Monday, August 31, 2009
Barack Obama Wants To Control The Internet Created By Al Gore
The administration gets more disturbing with every passing day but that's what happens when you you have a group like this in power and no one willling to stop them. Here is the latest from America's Watchtower.
Eric Holder & The Politics Of Destruction
While I am deeply troubled by this manhunt of the previous administration by the current administration through agents like Eric Holder part of me hopes there are some cold cells waiting for them when the next administration takes over. Turnabout is fair play of course.
In the end, I know what they are doing is purely political and ideological as well as downright evil and damaging to this country.
My sense of reason can only hope the cycle will be broken when this vile group is ousted from power.
Then we can get back to politics as usual over the politics of national destruction.
I only hope the patriots who have worked to protect us can survive this administration's mission.
In the end, I know what they are doing is purely political and ideological as well as downright evil and damaging to this country.
My sense of reason can only hope the cycle will be broken when this vile group is ousted from power.
Then we can get back to politics as usual over the politics of national destruction.
I only hope the patriots who have worked to protect us can survive this administration's mission.
To Da Loo
The bathroom is getting to be a pretty depressing place. First low-flow toilets, then shower heads, and now light bulbs. Next, the greens will want to ban tubs in new home construction for using too much water and push for legal limits on how hot your shower can be. Sound ridiculous? Think again. This kind of thing really highlights the distinction between traditionalist conservationism and watermelon environmentalism (green on the outside, red on the inside).
And This Is Funny How Ted? Ed? Bueller? Anyone?
Sometimes the slightest remarks can be as troubling as they come. This remark from Newsweek Foreign Editor Ed Klein says as much about him as it does Ted Kennedy. It also speaks volumes about the British interviewer and how little value is placed on life when ideology comes first. It's "amazing" alright Ed and "ridiculous" indeed.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
You Deserve A Vacation Barry (NOT!)
Everyone deserves a break, but as our country continues down its "hell in a hand basket" path I'm not sure it's the time.
How does a President throw out an unread bill on National Healthcare (unless he knows exactly what he wants to happen) and allow the wall of security that is our nation's CIA to come under attack by Obama's pit bull Eric Holder? So much for that wonderful support you though to the CIA a few months back. I guess that lifeline is gone.
As the President he could be doing alot more to lead a country that is in serious crisis. Instead he's sucking on ice cream cones. It's just too damn hot right now for that. Seriously, if there was any real leadership at the top we would have a country that wouldn't even notice he was on vacation.
Instead we have a disaster in the making every day this man is in office. It's truly frightening what is happening to our country. It is truly stunning how disgraceful this administration is treating its Central Intelligence Agency in the name of politics. There may be plenty in play to destroy the previous administration, but this President is single-handedly weakening us on a daily basis. Our enemies sit back and watch and smile. It couldn't be more beautiful if they planned it.
But enjoy that vacation Barry, I mean Barack. Who exactly are you?
How does a President throw out an unread bill on National Healthcare (unless he knows exactly what he wants to happen) and allow the wall of security that is our nation's CIA to come under attack by Obama's pit bull Eric Holder? So much for that wonderful support you though to the CIA a few months back. I guess that lifeline is gone.
As the President he could be doing alot more to lead a country that is in serious crisis. Instead he's sucking on ice cream cones. It's just too damn hot right now for that. Seriously, if there was any real leadership at the top we would have a country that wouldn't even notice he was on vacation.
Instead we have a disaster in the making every day this man is in office. It's truly frightening what is happening to our country. It is truly stunning how disgraceful this administration is treating its Central Intelligence Agency in the name of politics. There may be plenty in play to destroy the previous administration, but this President is single-handedly weakening us on a daily basis. Our enemies sit back and watch and smile. It couldn't be more beautiful if they planned it.
But enjoy that vacation Barry, I mean Barack. Who exactly are you?
Airbrusing Out Mary Jo Kopechne
It's amazing to me people simply cannot tell the truth or face the truth. Telling the truth requires real courage. Many prefer the deception of their hazy, rose-colored glasses. The brilliant Mark Steyn understands the importance of truth.
Ted Kennedy Remembered
I wonder if anyone at the the Los Angeles Times finds this sub-headline on their op-ed page just a tiny bit insulting to the memory of Mary Jo Kopechne:
The late senator was a man who reached out when it mattered most, who let us know we weren't alone.
Except that one time . . .
The late senator was a man who reached out when it mattered most, who let us know we weren't alone.
Except that one time . . .
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Torture?
There was a great article in the Los Angeles Times on President Obama's first use of rendition (and torture?). Not for a terrorist, but for a Lebanese man accused of bribery. An excerpt:
A Lebanese citizen being held in a detention center here was hooded, stripped naked for photographs and bundled onto an executive jet by FBI agents in Afghanistan in April, making him the first known target of a rendition during the Obama administration.
Unlike terrorism suspects who were secretly snatched by the CIA and harshly interrogated and imprisoned overseas during the George W. Bush administration, Raymond Azar was flown to this Washington suburb for a case involving inflated invoices.
Azar, 45, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit bribery, the only charge against him. He faces a maximum of five years in prison, but a sentence of 2 1/2 years or less is likely under federal guidelines.
Defense lawyers and prosecutors declined to comment on the case Friday.
But Joanne Mariner, terrorism and counter-terrorism director at Human Rights Watch, called the case "bizarre."
"He was treated like a high-security! terrorist instead of someone accused of a relatively minor white-collar crime," she said.
Justice Department lawyers have denied any misconduct in the case.
"The FBI followed standard operating procedures when transporting prisoners to the United States," Gina Talamona, a Justice Department spokeswoman, said Friday. She said restraints "were used with the sole purpose of ensuring the safety of the defendants and the agents."
As the Obama administration steps up efforts to curb fraud at military facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, a senior Army official said Azar's case "should serve as a warning" to other contractors.
In court papers, Azar said he was denied his eyeglasses, not given food for 30 hours and put in a freezing room after his arrest by "more than 10 men wearing flak jackets and carrying military style assault rifles."
Azar also said he was shackled and forced to wear a blindfold, dark hood and earphones for! up to 18 hours on a Gulfstream V jet that flew him from Bagra! m air base, outside Kabul, to Virginia.
Before the hood was put on, he said, one of his captors waved a photo of Azar's wife and four children and warned Azar that he would "never see them again" unless he confessed.
If this last charge is accurate, then this meets the definition of torture used by the Left. Will Eric Holder and the likes of Andrew Sullivan call for an investigation of Obama's administration for this heinous crime? I'm not sure why the pictures Sullivan has posted of terrorists strapped naked and blindfolded to a board are any different than Obama's embezzler strapped naked and blindfolded to a board, other than the obvious that the guy in the Bush example is, you know, a killer.
A Lebanese citizen being held in a detention center here was hooded, stripped naked for photographs and bundled onto an executive jet by FBI agents in Afghanistan in April, making him the first known target of a rendition during the Obama administration.
Unlike terrorism suspects who were secretly snatched by the CIA and harshly interrogated and imprisoned overseas during the George W. Bush administration, Raymond Azar was flown to this Washington suburb for a case involving inflated invoices.
Azar, 45, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit bribery, the only charge against him. He faces a maximum of five years in prison, but a sentence of 2 1/2 years or less is likely under federal guidelines.
Defense lawyers and prosecutors declined to comment on the case Friday.
But Joanne Mariner, terrorism and counter-terrorism director at Human Rights Watch, called the case "bizarre."
"He was treated like a high-security! terrorist instead of someone accused of a relatively minor white-collar crime," she said.
Justice Department lawyers have denied any misconduct in the case.
"The FBI followed standard operating procedures when transporting prisoners to the United States," Gina Talamona, a Justice Department spokeswoman, said Friday. She said restraints "were used with the sole purpose of ensuring the safety of the defendants and the agents."
As the Obama administration steps up efforts to curb fraud at military facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, a senior Army official said Azar's case "should serve as a warning" to other contractors.
In court papers, Azar said he was denied his eyeglasses, not given food for 30 hours and put in a freezing room after his arrest by "more than 10 men wearing flak jackets and carrying military style assault rifles."
Azar also said he was shackled and forced to wear a blindfold, dark hood and earphones for! up to 18 hours on a Gulfstream V jet that flew him from Bagra! m air base, outside Kabul, to Virginia.
Before the hood was put on, he said, one of his captors waved a photo of Azar's wife and four children and warned Azar that he would "never see them again" unless he confessed.
If this last charge is accurate, then this meets the definition of torture used by the Left. Will Eric Holder and the likes of Andrew Sullivan call for an investigation of Obama's administration for this heinous crime? I'm not sure why the pictures Sullivan has posted of terrorists strapped naked and blindfolded to a board are any different than Obama's embezzler strapped naked and blindfolded to a board, other than the obvious that the guy in the Bush example is, you know, a killer.
Mary Jo Kopechne Remembered
Was reading an eloquent eulogy by Ted Sorensen in Time to the late Ted Kennedy. At one point, he writes: “Both a plane crash in Massachusetts in 1964 and the ugly automobile accident on Chappaquiddick Island in 1969 almost cost him his life, and the Chappaquiddick incident ultimately ended his bright prospects for still higher office.”
Something rings wrongly in this. I don’t think it was Sorensen’s intent to be callous, but Chappaquiddick for many is not remembered just as ending Teddy’s “bright prospects for still higher office,” or even as an “ugly automobile accident [that] almost cost [Kennedy] his life,” but rather as an incident that unnecessarily resulted in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne (never mentioned by name in the essay) owing to (according to a later inquest) the negligence of the driver, Ted Kennedy.
Is there not something surreal in remembering Chappaquiddick chiefly as either an ugly accident that almost killed Ted, or an unfortunate accident that cost him “higher office.” That July 1969 evening remains a terrible tragedy only because a young, bright woman at 28 lost a chance to enjoy a full life due to an entirely preventable occurrence.
Something rings wrongly in this. I don’t think it was Sorensen’s intent to be callous, but Chappaquiddick for many is not remembered just as ending Teddy’s “bright prospects for still higher office,” or even as an “ugly automobile accident [that] almost cost [Kennedy] his life,” but rather as an incident that unnecessarily resulted in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne (never mentioned by name in the essay) owing to (according to a later inquest) the negligence of the driver, Ted Kennedy.
