They Are NOT Astroturfing, Serial Protesters

I saw a survey in a recent Time Magazine (8-10-09 page 26) that asked about how people feel about their current health care plans.

The most shocking statistic that I saw was that 86% of the people in this survey "Are Satisfied With Their Current Health Care Plan".

86% in polling is a whopper of a statistic. I'll bet that less than 86% of people agree that Tiger Woods is a good golfer, Michael Jackson was a good dancer, Megan Fox is hot or know who the past three Presidents of the USA were.

How could the Obama/Democrat controlled Federal Government think that changing a plan that 86% of people are satisfied with was going to be easy?

While I was living on the North Shore of Oahu, I first heard about "Serial Protesters" from a blogger that I followed. Serial Protesters referred to a group of people who seemed to be at every left wing demonstration. It was as if the events were part of their social calendar or how they added to their weekend income. Global warming, Hawaiian rights, any pro Union event, no development/pro development, gay marriage, no Bush, Yes We Can, you name it. The protesters showed up in air conditioned buses with professionally made signs, trailed by previously alerted media, state of the art audio systems, choreographed marches & chants and catered meals after the scheduled protest ended. There was no doubt that these people knew the drill.

The protesters I am seeing at Town Hall meetings across the county are very angry, white, middle/old aged, moderate income, never protested in their life, amateur agitators. The Democrat leadership is calling these citizens "astro turfing, tea bagging, brown shirted, Nazi, stooges of the insurance companies, blind followers of radio programs".

The Democrats are ignoring the obvious at their own peril. 86% of the people are satisfied with a program that the Democrats want to blow up. It really is almost impossible to change that many people's opinions.

I think older, white, rural, middle income people who are 86% (possibly higher for this group) satisfied with their health coverage are not being loaded on to buses, going to Town Hall meetings, foisting ill prepared signs, screaming until they get dragged off by the local police all because their INSURANCE COMPANIES ARE MAKING THEM DO IT.

These protesters are real grass roots people with fear that the same people who run the Post Office/DMV/CashForClunkers might decide about their health care.

To listen to the Democrats, the peeved people are being bussed in, paid, fed, given signs, taught songs & marching skills by the AFLAC duck.

My LTTE To Time Magazine Re Being In The Tank For The Democrats.

I just sent my first Letter to the Editor (LTTE) to Time Magazine after reading their cover story about what ails Las Vegas. Text is below:


Subject: My first LTTE to Time from a 35 year plus subscriber/reader.

When Barney Frank and President Obama both lectured corporate America not to waste money on travel to Las Vegas the effects were immediate, long lasting and devastating. Hundreds of thousands of room nights were cancelled, millions more were probably not booked and thousands of people lost their jobs as a direct result of their ill advised remarks. The Democrat controlled federal government has done great damage to the Las Vegas economy. Ask anyone who sells hotel rooms for a living and they will let you know how much the talking down of the hospitality industry has hurt their business. In fear of embarrassment or incurring the disapproval of the Obama administration, corporations that had booked travel cancelled their trips even though their forfeited deposits on rooms, banquets, airfares etc just about equaled the amount of money they would have spent if they went to Vegas. Who lost out? The workers who would have cleaned the rooms, served the food, gotten the tips and kept their jobs.

Yet, Time does a cover story, 8 full pages and 4,000 plus words and Joel Stein does not write a single sentence about what devastation Frank and Obama caused. I enjoy Stein, I even stomached his entire placenta eating article. Someone this aware simply must have chosen to ignore this administration's negative impact on this city.

Come on guys, at least give us the impression you are not totally in the tank for the Democrat agenda.

I'm 51, I've been a subscriber and reader since I was 14. I've long accepted Time's take on either side of an issue. Time's opinion is part of the reason I will continue to subscribe, probably till death do us part. But this omission of fact is so blatant and egregious, that it has caused me to write my first LTTE to Time.

What's Wrong With California's Gas?

Last summer we moved from the North Shore of Oahu to San Diego. We shipped two vehicles a van and a Lexus RX 330.

Last year, two families who are good friends of ours also moved to California and they also shipped two vehicles each.

