The Hatred Spewed by Grayson

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

The problem of racial bigotry stems primarily from voluntary ignorance and intentional stupidity. It is the coward who seizes on our differences as a people to divide us for their own sick needs and political purposes.

It is one thing when an imbecile like Kanye West makes statements that the reason New Orleans suffered as it did post-Katrina was because President George W. Bush hated black folks.

That sort of asinine comment can be easily dismissed for the lack of intellectual heft it shows.

It is another situation, one that should concern the electorate, when a sitting member of the United States House of Representatives chooses to spew hatred and ignorance and many take him seriously.

The media derision that has been pointed in the Congressman’s’ direction was muted, but what was commented upon opted out of presenting the facts.

Truth is always a proper response to hatred and stupidity.

Before presenting a compendium of media stories on the subject at hand, a refresher course in some specific facts of United States history.

The President who fought and won the Civil War, the president who signed the Emancipation Proclamation was Abraham Lincoln.

He was a Republican.

The rise of the Ku Klux Klan during the post Civil War era of Reconstruction was engineered by southerners who did not want equality in any manner for the former slaves.

The Klan was a creation of Southern Democrats.

The West Virginia Senator who served for 51 years and was lauded as a giant in Senate history was Robert Byrd.

He was a Democrat.

He was a member of the Klan.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation that attempted to resolve many of the issues related to segregation. A recap of the voting on that law might be in order:

The bill was voted on by 420 members -- 290 in favor, 130 opposed. Republicans voted in favor 138-34, and Democrats voted 152-96 in support. Democrats from northern states voted in favor 141- 4 and southern-state Democrats opposed the bill 92-11.

The point here is that Republicans have a strong history supporting equal rights, and it is the Democrats who have the questionable past of race hatred.

Why is this information of consequence?

Consider the following collection of news stories about a current member of the House and his ignorance and his race hatred.

It is a lesson that the American people should well note.

To wit:

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) used an image of a burning cross in an email slamming the tea party, comparing groups involved in the movement to the Ku Klux Klan.

Grayson first made the comparison between the tea party and the KKK in an interview with MSNBC's Al Sharpton on Oct. 17.

"They want their money back and they want the tea party out of their lives," Grayson said. "At this point, the tea party is no more popular than the Klan."

Grayson is standing by his comparison.

"[T]here is overwhelming evidence that the Tea Party is the home of bigotry and discrimination in America today, just as the KKK was for an earlier generation," he said in a statement provided to HuffPost. "If the hood fits, wear it."

Grayson's comparison is not novel. Professors Matt Barretto and Christopher Parker  make a similar case. "The authors argue that this isn't the first time a segment of American society has perceived the American way of life as under siege," the book's blurb reads. "In fact, movements of this kind often appear when some individuals believe that 'American' values are under threat by rapid social changes. Drawing connections between the Tea Party and right-wing reactionary movements of the past, including the Ku Klux Klan, Parker and Barreto develop a framework that transcends the Tea Party to shed light on its current and future consequences.

.Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) continued to stand by his recent comparison of the tea party to the Ku Klux Klan on Friday, during an MSNBC interview that ended with him accusing host Martin Bashir of "collaborating" with the conservative movement and its alleged racism.

Grayson began by defending a fundraising email that included an image of a burning cross that formed the "t" in "tea party." When Bashir pushed back, suggesting that Grayson may have taken his analogy too far, especially considering that the tea party hasn't actually lynched anybody, the outspoken Florida Democrat turned on the host.

“Do you think that racism is the same as calling out racism? Do you think that my effort to end racism in America is somehow analogous to racism itself? That’s ridiculous,” Grayson shot back at Bashir, who has himself made a habit of attacking the tea party for racially motivated attacks on President Barack Obama.

Grayson then suggested that Bashir was complicit in the tea party's supposed racism, in part because he'd questioned the appropriateness of the congressman's campaign email.

“The point I’m making is that if you don’t speak out against it, then in effect, you’re collaborating with it,” he said. “And, in fact, if you give someone like me a hard time for speaking out against it, then maybe you’re collaborating with it.”

Representative Alan Grayson should consider another line of work.

Mr. Beale - The Face of Bureaucracy ?

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

Amidst all of the hysteria and political hyperbole of the recent fiscal nonsense, there occurred something that neatly encapsulates why America feels as it does about those in Washington D.C. who have been entrusted with the guidance of this nation.

