Leslie Cauley of USA Today is reporting that the National Security Agency is collecting the domestic and international phone call records of most Americans. AT&T, Verizon, and BellSouth are voluntary participants in the program and are federally compensated for surrendering the call records of ordinary Americans, even if those not suspected of any crime. At this point, Qwest is refusing to turn over call records to the NSA without a court order.
The NSA claims to want the information to build a database that will allow them to perform highly detailed analyses of America’s calling habits. The NSA contends that the measure is to increase national security.
Unless you are a Qwest customer, the NSA probably knows the time and date of every phone call you have made from your home, cell phone, office, etc. for the last few years. They also know the number you called and the number you called from. With that information, a simple query of public records can reveal your name and address as well as the name and address of the person you called.
You can read the entire article here.
May 11, 2006
April 6, 2006
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February 19, 2006
Chicago Mayor Daley Wants Surveillance Cameras at Private Businesses
Chicago Mayor, Richard Daley wants to require surveillance cameras at private businesses that stay open late like bars, clubs, convenience stores, etc. The only thing worse than a politician who wants to spy on the public with cameras is the public that allows it. Haven’t we seen enough science-fiction movies to know that ubiquitous video surveillance is a bad idea?
Click the following link to read the article.
"Daley Wants Security Cameras at Bars"
Click the following link to read the article.
"Daley Wants Security Cameras at Bars"
January 21, 2006
Government Invades Privacy by Demanding User Search Data
The Federal government has once again overstepped its powers and made another chilling move into the private lives of law-abiding citizens.
The Department of Justice, under the direction of Attorney General, Alberto Gonzalez, requested random samplings of user search data. So far, the cowards at Yahoo, MSN, and AOL have surrendered some or all of the requested search data. Google is standing alone in opposition to the government’s attempt to invade what little privacy we have left.
The Federal government is defending itself by saying it does not want names of individual search engine users, and they are just conducting research that will help protect children from pornography. Why does the government suddenly feel it has the duty to protect children from pornography? Parents are responsible for protecting their children from pornography. This is not the responsibility of the government.
Regardless of the government’s reasons, it has no right to make demands on companies in the private sector to aid in spying on American citizens. If the Federal government wants to spy on its citizens, it should have to do it on its own with its own resources.
Hopefully, Google will continue to oppose this ridiculous intrusion by the Federal government. The other search engine companies (i.e., Yahoo, MSN, and AOL), which so quickly baked down, should be ashamed of themselves, and they deserve to lose market share to Google.
The Department of Justice, under the direction of Attorney General, Alberto Gonzalez, requested random samplings of user search data. So far, the cowards at Yahoo, MSN, and AOL have surrendered some or all of the requested search data. Google is standing alone in opposition to the government’s attempt to invade what little privacy we have left.
The Federal government is defending itself by saying it does not want names of individual search engine users, and they are just conducting research that will help protect children from pornography. Why does the government suddenly feel it has the duty to protect children from pornography? Parents are responsible for protecting their children from pornography. This is not the responsibility of the government.
Regardless of the government’s reasons, it has no right to make demands on companies in the private sector to aid in spying on American citizens. If the Federal government wants to spy on its citizens, it should have to do it on its own with its own resources.
Hopefully, Google will continue to oppose this ridiculous intrusion by the Federal government. The other search engine companies (i.e., Yahoo, MSN, and AOL), which so quickly baked down, should be ashamed of themselves, and they deserve to lose market share to Google.
January 5, 2006
The Health Care Solution for America
If you have had numerous interactions with the medical industry over the last twenty years, you have certainly noticed that things have changed. In the last couple decades, technology and knowledge have fostered incredible advances in medical treatment, but the cost of health care has grown to mind-boggling levels.
As the prices continue to climb and health care becomes unaffordable for a growing number of people, many are warming up to the idea of socialized health care. The employer-funded health insurance system with low-deductibles has created a culture of people who feel entitled to medical care as if it is a right. Many people feel they should be able to walk into a doctor’s office or hospital, receive whatever treatment they need, and pay little or nothing for the service.
It is horrifying that American society has come to this, but it has. People now feel they have a right to health care just as they have a right to air. It would be wonderful if we could somehow reverse this entitlement trend and make people understand that health care is a privilege that should be self-financed, but it is highly unlikely that the current attitude will ever change. We should just accept reality and deal with it accordingly.
