Fiscal Rangers

Nightmare of Obamacare Presentation by Dr. Tim Moore

Tavares, FL - Nov. 4, 2013 Dr. Tim Moore, a cardivascular surgeon who owns a surgery clinic in Leesburg, FL gave at talk on the "Nightmare of Obamacare" to residents and visitors at the Royal Highlands retirement community in Leesburg, FL on Nov. 4, 2013. Moore's talk is blunt and covers all the Obama lies and the restrictions and true cost analysis that will affect both working and retired folks, so this is a good video and/or Powerpoint to watch, with many researched facts. We have both the Powerpoint and the video. Download Nightmare of Obamacare 2013 <<<< This is the Powerpoint You can find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSI14Q5OF2I Read the video description also. The best way to watch it is to open a window with the Powerpoint and then another window with the video and click through the Powerpoint as Dr. Moore discusses each. We apologize for the sound, but the microphone was faulty and the hall created an echo due to the placement of the speakers (not under our control). Another version of the video might be uploaded later if we can get it from the owner. Read more →

Shocking Details of Obamacare Website Failure Disclosed in Today's Congressional Hearings

Tavares, FL - Oct. 24, 2013 Note: This version contains updates and my rough notes not shown on other posted versions on Facebook, etc. I am watching CSPAN.org and the Congressional hearing about the Obamacare website failure. It is really clear that the Federal Dept., CMS , was project manager and screwed it all up by bad testing of "end to end" data flow. As a former information systems auditor, they dropped the ball. They also only allowed the last two weeks to test the system "end to end" by following data through all the different vendor and provider systems, when "months" were needed per vendors. They also made last minute changes which then could cause security failures since security tests had been done before the changes, thus any changes could let external hacking to go on. CMS also waited until two weeks before roll out to change the system so NOW the applicant had to supply personal info and register just to shop choices and prices, when Obama earlier promised they could compare choices without doing so. This was called "anonymous shopping", which was turned off. Testimony from CGI indicated it could be turned on if project manager CMS... Read more →

Two Videos of Congressman Dan Webster in Lake County, FL

Tavares, FL - Aug. 23, 2013 Congressman Dan Webster was in Lake County, FL for two or more "town hall" meetings and I made videos of BOTH of them - the links are below. I attended one in Mt. Dora on Monday, and then another yesterday in Leesburg. The first was wild and crazy with upset Republicans and Democrats asking tough questions. Webster avoided direct conflict by requiring several people ask their questions, then he provided selective responses. However the Leesburg event was a calm and cool presentation to the Leesburg Chamber of Commerce where no questions were allowed. So, if you watch both of these videos I made, you will see a range of emotions and methods of discussing them. My observation is many Republicans are angry and want him to act tougher on issues, which he doesn't do. His Leesburg presentation does offer some ideas of his back room methods to get some change, but it isn't on the big stuff and no one was allowed to ask questions at the Leesburg event. Watch both videos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkApCorNemo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2ya5MedlFQ Read more →

Declassified Plans for WW II Invasion of Japan - for military history buffs

This is for you military buffs received 5/21/2013 from a friend Declassified Plans for WW II Invasion of Japan Deep in the recesses of the National Archives in Washington, D.C., hidden for nearly four decades lay thousands of pages of yellowing and dusty documents stamped "Top Secret". These documents, now declassified, are the plans for Operation Downfall, the invasion of Japan during World War II. Only a few Americans in 1945 were aware of the elaborate plans that had been prepared for the Allied Invasion of the Japanese home islands. Even fewer today are aware of the defenses the Japanese had prepared to counter the invasion had it been launched. Operation Downfall was finalized during the spring and summer of 1945. It called for two massive military undertakings to be carried out in succession and aimed at the heart of the Japanese Empire. In the first invasion - code named "Operation Olympic"- American combat troops would land on Japan by amphibious assault during the early morning hours of November 1, 1945 - 61 years ago. Fourteen combat divisions of soldiers and Marines would land on heavily fortified and defended Kyushu, the southernmost of the Japanese home islands, after an unprecedented... Read more →

FiscalRangers.com Lake County, FL Voting Guide PLUS Tips to Ensure your Ballots & Votes are COUNTED!!

Tavares, FL - Nov. 1, 2012 Here are the FiscalRangers Lake County voting guide & recommendations, followed by tips to ensure your ballots or votes are not denied due to stupid voter mistakes (which are infrequent, but do happen). FiscalRangers.com Lake County Voting Recommendations (Cities not Included) By Vance Jochim Many offices were decided during the primaries, thus I don’t list them here. My bias is I mostly vote Republican and for candidates who are intelligent, create initiatives and exercise sound fiscal decisions. If you don’t have a sample ballot, go to this Lake County Elections page, select your precinct and print or download your specific sample ballot: http://elections.lakecountyfl.gov/sample_ballots/index.aspx President : Romney/Ryan – duh! Or did you forget that Obama ran the deficit up to $1-trillion per year, and the national debt up to $16-billion for your kids. Don't even get me started on all those Executive Orders or Obama failing to provide security, resulting in the murder of a US Ambassador in Libya. US Senator: Vote for Connie Mack, NOT Nelson. Democrat Nelson voted like Obama and is part of the problem we have with the economy. US Representative – District 10: Vote for incumbent Daniel Webster (not Deming).... Read more →

