Host Neal Asbury opened his nationally syndicated “Neal Asbury’s Made in America” show on Radio America (now on 70 stations) with the observation that Democrats have totally retreated from supporting energy-producing states, as evidenced by their decision to throw Louisiana’s Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu under the bus by not giving her the votes she wanted to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. She lost the election, and Democrats have essentially lost all their clout in the South.
Co-host Dr. Rich Roffman noted that Landrieu brought it on herself by supporting most of Obama’s unpopular decisions, including Obamacare.
Joining Made in America was Marlo Lewis, Jr., a Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, who writes on global warming, energy policy, and public policy issues.
Lewis maintained that the Environmental Protection Agency looks as if it is resurrecting the defunct Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill, which died in the Senate in 2010.
“That may seem unbelievable but it’s the likely end game if courts uphold EPA’s draconian carbon ‘pollution’ rules for new and existing fossil-fuel power plants, which are almost fully upon us. And American democracy will also suffer if EPA goes ahead,” noted Lewis, who reported that EPA’s carbon rule, proposed last September, would use the existing Clean Air Act to establish a new source performance standard (NSPS)—a limit, in plain English—for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that no commercial coal-fired power plant can possibly meet.
Lewis explained that EPA wants to bend the rules section 111(b) of the Clean Air Act, which is supposed to reflect the “best system of emission reduction” that has been “adequately demonstrated.” But the EPA wants to apply this not to a single plant, but to all power plants, essentially putting them all out of business, while also taking control of a state’s ability to legislate their own energy systems.
However, Lewis notes that this will never get by Congress and 30 states attorney generals are litigating against it.
Neal and Dr. Roffman segued to a discussion on Obamacare, and the growing national displeasure with its mandates. Even Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer admitted that it was a mistake for Democrats to endorse Obamacare because it shifted attention away from their primary promise to create jobs.
“About 85 percent of Americans were happy with their healthcare coverage before Obamacare, but now most Americans are seeing rising premiums and less coverage. I have 300 employees and my insurance carrier already told me to expect a massive increase in my premiums next year,” related Neal.
Dr. Roffman characterized Obamacare as a “disaster” for Democrats, who once proclaimed that those who voted against it would be proven wrong; but the opposite is true.
As if to underscore the lack of rationale thinking around the country, Dr. Roffman revealed that the University of Texas has found that 100 of their brain specimens are missing, including that of notorious Texas Bell Tower Sniper, Charles Whitman.
After playing the hilarious “brain scene” from Young Frankenstein, Neal suggested that the brains definitely didn’t find their way to Washington, where it was revealed that U.S. businesses are eligible to receive a tax credit of $3,000 as an incentive if they hire illegal aliens who are granted amnesty by the Obama administration.
“One in five families this year used food stamps for all or part of their Thanksgiving. And we’re giving jobs to lawbreakers instead of U.S. citizens? Does that sound good to anybody?” asked Neal.
The next guest on Made in America was Jake Wood, a former U.S. marine sniper who now serves as CEO of Team Rubicon, a Veteran Service Organization that provides military veterans with Purpose, Community and Self-Worth through volunteer service by using their unique skills for disaster response, humanitarian crisis intervention, and community service. He also is the author of “Take Command: How to Be a First Responder in Business.”
Wood proposed that the skills learned by military officers are directly transferable to business, especially to today’s entrepreneurs, who must be adaptable to change and must make tough decisions every day.
“Sometimes veterans get a bad rap that they can only work under chain of command, but that’s not true. Young commanders make decisions all the time under rapidly changing situations. These are often high risk decisions, but they can bring high rewards. This is directly applicable to today’s successful business leaders,” maintained Wood.
As part of his ongoing segment on the rise in the development of robots to replace human workers, Dr. Roffman revealed that Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney, once the “face” of Nestles’ Nespresso, the company’s Nescafe brand in Japan, is being promoted by Pepper, a sleek, all-white robot that has a tablet mounted to its chest, and can chat with customers about their coffee habits and preferences.
Dr. Roffman also noted that in some restaurants in China, flying robots are being designed that can deliver food to patrons. And a non-barking “dogbot” found its way to the White House tree lighting ceremony.
On the cronyism front, the fallout continues over Obama’s choices for U.S. ambassadors based solely on their ability to bundle donations for Democrats. Even Democrats are embarrassed by these decisions.
For example, George Tsunis, who was nominated to be the ambassador of Norway, has never been to Norway and was completely flummoxed when questioned about his knowledge of Norway’s political system.
Noah Mamet, nominated for the ambassadorship of Argentina, admitted that he has never been to Argentina; and worse, doesn’t even speak Spanish.
Robert C. Barber, who raised more than $1.6 million for Obama in 2012 and has been nominated to serve as ambassador to Iceland, said he had never visited the Nordic nation.
Then there is Colleen Bell, the nominee for ambassador to Hungary and a producer of “The Bold and the Beautiful” soap opera, who raised or contributed about $800,000 to Obama in the last election. She stammered her way through testimony about U.S. strategic interests in the country, which is the focus of growing international alarm over far-right lawmakers’ attitude toward Jews and other minorities.
Each week Neal Asbury’ Made in America provides Neal’s insights into the week’s top news stories and their impact on the worlds of entrepreneurship, small business ownership and the overall economy. Neal’s analysis, together with co-host Dr. Richard Roffman, a veteran 30-year publisher with extensive domestic and international experience, takes a non-biased approach based on real life experience in business as an American manufacturer and exporter. Made in America airs nationally each Saturday from 7-8:00 PM on Radio America. Link to Made in America at http://www.nealasburysmadeinamerica.com.
DEC