The sad truth is that we are already on the path to socialized health care. We already have Medicare and Medicaid. These are tax-funded programs allowing people to get health care for little to no cost. Many states have supplemental programs similar to Medicaid. Sick Americans and illegal aliens can receive spectacular emergency care in hospital emergency rooms without paying. The under-insured who do not receive health care in these ways, simply get the care, go bankrupt under the pressure of insurmountable medical bills, and then saddle the hospital with the expenses.
People getting health care from the government are a burden on society because taxpayers are funding their health care. Those getting medical care at the expense of the hospitals are a burden on society, because hospitals charge paying customers more to offset losses from non-paying customers. Regardless of the methods, many Americans end up getting health care at the expense of others even if they have to go through financial devastation to get it. The reality is that if you pay for your own health care, your employer pays for it as part of your compensation, or you pay taxes, you are currently funding a rudimentary social health care system whether you want to or not.
Given that America already has a de facto social health care system funded by the insured and taxpayers, we have very little to lose by moving to a taxpayer-funded health care system. The horrifying possibility here would be that the government could take over the medical industry to provide true socialized health care. If this happens, it will be the biggest disaster in the history of American social welfare. Imagine the staggering fraud and incompetence displayed by Medicare and Medicaid expanded to a bureaucracy serving 300 million patients. Medical costs would be up, waits for appointments would be long, service would decline, etc. The federal government has a proven track record of inefficiency and waste. How could we possibly turn over our health to the same institution that is responsible for bungling the tax code, Social Security, and immigration?
The solution to America’s inevitable future of a taxpayer-funded health care system is to take preemptive action to keep the government out of the medical industry. The only way is to provide a reasonable alternative before the system grows so desperate that people will be happy to hand it all over to the government.
Given the realities, the solution to America’s health care problems is taxpayer-funded health care insurance vouchers. Under the health care voucher system, the Federal government would create specifications for a basic health care plan that would provide sufficient general health care to anyone who wants it. The deductibles would have to be high enough to discourage abuse, fraud penalties would be extreme, lawsuits would be regulated, and the benefits would be limited. Even with these limitations, the plan would be enough to provide people with essential health care.
Health insurance companies would be able to voluntarily offer health care plans that meet the Federal specifications. Health care vouchers sufficient to pay for these basic plans would be available to all Americans. With the health care vouchers, Americans would be able to purchase basic health insurance or use the vouchers plus personal funds to upgrade to better plans. The result is that everyone who wants health insurance can have it. Those who want more can pay for it.
Since medical care would remain in the private sector under this system, the crucial element of free-market competition would still exist. The health care vouchers would create an enormous source of potential revenue, and insurance companies would aggressively compete for customers. This competition would demand efficiency, innovation, and service. The health insurance companies that would strive to provide the best care for the voucher amount would get the most customers. Those companies failing to provide good value would perish. This is capitalism and how America functions best.
Under the health care voucher system, companies would no longer be burdened by the paperwork and expenses of employer-provided health care. This would free up funds that could be used to raise salaries for employees. The employees could take charge of their own health insurance needs by shopping around for the plan that best suits them. This system would greatly benefit small businesses, which struggle most with the challenges of the current health care system.
Medicare and Medicaid would be obsolete under the voucher system. The emergency room loophole would be nearly eliminated. Honest, hard-working people would no longer be bankrupted by medical bills.
The only people that lose in the health care voucher system are the taxpayers. Unfortunately, most of us are taxpayers, and we would have to have to fund the health care vouchers for those who are not pulling their weight. The truth, however, is that we are already paying for their health care. Because of those burdening the current health care system, we are paying too much for our health care, our employers are paying us less to pay for our overpriced insurance plans, or we are paying taxes to support existing social health care programs. We are already paying for what practically amounts to socialized health care anyway, so we just don’t have that much to lose.
Surprisingly, no prominent politician has proposed a plan like this. Perhaps no politician has figured out that the health care voucher system is the solution to America’s health care troubles. If some politician is bold enough to develop a plan like this, that man or woman is going to be a national hero.
If you agree that this is a practical solution to America’s approaching health care crisis, use the email link below to send this to your Senators, Congressman, friends, etc.
As the prices continue to climb and health care becomes unaffordable for a growing number of people, many are warming up to the idea of socialized health care. The employer-funded health insurance system with low-deductibles has created a culture of people who feel entitled to medical care as if it is a right. Many people feel they should be able to walk into a doctor’s office or hospital, receive whatever treatment they need, and pay little or nothing for the service.
