washington and Congress, both parties, are failing to take the necessary action to stop our certain economic ruin. Politics, not what is best for our country, rules. Yet the sad and disturbing fact is that it is a correctable situation if only we wake up and take the necessary action.
Here are the facts:
* Our current national debt is $15.3 trillion. A new request to raise our debt by $1.2 trillion is on the horizon that will drive it to $16.5 trillion over night. In just a few short years our debt will be over $25 trillion. Currently our debt is increasing by $4 billion per day. These facts alone will lead to the economic ruin of America. Communist China, unfriendly to America, holds over $1.1 trillion of our debt and it is increasing.
* The states are not only broke but deeply in debt. They are forced to balance a budget, contrary to the federal government. They do this by increasing dependency on the federal government for money and by manipulating financing, gimmicks, and borrowing money. This all has been reported by CNN Money, and by a CBS 60 Minutes program on the subject. Respected economist, Meredith Whitney, who was one of the few to forecast our current financial crisis is now bringing to light the financial crisis of the states. All you have to do is read reports from Meredith, or watch the You Tube video, "the states are broke.wmv" and it will scare the hell out of you. Yet it is factual.
* We have essentially given up manufacturing in the United States, our core strength as a nation. The AFL-CIO has reported that over 3 million manufacturing jobs have been lost since 2001. What this means is that we are becoming a dependent nation for manufactured goods. In addition this will lead to giving up research, process technology, and manufacturing know how. All this is not only devastating to our economy, but is a threat to our national security.
* The current reported unemployment in America is 8.5%, but it is much worse than that. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics latest report shows that there are 241 million people in the civilian non institutional population (total potential workforce). There are 13.1 million unemployed (5.6 million out of work for 27 weeks or longer), 8.1 million in part time work, and 2.5 million who have given up looking for a job. This totals 23.7 million people who are unemployed, working part time in order to survive, or who have given up looking for work. In these same Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers, however, it shows that there are 141 million employed people, out of a total potential workforce of 241 million...or 100 million people who are not working even if for legitimate reasons. This needs further understanding.
* There is widespread welfare and social security disability fraud. There are people who have nothing wrong with them and are able to work, yet chose not to. They are actually encouraged not to! As one example, if you go into any Social Security building in any city in America you would expect to see mostly seniors. Yet what you see are predominately people in their 30's, 40's, and early 50's. The reason, and there is no secret about it, is that many have learned how to cheat the system and receive social security disability benefits. This not only hurts America, but hurts those who have a legitimate need for assistance. Nothing is being done to address this issue today as well as other widespread fraud.
* Including all categories of jobs, as well as manufacturing, CNN Money reported on July 2, 2010 that 7.9 million jobs have been lost during the recent recession and they may be lost forever. Many of the lost jobs were in industries that most likely will not recover their former strength.
* Energy, and energy dependence is intimately and significantly tied into the current and future economy of the United States. Yet we have no comprehensive plan for energy independence even though all the pieces of accomplishing this are readily available to us. The failure of an energy independence plan will have a major negative impact on our economy, drive us more toward becoming a dependent nation, and prevent us from adding millions of jobs. This is still another threat to our national security.
* Reality Trac has reported that 70% of current mortgage defaults were not listed in MLS (Multiple Listing Service), but kept off the books in 2011 because it would have impacted the economy with a major negative impact on the stock market and our dollar. This manipulation means that a lot of the foreclosures that would have happened in 2011 have been pushed to 2012. There are some who are trying to paint the housing market positive, it is not. We did not learn much from the housing crisis since we are doing the same thing all over again. Fannie Mae has asked for another $7.8 billion in bail out for losses in the 3rd quarter of 2011, and Freddie Mac $6 billion.
* The U.S. Trade deficit increased by $47.8 billion in November 2011 as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau on January 13, 2011. This is a continuing sign of the loss of manufacturing in America driving us more and more into becoming a dependent nation for goods and services. Not only is this destructive to our economy and jobs, as previously mentioned it is a threat to our national security.
* Social Security and Medicare are already bankrupt and are being called the twin disasters. The unfunded liability of the two programs is now about $84 trillion. These 2 programs, along with Medicaid, consume about 50 % of the U.S. budget. This has been covered by Professor Kent Smetters at the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, and by a USA Today front page article as far back as November 15, 2005 detailing the crisis. Yet we do nothing.
* In a Rasmussen Report issued January 12, 2012 66% of those polled were not confident, or not at all confident, in the U.S. banking industry.
