From the Left to the Right

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Mark A. Cohen is represented at AKA Literary by Agent Terrie Wolf. This page scrolls through authors whose last names begin with either an A, B, or C. You can either wait, or click on his name there.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Wisconsin Story

Feb. 20-21, 2011

Former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), set off a firestorm when she described dozens of Tea Party protesters across the U.S.A. by saying, "They’re carrying swastikas and symbols like that to a town meeting on healthcare." Some reporters and pundits used the pejorative term, "Tea Baggers" for the Tea Party people and implied they were a bunch of right-wing extremists, intent on no good. In general, liberals agreed with Pelosi and the Democrats, but conservatives defended the Tea Party demonstrators. The latter claimed the protests were peaceful and that no single demonstrator carried a swastika. It was difficult, if not impossible to find a nasty sign, or an angry protester while watching news stories on the subject. But, left-wing blog sites backed up their defense of Pelosi by finding a couple of photos which proved there were indeed such signs present at some of the rallies. Next, Tea Party organizers claimed they had nothing to do with the signs.

What should we believe? As a right-winger I tell you that the Health Care debate had nothing to do with Nazism. If there were a couple of nuts in the Tea Party crowd using such comparisons, I condemn them. On the other hand, how do we know the signs weren't planted there by left-wingers who could have easily slipped into the crowd? If true, is it possible that they wanted to make the Tea Party look bad?

Fast forward to the recent, pro-labor protests in Wisconsin's state capitol, Madison, over a bill introduced by Governor Walker (R-WI), which called for a reduction in teacher's benefits and a limit to their right to collective bargaining. Clearly one can hear chanting in nearly every report, and see nasty signs from every angle. Many of the posters called the governor imperial, and several likened him to the recently deposed dictator, Hosni Mubarak, of Egypt. They labeled Walker a king, an emperor, a fascist dictator, Hitler, and called him the 'b' word, a turd, and clueless. It's easy to see that these protesters are far more hateful than the Tea Party crowd. Yet, neither Republicans, conservatives, libertarians, nor Tea Partiers tried to silence them, or tried to make them look bad. They did that job well - all by themselves! Teachers are supposed to be role models for students, but they were shown obtaining falsified doctor's notes from doctors who were also heard criticizing the governor. Teachers and doctors collaborated to fake illnesses. If learning is the all-important aspect here, what will the students learn from this?

Sarah Palin used targets in a political campaign, and this angered many on the left, yet there were signs in the Wisconsin rally with the very same target symbol super-imposed over Republican Governor Walker's face with the word 'Reload' over it. I saw one which said, 'Up Yours, Walker, Not Ours' and one with the false generalization, 'Why do Republicans Hate People?' And, where were the Democratic State Senators during the crucial Senate debate over Walker's controversial bill? The upstanding lawmakers were holding up state government by hiding out in a hotel in Illinois!

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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

The Great Disguise

Written : Nov. 2, 2010, and Jan. 3-4, 18, and 25, 2011

Liberals say they abhor what they call "the Archie Bunker mentality of bigotry and pig-headedness." And yet, Helen Thomas, a self-proclaimed liberal reporter, said on June 4, 2010, that the Jews should "get the hell out of Palestine," and go back to Germany and Poland. Liberals have always preached that they are the most open-minded of people, but Thomas once said she didn’t have any idea how anyone could ever have a philosophy other than a liberal one. But, of course, how could anyone think differently? (Hold finger horizontally over mouth… moustache!)

Liberals used to stand up for freedom of the press (as expressed in the first amendment to our Constitution). Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), (picture him with a beard), said the following this past November, “We need new catalysts for quality news and entertainment programming. I hunger for quality news. I’m tired of the right and the left. There’s a little bug inside of me which wants the FCC to say to Fox and to MSNBC, ‘Out. Off. End. Good-bye.’ This [the stifling of free expression] “would be a big favor to political discourse; to our ability to do our work here in Congress; and to the American people, to be able to talk with each other and have some faith in their government and, more importantly, in their future." In addition, left-wing National Public Radio (NPR) fired pundit Juan Williams for saying what was on his mind on FOX news. It seems that instead of supporting free speech, liberals are now champions of censorship.

