Collins Report

By Kevin “Coach” Collins

For weeks we were told Michigan’s Bart Stupak was leading a group of pro life Democrats in resisting the certain federal taxpayer funding of abortion in Barack Obama’s health care scheme. For weeks we watched as the little band of men and women first held fast and presented an insurmountable obstacle to the process, then began to melt, then were reduced to half their original number and finally “reach a historic agreement” with Obama as they did yesterday. It was all show business. Stupak was merely playing Obama for whatever he could get.

Rank and file pro life Democrats, you were fooled

Pro life Democrats, especially the blue collar adherent Catholics who delude themselves into believing there is such an animal as a genuine pro life Democrat, have to face facts: You were fooled there are NO pro life Democrats. One can’t be a good Democrat and a good Catholic, but only one or the other.

Stupak lied!

In the dust and fury of the past few days the brazenly cynical Mr. Stupak showed his middle finger to you. On Friday afternoon when it was sure to be lost in the noise, Stupak announced his price and it was a rather cheap one befitting the character of the man himself. His envelop held just $726,409 for improving three airports in his district. So there you have it, you were suckered.

Giving Judas what he deserves

Now it’s our turn to “slip a little something” to this sticky fingered Judas.

Since he’ll now be in a tough re-election fight he’ll need donations. I will be sending him my contribution of thirty dimes which will serve as the 30 pieces of silver his model settled for at:

Congressman Bart Stupak 1229 W. Washington St. Marquette, MI 49855 (906) 228 3700

Not the only ones fooled

Rank and file Democrats were not the only ones fooled by Judas Stupak. The anti abortion/ pro life Susan B. Anthony group which had awarded Stupak its “Defender of Life” award multiple times has declared him no longer pro life and rescinded its recognition of him a pro life hero.

As the days unfold we will find out that the other phony “pro life” Democrats that stood with him were paid off in one way or the other as well. While each of them deserves an envelope with 30 dimes, that money is better spent on beating them. Sending Stupak his envelop will make our point.

Remember: In this life you may have repose or you may have knowledge, but you may not have both.

All of us now have the knowledge. It is for each of us to stand up and fight because of the knowledge we have.

Sources

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/mi01_stupak/morenews/20100319faagrant.html

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/pro-life-group-strips-stupak-of-award.php

Yesterday’s Rasmussen Presidential Index had Obama at – 16

This day in history March 22

1765: Britain enacted the Stamp Act of 1765 to raise money from the American colonies. (The Act was repealed the following year.)

Have you read this week’s “Betcha didn’t know this..” page? It’s loaded with interesting little “bite size” items you’re bound to enjoy.

Comments on this or any other Collins Report essay can be sent to kcoachc “at” gmail.com

By Bruce Karlson

The pro-life movement is relegated to having begun after Roe v. Wade. There is no doubt that Christian activists found the decision to be morally bankrupt and led the charge. Americans were generally uncomfortable with the act of aborting an unborn baby but chose to avert their eyes.

The ruling was the first to so sweepingly defy the 10th Amendment and crush an individual state’s right to make its own laws. That the ruling was based on a “right to privacy” that existed only in the “penumbra” of the Constitution seemed to pass muster with most Americans. This, of course, was before Watergate blew up and the S/E Asia disaster had not yet totally manifested itself. In short, the average American still trusted the Federal government.

Insofar as Christians were the in the vanguard of protesters, the then MSM managed to conveniently pass the controversy off as religious dispute. It was those annoying Christians who would not accept the edict from on high (to the MSM and “liberals”, “on high” is Washington DC). Christians were unmoved by the obfuscation and continued to peacefully protest in support of the rights of unborn citizens. Except that they rarely, if ever, referred to them as “rights”.

“Rights” are supposedly guaranteed to all legal residents of the United States by the Constitution and the Federal government’s powers were severely limited. Round heeled and/or corrupted judges and Justices made a hash of that while Americans simply accepted the idea that the rulings simply to help one favored group or another. They did not focus on the longer term implications. That attitude prevailed until the ascension of Obama and his Congress.