There are indeed issues to be discussed relative to the recent actions of Congress & the President over the partial government shutdown. Sadly, all that truly happened is a delay of the entire fiasco – it will return after the first of the year, so there is time for the Madison Conservative to address those subjects.

However, sometimes absurdity is a perfect salve for the wounds of politics.

Consider this following headline:

A former federal official refused to testify before a House committee Tuesday. Invokes Fifth Amendment right

That healine does not do justice to the story. In a time when the political class was meandering on about ‘essential’ and ‘non-essential’ government workers, there was one who was indeed ‘non-essential’. This one person in no way should be considered to encapsulate the normal government employee, but he does do a magnificent job of portraying the general belief of the American electorate about who is minding the store.

Here’s is a part of an opening speech given by the ranking Democrat on the committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings (MD). The first part of his commentary relates to how the Republicans forced the shut-down and generally are to blame for the woes of the planet, but then he got to the point. It is a classic, and would be delightfunny if it were not true.

To wit:

With that said, let me turn to today’s hearing.

I want to begin by thanking Inspector General

Elkins and his deputy, Patrick Sullivan,

In addition, I want to acknowledge the role of Administrator McCarthy in finally revealing this fraud, which lasted decades. I know we will discuss the Inspector General’s concerns about how quickly his office received a referral, but I believe the IG will agree that had it not been for Administrator McCarthy, this fraud may never have been uncovered.

Mr. Beale’s betrayal of the public trust for his own personal enrichment is truly shocking in its scope, duration, and sheer audacity.

Mr. Beale defrauded the Environmental Protection

Agency for decades—under both Republican and Democratic administrations—by claiming he was a covert operative for the CIA.

One senior EPA official during the Bush Administration actually approved Mr. Beale’s request to work offsite one day a week so he could participate in an “inter-agency, special advisory group working on a project with the Directorate of Operations at the CIA.”

This was no ordinary ruse.

In addition to lying to senior EPA officials across multiple

administrations, Mr. Beale also duped his own family members, his friends, and even his own lawyer.

Mr. Beale did not come clean to his own criminal defense attorney until investigators arranged for a meeting at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, in order to finally confront him about his lies.

But that’s not all Mr. Beale lied about.

According to the Inspector General, Mr. Beale also lied about contracting malaria and serving in Vietnam —all to obtain a handicapped parking spot. Mr. Beale also lied on travel vouchers about where he was going and why he needed to go there so he could visit his family in California.

Simply put, Mr. Beale was a con artist, and the American taxpayers were his mark.

As public servants, we must always remember that we serve the people.

Mr. Beale flouted one of the most basic tenets of government service — it’s not your money, it’s the taxpayers’ money.

Mr. Beale’s actions are an insult to the thousands of hardworking and dedicated public servants across the country and an insult to our CIA agents around the world.

While Mr. Beale was claiming to work at Langley and pretending to go on secret missions overseas, real intelligence agents were hunting down Osama bin Laden and battling al Qaeda in the most dangerous places in the world.

Mr. Beale’s impersonation of a CIA agent forced our nation’s law enforcement and intelligence officials to spend their scarce time and resources uncovering his fraud instead of combating real threats around the globe.

This is truly reprehensible.

I am gratified that justice has been served and that Mr. Beale will pay for his fraud.

Affordable Care Act - Update - 10/13/13

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

The Affordable Care Act, a/k/a ObamaCare, is an assault on the fundamental structure of this nation and an affront to the basic tenets of the United States Constitution.

The Supreme Court has, in the estimation of The Madison Conservative, decided the constitutionality of this legislation incorrectly.

There are those on the liberal left who shriek that it is the law of the land and thus must be enacted. All well and good, but given that the President has somehow unilaterally decided by some form of personal fiat to delay certain parts of the law, it is thus not the law that was passed, and should be addressed with that understanding.

The administration has chosen to lie to the American electorate about the reality of the Affordable Care Act, and the Madison Conservative wishes to demonstrate anecdotally just how unconstitutional the law is, how bold faced a lie the President has told, and why it is a threat to this nation.

The following compilation of news articles are presented here in a compressed and edited form – to do otherwise would require as much print as the act itself.

To wit:

The Kentucky Obamacare marketplace has no “expectation of privacy,” warning its prospective customers that their information can be monitored and shared with government bureaucrats.

When clicking “let’s get started” on the state-run health insurance marketplace “kynect,” the user is quickly prompted to a

“WARNING NOTICE.”

