Jasper Journal

Just received this think piece from one of our regular contributors, Bob from Florida. It is an interesting question and I posted it below.

Bob also alerted me to a scathing speech given by Michael O’Leary , head of Ryan Air, to the European Union in Brussels. I posted it below as well. If you want to see who John Galt from “Atlas Shrugged,”  might be today, take the time to listen to this speech, or parts of it. It is a little long, but truly contrasts  government run bureaucracies versus entrepreneur’s. We do NOT want to become like Europe… But we could if this administration continues in its insane course. Light bulbs anyone?

As we say farewell to 2011, I want to thank all of you for your participation in the Jasper Journal. It is fun to write, and even more gratifying to see your comments and engage in dialogue about  the issues of the day.  Don’t forget, if you have something on your mind that you would like to share, send it to me and we can post it in the blog. Have a great New Year! See you Monday.

“As 2011 comes to a close I, like many others, contemplate the past year and wonder about the new one. Somewhat different than past years, I find myself in a quizzical mood more than reflective one. This question bothers me with hope that I will learn an answer to it in 2012.

We now see hordes of people, mostly young, arriving in Iowa to “Occupy” such as we have seen in recent months in many cities. One has to ask, who provides transportation costs, housing, meals and daily sustenance for these folks? The national media, quite anxious to spotlight their shenanigans, does not seem the least bit interested in answering my question, “Who is funding these obviously unemployed radicals?”

It is a known fact that the protestors in Minnesota at the 2008 GOP convention had a “central command post” in a downtown location close to the convention hall outfitted with state-of-the-art electronic gear and up-to-the-minute high-speed computers to enable them to organize and dispatch protestors for maximum exposure. Many “Occupy” people were housed in nearby hotels when rooms were at a premium and housing was at capacity.

It is safe to say that most of the involved protestors are not gainfully employed but somehow manage to sustain themselves for weeks with no visible means of financial support. Yes, some have supportive parents while others are paid by various union groups. But here is the larger inquiry.

The strong evidence of organized controls and elaborate and expensive equipment and systems and able to provide daily needs for the protestors suggests a well-planned effort flush with money.

So here is the big question about 2011 and this glorified “Occupy” movement, now clearly gearing up for near-anarchy in the streets of Tampa in August 2012: The national print and television media have clearly glamorized these groups but why have they not used their journalistic abilities to conduct an all-out investigation of the financial and organizational roots of this insidious, malevolent and mysterious movement that clearly has financial backing of stealthy people?”

Michael O’Leary Speech