Is there not something surreal in remembering Chappaquiddick chiefly as either an ugly accident that almost killed Ted, or an unfortunate accident that cost him “higher office.” That July 1969 evening remains a terrible tragedy only because a young, bright woman at 28 lost a chance to enjoy a full life due to an entirely preventable occurrence.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
America Under Fire Continued
Obama continues his internal destruction of the country by allowing Attorney General Eric Holder to proceed with his efforts to destroy those who would protect us, the CIA. It's good to see we are concentrating on those that would harm us, our own people.
Terrorists the world over rejoiced over the liberation of the Lockerbie bomber. The terrorists also rejoice each time they witness the American government go to work for them in the hands of their preferred President Barack Hussein Obama. I bet they never dreamed it would be this easy.
There is no question this administration is antithetical to the very existence of the America we love. Every day offers further proof there is a twisted agenda in play from the current White House and one that is more than willing to destroy the very Americans, the very Patriots who put their lives in the balance to protect us. To attack these people is unconscionable, despicable and un-American. Attorney General Holder and President Obama should be ashamed.
Terrorists the world over rejoiced over the liberation of the Lockerbie bomber. The terrorists also rejoice each time they witness the American government go to work for them in the hands of their preferred President Barack Hussein Obama. I bet they never dreamed it would be this easy.
There is no question this administration is antithetical to the very existence of the America we love. Every day offers further proof there is a twisted agenda in play from the current White House and one that is more than willing to destroy the very Americans, the very Patriots who put their lives in the balance to protect us. To attack these people is unconscionable, despicable and un-American. Attorney General Holder and President Obama should be ashamed.
State Of The State
Looked at the State Department bio of its spokesman, Crowley. And read this: “Prior to joining the Center for American Progress, he served as vice president of the Insurance Information Institute, focusing on strategic industry issues that included the impact of terrorism on commercial insurance in the aftermath of the World Trade Center tragedy.”
Did Crowley write his own bio? I assume so. In any event, someone did. And anyone capable of calling 9/11 a “tragedy” is not fit to serve in the State Department. If 9/11 was a tragedy — what was the Titanic’s encounter with an iceberg? Was the Khmer Rouge’s work a “tragedy” too? If you can’t call 9/11 what it was — a series of atrocities, an hour of mass-murder, a gross attack of war — you are not equipped to cope with the modern world.
I wonder how yellow-ribbon America — our Oprahfied America — would have coped with Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. I fear they would have made mincemeat of us. May be wrong.
Did Crowley write his own bio? I assume so. In any event, someone did. And anyone capable of calling 9/11 a “tragedy” is not fit to serve in the State Department. If 9/11 was a tragedy — what was the Titanic’s encounter with an iceberg? Was the Khmer Rouge’s work a “tragedy” too? If you can’t call 9/11 what it was — a series of atrocities, an hour of mass-murder, a gross attack of war — you are not equipped to cope with the modern world.
I wonder how yellow-ribbon America — our Oprahfied America — would have coped with Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. I fear they would have made mincemeat of us. May be wrong.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Bombs Away!
The case of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi raises several extremely disquieting questions. He is the Libyan imprisoned for blowing up Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie in Scotland, killing 270 people, a majority of them American. And now a free man. He has been acknowledged as a Libyan secret agent. The Libyan dictator, Mu'ammar Gaddhafi, in power since 1969, handed al-Megrahi over to the Scottish courts and paid over a billion dollars in compensation to the families of victims, while also refusing to accept responsibility for the mass murder. When asked about this, he gives a derisive laugh by way of an answer.
Genuine doubt has always existed about the perpetrators. Some, especially in the United States, are convinced that this was indeed a Libyan operation. Others, equally firm in their opinion, hold that Iran and Syria together paid the Palestinian terrorist group led by Ahmed Jibril to blow up the jet — the spokesman for this line of thinking is Dr. Jim Swire, an Englishman whose daughter was killed that day. Dr. Swire has devoted time and energy to investigating this act of terrorism, and he believes that the imprisonment of al-Megrahi is a miscarriage of justice. Jibril was a particularly foul criminal who murdered a lot of people including many of his own men, and was himself finally murdered, seemingly at the orders of Saddam Hussein. That's how they do things over there. The corpses pile up but the trail to establish culpability somehow always20peters out, and you never know exactly whom to blame.
Al-Megrahi lost a first appeal for another hearing. In 2007 his lawyers put in a second appeal on the basis that more evidence was available and it would show the miscarriage of justice. The appeal was granted. The families of the victims were encouraged to believe that they might get closer to the truth. And now, suddenly, Al-Megrahi is said to be dying from prostate cancer, and therefore it would be only humanitarian to release him to Libya. Simultaneously, his lawyers happen to have withdrawn his second appeal.
The connection between these two events is murky. Pretty well everyone, however, concludes that the British authorities were well aware that Al-Megrahi would win his appeal, and they would be exposed as having framed him. So they offered to set him free in exchange for the dropping of the appeal.A former British ambassador to Libya has said that a deal of this kind was surely done — but this man is a typical Foreign Office specimen and from his record we ought to be grateful that he doesn't think Ariel Sharon actually crashed Pan Am 103 in person. Magnus Linklater is a columnist in the London Times. A serious man who routinely beats a drum for his native Scotland, he wrote with incandescence about “what looks suspiciously like a cover-up.” Tony Blair forced through devolution, and this has ma de the Scottish legal system responsible for the Al-Megrahi case. In Linklater's opinion, this whole legal system has been compromised, as either ham-fisted, or duped by Libya, or worst of all, complicit. He throws about words like “farce” and “stitch-up” and “shameful.”
Other newspapers have published photographs of Blair or Gordon Brown shaking hands with Gaddhafi, evidently willing to rehabilitate this ruthless dictator whose record of terror goes back for forty years. The further suggestion is that B.P. has a concession for new oil and gas deposits in Libya, but this is conditional on the freeing of Al-Megrahi. The British government is certainly cynical and underhand enough to go along with an understanding of that kind. After all, Saudi Arabia threatened to cancel valuable arms contracts if the supplier, British Aerospace, was investigated for paying bribes to Saudi princes, whereupon Blair was quick to ensure that the Saudis got the immunity and anonymity they were wanting.
What events like these really prove is the way that the demands and practices of absolute Muslim states are encroaching on Europe, however dangerous this may be to democracy, justice, good governance, and in the final analysis, independence.
And since Al-Megrahi was indeed freed, as widely forecast, you can safely bet that quite soon he will be giving an interview in some expensive villa on the beautiful Libyan coast, happily informing the world that his cancer has been miraculously cured.
Genuine doubt has always existed about the perpetrators. Some, especially in the United States, are convinced that this was indeed a Libyan operation. Others, equally firm in their opinion, hold that Iran and Syria together paid the Palestinian terrorist group led by Ahmed Jibril to blow up the jet — the spokesman for this line of thinking is Dr. Jim Swire, an Englishman whose daughter was killed that day. Dr. Swire has devoted time and energy to investigating this act of terrorism, and he believes that the imprisonment of al-Megrahi is a miscarriage of justice. Jibril was a particularly foul criminal who murdered a lot of people including many of his own men, and was himself finally murdered, seemingly at the orders of Saddam Hussein. That's how they do things over there. The corpses pile up but the trail to establish culpability somehow always20peters out, and you never know exactly whom to blame.
Al-Megrahi lost a first appeal for another hearing. In 2007 his lawyers put in a second appeal on the basis that more evidence was available and it would show the miscarriage of justice. The appeal was granted. The families of the victims were encouraged to believe that they might get closer to the truth. And now, suddenly, Al-Megrahi is said to be dying from prostate cancer, and therefore it would be only humanitarian to release him to Libya. Simultaneously, his lawyers happen to have withdrawn his second appeal.
The connection between these two events is murky. Pretty well everyone, however, concludes that the British authorities were well aware that Al-Megrahi would win his appeal, and they would be exposed as having framed him. So they offered to set him free in exchange for the dropping of the appeal.A former British ambassador to Libya has said that a deal of this kind was surely done — but this man is a typical Foreign Office specimen and from his record we ought to be grateful that he doesn't think Ariel Sharon actually crashed Pan Am 103 in person. Magnus Linklater is a columnist in the London Times. A serious man who routinely beats a drum for his native Scotland, he wrote with incandescence about “what looks suspiciously like a cover-up.” Tony Blair forced through devolution, and this has ma de the Scottish legal system responsible for the Al-Megrahi case. In Linklater's opinion, this whole legal system has been compromised, as either ham-fisted, or duped by Libya, or worst of all, complicit. He throws about words like “farce” and “stitch-up” and “shameful.”
Other newspapers have published photographs of Blair or Gordon Brown shaking hands with Gaddhafi, evidently willing to rehabilitate this ruthless dictator whose record of terror goes back for forty years. The further suggestion is that B.P. has a concession for new oil and gas deposits in Libya, but this is conditional on the freeing of Al-Megrahi. The British government is certainly cynical and underhand enough to go along with an understanding of that kind. After all, Saudi Arabia threatened to cancel valuable arms contracts if the supplier, British Aerospace, was investigated for paying bribes to Saudi princes, whereupon Blair was quick to ensure that the Saudis got the immunity and anonymity they were wanting.
What events like these really prove is the way that the demands and practices of absolute Muslim states are encroaching on Europe, however dangerous this may be to democracy, justice, good governance, and in the final analysis, independence.
And since Al-Megrahi was indeed freed, as widely forecast, you can safely bet that quite soon he will be giving an interview in some expensive villa on the beautiful Libyan coast, happily informing the world that his cancer has been miraculously cured.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Brrrrr!
A great editorial on the scare tactics of the alarmists over in IBD. The conclusion:
When all the pretense about science is stripped away, it becomes clear that the global warming scare is not about the planet, but about establishing egalitarianism across the world. It's about making everyone more equal by slowing growth in rich nations rather than increasing growth in poor and developing countries.
The mind-set can be found in campaigns such as Climate Justice, which "is not only the right tool for climate stabilization," says Jin-woo Lee, a policy analyst for the Energy & Climate Policy Institute for Just Transition, but also "the underlying principle for global equity."
Greenpeace's Leipold said he believes the world is finally beginning to take global warming seriously. But that seems wildly optimistic. The movement looks to be losing momentum.
