Sunday, August 30, 2009

Is Comedian Red Skelton Rep. Mark Martin's True Father?






Younger readers will not remember the late great comedian Richard "Red" Skelton. He retired from television in the late 70's or 80's because he felt it had gotten too filthy. He passed away in 1997. The "Red" in his name had to do with the color of his hair, not his politics. He was once famous for a monologue he did about the flag of the United States.

I will simply post their pictures and let you be the judge of my little "conspiracy theory". I want to add that Martin is famous for his silly, Skelton-like, comedy, and even sounds a bit like the deceased entertainer.

Texas Secessionist Rally Footage

Government Tries It's Hand at Mafia Business Tactic as Press Looks On

I have two videos down there which show Peter Schiff and others on a CNBC cable show. The infobabe is trying to get them to say that the rise in stock price of government owned/bailed out companies is a positive sign. Maybe even a sign that it is OK to invest in them again.

It struck me how much the entire panel, whether bull or bear, spoke out against the idea that the rally in those stocks is a sign that the companies were really healthy. To a man they warned viewers off the stocks. They actually said it looked like a squeeze play!

Do you remember a mafia scam a few years back when the mob would by shares in a company and then spam people with unsolicited advice that company X was about to break out? The suckers who acted on that advice caused the stock price to go up, then the mafia sold out, took the profit, and ran. The analysts, who did not agree with each other on much else, all seemed to think that the government itself (with selected insiders) was pulling a similar stunt. They did not use the mafia as an example of someone else who did this, they just described what they thought was going down and I was struck by how much it sounded like this old mafia scam.

O how the honor and integrity of this nation has fallen. Now we have the government and their cronies trying to scam people into buying their failing stocks with mafia-like tactics and the commentators talk about it in almost a blase' fashion.


Bisbee Draws Disparate Newspaper Coverage

The two largest newspapers in this state are the Arkansas Democrat Gazette and the Morning News chain of Northwest Arkansas. The two are in a pitched battle for subscribers in the area where they overlap.

Their coverage of former state senator and current Benton County Judge David Bisbee could not be more different. The editorial page of the Democrat Gazette recently ran an editorial about Bisbee that could fairly be described as "fawning". This was in stark contrast to his hometown papers. The Morning News has been running a series of increasingly frustrated reports on Bisbee's activities, culminating in a brutal editorial in today's Morning News (Rogers and Bentonville editions).

Newspapers have great power to shape people's perception of reality (which is a very different thing from reality itself). Depending on which paper is read, the perception of County Judge David Bisbee will vary greatly.

Tea Party Activists Oppose Fayetteville Bond Issue

Artists Conception of the proposed new Fayetteville High School, which would be by far the most expensive high school campus in the state. Actually, that is a picture of the Taj Mahal, but you get the idea.
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Here are some "fun facts" about the Fayetteville School District's proposed bond issue which will be on the ballot September 15th. Local Tea Party activists provided this information because they are opposed to the new debt.

The Fayetteville School Board will be asking for a 25% mill increase of 4.9 mills, one of the largest mills ever requested. This is for a $115,825,000.00 bond to build an $83,000,000.00 High school, which is more than 2 times the amount spent on any other school. In reading the ballot
http://www.co.washington.ar.us/ElectionCommission/ElectionBallots/Fayetteville%20Zone1.pdf any "surplus revenues produced each year by debt service millage may be used by the District for other school purposes." Basically giving the District a blank check (only up to $116 million).

This will equate to a 10-12% tax increase.

The foundation of the TEA Party movement is to STOP over-reaching, over-spending and unresponsive government.

We will need volunteers to Get Out the Vote by door-to-door canvassing to phone banking to election day visibility. Donations are being accepted to help us reach more voters.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Is Blanche Going to Take The Money and (Not) Run?

Is this U.S. Senate Death Star about to be fully operational?
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State Senate President Pro-Tem Bob "Death Star" Johnson has made rumblings that he might like to run in the Democratic primary for United States Senate. He would not do that unless someone from the establishment had given him the green light. Blanche Lincoln, the incumbent, is also a Democrat. They are famous for not having contested primaries. What is up here?

Well, I can't help but notice that Senator Lincoln has a bulging campaign war chest, due to the fact that out of state special interests love her. She is quite the darling of the corporate lobbyists on Capitol Hill. On the other hand, the folks back home who will actually do the voting seem to find her regular sell-outs and double talk/evasions to be quite tiresome. Her polls simply reek.

Maybe Lincoln is going to take all those millions she has gathered up in corporate campaign donations and quit. She can use the money, like ex-Governor Huckabee, to start a PAC whose real purpose is to give lucrative jobs to her family. Maybe she is sending these signals and the Democrat establishment needs a back up plan just in case she opts not to face what may be a very brutal campaign.

Or it could just be that the establishment has caught on that the people have caught on to the fact that Lincoln is a corporate sell-out. They need a fresh face, albeit a face that will still play ball with them. That way it could be years before the electorate figures out that the new politician is in the same pocket as the old one was.

Facing Fiscal Reality on Medicare


People (like Max Brantley)who use Medicare as an example of "a government single payer system that works" are ignoring one very important aspect of the system- it is going broke. It is going broke in such a titanic way that it threatens to take the entire government budget down with it. Medicare seems like a bargain only because the people getting it are not paying for most of it. In fact, none of us are paying for all of it yet- we are just borrowing to cover the shortfalls.
Medicare has three parts, only one of which is financed by Medicare deductions on your payroll taxes. That is Medicare Part A, which covers Hospital Inpatient Services.

Medicare part A is currently insolvent. By that I mean that amount of money spent on part A exceeds the amount collected in payroll taxes. A few years ago, before baby boomers started retiring, the amount collected exceeded the amount spent, so there was a "trust fund" accumulation called the Medicare HI trust fund.

There is no money in this fund, it was all spent for other stuff and the only "assets" in the fund is a bunch of IOU's from the Federal government. They now have to pay back those IOU's by borrowing from someone else, but even if all of the money was really there, the HI fund will be depleted in ten years. In 2019 the HI fund is projected to be exhausted and collections will only amount to 78% of expenditures. From there it gets worse.