EPA Delays Excessive Regulations Until AFTER Election Day so Obama Doesn't Look Bad

Tavares, FL - Oct. 24, 2012 The Federal EPA is delaying onerous new, costly water & other regulations until the END of November, AFTER elections, so voters don't find out. Water and sewer bills could increase by $700 per year, according the the analysis below. Here is another reason why we can't afford Obama or his EPA. From Andy Dubois, President of the North Lake Tea Party (FL) and the Tri-County Association - a group fighting excess environmental restrictions like the recent septic tank inspection regulations. Vance J. =========================================================================== Subject: Editorial - The Sludge Report - “The Domino Effect” - EPA rules have been postponed until after the election Vance, important FiscalRanger posting - Why has the Obama-EPA postponed implementing crushing rules until after the November 6th election? Andy Dubois http://www.thesludgereport.org/reports/sludgereport-10-22-2012.html http://www.tricountyassociation.org/ Report for 10-22-2012 By Andrea Samson President, Tri-County Association – Health Environment Legislation Policies (H.E.L.P.) The Domino Effect We are all about to get blindsided! It’s not rocket science. It’s simple cause and effect. The EPA has postponed until after the election implementing rules that will literally crush us….not an overstatement. Economically devastating is the only way to describe the impact of those rules on families, local and... Read more →

How 1938 Austria Became a Socialist, Nazi Country in Five Years

My older sister sent me this - a first person narrative by a woman now living in the US who was a kid in 1938 Austria and witnessed how the Austrians were conned by Hitler to vote him into power, and how he turned them into socialists in five years. A lesson for America today. 1938 Austria Kitty Werthmann is 85 years old. America truly is the Greatest Country in the World. By: Kitty Werthmann What I am about to tell you is something you've probably never heard or will ever read in history books. I believe that I am an eyewitness to history. I cannot tell you that Hitler took Austria by tanks and guns; it would distort history. We elected him by a landslide - 98% of the vote. I've never read that in any American publications. Everyone thinks that Hitler just rolled in with his tanks and took Austria by force. In 1938, Austria was in deep Depression. Nearly one-third of our workforce was unemployed. We had 25% inflation and 25% bank loan interest rates. Farmers and business people were declaring bankruptcy daily. Young people were going from house to house begging for food. Not that they... Read more →

Lake County School Lunch Programs Fail to Track Waste & Food Thrown Out

Tavares, FL - Oct. 1, 2012 The Lake County School District Board recently received an annual update on School Lunch programs from the head of the school food programs, Gary Dodds. Most of the food is for kids who get free lunch funded by Federal funds. However, Michelle Obama pushed through a "healthy foods" initiatives which among other things, mandates that each kids MUST be GIVEN fruit and vegetables, even if they don't want it, and the kids throw the food out. Dodds doesn't want to measure the waste. Why is it that government won't measure waste or allocate enough funds to track waste AND take action to fix it? You can read today's Orlando Sentinel article about the School food program presentation and Board discussions about food that the kids are throwing out. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/education/os-school-food-waste-20120930,0,1993800.story Here are my comments submitted online below the article: I attended the Lake County Board meeting where this was brought up, just like a year ago, when Gary Dodds gave his annual update on school food. As a taxpayer, I am aggravated at Dodd's ambivalence over tracking wasted food - it could be done on a sampling basis either by weighing and counting trash cans... Read more →

Today is National Labor Day, aka Obama Empty Chair Day & Clint Eastwood Speech

Sept. 3, 2012 - Tavares, FL One result of liking a lot of conservative pages on Facebook is they all come up with their own takes on political issues at the same time. Facebook, twitter and the internet are inundated about National Empty Chair Day. If you saw Clint Eastwood's talk at the Republican Convention, you will understand these pictures. If you did not see it, watch his speech first: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoqKdWY692k Scroll down for more graphics... I couln't resist - I took this one: Read more →

Obama's HHS Offers $500,000+ grants for Community Services that run for FIVE YEARS!!!

