Dedicated to the Lemmings of This Country

Following a ten-month "investigation", the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, otherwise known as the Warren Commission, released its 888-page final report on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to the public. This absolute abomination of a government report amazingly concluded that "the commission has found no evidence of conspiracy, subversion or disloyalty to the U.S. government by any federal, state or local official" in executing the assassination and, if this wasn't enough, that "[Lee Harvey Oswald] acted alone" in the murder of the President of the United States.

Led by Earl Warren, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, this disgrace of an investigating body shockingly determined that the bullets which killed President Kennedy and wounded Texas Gov. John Connally were fired by Oswald (and only Oswald) "from the sixth floor window at the southeast corner of the Texas School Book Depository". Oswald's life, including his three-year emigration to the Soviet Union and his supposed "renouncement" of his U.S. citizenship, was described in detail but the Warren Commission made absolutely no attempt to analyze his so-called "motives" for the assassination. And despite a great deal of evidence to the contrary, the Warren Commission also concluded that Jack Ruby, the nightclub owner who somehow murdered Oswald in the Dallas Police Headquarters on live television, had no previous contact with Oswald before that convenient day.

Despite the "official findings" of the Warren Commission, many intelligent individuals fortunately expressed their disbelief in the report. As a result, the House Select Committee on Assassinations determined in 1979 that President Kennedy was "probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy", with a "high probability" of "two gunmen". At the same time, neither the Warren Commission nor the House Select Committee on Assassinations did nearly enough to disclose the real truth to the American people.

Now while there are countless things wrong with the crazy nut and lone gunmen theory used by the U.S. government to frame Oswald, one quick look at the members of the Warren Commission tells you everything. Those individuals are as follows:

1. Warren (Republican): After ascending to the presidency following the assassination, the highly suspect Lyndon Johnson named Chief Justice Warren as the commission's Chairman.
2. Sen. John Cooper (R-KY)
3. Allen Dulles (Republican): Following the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion and various unsuccessful assassination attempts against Cuban President Fidel Castro, President Kennedy's mistrust of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) grew. As a result, Dulles, the Director of the CIA at the time, and his staff were forced to resign.
4. Rep. Gerald Ford (R-MI): The eventual thirty-eighth President of the United States believed in the lone gunman theory and had strong ties to the FBI and its Director, J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover personally directed the FBI investigation into the assassination of President Kennedy, who had considered firing Hoover on multiple occasions.
5. John McCloy: Initially sceptical of the lone gunman theory, McCloy curiously changed his opinion after accompanying Dulles on a trip to Dallas in 1964.
6. Arlen Specter: Serving in the United States Senate since 1981, Specter was recommended by Ford as an assistant counsel for the Warren Commission. Specter introduced the absurd "single bullet theory" to explain how the non-fatal wounds to President Kennedy and Connally were caused by the same bullet. (According to this ridiculous theory, the bullet passed through President Kennedy’s neck and Connally’s chest and wrist and then embedded itself in the Governor’s thigh. By doing so, this bullet would have traversed fifteen layers of clothing, seven layers of skin and approximately fifteen inches of tissue; struck a necktie knot; removed four inches of rib and shattered a radius bone, before being found in nearly pristine condition on a stretcher at Parkland Memorial Hospital, to which President Kennedy and Connally transported following the fateful events on November 22, 1963.)

The other two members of the Warren Commission, Rep. Hale Boggs (D-LA) and Sen. Richard Russell (D-GA), repeatedly voiced their concerns with the report released to the public. At least a small semblance of logic and sanity existed with some individuals closely associated with the assassination.

As If Being Abused Wasn't Difficult Enough...