Already 20,000 overnight hotel stays that had been reserved for the December United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen have been canceled. Either a lot of people are losing interest — or they're thinking it will just be too cold.
When all the pretense about science is stripped away, it becomes clear that the global warming scare is not about the planet, but about establishing egalitarianism across the world. It's about making everyone more equal by slowing growth in rich nations rather than increasing growth in poor and developing countries.
The mind-set can be found in campaigns such as Climate Justice, which "is not only the right tool for climate stabilization," says Jin-woo Lee, a policy analyst for the Energy & Climate Policy Institute for Just Transition, but also "the underlying principle for global equity."
Greenpeace's Leipold said he believes the world is finally beginning to take global warming seriously. But that seems wildly optimistic. The movement looks to be losing momentum.
Already 20,000 overnight hotel stays that had been reserved for the December United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen have been canceled. Either a lot of people are losing interest — or they're thinking it will just be too cold.
Friday, August 21, 2009
The Shame Of The West
So the Lockerbie bomber was released by Scotland back to Libya today. The vile scum's name escapes me, but it's a name you won't remember. In fact, you shouldn't have heard the name ever again.
It was asked today after he was welcomed home a hero to the shame of the west and especially Scotland/ the United Kingdom, what can we do to prevent such embarrassment from happening again? Seriously? Does it actually require brain cells to have to expend a singular ounce of energy thinking about this one. The Libyan was a killer. You take the key and you throw it away and you never look back. It's called justice. It's a concept that is slipping away from the West's understanding.
President Obama, certainly not at fault, stepped in to contact the Libyans to "make sure" he wasn't treated like a hero. That's rich. It worked out well too. We have the spineless, Obama suck-up, English Prime Minister Gordon Brown silent on the issue in the UK looking as positively ridiculous as ever. Obama, who continues to absolutely cripple America domestically, stepped up to the plate to show once again what a weak leader he is on foreign affairs too. The release was "inappropriate" according to Obama. Really?
It is positively shameful that Scotland would release this creature to walk back upon his soil a martyr. I'm not the least bit surprised really, though I never thought I'd see the day.
But why would I expect Obama to have any significant input on the matter of any kind? After all, this is the same President who released the detainees of Guantanamo Bay. Once again, I'm not sure there is any real sincerity coming from our President on this issue. He'd rather placate the enemy, hug, talk and be friends. This move is right up his alley. There's always tough talk, but I'm not even sure of that. Nowadays, there isn't much backing to any of the rhetoric of the West and we will continue to be trampled upon by those who laugh at us for being embarrassingly weak.
It was asked today after he was welcomed home a hero to the shame of the west and especially Scotland/ the United Kingdom, what can we do to prevent such embarrassment from happening again? Seriously? Does it actually require brain cells to have to expend a singular ounce of energy thinking about this one. The Libyan was a killer. You take the key and you throw it away and you never look back. It's called justice. It's a concept that is slipping away from the West's understanding.
President Obama, certainly not at fault, stepped in to contact the Libyans to "make sure" he wasn't treated like a hero. That's rich. It worked out well too. We have the spineless, Obama suck-up, English Prime Minister Gordon Brown silent on the issue in the UK looking as positively ridiculous as ever. Obama, who continues to absolutely cripple America domestically, stepped up to the plate to show once again what a weak leader he is on foreign affairs too. The release was "inappropriate" according to Obama. Really?
It is positively shameful that Scotland would release this creature to walk back upon his soil a martyr. I'm not the least bit surprised really, though I never thought I'd see the day.
But why would I expect Obama to have any significant input on the matter of any kind? After all, this is the same President who released the detainees of Guantanamo Bay. Once again, I'm not sure there is any real sincerity coming from our President on this issue. He'd rather placate the enemy, hug, talk and be friends. This move is right up his alley. There's always tough talk, but I'm not even sure of that. Nowadays, there isn't much backing to any of the rhetoric of the West and we will continue to be trampled upon by those who laugh at us for being embarrassingly weak.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Obamacare: Why So Serious?
It's really refreshing to see people finally up in arms over what is going on in this country.
You cannot count on Obama's team to run a Nationalized Healthcare system. The Democrats engineered a financial disaster leading to the Fanny Mae debacle. The government could care less about enforcing existing laws on the books never mind creating a new 1,000 page certified disaster. Do you see them enforcing the law against illegal immigration? No. The government needs to stay out of your life before they ruin it. If we can't control the borders, what makes you think they are going to properly run a national health care scheme? Are you Serious? Speaking of serious. This picture is far too perfect. It's the "Why So Serious?" promotion from The Dark Knight and that's about how Obama operates.
Let's face it, there is a percentage of radical anti-American voters out there who will follow those who harm this country to the end of the Earth. If bombs detonated in the mid-West they would explain how those people deserved it.
Who knew Obama's intention to quickly pass a Bill no one had read through Congress before the summer recess would have been the straw that broke the camel's back.
He clearly wanted to have a "national conversation." Sure Barack. He clearly wanted you to believe he didn't go to Reverend Wright's church for twenty years as well. For some reason everyone let that one slide.
They let one remark after another go by that clearly illustrated who this man really was and yet we, the American people, elected him.
It's good to see they are finally getting worried about the man at the top playing fast and loose with our money. Those of us who voted against him knew it was a vote against an inexperienced and dishonest man, perhaps more so than most politicians.
Most politicians have failed us miserably, Republicans included.
You cannot count on Obama's team to run a Nationalized Healthcare system. The Democrats engineered a financial disaster leading to the Fanny Mae debacle. The government could care less about enforcing existing laws on the books never mind creating a new 1,000 page certified disaster. Do you see them enforcing the law against illegal immigration? No. The government needs to stay out of your life before they ruin it. If we can't control the borders, what makes you think they are going to properly run a national health care scheme? Are you Serious? Speaking of serious. This picture is far too perfect. It's the "Why So Serious?" promotion from The Dark Knight and that's about how Obama operates.
Let's face it, there is a percentage of radical anti-American voters out there who will follow those who harm this country to the end of the Earth. If bombs detonated in the mid-West they would explain how those people deserved it.Folks, do not rest on your laurels, the man at the top is out to transform your country and when he looks, or more specifically, says he's giving up on something or looking to listen to other voices, you need to trust your gut and know he is looking for us to let our guards down so he can slip you a mickey.
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This administration wants America to be Europe. Unfortunately if Obama gets his way it will become far worse. Keep your eye on the ball fellow Americans our country depends on it. Remember it's serious.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
If The Race Card Isn't Available Try The "Richard Hatch" Card
Convicted homosexual tax evader Richard Hatch, the original "Survivor" champion was released from prison and flounced with hands on hips to the nearest microphone to proclaim that the only reason he was sent to prison was because he is gay (because it wouldn't have to do with tax evasion right?).
Who does this guy think he is, Carmen Miranda?
Any Obama cabinet positions still available?
Who does this guy think he is, Carmen Miranda?
Any Obama cabinet positions still available?
Monday, August 17, 2009
Our Economic Downfall: An Update
From USA Today:
WASHINGTON — Six months after President Obama launched a $787 billion plan to right the nation's economy, a majority of Americans think the avalanche of new federal aid has cost too much and done too little to end the recession.
A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll found 57% of adults say the stimulus package is having no impact on the economy or making it worse. Even more —60% — doubt that the stimulus plan will help the economy in the years ahead, and only 18% say it has done anything to help improve their personal situation.
That skepticism underscores the challenge Obama faces in trying to convince the public that the stimulus has helped turn the economy around. It also could complicate the administration's plans to overhaul the nation's health care system.
WASHINGTON — Six months after President Obama launched a $787 billion plan to right the nation's economy, a majority of Americans think the avalanche of new federal aid has cost too much and done too little to end the recession.
A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll found 57% of adults say the stimulus package is having no impact on the economy or making it worse. Even more —60% — doubt that the stimulus plan will help the economy in the years ahead, and only 18% say it has done anything to help improve their personal situation.
That skepticism underscores the challenge Obama faces in trying to convince the public that the stimulus has helped turn the economy around. It also could complicate the administration's plans to overhaul the nation's health care system.
Tearing Apart The USA From The Inside Out
Do you ever feel like it's you against the world? I suspect so because I'm not sure our leadership will be there for us in the end, Democrat or Republican.
With each passing day, with each new assault on the American way of life from President Obama to Nancy Pelosi, from the Media to those that walk among us and hate this country to those who would violate the law and our borders and bleed us dry, we are on our own.
We are no longer represented by those we have elected. They simply turn their backs on those that have sustained this great nation. Our voices and rage fall upon deaf ears attached to those with but one singular purpose, to see through a mandate of policies dripping in poison to the detriment of this country's health and led by our own President.
Those in office make efforts to demonize any institution or person who do not fall in line. We are literally witnessing the destruction of the fabric of this country and there isn't an elected official in a leadership role interested in protecting you - Americans. From the economy and stimulus waste to takeovers, power grabs, dictates on nearly every avenue of American life we are under assault by our very own.
All we can do is continue to fight back for the rights we have taken for granted for so long. Those rights are slipping away and Americans will rise up and unite or they will perish. Our destruction will be by those elected to office or by our own hands.
With each passing day, with each new assault on the American way of life from President Obama to Nancy Pelosi, from the Media to those that walk among us and hate this country to those who would violate the law and our borders and bleed us dry, we are on our own.
We are no longer represented by those we have elected. They simply turn their backs on those that have sustained this great nation. Our voices and rage fall upon deaf ears attached to those with but one singular purpose, to see through a mandate of policies dripping in poison to the detriment of this country's health and led by our own President.
Those in office make efforts to demonize any institution or person who do not fall in line. We are literally witnessing the destruction of the fabric of this country and there isn't an elected official in a leadership role interested in protecting you - Americans. From the economy and stimulus waste to takeovers, power grabs, dictates on nearly every avenue of American life we are under assault by our very own.
All we can do is continue to fight back for the rights we have taken for granted for so long. Those rights are slipping away and Americans will rise up and unite or they will perish. Our destruction will be by those elected to office or by our own hands.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Obama's Typical White Grandmother Is There For Him Once Again
When he's not busy throwing his late grandmother under the bus as a "typical white person" (yes, we just can't forget such fond expressions of those we love), he's more than ready to roll her memory out for his political ends.