Tavares, FL - June 4, 2012 by Vance Jochim Here is a federal Child welfare grant for "community based service providers" being offered that should make you mad. This is a Federal HHS social service grant for up to $500,000 for community services and the grants run FIVE YEARS long. We don;t know what the total funds available are, but I am guessing tens of millions of dollars. This is clearly an attempt by the Obama administration to fund favored "community organizations" and run up the debt for socialism programs that extend FIVE YEARS in case Obama loses. There should be a law about offering new grants that run past an election cycle. Leave Children's welfare up to the State, not the Feds. All Federal grants should be outlawed. vj Here is the text describing the HHS grant: **NEW**Providing Housing Assistance for Families in the Child Welfare System Deadline: July 30, 2012 These targeted Health and Human Services five-year grants are to be awarded to support: The development or expansion of triage procedures for a subset of families who come to the attention of the child welfare system due to severe housing issues and high service needs; local implementation of... Read more →

This is Bilderberg 2012 Week - We Tell you about a Secretive International Group Affecting Freedom

Tavares, FL - Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - (Updated June 3rd with video links) Since this is a holiday week, neither the Lake County School Board or Lake County Board met last week, and the County Board is not meeting on Tuesday. So, I decided to cover the secretive Bilderberg meeting in Virginia, with an article each day on our Facebook page ( FiscalRangers ) through the weekend on this secretive "One World Government" group behind many international decisions affecting our banks, freedom, support for sustainable development, etc. The annual Bilderberg secret meeting will be held this weekend, May 31 to June 3 in Chantilly, Virginia. Yes, normally you probably want to watch FoxNews or Glen Beck this weekend, but I suggest you also watch some of the online coverage on Bilderberg, which is one hub besides the United Nations in the One World Government plan. Your local "mainstream media" outlets rarely challenge or cover Bilderberg, although many of their media leaders attend the actual meetings. This will be educational, since many independent online videographers are attending the meeting this weekend and will be live streaming what they find. After the "What is Bilderberg" section, I provide a link to... Read more →

Ronald Reagan Famous Speeches - Some Lessons Learned

Tavares, FL - May 12, 2012 by Vance Jochim In 1981, Ronald Reagan took office for eight years as US President, and Netflix has a DVD "President Ronald Reagan: The Great Speeches" which I just watched. - He took over from Jimmy Carter when interest rates had gone up to 21% due to Carter's liberal spending programs (Gee, sounds like Owebama, doesn't it). We still had the huge welfare program that continued to pay funds to low income, non-working citizens for LIFE. - At the time, we still had a "cold war" with the Communists in Russia, and there was a wall between East & West Berlin. Carter had launched a botched rescue of people in Cuba which failed. - In an early April 18 speech, Reagan says "Our Government is too big, & spends too much". - One 1982 speech talks how Reagan's administration has transferred liberal social programs down to State governments and how interest rates have dropped to 15%, and inflation has dropped from 12.4% to 8.9%. - Reagan discusses the harmful ideas of communists, class war and Stalin's schemes to implement Soviet doctrine and "totalitarian power". - Reagan talks to a national organization of "Evangelicals" and... Read more →

FiscalRangers Call to Action: STOP Gov. Scott from Applying for SNEAKY, Liberal Federal Grant

Update 1pm Wed - added more details from Kathryn Sutherlin about the high amount used for administrative expenses and lying about budget numbers. Also, the email for Gov Scott doesn't work, and you have to wait a long time for Scott's office to answer the phone. Update 4pm: We added the official press release from the California Office of Early Learning which says it was SIGNED yesterday, but another source says it might not be a done deal. Keep tuned. Tavares, FL - Oct. 19, 2011 - Today, Wednesday, is the SURPRISE Deadline for Florida State government to apply for A STEALTH, SNEAKY Federal Grant that will over regulate one Florida industry, Child Care. I am asking you, based upon the request of a credible Lake County volunteer and the inforamtion below, to CALL Florida Governor Rick Scott TODAY to HALT any action for Florida to APPLY for the grant. Phone call and email details are below. The $100-million grant proposal ( Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge ) from a Florida State agency, the Florida Office of Early Learning, is an application for a STEALTH grant using Nancy Pelosi type hidden agendas and lack of details to... Read more →

FiscalRangers.com Agenda 21 Alert: Democrat Florida Senator Bill Nelson Lobbies to Spend $100-million in Fed Funds on "Re-wilding"

tavares, FL - August 12, 2011 - The Florida Political Press tells us that our own liberal senator Bill Nelson is lobbying two US Federal Agencies to dump $100-million in buying more "public land" in Florida that would then be "re-wilded" and humans would be prohibited from visiting the lands. This is all part of the UN's Agenda 21 pushed by socialists to reduce land available to humans. Yes, if you are new to Agenda 21, it sounds like I am yelling "conspiracy" and you are right. But it is part of the early communist agenda and new socialists are using environmentalism to REDUCE LAND OWNERSHIP BY PRIVATE OWNERS by using taxes to buy land and restrict it from human usage. Even in Lake County, we have a "public lands" program with a small tax setaside to buy "public lands" and then NOT develop them for human recreation, but to restrict them from human use. They also want to waste tax funds on "re-wilding" which means tear out all the "non-local" trees, critters, etc and restore the land to what it looked like 200 years ago. I don't know about you, but to me, trees from 200 years ago probably... Read more →

An Open Letter to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi on Failure to Fight Foreclosure Fraud & Corruption