Whether you agree or not with President Obama's health care bill, the enormity of what he is trying to accomplish should be blatantly obvious to even the densest of individuals. With that being said, because of the size and scale of this effort, certain aspects of this debate unfortunately get lost in the shuffle. However, as this drama plays out on stage right in front of this, a few of the villainous characters (and their unscrupulous behaviors) are coming out from underneath the shadows. Let's take a look at various aspects of this "performance":

Cast of Characters and some of their memorable quotes:
1. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN): "Thumbing their nose at the American people by ramming through a partisan bill would be the same thing as going to war without asking Congress' permission."
2. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC): "The federal government taking over a larger piece of the health care pie would be devastating long term to innovation and to the quality of care that the American people are accustomed to."
3. Sen. John Ensign (R-NV): When discussing the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Ensign remarked that "They get better health care than the average American citizen does".
4. Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY): "If I hadn't been involved in this process as long as I have and to the depth as I have, you would already have national health care...It's not where I get them to compromise, it's what I get them to leave out."
5. Former Sen. William Frist (R-TN): "Let's face it, in a country as productive and advanced as ours, every American deserves affordable access to health care delivered at the right time. And they don't have it today."
6. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH): "Health care affects each person in our country on a personal level. Here in New Hampshire and throughout our country, families are worried about whether they will be able to pay for routine care, such as doctor checkups or prescription medication, not to mention how they would pay for unexpected large medical costs, such as a life threatening illness or injury. They are concerned about how to afford staying healthy or how to cope with medical bills that could bankrupt their families."
7. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT): In a response letter to President Obama's speech on health care earlier this month, Hatch admitted that "No American should be denied coverage or care simply because of a pre-existing condition".
8. Sen. John Isakson (R-GA): "State or regional exchanges would not be allowed to discriminate based on pre-existing conditions." In Isakson's response letter to President Obama's address, he commented that "In Washington, the devil is always in the details".
9. Sen. Patrick Roberts (R-KS): From his web site, "Roberts believes guaranteeing access to health insurance for all Americans should include preventing health insurers from denying coverage for people with pre-existing conditions".
10. Sen. Jefferson Sessions (R-AL): From his campaign web site, "Access to quality health care represents a large and growing burden on the American people".

Storyline:
As you can see from the quotes above, these ten old and white members of Congress criticize President Obama's proposed plan to reform health care because they truly have the well being of all Americans in mind. However, I am starting to think otherwise. In 2006, Sen. Patricia Murray (D-WA), a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, proposed an amendment to the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act. The act itself was introduced "to expand health care access and reduce costs through the creation of small business health plans and through modernization of the health insurance marketplace". And the amendment, you ask? This little piece of legislation would have prohibited insurance companies from ignoring state laws providing protection to victims of domestic violence, specifically in regards to denying insurance coverage to those victims. Why is such an amendment necessary? Because in seven states (Idaho, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and Wyoming) and Washington, D.C., insurance companies are permitted to classify domestic violence as a pre-existing condition. An eighth state (North Carolina) forbids classifying domestic violence as a pre-existing condition for group insurance plans but not for individual or non-group plans.

It is important to point out that, according to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, domestic violence is one of the most powerful predictors of increased health care utilization. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that this serious public health issue affects more than thirty-two million Americans, or more than ten percent of the population. And although I certainly understand that men can be victims of domestic abuse, let's just take a look at the statistics on domestic violence against women for convenience sake. An estimated two to four million women are physically abused every year in the U.S., which translates into a woman being battered every eighteen seconds. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that women are about six times as likely as men to suffer violence from an intimate partner. Finally, the National Family Violence Surveys have reported that women experience a violent act by an intimate partner at an annual rate of 116 per every 1,000 women.

Plot Twist:
Despite the focus of the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act, the bill (and, in turn, the amendment regarding domestic violence) did not pass. The irony of the situation is that the original sponsor of the bill (Sen. Enzi) and several of the co-sponsors (Sen. Burr and Sen. Roberts) decided to vote against the legislation.

Quote of the Day

"The modern patriotism, the true patriotism, the only rational patriotism is loyalty to the nation ALL the time, loyalty to the government when it deserves it." -- Mark Twain

While this quote can definitely be applied to certain members of the three current branches of government, it goes without saying that this statement from Twain would have been a perfect theme to the previous eight years.