In an Oprah moment, Barack Hussein Obama tried to empathize with the crowd as only the great campaigner can even injecting the pregnant pause as noted in this piece from CNN:
"What you can't do -- or you can, but you shouldn't -- is start saying things like we want to set up 'death panels' to pull the plug on grandma," he said, referring to rumors earlier this week that a health care bill passed by a House committee included setting up so-called "death panels" to decide whether senior citizens get treatment.
In an unexpectedly personal moment, Obama evoked the death of his grandmother last year.
"I know what its like to watch somebody you love, who's aging, deteriorate, and have to struggle with that, Obama said, pausing at times to finish his sentence.
"When you start making arguments like that, it's simply dishonest," he said.
It's pretty evident who is being dishonest here. In fact, long before the man was elected it was one dishonest statement after another, but people looked beyond it for something greater as if the leopard would change its spots. The President is pulling out all the stops to push his healthcare through, but more and more people are finding Obama is inserting himself into every aspect of our lives. He has his supporters and most comedians, Conan, Daily, love him and demean the ordinary, average American at every turn, every night. Sarah Palin is always thrown in for good measure.
He is changing the face of America and edging us closer and closer to the unimaginable. We are changing. The media and Hollywood can joke about it all they want while their lemmings laugh. We're all going to be impacted here and no one will be laughing about it in the end if this thing goes through.
Update: The Media is reporting on Obama's emotional moment regarding his late grandmother. We want to report that we are buying his sincerity regarding his "typical white person" grandma as much as we buy his sincerity on just about anything he tries to sell the American people as "good" for the American people. The man is cool as a cucumber, but let's cue the emotion, because he needs it right now for his healthcare plan in the worst way.
In an Oprah moment, Barack Hussein Obama tried to empathize with the crowd as only the great campaigner can even injecting the pregnant pause as noted in this piece from CNN:
"What you can't do -- or you can, but you shouldn't -- is start saying things like we want to set up 'death panels' to pull the plug on grandma," he said, referring to rumors earlier this week that a health care bill passed by a House committee included setting up so-called "death panels" to decide whether senior citizens get treatment.
In an unexpectedly personal moment, Obama evoked the death of his grandmother last year.
"I know what its like to watch somebody you love, who's aging, deteriorate, and have to struggle with that, Obama said, pausing at times to finish his sentence.
"When you start making arguments like that, it's simply dishonest," he said.
It's pretty evident who is being dishonest here. In fact, long before the man was elected it was one dishonest statement after another, but people looked beyond it for something greater as if the leopard would change its spots. The President is pulling out all the stops to push his healthcare through, but more and more people are finding Obama is inserting himself into every aspect of our lives. He has his supporters and most comedians, Conan, Daily, love him and demean the ordinary, average American at every turn, every night. Sarah Palin is always thrown in for good measure.
He is changing the face of America and edging us closer and closer to the unimaginable. We are changing. The media and Hollywood can joke about it all they want while their lemmings laugh. We're all going to be impacted here and no one will be laughing about it in the end if this thing goes through.
Update: The Media is reporting on Obama's emotional moment regarding his late grandmother. We want to report that we are buying his sincerity regarding his "typical white person" grandma as much as we buy his sincerity on just about anything he tries to sell the American people as "good" for the American people. The man is cool as a cucumber, but let's cue the emotion, because he needs it right now for his healthcare plan in the worst way.
The Smartest Dog On The Planet
This dog could possibly be the brightest canine on the planet. He smells a bad deal when he sees one.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
"Misinformation"
I hear an awful lot of good information coming from sources considered "evil" and "right wing" regarding the proposed health care plan. Facts are displayed. Passages are dissected. Issues and incongruous points are pointed out. I like the fact we are given information.
Meanwhile, I am hearing President Obama and the former President Bill Clinton point fingers at those same sources as spreading "misinformation" or "fear." If I'm not receiving snide remarks, "pulling the plug on grandma" jokes and other demonizing of regular Americans, I am getting plenty of touchy-feely rhetoric about how everyone will be just fine under the government's national plan. I haven't actually heard any real facts about the plan, just loads of sales pitching from the master campaigner, Barack Hussein Obama. The snake oil is still being sold.
The government doesn't want to be part of your life when it comes to making health care decisions just like it doesn't want to use your money for bail outs, use your money to buy people cars (cash for clunkers) and homes. Right. The government just doesn't want to get bigger.
Tell us, why is it we don't believe you?
Meanwhile, I am hearing President Obama and the former President Bill Clinton point fingers at those same sources as spreading "misinformation" or "fear." If I'm not receiving snide remarks, "pulling the plug on grandma" jokes and other demonizing of regular Americans, I am getting plenty of touchy-feely rhetoric about how everyone will be just fine under the government's national plan. I haven't actually heard any real facts about the plan, just loads of sales pitching from the master campaigner, Barack Hussein Obama. The snake oil is still being sold.
The government doesn't want to be part of your life when it comes to making health care decisions just like it doesn't want to use your money for bail outs, use your money to buy people cars (cash for clunkers) and homes. Right. The government just doesn't want to get bigger.
Tell us, why is it we don't believe you?
Thursday, August 13, 2009
You're Debt
From ABC's Jake Tapper:
The federal deficit increased by $180 billion in July alone.
Rising to a record $1.27 trillion already, the deficit is heading towards $2 trillion by the end of the fiscal year.
The current total U.S. national debt is $11,666,485,985,008.
Your share is $37,982.
Increasingly, citizens at town hall meetings are expressing concern over the government’s ability to pay for health care reform without adding to the deficit.
Tapper's full report can be viewed here.
The federal deficit increased by $180 billion in July alone.
Rising to a record $1.27 trillion already, the deficit is heading towards $2 trillion by the end of the fiscal year.
The current total U.S. national debt is $11,666,485,985,008.
Your share is $37,982.
Increasingly, citizens at town hall meetings are expressing concern over the government’s ability to pay for health care reform without adding to the deficit.
Tapper's full report can be viewed here.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Marginalization
Is it as troubling to you the ends to which the current Obama administration will go? Does it know no boundaries? Does it have no shame?
Each day more and more people come forth to express concern and ask genuine questions. As a result, we go to the next level of the Obama playbook. He is a masterful politician and channels his popularity like no one I've ever seen. Still, what is happening is wrong. The tactics being utilized by Obama, like so many other aspects of this troubling Presidency, are not sitting well in the gut. Except, this time, others are starting to see just how far Obama is willing to go to implement his own personal world view.
I recall Tom Brokaw and Charlie Rose discussing (at the end of Obama's campaign run) they had no idea what Obama's world view was and what influences shaped him. It was laughable. Had any legitimate news man covered what Obama was about they would have known. Many Americans had to learn on their own.
It make me proud to see real Americans step forward to express their worries and concerns before the many hounds of this administration and its lapdog associates in Congress. Our fellow Americans are being outcasted, pushed aside to the fringes and made to look like loons. The arrogance by this leadership is unconscionable. The efforts of this administration to marginalize us are welcomed because it is beginning to finally forge a bond between Americans that have long been silent.
Each day more and more people come forth to express concern and ask genuine questions. As a result, we go to the next level of the Obama playbook. He is a masterful politician and channels his popularity like no one I've ever seen. Still, what is happening is wrong. The tactics being utilized by Obama, like so many other aspects of this troubling Presidency, are not sitting well in the gut. Except, this time, others are starting to see just how far Obama is willing to go to implement his own personal world view.
I recall Tom Brokaw and Charlie Rose discussing (at the end of Obama's campaign run) they had no idea what Obama's world view was and what influences shaped him. It was laughable. Had any legitimate news man covered what Obama was about they would have known. Many Americans had to learn on their own.
It make me proud to see real Americans step forward to express their worries and concerns before the many hounds of this administration and its lapdog associates in Congress. Our fellow Americans are being outcasted, pushed aside to the fringes and made to look like loons. The arrogance by this leadership is unconscionable. The efforts of this administration to marginalize us are welcomed because it is beginning to finally forge a bond between Americans that have long been silent.
Talk Radio: Thankfully One Outlet Is Reporting The Truth
CNN/US president Jonathan Klein has directed his producers to avoid booking talk radio hosts on CNN news programs. In a burst of arrogance remarkable even by mainstream media standards (especially given some of the dross that passes for news coverage at CNN), Klein is quoted in NewsBusters as saying, "Complex issues require world class reporting," and that talk-radio guys are all noise and "all too predictable." Would that there were anything on the planet more predictable than some of CNN's "world class reporting."
The NewsBusters report also indicates that the talk-radio hosts who are CNN regulars (e.g., Lou Dobbs and Bill Bennett) are exempt from the new policy.
I wonder if the folks at CNN ever actually listen to the in-depth coverage complicated issues get for hours at a time on Rush's show and Sean's show. I wonder how Mr. Klein's assessment of talk-radio dullards squares up with, say, Mark Levin — an authentic scholar of constitutional law and American history, a mega-bestselling author of books on those subjects, and a former chief of staff to an attorney-general of the United States. Or, say, Hugh Hewitt, a cum laude graduate of Harvard, Order of the Coif student at UMichigan Law School, veteran of two prestigious federal court clerkships, like Mark a former Reagan Justice Department official, and now a professor at Chapman Law School. I wonder if Mr. Klein has ever heard Laura Ingraham or Steve Malzberg or Dennis Praeger (and I could go on and on) mixing it up with advocates for every side of every important issue.
To disagree with them is fine — that's what makes an interesting debate. But to ban them because you find yourself unable to refute them? That's class-A cowardice.
There's a reason talk-radio's audience is growing while CNN's is evaporating.
I wish Mr. Klein would just come out and say he'd like to keep to a bare minimum the insights of effective conservative voices. At least that would be honest.
The NewsBusters report also indicates that the talk-radio hosts who are CNN regulars (e.g., Lou Dobbs and Bill Bennett) are exempt from the new policy.
I wonder if the folks at CNN ever actually listen to the in-depth coverage complicated issues get for hours at a time on Rush's show and Sean's show. I wonder how Mr. Klein's assessment of talk-radio dullards squares up with, say, Mark Levin — an authentic scholar of constitutional law and American history, a mega-bestselling author of books on those subjects, and a former chief of staff to an attorney-general of the United States. Or, say, Hugh Hewitt, a cum laude graduate of Harvard, Order of the Coif student at UMichigan Law School, veteran of two prestigious federal court clerkships, like Mark a former Reagan Justice Department official, and now a professor at Chapman Law School. I wonder if Mr. Klein has ever heard Laura Ingraham or Steve Malzberg or Dennis Praeger (and I could go on and on) mixing it up with advocates for every side of every important issue.
