Page Nine

Five Trillion Globo-Dollars

The lamestream media told you:

"LONDON -- Finance Ministers and central bankers from the world's most powerful industrialized and developing nations agreed to deliver the remainder of a $5 trillion global fiscal stimulus while outlining a compromise on efforts to rein in pay for bankers," according to William Watts, writing for MarketWatch.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

This overlooked minor item from Sep. 6, 2009 points out that: 1- The American stimulus bill shows we're pikers on the world stage; 2- Internationalists control insane amounts of cash, none of which is theirs since all "finance minister" money is taken from the public; 3- $5 trillion is $5,000 billion, or five million million, a number too large for even finance ministers to comprehend, let alone the people it has been taken from in drips and drops; 4- U.S. news coverage barely shows a tip of the iceberg on what's really going on in the world; 5- Who gets all that cash is undisclosed, as is what they'll do with it; 6- Any mechanism for following the action is unknown to mere mortals; 7- The chance that less than all of it will stay out of power brokers' pockets is probably infinitesimal; and 8- calls for more taxation at any level must be resisted and elected advocates for more taxation must be removed from office.

Impossibly Longrange Predictions

The lamestream media told you:

The Associated Press reports that the Congressional Budget Office study of the proposed greenhouse-gas control bill could have "comparatively modest" effects on overall economic growth over the next 40 years. The CBO estimates the cap-and-trade bill could lower the nation's gross domestic product by 1/4 to 3/4 of a percent by 2020.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

The idea that anyone, let alone an office of the federal government, could estimate the effects of a single bill on the entire national economy 12 years from now is absolutely preposterous.

The idea that the estimate could be as close as ¼ of one percent (0.0025 or 25 ten-thousandths) is patently absurd, proving yet again that reporters and the entire editorial chain has no command of math.

The AP obediently reported the report handed to it by government officials, and called it "reporting." The number of variables that could affect such a thing are incomprehensibly large, but apparently unimportant to the world's largest but math-challenged "news" organization.

This is the same government that couldn't predict people would line up for billions in free clunker cash in mere months. Months, according to leading experts, are shorter than years, and thus easier to predict. This is the same government that ran financially amok, without realizing its fiscal policies would lead to an unexpected and devastating economic crash, predicted by no one. This is the same government that wants to take over the entire U.S. health care system, but can't deliver a single poorly tested pig-flu vaccine in the face of a proposed epidemic, in a timely way. Reporters who pass such drivel on to the public, without asking even the most rudimentary questions or raising the most obvious doubts, aren't qualified to empty the wastebaskets their drivel is thrown into.

ACORN Still Funded

The lamestream media told you:

The Senate voted 83 to 7, and the House voted 345 to 75, to cut off federal funds to ACORN, a controversial and scandal-tainted community organizing group that has supported president Obama, and received support from Mr. Obama, who was their lawyer when working in Chicago before he entered politics.

 The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

ACORN is reinventing itself as CCI -- Community Organizers International, a fact conveniently overlooked by lamestream reporters. No one seems to expect the so-called federal bans against this corrupt community organizer involved in massive voter fraud, promoting prostitution and illegal immigration, tax fraud perps and a black hole for federal cash will stop the new organization, under a revamped business structure, with the exact same leaders, staff and goals.

Specifically, the votes "to deny funding for housing and community grants" take effect if and when the Senate 2010 federal spending bill, and the House student-aid bill to which the amendments are attached are enacted as currently written. How many other types of funding this group gets, and the amounts of the cuts compared to their overall take, is unknown. The $53 million they are known to have received since 1994 does not include unknown amounts from federal block grants. The media, flush with tales of funding cutoffs, neglected to mention the ongoing funding and absence of a real cutoff.

Reporting By Clunkers

The lamestream media told you:

The cash-for-clunkers program, which was so popular it crashed the government's computers, was without doubt the most wildly successful program in all the government's stimulus efforts to date. The $3 billion allotted to the plan generated more than $20 billion in sales for car dealers.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

The one-sided puff pieces that graced newspaper front pages nationwide violated the most basic principles of reporting ethics, by providing a single side to a multi-faceted story, and by adopting the government's position, the opposite of what a free press is supposed to do.

Missing from most of these stories was the perspective of taxpayers, people who were forced (taxation isn't optional) to foot the bill for other people to get cars with money that wasn't theirs to spend. The Constitution expressly forbids collecting taxes and then giving it to people to buy horses, cars, or anything. The burden this places on taxpayers, the economy and government morality is unspeakably large, though omitted from the gushing stories.

The perfectly working cars relinquished under the plan, as widely reported, are destroyed, for reasons that have not been satisfactorily explained, probably because they cannot be satisfactorily explained. Some limited parts salvage was deemed acceptable by Congress, whoop dee do.

GM Ownership Lie

The lamestream media told you:

"And now, let me be the very first to congratulate every single one of you viewers. You are the soon-to-be new owners of General Motors, or as we're going to soon call it, 'Government Motors.' Yes, the big day looks like it will be Monday. GM is expected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The latest restructuring plan for GM calls for the U.S. government -- that means you -- to own about 70 percent of the company." --FOX News, pretty much the same as every news outlet both before and after the bankruptcy filing by GM.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

The idea that Americans own a piece of General Motors is absolute nonsense. It is political grandstanding, unethically perpetuated by a "news" media gone wild. You have no stock, can cash in no bonds, should expect no dividends, cannot sell or expect appreciation in value, cannot assign your ownership or trade the asset for another, or use it to vote for policy at the company, or count it among your holdings, or leave it in your will. You have nothing, but the media delights in saying you do. The media should be ashamed of itself for perpetrating this bald-faced lie. They're not.