That is part A, but what about parts B (doctor's visits) and D (prescription drug coverage)? Those are funded by a combination of premiums and general revenues. Did you realize that much of Medicare is funded by general revenues, or did you think that your payroll deduction covered it? Sorry Charlie, those payroll taxes are not even close to covering it. General revenues currently pay for about half of Medicare spending, and it is projected to get worse.

A few years ago, about one of every six Federal revenue dollars went to Medicare. In forty years, assuming federal taxes stay proportional, it will consume one of every two dollars! That does not even count Social Security, which is a model of stability by comparison.

The reason Medicare looks so good compared to private insurance is that private insurance is run by grown-ups who are responsible enough to make sure the services they provide are sustainable. The insurance companies may not be ethical, but they are honest. They exercise the brutal honesty that the laws of economics demand.

Medicare on the other hand, is run by egotistical politicians who have flattered and indulged people in order to betray them. They are neither ethical nor honest. They don't care about the bottom line, or the economic realities. They look only to the next election, not the next generation.

They see their job as redistribution of wealth, plundering group X to get the votes and cheers from group Y. And whose wealth is easier to plunder than that of the next generation? They are not around to complain or vote against the pillaging of their future income. The unborn are easy victims of our political class, hence the massive use of debt to pay for outlandish political promises.

Private insurance companies ration services right now, so they are the bad guy. At some point, when the Chinese communists tire of loaning our government money, government will start rationing all the health care it pays for. Unfortunately it is easier to change insurance companies than it is to change governments.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Polling on Lincoln Race. None too Popular


Sen. Gilbert Baker, Curtis Coleman, and Tom Cotton seem to be mighty unpopular/unknown folk. Their approval ratings in Arkansas range from 4 to 7%. This is particularly disheartening in that their extended families make up from 5 to 8% of the population.

Just kidding about that family part, but single digit approval ratings are still enough to keep these three men in a statistical dead heat with Senator Blanche Lincoln.

The poll did not ask about Green candidates or Independents (the number of self-identified Independents in the state is at 33% as opposed to 29% GOP).

How the Fed is Monetizing the Debt

For the economics geeks out there (like me).

Whose Taxed Enough Already? Arkansans (5th Highest)


Rep. Mark Martin's "Off the Marble" blog has a terrific piece about taxes in Arkansas. It measures tax burdens in the fairest possible way- as a percentage of income. By that score, only four states have greater tax burden's than Arkansas. He also gives accounts of our unfavorable tax structure driving business start-ups out of the state. A good read.

GOP Bailout Senators Rally Against Rand Paul


Dr. Rand Paul, son of Texas Congressman Dr. Ron Paul, is running for U.S. Senate in Kentucky as a Republican.

This greatly upsets the establishment, who are having a hard time tamping down on the reforms of one Paul in Congress. That is why 23 GOP senators, all of whom voted for the bailout, are holding a fundraiser for Paul's opponent in the Republican primary, establishment favorite and Kentucky Treasurer Trey Grayson.

Paul raised over $430,000 dollars in one 24 hour period recently, partially negating the expected effects of Grayson's $500 a plate Washington Fund Raiser.

The cry of the Republican establishment seems to be "Death before listening to the grassroots!".

The Government Can

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Socialized Medicine By Another Path

Phil Kerpin reminds us that there is more than one way to socialized medicine.

Some money quotes: "The insurance companies will insist on, and probably receive, an individual health insurance mandate that will make it illegal not to buy their products. The penalty for violating the mandate will be a sizable new tax (2.5 percent of gross income in H.R. 3200), or garnishing your wages. "

"The left is desperately trying to keep the public option distraction alive. By acting as if it is still the major controversy in the bill, they hope to continue to draw fire away from the risk of a mandates and subsidies bill until they can announce a last minute, possibly bipartisan, so-called "compromise" that will catch free-market activists off-balance by removing the public option, and its slightly more subtle incarnation, the non-profit co-op"

My Friend and Cash for Clunkers


I have a friend who is a strong supporter of President Obama. This guy's character is rock solid, he just has a blind spot about what government can and can't really do.

His son has a very high paying, high stress job in a major metropolitan area. This young man had his old truck vandalized, and because of that it's value fell so low that the Cash For Clunkers amount seemed like a good deal. He used the program to trade in his vandalized old truck for a Mazda Z car.

My friend thinks this is an example of an Obama program that worked. I told him that it amounts to me and him rolling our lazy carcasses out of bed every morning for three weeks just to repay the loan from China that Obama used to finance the young man's acquisition of a Japanese car. And the young man whose foreign car purchase we are subsidizing makes far more money than both of us put together.

If that is an example of an Obama "success", what will the failures look like?

Arkansas Tea Party Net Radio Tonight

Federal Workers Over Paid

Cato shows that pay for federal workers has grown far faster than that of private sector.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Obama Wrong About National Health Care Not Funding Abortions

....not "health care".

Maybe he hasn't read the bill either. President Obama declares that the health bill in Congress, HR 3200, would not lead to public funding of abortions. Fact Check says it does cover abortion, and the Capps amendment does nothing to prohibit it, just lay out in what situations funding for abortion is mandatory.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Human Evolution Hypothesis Takes More Hits

Ouch, that is gonna hurt.
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A couple of studies out recently that cast even more doubt on macro-evolutionary claims.

In one, the appendix is found to not be vestigal after all. And the random way it keeps popping up in some forms along the evolutionary tree and not others has some folks mighty confused. Money quote, "Parker and colleagues found that the appendix has evolved at least twice, once among Australian marsupials and another time among rats, lemmings and other rodents, selected primates and humans. "We also figure that the appendix has been around for at least 80 million years, much longer than we would estimate if Darwin's ideas about the appendix were correct."

The second article is a detailed study of the genetic differences between humans and chimps. The WAY in which are genes are different defies macroevolutionary explanation.

A Perfect Record of Federal Programs

from Joanne Filiatreau
The U.S. Postal Service was established in 1775 - you have had 234 years to get it right; it is broke.

Social Security was established in 1935 - you have had 74 years to get it right; it is broke.

Fannie Mae was established in 1938 - you have had 71 years to get it right; it is broke.