To disagree with them is fine — that's what makes an interesting debate. But to ban them because you find yourself unable to refute them? That's class-A cowardice.
There's a reason talk-radio's audience is growing while CNN's is evaporating.
I wish Mr. Klein would just come out and say he'd like to keep to a bare minimum the insights of effective conservative voices. At least that would be honest.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The Strategy Beneath The Sales Pitch On Government Run Helathcare
What the government in this country is doing to us is deeply troubling. Here it is.
Medicare Will Be Retired
OBAMA WILL REPEAL MEDICARE
By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN
Published on DickMorris.com on July 9, 2009
Obama's health care proposal is, in effect, the repeal of the Medicare program as we know it. The elderly will go from being the group with the most access to free medical care to the one with the least access. Indeed, the principal impact of the Obama health care program will be to reduce sharply the medical services the elderly can use. No longer will their every medical need be met, their every medication prescribed, their ev ery need to improve their quality of life answered.
It is so ironic that the elderly - who were so vigilant when Bush proposed to change Social Security - are so relaxed about the Obama health care proposals. Bush's Social Security plan, which did not cut their benefits at all, aroused the strongest opposition among the elderly. But Obama's plan, which will totally gut Medicare and replace it with government-managed care and rationing, has elicited little more than a yawn from most senior citizens. It's time for the elderly to wake up before it is too late!
Under Obama's program, there will be a government health insurance company that gets huge subsidies of tax money. It will compete with private insurance plans. But the subsidies will let it undercut the private plans and drive them out of business, leaving only the government plan - a single payer - in effect.
Today, 800,000 doctors struggle to treat adequately the 250 million Americans who have insurance. Obama will add 50 million more to their caseload with no expansion in the number of doctors or nurses. Indeed, his plan will likely reduce their number by lowering reimbursement rates and imposing bureaucrats above them who will force medical decisions down their throats. Fewer doctors will have to treat more patients. The inevitable result will be rationing.
And it is the elderly who rationing will most effect. Who should get a knee replacement a 40 year old or a 70 year old? Who should get a new hip, a young person or an old person? Who should have priority in the operating room a seventy year old diabetic who needs bypass surgery or a younger person? Obviously, it is the elderly who will get short shrift under his proposal.
But the interest groups that usually speak up for the elderly, particularly AARP, are in Obama's pocket, hoping to profit from his program by becoming one of its vendors. Just as they backed Bush's prescription drug plan because they anticipating profiting from it, so they are now helping Obama gut the medical care of their constituents.
It is high time that the elderly of America realized what the stakes are in this vital fight to preserve Medicare as we know it and keep medical care open, accessible, and free to those over 65. It is truly a battle for their very lives.
By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN
Published on DickMorris.com on July 9, 2009
Obama's health care proposal is, in effect, the repeal of the Medicare program as we know it. The elderly will go from being the group with the most access to free medical care to the one with the least access. Indeed, the principal impact of the Obama health care program will be to reduce sharply the medical services the elderly can use. No longer will their every medical need be met, their every medication prescribed, their ev ery need to improve their quality of life answered.
It is so ironic that the elderly - who were so vigilant when Bush proposed to change Social Security - are so relaxed about the Obama health care proposals. Bush's Social Security plan, which did not cut their benefits at all, aroused the strongest opposition among the elderly. But Obama's plan, which will totally gut Medicare and replace it with government-managed care and rationing, has elicited little more than a yawn from most senior citizens. It's time for the elderly to wake up before it is too late!
Under Obama's program, there will be a government health insurance company that gets huge subsidies of tax money. It will compete with private insurance plans. But the subsidies will let it undercut the private plans and drive them out of business, leaving only the government plan - a single payer - in effect.
Today, 800,000 doctors struggle to treat adequately the 250 million Americans who have insurance. Obama will add 50 million more to their caseload with no expansion in the number of doctors or nurses. Indeed, his plan will likely reduce their number by lowering reimbursement rates and imposing bureaucrats above them who will force medical decisions down their throats. Fewer doctors will have to treat more patients. The inevitable result will be rationing.
And it is the elderly who rationing will most effect. Who should get a knee replacement a 40 year old or a 70 year old? Who should get a new hip, a young person or an old person? Who should have priority in the operating room a seventy year old diabetic who needs bypass surgery or a younger person? Obviously, it is the elderly who will get short shrift under his proposal.
But the interest groups that usually speak up for the elderly, particularly AARP, are in Obama's pocket, hoping to profit from his program by becoming one of its vendors. Just as they backed Bush's prescription drug plan because they anticipating profiting from it, so they are now helping Obama gut the medical care of their constituents.
It is high time that the elderly of America realized what the stakes are in this vital fight to preserve Medicare as we know it and keep medical care open, accessible, and free to those over 65. It is truly a battle for their very lives.
Obama Propaganda Arm or The Mainstream Media
In Sunday's Washington Post. An excerpt:
You don't have to care about media companies or reporters to care about the state of the news, because if it's in trouble — and it surely is — this country is in trouble. That's why, while speaking recently at the Aspen Institute, I called upon President Obama to form a commission to address the perilous state of America's news media.
Some might scoff at the notion that a president and a country occupied by two wars and a recession should add the woes of the news media to an already crowded plate. But the way the news is delivered, and the quality of the information the American public receives about what's going on here and abroad, has and will continue to have a profound effect on these very issues and on the overall quality of government by, for and of the people.
I am not calling for any sort of government bailout for media companies. Nor am I encouraging any form of government control over them. I want the president to convene a nonpartisan, blue-ribbon commission to assess the state of the news as an institution and an industry and to make recommendations for improving and stabilizing both.
You don't have to care about media companies or reporters to care about the state of the news, because if it's in trouble — and it surely is — this country is in trouble. That's why, while speaking recently at the Aspen Institute, I called upon President Obama to form a commission to address the perilous state of America's news media.
Some might scoff at the notion that a president and a country occupied by two wars and a recession should add the woes of the news media to an already crowded plate. But the way the news is delivered, and the quality of the information the American public receives about what's going on here and abroad, has and will continue to have a profound effect on these very issues and on the overall quality of government by, for and of the people.
I am not calling for any sort of government bailout for media companies. Nor am I encouraging any form of government control over them. I want the president to convene a nonpartisan, blue-ribbon commission to assess the state of the news as an institution and an industry and to make recommendations for improving and stabilizing both.
Obama Analysis Via The Propaganda Arm
This could be the very worst column I've ever read. It's a dreadful combination of lazy, unintelligent, hackneyed, and incoherent writing — with incoherence winning the day. It's not even worth fisking or rebutting; I'll just highlight the low points.
*
*
Barack Obama had his 48th birthday this week. Since we learned during last year’s campaign that he can be blamed for anything bad that’s happened in this country since he was a toddler, perhaps this is a good time to suggest that it’s his fault the Beatles didn’t perform at Woodstock.
*
The president celebrated by having lunch with the Democratic senators, proving once again that this is truly a guy who knows how to party. He also showed up at a press briefing to sing “Happy Birthday” to Helen Thomas, the legendary reporter and columnist who turned 89 on the same day.
Thomas began covering the White House for United Press International in 1961, and she once told me that the competition for Kennedy family stories was so intense, U.P.I. woke up press secretary Pierre Salinger to ask him if it was true that Caroline’s hamster had died. This sort of thing would of course never happen now because the hamster would have its own Facebook fan page, updated hourly.
*
Obama is hitting another milestone this week. When Congress goes into recess it’ll be a rough half-year marker for his presidency. And things have been looking pretty good. American influence is rising abroad, and at home nobody in the White House appears to be plotting to undermine our civil rights on a daily basis.
*
The economy’s looking kind of stimulated. These things take time, but the “cash for clunkers” part of the plan seems to be working like a charm. Believe it or not, it turns out that Americans will buy a lot more cars if you pay them a bunch of money to do it.
*
The Senate is going to plow some more money into the clunker program, once it finishes Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court. That debate has taken the concept of anticlimactic to a whole new level — although the Republican Jon Kyl’s announcement that he’s read the wise Latina speech “many times” did seem new, in a slightly disturbing way.
*
Still, even some of the Republicans who warned that she might become “untethered” after her elevation and start committing empathy admitted that Obama has picked an impressive candidate to become the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice. Good work, White House.
*
And then there was the administration’s first big coup of the week, Bill Clinton's trip to North Korea to rescue the two jailed American journalists. This goes to show how Hillary Clinton will surprise you every time. When it comes to the secretary of state’s life story, I thought the one unbendable rule was that whenever he was most needed, Bill was going to be most unhelpful. But there he was at the Burbank airport, delivering the journalists to their families and getting that nice hug from Al Gore.
We’re still trying to figure out what North Korea wanted. Prestige? New weapons talks? Was the weird, ailing Kim Jong-il working out a succession plot on behalf of one of his sons? He has three, although everyone seems to have written off the oldest since he got picked up using a false passport to get to Tokyo Disneyland. Personally, I like the one who Newsweek says went to Swiss boarding school and wrote an essay about how he’d like to fight terrorism with Jean-Claude Van Damme. But we’ll probably wind up with the one who makes his sister call him “General Comrade.”
*
Since everyone running North Korea seems to be crazy, it might be safest to work under the assumption that the motives were crazy, too. Maybe the nation’s elite were involved in a high-stakes scavenger hunt, with a list of items that included a 1979 almanac, a matchbook from an Indonesian nightclub, and a picture of Bill Clinton sitting next to the Dear Leader and looking like he was stuffed.
*
Anyhow, Laura Ling and Euna Lee are home. Well done, everybody.
*
Once the Senate leaves town, the Obamas can go to Martha’s Vineyard and relax. True, there’s no health care bill yet, and members of Congress are getting yelled at about socialized medicine by people who appear to have been sitting in their attics since the anti-tax tea parties, listening for signs of alien aircraft. But on the bright side, they’ve finally got something to distract them from the president’s birth certificate.
