There ought to be a law! Oh, wait there is...

These things are just so outrageous that if it doesn't make you mad then you are either dead or numb. [ or see the post immediately preceding this one ]

Fake Drivers Licenses and Welfare Benefits
We learn that getting MN drivers license is all that's needed to open up the vast resources of our welfare state (Minnesota). If one is good then 10 is even better, right? How could it not occur to the issuers of both DL licenses and welfare benefits that people would use fraudulent methods to obtain both. Worse, how could they not have set up investigative and law enforcement provisions?


We are to believe the Minnesota Department of Vehicle Services IS seriously concerned about people trying to defraud the system. Four years ago the MN DVS received a federal grant to use facial recognition software to electronically compare the facial features in photos from driver's licenses and state IDs.

This effort, 11 million photos in the vehicle services database, had the software finding nearly 1.3 million matches. These photos then had to be looked at one by one by human eyes. Many were dismissed with reasonable explanations - newly married, name changes, harmless pranks, twins etc...

What was left were about 23,000 records that have a good chance of being fraud. That's 23,705 cases of possible fraud to be exact.

As of now, about 10,000 of these driver's licenses have been canceled. However, not much else has been done. We learn that not a single name has been given yet to the Department of Human Services to check for welfare or food stamp fraud, and no names have been given or the Secretary of State to check against the voter rolls. And criminal prosecution? None.

All told 5,500 cases have been referred to an agency who can take any action necessary. But the state won't say which law enforcement agency. With 23,000 potential fraudulent IDs, shouldn't we know who's job it is to hold people accountable? Shouldn't someone know?

The problem of using fraudulent means to obtain "free" or "subsidized" benefits is rampant. 

It turns out that an administrative assistant in the Secretary of State's Office has been accused of using an alternate identity to receive more than $18,000 in low-income housing help from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. This person has spent seven years working in Minnesota government, though none of her alleged crimes involve her post directly. (As far as we know)

Yet, when it comes to state-issued identity cards -- real or fake -- the Secretary of State Mark Ritchie is already smack-dab in the middle of the controversy as an outspoken opponent of the voter ID referendum on the ballot in November, which would require voters to have a valid state ID.

I just bet that this person voted for Mr. Ritchie in the last election since she didn't even need to present her fake ID.

The irony of the indictment was not lost on Minnesota Majority, the group campaigning for the amendment. Ritchie, however, is out of state and has been unavailable for comment. Don't hold your breath on this one.

Social Security sets new record
The number of workers taking federal disability insurance payments hit yet another record in July, increasing to 8,753,935 during the month from the previous record of 8,733,461 set in June, according to newly released data from the Social Security Administration. The 8,753,935 workers who took federal disability insurance payments in July exceeded the population of 39 of the 50 states. Only 11 states—California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina and New Jersey— have more population. In other words if all these recipients lived in one state it would be the 12th largest state in the union. 

Keep in mind this 8+ million is not the retirees receiving justly deserved benefits. It's just hard to imagine that there isn't a huge percentage of these people that are frauds. There is an entire legal industry set up to help people - deserving or not - get "their" Social Security Disability benefits. Everyone, I'm sure, believes in helping those truly disabled, but fraud is just rampant at all levels of this culture.

Food Stamps for Mexico!
Now we learn the Mexican government has been working with the United States Department of Agriculture to increase participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps. This has been going on since 2004, signed into existence during the Bush II era, that being said spending on food stamps has doubled since 2008, it is reasonable to suspect that the Obama administration has ramped up whatever partnership may have preexisted it.

What it is in short: the USDA sees to it that the Mexican Embassy and Mexican consulates in America provide USDA nutrition assistance program information to Mexican Americans, Mexican nationals working in America and migrant communities in America. The information is specifically focused on eligibility criteria and access.

There are rules for who is eligible, but it's safe to assume the standards are enforced with the enthusiasm the Obama administration shows toward other illegal alien activities on this side of the border. States are supposed to verify this so-called eligibility but verification standards vary widely. Applicants need only attest that they are citizens of the United States, and the state must accept that attestation as conclusive.