Liar of the Week

Former President Jimmy Carter is being criticized by Republicans for his comments this week regarding the vehement but cowardly attacks on President Obama. When specifically addressing the outburst by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) during President Obama's televised speech on health care reform before Congress a week ago, Carter stated that Wilson's scream of "You lie!" is "based on racism and...an inherent feeling among many in this country that an African-American should not be President". While the White House is distancing themselves from Carter's remarks, Michael Steele, the Chairman of the Republican National Committee, described the comments as "disingenuous and...just wrongheaded". I should point out Wilson did "apologize" for his outburst during President Obama's speech, expressing that "While I disagree with the President's statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable". Well, let's take a few minutes and examine different aspects of this whole situation:

1. Wilson's accusation that President Obama was lying in his speech when he stated the health care reforms he is proposing would not apply to those individuals "who are here illegally".
Truth: The H.R. 3200 bill specifically states that this legislation will not "allow federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States".

2. Wilson's interruption of the President of the United States with the added perception that Wilson himself has always opposed health care for illegal immigrants.
Truth: Wilson actually voted in 2003 for the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act, which mandates that the federal government must reimburse "hospitals, physicians and ambulance providers...for their otherwise unreimbursed costs of providing services and...related hospital inpatient, outpatient and ambulance services...furnished to undocumented aliens, aliens paroled into the U.S. at a U.S. port of entry for the purpose of receiving such services and Mexican citizens permitted temporary entry to the U.S. with a laser visa".

3. Wilson's interruption of the President of the United States as an attempt to show that he is a champion of health care for all U.S. citizens.

• Wilson was rated 11% by the American Public Health Association, indicating an anti-public health voting record.
• Wilson voted against (1) putting mental health on par with physical health, (2) extending health insurance to six million more children, (3) requiring negotiated prescription prices for senior citizens on Medicare and (4) permitting the re-importation of prescription drugs.
• He voted for limiting (1) prescription drug benefits for Medicare recipients and (2) antitrust lawsuits against health plans and insurance providers.

4. Wilson's superb voting records on issues other than health care.

• Wilson has voted on legislation against (1) abortion, (2) allowing voting by stockholders on executive compensation, (3) increasing the minimum wage, (4) investing in homegrown biofuel, (5) prohibiting employer discrimination based on sexual orientation, (6) requiring warrants for wiretaps conducted in the U.S., (7) restricting no-bid defense contracts, (8) revitalizing distressed public housing, (9) stem cell research, (10) tax incentives for renewable energy and energy production and conservation and (11) $84 million in grants for black and Hispanic colleges.
• He has supported legislation to (1) authorize the construction of new oil refineries; (2) ban a gun registration and trigger lock law in Washington, D.C.; (3) deauthorize critical habitats for endangered species; (4) grant retroactive immunity to the telecommunications companies conducting warrantless surveillance on the American public; (5) permanently enact the PATRIOT Act; (6) prohibit same sex marriage and (7) restrict independent grassroots political committees.

5. Alan Wilson, the Congressman's son, and his attempts to paint a picture that his father is not racist.
Truth: Despite the younger Wilson remarking that "There is not a racist bone in my dad's body. He doesn't even laugh at distasteful jokes.", there are some instances in the father's past and present which may prove otherwise.

• In his earlier years, Wilson served as an aide to former Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC), who was infamous for his prejudicial views towards African-Americans. As a matter of fact, Thurmond, among his many quotes, once uttered that "There's not enough troops in the Army to force the Southern people to break down segregation and admit the Nigra race into our theaters, into our swimming pools, into our homes and into our churches".
• As a member of the South Carolina Senate, Wilson was one of only seven individuals in April 2000 to vote in favor of keeping the flag of the Confederacy flying over the State House. Wilson defended his vote by stating that "The Southern heritage, the Confederate heritage is very honorable".
• Wilson has been a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV), an organization comprised of male descendants of soldiers and sailors who served the Confederacy during the Civil War. In more recent years, some of the more vocal members of this group have expressed interest into transforming the SCV into "a modern, twenty-first century Christian war machine capable of uniting the Confederate community and leading it to ultimate victory".

This Unforgettable and Unfortunate Day in History

At 8:46AM on a clear and sunny Tuesday morning in 2001, American Airlines Flight 11, carrying ninety-two individuals (including five hijackers) and loaded with ten thousand gallons of jet fuel, crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City at a speed of approximately 466 miles per hour. The airplane left a gaping and burning hole between the 93rd and 99th floors of the 110-story skyscraper, instantly killing hundreds of people and trapping hundreds more in the floors above the point of impact. As the evacuation of the North Tower continued, a second airplane, United Airlines Flight 175, turned sharply towards the World Trade Center and then, just sixteen minutes after the North Tower was struck, sliced into the South Tower between the 77th and 85th floors. Traveling at approximately 545 miles per hour, five more hijackers killed the other sixty individuals on board and caused an explosion which showered debris on the surrounding buildings and the streets below.