War on Poverty started in 1964 - you have had 45 years to get it right; $1 trillion of our money is confiscated each year and transferred to "the poor"; it hasn't worked..

Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965 - you've had 44 years to get it right; they're broke....

Freddie Mac was established in 1970 - you have had 39 years to get it right; it is broke.

Trillions of dollars in the massive political payoff called the TARP bill of 2009 shows NO sign of working.

And finally to set a new record:
"Cash for Clunkers" was established in 2009 and went broke in 2009!
So with a perfect 100% failure rate and a record that proves that "services" you shove down our throats are failing faster. CRAZY

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Health Care from the Folks Who Brought You Vaccine Cover Ups

Autism often expresses itself as sensory overload where children cannot deal with normal stimulus.
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A mercury product used in many children's vaccinations is at least partially responsible for the explosion in autism. So says Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in this long and solid report. Not only that, he makes credible claims that government agencies have long known the truth about vaccines with thimerosal, but covered it up.

There could be several motives for this. One is that they did not want to panic the population out of taking vaccinations for other things. They are phasing the additive out of vaccines now, but that is too late for over half a million autistic children.

Another possibility is that the drug companies have taken over part of the government much as Goldman Sachs and banking interests have taken over other parts. The government now mandates that your child get over 20 vaccinations before they reach 1st grade. That is a lot of bad stuff to assault a young immune system with but the drug companies are always looking to add one more drug to the "mandatory" list.

More evidence? Consider Bush II and the Medicare part D program. We couldn't pay for the Medicare plan we had before prescription drug coverage was added. Instead of fixing it, Bush insured Medicare's soon-coming implosion by adding a prescription drug benefit which is 75% financed by general revenue. This amounts to a huge subsidy for drug companies. Remember Texas Governor Rick Perry and his mandatory innoculations for 11 year old girls in Texas public schools for a sexually transmitted disease? Big pharma wanted it.

My point here is that much of our government has been captured by mega-corporate interests, and big pharma is part of that group. Now let me ask you a question, assume that Kennedy is right and the government covered up the effects of thimerosal even though the had evidence that it contributed to autism, are these the people you want to trust with your health care? Why are they going to put your health first and not the profits and protection of the big medical corporations who funnel them so much money in exchange for political favors?

Closed Door Sessions


It seems like some legislators do not like House Minority Whip Mark Martin's live-blogging on committee meetings. His informative reports are posted on his blog "Off the Marble". Today he wrote "this may be the last time I am able to do this".

It seems that Tim Massanelli, the boss of the House staff and reigning expert on matters of rules, cautioned Martin about this practice using the curious reasoning that the state Constitution's ban on legislators being "arrested" or "questioned" while in route to or on their duties was somehow violated by Martin's live-blogging of their comments. I know, I don't get it either. Using that interpretation, I guess it is unconstitutional for one legislator to ask another legislator a question while in session?

Latest Benton County Follies: Million in Taxes Held

In the latest of a string of embarrassments for Benton County government, Treasurer Gloria Lee Peterson has discovered that $1.4 million dollars in taxes from up to two years ago has been sitting in five bank accounts rather than being forwarded to the local entities that are due the money. By law, they are supposed to distribute the money every month.

This reaches back into the administration of former Judge Gary Black, and of course the current County Judge Dave Bisbee. On a positive note, I do want to add that Judge Bisbee recently saved the life of a woman involved in a boating accident on Beaver Lake. Judge Bisbee is to be congratulated for this act of heroism.

It feels good to be able to report some good news about a public figure for a change.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Lincoln to Hold Town Halls in September

Lincoln schedules town hall meetings, but this fellow is probably not invited.
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K.R. James reports that Senator Blanche Lincoln will hold town hall meetings after all (three in September). He also opines that it might not matter anymore, because liberal Democrats are about to exercise what amounts to a "nuclear option". This is an obscure maneuver that will end-run the Senate filibuster and only require 50+1 votes to pass into law. Back when the GOP held a slim majority the press considered it an unthinkable breach of protocol for this tactic to be used. Let's see if they remember that when the Democrats try it.

Join Us for Tea Party Net Radio Tonight



Join us from 9-10 PM tonight
. On this program we get to meet organizers from two counties that have not checked in with us before- counties in the 4th Congressional District no less. In addition, we talk about the protests and media coverage of the same; the harsh fiscal reality of the government health care that we now have; Fayetteville School district's tone deaf effort to raise taxes, and your calls.

Monday, August 17, 2009

TV Stations Flip On Protest Coverage


Reporter Kate Luck, fairest of them all this Saturday.
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You may recall that we kept score on the disparate coverage of the three area broadcast stations during the recent protests. Thursday in Springdale, KNWA (Liz Hogan)and 40/29 KHOG (Tess Maune) gave fair coverage that day, KFSM's Carla Scallan lagged far behind.

This Saturday there was another protest of a Senator Blanche Lincoln event in Bella Vista. This time the grades were reversed. KFSM's Kate Luck gave by far the fairest presentation of the real story- the confusion caused by the DNC's "Organizing For America" Operation. OFA put out an email that this was a public event even though it was really a DNC fund raiser. Opinion was sharply divided in the Tea Party movement about the propriety of protesting an OFA/DNC event. Most of the leadership was against it, but when the word came down from President Obama's astroturf organization that it was a public meeting, the grassroots could not be held back. The protest was on. Luck made that point very clear in her report.

Angelica Duria of 40/29 also gave a fair report that covered the true story. A viewer could tell what really happened by watching either of those reporter's pieces. Shouldn't that be the standard by which reporting is judged?

Now for the bad score. KNWA's Allison Woods delivered a dreadful propaganda piece that gave viewers no idea of the role that the Democrats themselves played in the confusion. She even had Benton County Democratic Party Bill Williams on saying "we have every right to exist, we've been here a long time and we are not going away".

It was a complete strawman that Woods stuck the name of the protesters on so it could be knocked over by debunking positions that the protesters did not hold. The report set it up like the protesters were out there protesting the fact that the Democratic party existed in Benton County. That was absurd. In fact not one protester was found that was there to protest their existence. They were protesting Blanche Lincoln's triple talk and evasion on health care and other issues. It was DNC organs that spread the word, erroneously as it turned out, that it was a public meeting. That fact was covered fairly in the other two reports, but not in KNWA's.

