Hypocrites of the Day - Kock Brothers - Ayn Rand (The Stalwart of Libertarianism).

It has been a while since I wrote a post of the hypocrite of the day, but an article today In Naked Capitalism Naked Capitalism  convinced me more than ever that we live in a society today where people will say whatever they want and then do just the opposite. Do as I say not as I do.

 I find hypocrisy one of the truly great faults of our American political system. Politicians will say anything to get elected and then do the polar opposite. Is it any wonder that Congress has one of the lowest rating in history? How can we all not be disillusioned?

 The latest comes from the Kock brothers. If you don't know who they are you should!! I have written about them and their near control of the tea-party, a movement which benefits their financial interests most. See HERE and HERE.

Now just read what http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/ reports and you will see just how clearly we are all being duped by the controlling elite. Hypocrisy at its worst! From Naked Capitalism:

 Friedrich Hayek Joins Ayn Rand as a Hypocritical User of Medicare

We’ve been a bit hard on the left of late, so we figured we’d take some steps to balance our programming. Mark Ames, who has been doggedly on the trail of the Koch brothers, found a delicious failure to live up to his oft-repeated standard of conduct by a god in the libertarian pantheon, Friedrich Hayek. And this fall from grace was encouraged one of the chief promoters of extreme right wing ideas in the US, Charles Koch.

Bear in mind that Charles Koch has not merely promoted libertarian ideas generally but in particular founded the Cato Institute, which has done more than any other single organization to wage war on Social Security. Koch wanted Hayek to come to the US in 1973 to become a “distinguished senior scholar” at the Institute for Human Studies, which Koch quickly made into a libertarian citadel. Hayek initially turned the opportunity down, saying he had just had an operation, which made him particularly aware of the dangers of falling ill abroad. Austria had close to universal health care; Hayek’s comment strongly suggests he took advantage of it.
Per Yasha Levine and Ames in the Nation:

IHS vice president George Pearson (who later became a top Koch Industries executive) responded three weeks later, conceding that it was all but impossible to arrange affordable private medical insurance for Hayek in the United States. However, thanks to research by Yale Brozen, a libertarian economist at the University of Chicago, Pearson happily reported that “social security was passed at the University of Chicago while you [Hayek] were there in 1951. You had an option of being in the program. If you so elected at that time, you may be entitled to coverage now.”

A few weeks later, the institute reported the good news: Professor Hayek had indeed opted into Social Security while he was teaching at Chicago and had paid into the program for ten years. He was eligible for benefits. On August 10, 1973, Koch wrote a letter appealing to Hayek to accept a shorter stay at the IHS, hard-selling Hayek on Social Security’s retirement benefits, which Koch encouraged Hayek to draw on even outside America.

This should put Hayek in some sort of libertarian circle of hell, along with Ayn Rand, who took Medicare and Social Security payments when she was diagnosed with lung cancer.

To quote Blue Texan at FireDogLake:

And before any glibertarians come back with “but…but…she paid into it so there’s no hypocrisy” in comments, Rand herself wrote,

There can be no compromise on basic principles. There can be no compromise on moral issues. There can be no compromise on matters of knowledge, of truth, of rational conviction.

Adding an extra layer of crow to the deliciousness, the Ayn Rand Center for the Center for F*ck You I Got Mine Individual Rights has an article on its website right now titled, “Social Security is Immoral“.

SO NEXT TIME YOU HEAR A TEA-PARTIER OR REPUBLICAN ATTACK SOCIAL SECURITY OR MEDICARE, ASK THEM HOW IT IS OKAY FOR THEM BUT NOW FOR THE REST OF ALL HARD WORKING AMERICANS?

This is more than an outrage it is a crime.  We are now being run by the financial elite who have no concerns for average Americans at all.

I have always believed in free enterprise - BUT - is this truly free enterprise or crony capitalism?  What is worse is that it makes me question whether the "American Dream" is dead.

Jamie Diamond the head of Chase is reported to have received more than $20,000,000.00 last year in compensation.  How much did they allow you to make?

And do you believe people should be allowed to die on the streets?

I revert to one last post I made.  It is about the Statue of Liberty - a symbol of the American Dream; the inscription of the Statue by Emma Lazarus. She is best known for "The New Colossus", a sonnet written in 1883; its lines appear on a bronze plaque in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty in 1912. The sonnet was solicited by William Maxwell Evarts as a donation to an auction, conducted by the "Art Loan Fund Exhibition in Aid of the Bartholdi Pedestal Fund for the Statue of Liberty" to raise funds to build the pedestal.

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

Has that dream died?

Rick Santorum Is A Non-Patriotic Bigot

Is It Ever Patriotic To Boo An Active Duty US Soldier?