So, it's not bad enough that billions of dollars are obtained by fraudulent means by people from all walks of life and apparently from all countries, the government is soliciting for even more. We as a society, a culture have our hand out to help the less fortunate and all the while there are those who take our largess with one hand while the other is in our wallet taking even more.

All this fraud damn near gives corporate welfare a good name!


CW

Apathy

noun: [ap-uh-thee]
 feeling of having no interest in or enthusiasm about anything, or of not being willing to make any effort to change things


Apathy is a huge problem in the modern world, I just wish I gave a damn...








CW

This man is an idiot, seriously...?

What a maroon. (Oh I wish it were so... I wish he was just a fool)

President Obama said in a speech  in Roanoke, Va.: "If you've got a business — you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."

In other words the government did, or the union did, or your teachers did. What he is so clumsily trying to say is that if you're successful you didn't do it on your own. Wow, brilliant. What the hell is this supposed to mean?

To Obama it means you should be more than glad to give up (even) more of your money to the true source of your success - the government. A high school graduate didn't graduate without the massive help of others either, presumably then he or she should be willing to give up a large share of their gift money to taxes, right? Let's see how that one flies.

The successful and the "un"successful have had the same government-supplied foundations. Yes the roads, schools and police and fire protection are the same for all. It's not as if the risk takers and entrepreneurs get to take a special off-ramp that gives them advantages. (Unless you're an immigrant). Ask any successful small businessman and they'll tell you it took a ton of hard work that had nothing to do with government help beyond what anyone else had access to. In fact they were successful DESPITE government in many, many cases

Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, the founders of Google, Facebook and Twitter, as well as Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Alexander Graham Bell of generations past have only taken and never contributed anything, is that what we are to believe? That none of them would have, could have succeeded without government? Rather than celebrate the symbiotic relationship between the entrepreneurial spirit and government sponsored foundations this friggin idiot diminishes the accomplishments of these risk takers and visionaries to justify the confiscation of their profits for his redistributionist policies. Take from the producers and give to the free loaders all the while insulting the producers. This is right out of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged.

What he doesn't realize, or more likely doesn't care is that the taxes that businesses currently pay can be crushing - property, payroll, business, income, WC, etc. Are these Americans not just as righteous as the union worker? Every one's tax money paid for the "investments" in roads & bridges including and especially businesses? This is Obama, it's alright for him to insult business because we all know business is evil, right?

How much more idiocy are we going to take from this guy? Are we going to wait until he has completely destroyed the country? I would say he's clueless, but I don't believe it. Everything does and says is a calculated move further destroying the traditional model to be replaced by a purely socialist one. The method is and has been to hamstring free market capitalism on one hand while encouraging abuse and deceit (directly or by looking the other way) on the other hand until it's time to pounce. Once the capitalist model is discredited with the help of the compliant mainstream media no drastic government intervention is even questioned. They say to us in so many words "see, capitalism is a failure, we have a better way." The problem is that capitalism while being unequal carries many along in it's wake. In contrast socialism just smashes us all into the rocks on the shore. Since it does it equally it's therefore good.

For the love of this country President Obama has got to go.



CW

Politivcal Correctness vs Political Correctness

Political Correctness was always on a course for self destruction, it is the inevitable conclusion as the hosting culture dies under it's repressive weight.

Almost everyone at one time or another regardless of political affiliation shakes their head in disgust over the stupidity of political correctness. Imposed by faceless bureaucracies it's easy enough to separate yourself from the inherent insanity of it. For me I'm bothered by the insidiousness of it, starting out as it does on the periphery of good manners, and dare I say common decency. Like all things on the left (make no mistake PCism is a construct of the left) it always goes too far until it's divorced from common sense and partnered with evil.

It's when one value of PCism collides with another that the delicious irony tastes so sweet. In a HumanEvents.com piece "When political correctness collides with political correctness…" by Roger Hedgecock we can revel in a little comeuppance for the nemesis of common sense. Read on...

What happens when one politically correct notion collides with an opposite politically correct notion?  Disastrous chaos if you’re the pessimistic type, but hilarious comedy if you’re an irony fan.