It was suggested by Al Sharpton that former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) made a racist comment when he spoke last week about President Obama’s suggestion that answering questions about abortion were above his paygrade. Santorum referred to a statement in the U.S. Constitution regarding slaves being counted as three fifths of a person. Comparing it to the ‘when does life begin’ question, the former Pennsylvania Senator merely said that blacks should be particularly sensitive when declarations are made about which groups of people are considered people and which are not. Some liberals slam comments like Santorum’s, but they can say nearly anything without suffering any consequence. For example, during the 2010 campaign, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), (climbing into Red Riding Hood’s bed), said, ”I don’t know how anyone of Hispanic origin could be a Republican.” No one in our liberal media batted an eye!

(And, they hide behind a curtain…) Liberals say they favor openness and transparency, and yet Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said of the Health Care bill, "... You have to pass the bill to see what's in it..." Voila!

Well-meaning Americans, who want their country to stop spending money it doesn’t have, demonstrated peacefully all over this country in 2010. So, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (wearing some strange mask,) said this of the Tea Party: "I think they’re Astroturf… You be the judge. "They’re carrying swastikas and symbols like that to a town meeting on healthcare." But they didn’t do any such thing.

Perhaps you believe that liberals are as open-minded as they’ve proclaimed. Or, were you tricked by their disguise, as I once was?

For more information about Mark A. Cohen, see The Castle Rock, CO Gathering Place, Writer of the Month for Nov. 2010

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Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Grover Norquist, Part II

Written : Dec. 7, 2010

…continued from last week…

The spectacular appearance of Grover Norquist on Washington Journal on Dec. 5, 2010 is worth discussing some more. He said that President Obama’s so-called stimulus package cost $800 billion, which led to higher unemployment, lower growth, and made the economy worse. How can you disagree?

Host Pedro Echevarria said the New York Times recently listed how much extending the Bush Tax Cuts could cost - and what it might yield for the U.S. if not extended. Each household over $250K would get an extra $25K annually if continued, while if the cuts expire, the Government would receive about $60 billion in revenue. The NYT suggested the $60 billion could buy - for example - a tripling of federal funding for research, or universal pre-school for 3- and 4-year-olds, or a much bigger troop surge in Afghanistan, etc. Mr. Echevarria asked Grover Norquist to respond.

The founder of Americans for Tax Reform surprised me with a little more excitement. “I don’t care what greedy politicians [want to do with] your income!” He then said that the NYT and the federal government play God and they think we’re wasting our money on our families. Norquist argued that we could spend it better. “The whole idea of the Tea Party was: You know what, Washington, you can’t spend my money better than I can and second of all, it’s not your money!”

Mr. Norquist continued, “The King wants the peasant’s money and he thinks the peasants are wasting it… It’s not the King’s money, it’s the American peoples’ money. We don’t have peasants in this country: We are citizens. …The nerve of the New York Times to announce: ‘Let me walk through your house and take things out...’ It’s not their job!”

Grover Norquist concluded, “Where was the NYT when we spent $800 billion on the so-called stimulus package…?” He then used an analogy. Take a cup to a lake and fill it with water. Next, walk around to the other side of the lake and dump the water in the cup back into the lake. And the so-called stimulus did it 800 billion times. Norquist suggested that Keynesian economics says if you take $1 from someone and give it to someone else it stimulates the economy. Doesn’t it seem like a silly idea?

For more information about Mark A. Cohen, see The Castle Rock, CO Gathering Place, Writer of the Month for Nov. 2010

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Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Grover Norquist, Part I

Written : Dec. 7, 2010

Did you catch Grover Norquist on Washington Journal on Dec. 5, 2010? Fortunately, I did. Mr. Norquist is the head of Americans for Tax Reform, and he was stellar on CSPAN!