Meanwhile, the Christian community’s efforts, amid derision, began to slowly convert. It forced the nation to look at abortion for what it is and, in 2009, a majority agreed that abortion was wrong… essentially manslaughter. While on that that road, many politicians were elected by those who simply would not vote for any candidate who would, at minimum, allow Federal dollars to fund abortions. Many voters and politicians were more committed but “no Federal funds” was the common denominator.

In fact, our Founders predated the issue by putting a right to life in the Declaration of Independence. The Fourteenth Amendment buttressed that right. Abortion’s supporters consciously chose to ignore both of those as Christians, not surprisingly, stuck to arguing Christian principles.

Regardless, religiously based pro-lifers kept like-minded politicians in office many of which would not have won elections absent that support. Given the closeness of the vote on Obama care (non care?) government takeover, it is those Democrats that are our last hope.

All that believe in liberty should consider where we would be without those seemingly forlorn pro life protesters, cum political movers. They were there in rain and shine always peaceful, frequently smiling. and unknowingly protecting all of us from Obama care.

The very life of American is in our hands. Let’s all stand up for our beloved America and be worthy of the name American
Use this site to contact your Congressional Representative:

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Yesterday’s Rasmussen Presidential Index had Obama at – 21

This day in history March 21

1970: The first Earth Day was proclaimed in San Francisco – of course!

Have you read this week’s “Betcha didn’t know this..” page? It’s loaded with interesting little “bite size” items you’re bound to enjoy.

Comments on this or any other Collins Report essay can be sent to kcoachc “at” gmail.com

By Kevin “Coach” Collins

Rasmussen’s latest generic poll held news the media didn’t like and ignored.
They only reported the secondary data about how in a three way race Republicans are at a distinct disadvantage. A THREE way race? LIKELY VOTERS were given a choice of voting Democrat Republican or TEA PARTY.

Where is there an actual TEA Party? Of course there is no TEA Party, party so the results are distorted. The numbers came out 34% for Democrats, 27% for Republicans and 21% for TEA Party candidates. Awful news for the GOP right? Wrong!

What the media was hiding was a record breaking generic poll lead of 10 points (45/35) for Republicans!

Is there any doubt the vast majority of TEA Party voters will vote Republican?

This leads to the next point. Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn has apparently NOT missed the significance of the 10 point GOP generic lead. Encouraged by its implication that the Republicans will either be in a much stronger position next January or totally in control, Coburn has warned retiring Democrat House members who are busy selling their “Yes” vote they will not be confirmed by the Senate and will instead have to answer for their actions in a “hot seat” grilling.

Walgreens drugstore chain has announced its 121 Washington state pharmacies will no longer accept new Medicaid patients after April 16. Walgreens explained its decision was based on the fact that Washington now reimburses less that cost of filling Medicaid prescriptions.

With $500 billion in Medicare cuts already admitted by the Democrats this spells trouble for the whole Obamacare package.
The moment the vote is taken tomorrow dozens of law suits seeking injunctions to stop the process will be filed in all 11 Federal Court Districts. Is there any doubt at least several will be successful?

States Rights movement

There are dozens of states from Texas to Oklahoma to Virginia that will firmly remind the federal government that IT is a creature of the States not the other way around. These states will rely on the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, James Madison’s enduring gift to us.

The Tenth Amendment says: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” These states intend to hold Obama’s Marxists to this simple statement and we had better be ready to fight to support our state legislators when they do. If not we will lose our country.
The very life of American is in our hands. Let’s all stand up for our beloved America and be worthy of the name American. Keep calling and praying.

Use this site to contact your Congressional Representative:

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

SOURCES:

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/generic_congressional_ballot

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011367936_walgreens18m.html

http://wwwtmrcom.blogspot.com/2010/03/coburn-warns-against-last-minute-vote.html

Yesterday’s Rasmussen Presidential Index had Obama at -21

This day in history March 20
1916: Albert Einstein publishes his “General theory of relativety.”

Have you read this week’s “Betcha didn’t know this..” page? It’s loaded with interesting little “bite size” items you’re bound to enjoy.