I used to get around 380 miles per tank. 16 or so gallons, 23-24 miles per gallon. As soon as I started filling up my tank here my mileage dropped about 25%. I now get about 300 miles per tank 18-19 miles per gallon.

I don't drive too much, maybe an average of a tank a week. Very conservatively, I'm paying about $12 a week more - about $600 more a year, could be a $1,000. My wife has experienced the same drop off in mileage so for our family, we are spending probably about $1,500 - $2.000 more a year on gas here based on the same price per gallon, just more because the gas here in California is less efficient than the blend they sell in Hawaii. The same thing has happened to our friends who moved their vehicles here as well.

If I were not lazy, I'd figure out the next question - why am I getting 25% less mileage in California than Hawaii? I am definitely driving on the freeway more here so all things equal, I should get better mileage.

I know that the formulation of gas here is meant to lessen pollution. But, if the gas is anything less than 25% less polluting, I am actually creating more pollution driving with the gas that is meant to cause less pollution.

Are you following me?

The INTENTION of California trying to create less pollution by using a different formulated gas, MIGHT BE CREATING MORE POLLUTION AND COSTING ALL OF US A HECK OF A LOT MORE MONEY. I guess I should skip the ALL CAPS until I know the answer to the efficiency question but right now, I am going to guess the math does not work - (my conservative instincts.)

This gas thing seems wasteful, best intentioned, poorly executed and something that should be an easy measurement and an easy fix.

Anyone out there know what the scoop is?

I've invented a new word - Poligotry

I've been asking my wife, my children, my best friend and his family for a word or a phrase that captures my perception of a new type behavior that closely resembles the bigotry, sexism and phobias of past generations.

This new irrational hatred or fear is not based on some physical characteristic, sexual orientation, race, religion, etc. It is solely based on an individuals political party.

Both sides of the political spectrum are guilty of this affliction.

There was no word or phrase to firmly implant this behaviour in the lexicon of uniquely American descriptors. These include Baby Boomer, Gen X, Dead Head, Racist, Sexist, Bigot, Homophobe, Right Wing Nutjob, Left Wing Looney.

Here is my attempt:

Poligotry - contempt, hatred, rage toward another person solely based on their political preference. It causes intelligent people to say hateful, hurtful, stupid things about people simply because they do not agree with them politically.


I was having a discussion with my very good friend Liz, who I genuinely love. I was asking her about a word that describes this hatred. I brought up someone who is hated by Democrats, but is extremely accomplished - Condelezza Rice. I said she is given no credit for attaining her position as a Repulican woman. Even though the discussion was about the word I was looking for she spat out "Condelezza Rice is an idiot". I pointed out she was the Provost of Stanford, highest ranking black government official ever (at the time), woman, etc. But it did not matter, she was just another Republican idiot. I said, this is not a political discussion but a discussion about a word that is about politics. I could not get her back on track. Every time I mentioned a person who was accomplished who was a minority, she got very agitated and started blasting the person I was using as an example. I was staring at the soul of poligotry.

Oprah Winfrey refuses to have Clarence Thomas, a Supreme Court Justice, a black man, a best selling author on her show because he is a conservative Ditto Sarah Palin - her face should be in the Wiki for poligotry (Sarah I mean).

The left wings refusal to give kudos to Elizabeth Dole, Condeleza Rice, Alberto Gonzales, Sandra Dey O'Conner, Clarence Thomas, Colin Powell (until he endorsed Obama) for their accomplishments as minorities, simply because they do not agree with them politically.

The right wing refusal to to give kudos to Hillary Clinton, Michael Moore, Al Gore, Rosie O'Donnel for their accomplishments , simply because they do not agree with them politically.

Remember the infamous statement by Pauline Kael, writer for the New Yorker, after Richard Nixon won 49 states in a huge landslide over McGovern, when she said “I don’t know how this happened, I don’t know anyone who voted for Nixon.” I love that quote, it says so much about our polarization.

Intelligent people are looking at the world and not even remotely seeing the same thing.

As I read through my daily round of blogs I am struck yet again by the stark differences in liberal vs. conservative views of the world. Not just differences of opinion about what SHOULD be, but differences of opinion about what IS, each side being convinced that the other is delusional and hating them for it.

Poligotry is an ugly word and ugly behaviour.