Monthly Archives: November 2013

11/30/13

The Twelve Days of ObamaCare

By: Opiate of the People
The People’s Cube

The Twelve Days of ObamaCare
(A non-sectarian holiday carol.)

On the first day of ObamaCare, Dear Leader gave to me
A website that crashed constantly!

On the second day of ObamaCare, Dear Leader gave to me
Two weeks of typing and
A website that crashed constantly!

On the third day of ObamaCare, Dear Leader gave to me
Three times the premium,
Two weeks of typing and
A website that crashed constantly!

On the fourth day of ObamaCare, Dear Leader gave to me
Four times the deductible,
Three times the premium,
Two weeks of typing and
A website that crashed constantly!

On the fifth day of ObamaCare, Dear Leader gave to me
Five cancelled policies!
Four times the deductible,
Three times the premium,
Two weeks of typing and
A website that crashed constantly!

On the sixth day of ObamaCare, Dear Leader gave to me
Six unneeded coverages,
Five cancelled policies,
Four times the deductible,
Three times the premium,
Two weeks of typing and
A website that crashed constantly!

On the seventh day of ObamaCare, Dear Leader gave to me
Seven scammers to hack me,
Six unneeded coverages,
Five cancelled policies,
Four times the deductible,
Three times the premium,
Two weeks of typing and
A website that crashed constantly!

On the eighth day of ObamaCare, Dear Leader gave to me
Eight phone reps dithering,
Seven scammers to hack me,
Six unneeded coverages,
Five cancelled policies,
Four times the deductible,
Three times the premium,
Two weeks of typing and
A website that crashed constantly!

On the ninth day of ObamaCare, Dear Leader gave to me
Nine journ0lists bloviating,
Eight phone reps dithering,
Seven scammers to hack me,
Six unneeded coverages,
Five cancelled policies,
Four times the deductible,
Three times the premium,
Two weeks of typing and
A website that crashed constantly!

On the tenth day of ObamaCare, Dear Leader gave to me
Ten dems a-dodging,
Nine journ0lists bloviating,
Eight phone reps dithering,
Seven scammers to hack me,
Six unneeded coverages,
Five cancelled policies,
Four times the deductible,
Three times the premium,
Two weeks of typing and
A website that crashed constantly!

On the eleventh day of ObamaCare, Dear Leader gave to me
Eleven million regulations,
Ten dem pols a-dodging,
Nine journ0lists a-bloviating,
Eight phone reps dithering,
Seven scammers to hack me,
Six unneeded coverages,
Five cancelled policies,
Four times the deductible,
Three times the premium,
Two weeks of typing and
A website that crashed constantly!

On the twelfth day of ObamaCare, Dear Leader gave to me
Twelve thousand excuses,
Eleven million regulations,
Ten dems a-dodging,
Nine journ0lists bloviating,
Eight phone reps dithering,
Seven scammers to hack me,
Six unneeded coverages,
Five cancelled policies,
Four times the deductible,
Three times the premium,
Two weeks of typing and
A website that crashed constantly!

11/30/13

Cancer and Obamacare Survivor, plus His Hero Audited – Interview

By: Arlen Williams
Gulag Bound

This administration is canceling health insurance plans all over the nation that they designed under the PPACA regulations in order to force these existing policy holders to subsidize the high cost of the “Medal” plans which will be available inside and outside the new ‘Health Insurance Marketplace” beginning 1/1/14. This is a deliberate action the administration new about for more than 3 years.

Cancer and Obamacare victim, Bill Elliott and C. Steven Tucker each got letters from the IRS, on the same day, just before Thanksgiving, to let them know they are being audited.

That would be this man, suffering from a long bout with cancer, whose life had already, potentially been put to an end by Obamacare, and the man who helped him recover his cancelled health insurance policy.