Take the true story (dailymail.co.uk) of British feminist journalist Cinnamon Heathcote-Drury.

She was standing in line behind a Muslim couple at the supermarket check-out, incensed at the indifferent attitude of the Muslim husband as his hajib covered wife struggled to load their many groceries on the conveyor belt.

Cinnamon confronted the husband, demanding to know why he didn’t help his poor wife with the groceries.

When he ignored her, Cinnamon brushed by him to help the woman herself in solidarity with her oppressed sister. Cinnamon later said “this is what feminism’s all about–women helping women”.

Husband and wife called the cops and had Cinnamon arrested under Britain’s “hate crimes” law, charging her with interference with their religion.

Seems the Muslims believe that women should do all the work in the household (including grocery shopping) and that the only reason the Muslim husband was in the supermarket in the first place was to accompany his wife who, without him, could not go out in public at all.

What a hilarious confrontation.

The feminist journalist thought to bully the husband into acting in accordance with her politically correct feminist views.

The Muslim couple defended the politically correct thought (espoused by progressives everywhere) that no culture is superior to another and that they were protected by British law to practice any (to non-Muslims) misogyny Islam allows.

The politically correct Left gave the Muslim couple absolutely no reason to adapt to Western ways.  To the contrary, Cinnamon’s progressives have indoctrinated immigrants to believe that their culture is as good as any—and they continue to believe it is superior to any Western notion of culture.

In fact, the Muslim couple used the weakness in Cinnamon’s own culture to attack her by invoking the “hate crime” law!  LOL!

The jury returned a Not Guilty verdict, but I doubt Cinnamon will be confronting Muslim shoppers any time soon.

Surely we in the west don't understand (fathom actually) the Muslim attitude towards women, but we have basically told them and ourselves that all cultures are equally good. You are welcome to practice your culture as you see fit inside ours. If that's the PC view then what right does the woman have to impose her PC views of gender "equality" on the Muslims? 

What's next? Is she going to tell the Muslim man he must sit when he pees? No more standing urination for you. Oh yeah, its coming to a city council near you.



CW

How the Washington Post Survives: (Hint) Government subsidies

Not direct subsidies of course, but just the same, without them the paper would fold. What I'm talking about is a wholly owned subsidiary called Kaplan University. Kaplan is for-profit university similar to Capella University and the University of Phoenix with most of its 66,000 students studying online. The Washington Post bought Kaplan a decade ago in what now looks like an incredibly shrewd move. Kaplan accounted for 58 percent of the company's revenue — and it was profitable. In contrast, newspaper and magazine publishing accounted for only 19 percent of revenue, and those activities lost money. Barron's reports that the Washington Post Co. is worth about $8.5 billion — and $5 billion of that value is from Kaplan.

So, one of the country's most influential newspapers survives and Kaplan educates thousands, what could possibly be wrong with that?

Critics claim Kaplan operates vocational training programs that over enroll students using Federal loans that leave low-income student indebted and unemployed. A quick search online and one can easily find hundreds upon hundreds of complaints lodged against Kaplan for financial abuse and impropriety regarding student billing practices. Also, Kaplan is known to market directly to black single mothers with three children or more - that is what the training manuals for their telemarketers actually instruct them to do - as this is the demographic which defaults at the highest rate. Not coincidentally, they have one of the highest default rates of any such university, only about thirty percent of their enrollees actually earn a degree. Yet they still collect the full amount from the federal government. This is what is said to keep the Washington Post afloat.

With the Post Co. raking in the kind of money they get from an operation like this, you begin to understand that the newspaper is a mere sideline - a tax write-off. It's all a bit unseemly for a reputable guardian of the people - "the press" to operate an outfit like this. Some of this is just coming to light in the last few years as reports that their training manual's also directs their telemarketers to target returning Iraq and Afghanistan vets, because, basically, they're dupes with lots of government benefits to drain. It's been alleged more money, real estate, and staff are directed to their telemarketing operations, than to their actual educational faculty and operations. The allegations have some weight. "If you look at some of the reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission, you will see that the advertising budget is immense … on par and even sometimes exceeding the instructional costs of the institution," says David Hawkins, director of public policy and research at the National Association for College Admission Counseling.