Comments on this or any other Collins Report essay can be sent to kcoachc “at” gmail.com

By Kevin “Coach” Collins

The earthquake that devastated Haiti brought unimaginable horrors for its people, but Haitian women are suffering beyond what anyone could have foreseen.
Reports from Port-Au-Prince tell of rapes of victims ranging down to two year old babies.

The camps where quake refugees are forced to live have turned into
dark alleys of living hell that pulse with danger for women who have always been second class citizens in the male dominated dirt poor Haiti. Rape the worst nightmare of every woman has become their daily reality.

Sex for Food

The United Nations administered camps have no street lights, no security so women are forced to hide for their safety especially at night. They must carefully select where to take care of their “personal business” or risk presenting an opportunity for a sexual predator.

A Haitian Human Rights worker reports that 47, 000 people live in a converted sports stadium designed for far fewer persons and certainly not for full time inhabitance.

He said former prison inmates, including hardened felons who ran to freedom during the quake, are hiding in the crowds. They make their way through the huddled masses of innocent people picking and choosing their next victim like tiger sharks. Many of the women and female children have no male family or friends left to protect them.

He reports the United Nations has done little or no patrolling in the camps. When food arrives, organized bands of criminals take control of it and “sell” it for sex from the young and healthy girls they spot in line. Those who refuse the trades are often summarily gang raped in the sight and hearing of all bystanders as a warning not to resist. “Patrolling” UN Blue Hats look but never “see.” They never get out of cars. They merely drive by.

The report gets much worse

A two year old baby girl who was raped two weeks ago has been put on a regimen of antibiotics because she has started to show the signs of gonorrhea infections in her mouth.

N.B. There is more to this story but these sickening facts make the case and no more need be said.

Where is the United Nations people? How are they using the hundreds of millions of dollars we have sent them?

The very life of American is in our hands. Let’s all stand up for our beloved America and be worthy of the name American

Use this site to contact your Congressional Representative:

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Sources:

http://www.haitiaction.net/News/LD/3_10_5/3_10_5.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100316/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_haiti_earthquake

Yesterday’s Rasmussen Presidential Index had Obama at – 20

This day in history March 19
1979: C-Span started broadcasting the daily operations of the House of Representatives. Where would we be without this?

Have you read this week’s “Betcha didn’t know this..” page? It’s loaded with interesting little “bite size” items you’re bound to enjoy.

Comments on this or any other Collins Report essay can be sent to kcoachc “at” gmail.com

By Fritz Wenzel, President Wenzel Strategies

What is happening in Washington this week with the culmination of the year–long Democratic Party fight to pass what they have been calling health care reform is simply breathtakingly irresponsible – much the way a bar patron might buy another round of whiskey before driving home simply because, since he’s already drunk, why not have one more

Why would someone do such a thing?

The answer is simple – because one can.
Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill, drunk with one–party dominance, appear on the brink of making their health care reform bill law with no Republican support – because they can.
This is not a critique of the merits of the health care reform package here – there are plenty to do that. As a political pollster, I am simply noting the ghastly political decisions being made by Democratic leaders in both houses of Congress. In the Senate, the political calculation to buck national opinion and use a budget reconciliation maneuver to bypass normal rules requiring 60 votes to pass legislation. In the House, the incredible move to “pass” the Senate health care bill without actually casting votes directly on the measure is beyond the pale, politically speaking.
My polls, and those of many other firms, have shown for months that American voters are opposed to the health care reform measure. They hate it. And passing such a sweeping and unpopular bill using what will definitely be characterized on the campaign trail this fall as parliamentary gimmickry shows disregard for the American public. They are sure to register their reactions at the polls.

In the end, the lesson will be one most of us learned in grade school – just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should.