As millions nationwide watched the horror of the events unfolding on television, American Airlines Flight 77 circled over Washington, D.C. and slammed into the west side of the Pentagon at 9:37AM. Fuel from the Boeing 757 created a large inferno, causing a portion of the building to collapse. All told, 125 military personnel and civilians were killed in the Pentagon, along with all 64 individuals aboard the airplane (including six hijackers).

Less than fifteen minutes after the terrorists attacked the Pentagon, the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed in a massive cloud of dust and smoke. Designed to withstand winds in excess of two hundred miles per hour and a large conventional fire, could not endure the tremendous heat generated by the burning jet fuel. And then, at 10:28AM, the North Tower collapsed.

Meanwhile, a fourth and final aircraft, United Flight 93, was hijacked by four terrorists approximately forty minutes after taking off from Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, NJ. Because the airplane's departure had been delayed, passengers on board were aware of the tragic events in New York City and Washington, D.C. through the use of cell phones and Airfones. They were, therefore, also aware of the terrible fate awaiting them so a group of passengers and flight attendants decided to revolt against the hijackers. Following the passengers' suspected attack on the hijackers in the cockpit with a fire extinguisher, the plane flipped over and sped towards the ground at close to five hundred miles per hour. Believed to be ultimately targeting, among other locations, either the White House or the United States Capitol, the airplane eventually crashed in a rural field in western Pennsylvania at 10:03AM, killing all forty-four individuals on board, including the terrorists.

Some of the nineteen terrorists had lived in the United States for more than a year and had actually taken flying lessons at American commercial flight schools. Utilizing knives and box cutters easily smuggled through security checkpoints at three airports on the East Coast, these despicable individuals commandeered the four planes shortly after takeoff on September 11 and, by doing so, transformed the ordinary commuter airplanes into guided missiles.

In total, 2,995 people died in the attacks on September 11, including 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York City police officers, 37 Port Authority police officers and 8 additional emergency medical technicians and paramedics from private EMS units. Cantor Fitzgerald, an investment bank located on the 101st–105th floors of One World Trade Center, lost 658 employees, a staggering amount much higher than any other company. Almost ten thousand other individuals were treated for injuries, many of them severe.

Mr. Bush addressed the nation from the Oval Office that same evening at approximately 8:30PM, stating that "We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them". Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S. led international effort to remove the Taliban regime in Afghanistan from power and destroy Osama bin Laden's terrorist network, began on October 7. However, fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan continues, bin Laden is still at large and it has been 2,325 days since Mr. Bush declared "Mission accomplished".

Whew, That Was a Close One

During the last two weeks, so much of the country has been engrossed in the debate surrounding President Obama's address on Tuesday to the nation's students. And after taking a couple of days to rewatch the video and read the transcript of the speech (http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/academic/bts.html), I can certainly understand why conservative parents and politicians alike were opposed to President Obama talking directly to their children concerning the importance of education. Just take a look at the following excerpts and you will immediately see the socialism seeping through:

• "Every single one of you has something that you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide."
• "Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you because, here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future."
• When discussing earlier struggles that Michael Jordan and J.K. Rowling faced earlier in life, President Obama remarked: "These people succeeded because they understood that you can't let your failures define you -- you have to let your failures teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently the next time."
• "Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength because it shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something and that then allows you to learn something new."

Yes, he truly is evil incarnate. With a speech like that, it is clearly obvious that he was pushing his socialist agenda onto individuals with an attention span of a Jack Russell Terrier. Sarcasm aside, it was nice to see that Newt Gingrich had this to say about President Obama's address: "It’s a good speech. I recommend it to everybody if you have any doubts. I'd love to have every child in America read it, think about it and learn that they should stay in school and they should study." It was even nicer to see Jim Greer, the Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida who previously claimed that President Obama was attempting to "indoctrinate America's children" prior to the speech even being delivered, was then in favor of the address after reading the text. In fact, Greer declared that "It’s a good speech. It encourages kids to stay in school and the importance of education and I think that’s what a president should do when they’re gonna talk to students across the country." Last but not least, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), the former United States Secretary of Education under President George H.W. Bush, stated "I’m glad that the President has spoken to the schoolchildren of this country".

