This is a special posting of a video made for one of my classes during my journal to becoming a journalist. Enjoy and let me know what you think.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The Presidents Speech to Nations Schools: Good or Bad?
There has been a lot of debate recently about President Obamas' speech to all the nations schoolchildren. Many parents have been up in arms about the idea of their kids being forced to watch. This seeming ly knee jerk reaction stems from the fear of their children being brainwashed with political ideals that do not match their own. That is a valid fear and they have the right to be concerned. However in this instance the reaction has been unfounded, uniformed and frankly does not speak well of us as a nation.
That's right folks, The Common Free Man is defending President Barack Obama. There is no need to adjust your monitors.
This unfortunate situation is a superb example of the utter futility of the "us and them" mentality that pollutes our society. Until we can move away from that we will never evolve as a people. For the past two weeks we have been hearing screams of "propaganda" and "socialist agenda". If this speech is an example of a socialist agenda then I must be a closet socialist. Sorry to say folks that it looks like the only propaganda being sold here is coming from the right.
I would like to ask all of the parents who read this to go through the speech (link below). I would like you to read through it carefully, forgetting everything you have heard from Limbaugh, from Beck or from any other media outlets. Approach it as if this is the first time you ever heard about it. Then I want you to decide for yourself, using only what you have read in that speech if you still think it is brainwashing the little darlings. I would also like you to ask yourselves if you would have had the same reaction a year ago under a different President.
We need to put this petty squabbling behind us if we are to move on. This is going to mean that each of us needs to start thinking for ourselves and not just going with what "your" party says. Remember that the next time you go to vote. If you truly do not like the GOP candidate or the Dem candidate, then find a third party and vote for them. The idea of voting for the lesser evil is making a mockery out of democracy.
So to answer the initial question of good or bad? In this case I would say good.
Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama Back to School Event
That's right folks, The Common Free Man is defending President Barack Obama. There is no need to adjust your monitors.
This unfortunate situation is a superb example of the utter futility of the "us and them" mentality that pollutes our society. Until we can move away from that we will never evolve as a people. For the past two weeks we have been hearing screams of "propaganda" and "socialist agenda". If this speech is an example of a socialist agenda then I must be a closet socialist. Sorry to say folks that it looks like the only propaganda being sold here is coming from the right.
I would like to ask all of the parents who read this to go through the speech (link below). I would like you to read through it carefully, forgetting everything you have heard from Limbaugh, from Beck or from any other media outlets. Approach it as if this is the first time you ever heard about it. Then I want you to decide for yourself, using only what you have read in that speech if you still think it is brainwashing the little darlings. I would also like you to ask yourselves if you would have had the same reaction a year ago under a different President.
We need to put this petty squabbling behind us if we are to move on. This is going to mean that each of us needs to start thinking for ourselves and not just going with what "your" party says. Remember that the next time you go to vote. If you truly do not like the GOP candidate or the Dem candidate, then find a third party and vote for them. The idea of voting for the lesser evil is making a mockery out of democracy.
So to answer the initial question of good or bad? In this case I would say good.
Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama Back to School Event
Thursday, August 6, 2009
This Flag Does Not Fly.
June 28th, 1940
A little island sitting off the coast of France is suddenly rocked by the sound of German bombers attacking it's main harbour. Two days later a Nazi invasion force took control over this little "Jewel of the sea". And so began 5 years of hard Nazi rule over the people of that little island. Food was scarce and times were tough. People had to survive on what they could find and by helping each other. Of course, as is almost always the case, there were those who only wanted too help themselves.
The Germans had instituted a program that rewarded people who turned in neighbours, friends and even family members that dared to go against the word of the occupying forces. Being a small community it was normal that everyone knows what everyone else is doing. This was a goldmine for those who would exploit such information for their own gain. Those that had been "snitched" on were often sent to a prison camp in Europe. This would become a death sentence for many of them.
1945 to 1991
Jump forward several years and you have the former Soviet Union. During the period of the cold war it was common practice for you to "snitch" on neighbours, friends and family if you suspected they were talking or thinking against the party agenda. All it took was one discreet phone call and suddenly your neighbours would disappear. You may also find that you have a little something extra in your rations as "thanks" for your loyalty to the party.
August 2009
"What has any of this got to do with me?" I hear you shout.
We look back on these events and think of them as wrong, as the tools of a totalitarian state. That could never happen here in the land of the free right?
I wouldn't be so sure.
