"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." - President Ronald Reagan
Another day and more ObamaCare headaches: It looks like the application process will be very complicated. The AP compares applying for BO-Care as complicated as doing your taxes. Will be the exchanges be ready next January 1st? My friend Matt K Lewis is not optimistic. And taxes will be higher than anticipated. How did we get here? First, government programs are always more expensive than anticipated. It is the way it is. Second,
my guess is that most Democrats voted for this law expecting The
Supreme Court to reverse it. A judicial rebuke would have given the
Democrats the best of both worlds: they voted for it but those 5 guys
appointed by Bush, Bush & Reagan took your universal health care
away. Well, Supreme Court Justice Roberts spoiled the party. He approved BO-Care on the grounds that Congress can raise taxes. So the Democrats are now stuck in a place that they do not want to be in: 1)
They will have to raise taxes or BO-Care won't fly. The good news
about the welfare state is that everybody likes this or that. The bad
news is that everybody has to pay for this or that; 2)
They will have to implement something that they didn't read. Just ask
the Democrats Senators who were recently complaining about the tax on
medical suppliers. Yes,
we were all very angry with Justice Roberts last June. We may be
sending him a "thank you" note or flowers when the American people tell
the Democrats what they think of BO-Care on November 2014!
Tags:More problems with ObamaCare To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!
It is a great day to be a Catholic. We have a new Pope and he is a triple first: "The new pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio (pronounced Ber-GOAL-io), will be
called Francis, the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. He is
also the first non-European pope in more than 1,200 years and the first
member of the Jesuit order to lead the church."
And also the first Latin American! "3 firsts"!
I like this choice because he chose the name of Francis. We all remember how Saint Francis was told to rebuild the church. Frankly, the Catholic Church needs a little rebuilding and it starts with the Vatican bureaucracy.
My only concern is that he is 76 years old. The papacy is a very difficult job, from the travel to the day to day management of the bureaucracy. We pray that Pope Francis selects a fresh new team that will tackle the problems and fight secularism all over the world.
Good luck to Pope Francis! We should all say a prayer for the new Pope! Tags:I love the choice of Pope Francis To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!
On immigration reform, I go back and forth because the politics is so intense on both sides.
In the morning, I feel optimistic that we can reach an arrangement that respects our laws and allows a path for some, not all, to legalization. This is not a green card or amnesty. It is path that starts with a penalty, back taxes and a probationary status.
In the evening, I get pessimistic because I just don't think that President Obama is interested in a solution. At the same time, I feel that Dems will have a hard time buying into "work visas" or work permits to legalize some of the people.
Furthermore, Hispanics are not holding Pres Obama accountable for results, whether it's the economy or the quality of public education.
"“Hugo fed the hungry,” Jackson added. “He lifted the poor. He raised
their hopes. He helped them realize their dreams. And, so, today we do
mourn, because we’ve lost a lot. But we have a lot left – a stable
government, an orderly transition.”
What planet has Rev Jackson lived in for the last years? It can not be the planet of reality or results.
Rev Jackson needs to check out Fausta's Blog and read about the real Venezuela: " 25% Decline in the production of oil (measured in barrels) during the presidency of Hugo Chávez, due to lack of investments.
90% of Venezuela’s total income comes from its oil industry. It has the
largest oil reserves in the world. Under Hugo Chávez, production and
income have both declined.
100,000 [per day] Barrels of oil sold to Cuba every day, at bargain prices way below market value. Venezuela produces 2.8 million barrels a day.
16,072 Homicides registered during 2012, a record that can also be measured as
56 murders per 100,000 Venezuelans. It is the second highest murder rate
in the world. Number one is Honduras.
25% Inflation in 2012. In the past seven years, Venezuela
has had the highest inflation rates in Latin America, despite controls
on prices and exchange rates.
32% Devaluation of the national currency (Bolívar), decreed in February
2013. Economic analysts forecast even greater devaluations in the near
future if Venezuela fails to invest in its oil industry.
50,000 Millions of dollars Venezuela has borrowed from China in the past five years.
1,100 Number of businesses seized by Hugo Chávez during his 14-year
dictatorship. These expropriations and the resulting growth of the
government sector have not generated any wealth, but rather increased
the overall poverty of Venezuela.
I’ll add another number: $2 billion Hugo Chavez’s estimated net worth at the time of his death."
Where is the outrage about Rev Jackson's words or visit to the funeral? Don't expect to hear any criticism from the US left or Hollywood.
Tags:Jesse Jackson and the Chavez funeral To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!
My thanks to the Rotary Club Latin America in North Dallas. I had a great time on Thursday night talking about my new book, "Cubanos in Wisconsin!