“This is a government computer system and is the property of the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” it states. “It is for authorized use only regardless of time of day, location or method of access. “

“Users (authorized or unauthorized) have no explicit or implicit expectation of privacy,” the disclaimer reads. “Any or all uses of this system and all files on the system may be intercepted, monitored, recorded, copied, audited, inspected, and disclosed to authorized state government and law enforcement personnel, as well as authorized officials of other agencies, both domestic and foreign.”

Such information includes Social Security numbers. When calling kynect to enroll in the marketplace a person is told to have their Social Security card, immigration status, pay stubs, alimony payments, student loan information, and current health insurance information at the ready.

The kynect disclaimer says users information can be shared at the will of state government agencies.

“By using this system,” the warning states, “the user consents to such at the discretion of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”

“Unauthorized or improper use of this system may result in administrative disciplinary action and/or civil and criminal penalties,” it says. “The unauthorized disclosure of Data containing privacy or health data may result in criminal penalties under Federal authority.”

A spokesperson for kynect called the disclaimer “problematic,” and said it was a mistake.

“The disclaimer is a federal requirement intended to let all who come on the website know this is a governmental entity and sensitive information is contained within,” said Gwenda Bond, assistant communications director for the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, told the Washington Free Beacon.

“While the language sounds severe, it actually is a warning to those who might try to inappropriately use the website or any personal information contained within,” she said. “We appreciate you bringing this to our attention, and we are working to modify the language so the message is more clear.”

Bond said kynect will update its website to read: “This website is the property of the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange. This is to notify you that you are only authorized to use this site, or any information accessed through this site, for its intended purpose of assisting individuals, employers or employees in the selection or purchase of health plans or other benefits.”

“Unauthorized access or disclosure of personal and confidential information may be punishable by fines under state and federal law. Unauthorized access to this website or access in excess of your authorization may also be criminally punishable. The Commonwealth of Kentucky and the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange follow applicable federal and state guidelines to protect information from misuse or unauthorized access.”

Problems with the health insurance exchanges since their launch on Tuesday have been widespread, with reports of long wait times, glitches, and security concerns, with the disclosure of over 2,000 Social Security numbers in Minnesota.

And now a strory about how real people are being affected by the monstrosity that is ObamaCare.

Cindy Vinson and Tom Waschura are big believers in the Affordable Care Act. They vote independent and are proud to say they helped elect and re-elect President Barack Obama.

Yet, like many other Bay Area residents who pay for their own medical insurance, they were floored last week when they opened their bills: Their policies were being replaced with pricier plans that conform to all the requirements of the new health care law.

Vinson, of San Jose, will pay $1,800 more a year for an individual policy, while Waschura, of Portola Valley, will cough up almost $10,000 more for insurance for his family of four.

And does this sound familiar?

Maryland's Health Connection, the state's Obamacare marketplace, has been plagued by delays in the first days of open enrollment.  If users are able to endure long page-loading delays, they are presented with the website's privacy policy, a ubiquitous fine-print feature on websites that often go unread. Nevertheless, users are asked to check off a box that they agree to the terms.

The policy contains many standard statements about information automatically collected regarding Internet browsers and IP addresses, temporary "cookies" used by the site, and website accessibility.  However, at least two conditions may give some users pause before proceeding.

The first is regarding personal information submitted with an application for those users who follow through on the sign up process all the way to the end.  The policy states that all information to help in applying for coverage and even for making a payment will be kept strictly confidential and only be used to carry out the function of the marketplace.  There is, however, an exception: "[W]e may share information provided in your application with the appropriate authorities for law enforcement and audit activities."  Here is the entire paragraph from the policy the includes the exception:

Should you decide to apply for health coverage through Maryland Health Connection, the information you supply in your application will be used to determine whether you are eligible for health and dental coverage offered through Maryland Health Connection and for insurance affordability programs. It also may be used to assist you in making a payment for the insurance plan you select, and for related automated reminders or other activities permitted by law.  We will preserve the privacy of personal records and protect confidential or privileged information in full accordance with federal and State law. We will not sell your information to others.  Any information that you provide to us in your application will be used only to carry out the functions of Maryland Health Connection.

The only exception to this policy is that we may share information provided in your application with the appropriate authorities for law enforcement and audit activities.

The site does not specify if "appropriate authorities" refers only to state authorities or if it could include the federal government, as well.  Neither is there any detail on what type of law enforcement and/or audit activities would justify the release of the personal information, or who exactly is authorized to make such a determination.  An email to the Maryland Health Connection's media contact seeking clarification has not yet been answered.