A recent blog entry from the Whitehouse is asking citizens to send anything "fishy" they see or receive concerning the current healthcare bill. Seems fairly harmless at this point right?
At first glance it may seem so however I want you to consider this. We can see from the two examples above that this is a tactic used to suppress the ideas of anyone that disagrees with the ruling class. Is this really going to be any different? What are they going to do with the information they receive? Is it the information itself they are interested in or is it the names of the people who are spreading the information? Is this not a direct attack on the first amendment?
These are all questions that we need to ask. Sure right now they are only asking that you send information received via email or on the web on this one subject, but how long will it be until this becomes a common practice? And how long before it extends to more than just emails and web content.
For those that wish to take advantage of this wonderful new service you can forward any emails or websites to: flag@whitehouse.gov
"Rat out your friends. Snitch on your neighbours. Fabulous prizes to be won"
There is one last thing I would like to add. It's an addendum to the occupation story. Those that did feed information to the Germans were forever marked as collaborators. Once the occupying forces were defeated this people lives suddenly became less pleasant.
A little island sitting off the coast of France is suddenly rocked by the sound of German bombers attacking it's main harbour. Two days later a Nazi invasion force took control over this little "Jewel of the sea". And so began 5 years of hard Nazi rule over the people of that little island. Food was scarce and times were tough. People had to survive on what they could find and by helping each other. Of course, as is almost always the case, there were those who only wanted too help themselves.
The Germans had instituted a program that rewarded people who turned in neighbours, friends and even family members that dared to go against the word of the occupying forces. Being a small community it was normal that everyone knows what everyone else is doing. This was a goldmine for those who would exploit such information for their own gain. Those that had been "snitched" on were often sent to a prison camp in Europe. This would become a death sentence for many of them.
1945 to 1991
Jump forward several years and you have the former Soviet Union. During the period of the cold war it was common practice for you to "snitch" on neighbours, friends and family if you suspected they were talking or thinking against the party agenda. All it took was one discreet phone call and suddenly your neighbours would disappear. You may also find that you have a little something extra in your rations as "thanks" for your loyalty to the party.
August 2009
"What has any of this got to do with me?" I hear you shout.
We look back on these events and think of them as wrong, as the tools of a totalitarian state. That could never happen here in the land of the free right?
I wouldn't be so sure.
A recent blog entry from the Whitehouse is asking citizens to send anything "fishy" they see or receive concerning the current healthcare bill. Seems fairly harmless at this point right?
At first glance it may seem so however I want you to consider this. We can see from the two examples above that this is a tactic used to suppress the ideas of anyone that disagrees with the ruling class. Is this really going to be any different? What are they going to do with the information they receive? Is it the information itself they are interested in or is it the names of the people who are spreading the information? Is this not a direct attack on the first amendment?
These are all questions that we need to ask. Sure right now they are only asking that you send information received via email or on the web on this one subject, but how long will it be until this becomes a common practice? And how long before it extends to more than just emails and web content.
For those that wish to take advantage of this wonderful new service you can forward any emails or websites to: flag@whitehouse.gov
"Rat out your friends. Snitch on your neighbours. Fabulous prizes to be won"
There is one last thing I would like to add. It's an addendum to the occupation story. Those that did feed information to the Germans were forever marked as collaborators. Once the occupying forces were defeated this people lives suddenly became less pleasant.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
New Gallup Poll Information Added
You can now get the latest Gallup Poll results straight from The Common Free Man. We have added a widget to the site that will give you a daily update on everything from Presidential approval to the current evaluation of standards of living.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Health Care Reform Link
Hi Guys,
My apologies for spamming but I thought this might be of interest. I have put up a pdf of the proposed health care bill. This is not exactly easy bedtime reading to don't expect to be done in one sitting.
Current Health Care Proposal
My apologies for spamming but I thought this might be of interest. I have put up a pdf of the proposed health care bill. This is not exactly easy bedtime reading to don't expect to be done in one sitting.
Current Health Care Proposal
An Unhealthy Idea
It cannot have escaped your notice that health care is the current hot topic across the nation. It was one of the key issues that then Senator Barack Obama ran his campaign on. Now, as promised, he has, with the help of other leading Democrats, put forward the plan for socialized health care for the American people. "Fantastic" many will shout; "No thanks" will be the response from others.
So why the opposing views? Free health care for all is a good thing isn't it?
Well first we need to get past this notion that anything in this new legislation is going to be free. Most, if not all the conversations I have had with supporters of nationalized health care have used that term. Each time I hear it I pose the question:
"If it's free for everyone then who is paying for it?"