Passage of the bill is just the first step down a path that is fraught with trouble, considering that Americans oppose the reform by nearly a two–to–one margin. Because of the way in which the House may pass the health bill – without a direct vote – it can be expected to be tied up in court action, perhaps for years. Will the courts stop the bill until judicial rulings are rendered? Will sections of the bill be thrown out as unconstitutional as experts surmise?
This all has to do just with action in the U.S. House. But at the other end of the Capitol Hill, the Senate is preparing to deal with a second bill that would amend the first. For the average American, the myriad complications of this legislative process are confusing. Whether Democrats intended this to be so is unclear, but my experience is such that when the public is confused about something, their default reaction to it is negative. That is certainly what we have seen so far – the features of this bill and the ugliness of this process have triggered a very negative reaction from the public at large.

Not that the negative reaction is without cause – there is a lot to hate in this health care bill, and many Americans have demonstrated their understanding of that. While it appears the public’s opinion on this question doesn’t matter this week on Capitol Hill, it will be all that matters in November.

Standing up and fighting makes us worthy of being an American. What did you do yesterday to live up to this goal? What will you do today and tomorrow?

Use this site to contact your Congressional Representative:

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Fritz Wenzel is President of Wenzel Strategies, a public opinion research and communications firm based in Columbus, Ohio. Wenzel Strategies conducts polling and analysis that matches or exceeds industry standards followed by such firms as Rasmussen Reports, Zogby International, and the Gallup Organization. Fritz Wenzel is an award–winning journalist with 15 years experience in the research industry.

Yesterday’s Rasmussen Presidential Index had Obama at – 18

This day in history March 18
2005: After a long legal battle Terry Schiavo’s feeding tube was removed. She died in agony of thirst and starvation 13 days later

Have you read this week’s “Betcha didn’t know this..” page? It’s loaded with interesting little “bite size” items you’re bound to enjoy.

Comments on this or any other Collins Report essay can be sent to kcoachc “at” gmail.com

By Kevin “Coach” Collins

Detroit is the future of America’s Democrat controlled cities.
Last week Michigan State Representative Rashida Tlieb and Monica Conyers, Detroit’s former City Council President, showed us the ugly face of doom for Detroit. After fifty years of unbroken Democrat control, Detroit is quickly dying.

The 32 year old Tlieb, whose biography says she is the oldest of 14 children born to Palestinian immigrants, had the nerve to offer a bill to extend Worker’s Compensation benefits to illegal aliens!

Tlaib whose name means “a person in need of something” in Arabic, the language of her heritage, represents the Southwest portion of Detroit, a city whose mayor and local newspaper say is suffering from third world like 50% unemployment.

How people can come to America and decide they know best how our tax money should be spent and doled out to people who have no business even being in this country, totally evades explanation. Rashida Tlieb is stabbing American workers in the back, but Detroit’s robotic voting Democrats will re-elect her anyway.

During the same week former City Council President Monica Conyers was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison following her admission of bribe receiving because she sold her vote on a city contract.

Conyers is represented by a lawyer supplied to her free of charge because she is “indigent” despite being married to John Conyers the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

At her sentencing she yelled about “not be made a scapegoat” and “I don’t feel I should go to jail for something I didn’t do” despite her plea of guilty and the allocution of guilt that goes with such a motion. At the height of her rant Conyers added, “I may be guilty of extortion, but I never took a bribe.”

Is it any wonder Detroit is dying?

Conyers has vowed to file an appeal which is not going anywhere since her plea bargain included a waiver of appeal rights, but then why wouldn’t she? We the American tax payers will be footing the bills for her. People like Conyers steal and steal from cities like Detroit until their victims are bled white.

She and Tlieb have greased the skids of a major American population center. Could a Palestinian Islamist terrorist do any more damage to Detroit with a “dirty bomb?” Not likely. These Democrats give us a peek at what will soon be happening to other cities across the country that are head locked by Democrats.

What have you done to deserve your American freedoms yesterday? What will you do today and tomorrow?

Get active at your local level. Vote in every and any election, especially primaries. Stay engaged because we have much work to do if we are to save our country.