Update: Jul. 30, 2011 - Pam Bondi issued a statement on this issue HERE, but I found it to still be vague and not definitive on why two experienced foreclosure fraud investigators were fired earlier. Original Article: Tavares, FL - Jul 24, 2011 - As Attorney General for the State of Florida, I am disappointed in your apparent lack of interest in fighting Foreclosure fraud or corruption in Florida as evidenced by two issues: - The article below from Scott Maxwell describing the unjustified firing of two top foreclosure fraud investigators without any solid explanation. - The referenced Florida Grand Jury report issued by your office just before New Year's 2010 in an apparent attempt to avoid questions on the report, and your lack of action in "marketing" the recommendations to the Florida legislators. Below is a link to Scott Maxwell’s recent disturbing column in the Orlando Sentinel’s office about how Pam Bondi fired the two investigators who reported all the recent foreclosure fraud in Florida. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-scott-maxwell-ousted-investigators20110720,0,660118.column And, here is another op ed piece at "firedoglake.com on the same issue. Additionally, we corresponded before about the Grand Jury report on Corruption being issued by Pam Bondi’s office just before New... Read more →

Desperate Obama Finally Considers Action to Outshine Lake County Officials and Reduce Foreclosure Problems

Tavares, FL - July 23, 2003 - We have hammered local officials about the lack of programs to fix the foreclosure problem in Lake County. So, the local Republicans haven't acted, and now the Big Liberal, himself, might initiate an action that could reduce blight caused by foreclosed and empty homes. Local officials could have at least passed ordnances forcing owners of foreclosed homes to pay homeowner association fees so other owners weren't stuck with the common ground costs. But, no action has been initiated to my knowledge. They also could have taken the initiative using Economic Development, CDBG or Tourism taxes to create a Realtor driven co-op marketing plan to snowbirds to buy local foreclosures in a streamlined process - but they haven't. The County has staff organized Green FAIRS and conferences and literature, so why can't they used that "community building" and "program management" expertise to develop foreclosure fixing problems? The Federal Government "owns" many foreclosed homes, so now they are considering RENTING them. What a concept. Local banks and investors who own homes should also consider doing that. Here is the Wall St. Journal article, unfortunately they force you to "subscribe" to read the whole article, so... Read more →

Government Gone Wild Talk Held Recently in Lake County, FL

The local Lake County Republican Executive Committee (REC) recently hosted Blaise Intoglia who gave an hour presentation on "Government Gone Wild" or just how REALLY bad the Federal government's fiscal position will be now and in the future. There were about seventy of us there, but notably missing were numerous local elected Republicans, even though this was publicized by the REC widely. The only local elected officials present were former Florida State Senator Carey Baker (who is now running for Lake County Property Appraiser ), Eustis Vice-Mayor Sue Hooper (of FairTax fame) and Marilyn Bainter, member of the Board of the North Lake County Hospital District. No other elected Republicans were there - shame, shame. The presentation was a fact filled but sobering view of how bad the Federal government's fiscal affairs are, and how prior legislatures and Presidents (especially Obama) have set the Federal government on a course towards possible bankruptcy. All you local government workers who vote Democrat just remember that when Feds start cutting off grants and programs and your job might be terminated. One subject that made people mad was Blaise's list of the original "estimate" for Federal, State or local Capital construction projects comparing the... Read more →

Corn Ethanol in Gasoline - not all it is "cracked up" to be & harmful to environment

The ethanol industry received huge subsidies from taxpayers for producing ethanol that is mixed in automotive gasoline. Former Governor Charlie Crist decreed that WE in central Florida had to have gasoline with ethanol, which is less fuel efficient, runs hotter engines, and damages many small two cycle engines (lawnmowers, etc.). As a car buff, and antique boat buff, I will never forgive Crist for that. Ethanol fuel will not run well in my 1974 Mercruiser outboard engine, so I have to travel about 10 miles to get fuel that does not have ethanol and bring it back in five gallon cans for my boat. We have written about it's harmful effects before, but here is more: vj From Roger Segelken : Ethanol Fuel from Corn Faulted as ‘Unsustainable Subsidized Food Burning’ David Pimental, a leading Cornell University agricultural expert, has calculated that powering the average U.S. automobile for one year on ethanol (blended with gasoline) derived from corn would require 11 acres of farmland, the same space needed to grow a year's supply of food for seven people. Adding up the energy costs of corn production and its conversion into ethanol, 131,000 BTUs are needed to make one gallon of... Read more →

We Launch Campaign to Get Serono Labs officers Prosecuted

We normally focus on Lake County or related local government issues. This issue doesn't really affect most regular Lake County Fiscal Rangers readers, but if you want to see details of what can be done with social media to get government to actually prosecute wrongdoers, instead of just paying a fine, read on. I am separately involved in research related to a new "CCSVI" treatment for multiple sclerosis - MS (I don't have it). This week, the US Dept. of Justice (DOJ) posted a press release about a drug company Serono Labs, that had paid unreported bribes and other expenses for many doctors to market an MS drug called Rebif. The press release said bribery, money laundering and kickbacks were involved to get doctors to push Rebif to MS patients. Most MS drugs are REALLY expensive and many prescriptions are paid by Medicare or Medicaid, thus the Federal involvement. DOJ issued a press release that they had settled with Serano paying a fine of $40-million, but NO officers were prosecuted. This has upset the MS "community" evidenced by many postings on MS related Facebook pages around the world, especially since Serono was the subject of an earlier prosecution that resulted... Read more →