There have been official investigations into specific Kaplan programs and like any operation with vested interest in getting government money they have deflected, obfuscated and misled their students and the government. In 2007 the Department of Education (DOE) began looking into the allegations of Title IV fraud on behalf of Kaplan. Suddenly, in late 2008, SurgeTech program curiously disappeared from Kaplan’s degree offerings even though it was one of the college’s most popular programs.  At the time the program vanished we now know state accrediting agencies were threatening to withdraw accreditation.

The program in question, one of their most profitable disappeared overnight. Interesting. Why? It seems that Kaplan knowingly, over a ten year period, misled by omission, prospective students, their accrediting body, and the U.S. DOE causing the government to approve tens of millions of dollars of Title IV student loans for a program that students would be unable to finish. All this based upon false data.

Meanwhile Kaplan, and their investors and shareholders skated to the bank on government subsidies and the Washington Post conveniently concealed the story.
The university system, both private and public have become a massive special interest group, whose actual interest is the government student loan gravy train. They overwhelmingly support Democrats and liberals who promise more and more government spending on "higher education". With one of the most important newspapers in the nation involved at this level we can be assured that reporting on abuse of the financial aid system will be squelched.

Guardians of the people huh, keeping the government honest. Yeah. But who is going to keep them honest?


CW

We Have Lost: It's a Tax! It's a Penalty!

A difference without a distinction

The Supreme Court lands another blow on the American people. I remember being dumbstruck by the Kelo Decision. In that landmark decision the Court ruled in favor of the City of New London, Connecticut which essentially acted as a strongman by seizing private property from one group of people (homeowners) for the benefit of a more powerful private interest (a giant pharmaceutical company). Ordinarily private property can only taken if there will be direct benefit to the public at large. The tragic irony is that the company never did build on the site - the economy tanked, remember.

In the case against the Affordable Care Act or Obama-Care I am not at all surprised the court ruled for the President's side. It remains to be seen if it will help or hurt the President's re-election chances, but this monstrosity will hurt the country as a whole. What may be constitutional is not necessarily good policy. You buy insurance or you pay a tax/penalty.

With these words the justification was found to allow the Affordable Care Act to stand in it's entirety... “Members of this Court are vested with the authority to interpret the law; we possess neither the expertise nor the prerogative to make policy judgements.  Those decisions are entrusted to our Nation’s elected leaders, who can be thrown out of office if the people disagree with them.  It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices.” (Chief Justice John Roberts, 27 Jun 2012)

So we move on.

Already 13000 pages of regulations have been written - but as yet not put into practice. The IRS will be hiring 800 new auditors immediately with a eventual goal of 16000. This is going to improve the health care system - even I can see that. However...


Medical schools are already seeing a dearth of new medical students. Why would any bright young person spend years training while racking up mountains of debt only to find they will be forced to become unionized government workers like postal carriers and teachers. Don't think that's the goal? It's time you wake up.

Somewhere in that ridiculous bill is a law against doctor owned hospitals. Does it matter at all to you that doctor owned hospitals and clinic systems have been the best run, most mistake free and successful health institutions in the country? The innovation that has given America the most dynamic and advanced health care stems from doctors and systems being allowed to take risks and chances on new therapies and procedures. This phenomenon is already being destroyed by just the fear this new law instills in corporate lawyers. Hospitals have begun forcing doctors to perform surgeries and procedures in a system-wide approved manner only. Innovation is already dying.

This and many other tragedies await us all if this monstrosity is allowed to stand. Of course you won't read or hear about these kinds of esoteric things. You'll only hear that the Republicans want to kick your ADULT child off your employer's health plan. You'll hear that Republicans want to deny insurance for all per-existing conditions and force 10 million people to use emergency rooms for their health care. Frankly that is as much the Republican's fault as it is the rascally media's. They need to clearly articulate a better plan, but they won't (because they're idiots).

We have lost. Don't kid yourself, this will bankrupt the country and the actual health care system will deteriorate - and you'll pay a lot more for it.




CW