The Bill Keith Report
News And Commentary
June 6, 2014
Greetings to our readers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 59 foreign countries.
If you believe the information in this edition of The Report is worthwhile, please pass it on to your friends and contact your congressional representatives about the issues.
Hooray for Governor Rick Perry
Finally, someone in public office has the courage to stand up and say, “Enough is enough.”
Governor Perry will send 1,000 National Guard troops to the border with Mexico to stop the tens of thousands of illegals — including thousands of children — coming into this land as well as immigrant gang members.
The Governor says he’s been trying to get President Obama to do something about the border for several years yet nothing has been done.
Contrariwise, the President and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid continue to say the “border is secure.”
Governor Perry appeared on the Sean Hannity television program and made a startling statement — illegals coming into Texas have committed 3,000 rapes and 8,000 murders in the past five years.
He says the “details of the criminal activity” are so catastrophic that “we can’t wait on Washington.”
Comment: Former Border Patrol Chief Ronald Coburn says one in five of all illegals coming into this land have violent criminal records These are not illegals with parking tickets or shoplifting. These people are rapists, murderers, drug dealers, and gang members.
Yet, what do we hear from the President? He won’t even go to the border to see the catastrophe. Rather, he just wants to grant amnesty to all of them regardless of the consequences.
There is a better solution — deport all the illegals who do not have valid work permits. Then make sure employers provide health insurance for the workers so they won’t bankrupt our healthcare system.
A Footnote
The Obama administration announced on Thursday that they are considering sending planes to Honduras to pick up more children and bring them to America so they won’t have to walk hundreds of miles to our southern border.
Although details are sketchy at this time, it is believed once the children are in the U.S., the President would grant them amnesty.
There is no information on how much it will cost, what will become of the children once they arrive here, what welfare benefits they will receive, where they will be educated (since they do not speak English) and how many hundreds or thousands will be considered in the amnesty program. Neither are we told if the President plans to bring children from other countries. Story is unfolding.
Who’s in Charge in Washington?
Has anyone seen the President lately? He’s been AWOL for some time. He’s been crisscrossing the country three days a week giving fundraising speeches for Senate democrats up for reelection.
Americans are falling from the skies over the Ukraine as President Putin of Russia and his thugs are shooting down airplanes (23 American citizens died in the recent plane crash); swarms of illegals are crossing the border into the U.S, as the border is not now, nor has it ever been, secure; Hamas has fired more than 2,000 rockets into Israel (more than likely funded by the $3.6 billion our government gave the Palestinian National Authority of which Hamas is now affiliated); and Russia is on the verge of an all-out attack on the Ukraine.
So what does the President do? He refuses to go to the border to see the devastation first hand, plays golf when he’s in Washington, drinks beer and plays pool in Colorado and eats hamburgers in Delaware.
He soon will begin a 15-day vacation in Martha’s Vineyard.
To make matters worse, Congress just adjourned for a five-week vacation.
So who’s in charge? I don’t know. The President is AWOL and Congress just went home.
We need a major house cleaning in Washington.
EBT/Food Stamp Cards and a Culture of Corruption
WE THE PEOPLE spend $80 billion each year on EBT (the cards replaced food stamps) cards that allegedly allows the poor to purchase food.
However, as in so many other areas, there is little accountability on the part of the card users. Although the cards are to purchase food only, the users have violated the USDA guidelines in creative ways. They have used the cards in tobacco shops, liquor stores, casinos, strip clubs, race tracks, tattoo parlors and even at Disney World resorts.
This week we learned that the people of Colorado are using the cards to purchase marijuana, just weeks after voters approved sales in the state. According to National Review, beneficiaries of the EBT cards have used the cards 259 times to purchase pot.
So what’s the problem? Little oversight and typical lack of government accountability.
But most of it is the government’s fault. They fail to deal with the pathologies of human nature and allow the card holders to use them as they will. They take few precautions to make sure the taxpayers’ funds are not wasted or misused.
For instance, I found the following information from the USDA that administers the program. They extend a hearty welcome to the EBT card users and give them detailed information on how to use the cards to purchase food. That’s okay.
But they also give them detailed information on how to use the card to get cash back at supermarkets or cash from ATM machines.
The GOVERNMENT shows them exactly how to do it!
Hence, the fraudulent purchases.