I have the links, go judge for yourself. KFSM and KHOG got it right and KNWA gave a completely different, and misleading, story.

Medicare as an Example of Government Health Care



People that use Medicare as an example of "a government single payer system that works" are ignoring one very important aspect of the system- it is going broke. It is going broke in such a titanic way that it threatens to take the entire government budget down with it. Medicare seems like a bargain only because the people getting it are not paying for most of it. In fact, none of us are paying for all of it yet, we are just borrowing to cover the shortfalls.

Anything you buy on credit seems like a good deal until you have to pay for it. Many of you have experienced buying for example, a new car. The first month it seems like a great deal. You are enjoying it, but you haven't paid for it yet. After about the 25th payment you are regretting it every month. That is the experience Western countries are about to have with their dalliance with socialism. The government has "provided" all these goodies to the population using the people's credit card and the politicians simply left it to the next generation to pay for their promises. Well, that generation is here, and they can't pay the tab they have been stuck with and are pretty angry about the scam. The use of public debt benefited one generation at the expense of the other, and the bankers most of all.

(analysis of the numbers and what they mean on the jump)

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Civil Protestors Dog Lincoln

Saturday, August 15, 2009

More Info on the Travelling Lincoln Circus

I hope you have been following the gyrations of the Senator Blanche Lincoln meeting that went down in Benton County today. Conflicted descriptions of the meeting format came from different Dem. sources, and the location of the event was changed 1 day before hand. Laurie Masterson on Master Log had this to say....

"One might argue that Organizing for America could send an “erroneous email” and get it wrong, being that they are supposedly an arm of the Obama Administration, but to try and convince me that an organization with an impeccable reputation for facts such as MoveOn.org got it wrong is a whole nother matter. What really strikes me as peculiar is the names at the bottom of the email from MoveOn.org, Carole Westby, Charles Aldrich & Bill Millager. Umm I have seen these names somewhere before…where was it? OH! I know here http://www.bentoncountydemocrats.org/ on the Benton county Democrats’ site on Aug 4th announcing the “Summer Rally/Picnic”\\Now am I supposed to believe that the contacts being the same for both organizations (Benton County Dems and MoveOn.org) had a miscommunication between themselves? Well let’s just say I “report, you decide”.


I am not saying this happened (and I am not, not saying it either) but it looks like what might have been a plan to STACK a meeting with friendlies and perhaps have a very favorable Town Hall for the news media got just a little out of hand.

Senators Cleared on Country Wide Loans


Senate Ethics Panel Say Fellow Senators have done no wrong!
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On reason the mortgage situation in this country got so out of hand is that lenders like Country Wide gave special loans to key members of Congress. The Senate "ethics" panel has cleared the Senators who took some of these sweetheart deal loans, even though at least one witness before the committee testified that they knew they were getting special treatment. Their "exhaustive investigation" did NOT include the Senators under investigation actually having to answer any questions before the committee.
The Wall Street Journal has the sordid details.

My prescription for this malady? Tea.

Friday, August 14, 2009

A Town Hall Without Town's People

UPDATE III

This is getting wild. Laurie Masterson now reports that the Democrats are moving this function to Blowing Springs Park in Bella Vista!

Directions (from Town Center on Arkansas 340/Lancashire Boulevard):
Take U.S. 71 south to Dartmoor Road
Turn left (east) on Dartmoor Road
Go straight into Blowing Springs Park

How can you change the location of a fund raiser or a town hall less than 24 hours before the event?
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UPDATE II

from the DPA

DEMOCRATIC PARTY RELEASE

Democratic Party of Arkansas Chairman Todd Turner, along with U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln and Arkansas's Democratic National Committeewoman Krystal Thrailkill, will address the Benton County Little Flock Political Rally on Saturday, August 15.


The event begins at 4:30 p.m. and dinner will be served at 5:00 p.m. Tickets for the event are $10 including a meal or $5 without a meal. The rally will be held at the Samaritan Community Center, 1211 West Hudson Road in Rogers.

This event is a fundraiser for the Benton County Democratic Central Committee. For more information please contact Suzanne Jessup at (479) 659-2315.
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update UPDATE update

Arkansas Watch has learned that the event in question is actually a Democratic Party fund raiser, with paid admission. Obama's Website called the event a Town Hall. Blanche Lincoln's people say it is a Democratic party function not open to the public. They are right, Obama's website is wrong. Arktimes sorts through the mess.


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From Laurie Masterson at Arkansas Unite:

I write you this evening to ask for your help! Senator Blanche Lincoln has decided to deny the citizens of Arkansas a chance to be heard, we have called her office repeatedly and requested an audience to no avail. As recently as today I personally called and ask if there were ANY opportunities to meet with the Senator in a public forum, I was told 'NO'. Tonight just after 6pm I learned of a meeting Sen. Lincoln will be holding in Rogers, AR this Saturday.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpfcwv

She is speaking at a "Health Care Public Event". She has seen fit to evade her constituents, deny us our right to be properly represented and now slaps the voters in the face by appearing in our own back yard without the courtesy of an invitation or even a notice. Notice of this meeting as of tonight is NOT posted on any of her sites and appears to have only been sent to members of the OFA.

Please join hopefully HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of Arkansans to say ENOUGH! WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED!

This may be our one and ONLY chance to express in MASS our dissatisfaction and concerns about the current issues facing our families!


This Saturday AUGUST 15th

3:30

Samaritan Community Center (Rogers, AR)
1211 W Hudson Rd
Rogers, AR 72756

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Springdale Protest After-Action Report

We had 40+ people on hand at the Convention Center in Springdale, which was not bad on such short notice. Sen. Lincoln stayed inside while county officials, almost all of them from her party and almost all of them with their hand out, feigned attention.

Here is a rundown of media coverage. 1) The print media stayed inside like the good little establishment hacks that too many of them are. They did not even come interview.

Liz Hogan for KNWA probably gave the most fair coverage of the event.
Tess Maune of 40/29 gave a fair report too. I was there on behalf of the Benton County Tea Party and have a short sound bite on each story.