How it has been playing out and fits into the whole “big f___ing deal,” as Vice President Biden more aptly called the “Affordable Care Act”:

 

C. Steven Tucker’s answers this Friday evening (indented) to questions from the Bound:

Q1: So Tuck, what out of Hell just happened? So, Bill Elliot comes on Megyn Kelly’s Fox News show on the 7th, says his insurance has been canceled due to Obamacare and since he can’t pay for his cancer treatments he’s just going to let nature run its course. You help him understand that previously written law requires his insurance company not cancel him. (And then you write a killer article warning other Americans of the same!) He and his company connect and they reinstate him. Now he indicates he’s in remission? And then what day did you each get a letter from the IRS and what did it say?

Bill got his audit letter on the same day I received mine. That date was Monday November 25th. Bill’s letter informed him that is being officially audited in the spring of 2014 whereas the IRS sent me a letter simply demanding $4,000 from me for the year 2003 and $2,000 from the year 2010 which must be received at their offices no later than December 26, 2013. Merry Christmas from the IRS.

Q2. So, Happy Thanksgiving from the New Washington D.C., O Sovereign United States Citizen patriots in the way of Obamacare Marxofascism, right? How do you feel about this?

I am disgusted that the IRS can pull numbers out of thin air, demand the money in a month’s time and that there is no statute of limitations. 2003? For God’s sake! Worse yet, my taxes are prepared each quarter by a professional CPA. I pay on time and I do not get ‘tax refunds’ and this is the thanks I get for doing the right thing each and every quarter year after year. And Bill worked for the government during the tax year in question so the government agency he worked for would assure that his IRS fillings were accurate. So this whole thing is a political witch hunt. There is a reason that Lois Lerner pleaded the 5th during congressional testimony and their is a reason that the IRS chief counsel repeated the phrase “I do not recall’ more than 80 times during his congressional testimony. This is tyranny. Plain and simple.

Q3. The news of it is getting all over the patriot blogosphere. Anything you believe is important to add, or correct, by this moment?

No. The New Media has done a phenomenal job of covering this story. I am eternally grateful for their due diligence and for their willingness to consistently perform the job that Barack Obama’s Praetorian Guard media refuses to do.

Tucker-Steven-C-TVQ4. I’m expecting to see you on network TV and radio about this, any updates there?

I have sent the follow up information to Megyn Kelly and hope that she has either Bill or I on her show for an important follow up to this story.

The American people need to know that there are existing Federal laws that protect them from having their health insurance terminated when they are sick. Barack Obama has been lying to the American people for 4 years. Public law 104-191 (HIPAA) section 2742 disallows any health insurer from canceling your health insurance coverage when you are sick. That law was passed by congress and signed by president Clinton in 1997.

Here is the salient point. HIPAA is a federal law duly codified by congress and signed by president Clinton. HIPAA is referred to and expanded upon throughout the PPACA. It trumps a posting in the federal register by HHS secretary Kathleen Sebellius which was made AFTER the PPACA was signed into law by president Obama. This posting in the federal register literally changed the definition of ‘grandfathered status’ that was originally written in the PPACA in 2010.

This posting has resulted in 5.8 million policy holders losing their health insurance coverage. Many whom are struggling with a major medical illness like Bill. This is exactly the opposite of what Barack Obama promised over and over and over again when he said “If you like your plan you can keep your plan and no one will take it away from you, period.” Using public law 104-191 section 2742, Bill was able to get his policy restored with the help of South Carolina governor Nikki Haley. Other Americans should be using the same section of HIPAA law to force their health insurers to comply and restore their coverage immediately. Most especially if they are sick.

Moreover, let me address another lie Barack Obama has been telling. That the plans being terminated are ‘substandard plans’. The plans being canceled now are not substandard plans. Millions of these health insurance plans were designed in large part by HHS regulations which were passed down after 9/23/2010. These regulations required all major medical policies sold in the U.S. to include unlimited lifetime maximum coverage amounts. 65 ‘free’ preventative care exams. “Children” staying on your plan until age 26 even if they are no longer living with you, dependent upon you or are even married.

This administration is canceling health insurance plans all over the nation that they designed under the PPACA regulations in order to force these existing policy holders to subsidize the high cost of the “Medal” plans which will be available inside and outside the new ‘Health Insurance Marketplace” beginning 1/1/14. This is a deliberate action the administration new about for more than 3 years.