Dick Morris: Inflation is Coming, and I Agree Obama & Democrats Should be Blamed

The Federal government now borrows $40-BILLION per week to pay interest on all the debt they have approved. When someone says there is a $13-TRILLION or so deficit, that means the Feds have sold debt and agreed to pay interest to GET all that money. OR, they PRINTED new money which increases the money supply, which causes inflation. Obama and the Democrats have done both. And, as interest goes up, I am betting much of the debt has cost of living escalators, so interest due to China and other buyers of US bonds and debt instruments will rise as interest rates rise. I lived through the last great inflation bubble when President Jimmy Carter ran up costs and implemented all those liberal programs that run up inflation. That was when I thought I had a GOOD DEAL buying a house at 9.5% interest rates, and then the rates went up to almost 20% due to inflation. Recently, I have watched Obama implementing many inflation causing practices, including "printing money", and excessive borrowing money to fund all his social programs. Now, inflation is starting to hit us, not only due to unrest in oil producing countries, but subsidizing food crops like... Read more →

Guest Editorial: Are Taxpayer Subsidized Commuter Railroads Justified?

(Note: This subject of subsidizing rail lines is auspicious, because Lake County Governments recently voted to spend over $16.5-million in taxpayer funds to repair CSX privately owned rail lines in Lake County to facilitate commuter and freight rail operations without any reports showing facts to justify the expense - see our separate posts on this. VJ) From Richard Riker 3/21/2011 In December of 2009 Florida Legislature passed legislation by 27-10 establishing Sun Rail. This was done in a special session in an Obama-Pelosi hush and rush style. Why was this done in the “dead of night” without public disclosure? Simple, it would not have passed in the light of day. An initial impact of the passage was, as in most cases, financial, the legislature paid CSX Rail $10.5 million for track. This total is far more that the national average cost for track at $500,000 per mile. What are some of the other overall deterrents to rail transit? Ones that our legislatures should have considered before they voted for it. To begin with, and maybe foremost, only two rail lines in the entire world have recovered their capital cost Paris-Lyon and Tokyo-Osaka. No rail transit line in this country comes... Read more →

Quote from Plato for taxpayers

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. Plato Subscribe to fiscalrangers.com and "Like" our "FiscalRangers" Facebook page, and add it to your favorite links. Read more →

Florida's Miami-Dade County to repay $3.6-million to HUD for lousy accounting

If you are a County government, and get a Federal grant from the US Dept. of Housing and Urban development (HUD), you better keep good records to show where you spent it. Apparently the staff at Miami-Dade County flopped the accounting test, and had to repay $3.6-million. This is apparently in a long string of accounting screw ups in that County. Watch out for those Federal audits, Lake County! vj Posted on Thu, Jan. 20, 2011 Miami-Dade must repay $3.6M in Housing and Urban Development funds BY MARTHA BRANNIGAN [email protected] In the latest sign of weak financial controls in Miami-Dade government, the county must pay back $3.6 million in federal grant funds received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development after a federal audit found that county officials couldn't show the money was properly used. The county's latest problems with HUD -- which administrators unveiled at a County Commission meeting Thursday -- come just two years after the federal agency returned control of the troubled Miami-Dade Housing Agency to county hands after 15 months under HUD supervision. The disclosure angered several commissioners -- particularly in view of unrelated financial woes at the Miami-Dade Transit Agency, which has seen... Read more →

US Federal Reserve Prints Money - Here is YouTube Video Explaining this Fiasco

This is a great, but depressing video cartoon that explains "Quantitative Easing" which is liberal speak for "printing money" which will cause inflation. You may have read that the US Federal Reserve will "print" $600-million dollars in new money to buy bonds...which is a practice known for causing inflation. This video explains this messy technique and the problems it causes... Here is the URL on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTUY16CkS-k Read more →

A FiscalRangers.com Perspective on the BP Oil Spill

Point 1: Never forget all oil drilling is to meet the oil demands of US and other country consumers and our demand pushes them to take risks to fill our demand for oil. Point 2: Never forget that "BP" is a BRITISH firm, not American, and they have a terrible drilling safety record, compared to other oil firms. I will discuss that later. Point 3: Never forget that BP and other firms were drilling in risky, high depth locations because US Democrats, liberals and environmentalists refused to let them drill in safer, lower depth locations near shorelines like is done near Santa Barbara & Long Beach, California, and they have also reduced oil firm ability to drill onshore, which is even safer. There have been hardly any ONSHORE drilling catastrophes, so it is much safer. Background: In the 1980's, I lived in Southern California and worked as one of 10 Internal Audit group Directors at ARCO (Atlantic Richfield), a very well managed oil company with a headquarters in Los Angeles, plus operations near New Orleans and the Alaskan Pipeline. I traveled to an offshore oil rig near New Orleans, Coal operations in Denver, the Alaska pipeline in Alaska ( including... Read more →