Contrasting their balanced reporting, KFSM gave one-sided coverage of the event. If you listen to all three reports I think you will see what I mean.

A favorite tactic of scummy people in politics is to accuse the enemy of exactly what you yourself are doing. Nancy Pelosi says that the health care protesters are fake grass-roots, "astroturf". The truth is just the opposite. "Organizing for America" is on my.barackobama.com and even has a symbol that looks like Obama's campaign symbol. They are an arm of the DNC using the name of a Democratic office holder to drum up counter-demonstrators. Even worse, Craig's list now has job listings where they are PAYING people to counter-demonstrate. That is fake grassroots if I ever saw it.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Protest Scheduled Tomorrow in Springdale


From Arkansas Unite: The Benton County Tea Party Executive Committee has also voted to join this protest.

"Thursday Aug 13th,Senator Blanche Lincoln and former Senator David Pryor will be at the Springdale Convention Center for the Association of Counties Annual Conference. We will be out front on the public sidewalk to greet our legislator with signage requesting an open forum so we can discuss our questions and concerns regard the healthcare issue. If you would like to join us to peacefully assert our 1st amendment rights we will gather from 8:30 am-10:30 am. We expect a civil and unifying demonstration. "

Tea Party Radio Talks About the Protests




We had a very strong Arkansas Tea Party Radio show last night. Listen to the archived version here. The main topics were the patriotism (and boundaries) of dissent and the details of the health care plan. We also had eye-witness reports of some of the hot-spot events like the Synder Ross Town Hall meeting. Tea Party Activists from Baxter, Benton, Pulaski, Craighead, and Washington counties weighed in.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Ross/Pryor Meeting/Crowd Had Reason to Boo

Quote by Obama Saying He Wants a Government Single-Payer Health Care Plan
(Single-Payer means government is only provider of health care.)
Barney Franks says the Public Option Part of the Health Care Plan Is The Best Way to Get to Single-Payer Plan

At a town hall meeting sponsored by Representative Vic Snyder and Representative Mike Ross, Vic Snyder said, "Mike and I do not support a single-payer system." The crowd yelled, "Obama does." Snyder answered "No, it is not what Obama wants." The crowed yelled "liar." Evidently the crowd had seen the following quote by Obama on video before he became president and the quote by Barney Franks saying the Public Option Plan which Obama supports was the best way to reach the single-payer plan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quIBN4lmIXE

Obama speech at an AFL-CIO Conference
"I happen to be a proponent of single-payer health care plan, a universal health care plan. That is what I would like to see." See video at this link for this quote and the other following quotes: http://www.breitbart.tv/uncovered-video-obama-explains-how-his-health-care-plan-will-eliminate-private-insurance/

7-27-09 in an interview.
Barney Franks: I think if we get a good public option it could lead to single-payer; that's the best way to reach single-payer."

Congresswoman Jan Schakoswky, from Illinois: "And next to me was a guy from the insurance company who then argued against the public health insurance option saying it wouldn't let private insurance compete; the public option will put the private insurance industry out of business. My fellow citizens, he was right; the man was right." Note: And only the single-payer plan would be left.

Obama speech to American Medical Association, June 15, 09
"The Public Option is not your enemy; it is your friend. (ellipsis)
Let me also address an illegitimate concern that is being put forward by those who are claiming that a public option is somehow a Trojan horse for a single-payer system." Note: this is an exact description of what the public option is according to Barney Franks and Congresswoman Jan Schakoswky in above quotes.

Obama admitting his plan to eliminate private insurance:

Obama speech at SEIU Health Care Forum 3-24-07
"My commitment is to make sure that we've got universal health care for all Americans by the end of my first term as President. I would hope that we set up a system that allows those who can go to their employer to access a federal system or a state pool of some sort. But I don't think we are going to be able to eliminate employer coverage immediately. There is going to be potentially some transition process. I can envision a decade out or 15 years out."

Note: Obama keeps reminding everyone on TV that they can keep their insurance plan they have now. That is totally different from what he has said earlier in these quotes.

Back to Representatives Snyder & Mike Ross in their Town Hall Meeting in which they Snyder said, "Mike and I do not support a single-payer system." However, both of them have already voted for a bill in committee that has a public option which Obama is adamant that a health bill include - a plan that Congressman Barney Franks and Jan Schakoswky say will lead to government single-payer health care. Obama has also originally said he wants a single-payer health care plan. In light of these facts, how then can Vic Snyder and Representative Mike Ross say they will not support a single-payer health care plan. The crowd was right to be outraged.

See this link for a story where Mike Ross voted for the health care bill in the Energy and Commerce Committee, the latest and most significant hurdle that comprehensive health care reform had to clear and which is described as a major accomplishment for the president's agenda. Mike Ross is on this committee and is not listed as voting against it. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/01/key-panel-oks-health-care-bill/

See this link for press releases on the $81 million in pork Ross was able to bring home to his district about the time Obama called in those holding up the health care bill after which Ross caved and helped vote the health care bill out of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Was he bought? You be the judge. http://arkansaswatch.blogspot.com/2009_07_01_archive.html

Saturday, August 08, 2009

More Congressman, Good Idea

This site claims that one of our problems is that congressional districts have gotten too big. Each Congressman now represents 700,000. They were a lot more accessible before the arbitrary cap of 435 was placed on the House and each of them represented only 100,000, 50,000, or even just 30,000 people. They make an excellent case and I found their points well worth reading.

Friday, August 07, 2009

Ice Age to Start "Sometime about now"

During the height of the last Ice Age, a sheet of Ice about a mile thick extended all the way down past the location of present-day Chicago. "Global Warming" continues to be a hoax. If anything, we need MORE carbon emissions, not "cap and trade", to help stave off the next Ice Age!
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Scientists believe that they have nailed down what causes ice ages. It turns out that it is related to orbital patterns and the gyrating (over vast amounts of time) of the Earth's axis relative to the sun. Based on their calculations, the next Ice Age is due to begin "Sometime about now". These things could take centuries, or even millenia to come on, so there is no need to panic just yet. Nor is their any need to panic over the chimerical "global warming" threat.

