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The New America Firsters
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The Obama Watch
Corn vs. Coronary Bypass Surgery
All you can eat, according to the Obama socialist in residence, Dr. Ronald Werrbick, MD.
It is argued here and there that President Obama is not a socialist. But with the incredible recess appointment last week of Dr. Ronald Werrbick to head the newly created American Center for All-American Food Excellence (“American CAFÉ”), the charge of socialism is becoming difficult to refute. Dr. Werrbick will direct an agency that oversees all food production and distribution in the United States. Even though the food industry may account for a slightly smaller portion of U.S. GDP than health care, it is arguably far more important.
Half the population spends little or nothing on health care, while 5 percent spends almost half the total amount. Food, on the other hand — and obviously — is a requirement of all people, at all times.
Werrbick is clearly a socialist, and it is fair to assume that Obama thinks Werrbick’s views match his own. Why else appoint him? And why else take over two of the three automobile companies, and take effective control of the banking industry? If that isn’t socialism, what is?
Because the president’s recess appointment will deprive the American people of the chance to learn of Werrbick’s views through Senate confirmation hearings, it is worth taking a close look at what Werrbick has said about food policy. The following are excerpts from speeches and articles by Dr. Werrbick over the last few years.
“I cannot believe that the individual food consumer can enforce through choice the proper configurations of a system as massive and complex as food. That is for leaders to do.”
“You cap your food budget, and you make the political and economic choices you need to make to keep affordability within reach.”
“Please don’t put your faith in market forces. It’s a popular idea: that Adam Smith’s invisible hand would do a better job of designing food policy than leaders with plans can.”
“Indeed, the Holy Grail of good food for all in the United States may remain out of reach unless, through rational collective action overriding some individual self-interest, we can reduce per capita costs.”
“A progressive policy regime will control and rationalize financing — control supply.”
“The unaided human mind, and the acts of the individual, cannot assure excellence. Food production and distribution is a system, and its performance is a systemic property.”
“Food is a common good. We need to move toward a single payer, speaking and buying for the common good.”
“For-profit, entrepreneurial providers of fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy products, for example, may find their business opportunities constrained.”
“I would place a commitment to excellence — standardization to the best known method — above production and distribution autonomy as a rule for food.”
“Food production and distribution has taken a century to learn how badly we need the best of Frederick Taylor [the father of scientific management]. If we can’t standardize appropriate parts of our processes to absolute reliability, we cannot approach perfection.”
Wow! Head for the hills.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (22) | Leave a comment
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WRTolkas| 7.28.10 @ 7:56AM
Dear Mr. Oliver,
O.K. you had me very concerned on the first page. I darn near phoned my wife to have her order more seed for our garden. What is frightening is that I believed the pretender and thief would and could appoint a person of the likes of "Dr. Werrbick."
I don't like to think I'm gullible. I do know that I'm frightened of what that man in the White House can do.
Don't forget this November folks!
Regards,
WRTolkas
Alan Brooks| 7.28.10 @ 1:44PM
If one were to refer to Pat Buchanan as a National Socialist, such would be misinformed; Buchanan is an arch- conservative, not a fascist.
Oliver is being disingenuous in this piece concerning the use of the word socialist. Obama is a social democrat, not a socialist.
tdiinva| 7.28.10 @ 3:28PM
Buchanan was once an arch-conservative but his views on domestic policy have since shifted to be more congruent with the United Auto workers. When you consider his views on the German National Socialists characterizing him as a National Socialist is very accurate.
Obama is no fan of representative government. He thinks all elections should be like those in Chicago, a meaningless formality. Obama is philosophically a communist but is operationally a Mussolini style Fascist. Social democracy is just a fancy name for doing business the Mussolini way.
Alan Brooks| 7.28.10 @ 4:05PM
"When you consider his views on the German National Socialists characterizing him as a National Socialist is very accurate."
If Buchanan has become more pro- union, then he is less of a National Socialist than I had thought he was.
Alan Brooks| 7.28.10 @ 4:05PM
"When you consider his views on the German National Socialists characterizing him as a National Socialist is very accurate."
If Buchanan has become more pro- union, then he is less of a National Socialist than I had thought he was.
Alan Brooks| 7.28.10 @ 4:05PM
"When you consider his views on the German National Socialists characterizing him as a National Socialist is very accurate."
If Buchanan has become more pro- union, then he is less of a National Socialist than I had thought he was.
Alan Brooks| 7.28.10 @ 4:06PM
"When you consider his views on the German National Socialists characterizing him as a National Socialist is very accurate."
If Buchanan has become more pro- union, then he is less of a National Socialist than I had thought he was.
tdiinva| 7.28.10 @ 8:21PM
I didn't say Buchanan was pro-union. I said he agrees with many of their anti-free trade and immigration standards.