Sarah Palin's Speech Given at Tea Party Conference is on CSPAN.org

Sarah Palin's speech before yesterday's Tea Party Conference on CSPAN is below, plus you can go to CSPAN.org and see panel discussions also on video: It was a very good speech and had lots of specific ideas. http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2010/02/06/HP/A/29348/Palin+Gives+Keynote+Address+at+Tea+Party+Convention.aspx Read more →

Canadian Columnist's View of Damage Done by Obama

I rarely post here about national politics, but a friend sent me this Canadian columnist's view of the Obama mess in the US. It is very compelling as a view from someone outside the US. My favorite statement is that the "the French think he is rude...". His prediction that Obama may even be bumped from office BEFORE the end of his four years is quite interesting, since he believes the Dems are more loyal to their own political future than to the country. Read it and be educated about a world view of Obama... vj Barack Hussein Obama: I Told You So, Yes I Did By Howard Galganov Montreal, Quebec, Canada When Obama won the presidency with the help of the leftist media, Hollywood and entertainment liberals, ethnic socialists (ACORN), stupid non-business professionals and Bush haters, I wrote: It won't take six months until the people figure this guy out and realize how horrible a mistake they've made. And when they come to that realization, the damage to the United States of America will be so great it will take a generation or more to repair - IF EVER. The IDIOTS who not only voted for the messiah, but... Read more →

Example of County being Audited by Feds for Proper Grant Documentation

This is an example of what the Federal government can audit in a local County program that received Federal funds. This illustrates why Lake County government leaders need to make sure proper controls are used in documenting state and Federal program spending. In the case described in the article below, the Federal Government auditors will audit a $10-million FEMA grant received by a local Missouri County in 2007 to make repairs during an ice storm. It seems this may be a routine audit, since no information was provided of possible wrongdoing. Notice at the end they hired a "debri removal" firm that knew FEMA documentation rules, which was wise. Hopefully, Lake County government managers are doing the same for Federally funded programs and grants. If they don't, and the documentation is not adequate, they would be forced to repay the funds. vj January 1, 2010 Federal agency to audit Greene County's ice storm funds Wes Johnson From the Springfield, Missouri News-Leader HERE The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will conduct a weeklong audit of Greene County this month over $10.2 million in FEMA money the county received after the 2007 ice storm. Although the City of Springfield and City Utilities... Read more →

New FiscalRangers.com Page on Lake County, Florida's 2010 Elections

Tavares, FL - The 2010 Lake County, Florida State and Federal Election cycle is ramping up, so I created a separate page to track the incumbents, candidates, issues and media sources. It is titled "Elections 2010 for Lake County, FL" and is in the "Pages" section in the right hand column, or you can reach it with THIS LINK. I will be adding details on the candidates as it comes, and will later rank the candidates and make recommendations regarding their support of fiscal conservatism and initiatives they have taken to improve efficiency, economy and effectiveness of government operations. I plan to create a vetting process with interviews to also extract background on fiscal skills of incumbents and candidates. A candidate who does not even know how the budget works for the agency they are running for will receive an F. Vance Jochim Chief Fiscal Watchdog... [email protected] Read more →

Space Aliens Are Among Us Again - but at the Federal Government level

Recently, I wrote how a flying space alien seemed to take over four County Commissioners because they increased the budget for the new judicial center expansion from an agreed upon $42-million to $55-million with hardly any discussion. Now I am getting stories of aliens affecting other government officials from other "alien watchers"... so thanks to Riley, read on... (I have not verified the facts below) vj Subject: 1947 To: Everyone Date: Saturday, October 17, 2009, 9:43 AM The year is 1947 Some of you will recall that on July 8, 1947, a little over 62 years ago, Witnesses claim that an unidentified flying object (UFO) with five aliens Aboard crashed onto a sheep and mule ranch just outside Roswell, New Mexico. This is a well-known incident that many say has long been covered up by the U.S. Air Force and other federal agencies and organizations. However, what you may NOT know is that in the month of April 1948, nine Months after that historic day, the following people were born: Albert A. Gore, Jr. Hillary Rodham John F. Kerry William J Clinton Howard Dean Nancy Pelosi Dianne Feinstein Charles E. Schumer Barbara Boxer Harry Reid See what happens when aliens... Read more →