The control-freaks who have been using the non-existent "threat" of global warming to try to gain money and power may have to switch gears. The NEW reason that you should give them money and power is so they can stop "global cooling".

While Synder Denies, Frank Admits Bill Best Route to "Single Payer"



When a questioner at a Town Hall meeting asked Congressman Vic Synder about a Single Payer System, he claimed to be against it and that President Obama was against it too. "Liar!" erupted a chorus of protesting citizens. The jeers lasted maybe five seconds. Synder insisted that the Public Option was "not at all" the same as supporting a single payer system.

Was the crowd disrespecting him with baseless accusations of dishonesty, or is he disrespecting them by lying to their faces? The video above of Congressman Barney Frank (Deviant, Massachusetts) just may reveal the answer. Frank tells the pro-single payer interviewer that a bill with a strong public option is the best way to get to single payer. In addition, here is a video from a year ago in which Obama flatly declares that he is in favor of a single-payer system.

It is obvious that the plan of the Democratic leadership is to get a bill with a public option, then use it to shift and conceal costs so that the private options can't compete- over time becoming a single-payer system. Can people who choose single payer ever go back to private payer? Can we afford a single payer system that does not use rationing of health care, and if not, who trusts their local government official to be the rationer of their families health care?

Thursday, August 06, 2009

Plan to Feed Freddie and Fannie's Toxic Assests to Taypayers


The government of the United States appears to have been completely captured by large financial interests like Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and even foreign banks. It is bad enough that the TARP has exploded into a 23 Trillion dollar program. A program whereby these interests can take all of their junk "assets" to the Fed and get "loans" backed by our Treasury for the book value (that is what they say the asset is worth) of the asset. And the only recourse if the banks don't pay back the loans is that we get to keep the toxic asset.

Imagine a financial instrument that consists of the right to collect from a bundle of sub-prime mortgages. In theory, if almost all the loans were paying, it would bring in say, a million dollars a month and might have a present values of 100 million dollars. It goes on their books for $100 million. In actuality, only a few percent of the loans are performing, and the way the contracts are written it is not even clear if the holder of the instrument has a right to repo the homes. Goldman Sachs takes that dog to the Fed and gets a loan for the full book value of that asset. If things turn around and the value of that asset bounces back, they pay off the loan. If it doesn't, they let the Fed keep their toxic trash and the Fed is re-imbursed the difference from the TARP funds via a sub-program called TALF.

Once only a handful of traditional banks could take their assets to what is called the Fed's "discount window" and trade off their assets. The goal was to protect depositor's money when a bank had good assets that were just a little too ill-liquid. The Goldman-Sachs subsidiary known as the U.S. Government opened this process up to investment banks (where there were no depositors) like G-S. So these Wall Street high rollers get to take all of their losing bets to the discount window and trade them for book value, but when they make a winning bet they keep the money.

Does that sound like a system that encourages prudent financial behavior to you? I didn't think so either, but that is exactly what is going on and every congressman we've got voted for the bill that authorizes it. It is said that the last official act of any government is to loot the country. What do they know that we don't?

Well, now they are about to do it again. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac got nationalized with bailout money to the tune of 1.5 Trillion dollars, but so great was the amount of toxic assets on their books that they are still going under. These were private companies where our government simply implied had our backing. Because of that, some of these same investment firms (including those HQed in other countries) bought piles and piles of stock in these two giants.

The U.S. taxpayers are now the biggest shareholder in these bankrupt dogs, but the bankers still have obscene amounts of money tied up in them. Since they own the government now, they apparently have ordered the government to come up with a new plan to build the value of their stock back up at taxpayer expense. President Obama is floating a new plan that uses the same principles of the TALF plan that I described earlier. To quote from the article,"the firms' bad debt would be given to new government financial institutions that would then be responsible for collecting on the debts."

Now when they say "given", they really mean "sold". And you can also assume that this bad debt would be "sold" at a higher price than the debt is actually worth, otherwise they could just sell the debt on the free market, they would not need to use the government to buy it. The foreign and commercial interests who own the rest of Freddie and Fannie would prefer that We the People get stuck with the toxic assets of these giant firms, and leave them with the good stuff. Good for the Wall St. high-rollers and foreign bankers who own the rest of the stock in Freddie and Fannie, bad for the American people.

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Synder Town Hall Hide and Seek!

Congressman Vic Synder voted for the Health Care Takeover bill. The Tea Party folks in his district, as well as other concerned citizens, wanted to talk to him about that and other votes. It looks like he is not going to make him self too easy to find during this recess.

First the word was he was going to have a townhall meeting tomorrow night that was open to the public. The Tea Party folks started circulating word of the event, eagerly anticipating finally getting a chance to let Synder know how they feel about his representation. Then the word was that it would be a closed forum discussing card check legislation only. Then word got out that the event was canceled due to "scheduling conflicts". Then the word was that Synder would talk about health care, at an event at Arkansas Children's Hospital. In other words, surrounded by children with serious health care issues. The time for that event, initially reported to be two PM, may actually have been changed to one PM. No one can find Vic Synder except the people he wants to find him.

Even the liberal Arkansas Times speculated that Synder's staff canceled the original forum in order to dodge the Tea Party folks upset with his health care vote. After all, there have been reports around the country of Congressman coming home to rooms full of constituents upset with their "representatives". Some, like Congressman David Bishop, have simply quit having town hall meetings.

The move to the Children's Hospital prompted Tea Party activists to cancel their effort to round up a crowd to call Synder to task for his votes. They did not want to get sick kids in the middle of a political dispute. One hopes that Synder did not change his townhall to this forum in an effort to use the sick children as the political equivalent of "human shields" to either prevent legitimate public protest of his votes, or even worse, set them up to be the villians if they made a scene at an inappropriate situation.

Here is a statement release by Arkansas Unite, a clearinghouse for many local Tea Party groups around the state.........


Friends

We found out this afternoon due to scheduling conflicts, Vic Snyder's office is canceling the town hall meeting tomorrow night at the Central Arkansas Labor Council on Enmar Drive.