*
And — more good news! — the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland is malfunctioning. You may remember that the collider was supposed to smash subatomic particles for super-advanced physics research. Chronic worriers claimed it might create a black hole that would suck up the universe. Or take us back in time to the year when 8-year-old Barack Obama was responsible for Nixon’s presidency, the institution of the draft and the popularity of “Sugar, Sugar” by the Archies. Or deliver us to a parallel universe in which John McCain and Sarah Palin are running the country.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Obama Wants It To Be A Conversation (Wink Wink)
Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer this morning:
These disruptions are occurring because opponents are afraid not just of differing views — but of the facts themselves. Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American. Drowning out the facts is how we failed at this task for decades.
Now here's a recent SEIU memo:
Action: Opponents of reform are organizing counter-demonstrators to speak at this and several congressional town halls on the issue to defend the status quo. It is critical that our members with real, personal stories about the need for access to quality, affordable care come out in strong numbers to drown out their voices.
These disruptions are occurring because opponents are afraid not just of differing views — but of the facts themselves. Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American. Drowning out the facts is how we failed at this task for decades.
Now here's a recent SEIU memo:
Action: Opponents of reform are organizing counter-demonstrators to speak at this and several congressional town halls on the issue to defend the status quo. It is critical that our members with real, personal stories about the need for access to quality, affordable care come out in strong numbers to drown out their voices.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Cuba Wishes To Squeeze The Charmin
. . . the Charmin gets squeezed out:
HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba, in the grip of a serious economic crisis, is running short of toilet paper and may not get sufficient supplies until the end of the year, officials with state-run companies said on Friday...
"The corporation has taken all the steps so that at the end of the year there will be an important importation of toilet paper," an official with state conglomerate Cimex said on state-run Radio Rebelde.
A five-month wait for toilet paper? I think that falls under what Obama would call "the fierce urgency of now."
HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba, in the grip of a serious economic crisis, is running short of toilet paper and may not get sufficient supplies until the end of the year, officials with state-run companies said on Friday...
"The corporation has taken all the steps so that at the end of the year there will be an important importation of toilet paper," an official with state conglomerate Cimex said on state-run Radio Rebelde.
A five-month wait for toilet paper? I think that falls under what Obama would call "the fierce urgency of now."
The Modern Democratic Party: They Have A Plan & It Doesn't Include You
This is from The Democratic Party:
There's been a lot of media coverage about organized mobs intimidating lawmakers, disrupting town halls, and silencing real discussion about the need for real health insurance reform.
The truth is, it's a sham. These "grassroots protests" are being organized and largely paid for by Washington special interests and insurance companies who are desperate to block reform. They're trying to use lies and fear to break the President and his agenda for change.
Health insurance reform is about our lives, our jobs, and our families -- we can't let distortions and intimidation get in the way. We need to expose these outrageous tactics, and we're counting on you to help. Can you read these "5 facts about the anti-reform mobs," then pass them along to your friends and family?
5 facts about the anti-reform mobs1.
1. These disruptions are being funded and organized by out-of-district special-interest groups and insurance companies who fear that health insurance reform could help Americans, but hurt their bottom line. A group run by the same folks who made the "Swiftboat" ads against John Kerry is compiling a list of congressional events in August to disrupt. An insurance company coalition has stationed employees in 30 states to track where local lawmakers hold town-hall meetings.
2. People are scared because they are being fed frightening lies. These crowds are being riled up by anti-reform lies being spread by industry front groups that invent smears to tarnish the President's plan and scare voters. But as the President has repeatedly said, health insurance reform will create more health care choices for the American people, not reduce them. If you like your insurance or your doctor, you can keep them, and there is no "government takeover" in any part of any plan supported by the President or Congress.
3. Their actions are getting more extreme. Texas protesters brought signs displaying a tombstone for Rep. Lloyd Doggett and using the "SS" symbol to compare President Obama's policies to Nazism. Maryland Rep. Frank Kratovil was hanged in effigy outside his district office. Rep. Tim Bishop of New York had to be escorted to his car by police after an angry few disrupted his town hall meeting -- and more examples like this come in every day. And they have gone beyond just trying to derail the President's health insurance reform plans, they are trying to "break" the President himself and ruin his Presidency.
4. Their goal is to disrupt and shut down legitimate conversation. Protesters have routinely shouted down representatives trying to engage in constructive dialogue with voters, and done everything they can to intimidate and silence regular people who just want more information. One attack group has even published a manual instructing protesters to "stand up and shout" and try to "rattle" lawmakers to prevent them from talking peacefully with their constituents.
5. Republican leadership is irresponsibly cheering on the thuggish crowds. Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner issued a statement applauding and promoting a video of the disruptions and looking forward to "a long, hot August for Democrats in Congress." It's time to expose this charade, before it gets more dangerous. Please send these facts to everyone you know. You can also post them on your website, blog, or Facebook page.
Now, more than ever, we need to stand strong together and defend the truth.
Thanks,
Jen
Jen O'Malley Dillon
Executive Director
Democratic National Committee
Yes, there is a real conversation happening and the truth is Obama and the Democratic Party want to shut it down. The people attending the fight against this Socialist brand of "hope and change" are real people with genuine concerns over this genuinely corrupt administration. These are people who actually think for themselves. It is not fear. It is courage that is finally building momentum in the hearts of a once quiet, but always proud American people. Many are pointing out the conflicting data found in the legislation coupled with the inaccuracies of Obama's big sell. If people have to shout to wake people up that is what is going to happen. This is the real America and we are the people, fed up, and we will stand strong.
There's been a lot of media coverage about organized mobs intimidating lawmakers, disrupting town halls, and silencing real discussion about the need for real health insurance reform.
The truth is, it's a sham. These "grassroots protests" are being organized and largely paid for by Washington special interests and insurance companies who are desperate to block reform. They're trying to use lies and fear to break the President and his agenda for change.
Health insurance reform is about our lives, our jobs, and our families -- we can't let distortions and intimidation get in the way. We need to expose these outrageous tactics, and we're counting on you to help. Can you read these "5 facts about the anti-reform mobs," then pass them along to your friends and family?
5 facts about the anti-reform mobs1.
1. These disruptions are being funded and organized by out-of-district special-interest groups and insurance companies who fear that health insurance reform could help Americans, but hurt their bottom line. A group run by the same folks who made the "Swiftboat" ads against John Kerry is compiling a list of congressional events in August to disrupt. An insurance company coalition has stationed employees in 30 states to track where local lawmakers hold town-hall meetings.
2. People are scared because they are being fed frightening lies. These crowds are being riled up by anti-reform lies being spread by industry front groups that invent smears to tarnish the President's plan and scare voters. But as the President has repeatedly said, health insurance reform will create more health care choices for the American people, not reduce them. If you like your insurance or your doctor, you can keep them, and there is no "government takeover" in any part of any plan supported by the President or Congress.
3. Their actions are getting more extreme. Texas protesters brought signs displaying a tombstone for Rep. Lloyd Doggett and using the "SS" symbol to compare President Obama's policies to Nazism. Maryland Rep. Frank Kratovil was hanged in effigy outside his district office. Rep. Tim Bishop of New York had to be escorted to his car by police after an angry few disrupted his town hall meeting -- and more examples like this come in every day. And they have gone beyond just trying to derail the President's health insurance reform plans, they are trying to "break" the President himself and ruin his Presidency.
4. Their goal is to disrupt and shut down legitimate conversation. Protesters have routinely shouted down representatives trying to engage in constructive dialogue with voters, and done everything they can to intimidate and silence regular people who just want more information. One attack group has even published a manual instructing protesters to "stand up and shout" and try to "rattle" lawmakers to prevent them from talking peacefully with their constituents.
5. Republican leadership is irresponsibly cheering on the thuggish crowds. Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner issued a statement applauding and promoting a video of the disruptions and looking forward to "a long, hot August for Democrats in Congress." It's time to expose this charade, before it gets more dangerous. Please send these facts to everyone you know. You can also post them on your website, blog, or Facebook page.
Now, more than ever, we need to stand strong together and defend the truth.
Thanks,
Jen
Jen O'Malley Dillon
Executive Director
Democratic National Committee
Yes, there is a real conversation happening and the truth is Obama and the Democratic Party want to shut it down. The people attending the fight against this Socialist brand of "hope and change" are real people with genuine concerns over this genuinely corrupt administration. These are people who actually think for themselves. It is not fear. It is courage that is finally building momentum in the hearts of a once quiet, but always proud American people. Many are pointing out the conflicting data found in the legislation coupled with the inaccuracies of Obama's big sell. If people have to shout to wake people up that is what is going to happen. This is the real America and we are the people, fed up, and we will stand strong.
Betraying The American People
Here's another editorial from a local newspaper where someone in CT gets it!
Betraying The American People
8/6/2009
To the Editor:
Obama has nationalized banks, the auto industry and is attempting to nationalize health care. The General Motors bankruptcy resulted in the US government receiving 60 percent of that company. Canada received 12.5 percent. The United Auto Workers, who contributed $60 million to his campaign, received 17.5 percent. Secured shareholders, who should have received the largest share, received only 10 percent. Not only is this his redistribution of wealth (from management and stockholders to union workers), but it is a violation of 150 years of contract law. Secured lenders should receive the largest share. The Chrysler bankruptcy resulted in dealers, many of whom were profitable and happened to be Republican contributors, having their businesses taken away from them. They received no reimbursement and had no appeal. This is the American way?
Our Founding Fathers created three branches of government and a system of checks and balances. Obama has ignored this by creating 33 czars who control vast aspects of American business and society and are answerable only to him. They act independently of Congress. This is frightening!
North Korea is firing missiles. Iran is developing nuclear weapons and has vowed to wipe Israel off of the face of the earth. We are also in their sights. Still, Obama is reducing our missile defense budget by 15 percent. He is also considering not deploying a missile defense system, promised by President Bush, in Poland. It is meant to be a defense against Iranian missiles. He has met with Russia and has agreed to reduce our nuclear arsenal that protected us during the Cold War. Is this wise when other nations are developing nuclear weapons?
His Justice Department mandated the reading of Miranda rights to terrorists captured on the battlefields of Afghanistan. Imagine our soldiers doing this during World War II! He gave $200 million of our tax dollars to the Pacific island of Palau for accepting 17 Uighur detainees from Guantanamo Bay prison. Benedict Arnold would have been proud of Obama's betrayal of America.