According to Mr. Norquist, the Dems would like to make you believe they urgently want to extend the current tax rates for some but not for all. “Think about that,” he said. Democrats have had a majority in Congress for years (since 2006) and they’ve never even written a bill to extend the rates for anyone! “Not for poor people, not for middle-income people, for no one.” So, Mr. Norquist argued: President Obama, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Sen. Harry Reid have gotten up every morning and never lifted a finger to extend these tax cuts. The concept that they have a burning desire to extend the lower rates for anyone is nonsense. They were hoping they could let the Bush cuts expire, but they were beaten in the last election.

He explains my position beautifully. Grover Norquist painted a verbal picture of the President standing in front of businesses with a sledgehammer. Since Norquist’s appearance on this program, the Congress and the President have compromised on an extension of the cuts for two years. But he was prepared for the circumstance. Mr. Norquist said that President Obama would say to businesses, “We’re not going to smash you in the face now, we’re going to smash you in the face in two years.”

Norquist maintains, “Do you think investors and businesses [are going to say] that’s great, we’re going to build a new factory because we’re protected for two years? And then you hit us in the side of the head? No. Temporary tax cuts don’t have the incentives…that people face.” He says that the President’s plan is to make the change temporary, and then cause them to expire after he gets re-elected.

Grover Norquist concluded that since the cuts are not permanent now, we have to replace President Obama “in two years with a president who respects that when people earn money, it belongs to them [and] not to some greedy politician....” Well put, man!

...to be continued next week…

For more information about Mark A. Cohen, see The Castle Rock, CO Gathering Place, Writer of the Month for Nov. 2010

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Tuesday, October 12, 2010

A Clear Choice

Written : Oct. 11-12, 2010

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has an idea. On Oct. 6, 2010, she said she learned this at a hearing: The quickest way to create jobs is to provide more funding for food stamps and to provide unemployment insurance for those who need it. She said it, really! Newt Gingrich, a former Speaker, has a firm understanding that jobs are created when businesses are empowered by fewer restrictions and by lower taxes. This is why Gingrich cleverly coined the phrases “Party of Food Stamps” for Democrats, and “The Paycheck Party” for Republicans during this election cycle.

I’m not gloating here. I wish liberals understood the idea that businesses do not create jobs when they are profitless, but most can’t or won’t comprehend it. Democrats, including our president, are running with the idea that we have to take a good portion of the profits of businesses away and hand them over to the ‘people.’ But, this business model never works.

In an Oct. 5, 2010 debate with Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Linda McMahon (R-CT) boiled the essence of the upcoming midterm elections down to its barest bone. She asked him, "How do you create a job?" And he took the bait. Blumenthal looked befuddled. He used double-talk to zig and zag his way through, and most of the time he said nothing. Toward the end of his talk he mentioned that government programs were the way to create jobs through “creative” and “buy America” policies.

Like a breath of fresh air, McMahon’s answer stood out. “Government does not create jobs. It's very simple how you create jobs. An entrepreneur takes a risk. He or she believes that he creates goods or service that is sold for more than it costs to make it. If an entrepreneur believes he can do that, he creates a job.” There you go. On Election Day our choice could not be clearer, could it?

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Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Tea Time

Written : Apr. 06, 2010

Who are those Tea Party members? I imagine they’re nice people, like you and me. They grow weary of struggle when there is no reward. Tea Partiers realize government has its place, but they don’t want to be forced to relinquish a lifetime of accomplishments. Who can blame them? These fine people will lend a helping hand when required, but they also believe in individual achievement and personal responsibility over hand-outs and spreading the wealth.

The evidence shows the Tea Party people are non-violent and are not a threat, but some would make you believe otherwise. Don’t take House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s word for it, check the web, evaluate, and read their signs. Sure, they’re angry, but when likening it to a parent and child, it’s more like a scolding than a beating. Look at their web site and see for yourself.

When something captures the imagination of America like the Tea Party has, there will be detractors and those who want to stop it. So, along came the bland Coffee Party. They say they’re not affiliated with any other group, which is a plus, and I like the statements on their web site. However, this group was created to distract you from the main event, which is defeating incumbents this fall.