Update: Education Is Such a Pain in the Ass

Even before the White House decided on Friday afternoon to release the text of President Obama's speech later today on education in advance, even more school districts nationwide persisted in succumbing to the pressure from Republican politicians and conservative parents alike. This includes Henrico County Public Schools, one of the school districts in my local area. Henrico County Public Schools added a statement on its web site on Friday afternoon which declared that President Obama's speech could be shown live as long as the teachers first contacted the parents. In other words, teachers would be required to contact the parent(s) for each student (1) at the last minute, (2) over the course of a long holiday weekend and (3) before the first day of classes. Regardless of the level of support a teacher may show to President Obama and his speech, he/she should not be expected to contact each student on their last free weekend before the start of the school year. (Which is exactly why this cowardly district announced this policy when they did.)

Those same critics of President Obama's speech also continued their lies regarding the list of suggested classroom activities provided to schools last week. They do so by claiming the outline for pre-kindergarten to sixth grade students instructs those children to read books on President Obama prior to the speech. This is completely untrue. What the document does, in fact, recommend is that "Teachers can build background knowledge about the President of the United States and his speech by reading books about Presidents and Barack Obama". As you can see, not only does the suggestion specifically mention teachers but it also speaks to reading books about Presidents as a whole.

A Speech From a President Well Overdue

At the recent Centennial Convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), President Obama delivered an incredibly moving and impassioned speech, even for him. The full video and transcript can be accessed at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/31951708#31951708 and http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-to-the-NAACP-Centennial-Convention-07/16/2009/, respectively. (It is unfortunate to say that President Obama is the only President to date who could deliver such a speech.) With that being said, the following excerpts are just some of the extremely memorable moments of his address:

• When speaking about the founders of the Civil Rights Movement, President Obama stated that those individuals realized change "would come from men and women of every age and faith and every race and region -- taking Greyhounds on Freedom Rides, sitting down at Greensboro lunch counters, registering voters in rural Mississippi; knowing they would be harassed, knowing they would be beaten, knowing that some of them might never return".
• "Because ordinary people did such extraordinary things, because they made the Civil Rights Movement their own, even though there may not be a plaque or their names might not be in the history books -- because of their efforts, I made a little trip to Springfield, IL a couple years ago -- where [President Abraham] Lincoln once lived and race riots once raged -- and began the journey that has led me to be here tonight as the forty-fourth President of the United States of America."
• "What's required today -- what's required to overcome today's barriers is the same as what was needed then. The same commitment. The same sense of urgency. The same sense of sacrifice. The same sense of community. The same willingness to do our part for ourselves and one another that has always defined America at its best and the African-American experience at its best."
• "The pain of discrimination is still felt in America. By African-American women paid less for doing the same work as colleagues of a different color and a different gender. By Latinos made to feel unwelcome in their own country. By Muslim Americans viewed with suspicion simply because they kneel down to pray to their God. By our gay brothers and sisters, still taunted, still attacked, still denied their rights."
• "The African-American community will still fall behind in the United States and the United States will fall behind in the world unless we do a far better job than we have been doing of educating our sons and daughters."
• "There are overcrowded classrooms and crumbling schools and corridors of shame in America filled with poor children -- not just black children, brown and white children as well. The state of our schools is not an African-American problem; it is an American problem. Because if black and brown children cannot compete, then America cannot compete."
• "We need a new mindset, a new set of attitudes -- because one of the most durable and destructive legacies of discrimination is the way we've internalized a sense of limitation; how so many in our community have come to expect so little from the world and from themselves."
• "They might think they've got a pretty good jump shot or a pretty good flow but our kids can't all aspire to be LeBron [James] or Lil Wayne. I want them aspiring to be scientists and engineers -- doctors and teachers -- not just ballers and rappers. I want them aspiring to be a Supreme Court Justice. I want them aspiring to be the President of the United States of America."
• While discussing his recent trip to Ghana with his family, President Obama remarked: "I was reminded that no matter how bitter the rod, how stony the road, we have always persevered. We have not faltered, nor have we grown weary. As Americans, we have demanded and strived for and shaped a better destiny. And that is what we are called on to do once more."
• "If three civil rights workers in Mississippi -- black, white, Christian and Jew, city born and country bred -- could lay down their lives in freedom's cause, I know we can come together to face down the challenges of our own time."
• "And one hundred years from now, on the two hundredth anniversary of the NAACP -- let it be said that this generation did its part; that we too ran the race; that full of faith that our dark past has taught us, full of the hope that the present has brought us -- we faced, in our lives and all across this nation, the rising sun of a new day begun."