Since then we have been informed that Representatives Snyder and Ross will be at the Arkansas Children's Hospital at 2 pm for a town hall meeting. Our question would be why would our elected officials choose a hospital filled with children and hurting families for a political forum? We have waited for months for our elected officials to return in able to have an opportunity to respectfully address their decisions in Washington. To involve ill children and their families seems to be once again an extremely poor choice.

Given these circumstances are beyond our control, we encourage you to be mindful of the situation and of the innocent families involved and to refrain from attending. Please keep those children and their families in your thoughts and prayers. As always, we encourage everyone to be firm and assertive but civil. We are honorable people who are sympathetic to the hurts of our fellow citizens.

Hopefully, we will have an opportunity to have an open dialogue with our representatives during their recess. Please let them know in a considerate manner that we would like some of their time. Stay informed, engaged and empowered!

Additional Information on "Test Score Scam of 2009" & 68% Graduation Rate

This former article can be found at this link: http://www.wpaag.org/Test%20Score%20Scam%202009.htm

Graduation Rate in Arkansas in 2004 and 2005 was 81 percent. In 2008 the graduation rate is 68 percent. Has anyone sounded the alarm? See ADE information on graduation rates at these links: http://normessasweb.uark.edu:80/src1/State304.php http://normessasweb.uark.edu/schoolperformance/State/SRCy3.php

Note that the number of points that students have to scores to be considerd Proficient on the state benchmark criterion referenced math tests have been lowered every year, which makes Arkansas and the students look as if they are improving. (Proficient means students have mastered the standards.) In reality this is simply manipulating the data. In 8th grade math in 2004 students had to score 47 points out of 80 to make Proficient; in 2005 only 39; and in 2009 only 28. Other cut off scores to be Proficient were also lowered significantly in math at every grade level from 2005 until 2009.

Arkansas Department of Education also implied in its press release ( and I fully believe purposely) that students in Arkansas scored at the 62 percentile on the nationally normed tests that compare Arkansas students to students across the nation by stating in their press release:

"Academic growth is also evident in the state's norm-referenced exams. Norm-referenced questions allow for comparison of Arkansas students’ scores to their counterparts across the nation and are reported in percentiles. The scores are listed as percentile scores. A score at the 62nd percentile would mean that on average, Arkansas students scored as well or better than 62 percent of their nationwide cohort. The percentile scores in most testing areas were slightly higher in 2009 than they were in 2008." Taken from this link: http://arkansased.org/communications/pdf/test_scores_071309.pdf

Third grade did improve on these nationally normed tests from 34% to 35%, and 4th grade did improve from 33% to 34% from 2008 to 2009, but no one would get any idea from the way ADE reported the scores that any scores were anything like this low. In fact, several people reading the above paragraph thought the students scored at the 62nd percentile when in fact many of the scores were quite low. Scores in reading also dropped in every grade level this year.

For a list of these scores in table form for 2008 and 2009 for 3rd through 9th grade, see this link: http://www.wpaag.org/Test%20-%20Test%20Scam%2009%20additional%20inf.htm

I feel sure the Language scores are so low because Arkansas only tested Reading and Math the last few years on their state benchmark tests; therefore, the curriculum is narrowed to those two subjects, leaving students totally inadequate in language. The grades do look good on math. But but keep in mind that math has been the area of emphasis for several years now, and even science teachers will tell you that they had to spend a great deal of their time teaching math and preparing the students for the tests. If the curriculum is narrowed to two subjects at every grade level, students should improve in those scores.

Links to other testing articles that show the "other side of the story" can be found in article at this link: http://www.wpaag.org/Test%20-%20Test%20Scam%2009%20additional%20inf.htm

Centerpiece of Obama's Education Plan - International Benchmarked Standards

The educational reforms have never really been about achievement. The reform advocates at the top had an agenda in mind from the beginning. All the steps in between have just been steps to gain government control so they could reach their goal and fulfill their agenda for a one world order. Most people implementing the changes have been used like puppets to get us to this final stage of education. They never saw the full picture.

Excerpts from article by Allen Quist with EdWatch July 29, 2009

"On July 24, 2009, the U.S Department of Education (DOE) announced that the "centerpiece of the Obama administration's education reform efforts" in its "$4.35 billion Race to the Top," will include "adopting internationally benchmarked education standards." These will be national standards, said the press release, keyed to international standards and will be incentivized to the states with federal "stimulus" dollars.

"By the term "education standards" DOE means content standards; meaning curriculum-the content schools must teach. By "national education standards" DOE means that schools in all 50 states will teach the same content. This will create a de facto federal curriculum. The Department of Education will financially reward those states that teach what DOE wants taught. The Department can be expected to insist that the values taught in the national curriculum conform to the very liberal ideology of the Obama administration.

"According to the announcement, this federal curriculum will consist of "internationally benchmarked" standards. The only extant comprehensive "internationally benchmarked" education standards are those developed by UNESCO, the UN's education arm The UNESCO website clarifies that its education standards conform to the treaties and agreements of the UN.

"This means that its curriculum includes, for example, the requirements of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which says, "Education shall . . . further the activities of the United Nations" (Art. 26:2). The UNESCO standards also include the UN's Earth Charter which further defines internationally benchmarked standards. The Charter says these standards must entail what it calls "sustainability education" (Art 14:b).

" The Charter explains that "sustainability education" entails the "promotion of the equitable distribution of wealth within nations and among nations" (Art. 10:a), nuclear disarmament (Art. 16:d), gay marriage (Art. 12:a), legalized abortion (Art. 7:e), adoption of an "international legally binding instrument on environment" (The way Forward), and indoctrination in pantheism (Art. 14d and Art. 16:f).

"The National Governor's Association is enabling the Obama administration's plans by calling for "voluntary national education standards."