Fascism in all its colors allows unions. Their unions are all like the SEIU where the union boss gets rich while the members get nothing
Puprle Lips| 7.28.10 @ 8:30AM
In the world that Obama inhabits, every moment is a public service announcement. And Werrbick is manning the barricades! It should be great fun to watch him and his acolytes muck things up. But then again, we shall all go hungry. And you can bet on him and his fellow nannies to offer the retort, "What are you complaining about fattie? Shut up and go down to the government agency that distributes bean sprouts and seaweed."
ccc| 7.28.10 @ 9:35AM
Food is already socialized. It is past time that republicans started repealing food and farming subsidies.
Karen Case| 7.28.10 @ 11:17AM
I agree - food is already socialized. Our government pays has their hands on our food long before it reaches us. The government pays farmers to grow food - and to NOT grow food. And we all pay road taxes on distribution as well as business and consumer taxes on foods supplied and purhcased. Much of our food supply goes over seas. We should be charging the oil producing countries as much for corn as they charge us for oil! Either way - government control is the wave of the future - globalization is the goal!
SickPuppy| 7.28.10 @ 11:31AM
'Have to agree with 'ccc', we have already been socializing far too much of our economy - to the detriment of quality, choice, innovation, fair markets and what could be a healthier, more robust (and more resilient) economy. Economic subsidies have no place in a free country's limited 'by the People and for the People' government. We DO need 'change' - lots of it - just not the kind Oba-Mao keeps slipping past all of the faux-journalists in big media (who keep giving his administration a silent 'pass' or approving nod on issues previous administrations would have been grilled on).
DRed| 7.28.10 @ 12:04PM
Mr. Oliver,
How would you define serious socialist?
John II| 7.28.10 @ 2:27PM
You beat me to it, Dreddie. The term "serious socialist" doesn't match the reality I've experienced among the breed--the problem being that socialism itself is relentlessly sophomoric and therefore unserious.
How about "self-serious socialist" as a more appropriate assignation for Professor Obama and company?
Ken (Old Texican)| 7.28.10 @ 2:50PM
DRed,
A serious socialist...is defined as a communist, (pardon the shorthand).
To a communist, your life is not worth spit, (heh heh heh...except we free men got more guns here in America.)
See, communists are frightened of dying. Well, so are we, but we outnumber armed communists a hundred to one here in the US..
Purpleguy and his ilk will be hiding under mommies's bed.
God bless. America still has a God given role in the world. It may require a few hundred of us trading our lives...one for one.
I'm content to die in self defense of my loved ones. The communists are not.
Stand strong until freedom dawns again.
Ken
Drab| 7.28.10 @ 5:38PM
Well said Ken. I will die by your side, but not before I take down a few communist.
DRed| 7.28.10 @ 5:39PM
Apparently a serious conservative is a difficult to find as a serious socialist.
John II| 7.29.10 @ 12:14AM
But for different reasons. Sure-enough socialists are merely self-serious, true-blue conservatives are self-ironic.
Joseph Epstein put it a little more bluntly: the Left is humorless, and the Right is flippant.
DRed| 7.29.10 @ 10:59AM
Have you read any of the other comments on this page? It seems a bunch of your fellow conservatives have missed the joke entirely.
bluecollarbytes| 7.28.10 @ 10:52PM
Who are the 'leaders' who design the "the proper configurations of a system as massive and complex as food"? I thought 'leadership' came from all the various businesses involved- producers, shipping, and retail, all working together in essence, responding to what consumers can pay and are willing to pay.
What a surprise....leadership is not leadership unless it comes from another run-of-the-mill know-it-all Leftist ideologue.
gene hauber| 7.28.10 @ 11:06PM
Every hour this cancer of a president becomes more virulent and bizarre and obscene.
Now he wants to ISSUE food to us ????
After November we have to seriously consider his impeachment or other removal from office.PERIOD....THIS RAPING OF AMERICA CANNOT GO ON!!
REB| 7.29.10 @ 10:56PM
It'd be funny...except its not all fiction! I am a farmer and I see what this govt has been up to for years,even before this commie creep got into office! For years I have worked with others accrossed America to defeat a monster called NAIS(National Animal ID System)now they call it a Food Tracking System amoungst other clever moronic names thought up by pinheads in offices so far removed from the land that they have no idea what a farm looks like! These food control schemes are always for our safety so that govt can keep us safe...BS...the corporations like Monsanto and McDonalds ADM Cargill and many others along with every level of facsist govt dictator wannabees want control over you and I and what we eat/drink and are working to wrest that control from us and giving it to some pencil-pusher in some office somewhere who has a piece of paper on his/her wall proclaiming them to know more about you and whats good for you than you do!
Hell will freeze over a hundred times before brains come out of a govt office,you are either free or you are a serf but never both,make no mistake they plan to regulate you in every way,your food included....Sir put your hands in the air and back away from the tomatoes...slowly!