As far as scheduled radio interviews. I will be on the Dan Proft and Bruce Wolf show on Chicago’s WLS Am890 at 7:35 a.m. central time on Tuesday December 2nd and later that same day with my two favorite “Chicks On The Right” on 93.1 WIBC in Indianapolis.

Q5. And… guessing you’re getting in touch with legal council and with one or two people who work for us Citizens in Congress?

I am indeed.

Q6. So, I suppose in addition to health insurance advise… you recommend to your friends who spell out the difference between authentic America and the Antiamerica of growing globalist collectivism… to keep their tax records secured and handy, eh?

Yes I do.

11/30/13

Missile Warheads in Jamaica

By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton

Warheads in Paradise: Jamaica is a popular tourist destination, but the island has long been used by smugglers [GALLO/GETTY]

Warhead: The term warhead refers to the explosive and/or toxic material that is delivered by a missile, rocket, or torpedo.

Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea, comprising the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles. The island lies about 90 miles south of Cuba and 119 miles west of Hispaniola, the island containing the nation-states of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Jamaica is the fifth-largest island country in the Caribbean.

A story blipped by on the news radar yesterday that I sincerely doubt anyone noticed – oh, but you should. Not just because Jamaica has arguably the highest murder rate in the world, or that it is a drug and weapon smuggling haven… Things just got hotter even in Jamaica — police in Jamaica say authorities have seized 3,300 missile warheads and a machine to make missiles and bullets as well:

Deputy Police Superintendent Steve Brown said Friday that custom officials discovered the weapons late Thursday aboard a ship at Kingston Wharf.

He declined to say where the shipment originated from or its destination. No one has been arrested.

Brown told reporters that police are seeking helping from international agencies after their findings.

He said it was the first time authorities had made such a discovery.

I wonder if it really is the first time they have made such a discovery. I wonder who in the government may be complicit in this. The authorities are claiming the heavy weaponry came from the US. I smell a DOJ rat here… another potential Fast and Furious sleight of hand maneuver. I just bet they are working with international authorities on this and Eric Holder is tied up in it, leading it somewhere.

I had to do quite a bit of digging on this one, but a few more details are beginning to surface:

Jamaican authorities have seized 3,300 warheads and a missile-making machine at the port of Kingston and sought help from international police in tracking the shipper, Jamaican media reported Friday.

The unauthorized arms shipment was discovered Thursday afternoon in a police and customs operation carried out at a berth of Kingston Wharves, the RJR News site reported.

A high-level investigation has been launched, and Jamaican police have asked for assistance from international law enforcement, the news service said.

It was unclear from any of the reports of the seized ordnance how large the warheads were, what type of launch device they were intended to arm or whether the shipment’s end destination was Jamaica or another country.

Jamaica has long been rife with gang violence and local drug wars, but arms intended for more wide-scale conflict haven’t previously been intercepted in the Caribbean country, Deputy Superintendent Steve Brown of the Jamaica Constabulary Force told the Gleaner newspaper.

“It’s the first we are seeing something like this,” Brown said.

Gun ranges in Jamaica have applied over the years for permits to make weapons and ammunition, but the government has always refused, Brown said, out of fear that the equipment could get into the wrong hands.

Authorities declined to disclose the origin of the shipment but identified a Jamaican from the town of Manchester whom they are seeking in the belief that he can assist in the probe, Brown said.

Notice the implied reasoning for the restriction on weapons and ammo. Yet, with all the government’s controlling measures, Jamaica is still one of the most violent places on earth. That’s because they’ve given criminals free reign while stripping the populace defenseless in many respects. It’s because the government and police are corrupt as well.

All of this makes me ponder what is coming in the future on this side of the planet. With now all but one or two countries in South and Central America either outright communist, socialist or ruled be a vicious dictator, and the Monroe Doctrine now being declared dead by Obama and Kerry, terrorism is going to ratchet up at a truly terrifying pace. I would say that some of that weaponry probably is meant to be used against Americans. Hear that? Those are the crickets of the Obama Administration and the wholly lacking protective measures to keep America safe. Tick, tick, tick people:

There was a chilling warning yesterday from senior law-enforcement personnel and a top security consultant that the seizure of bullet-making machines, along with over 3,000 warheads, at the ports on Thursday could be an indication that criminal elements are preparing for an onslaught.