How did this man become president? The American media was in his pocket. They ignored the facts and are still ignoring them. Each day Americans are kept in the dark by the nightly news and liberal newspapers. Facts are not reported. Now, ACORN has helped Al Franken steal the senate seat in Minnesota, and there is a democratic "super majority" in the House and the Senate. If they decide to tax us at 60 percent, institute a disastrous health care plan, pass cap-and-trade or do whatever they want, they can't be stopped! The only way to stop them is to vote them out in November 2010.
Get involved! Turn off ABC, CBS, NBC and NPR. Spend a week listening to FOX News Channel (61 on Charter). Listen to Glen Beck at 5 pm, Brent Beirs' news at 6 pm, O'Reilly at 8 pm and Hannity at 9 pm. Your children's' futures and yours may depend upon that week.
Betraying The American People
8/6/2009
To the Editor:
Obama has nationalized banks, the auto industry and is attempting to nationalize health care. The General Motors bankruptcy resulted in the US government receiving 60 percent of that company. Canada received 12.5 percent. The United Auto Workers, who contributed $60 million to his campaign, received 17.5 percent. Secured shareholders, who should have received the largest share, received only 10 percent. Not only is this his redistribution of wealth (from management and stockholders to union workers), but it is a violation of 150 years of contract law. Secured lenders should receive the largest share. The Chrysler bankruptcy resulted in dealers, many of whom were profitable and happened to be Republican contributors, having their businesses taken away from them. They received no reimbursement and had no appeal. This is the American way?
Our Founding Fathers created three branches of government and a system of checks and balances. Obama has ignored this by creating 33 czars who control vast aspects of American business and society and are answerable only to him. They act independently of Congress. This is frightening!
North Korea is firing missiles. Iran is developing nuclear weapons and has vowed to wipe Israel off of the face of the earth. We are also in their sights. Still, Obama is reducing our missile defense budget by 15 percent. He is also considering not deploying a missile defense system, promised by President Bush, in Poland. It is meant to be a defense against Iranian missiles. He has met with Russia and has agreed to reduce our nuclear arsenal that protected us during the Cold War. Is this wise when other nations are developing nuclear weapons?
His Justice Department mandated the reading of Miranda rights to terrorists captured on the battlefields of Afghanistan. Imagine our soldiers doing this during World War II! He gave $200 million of our tax dollars to the Pacific island of Palau for accepting 17 Uighur detainees from Guantanamo Bay prison. Benedict Arnold would have been proud of Obama's betrayal of America.
How did this man become president? The American media was in his pocket. They ignored the facts and are still ignoring them. Each day Americans are kept in the dark by the nightly news and liberal newspapers. Facts are not reported. Now, ACORN has helped Al Franken steal the senate seat in Minnesota, and there is a democratic "super majority" in the House and the Senate. If they decide to tax us at 60 percent, institute a disastrous health care plan, pass cap-and-trade or do whatever they want, they can't be stopped! The only way to stop them is to vote them out in November 2010.
Get involved! Turn off ABC, CBS, NBC and NPR. Spend a week listening to FOX News Channel (61 on Charter). Listen to Glen Beck at 5 pm, Brent Beirs' news at 6 pm, O'Reilly at 8 pm and Hannity at 9 pm. Your children's' futures and yours may depend upon that week.
French Fries, French Bread, French Healthcare
Just as we lose our minds. From the Wall Street Journal:
France Fights Universal Care's High Cost
By DAVID GAUTHIER-VILLARS
When Laure Cuccarolo went into early labor on a recent Sunday night in a village in southern France, her only choice was to ask the local fire brigade to whisk her to a hospital 30 miles away. A closer one had been shuttered by cost cuts in France's universal health system. Ms. Cuccarolo's little girl was born in a firetruck.
France claims it long ago achieved much of what today's U.S. health-care overhaul is seeking: It covers everyone, and provides what supporters say is high-quality care. But soaring costs are pushing the system into crisis. The result: As Congress fights over whether America should be more like France, the French government is trying to borrow U.S. tactics.
In recent months, France imposed American-style "co-pays" on patients to try to throttle back prescription-drug costs and forced state hospitals to crack down on expenses. "A hospital doesn't need to be money-losing to provide good-quality treatment," President Nicolas Sarkozy thundered in a recent speech to doctors.And service cuts — such as the closure of a maternity ward near Ms. Cuccarolo's home — are prompting complaints from patients, doctors and nurses that care is being rationed. That concern echos worries among some Americans that the U.S. changes could lead to rationing.
The French system's fragile solvency shows how tough it is to provide universal coverage while controlling costs, the professed twin goals of President Barack Obama's proposed overhaul.
France Fights Universal Care's High Cost
By DAVID GAUTHIER-VILLARS
When Laure Cuccarolo went into early labor on a recent Sunday night in a village in southern France, her only choice was to ask the local fire brigade to whisk her to a hospital 30 miles away. A closer one had been shuttered by cost cuts in France's universal health system. Ms. Cuccarolo's little girl was born in a firetruck.
France claims it long ago achieved much of what today's U.S. health-care overhaul is seeking: It covers everyone, and provides what supporters say is high-quality care. But soaring costs are pushing the system into crisis. The result: As Congress fights over whether America should be more like France, the French government is trying to borrow U.S. tactics.
In recent months, France imposed American-style "co-pays" on patients to try to throttle back prescription-drug costs and forced state hospitals to crack down on expenses. "A hospital doesn't need to be money-losing to provide good-quality treatment," President Nicolas Sarkozy thundered in a recent speech to doctors.And service cuts — such as the closure of a maternity ward near Ms. Cuccarolo's home — are prompting complaints from patients, doctors and nurses that care is being rationed. That concern echos worries among some Americans that the U.S. changes could lead to rationing.
The French system's fragile solvency shows how tough it is to provide universal coverage while controlling costs, the professed twin goals of President Barack Obama's proposed overhaul.
Friday, August 7, 2009
The Iron Lady
"The problem with Socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money."
-Maggie Thatcher-
And the former British Prime Minister understood the legacy of Socialism all too well.
-Maggie Thatcher-
And the former British Prime Minister understood the legacy of Socialism all too well.
The NEW "Axis Of Evil": YOU
There was a time when friends were friends and enemies were enemies. Those days are gone. Political strategists have been scratching their heads over the Obama administration's policies as being an all out assault on the American people and American businesses. They are clearly puzzled by it. Sometimes I wonder if Obama's actions are philosophical in nature, and mostly they are, or if at other times he just doesn't have a clue. For someone who is considered "brilliant" and "clever" and a godsend to the American people you sure could have fooled me.
There was a time when Iran, Iraq and North Korea were considered the axis of evil. No more. The administration wants to do away with the use of such words as "jihad" and "Islamic extremist." Further, the administration wants to overhaul American healthcare, business and on the whole American culture. Obama simply doesn't like it or what traditional America represents. He can give all of the teleprompter-inspired speeches he wants. People are beginning to understand the show. Now, with the administration implementing its own George Orwell-styled 1984, Big Brother program (contact us if you know someone who is against us- that never would have flied under George Bush), I wonder if there isn't a new Axis Of Evil. I always suspected, but now it's becoming a reality.
The New Axis Of Evil may well be Americans and it's becoming clear who those Americans are, anyone who might actually challenge Obama he is suppose to be representing. The good news: that group of Americans under fire is gradually growing and becoming the majority.
There was a time when Iran, Iraq and North Korea were considered the axis of evil. No more. The administration wants to do away with the use of such words as "jihad" and "Islamic extremist." Further, the administration wants to overhaul American healthcare, business and on the whole American culture. Obama simply doesn't like it or what traditional America represents. He can give all of the teleprompter-inspired speeches he wants. People are beginning to understand the show. Now, with the administration implementing its own George Orwell-styled 1984, Big Brother program (contact us if you know someone who is against us- that never would have flied under George Bush), I wonder if there isn't a new Axis Of Evil. I always suspected, but now it's becoming a reality.
The New Axis Of Evil may well be Americans and it's becoming clear who those Americans are, anyone who might actually challenge Obama he is suppose to be representing. The good news: that group of Americans under fire is gradually growing and becoming the majority.
Letter To Barbara Boxer
Some of us witnessed the arrogance of Barbara Boxer (CA) as she admonished a brigadier general because he addressed her as "ma'am" and not "Senator" before a Senate hearing. This letter is from a National Guard aviator and Captain for Alaska Airlines.
To Senator Boxer:
You were so right on when you scolded the general on TV for using the term, "ma'am," instead of "Senator". After all, in the military, "ma'am" is a term of respect when addressing a female of superior rank or position. The general was totally wrong.. You are not a person of superior rank or position. You are a member of one of the world's most corrupt organizations, the U.S. Senate, equaled only by the U.S. House of Representatives.
Congress is a cesspool of liars, thieves, inside traders, traitors, drunks (one who killed a staffer, yet is still revered), criminals, and other low level swine who, as individuals (not all, but many), will do anything to enhance their lives, fortunes and power, all at the expense of the People of the United States and its Constitution, in order to be continually re-elected. Many democrats even want American troops killed by releasing photographs. How many of you could honestly say, "We pledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor"? None? One? Two?
Your reaction to the general shows several things. First is your abysmal ignorance of all things military. Your treatment of the general shows you to be an elitist of the worst kind. When the general entered the military (as most of us who served) he wrote the government a blank check, offering his
life to protect your derriere, now safely and comfortably ensconced in a 20 thousand dollar leather chair, paid for by the general's taxes. You repaid him for this by humiliating him in front of millions.
Second is your puerile character, lack of sophistication, and arrogance which borders on the hubristic. This display of brattish behavior shows you to be a virago, termagant, harridan, nag, scold or shrew, unfit for your position, regardless of the support of the unwashed, uneducated masses who
have made California into the laughing stock of the nation.
What I am writing, Senator, are the same thoughts countless millions of Americans have toward Congress, but who lack the energy, ability or time to convey them. Under the democrats, some don't even have the 44 cents to buy the stamp. Regardless of their thoughts, most realize that
politicians are pretty much the same, and will vote for the one who will bring home the most bacon, even if they do consider how corrupt that person is. Lord Acton (1834 - 1902) so aptly charged, "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Unbeknownst to you and your colleagues, "Mr. Power" has had his way with all of you, and we are all the worse for it.
Finally Senator, I, too, have a title. It is "Right Wing Extremist Potential Terrorist Threat." It is not of my choosing, but was given to me by your Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano. And you were offended by "ma'am"?