The Federal Debt BEFORE Obama's spending is $486,000 per family household

This stuff about the federal debt is depressing, but this billion dollar "Peter G. Peterson" foundation is new, and was founded by the founder of the Blackstone Group equity fund. He sold out when prices were high, and set up this billion dollar plus foundation to educate the public about the terrible Federal debt and other budget and economic problems being ignored by Federal elected officials. The President is the former head of the Federal GAO, David Walker, who spent his last 2-3 years making presentations all over the US and to Congress on the increasing Federal Debt - and that was BEFORE Obama ran up the debt even more. If you are interested in monitoring this type of subject on the Federal debt, unchecked spending, etc. , go to their homepage at http://www.pgpf.org/and register for free emails. They have just been issuing some grants for teenagers to create online games to educate teens about personal finance, etc so they should be issuing all types of online finance education "tools" over the next few months. Also download and read their "State of the Union's Finances Citizen's Guide" which is where I got the above graphic. They also offer online games... Read more →

Alan Grayson Town Hall on Health Care was STACKED - Only 15 Conservatives admitted

Tavares, FL - US House Rep. Alan Grayson (Democrat) had his first Lake County Town Hall meeting last night in Tavares to mostly "get input" on the proposed Federal Health Care plans (aka Obamacare). So I cover that meeting below plus first a report on an earlier event the same day. Earlier, about 50 members of the North Lake County Tea Party who are against Obamacare "ambushed" Grayson at an earlier 5pm dinner at KiKu restaurant on the east side of Mount Dora. Apparently a Grayson supporter had organized the event for members of the Mt. Dora Chamber of Commerce, and sent out an invitation that appeared to be from Chamber officers, but it was not. One source told me that the invitation upset a lot of Chamber members, but the dinner was held, and about 30 people arrived at the parking lot to find 50 Tea Party members lining the streets with signs opposing Obamacare and other Grayson issues. While waiting for Grayson to appear, many cars going by honked in support of the group. Finally, Grayson appeared, waved to the tea party members and went into the restaurant. At that point, the group adjourned to a tailgate party... Read more →

A Clear Explanation of just WHO will pay for upcoming Obama & Democrat Tax Increases

Thanks to friend Riley Warddrip for sending me this - it is a speech from a business owner to his employees, and quite clearly explains how the Obama tax increases will affect employees in many businesses, and is similar what was happening in California before I moved to Florida in 2006. I recommend you read this before voting for any Democrat... vj The Employee Meeting: I would like to start by thanking you for attending this meeting, though it's not like you had much of a choice. After all, attendance was mandatory. I'm also glad many of you accepted my invitation to your family members to be here as well. I have a few remarks to make to all of you, and then we'll retire to the ballroom for a great lunch and some employee awards. I felt that this meeting was important enough to close all 12 of our tire and automotive shops today so that all of you could be here. To reassure you, everybody is being paid for the day --- except me. Since our stores are closed we're making no money. That economic loss is mine to sustain. Carrington Automotive has 157 full time employees and... Read more →

500-1000 People Show up for Eustis, FL Tea Party

Held in Eustis's Ferran Park, the tea party featured speakers during the lunch hour period from noon to 1pm. There were about 500-1000 people attending, which is pretty good when Eustis has a population of 8,000. Speeches were given regarding taxes and other issues, along with a singer and a pastor providing a prayer. Clearly, a number of churches helped get people there, plus supporters of Fair Tax, but the many signs carried by individuals gave the message about resentment over the stimulus and Tarp debts being incurred by the Federal government. Another tea party will be in nearby Tavares (FL) this Saturday in Wooton Park, when the organizers Will Pruitt, Ralph Smith and Fred Johnson promise a bonafide tea dumping (simulated) into Lake Dora. That tea party will be at 1pm. Below are some pictures of todays Tea Party in Eustis: Read more →

2009 US Congressional "Pig Book" Published by Citizen's Against Government Waste

Ok, this is about Federal government pork barrel waste, but you can get some lessons to apply to local government spending practices. I notice that a city in Connecticut got $1.9-million for a water taxi program. Local Tavares got two of them used for much, much less, but maybe they should get Congress to provide some gold plating for the local water taxis? vj The 2009 Congressional Pig Book is here! This morning, at a press conference at the National Press Club, Citizens Against Government (CAGW) divulged publicly for the first time that despite the Obama Administration’s and Congress’ claims to the contrary, the cost of pork rose in the fiscal 2009 appropriations bills. From 11,610 pork-barrel projects costing taxpayers $17.2 billion in fiscal 2008, the price tag for our politicians’ self-serving spending climbed 14 percent to $19.6 billion in fiscal 2009, while the number of projects dropped to 10,160. C-SPAN aired the Pig Book press conference live, and “CBS Evening News with Katie Couric” is scheduled to broadcast a story on the 2009 Pig Book tonight. Watch also for CAGW President Tom Schatz’s appearances on “CNBC Reports” tonight at 8:20 and on FOX News Channel’s “FOX & Friends” tomorrow... Read more →