Up to late yesterday, investigators probing the incident said they were following several leads, but confirmed that the two machines and 3,300 warheads seized were destined for the criminal underworld.

Investigators also confirmed that the barrels in which they were hidden were shipped from the United States and were consigned to Oneil Schrouder, a Mandeville man who has been listed as a person of interest.

Sources close to the investigation have revealed that the machines are used primarily to make and/or reload ammunition for the 9mm handgun, the firearm of choice among criminals and gun enthusiasts locally.

Noting that the confiscated items were “not something the average criminal can afford”, one high-ranking law-enforcement officer cautioned that it points to a sinister plot by those involved in organised crime.

“We are fighting a war … and this (the seizure) tells the public what is happening in our society,” said the law-enforcement officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

X-ray machines found the barrel with the cache. Ask yourself this… if this can get into Jamaica, what is stopping this type of thing or even a nuclear device from getting into any port in America? While bureaucrats and politicians are claiming a win against the illicit weapons trade, it feels like either more of a set up to me or graft. Any excuse will do when going after guns, especially when it’s the criminals in charge looking to disarm the public and empower the underworld. Missile warheads in Jamaica today, nukes in America tomorrow.

11/29/13

The Council Has Spoken!! This Weeks’ Watcher’s Council Results – 11/29/13

The Watcher’s Council

Alea iacta est… the Council has spoken, the votes have been cast and we have the results for this week’s Watcher’s Council match-up.

I got the impression that here was a man who could be relied upon when he had given his word – Neville Chamberlain on Adolf Hitler, 1938

I spoke personally with President Rouhani of Iran earlier this fall. Secretary Kerry has met multiple times with Iran’s Foreign Minister. Today, that diplomacy opened up a new path toward a world that is more secure. – Barack Obama announcing his new agreement with Iran, 11/23/13

If he being young and unskillful seeks to gamble for silver and gold; Take his money my son, praising Allah, the fool was made to be sold! – Hafez, Persian poet, Divān, 1365 (est)

This week’s winner, Joshuapundit’s Israel, Obama And Iran – When The Rubber Meets The Road, is my reaction to President Obama’s announcement of a deal with Iran on their illegal nuclear program… which we now learn, according to the Iranians, isn’t a deal yet at all in spite of what the president and Secretary Kerry had to say. Like ObamaCare, the president apparently lied knowingly to the American people once again and the more we find out about this, the worse it becomes… even worse than when I wrote this. Here’s a slice:

By now the full details of the West’s capitulation in Geneva has become known. And what the West agreed to was staggering.

Former UN Ambassador John Bolton, someone who knows a great deal about nuclear proliferation and about Iran called it an abject surrender.He’s entirely correct.

As I pointed out earlier, the new agreement de facto recognizes Iran’s right to enrich uranium, something that is going to have huge implications as other countries who signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty are going to claim the same right themselves. And like Iran, they are going to refuse to sign the additional protocols of the NPT, which allow for snap inspections.

The United States and other Western nations have never conceded a ‘right’ to enrich uranium, for the every simple reason that it is perfectly possible to have a nuclear energy program that also allows for medical uses without it. Canada, for example, is one nation among many that uses nuclear energy without enrichment. Enrichment is only vital if the desired result is the ability to eventually manufacture nuclear weapons.

That’s also why there were numerous UN resolutions calling specifically for Iran to cease enrichment and allow inspections, and why the sanctions were implemented in the first place, after years of attempts at ‘diplomacy’.

That’s all been thrown by the wayside now. It took years to even implement any sanctions. Thanks to President Obama and his willing helpers at Geneva, that’s not going to happen again, even if Iran is caught violating this new agreement.India, China and South Korea among other countries want additional imports of Iranian oil, and EU countries want to open up the floodgates to trading with the Ayatollahs.The sanctions are history. And Iran knows this very well.

