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All Editorials, Submissions & Letters On 'Austin's Picks' Are Chosen Exclusively By Austin Kuder. The Viewpoints Expressed Are Not Those Of Austin Kuder, Nor MALL 727, Nor Its Webmaster. All Comments And Opinions Should Be Expressed And Addressed To The Individual Authors And Submitters Of Materials Published On This Page. |
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MAKE 'EM CRY!
By Austin Kuder
Remember when the Republicans were in power and they voted unanimously for everything Bush and company wanted? Why can't the Democrats do the same thing? They should study what pressures were exerted on the Republican Congressmen. Did Bush threaten them with rendition? Did Cheney threaten to "take them hunting"? What was it that made George Voinovich cry like a baby when he violated his own principles to approve their deficit spending?
The Democrats have the numbers. What they need now is the muscle to make their members vote in lockstep like the Republicans did. I say "make-em cry"!
HEALTH CARE EMERGENCY
By Austin Kuder
Why is the Federal Government involved providing the vaccine for the H1N1 flu? Aren't they bad at such things? Why isn't the health care industry taking care of this problem? Something to think about with a dash of sarcasm.
REGARDING CASINOS IN OHIO
By Austin Kuder
Thomas Suddes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer is not supporting the issue that will permit Ohio to have it's own casinos. His article sounded like a Rush Limbaugh rant. After stretching the truth and obscuring the issues he exposed himself as ridiculous by saying that since issue 3 will permit us to have any game that our competition has that they are making the rules for us! That is laughable. One would hope that he would be honest and give his real reasons for objecting.
It is long since time for Ohioans to be able to keep our gambling money at home.
REBUILDING AFGHANISTAN
By Austin Kuder
I saw a public TV program in Afghanistan. They have our soldiers on patrol trying to win the hearts and minds of the people. These young men are no better able to do that now than they were in Vietnam years ago. A young soldier with a gun is dangerous and unlikely to convey protection or help. We are trying to protect the Afghans from the Taliban while the Taliban are trying to administer justice in their lawless society. The people are afraid to disobey the Taliban. The Taliban tells them not to co-operate with our military. The country is dysfunctional. The Taliban are performing a function that their government should be doing.
The only solution
is to deny the Taliban the money it needs to function. They get their money from
sympathetic fellow Muslim fundamentalists and from the proceeds of opium
dealing. The only way for the Afghan government to succeed is it must deprive
the Taliban of money and it must have money to provide law and justice instead
of the Taliban.
In order to help them we must cease all military operations, destroy all poppy
fields and compensate the farmers and protect them from retribution. They must
be convinced to grow other crops. We also need to convince Muslims to stop
supporting the Taliban. If we can't do that then we must give up and leave.
ENERGY MAMBO
By Austin Kuder
Our geniuses in
the Ohio State legislature passed a law requiring us to use less electricity!
Won't we need to create more electricity if we are going to replace fossil fuel
burning cars with electric ones? The problem is not the electricity, it is the
way it is made. We need them to work on smart grid technology and wind, solar
and nuclear production of electricity not to interfere with progress and the
free market.
Also, we don't need First Energy of Akron, Ohio ripping us off trying to jump
through their dumb hoops. We already buy those energy efficient bulbs.
Apparently, we are not as dim as our legislators are.
NEWS FLASH! CRIME IS INCREASING
By Austin Kuder
The Conservatives
are wringing their hands about any news about crime. Every
report of violence has them blaming the people. What they forget is that there
is no such
thing as a bad boy or bad people or bad workers. There is only bad parenting,
bad
management and bad government. We are failing and the people are suffering as a
result.
Our government has permitted our industries to leave the country along with the
jobs. Our
corporate leaders are taking too much money in income and dividends effectively
robbing
their workers and overcharging for their goods and services.
I'm no longer
loyal to US car makers because our CEO's are taking 500 times the
average wages of our workers. The Japanese CEO's take much less. I no longer
care what I
buy or who I buy it from because I have no idea if their CEO is a pig taking
millions or
not.
The only way to
get back on track is to prevent companies from taking their
equipment and machinery out of the country and to increase the upper tax
brackets. Right
now the maximum of 35% is reached at $330,000. A person getting a reasonable
executive
wage of $330,000 is in the same bracket as a hedge fund thief taking a billion!
The tax
rate should be 99% for people taking over $ 1 billion. and the rate should rise
from
$330,000 on a curve. We need the money to balance the budget and continue the
recovery.