Use this site to contact your Congressional Representative:

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Sources:

http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2010/03/workers_compensation_for_illeg.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/16/detroits-unemployment-rat_n_394559.html

http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2010/03/ex-detroit_councilwoman_monica_2.html

http://www.fd.org/odstbHOME.htm

Yesterday’s Rasmussen Presidential Index had Obama at – 18

This day in history March 17
1762: The first St. Patrick’s Day parade was held in New York City. It has been held each year since.

Have you read this week’s “Betcha didn’t know this..” page? It’s loaded with interesting little “bite size” items you’re bound to enjoy.

Comments on this or any other Collins Report essay can be sent to kcoachc “at” gmail.com

By Kevin “Coach” Collins

If you think you understand to size of our national debt, read this list of cold hard facts.

On December 1, 2009 our national debt was 12.1 trillion dollars.

Paying off this debt would require collecting about $40,000 from every American and putting the proceeds toward NOTHING but the debt. When the Democrats passed a debt cap increase of $1.9 trillion it added an additional $6,000 to the tab for each American.

At the start of 1791 our national debt was barely more than $75 million dollars. This is about what is added to our national debt every hour these days. This works out to $1.8 billion dollars a day. In 1981 when Ronald Reagan took office the national debt was about $1 trillion.

The Democrats and Obama’s current budget includes more than $5 trillion in debt increases in the next five years. Since just 2000 our politicians of both parties have more than doubled our national debt. Our politicians have raised the debt ceiling six times just since 2006.

Under the Pelosi Reid and Obama administration our government has committed to almost as much new debt as the rest of the world combined.

Since the Federal Reserve is the biggest buyer of our national debt, we are locked into a destructive spiral of self monetization that makes no sense and will lead to disaster.

It would take 31,000 years to spend a trillion dollars at one dollar per second. A trillion dollars, even in ten dollar bills, taped together would stretch around the world 380 times and still not come near the actual national debt.

When Treasury bonds are counted in with social security and Medicare and not counting any other necessary spending i.e. military national government, our politicians have locked us into a debt of $65 TRILLION DOLLARS!

It’s all here in black white and red

These facts tell us a sad tale of gross mismanagement by politicians who are incapable of saying no. The damage they have done to our economy is so great that at this point we have little chance of stopping this train from running over a cliff unless we are willing to stop spending money we don’t have. This is why we must elect conservatives who understand economics not Democrat Marxists who are trying to destroy America.

When will the bill come due?

How long will it be until the Chinese and the Japanese become weary of our growing national debt and its implications for our ability to repay them? When they demand to be repaid, where will the money come from?

Obama’s heath care scheme must be stopped. We can’t afford it and we don’t want it. It will end any chance of making America America once again.

Standing up and fighting makes us worthy of being an American. What did you do yesterday to live up to this goal? What will you do today and tomorrow?

Use this site to contact your Congressional Representative:

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Sources: http://www.businessinsider.com/facts-about-the-deficit-2010-3

Yesterday’s Rasmussen Presidential Index had Obama at – 16

This day in history March 16
1935: Adolf Hitler orders Germany to rearm in violation of the Versailles Treaty. He orders conscriptions to form the Wehrmacht. No one did anything about these violations, so many more followed.

Have you read this week’s “Betcha didn’t know this..” page? It’s loaded with interesting little “bite size” items you’re bound to enjoy.

Comments on this or any other Collins Report essay can be sent to kcoachc “at” gmail.com

By Kevin “Coach” Collins

You can’t be pro abortion and genuinely Catholic. There are no exceptions to this absolute “either or” choice, not even for nuns.
This is what makes Catholic Health Association President Sister Carol Keehan’s position so dangerous to the lives of unborn babies.
Here are three statements, one by Bart Stupak a rear pro life Democrat, one from Douglas Johnson, legislative director for National Right to Life, and one from the rather suspect Sister Carol Keehan. Which one do you think doesn’t ring true?

Stupak: “If you pass the Stupak amendment, more children will be born, and therefore it will cost us millions more. That’s one of the arguments I’ve been hearing.”

Johnson: “In reality, the Senate bill contains multiple pro-abortion provisions, which in total constitute the most pro-abortion single piece of legislation to reach the House floor since Roe v. Wade.”