Among other things, this legitimizes an evil, fascist regime that brutalizes its own people and is probably the biggest financier and enabler of Islamic terrorism in the world. And the West is disgracefully aiding and abetting the regime, not only by giving them a clear path to achieve nuclear weapons but by giving them blood money in the amount of $7 billion and probably much more in frozen assets in the bargain.

Aside from this, the other loopholes in the new agreement are extraordinary.

While Secretary Kerry preens and bloviates about verification, the IAEA inspections have already been delayed for three months by agreement with Iran in exchange for absolutely nothing on Teheran’s part. In that time period, the Iranians can move, hide and conceal pretty much anything, as well as strengthening their facilities against attack.

And while the agreement calls for IAEA inspections at Fordow and Natanz, these facilities are pretty much under satellite surveillance anyway. The Iranian military base at Parchin where weapons test are suspected to have occurred is not part of the agreement, nor is Iran required to reveal any secret nuclear facilities they may have or allow them to be inspected. The IAEA has received quite a bit of information from Iranian dissidents about possible secret nuclear sites, but there is no followup or right for the IAEA to conduct on site investigations in the new agreement.

Also, just as there is absolutely nothing in the new agreement stopping the Iranians from continuing to enrich uranium, there’s nothing stopping them from developing and improving their ballistic missiles, warhead technology or other nuclear related weaponization like nuclear triggers.

Abject surrender pretty much covers it. And the fact that the almost frenzied efforts to make any kind of deal were very likely done to take the spotlight off of the dismal failure of ObamaCare and the president’s rapidly falling approval ratings makes it even more craven.

A lot more at the link.

In our non-Council Category, the winner was former UN ambassador and nuclear proliferation expert John Bolton’s piece in the Weekly Standard, Abject Surrender by the United States, submitted by The Political Commentator. If reading it doesn’t get you seriously concerned about who’s leading this country and what they’re doing, I don’t know what will. Do read it.

Okay then, here are this week’s results. Only Simply Jews was unable to vote this week, but was not subject to the usual 2/3 vote penalty.

Council Winners

Non-Council Winners

See you next week! Don’t forget to tune in on Monday AM for this week’s Watcher’s Forum, as the Council and their invited special guests take apart one of the provocative issues of the day with short takes and weigh in… don’t you dare miss it. And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter… ’cause we’re cool like that!

11/28/13

The Thanksgiving Illusion

Blasted Fools

Isn’t this just lovely? Whatever you do, don’t discuss politics, in-laws, out-laws, religion, the Bears versus the Packers – and for Zeus’ sake, not a whisper about the retail workers screwed out of Thanksgiving! Mmmm-kayyy???

I realize that I’m going to establish for myself, a reputation as an iconoclast and a ‘Grinch that stole Thanksgiving’ – or at the very least the ‘Grinch that defended the theft of Thanksgiving’. I would be happy to settle for non-conformist and independent thinker, but let the critics do their worst. It has come to my attention that certain elements of the progressive side of politics and social perspective, find that retail businesses operating on Thanksgiving day, are violating a sacred precept of time off on that day. This is gaining a lot of attention and discussion on Facebook and other social media. There’s even a new term that has been coined to refer to it – ‘Black Thursday’. Among the notable retailers slated to open doors to customers on Black Thursday are Target, the Gap, Banana Republic, Wal-Mart, Sears, K-Mart, Toys ? Us, and Old Navy.

The backlash against sales on Thanksgiving are actually coming from two diverse avenues – leftists taking issue with corporate greed and social conservatives, who find Thanksgiving day shopping to be disrespectful of the tradition of families convening and reflecting on the providence of the Almighty. Either of these will feel their jaws tighten and the veins stick out on their necks when I’m through here – unless I win some converts to critical thinking. It could happen.

First is the backlash against Black Thursday from the store employees. There is a petition on Change.org that has been gathering impetus:

Employees of both Target and Wal-Mart have publicly criticized the Thanksgiving evening openings, and Change.org, a for-profit social change advocate, claims to have collected 350,000 signatures from people against Target’s opening on 9 p.m., including some who have said they were Target shareholders.