OVERPAID CEO'S
By Austin Kuder
Don't buy from these companies. You are over-paying because they are over-paying their CEO's.
Abercrombie &
Fitch-$71.8 million
BJ Services-$34.6 million
Comcast 'A'-$40.8 million
International Paper-$38.2 million
Nabors Industries-$79.3 million
US HEALTHCARE IN CANADA?
By Austin Kuder
Canadians don't
think of their health care system as radical. To them, it's just right. And if
you want to really frighten them, you just need to talk about somebody's "secret
agenda" to bring in "American-style" health care.
Under the current health care system, losing a job could mean losing your good
health.
Criticisms of the proposed health care reform are counterproductive. No one is
offering a viable alternative.
THE TEA BAGGERS
By Austin Kuder
The racists are
coming out of the woodwork. They just want Obama to shut up and disappear. I
hope that he has the courage to ignore them and carry on. He hasn't done
anything to deserve the disrespect that he is getting. Where was all the concern
about the deficit spending when it was a white man doing it when it wasn't even
necessary?
If they want to balance the budget they wouldn't obstruct a tax increase on the
rich. The maximum tax rate of 35% is reached at $330,000 of income. Why does it
not increase from that point? The revenue that we need must come from the people
that have the money. That is only logical. There are people taking millions and
even billions in income and paying the same rate as those who are earning a
reasonable executive wage. Where is the outrage about that!
OHIO REPRESENTATIVE JOSH MANDEL
By Austin Kuder
Josh Mandel, who
has aspirations of higher office (even the highest) has been a ghost as my Ohio
State Rep. He never sends newsletters. I am never informed of his votes on
issues or even what the issues are. He never answers e-mails, he has assistants
respond by phoning and leaving messages asking me to call back long distance. My
former State Rep., Dean Depiero responded personally to every letter that I sent
him. It takes much less effort to respond by e-mail. What is he doing to serve
us?
Also, Josh Mandel collected his full State Rep. pay when he was activated to
military duty while receiving his full military pay. Why is that not a scandal?
When I was activated by the Ohio National Guard years ago, the only pay I
received was from the Army.
I want an explanation from Mr. Mandel and I want him to do his job better.
EQUITY IN HEALTHCARE & PRESCRIPTION COSTS
By Austin Kuder
I was just
prescribed skin cream by my dermatologist to treat a pre-cancerous skin
condition. The medicine costs $600! This is an emotional issue for me because of
my support for universal, single payer health care and my objection to the
health care for profit industry that has helped make the USA uncompetitive in
the world labor market.
It is against my principles to be favored over other people. You see, I only
have to pay $15 because I am lucky to have good health care coverage. You can
probably tell that I am not a Republican.
The real kicker is that my health care provider will not pay the full $600. They
will probably get about a 50% discount. An un-insured person would undoubtedly
do without. It is unfairness like this that makes me skeptical that we live in a
Christian society.
HEALTHCARE
By Austin Kuder
Some say they don't want
government-run health care. But it is already used by roughly 28% of Americans
on a regular basis, and what's more, they have a highly favorable opinion of it.
Health care reform advocates are allowing conservatives to fool the public with
the fallacy that the private market is somehow the solution. But there is a
profound conflict between market goals and public health goals.
SENATOR GEORGE VOINOVICH & HEALTH CARE REFORM
By Austin Kuder
The Senator's article in Sunday's Plain Dealer was a lot of words providing no answers. He wants a sustainable, innovative, patient centered, waste reducing, simple solution that covers everyone, removes bureaucrats (like the 1,000 insurance companies we now have to deal with) and reduces the financial burden on business. The only instrument that fills that bill is single payer, universal health care. The Republicans are totally against that! Voinovich has just joined the pathological liars club along with Rush Limbaugggh.
WING-NUT WORLD REVIVED
By Austin Kuder
A small provision in the
health care bill that would allow Medicare to reimburse doctors for time spent
consulting with patients about their end-of-life choices is being willfully
distorted by the newly rejuvenated wing-nut industry.
There are no "death panels" mentioned in any version of the health care bill.
None. Nobody familiar with the various proposals of health care reform could
credibly claim the government wants to kill the oldest and most vulnerable among
us, including children with disabilities.
Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin count on most Americans never reading the proposed
bills. They know that, in such an environment, misinformation works.
Apparently Sarah Palin has joined Rush Limbaugh in the pathological liars club
(my conclusion).
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