Peterson Foundation Ad about $56-Trillion Federal deficit

This is a great ad... Pete Peterson sold his huge equity fund organization (Blackstone) just before the financial crisis for billions, and he set up a foundation to push economic sanity, etc. He hired David Walker, the former head of the Federal Government Accountability Office (GAO) to head it, and they are coming up with programs to slow the deficit. Here is an ad from them. Visit their website at www.pgpf.org . SEE a CNBC video interview with David Walker HERE. Download Peterson_IcebergAd_Summit Read more →

NJ County's Economic Development Mismanages Federal funds and is asked to repay $1.6-million in expenses

This article isn't very clear, but it seems that a New Jersey County agency for economic development received Federal Funds for community development loans, then ran up administrative costs of $1.6 million and had hardly any successful loans issued. You don't have a local department receiving federal funds without monitoring that they actually follow the requirements for the funding, or the Fed auditors will getcha. This is an example where an individual department was clearly unsupervised in how the handled the federal funds, and is a lesson for any local government. If you get Federal or State funds, you better be sure to actually follow the requirement, or the Feds will ask for the money to be repaid. Oh, did we tell you the Lake County auditor just issued an audit of some community development house renovation programs and the Lake County Manager ignored the prior audit about possibility of cronyism in how funds were allocated, and the same problem existed in the new audit. The Feds haven't audited the program yet, but what if they do??? vj Audit shows ineffective economic development corporation in Essex by Philip Read/The Star-Ledger Sunday February 15, 2009, 8:56 AM The agency that administers... Read more →

Analysis of Federal Stimulus Bill Passed Saturday by Senate & House

I include this analysis from some Republicans below for reference. I don't have any comments at this time, except most of the spending is on liberal programs that probably won't result in creation of jobs for 12-24 months. vj FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 13, 2009 ATTN: ASSIGNMENT DESK/POLITICAL REPORTERS DOWN AND DIRTY SUMMARY OF FINAL VERSION OF STIMULUS BILL PENDING HOUSE AND SENATE TODAY NOTE: ALL REPUBLICAN CONFEREES WERE BLOCKED FROM NEGOTIATIONS ON THIS FINAL BILL, AND THE BILL WAS PRESENTED AT 11:45PM LAST NIGHT FOR FLOOR ACTION 9AM THIS MORNING, IN DIRECT VIOLATION OF OBAMA-PELOSI PLEDGE AND HOUSE VOTE TO GIVE A MINIMUM OF 48-HOURS PUBLIC WEB POSTING OF ALL LEGISLATION BEFORE A VOTE. THE BILL WAS CONVERTED TO PDF FILE BY THE DEMOCRATS TO PREVENT WORD AND SECTION SEARCHES, SO THIS FIRST SUMMARY IS THE PRODUCT OF RESEARCHERS WHO STAYED UP ALL NIGHT TO MANUALLY SCAN THE DOCUMENTS February 13, 2009 Conference Report—The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 1) SPENDING PROVISIONS Questionable or Non-Stimulative Spending: Ø $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts Ø $2 billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization Fund, providing funds to organizations such as ACORN, which has been accused of practicing unlawful... Read more →

Thomas Jefferson Quotes - a Few Years Before their time...

from Marilyn Bainter: John Kennedy once said to a assembled group of scholars in the White House "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House - with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.." The quotes below could prove his point. When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe Thomas Jefferson The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not. Thomas Jefferson It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world. Thomas Jefferson I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. Thomas Jefferson My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government. Thomas Jefferson No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. Thomas Jefferson The strongest reason for the people... Read more →

Blue Dog Democrat Coalition Espouses Fiscal Conservatism

Gasp - are there really elected Democrat House of Representative members in the US Congress who also believe in fiscal conservatism? They are called the Blue Dog Democrats, and even have a webpage HERE, and also a Wikipedia entry HERE. If the Republicans don't assert themselves on fiscal conservatism, the Blue Dogs could convert some fiscal conservatives. So, if the Dems are going to run the country, maybe the Blue Dogs can prevent total fiscal collapse. We will be watching. They can't blame much on the Republicans for the next four years. There are only two Florida Democrats in the coalition: Tim Mahoney & Alan Boyd. vj Read more →

Outstanding Description of How Federal Tax System Works & Effects of Democrats Tax Policy

A local, active Lake County, FL Republican sent this out, and it is a very good description written by an Economics Professor from Georgia on how the Federal Income Tax system works and the effects of someone like Democrats and Obama on who pays the taxes in the future. Use this story about taxes when you talk to Democrats who support always "taxing the rich". This description also illustrates problems with State Income tax systems. I moved to FL (no income tax) from California, which had an average of 9-11% State income tax on salaries. I just read that the Villages has an AVERAGE income of $98,000 per household. Most in the Villages are retirees. Do you think they left the higher income tax states to move to Florida and retire JUST for the golf facilities, or also due to the lower (none) income taxes in Florida? vj ================================================ ON THE WALL This is the absolute best explanation of how our tax system is “supposed” to work I have ever personally seen, it comes from an Economics professor at the University of Georgia. I encourage you to take the two minutes to read through this brilliant explanation, it is well... Read more →