The audience asked great questions, from the meaning of the title to comments about the weather up in Wisconsin.
It was a great night and another opportunity to tell friends about my new book. Tags:"Cubanos in Wisconsin" To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!
"According
to Jerry Brewer, president of CJIA, "the personal fortune of the Castro
brothers has been estimated at a combined value of around $2 billion." "The
Chávez Frías family in Venezuela has amassed a fortune of a similar
scale since the arrival of Chávez to the presidency in 1999," said
Brewer in an analysis published in their website."
Not bad for a left wing big mouth!
What happens next? First,
there will be elections in 30 days and it should be close. However,
the Chavez' machine is very efficient. They will play the emotional
card, a Venezuelan version of "let's win one for El Hugo". My guess is
that Chavez' successor will win this special election but the mess will
continue. Second,
Cuba is likely to lose its subsidy and that will have huge consequences
on the very inefficient island economy. My guess is that Raul and
Fidel are probably disappointed that they didn't go first. Again, Cuba
is the biggest loser of Chavez' death. Overall, left center leaders in Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina will lose a lot of moral, and financial, support. It
is also a great opportunity for the US. Of course, this is assuming
that the Obama wakes up from its indifference toward Latin America.
"We hope that as Venezuelans mourn the
passing of President Chávez and recall his positive legacies —
especially the gains made for the poor and vulnerable — the political
leaders will move the country forward by building a new consensus that
ensures equal opportunities for all Venezuelans to participate in every
aspect of national life."
This is so bizarre that it blows you away.
What gains is Pres Carter talking about?
Venezuela today is a mess, a total complete mess. The Chavez years were great for corrupt "Chaviztas" and crony capitalism. They were great for promoting the Chavez personality cult but not for develping the nation's democratic insitutions.
Frankly, it is embarrassing to hear that Pres Carter made such a statement. Tags:President Carter and Hugo Chavez To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!
I had a chance to make a presentation last Friday at GID, or Grupo Internacional de Dallas. (For the record, GID has been meeting every Friday morning since 1993. It is a great organization and I had the good timing of being around back then)
My son and I took questions from readers and reviewers.
72 hours after the "sequester" and the sun is still shining, the Rangers are down in Arizona and there is something called The World Baseball Classic that I am not following much.
My point is that the world did not end last Friday at midnight and even The White House is scaling back the doom and gloom.
However, something else is happening and Democrats & President Obama better pay attention. There are now tangible signs that carrying Obama's water may be a thing of the past. It may be that even liberals have now seen enough incompetence, failure to lead and double talk from this White House.
Bill Keller (New York Times) came out over the weekend with a column that will surprise Republicans and shock "the Obama cultists". The title is "Obama's fault" and there is disappointment all over:
"And the president? For weeks he has been playing the game political scientists call “Fireman First.” That’s when scaremongering politicians threaten to cut the most essential services. It’s true, the sequester is a grotesque and hurtful substitute for the kind of reforms the country needs. Bad things will happen. Maybe the furloughs and canceled contracts will stir the public enough to break the impasse. But by the weekend even the president was sounding helpless, if not acquiescent.
Clearly the days of “putting off unpleasant decisions” are not over. And this is where they get you."
Frankly, it's about time that we get something like Mr. Keller's article. President Obama is failing the country and now even Mr Keller sees that.
Add to Mr Keller's column the words of Schoen & Caddell and you see the first tangible signs that reality has finally caught up with President Obama's "hope and change" charade.
We are in only the 2nd month of the second term and we are seeing signs that it won't be pretty:
1) The White House looks silly saying that we have to keep the Truman aircraft carrier in port but have $250 million for Egypt. Bad timing!
2) The White House looks utterly irresponsible blaming the release or potential release of illegal immigrants on the "sequester". We are cutting 3% of the budget and we can't prioritize how the funds are spent! They look silly and, worse, rather irresponsible.
It's only March but I get the feeling that a lot of Democrats are starting to worry about President Obama, specially the ones running for reelection in 2014.
Maybe more and more liberals agree with me that President Obama needs to start governing rather than whining! President Obama is failing and he is failing badly!
We discussed the sequester and other issues on Sunday night:
Tags:President Obama whining rather governing To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!
The entire "sequester" episode is further proof that we have a president who is not up to the job. It is amazing to me that President BO did not lead by bringing both sides together and demanding a solution.
Unfortunately, President BO is just thinking about the political angle. He wants to help his party win the House and retain the Senate. To be fair, both sides look forward to the next election but Pres BO is worse than any of his predecessors.
The sequester is behind us but the debt limit is around the corner. Our "crisis to crisis" approach is the Obama Way, i.e. no leadership or vision.
Tags:48 hours after the sequester and life goes on To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!