The second privacy term that may prompt caution by users relates to email communications.  The policy reads:

If you send us an e-mail, we use the information you send us to respond to your inquiry. E-mail correspondence may become a public record. As a public record, your correspondence could be disclosed to other parties upon their request in accordance with Maryland’s Public Information Act.

Since emails to the marketplace could conceivably involve private matters regarding finances, health history, and other sensitive issues, the fact that such information could be made part of the "public record" could prevent users from being as free with their information than they might otherwise be.  However, as noted, any requests for such emails would still be subject to Maryland's Public Information Act which contains certain exceptions to the disclosure rules.

And thus a tyranny is born.

Profiles in Courage and in Cowardice - A Commentary

The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy!

H. L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy, 1926

There are times when it is appropriate for the Madison Conservative to step out of its analytical stance and head off into the realm of personal commentary.

This Saturday necessitates that action.

Before addressing the title of this post, however, a quick aside that provides a wonderful example in contrasts.

This past week saw a group of World War II veterans say to hell with a barricade that was preventing them from visiting the open air World War II memorial in Washington D.C., closed due to the government shut-down. No one has yet explained how an open air memorial can be closed, but that is for another day. These men, visiting the Memorial on what are called ‘Honor Flights’ pretty much sums it all up nicely. These men are men of honor, men who deserve the title ‘hero’, men who exemplify the term courage under fire, and their stance of removing the barricades and pushing past the security officers encapsulated the event nicely. These heroes had no patience for cowardice, political or otherwise. They were intent on honoring their fallen brothers, and the thought that politicians playing games would somehow impede their final mission was unacceptable.

So they acted as heroes act – they took positive action to achieve their goal.

The fact that this administration, that our commander-in-chief would allow the barricades to be erected borders on political cowardice.

This nation has had a sacred compact with our service men and women from America’s founding. We do not allow petty political gamesmanship to dishonor our veterans.

What is little known or addressed is the fact that due to the petty budgetary politics currently in play, the cemetery in Normandy, France is being neglected, a victim of the government shutdown.

America does not treat her heroes this way – it is a disgrace and the President should be taken to task and be asked how he has allowed it to happen.

His failure to do so must be accepted as evidence of his abdication of duty as commander in chief.

So we have the acts of heroes this week in Washington, and this Saturday we have the anniversary of murdered active duty seamen and the subsequent acts of true cowardice by the then sitting president in response to those acts of war.

To wit:

{ed. note. I am the son, grandson and nephew of World War II veterans, and a proud Navy vet myself}

The USS Cole bombing was a suicide attack against the United States Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Cole on October 12^th 2000, while it was harbored and being refueled in the Yemen port of Aden.

Seventeen American sailors were killed, and 39 were injured.

The terrorist organization al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack.

For those who may have somehow forgotten, al-Qaeda are the terrorists who less than a year later were responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

President George W. Bush has been long held accountable by the political left for being somehow responsible for not doing more to prevent the attacks.

The liberal left should examine the facts before making those claims, but to do so would require honest thought.

The reason al-Qaeda was able to plot the 0/11 attacks was due solely to the cowardice, the raw unadulterated cowardice of President William Jefferson Clinton, he of the impeachment, of the convicted charge of perjury, the abdication of his law license as a result, as well as the $90,000 fine for lying under oath, while as president, to a federal judge.

And for repeatedly molesting a woman not much older than his daughter.

This is the man the liberal left idolizes fondly as a great president.

William Jefferson Clinton took no action as a result of the USS Cole attack.

What constitutes an act of war more than murdering active duty sailors, on an active duty naval vessel?

Clinton took the cowardly response of assuring “that the guilty would be brought to justice”.

This is what President Obama has claimed on several occasions in response to acts of terror, most notably in the case of the September 11^th attacks on our embassy in Libya.

An assault on our embassy, where the ambassador and three brave American service men were murdered, sounds an awful lot like an act of war.

President Obama has promised that the guilty would be punished.

Uh-huh.

It is surely hoped that he will not follow the Clinton model of cowardice under fire.

The American people must take note of Clintons’ cowardice, and hold President Obama to the same standard.

We must honor our veterans, past, present and future.

Putting up barricades to memorials and letting those who murder our military walk free is not the way to honor those who honor us by their service.

I will continue to use this platform to remind anyone who will listen that Clinton was a coward. There is little worse than can be said than to denote a commander as a coward, but Clinton has earned it.

The American people must pray that President Obama does not earn the disgraced sobriquet of coward.