Have a fine day. Cheers!
Jim Hill
16808 - 103rd Avenue Court East South Hill, WA 98374
To Senator Boxer:
You were so right on when you scolded the general on TV for using the term, "ma'am," instead of "Senator". After all, in the military, "ma'am" is a term of respect when addressing a female of superior rank or position. The general was totally wrong.. You are not a person of superior rank or position. You are a member of one of the world's most corrupt organizations, the U.S. Senate, equaled only by the U.S. House of Representatives.
Congress is a cesspool of liars, thieves, inside traders, traitors, drunks (one who killed a staffer, yet is still revered), criminals, and other low level swine who, as individuals (not all, but many), will do anything to enhance their lives, fortunes and power, all at the expense of the People of the United States and its Constitution, in order to be continually re-elected. Many democrats even want American troops killed by releasing photographs. How many of you could honestly say, "We pledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor"? None? One? Two?
Your reaction to the general shows several things. First is your abysmal ignorance of all things military. Your treatment of the general shows you to be an elitist of the worst kind. When the general entered the military (as most of us who served) he wrote the government a blank check, offering his
life to protect your derriere, now safely and comfortably ensconced in a 20 thousand dollar leather chair, paid for by the general's taxes. You repaid him for this by humiliating him in front of millions.
Second is your puerile character, lack of sophistication, and arrogance which borders on the hubristic. This display of brattish behavior shows you to be a virago, termagant, harridan, nag, scold or shrew, unfit for your position, regardless of the support of the unwashed, uneducated masses who
have made California into the laughing stock of the nation.
What I am writing, Senator, are the same thoughts countless millions of Americans have toward Congress, but who lack the energy, ability or time to convey them. Under the democrats, some don't even have the 44 cents to buy the stamp. Regardless of their thoughts, most realize that
politicians are pretty much the same, and will vote for the one who will bring home the most bacon, even if they do consider how corrupt that person is. Lord Acton (1834 - 1902) so aptly charged, "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Unbeknownst to you and your colleagues, "Mr. Power" has had his way with all of you, and we are all the worse for it.
Finally Senator, I, too, have a title. It is "Right Wing Extremist Potential Terrorist Threat." It is not of my choosing, but was given to me by your Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano. And you were offended by "ma'am"?
Have a fine day. Cheers!
Jim Hill
16808 - 103rd Avenue Court East South Hill, WA 98374
Real & Surreal
The cap-and-trade prone Congress ordering up brand new Gulfstream luxury jets is the sort of thing that is contributing to this growing backlash against expanding government.
*
Besides all the other worries, the public is finally starting to fathom the nature of our new technocratic government overseers. A Pelosi who rails about carbon footprints, but wants the biggest private-use jet she can get; "pay your fair share" Dodd and Rangel, who skip out on their own taxes, and find all sorts of immoral ways to finance and maintain second and third properties; a Geithner or Daschle who favor more taxes and less perks for the elite — if they can avoid taxes, or have tax-free limo service; the millionaire Gore who earned a lavish lifestyle by warning of its pernicious effects in others; and who created a television network to “democraticize” the media, but then called on his Washington insider contacts to cut a deal with the North Korean kidnappers to release two of his own employees who ventured on assignment into our modern Mordor.
*
So predictable has this become, that when one reads elite Left pontification about the environment, the economy, or the need for high-tax redistribution, one assumes that such moral hectoring not only does not apply to the advocate, but serves as some sort of psychological justification, a way of damning the appetites in others so that they can all the more fervently be pursued by themselves.
*
And all this was supposed to be the corrective to Wall Street piracy?
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Healthcare: Not Fear, But Fact That Obama Would Rather Not Tell You
Betsy McCaughey is founder of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths and a former lieutenant governor of New York.
By BETSY MCCAUGHEY
betsy@hospitalinfection.org
PRESIDENT Obama promises that "if you like your health plan, you can keep it," even after he reforms our health-care system.. That's untrue. The bills now before Congress would force you to switch to a managed-care plan with limits on your access to specialists and tests.
Two main bills are being rushed through Congress with the goal of combining them into a finished product by August. Under either, a new government bureaucracy will select health plans that it considers in your best interest, and you will have to enroll in one of these "qualified plans." If you now get your plan through work, your employer has a five-year "grace period" to switch you into a qualified plan. If you buy your own insurance, you'll have less time.
And as soon as anything changes in your contract -- such as a change in copays or deductibles, which many insurers change every year -- you'll have to move into a qualified plan instead (House bill, p. 16-17).
When you file your taxes, if you can't prove to the IRS that you are in a qualified plan, you'll be fined thousands of dollars -- as much as the average cost of a health plan for your family size -- and then automatically enrolled in a randomly selected plan (House bill, p. 167-168).
It's one thing to require that people getting government assistance tolerate managed care, but the legislation limits you to a managed-care plan even if you and your employer are footing the bill (Senate bill, p. 57-58). The goal is to reduce everyone's consumption of health care and to ensure that people have the same health-care experience, regardless of ability to pay.
Nowhere does the legislation say how much health plans will cost, but a family of four is eligible for some government assistance until their household income reaches $88,000 (House bill, p. 137). If you earn more than that, you'll have to pay the cost no matter how high it goes.
The price tag for this legislation is a whopping $1.04 trillion to $1.6 trillion (Congressional Budget Office estimates). Half of the tab comes from tax increases on individuals earning $280,000 or more, and these new taxes will double in 2012 unless savings exceed predicted costs (House bill, p. 199). The rest of the cost is paid for by cutting seniors' health benefits under Medicare.
There's plenty of waste in Medicare, but the Congressional Budget Office estimates only 1 percent of the savings under the legislation will be from curbing waste, fraud and abuse. That means the rest will likely come from reducing what patients get.
One troubling provision of the House bill compels seniors to submit to a counseling session every five years (and more often if they become sick or go into a nursing home) about alternatives for end-of-life care (House bill, p. 425-430). The sessions cover highly sensitive matters such as whether to receive antibiotics and "the use of artificially administered nutrition and hydration."
This mandate invites abuse, and seniors could easily be pushed to refuse care. Do we really want government involved in such deeply personal issues?
Shockingly, only a portion of the money accumulated from slashing senior benefits and raising taxes goes to pay for covering the uninsured. The Senate bill allocates huge sums to "community transformation grants," home visits for expectant families, services for migrant workers -- and the creation of dozens of new government councils, programs and advisory boards slipped into the last 500 pages.
The most recent ABC News/Washington Post poll (June 21) finds that 83 percent of Americans are very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the quality of their health care, and 81 percent are similarly satisfied with their health insurance.
They have good reason to be. If you're diagnosed with cancer, you have a better chance of surviving it in the United States than anywhere else, according to the Concord Five Continent Study. And the World Health Organization ranked the United States No. 1 out of 191 countries for being responsive to patients' needs, including providing timely treatments and a choice of doctors.
Congress should pursue less radical ways to cover the uninsured. We have too much to lose with this legislation.
By BETSY MCCAUGHEY
betsy@hospitalinfection.org
PRESIDENT Obama promises that "if you like your health plan, you can keep it," even after he reforms our health-care system.. That's untrue. The bills now before Congress would force you to switch to a managed-care plan with limits on your access to specialists and tests.
Two main bills are being rushed through Congress with the goal of combining them into a finished product by August. Under either, a new government bureaucracy will select health plans that it considers in your best interest, and you will have to enroll in one of these "qualified plans." If you now get your plan through work, your employer has a five-year "grace period" to switch you into a qualified plan. If you buy your own insurance, you'll have less time.
And as soon as anything changes in your contract -- such as a change in copays or deductibles, which many insurers change every year -- you'll have to move into a qualified plan instead (House bill, p. 16-17).
When you file your taxes, if you can't prove to the IRS that you are in a qualified plan, you'll be fined thousands of dollars -- as much as the average cost of a health plan for your family size -- and then automatically enrolled in a randomly selected plan (House bill, p. 167-168).
It's one thing to require that people getting government assistance tolerate managed care, but the legislation limits you to a managed-care plan even if you and your employer are footing the bill (Senate bill, p. 57-58). The goal is to reduce everyone's consumption of health care and to ensure that people have the same health-care experience, regardless of ability to pay.
Nowhere does the legislation say how much health plans will cost, but a family of four is eligible for some government assistance until their household income reaches $88,000 (House bill, p. 137). If you earn more than that, you'll have to pay the cost no matter how high it goes.
The price tag for this legislation is a whopping $1.04 trillion to $1.6 trillion (Congressional Budget Office estimates). Half of the tab comes from tax increases on individuals earning $280,000 or more, and these new taxes will double in 2012 unless savings exceed predicted costs (House bill, p. 199). The rest of the cost is paid for by cutting seniors' health benefits under Medicare.
There's plenty of waste in Medicare, but the Congressional Budget Office estimates only 1 percent of the savings under the legislation will be from curbing waste, fraud and abuse. That means the rest will likely come from reducing what patients get.
One troubling provision of the House bill compels seniors to submit to a counseling session every five years (and more often if they become sick or go into a nursing home) about alternatives for end-of-life care (House bill, p. 425-430). The sessions cover highly sensitive matters such as whether to receive antibiotics and "the use of artificially administered nutrition and hydration."
This mandate invites abuse, and seniors could easily be pushed to refuse care. Do we really want government involved in such deeply personal issues?
Shockingly, only a portion of the money accumulated from slashing senior benefits and raising taxes goes to pay for covering the uninsured. The Senate bill allocates huge sums to "community transformation grants," home visits for expectant families, services for migrant workers -- and the creation of dozens of new government councils, programs and advisory boards slipped into the last 500 pages.
The most recent ABC News/Washington Post poll (June 21) finds that 83 percent of Americans are very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the quality of their health care, and 81 percent are similarly satisfied with their health insurance.
They have good reason to be. If you're diagnosed with cancer, you have a better chance of surviving it in the United States than anywhere else, according to the Concord Five Continent Study. And the World Health Organization ranked the United States No. 1 out of 191 countries for being responsive to patients' needs, including providing timely treatments and a choice of doctors.
Congress should pursue less radical ways to cover the uninsured. We have too much to lose with this legislation.
The Orwellian Tone Of America's Leadership
Obama's dissident database could be secret -- and permanent
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