It is horrifying that American society has come to this, but it has. People now feel they have a right to health care just as they have a right to air. It would be wonderful if we could somehow reverse this entitlement trend and make people understand that health care is a privilege that should be self-financed, but it is highly unlikely that the current attitude will ever change. We should just accept reality and deal with it accordingly.
The sad truth is that we are already on the path to socialized health care. We already have Medicare and Medicaid. These are tax-funded programs allowing people to get health care for little to no cost. Many states have supplemental programs similar to Medicaid. Sick Americans and illegal aliens can receive spectacular emergency care in hospital emergency rooms without paying. The under-insured who do not receive health care in these ways, simply get the care, go bankrupt under the pressure of insurmountable medical bills, and then saddle the hospital with the expenses.
People getting health care from the government are a burden on society because taxpayers are funding their health care. Those getting medical care at the expense of the hospitals are a burden on society, because hospitals charge paying customers more to offset losses from non-paying customers. Regardless of the methods, many Americans end up getting health care at the expense of others even if they have to go through financial devastation to get it. The reality is that if you pay for your own health care, your employer pays for it as part of your compensation, or you pay taxes, you are currently funding a rudimentary social health care system whether you want to or not.
Given that America already has a de facto social health care system funded by the insured and taxpayers, we have very little to lose by moving to a taxpayer-funded health care system. The horrifying possibility here would be that the government could take over the medical industry to provide true socialized health care. If this happens, it will be the biggest disaster in the history of American social welfare. Imagine the staggering fraud and incompetence displayed by Medicare and Medicaid expanded to a bureaucracy serving 300 million patients. Medical costs would be up, waits for appointments would be long, service would decline, etc. The federal government has a proven track record of inefficiency and waste. How could we possibly turn over our health to the same institution that is responsible for bungling the tax code, Social Security, and immigration?
The solution to America’s inevitable future of a taxpayer-funded health care system is to take preemptive action to keep the government out of the medical industry. The only way is to provide a reasonable alternative before the system grows so desperate that people will be happy to hand it all over to the government.
Given the realities, the solution to America’s health care problems is taxpayer-funded health care insurance vouchers. Under the health care voucher system, the Federal government would create specifications for a basic health care plan that would provide sufficient general health care to anyone who wants it. The deductibles would have to be high enough to discourage abuse, fraud penalties would be extreme, lawsuits would be regulated, and the benefits would be limited. Even with these limitations, the plan would be enough to provide people with essential health care.
Health insurance companies would be able to voluntarily offer health care plans that meet the Federal specifications. Health care vouchers sufficient to pay for these basic plans would be available to all Americans. With the health care vouchers, Americans would be able to purchase basic health insurance or use the vouchers plus personal funds to upgrade to better plans. The result is that everyone who wants health insurance can have it. Those who want more can pay for it.
Since medical care would remain in the private sector under this system, the crucial element of free-market competition would still exist. The health care vouchers would create an enormous source of potential revenue, and insurance companies would aggressively compete for customers. This competition would demand efficiency, innovation, and service. The health insurance companies that would strive to provide the best care for the voucher amount would get the most customers. Those companies failing to provide good value would perish. This is capitalism and how America functions best.
Under the health care voucher system, companies would no longer be burdened by the paperwork and expenses of employer-provided health care. This would free up funds that could be used to raise salaries for employees. The employees could take charge of their own health insurance needs by shopping around for the plan that best suits them. This system would greatly benefit small businesses, which struggle most with the challenges of the current health care system.
Medicare and Medicaid would be obsolete under the voucher system. The emergency room loophole would be nearly eliminated. Honest, hard-working people would no longer be bankrupted by medical bills.
The only people that lose in the health care voucher system are the taxpayers. Unfortunately, most of us are taxpayers, and we would have to have to fund the health care vouchers for those who are not pulling their weight. The truth, however, is that we are already paying for their health care. Because of those burdening the current health care system, we are paying too much for our health care, our employers are paying us less to pay for our overpriced insurance plans, or we are paying taxes to support existing social health care programs. We are already paying for what practically amounts to socialized health care anyway, so we just don’t have that much to lose.
Surprisingly, no prominent politician has proposed a plan like this. Perhaps no politician has figured out that the health care voucher system is the solution to America’s health care troubles. If some politician is bold enough to develop a plan like this, that man or woman is going to be a national hero.
If you agree that this is a practical solution to America’s approaching health care crisis, use the email link below to send this to your Senators, Congressman, friends, etc.
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