Keehan: “On the moral issue of abortion, there is no disagreement …. On the technical issue of whether this bill prevents federal funding of abortions, we differ with Right to Life.”

In response to Keehan’s shilling tactics, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has released an emphatic statement of its adamant opposition to Obamacare because of its abortion provisions.

In November the House passed a healthcare bill that specifically excluded federal taxpayer money for abortions.

In December the Senate passed a healthcare bill containing a directly opposite position. The Senate bill REQUIRES using our money for abortions.

Worse news for Catholic Hospitals

Keehan seems not to understand that NO version of Obama’s healthcare scheme protects her member hospitals from being FORCED to commit the abortions she says she doesn’t believe will be funded with our tax money. Keehan has apparently forgotten what she’s supposed to stand for. Potentially losing federal money means more to her than baby’s lives.

Lines being drawn: sides being chosen

Either Keehan is as dumb as a box of rocks or as phony as a three dollar bill. Either way she does not represent the true mission of Catholic hospitals. She is no friend of the unborn.

By the end of this week we’ll probably know how this showdown turns out. We’ll likely see a vote in the House that will clearly identify which members support the Constitution and basic American values and which ones would tear our nation apart for political gain.

More than this, we’ll get a good look at those prominent Catholics who are actually Catholics and those who are just playing a part.
Sister Keehan has shown which side she is on. She must be defeated along with the rest of the enemies of what is good and worth fighting for about America. Our American values tell us being forced to pay for killing innocent babies is a threat worth fighting against.

Do something great today; fight back! The very life of America is in our hands. Be worthy of the name American and the freedoms that come with it.

Use this site to contact your Congressional Representative:

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Sources:

http://www.catholicvoteaction.org/americanpapist/index.php?p=6326

http://hotair.com/archives/2010/03/14/catholic-bishops-send-message-to-faithful-we-oppose-obamacare/

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/03/13/catholic-health-groups-backs-abortion-language-in-reform-bill/

Yesterday’s Rasmussen Presidential Index had Obama at – 15

This day in history March 15
1916: Woodrow Wilson sends 12,000 troops over the Mexican border to chase Pancho Villa. They never found him.

Have you read this week’s “Betcha didn’t know this..” page? It’s loaded with interesting little “bite size” items you’re bound to enjoy.

Comments on this or any other Collins Report essay can be sent to kcoachc “at” gmail.com

By Suzanne Eovaldi

Election boards in Westchester County and Fishkill, New York are using invalid Spanish voter application forms outlawed by the New York State Board of Elections eight years ago.

These invalid forms ask would be Spanish voters in Spanish: “ser cuidadano norte americano:” are you a citizen of North America? The corrected form out of the Albany web site asks in Spanish: “ser cuidadano estadounidense:”are you a United States citizen?
When asked to explain this major discrepancy, Reginald Lafayette of the Westchester County BOE expressed surprise, saying. “We’ve never had a complaint on this,” and said he would “give it to our translators.”

The Fishkill Town Clerk was not available for comment, but John Conklin, Director of Public Information of the State BoE said “That’s wrong. They should not be using that form. . .we haven’t used it for eight years.”

He went on to say in spite of the fact “we’ve instructed everyone to get rid of [those forms ]they still crop up. Conklin said every so often this form pops up in Suffolk County as well.

He was unaware the Westchester and Fishkill application forms still relied on the North American citizenship requirement rather than the US citizen requirement to vote.

Nevertheless, a local source paints a far different picture of the deference given to Spanish voter applicants. When the source contacted the Dutchess County BOE asking if a Mexican Matricula Consular ID card was an acceptable form of photo ID, the source was told “Yes.”

Mr. Conklin told this reporter the Martricula card “is not an acceptable form of ID.” The US Department of Justice and FBI “have concluded the Matricula consular is not a reliable form of identification, due to no existence of any means of verifying the true identity of the card holder.”

The very life of American is in our hands. Let’s all stand up for our beloved America and be worthy of the name American.