* There is a huge bubble forming that will lead to still another economic disaster in our country due to artificially depressed interest rates and real inflation. Although it is generally good for low interest rates in order to encourage investment and to minimize debt burden, a dramatic and continual artificial suppression of interest rates during inflation is a recipe for disaster. Even before the bubble bursts, and it will, there is a downside to artificially forcing down interest rates. Many people who have savings and CDs, especially the growing senior population, get almost no return on their savings, therefore there is much less consumer spending. In addition very low interest rates significantly hurts the profitability of banks since their profit margin is squeezed. In addition, there is little incentive for banks to issue loans. Yet all this is occurring when the "real inflation" is running around 10 to 15%. Real inflation is defined as what it really costs people to live including food, clothing, utilities costs, healthcare costs, all sorts of taxes, household goods, fuel costs, etc. Real inflation will only increase over time.
The Federal Reserve's answer to this is to print more money, yet today there is no anchor, no gold standard, therefore the dollar increasingly becomes less valuable "paper". We are headed toward a dollar that won't be worth much and it will no longer be considered the international standard for currency. When you do not face reality; when you dramatically suppress or force economic factors artificially, you are inviting disaster. This will become a huge, huge problem for the United States and could in itself destroy our economy. This issue coupled with all the items listed above confronting us could lead to a situation worse than the Great Depression. We are headed in that direction.
* Instead of offering incentives to business in the Untitled States they are faced with increasing uncertainty, heavier costs and taxes, and major over regulation that essentially amounts to "handcuffs". This is just the opposite of what is needed.
* Immigration anarchy, as well as a host of other problems, is severely affecting the economy of our country as well as individual states. There is no logical, legal, enforced process of immigration.
There is even more, but any or all of the above should be enough to show the deep, deep, crisis that we are in and where we are headed as a nation. A "kick the can down the road" approach by Washington (and the states) will not prevent the disaster, it will only add to it. It will become worse.
Yet the saving part of this is that each and every one of the problems identified above is solvable. All it takes is openly recognizing the problem, defining the root cause, and having the guts to come up with a plan to deal with it. This takes leadership, not politics. It takes logical and common sense planning, not short term pacifying delays that accomplish nothing and only make matters worse. It takes action, not just words. It takes courage.
There needs to be a sense of urgency created BY THE PEOPLE of America in order to prevent a crisis like we have never before seen in our country. We are already on a path toward severe economic ruin that will affect all people in our country in a dramatic negative manner. Not only will our standard of living be severely affected but we will be left grasping for the bare essentials of life itself. It is that serious. The people of our country need to wake up, speak up, and act. This is our only hope. It is time to take our heads out of the sand.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Mitt Romney
It looks like Mitt Romney will emerge as the Republican candidate and overall I think that he will be an excellent candidate that can beat Obama. Personally I liked Michelle Bachman, Romney, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich. Gingrich would have been a strong candidate but the fear was he would have too much of the wrong kind of baggage.
I believe that it is very important to have good and factual information on Romney since he will be under unmerciful attack. His qualifications for President are nothing short of excellent. He has a business, managerial, and leadership background. He knows how to manage finances and a budget. He is an excellent communicator. He speaks clearly and can be firm, yet he knows how to work with others who have a different view in order to get things done, without sacrificing the basics, the principles, of what he is attempting to accomplish. He is an excellent family man, has an excellent moral background...and he is clean from corruption and personal issues that seem so prevalent in politics today.
Now I will give you my observations, particularly in regard to the issues that he will be faced with. I have closely and critically studied Romney over a number of years. First, Romney is a conservative. He is miscast as being a moderate and I will explain that below. If his characterization as a moderate brings in more votes in that area, so be it.
I live in Massachusetts and I studied him closely as the Governor of Massachusetts. Being a governor of a one party Democratic state is no easy chore. Yet he did an excellent job with an 85% Democratic legislature, and with most all city / towns controlled by Democrats. Not easy, yet he did an excellent job. He kept his "finger in the dam" on spending and managed the budget with a legislature that wanted to spend, spend, spend.
Very importantly on healthcare, people forget that the strongly Democratic legislature pushed like crazy for a state controlled healthcare approach. My own opinion on this they wanted to set up a forerunner model in order to force a nationally controlled healthcare on America. Yet Romney pushed back on the legislature and refused to sign the state bill until certain concessions were made that were more reasonable and rational. He did then sign the bill. It now has mixed reviews, some good, some bad. My opinion is that if he had stayed on as governor that he would have made corrections on the bad aspects of healthcare in the state since that is the type of leader that he is. Healthcare will continually come up during the campaign and he will have to answer the questions on this. From my personal perspective nothing has changed for my healthcare insurance coverage in the state, I had insurance before, I have it now, my coverage is unchanged in every respect. I am much more worried about Obamacare when it gets fully implemented.