I’m certain there will be attempts to incite violence from the Tea Partiers, and then finger-pointing will follow. Remember how the ‘establishment’ wanted the hippies to be violent just so they could retaliate? Speaker Pelosi and Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), and others deliberately strode through the Tea Party crowd the day the Health Care bill was signed. Have you ever wondered why?

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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Recent Quotes

Written : Mar. 30, 2010

”Dissent is the highest form of patriotism” was a quote heard often during President Bush’s time in office. It was repeated to challenge his policies, but has dissent suddenly become a bad thing? AT&T, John Deere and Co., Catepillar, and 3M, among other companies, have said the Health Care Bill will cost them millions. Almost immediately, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) ordered them to a hearing about the subject, which will take place on April 21 of this year. Is it possible he didn’t read the bill and genuinely needs clarification? Or, does he just want to silence them? See: Waxman Hearing

It was reported on Mar. 24, that Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) said of recent protests, we have to “tamp this down now,” inferring the Tea Partiers are racist. On the other side, Deneen Borelli, of project 21, said the following on March 26, about Tea Party groups, ”I’m pretty dark, so it’s not a racist movement”. She’s spoken at rallies and said she believes in self-reliance. Don’t you? Read about Deneen at: Deneen Borelli

Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) said the following on CSPAN on Feb. 25, “We can’t fix our economy until people have health insurance.” Don’t you wonder why it wasn’t possible? On March 9, House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said of the health care bill, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.” Isn’t there something fundamentally wrong with her statement?

David Axelrod, a presidential advisor, said on Meet The Press on Mar. 14, about you, the American people, who “don’t know or care much about” the procedures involved in passing the Health Care bill. Can we show him he was mistaken about our IQ, curiosity, and how much we care this coming election day? I hope so!

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Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Health Care Positions and an Interview

Written : Mar. 2, 2010

The Democrats’ position on the health care bill is status quo, perhaps modify it slightly, and push hard to pass it. Most want to use the process called ‘reconciliation’ to get it through. Democrats view the Republican Party as the stubborn party, the one that won’t cooperate. They see Republicans as obstructionists who have no ideas, no matter how many suggestions they offer. Democrats are divided on the ‘public option’ but most seem to favor it. They worry about having enough votes to get the bill passed.

Republicans point out they had no part in drafting the original 2,700-page bill. They want the process to start over, this time with an invitation to participate from page one. They think they’ve contributed substantial ideas in several plans submitted to the majority party and during the Health Care Summit. They view ‘reconciliation’ as trickery, and as a process reserved for budgets. Republicans see the Democratic Party as stubborn and are frustrated over their perception that the Democrats aren’t listening to them. Republicans are worried about how they will pay for the Health Care bill.

On “This Week” on ABC, on Feb. 28, 2010, Elizabeth Vargas was the host and she interviewed both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) - for fifteen minutes - and Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) - for eight. I wondered if she’d be neutral, or take sides. In Vargas’ first question to Pelosi she asked if the Democrats had enough votes to pass the bill. She asked Speaker Pelosi, “How long are you willing to wait for [Republican ideas]?” Vargas even quoted the president, “Times up!”, as if to urge Republicans to cooperate. She voiced her concern, “you’re certain that you can muster the 217 votes you need…?”

In her interview with Sen. Alexander, Vargas was much tougher. She asked if the Republicans were going to offer some amendments and “play ball”. Alexander said they already had and the Democrats were on a political kamikaze mission if they ram the bill through Congress. Vargas asked, “Why not be part of the process…?” and, “Why are you so opposed to [reconciliation]…?”, and, “Why [do you say] ‘political kamikaze’”? Vargas insisted the Congress must pass “sweeping legislation”, when Alexander kept referring to his preference they use incremental means to pass reform. Do you think Elizabeth Vargas was fair, or biased?

Also See: NewsBusters - You may need Adobe Flash to view the page, but if you do you’ll be asked if you want to install it.

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