Use this site to contact your Congressional Representative:

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

SOURCES: http://www.westchestergov.com/boe/images/MailRegFormSpan11.pdf http://www.fishkill-ny.gov/pdfs/voteformspanish.pdf http://www.election.state.ny.us/NYSBOE/download/voting/spanishvoteform.pdf http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress03/mccraw062603.htm

Suzanne Eovaldi is a retired reporter and Journalism School Professor from the Chicago area now living in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Yesterday’s Rasmussen Presidential Index had Obama at – 14

This day in history March 14
1794: Eli Whitney is granted a patent for the cotton gin which perpetuates the failing system of slavery in America.

Have you read this week’s “Betcha didn’t know this..” page? It’s loaded with interesting little “bite size” items you’re bound to enjoy.

Comments on this or any other Collins Report essay can be sent to kcoachc “at” gmail.com

By Bruce Karlson

In 1933 FDR, pressing forward with his program of vote buying, signed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Act into law. Many banks had failed after the government helped the recession become a Depression. FDR wanted to preen (his favorite pose) about protecting the public, reigning in irresponsible banks and bankers, and use the banks’ own money to finance it. Bank funded FDIC “insurance” suited him perfectly.

As with most government programs, the public thought the Federal government was needed to rectify a problem. One need only look to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Insecurity to see that a gullible public had learned nothing in two generations: “We” (with other persons’ money) must protect the geezers from medical bills, the poor from reaping the fruits of their own failure to plan, and provide income for a then small coterie of struggling geezers. Uncle Sugar was going to fix all…

Even those not paying much attention are now cognizant of the fact that these Ponzi schemes are hurting the productive and their children. The future, at inception, was obvious had anyone cared to look.

Back to the train wreck:

In 1934, FDIC deposit insurance was set at $2500 and moved to $5000 that same year. It was a scam from the start as, in the midst of the Depression, the average savings rate was less than $1000. Ergo, if the goal were only to protect those who were most vulnerable and least able to “shop” banks, it should have remained at $2500 for decades. The maximum increased to $10,000 in 1950, along with a plan to reimburse banks if the premium charged (and passed on to depositors) was more than required for that year…rescinded in 1983.

Ronald Reagan (reluctantly supposedly) signed off on $100,000 in 1980. The excuse was that it was part of a monster budget which he had to either sign or refuse in its entirety. Anyway, the FDIC was flush with 11 billion dollars, so what was the worry? The fact that the average savings account was $7000 seemed unimportant.

Enter the sharks. Potential depositors with $100,000 no longer had to check the solvency of a bank. Banks therefore needed to raise rates to compete. That required increased risk taking and continued apace until it all unraveled in the late 80s. Contrary to government’s depiction, there was very little actual fraud. Now, since both political parties had blood on their hands, there was no serious Congressional inquiry, simply a “rebuilding” of the FDIC with 10 billion dollars of our children’s money. For further garnish, depositors were compensated for ALL funds held by a failed bank. Why should the rich “suffer” the indignity of losing funds in excess of $100, 000? After all, the less fortunate and their children were there to help.

FDIC insurance is now $250, 000. The rich obviously needed more protection. Perhaps it will end at some point, but that point is not yet in sight.

We can be sure that as long as we cede more power to the government, it will be happy to take it…and send us the bill

What did you do to be worthy of your American freedoms yesterday? What will you do today and what do you plan to do tomorrow?

Use this site to contact your Congressional Representative:

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

About Bruce Karlson: Born New Jersey, enlisted in the Navy 1960, discharged in 1964, Kean College – BA, Fordham University – MBA. Sold computers in NYC’s financial district, retired 1992. Divorced, two high school aged children. Interests include bridge, history, politics and cooking.

Yesterday’s Rasmussen Presidential Index had Obama at – 16

This day in history March 13
2003: The journal Nature reports 350,000 year old footprints of an up right walking human have been discovered in Italy.

Have you read this week’s “Betcha didn’t know this..” page? It’s loaded with interesting little “bite size” items you’re bound to enjoy.

Comments on this or any other Collins Report essay can be sent to kcoachc “at” gmail.com