Comment: When President John F. Kennedy initiated the national food stamp program it was for a worthy purpose — to feed hungry people. But, like most programs, they become large, expensive, uncontrollable and filled with fraud and waste.
Today we have $80 billion a year floating around and no one knows for sure just how much of it is spent on food.
Arizona Governor Brewer vs. Phoenix Suns Owner
Last week Robert Sarver the owner of the Phoenix Suns basketball team hammered Governor Brewer and the state’s immigration law that would require identification.
The feisty Governor issued the following statement in response to Sarver’s criticism:
“What if the owners of the Suns discovered that hordes of people were sneaking into games without paying? What if they had a good idea who the gate-crashers are but the ushers and security personnel were not allowed to ask these folks to produce their ticket stubs, thus non-paying attendees couldn’t be ejected. Furthermore, what if the Sun’s ownership was expected to provide those who sneaked in with complimentary eats and drink? And what if, on those days when a gate-crasher became ill or injured, the Suns had to provide free medical care and shelter?” ~Governor Jan Brewer.
Comment: It’s strange that Attorney General Eric Holder files suit against any state — including Arizona — that requires all voters to present identification. Holder says it discriminates against minorities.
But on a personal note, I have to show my ID when I renew my driver’s license; open a bank account; apply for a passport and a visa; when I use my credit cards at department stores; and others.
Working the Welfare System
Remember back in 2012 when Governor Mitt Romney said that far too many people have become dependent on government land by learning how to work the system.
The owner of a Ford dealership learned firsthand what Romney was talking about. He said a lady came into his showroom and said she wanted to lease a brand new Focus. As he looked at her credit app, he noticed she was on social security disability.
“You don’t look like you’re disabled and unable to work,” he commented.
“Well, I’m really not. I could work if I wanted to, but I make more now than I did when I was working and got hurt…”
She then explained that the government sends her $1,500 a month for her disability and she gets $700 a month on an EBT card (food stamps), and $800 a month for rent.
“Oh yeah, and 250 minutes free on my phone.”
She told him that when she was working she was taking home $330 a week and that she’s much better off receiving disability and welfare checks.
Comment: Think about it — why should she go back to work? When you multiply her income by millions of others, you begin to see the scope of the problem we face in this land.
Military Can Only Find a Few Good Men
More than two-thirds of America’s young people would fail to qualify for military service, the Wall Street Journal reports, because of physical, behavioral or educational shortcomings.
According to the newspaper, this poses serious “challenges to building the next generation of soldiers even as the U. S. draws down troops from conflict zones.”
“The military deems many youngsters ineligible due to obesity, lack of a high-school diploma, felony convictions and prescription-drug use for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder,” the Journal reported. “But others are now also running afoul of standards for appearance amid the growing popularity of large scale tattoos” and other appearance problems.
Keystone Pipeline, Canadian Oil and China
The Canadian government has approved a major new pipeline to the Pacific Coast that would allow the country’s oil to be shipped to China and other Asian countries, the Associated Press reports.
According to AP, the approval was expected since Prime Minister Stephen Harper has favored the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline after the U. S. delayed a decision on building the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to the U. S. Gulf Coast.
The Northern Gateway pipeline will transport 525,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta’s oil sands to the Pacific to giant oil tankers from oil-hungry China and other Asian countries, the news service said.
Comment: It’s a shame that the President continues to pander to the powerful environmental lobby in Washington. He has held up the pipeline for years and apparently has no plans to approve its construction.
Comment: There are always consequences for our actions. Keystone would provide 40,000 jobs immediately and greatly reduce our dependence on foreign oil. But politics and agendas trump common sense and the will of the majority of the people.
The VA Mess and the Future of ACA Healthcare
Retired pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson believes the Veterans Administration scandal gives us a picture of what nationalized healthcare will be like when handled by the Washington bureaucracy.
“I think what’s happening with the veterans…shows us what happens when you take layers and layers of bureaucracy and place them between the patients and the healthcare provider,” Dr. Carson said.
He added, “And if we can’t get it right, with the relatively small number of veterans, how in the world are you going to do it with the entire population? You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure this out.”
Dr. Carson, 62, an African American, retired last summer as chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
THE BILL KEITH REPORT AND COMMENTARY July 25, 2014