The answer I normally get actually frightens me more than anything I have seen in ObamaCare. "Oh government is going to pay". Huh? Remember the lady on election night who was all excited because "Obama is going to pay my mortgage and all my bills"? This is similar thinking. There seems to be a mental block in our nation when it comes to government spending. The only money government has is that which it takes from us on the form of taxes (stealth or otherwise).
So if the government gets it's money from your taxes then that must mean that they are spending your money.
The predicted cost is estimated to be in the region of $1.5 Trillion. That's money they don't currently have, so where do you think it is going to come from?
Okay now that we have that little fact sorted out we can move on to the next problem. How many of you reading this do not currently have health insurance because you can't afford it? That has been one of the main concept being brought to the table by the bill supporters. The problem that so many Americans cannot afford health insurance. Now there are many reasons for people to not have their own insurance and I am not going to go into those at this time. If this bill was aimed at helping just those that needed help, when they needed help. Would this not be a better way of doing things?
I say let us, the people, have a choice in what health care we have. Let us choose who our families see without the added (and predictable) government bureaucracy. The only thing the current plans can lead to is health care rationing. Oh you will be offered treatment, just pick a number and wait in line. There you can happily linger in pain until you are eventually seen or until you die. Will we see a change in the quality of healthcare? Yes, but not for the better. I do agree that treatments should be decided by your doctor and not by some insurance guy in a suit. This legislation is not actually going to do anything to change that. Except of course now it will be a government agent in a suit.
What this boils down to is who gets to decide who lives and who dies. There are many things we are not being told. Many details that are not being reported in the media. The bill, which our President is trying to rush through, is over 1000 pages long and written in legalize. How many of your representatives will have had a chance to read through this extremely important piece of legislation properly before a rushed vote? We have seen this tactic before with the bailouts. Don't let that happen again. Write to your congressman, write to your senators and let them know your opinion.
So next time you are at he DMV take a look around. Because that is what life will be like the next time you go to the emergency room under this proposed plan.
So why the opposing views? Free health care for all is a good thing isn't it?
Well first we need to get past this notion that anything in this new legislation is going to be free. Most, if not all the conversations I have had with supporters of nationalized health care have used that term. Each time I hear it I pose the question:
"If it's free for everyone then who is paying for it?"
The answer I normally get actually frightens me more than anything I have seen in ObamaCare. "Oh government is going to pay". Huh? Remember the lady on election night who was all excited because "Obama is going to pay my mortgage and all my bills"? This is similar thinking. There seems to be a mental block in our nation when it comes to government spending. The only money government has is that which it takes from us on the form of taxes (stealth or otherwise).
So if the government gets it's money from your taxes then that must mean that they are spending your money.
The predicted cost is estimated to be in the region of $1.5 Trillion. That's money they don't currently have, so where do you think it is going to come from?
Okay now that we have that little fact sorted out we can move on to the next problem. How many of you reading this do not currently have health insurance because you can't afford it? That has been one of the main concept being brought to the table by the bill supporters. The problem that so many Americans cannot afford health insurance. Now there are many reasons for people to not have their own insurance and I am not going to go into those at this time. If this bill was aimed at helping just those that needed help, when they needed help. Would this not be a better way of doing things?
I say let us, the people, have a choice in what health care we have. Let us choose who our families see without the added (and predictable) government bureaucracy. The only thing the current plans can lead to is health care rationing. Oh you will be offered treatment, just pick a number and wait in line. There you can happily linger in pain until you are eventually seen or until you die. Will we see a change in the quality of healthcare? Yes, but not for the better. I do agree that treatments should be decided by your doctor and not by some insurance guy in a suit. This legislation is not actually going to do anything to change that. Except of course now it will be a government agent in a suit.
What this boils down to is who gets to decide who lives and who dies. There are many things we are not being told. Many details that are not being reported in the media. The bill, which our President is trying to rush through, is over 1000 pages long and written in legalize. How many of your representatives will have had a chance to read through this extremely important piece of legislation properly before a rushed vote? We have seen this tactic before with the bailouts. Don't let that happen again. Write to your congressman, write to your senators and let them know your opinion.
So next time you are at he DMV take a look around. Because that is what life will be like the next time you go to the emergency room under this proposed plan.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Poll of the Week
The subject of this weeks poll is something very close to my heart. Should we be required to have a permit to carry a firearm?
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