"Goals 2000 of 1994 was "voluntary," too, but most legislators were unaware of the fine print in the companion bill, HR6, which required that states would lose all their federal education funding if they failed to comply. That is why all 50 states joined Goals 2000. The Obama administration has made it clear that it views "voluntary national standards" the same way." ###

Note: A United Nations Education Program is already being implemented across the nation. It has ties to the Earth Charter. It is the International Baccalaureate Program (IBO). See this link for details about this educational system. http://www.wpaag.org/International%20Bbaccalaureate%20Program%201.htm

AR Home School & Public School Scores Compared

Home School Scores are higher in every gradel level on Reading Scores

Home schooled students are required to take a nationally normed test that compares them to students across the nation in the same grade levels as the public schools take, grade 3 through 9. The nationally normed test they take is chosen by the Arkansas Department of Education. Keep in mind that the home schooled students take the test cold turkey, the way these tests were designed to be taken; and the way many of us adults took them.

According to the Home School Director at ADE, the Department of Education does nothing to prepare home schooled students for the tests. In public education there is a great deal of preparation. In addition, teachers give the "practice" type tests and are able to see specific types of items on the test which gives them a great advantage.

When the state first started putting emphasis on test scores, I was teaching 7th grade. Our superintendent handed out in the fall during a teachers' meeting, a previous edition of the test we were to take in the spring and allowed all teachers to read over it (he gave us 20 to 30 minutes to do so). I was able to improve my 7th grade language scores from five to ten percentage points in all classes from just looking at the test and seeing what they included, what they did not include; and the format of the questions. So home school students are definitely at a disadvantage.

In 2008 home school students had the following scores on the nationally normed test that they are required to take. (The 2009 scores for home school students are not yet in for this year. )

Following is a comparison of Reading Scores for Home School Students and Public Schools in 2008 on a nationally normed test

Reading 2008
3rd Grade: Home School - 61% Public school 48%
4th Grade: Home School - 66% Public school 64%
5th Grade: Home School - 65% Public school 56%
6th Grade: Home School - 62% Public school 46%
7th Grade: Home School - 62% Public school 53%
8th Grade: Home School - 60% Public school 53%
9th Grade: Home School - 61% Public school 53%

Home schooled students and public school students did take a different nationally normed test in 2008 and 2009, but that decision was made by ADE, not the home schoolers. The last year home school and public school students took the same test was in 2005. In that year home schooled students had higher scores in Reading in all grades but one. In 3rd grade the reading score for home schoolers was one point below public school. However, home school scores in math were lower than public schools.

There has been a trend in modern education even on nationally normed tests to move from the basics in math to interpreting tables, charts, data, and probability, etc. I believe this is the reason that math scores for home schoolers are lower than public school scores. Home schoolers still teach a traditional math curriculum. Home school scores and law can be found at this link: http://www.arkansased.org/schools/pdf/hs_report_07-08_081908.pdf Public school scores can be found in table above and at this link: http://arkansased.org/communications/pdf/assessment_071309.pdf

Most teachers of home school students (parents) don't even have a college education; they have not had the so called benefit of staff development, the rich resources the state is now providing, and they cost the state nothing.

If the state had left the educational system in the hands of the teachers instead of the experts, our educational system would be far superior to what it is now, and we would have saved several billion dollars. Neither would we be to the point of moving into the type of international education that Obama is promoting as the centerpiece of his educational program. See next post for this article.

Tea Party Net Radio Tonight


Join our Tea Party tonight from the comfort of your own home. We will talk about all the latest in the Arkansas Tea Party Movement. A guest panelist from Union County, and your calls. From 9 PM to 10 PM (archives available).

Sunday, August 02, 2009

Boozeman Challenger to Announce Tomorrow


It is General Bernie Skoch. Looks like there will be a Republican primary for Congress in the 3rd district. Bailout fallout haunts incumbent.

Monday, August 3, 2009
Time:
6:00pm - 9:00pm
Location:
Fayetteville Town Center

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Obama Place of Birth Not The Issue, Eligibility Is

A recent poll shows that 47% of southerners question whether Obama was born in the U.S. That’s the wrong question. Obama was probably born in Honolulu, but he is still not a natural born citizen. Read the next 550 words and decide for yourself.

Article II of the Constitution says that, “No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President”.

But what does it mean to be a “Natural Born Citizen”? Since its passage in 1868 the 14th amendment is the supreme law of the land for citizenship matters. It reads; “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

Senator Jacob M. Howard of Michigan—the author of the citizenship clause—described the “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” clause as excluding “persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers.” Howard said the word "jurisdiction" meant the United States possessed a “full and complete jurisdiction” over the person described in the amendment. That meaning would deny citizenship by birth to a person who had divided loyalties.

Obama’s father was a foreign national (Kenya was a possession of England at the time) and was in Hawaii under a commission from his government to get an education and go back to Kenya to serve in the government. He did that. He was in the United States as an agent of a foreign government, and therefore any children born here would not be under the “full and complete jurisdiction” of the United States. The British Nationality Act of 1848 also claimed jurisdiction over the offspring of their nationals abroad. Such children may become “naturalized” citizens of the United States, but they are not “natural born citizens”.

Thomas Lifson reports that there is another serious challenge to Obama’s eligibility regarding his time in Indonesia as Barry Soetoro. He writes, “The records of the Catholic school Obama/Soetoro attended for three years identify him as a citizen of Indonesia. Thus Obama probably obtained Indonesian citizenship through his adoption by Soetoro in Hawaii. That inference is bolstered by the 1980 divorce submission of Ann Dunham and Lolo Soetoro, filed in Hawaii state court. It said "the parties" (Ann and Lolo) had a child (name not given) who was no longer a minor (Obama was 19 at the time). If Soetoro had not adopted Obama, there would have been no basis for the couple to refer to Obama as their child - he'd have been only Ann Dunham's child.”

Indonesia did not permit dual citizenship until 2007. Under Indonesian law at the time, an Indonesian man who adopted a child under six years old (Obama was four or five) made that child an Indonesian citizen. There are provisions in U.S. law for such children to re-claim their U.S. citizenship as naturalized, not natural born, citizens once they reach age of majority. If Obama ever completed the paperwork to do this, we have no record of it, and again this would only make him a naturalized, not natural born, citizen of our country.

Obama travelled to Pakistan in 1981 at a time when U.S. Citizens were denied travel there. What country’s passport did he use? We don’t know, as Obama has sealed his passport records. Are the rumors that he attended Occidental College with the help of a foreign student aid program true? We don’t know. Obama has sealed all of those records too.