As Governor of Massachusetts he was an excellent and SMART communicator. On every single critical issue facing the state he clearly stated his positions and the reasoning behind them. He did this through TV and radio ads, or through publicly communicated interviews. In other words he brought his positions DIRECTLY to the people so that they knew exactly where he stood on the issues. Many politicians do not do this and allow the conduit of newspapers, such as the Boston Globe, to put any spin they want on their positions. He went to the people.
On the issue of abortion and the fact that he changed his mind after being pro-choice. My greatest concern is where he is now. Saint Paul changed his mind too, since earlier in his life he persecuted Christians. I attended a Massachusetts Citizens for Life Mother's Day Dinner where he was the guest speaker. Believe me, I listened very, very critically to every word that he said. He fully explained his transition and reasoning for now being Pro-Life. I believe that he was sincere and that today this is his true position. I am fully satisfied.
In regard to his tenure as CEO of Bain Capital he actually had an excellent record of helping and growing the majority of companies that he was involved with, while at the same time making money for Bain. In some cases they had to make some tough decisions on companies that were not successful...they were in the minority. That is what leadership and capitalism is all about. During that time I was employed in management with James River Corporation and we used Bain extensively as a consultant. I found Bain to be an excellent company and they helped us substantially in helping to direct our efforts, our strategy, in a better direction. Oh yes, and the comment that he made about "firing" wasn't even in reference to Bain, but taken out of context and distorted as an attack weapon against him. Informed people know what Romney meant by what he said. What he meant was that he wants the CHOICE of discontinuing business with those that don't offer quality goods and services. Don't all of us want this?
On the issue of being a Mormon that I am sure will come up... I look at the type of person that he is, the values that he displays, and the fact that he is an excellent family man, with a beautiful family. His religion is not an issue with me and I hope that it isn't with you.
Here is why I think that Mitt Romney is REALLY a conservative:
* He is a fiscal conservative, believes in cutting spending, reducing the debt, and balancing the budget.
* He believes in a strong military and a clearly communicated firm foreign policy. He will NOT apologize for America.
* He believes in securing the border and a legal PROCESS of immigration.
* He is Pro-Life and stated he would de-fund Planned Parenthood.
* He believes in the Constitution and the founding principles of our country.
* He is in favor of marriage being between a man and a woman. He has strong family values and a strong belief in God.
* He would repeal Obamacare.
* In regard to gun control, he has stated: "Let me speak very directly and candidly about where I stand. I support the Second Amendment (the right to bear arms) as one of the most basic and fundamental rights of every American. It's essential to our functioning as a free society, as are all the liberties enumerated in the Bill of Rights..."
The media and many of the "talking heads" on television try to label people in certain ways, but I would say with all of the above, and more, Mitt Romney is a pretty conservative candidate...wouldn't you?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are facing one of the most critical Presidential elections in our history. I feel that in order to save our great country, and provide a future for our children, our grandchildren, and for future generations that we must defeat Obama. I have offered you some facts, opinions, and observations of Mitt Romney so that all of us will be well armed with information. I believe Romney will be the Republican candidate and I believe that all of us need to get 100% behind him.
I will follow this with A Specific Plan on How to Beat Obama as soon as the nomination is confirmed.
Please pass this on to all that those on your E-mail lists, or otherwise. We need to get factual information out on Romney as Step 1.
Thank you.
I believe that it is very important to have good and factual information on Romney since he will be under unmerciful attack. His qualifications for President are nothing short of excellent. He has a business, managerial, and leadership background. He knows how to manage finances and a budget. He is an excellent communicator. He speaks clearly and can be firm, yet he knows how to work with others who have a different view in order to get things done, without sacrificing the basics, the principles, of what he is attempting to accomplish. He is an excellent family man, has an excellent moral background...and he is clean from corruption and personal issues that seem so prevalent in politics today.
Now I will give you my observations, particularly in regard to the issues that he will be faced with. I have closely and critically studied Romney over a number of years. First, Romney is a conservative. He is miscast as being a moderate and I will explain that below. If his characterization as a moderate brings in more votes in that area, so be it.