Bureaucrats and elected officials in government, mainly those connected directly to the Treasury Dept., own the majority interest in the company "on your behalf" and affect its policy. The correct term for this is "illegal socialist control of industry."

What you do have is money taken from you by force through taxes (try not paying to see how the force part works). It has been unconstitutionally given to this failed company. Actually, I guess that's what you do not have -- the money you earned that is no longer yours.

What the new owners-on-your-behalf have, is trips to Detroit to see how things are going, meetings on the 77th floor with luncheon served, rounds of golf between meetings, clubbing at night, cars and hotels and meals around the world as part of the managerial care of "your company." And the extra power that comes with it all.

Referring to the banks, and the insurance companies, in addition to GM, Michael Moore gloated during an interview that we, the people, which he said means the government, now own all this stuff. "This is great. I never thought I'd have any of this in my portfolio." Michael, you don't. And we, the people, is the opposite of the government.

General Motors, Michael Moore

Pimping Your Ride

The lamestream media told you:

Among the valuable features in new consumer products, GPS units are now displaying tourist attractions, making travel much more enjoyable. With the new feature you won't miss sights, and can get from one to another efficiently.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

The sale of tourist attraction ads on GPS units created a stir today, as freedom advocates questioned whether cars programmed to favor advertised sites was an actual benefit. "It will advance the over-commercialization of our lives, direct people to government-approved tax-rich targets, reduce traffic to local wonders and countryside flavor, and help hide America's heartland or anything off the beaten path," according to one knowledgeable observer whose comments did not appear in any "news" reports. "It's bad enough that cars now come with TV screens so kids don't have to look out the windows," he said. "Programmed cars pose a creepy imposition on your freedom to travel."

Like TV sets, email, Facebook, Blackberries, iPhones and other forms of communication technology, most people find turning the tools off after they're installed difficult. Verrrry difficult.

GPS

Hollywood Hypocrisy Hyped

The lamestream media told you:

The producers of Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire are hoping to change the lives of some real-life children living in the horrific Mumbai slums where the film was made. The filmmakers announced they would donate about $740,000 to create a wonderful five-year program aimed at providing healthcare and education for children.

"Having benefited so much from the hospitality of the people of Mumbai it is only right that some of the success of the movie be ploughed back into the city in areas where it is needed most and where it can make a real difference to some lives," director Danny Boyle said in People magazine.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

Using an olden investigative tool called a "calculator," we find that the 5,000 children in the benefit program will share about $148,000 per year, or 8¢ per day. It was not clear at press time if all that money would be ploughed into food, health care, education or all three, or how much food 8¢ buys in Mumbai. Marie Staunton, head of the outfit that will administer the fund said, "Education really is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty so we will focus the funds on getting children into school, keeping them there and ensuring they are healthy." Staunton's salary was not announced.

On May 15, the Philadelphia Inquirer noted the film grossed $326 million, making the generous donation just over two-tenths of a single percent. Most churches seek a full 10% from their parishioners' earnings, or 50 times more than the Hollywood moguls decided to plough into the horrific Mumbai slums that made them the hundreds of millions of dollars. Gross.

Slumdog Millionaire

Futile Tax Solutions

The lamestream media told you:

"Desperate to balance their budgets and offset rising service costs, cities are increasingly turning to higher fees, rates and taxes," according to published "news" reports. http://tinyurl.com/d2wgu4

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

Ignoring the known failures of Keynesian economics, where government soaks money out of the economy, keeps some, redistributes what's left, and worsens economic conditions for everyone, cities are increasingly turning to higher fees, rates and taxes in desperate but futile hopes to balance their budgets and offset rising service costs, according to unpublished news reports.

"People have little extra cash, everyone knows that," says one educated housewife, who competes with economics professors for common sense. "If government tries to take more of our money away, people will simply avoid those pricier services, and government ends up with less. A fifth grader can figure that out," she said, on condition of anonymity for fear of aggravating economists nationwide. "If government wants to get more money it should reduce taxes, which spurs the economy, and the growth fills the tax chests." This is a proven result, she says. Taxpayers like the idea, according to a massive survey with a margin of error of plus-or-minus no points.

Socialism Is Socialism

The lamestream media told you:

"WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is dealing with the beleaguered auto industry more sternly than he has with bailed-out banks and insurers as he takes the nation another step into uncharted government regulation of industry," according to the Associated Press. http://tinyurl.com/dzoykl

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is dealing with the beleaguered auto industry more sternly than he has with bailed-out banks and insurers as he takes the nation another step into the historically proven failures of socialism. Why the Associated Press would call a descent into abject socialism "uncharted government regulation of industry" was unclear at press time.

Government Schools Shrinking

The lamestream media told you:

Schools Preparing For Worst-Case Budget Scenario -- Schools nationwide are planning for staff and program cuts as they prepare to absorb millions of dollars in lost education funding, news outlets are reporting in communities everywhere. State budget cuts, a slow economy, decreased tax revenue and especially funding-cuts due to declining enrollment are hurting schools.


The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

Government schools are finally seeing declining enrollments, bringing huge cost savings to beleaguered taxpayers, and reducing the bloat that has plagued tax-funded schools for decades.

Schools receive huge cash supplements for every student attending each day, so they are hard pressed to keep the head count up, even resorting at times to falsified attendance records. When students transfer to private schools, charter schools, parochial schools, home schooling and other options, taxpayers save the enormous costs, what the "news" media and the schools call "lost funding."

As government-run schools lose students to better alternatives, the schools can reduce staff, cut expenses, and limit the burden on taxpayers, while better teachers can migrate to the private sector with their students and truly earn their keep. The idea that central government authorities should have responsibility for educating the nation's youth cannot be found in the U.S. Constitution, where the word "education" itself is absent.