“Target can keep repeating the line about customers wanting to shop on Thanksgiving all it wants,” said Casey St. Clair, a Target employee who was quoted in a press release issued by Change.org. “The fact remains that 350,000 shoppers have signed my Change.org petition, and they’re all saying the same thing: Thanksgiving should be about family, not shopping. Black Friday is one thing; turning Thanksgiving from a family holiday into a consumer spectacle is another.”

Actually, Black Friday is also in the crosshairs of the worker’s rights advocates – but this has more to do with their main and long time adversary, Wal-Mart, and the campaign by the organization ‘OUR Walmart‘ to organize its workers. The United Food and Commercial Workers union, who see disaffected Target and Wal-Mart employees as potential union members, are making sympathetic gestures. “Some [petitions] were started by family members who fear their loved ones — the employees — won’t make it home for Thanksgiving,” said Janna Pea, an official at the UFCW. Salon.com reports:

If Walmart doesn’t address OUR Walmart’s demands, said striking worker Colby Harris, from Dallas, “We will make sure that Black Friday is memorable for them.” He said that would includes strikes, leafleting to customers, and “flash mobs.” Harris was joined on a press call announcing the deadline by leaders of the National Consumers League, the National Organization of Women, and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, three of the national organizations that have pledged support for the workers’ efforts. Absent a resolution, said NOW President Terri O’Neill, NOW members will join Walmart workers outside stores on Black Friday to ask customers “whether they really want to spend their dollars on a company that treats workers this way.”

Better working conditions and pay and benefits – dandy, but am I the only one who sees a lot of hysteria mashed in with these Thanksgiving Yams? Conversely, I have to smile when I see people patting Sam’s Club on the back for not opening on these two days. Guess what? Sam’s Club is a subsidiary of WalMart! Sam’s Club is not having any ‘line ‘em around the building blow out specials’, so it makes no economic sense to open. That’s the ONLY reason they aren’t opening. And much as we all love Costco and they are nice and generous to their employees and a model for this, that and the other thing, yada yada – same deal – the financial metrics account for the hiatus, not warm, fuzzy sentiments.

There is, as well, a sentiment among social conservatives, that Thanksgiving sales are an affront to family values. Thanksgiving is viewed by many as a quasi-religious holiday, therefore, in their estimation, America is succumbing to secularism by profaning the Thanksgiving holiday in the pursuit of bargains and early Christmas shopping.

My conclusion on all this will certainly not satisfy any of the parties in this controversy. So be it. First of all, let’s examine the notion that store employees having to work on Thanksgiving is unfair. My question would be, compared to what? When I started thinking about all that goes on even when stores were closed on Thanksgiving, I jotted down an incomplete list of the jobs and people that do them, that don’t cease their work activity on Thanksgiving day:

  • Transportation workers (hauling freight by truck, rail, air and ship cargo and passengers by bus, train, air, taxi and limousine. Dock workers, cab drivers, airline pilots, conductors, engineers?
  • NFL Football. While you drink your high-falutin’ ‘craft’ brew / ale, whatever the hell it is, or your old school Miller High Life and watch the Detroit Lions battle the Green Bay Packers, the Dallas Cowboys face off with the Oakland Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Baltimore Ravens – the players, coaches, equipment handlers, NFL personnel, referees, stadium employees, Television crews and everyone else behind the scenes are forfeiting the holiday Turkey and get togethers.
  • How about the communications grid? In order to phone, text, Twitter, post on Facebook, surf the internet, watch television or just about any other aspect of communications and media, thousands of people have to be on the job keeping the infrastructure up and running.
  • Energy? Electric, Water and Gas utility workers cannot push the hold button on their services to American households.
  • Public Safety – police, fire and paramedics are still working, albeit perhaps with a smaller staffing. State and local highway crews clearing the roads of snow and ice?
  • Restaurants, Hotels / Motels, Las Vegas, Gas stations, Movie theaters, Hospital Emergency workers, medical caregivers, nursing home staff, security guards, corrections facility personnel, credit and bank transaction processors and so many more that we don’t take into consideration. Sucks to be them, but we only care about retail workers.