I live in Massachusetts and I studied him closely as the Governor of Massachusetts. Being a governor of a one party Democratic state is no easy chore. Yet he did an excellent job with an 85% Democratic legislature, and with most all city / towns controlled by Democrats. Not easy, yet he did an excellent job. He kept his "finger in the dam" on spending and managed the budget with a legislature that wanted to spend, spend, spend.
Very importantly on healthcare, people forget that the strongly Democratic legislature pushed like crazy for a state controlled healthcare approach. My own opinion on this they wanted to set up a forerunner model in order to force a nationally controlled healthcare on America. Yet Romney pushed back on the legislature and refused to sign the state bill until certain concessions were made that were more reasonable and rational. He did then sign the bill. It now has mixed reviews, some good, some bad. My opinion is that if he had stayed on as governor that he would have made corrections on the bad aspects of healthcare in the state since that is the type of leader that he is. Healthcare will continually come up during the campaign and he will have to answer the questions on this. From my personal perspective nothing has changed for my healthcare insurance coverage in the state, I had insurance before, I have it now, my coverage is unchanged in every respect. I am much more worried about Obamacare when it gets fully implemented.
As Governor of Massachusetts he was an excellent and SMART communicator. On every single critical issue facing the state he clearly stated his positions and the reasoning behind them. He did this through TV and radio ads, or through publicly communicated interviews. In other words he brought his positions DIRECTLY to the people so that they knew exactly where he stood on the issues. Many politicians do not do this and allow the conduit of newspapers, such as the Boston Globe, to put any spin they want on their positions. He went to the people.
On the issue of abortion and the fact that he changed his mind after being pro-choice. My greatest concern is where he is now. Saint Paul changed his mind too, since earlier in his life he persecuted Christians. I attended a Massachusetts Citizens for Life Mother's Day Dinner where he was the guest speaker. Believe me, I listened very, very critically to every word that he said. He fully explained his transition and reasoning for now being Pro-Life. I believe that he was sincere and that today this is his true position. I am fully satisfied.
In regard to his tenure as CEO of Bain Capital he actually had an excellent record of helping and growing the majority of companies that he was involved with, while at the same time making money for Bain. In some cases they had to make some tough decisions on companies that were not successful...they were in the minority. That is what leadership and capitalism is all about. During that time I was employed in management with James River Corporation and we used Bain extensively as a consultant. I found Bain to be an excellent company and they helped us substantially in helping to direct our efforts, our strategy, in a better direction. Oh yes, and the comment that he made about "firing" wasn't even in reference to Bain, but taken out of context and distorted as an attack weapon against him. Informed people know what Romney meant by what he said. What he meant was that he wants the CHOICE of discontinuing business with those that don't offer quality goods and services. Don't all of us want this?
On the issue of being a Mormon that I am sure will come up... I look at the type of person that he is, the values that he displays, and the fact that he is an excellent family man, with a beautiful family. His religion is not an issue with me and I hope that it isn't with you.
Here is why I think that Mitt Romney is REALLY a conservative:
* He is a fiscal conservative, believes in cutting spending, reducing the debt, and balancing the budget.
* He believes in a strong military and a clearly communicated firm foreign policy. He will NOT apologize for America.
* He believes in securing the border and a legal PROCESS of immigration.
* He is Pro-Life and stated he would de-fund Planned Parenthood.
* He believes in the Constitution and the founding principles of our country.
* He is in favor of marriage being between a man and a woman. He has strong family values and a strong belief in God.
* He would repeal Obamacare.
* In regard to gun control, he has stated: "Let me speak very directly and candidly about where I stand. I support the Second Amendment (the right to bear arms) as one of the most basic and fundamental rights of every American. It's essential to our functioning as a free society, as are all the liberties enumerated in the Bill of Rights..."
The media and many of the "talking heads" on television try to label people in certain ways, but I would say with all of the above, and more, Mitt Romney is a pretty conservative candidate...wouldn't you?
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We are facing one of the most critical Presidential elections in our history. I feel that in order to save our great country, and provide a future for our children, our grandchildren, and for future generations that we must defeat Obama. I have offered you some facts, opinions, and observations of Mitt Romney so that all of us will be well armed with information. I believe Romney will be the Republican candidate and I believe that all of us need to get 100% behind him.
I will follow this with A Specific Plan on How to Beat Obama as soon as the nomination is confirmed.
Please pass this on to all that those on your E-mail lists, or otherwise. We need to get factual information out on Romney as Step 1.
Thank you.
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