Paranoia of the Week

As we all know, numerous Republicans (and even various Democrats) do not fully support President Obama's health care plan and, in turn, have issues with multiple aspects of the legislation. With this particular posting, I wanted to address a specific section in the House of Representatives version, a section towards which those opponents are truly taking an alarmist's view. When addressing the establishment of a national medical device registry by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the H.R. 3200 bill states this registry will "facilitate the analysis of postmarket safety and outcomes data on each device that (A) is or has been used in or on a patient and (B) is a Class III device or a Class II device that is implantable, life supporting or life sustaining".

The concerns being incorrectly raised by certain individuals are not so much about the registry but the actual devices themselves. With that being said, let's address the section cited above. First and foremost, the national medical device registry would include "claims data, patient survey data, standardized analytic files that allow for the pooling and analysis of data from disparate data environments, electronic health records and any other data deemed appropriate".

The proposed registry certainly seems to be an extremely valuable tool, especially considering the fact that data would contain information from Class III devices. Class III devices are defined by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as either "(1) life supporting or life sustaining, (2) for a use which is of substantial importance in preventing impairment of human health or (3) presenting a potential unreasonable risk of illness or injury". Those types of devices include brain stimulators, heart pacemakers, intrabone implants, replacement heart valves and silicone filled breast implants.

Now where the alarmists start to come out of the woodwork is the portion concerning Class II devices. Designated as such due to their need for special labeling requirements, mandatory performance standards and postmarket surveillance, Class II devices are typically non-invasive and include acupuncture needles, gas analyzers, infusion pumps, medical imaging machines, physiologic monitors, powered wheelchairs, surgical drapes and surgical needles and suture materials. However, since the FDA approved and classified an "implantable radiofrequency transponder system for patient identification and health information" as a Class II device in January 2005, critics of the current administration's health care bill are claiming that these transponder systems will be utilized by President Obama to provide U.S. citizens with the "mark of the beast" (as described by at least one white supremacist web site).

Am I saying that these transponder systems will not be a possibility in the future? Of course not. I am also not saying that I would be the first in line to volunteer for one to be implanted under my skin. At the same time, I would not oppose the implant either, especially if the new information technology involved with the process would both improve the secured access of medical records and reduce health care costs. With that in mind, many Americans continue to condemn President Obama without taking just a couple of minutes to look into the annals of the previous eight years. Under the Bush administration, all new U.S. passports issued in October 2006 and beyond were (and still are) equipped with radio frequency ID (RFID) chips which can transmit personal information, such as the name, date and place of birth, gender, nationality and a digitized photograph of the passport holder. Also during the Bush presidency, the United States Department of Agriculture implemented a program intended the extend animal health surveillance by identifying and tracking specific animals (including most livestock species, various wild game and certain species of fish) through the use of RFID tags. Last but not least, when the aforementioned "implantable radiofrequency transponder system" was approved by the FDA, the Department of Health and Human Services (which oversees the FDA) was headed by Secretary Tommy Thompson. The technology, manufactured by VeriChip Corp. (a subsidiary of Applied Digital Solutions), was officially approved in January 2005 and Thompson left his Cabinet post two weeks later. Less than six months later, Thompson was appointed as a compensated member of the Board of Directors of VeriChip and Applied Digital Solutions. And just when you thought you had heard it all, Thompson almost immediately announced that he was planning on having one of the transponder systems from VeriChip injected into his arm. (In true Tommy Thompson fashion, he never went through with the actual procedure.) However, just four days after it was announced he was joining the Board of Directors of both companies, Thompson had some very interesting things to say about the technology (things that apparently everyone has since forgotten) during an interview with CBS MarketWatch:

• "All you have to do is run a wand over [the chip] and will then bring up your medical records. So it's very beneficial and it's going to be extremely helpful and it's a giant step forward to getting what we call an electronic medical record for all Americans."
• "There will be no encroachment on privacy, there won't be any adverse impact on the arm or tissue. And so it's really, very -- it's a failsafe kind of system."
• "You can also do it to replace dog tags with the United States Armed Forces."
• "The whole health care industry is way behind in technology and this is going to give that, really that impetus, to get the changing, the transformation which I call, that's badly needed in our health care system. Ninety-eight thousand people died last year because of mistakes in hospitals, in clinics, by doctors and other providers. And the chip philosophy, the chip procedure and technology, can help to prevent a lot of those untimely deaths and a lot of those mistakes and that's why I'm so excited about it."

Education Is Such a Pain in the Ass

As President Obama plans to address the nation's school children and youth (pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade) on Tuesday, Republicans and conservative parents throughout the country are, for some reasons probably unclear even to themselves, complaining about the online and televised speech. Describing President Obama's 15-20 minute address as "very socialistic", "an underhanded tactic", "a form of indoctrination" and "indicative of the culture that the Obama administration is trying to create", many of those parents are demanding that school officials allow their children to participate in alternate activities (which probably means keeping them at home for their own form of indoctrination).

Despite the fact that President Obama's speech is intended to be an inspirational and pro-education message. these Fathers and Mothers of the Year are objecting to the language in the list of suggested classroom activities before, during and following the address for students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. For example, "What do you think the President wants us to do?" and "Are we able to do what President Obama is asking of us?". So much for "Ask now what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." With all of that being said, the following is just a short list of the other aspects of this story which both amuse and infuriate me:

• Another section of the outline for students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade that these lunatic parents took issue is the suggestion of writing "letters to themselves about what they can do to help the President". To themselves? What is the harm in that? The White House eventually caved and changed the language in that suggestion to writing letters about "how they can achieve their short term and long term education goals". With a little research, the Obama administration would have realized that this concession was clearly a mistake. Why? President Obama is certainly not the first President to speak directly to the country's school children and youths. President George H.W. Bush delivered an address in 1991 to students nationwide from a junior high school in Washington, D.C. In fact, President Bush began his speech by stating "Thanks for allowing me to visit your classroom to talk to you...and millions more in classrooms all across the country". At the conclusion of his speech, Bush requested of the students: "Write me a letter -- and I'm serious about this one -- write me a letter about ways you can help us achieve our goals." Sound familiar? Yes, expect this request wasn't for the students to write letters to themselves.
• In a wildly incorrect accusation, Jim Greer, the Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, uttered that, in President Obama's attempt to "indoctrinate America's children to his socialist agenda", "school children across our nation will be forced to watch the President justify his plans for government run health care, banks and automobile companies; increasing taxes on those who create jobs and racking up more debt than any other President". When asked by POLITICO.com to provide any sort of basis for Greer's comments, the Republican Party of Florida was, not surprisingly, unable to offer any type of support to that effect.
• In the areas of Virginia in which I live and work, things aren't any better. Betsy Overkamp-Smith, the spokesperson for the York County School Division, remarked that "We've had quite a few complaints about it. None of the comments have been, 'I think this is a great idea'." District officials with the Chesterfield County Public Schools commented that "We do not wish to interfere with our staff's ability to repeat past opening day successes".

Seriously? Do these whining parents and politicians really believe that, in a 15-20 minute speech, President Obama can brainwash our nation's students in less time than it takes to deliver a pizza? (Well, if he did accomplish that major feat, it would be the fault of the parents, not President Obama.) It is astonishing that these all of a sudden perfect parents are completely against the President of the United States addressing our school children and youth. Maybe they would be more comfortable with the situation if President Obama delivered the address either (1) as a character in a video game, (2) while trying to escape from the killer in the "Saw" movies or (3) while riding in a shopping cart with the cast from "Jackass". I'm sure their sons and daughters would.