Our Economic Reality

The Obama administration has successfully closed down over 30 coal-fired power plants. One of the plants affected is in my area. As a result, some peeople have lost their jobs. We have a few power plants in the area.

My husband has worked for the coal mine that feeds these power plants for 23 years. It has been a wonderful job. Very secure with great benefits. In fact, our insurance provides for services that my son needs as a result of his Down syndrome. We have been very blessed and have not had to worry about insurance or medical care and we have been able to provide for our large family.

Unfortunately, if re-elected, President Obama has earmarked 120 more coal-fired power plants to shut down, including all of the plants in our area. That will effectively shut down the coal mining operation. These companies employ thousands of people in the area, not to mention all of the support businesses they support. Once the plants close, the mine will close and so will the vendors and suppliers that service these companies. A loss of that many jobs will have a drastic effect on a relatively small economy here. People will lose their homes. The housing market will crash. People will move which will mean less students at schools which will result in teachers losing their jobs, doctors and dentists losing patients, restaurants and stores losing customers. In a domino effect, businesses will be affected in a negative way.

And so will we. We have lived in this area for 23 years. We built our current home 18 years ago and have continued to invest in it and in our property. We have raised our kids here and we have been involved in the community. And it may all be at risk.

These power plants supply electricity to large cities, including Los Angeles. If these plants close, those in LA and other cities will pay higher prices for electricity as well as experience brown outs when there isn't enough power to go around. The fact is, right now we do not have enough resources to supply power without these coal-fired power plants.

While green power is a worthy goal, it is one that cannot be accomplished overnight. I'm not sure what the Obama administration plans to do to replace the power currently supplied by these power plants. Or what will happen to all of us affected by the closures. I don't think it's wise to close all of these plants, especially without a plan to replace the demand for power.

I'm all for cleaner energy. But we need to use wisdom in implementing it. We need to realize it takes time to create alternative power. And we need to consider the economic effects when an industry is targeted like this.

We all lose with President Obama's plan to close these plants. And that's our economic reality.

My Grandma Fears Her Future

My grandmother is in the hospital as a result of a minor stroke. She's an amazing woman who is still vibrant and mentally sharp. We discuss politics, religion, current affairs, and anything else that happens to pop into our conversation. She's an excellent conversationalist and I enjoy our visits.

The other day she expressed her fear of the new healthcare reform proposed by President Obama. She's afraid that with the new directives she won't receive any care and will be left to die. I wanted to reassure her that she'd receive whatever medical care she might require in the future, but I couldn't. The fact is, she won't.

According to this 1000+ page document, after age 65 citizens will receive end-of-life counseling on how to end their lives instead of receiving treatment for their ailments. For example, a man age 65 who needs a knee replacement and has worked all of his life paying into medicare and social security will be denied while a 20-something illegal immigrant who hurt his knee running the border will receive the knee replacement. How fair is that?

The new healthcare reform not only includes abortion but defines it as needed healthcare. What? How can an abortion be determined as healthcare? In most cases, it's birth control. Not only will our government be encouraging women to kill their innocent babies, they'll be forcing us as American citizens to fund the slaughter.

This healthcare reform will also prohibit private insurance. My husband has worked hard for over 20 years to provide for our family and to maintain benefits, including health insurance and now the government wants to take it away because somehow we don't deserve it anymore.

So, my grandmother is justified in her fear of what this healthcare reform will do to her, and to us as a nation. Our once superior healthcare will be replaced by mediocre care, and only if the government deems that you qualify. This reform will deny life to the unborn and the elderly.

And, the politicians will not be required to take part in the national healthcare--they'll have their own system. Isn't it ironic that Ted Kennedy who is pushing this reform is benefiting from the very care he'll be denying citizens his age as he fights a brain tumor?

Call your representatives, email them, mail them, but let them know that we not only value the life of the unborn, but we also care about our older citizens and that we do not want socialized medicine.

Here's a link to all the addresses of our government representatives: http://www.conservativeusa.org/mega-cong.htm . Perhaps, if we work together we can stop this legislation before it destroys our country, and our lives.