In what can only be described as a low point for America, in last night's Republican Presidential debates, the audience booed as an active duty United States soldier, serving overseas on behalf of each of us, asked a question of the potential candidates.

It was like the Romans cheering as Christians were thrown into the Coliseum to be killed by lions.

Were they booing because he was gay? Were they booing because he asked a question about don't ask, don't tell? 

Unfortunately we will never know for sure because a stone faced panel of Republicans who wish to serve each of us as President of the United States stood quietly, some with heads down, unwilling to do the right thing. What was that?

The right thing would have been for one of those politicians to make a statement that it was clear that no one was booing a US soldier; to make it clear that we are all proud of that soldier and his service to us; and, to thank the soldier for his service.

Only then would it have been appropriate to raise the question of don't ask, don't tell. 

Imagine the courage it took for this soldier to go on national television and ask a heart felt question when all his life he had been told he must hide who he was because it was wrong.

While one may debate the issue of don't ask, don't tell, it is utterly in appropriate to allow a US soldier to be booed, during a time of war.

It was a shameful moment for America, those candidates had a chance to stand above it and show true leadership. None did.

As to the Rick Santorum , to whom the question was directed, I can only say that he made a bad situation worse. His response was that there was no room for "sex" concerning US soldiers and that allowing openly gay soldiers was a terrible experiment at a time of war. The same was said of blacks serving alongside whites.  And yes crowds would cheer lynchings.

Bigotry and hatred should not be a quality of a Presidential candidate.

Further to say "sex" should not be an issue for US soldiers is laughable at best. Sex is and has always been an issue for soldiers. To hide behind such a simple answer as "sex" is the issue is a farce.

And what does he mean that "people should keep sex to themselves, homosexual or heterosexual"?  Did he mean that all soldiers should do is just masturbate or just be abstinent?

And the repeal of don't ask, don't tell, does not confer any "special" rights to gay soldiers as Mr. Santorum stated; it was to remove a "special" status given to them by that policy.

Rick Santorum you do not deserve to be President of the United States and you should be embarrassed as to your homophobia and lack of honor.  Even if you disagree with the question asked by the soldier, the honorable thing to have done was to first thank him for his service.. You showed no such honor. 

Unfortunately none of your fellow panelist showed any honor or courage either. No one who is a coward should have the honor of being a US President.

Is there any among those who are running for the Republican ticket who will call out such egregious behavior, or do they all boo US soldiers? To boo a man or women who is willing to give their lives for us overseas is the lowest form of patriotism and shows a deep lack of believe in a fundamental principle of this Country that all men are created equally.

Senior GOP Voters Believe Assisted Suicide May be Good.

Texas Governor Rick Perry's characterization of Social Security as a "Ponzi scheme" doesn't appear to be a problem for most Republicans, according to a new Gallup poll.

The survey, released on Friday, finds that the harsh words repeatedly used by Perry to define his stance on the program are largely non-issue for members of his party.

"As many Republicans say they are more likely to vote for Perry for president because of his views on Social Security as say they are less likely," Gallup's report explains.

In a GOP presidential debate held last week, which was Perry's first of the election season since announcing his candidacy, the Texas governor stood by a charge he makes in his book describing Social Security as a "Ponzi scheme." In taking aim at the 80-year-old program he argued, "You cannot keep the status quo in place."

So The Tea Party GOP believes in letting people die in the streets (sorry you couldn't get medical insurance) and eliminating Social Security.

 Most Seniors depend on Social Security and Medicare or they would be on the street.

How can this make sense? Why would a group of people vote in a manner that is against their most fundamental interest?

Many of these same people also claim to be Fundamental Christians. Did I miss the part of the Bible that suggests that poor should just die on the streets?

 Is it that important for a person who identifies themselves as a Republican to vote Republican even when it is completely against their own interest? Seniors - the call is to you.

 Where has the compassionate conservative gone?  To vote for assisted suicide versus dying in the streets?

Phoenix Goddess Temple Church Is A Brothel - A Church That Makes Sense?

Police busted members of a church authorities say was actually a front for prostitution (rather than child molestation - how novel).

Police claim the alleged brothel generated tens of thousands of dollars a month, according to CNN.  At least some businesses in the US are making money.

The church's website, which appears to have been taken down, was one of the factors that led to the indictments of 33 people, CNN reports.

"Sex is a holy, sacred and divine healing force at the core [of] our beings" the site claimed, according to CNN. "Once we embrace this force instead of deny it, we become successful, happy and powerful manifestors."

Wow, someone actually acknowledging that sex is normal and natural?

And in these tough times, we all have to learn to make more money.  Legalize prostitution (as the oldest illegal profession so do we actually believe we will ever prohibit it?) and tax it. 

Nothing more than The Housewives of Beverly Hills/New York/Atlanta, etc. do on every episode.