What about all these? If you have a lifestyle that is any more involved than an Orthodox Jew or a member of the Amish or Mennonite communities, you are utilizing in some form or fashion, the labor of some individual who is not home celebrating Thanksgiving with their families, and they are not all retail workers. What is magic about the retail workers? Shouldn’t you be advocating that the entire spectrum of activity cease on Thanksgiving?

Now, concerning corporations and corporate greed. I’m not known to be sympathetic to the bad citizenship of Corporate America and I have reminded you that they not only don’t share your values, but in many cases are actually in opposition to them. But I’d like you to look at the retail worker situation from another angle. Americas’ major retailers are trying very hard to capitalize on the shrinking, irrational exuberance of consumer sentiment that still exists in this ongoing recession. If they don’t at least make a base hit on Black Thursday and Black Friday, the numbers are going to reflect it and they’ll lay off thousands of workers, which will have a ripple effect. It won’t be the CEO or his crony hires that get the Pink slip! Would layoffs be preferable to agreeing to work on what is, let’s face it, just another Thursday?

Cut me a big slice of break here, would you? Ah, another big flat panel TV out the door. Have fun until they pull the plug on freedom.

It’s ironic to me that disgruntled employees go to the “I’m missing Thanksgiving with family” card, when typically what we hear in so many conversations is how annoying family get togethers are at this time of year. It’s fodder for situation comedies. Don’t tell me otherwise. You know it, I know it and the American people know it. Look, I get it that corporations are stingy and centered on funneling profits to gluttonous CEO’s. But that’s the nature of the beast in a materialistic society such as the one we’ve become. Change yourself first and the institutions will follow (kicking and screaming the live long way).

Let’s be brutally honest. These Holidays aren’t really about religious traditions anymore. They are about partying and indulging in the passions of the flesh – in whatever form that might take. We saw individuals in the store check out lane with multiple carts piled with case after case of beer and liquor. I’m not a teetotaller – that’s not my point, nor am I in any position to judge, or care to be. But can we please own up that most people are not spending Thanksgiving Day on their knees beseeching the mercy and forbearance of the Almighty? Forget most – how about almost no one?

People instead, foolishly bury themselves deeper and deeper in debt – buying toys and ephemeral rubbish (for another historically and theologically inaccurate holiday), that they really can’t afford – which are manufactured offshore, thus demolishing our manufacturing base. Corporations stand ready to serve them in this headlong rush to the poorhouse. Realistically though, a lot of Americans haven’t had the hard truth driven home to them that retail work and fast food employment should not be approached as a career, but rather as transitional jobs on the way to skilled labor and professional pursuits, that you acquire more training than just your High School diploma to perform. I don’t mean to be harsh or mean, but if you plan to retire as ‘2nd lead Hamburger technician‘ or ‘associate manager of store inventory’, you are going to be a loser. Stop thinking like one.

As much as the pay for moderately skilled work sucks, the responsibility ultimately rests on the workers themselves to ensure upward mobility. No one except the tragic victims of human trafficking, are compelled to work with a gun to their head. We can exercise freedom of choice. It’s a bad economy, yes, but Free Enterprise is still hanging in on life support – try plugging into it before it flatlines. Find other like minded people who want to be entrepreneurs and pool your resources, fortunes and sacred honor. Hello? Never mind, just the Ghost of Steve Jobs checking in from the spirit world.

Here’s another problem that the so-called advocates of the working class, neglect to point out. Illegal and legal immigration devastate the wage structure in the United States more than any other factor except the offshoring of jobs. The rules of supply and demand will not be mocked. Too much supply of labor and wages plummet. Want to see wages increase for low skilled and entry level work? Oppose ‘Comprehensive Immigration Reform‘ and support the implementation of eVerify.

Have a Happy (and reflective) Thanksgiving or a wonderful Black Thursday – it’s up to you to decide which. Oh, and my gratitude to you folks working that day.