Please follow this link to You Tube to hear some of the comments made by the people claiming to represent you that you are not hearing on your network news.

Yesterday’s Washington Post ran a story on Section 1233 of the proposed healthcare bill.  It is the section dealing with giving Medicare patients end-of-life counseling every five years.  Sounds like a good idea, right? 

First of all, let’s look at this from a purely financial angle.  Statistically, most of a persons medical expenses occur in the last year of their life.  This could be the result of age-related issues in an elderly person, an accident in a person of any age, or a serious disease.  It makes sense to have a living will, medical power of attorney, etc.  But why is the government getting involved in this?  More than that, why is the government giving doctors a financial incentive to do this counseling?

According to the article:

“What’s more, Section 1233 dictates, at some length, the content of the consultation. The doctor “shall” discuss “advanced care planning, including key questions and considerations, important steps, and suggested people to talk to”; “an explanation of . . . living wills and durable powers of attorney, and their uses” (even though these are legal, not medical, instruments); and “a list of national and State-specific resources to assist consumers and their families.” The doctor “shall” explain that Medicare pays for hospice care (hint, hint).

Admittedly, this script is vague and possibly unenforceable. What are “key questions”? Who belongs on “a list” of helpful “resources”? The Roman Catholic Church? Jack Kevorkian?”

I think that those of us who want less government in our lives–not more, need to speak up about the plans Congress has for us.  Until they are willing to give up their current healthcare plan and be covered by the plan they propose for us, I’m not in favor of major changes! 

The American Thinker using the Ottawa Citizen as its source, is reporting today that:

“In both the wider, deep-water northern corridor and the narrower, shallower southern branches of the passage, the Canadian Ice Service says pockets of more extensive winter freezing and concentrations of thicker, older ice at several key “choke points” are complicating ship travel.”

“… the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center is predicting another near-record meltdown by the end of this year’s summer thaw.”

Doesn’t anyone ever confront these people with the facts on the ground (or water in this case)?

The sources of this story are an article in the Weekly Standard by an eyewitness to the event and a story at Power Line.

The Weekly Standard has the eyewitness report on the scuffle in St. Louis on Thursday at a Townhall meeting.  It was initially reported on twitter that several Service Employees International Union (SEIU) members (reported by an SEIU member) had been assualted by some Obamacare critics.  The Weekly Standard investigated further and found that some SEIU members had assaulted a man who was giving out flags with “Don’t Tread On Me” on them at the event.  The Weekly Standard points out:

“On Twitter last night, there was a clear effort from liberals to portray any scuffles from last night’s town halls as the inevitable violent eruption of right-wing mob members, but it is interesting that there was no violence until the night liberal interest group HCAN and Dem members of Congress started calling in union members to “protect” them and host these events. It’s also interesting that the only documented cases of violence thus far seem to be going one way. The Slapper, seen on Drudge and in these pictures (9-17), is local Tampa Democratic operative Karen Miracle.”

Power Line reports:

“Jim Hoft documents the contribution of the friends of Barack Obama to the doings outside the Rep. Russ Carnahan townhall in St. Louis yesterday. The friends of Barack Obama also turned up yesterday at the townhall featuring Rep. Kathy Castor outside Tampa Bay, Florida.

The mainstream media will dutifully report the emergence of Obama’s thugs as representing a lapse in civility on the part of those who are revolting against Obamacare. The truth is that it represents the imposition of “the Chicago way” on the resistance.” 

The union representatives are not at these meetings to protect the politicians–they are there as a scare tactic to anyone opposing Obama’s healthcare legislation.  This is about as far from free speech in a democracy that we as a free country have ever been.  We as a people need to peacefully voice our opinions now at these townhall meetings and next year at the ballot box.

Please follow the link to amaze.fm to hear the song “Grandma Got Run Over By Obamacare.”  It is priceless!!

I finally found a pdf copy of the House of Representatives healthcare bill I could download.  I am not about to print all 1,100 pages, but I am going to copy parts of the bill and post them here.  This is not ‘fishy’ information–it will be taken directly from the bill.

From Page 58:

5 ”(D) enable the real-time (or near real6

time) determination of an individual’s financial

7 responsibility at the point of service and, to the

8 extent possible, prior to service, including

9 whether the individual is eligible for a specific

10 service with a specific physician at a specific fa11

cility, which may include utilization of a ma12

chine-readable health plan beneficiary identi13

fication card;

 

That sounds to me like healthcare rationing.  I don’t want the government determining whether or not I can get a knee replacement!

Page 16 of the House Of Representatives Healthcare Bill

(A) IN GENERAL.–Except as provided in

12 this paragraph, the individual health insurance

13 issuer offering such coverage does not enroll

14 any individual in such coverage if the first ef15

fective date of coverage is on or after the first

16 day of Y1.

LIMITATION ON CHANGES IN TERMS OR

22 CONDITIONS.–Subject to paragraph (3) and except

23 as required by law, the issuer does not change any

24 of its terms or conditions, including benefits and

25 cost-sharing, from those in effect as of the day be26

fore the first day of Y1.

In English, this means the end of private health insurance coverage.  Your private insurance coverage will be grandfathered in as long as there are no changes.  The minute any change is made, the company will not be allowed to write a new policy.  If a dependent is added, the co-payment is changed, or the premium changes, a new policy cannot be written.  President Obama is lying when he says that we will all be able to keep our private insurance (or else he doesn’t know what is in the bill).  This is not ‘fishy information’–it was taken from a downloaded pdf file of the bill!

Power Line is reporting today on the first conference in 20 years held by the Fatah Party of Palestine.  The article reports:

“Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas cited the widespread use of seat belts by Palestinian drivers as evidence of the advance of the rule of law in the territories.”

I guess you have to start somewhere.  Also, the General Assembly of Fatah unanimously approved a resolution to investigate the cause of death of Yassar Arafat.  The article also pointed out:

“Khaled Abu Toameh reported that “many Fatah operatives, including some of Abbas’s closest allies in Ramallah, have made it known that they would oppose any move to abandon the ‘armed struggle’ option.” Moreover, “Fatah leaders responded with loud applause when two terrorists who committed the worst terror attack in Israel’s history were referred to as heroic martyrs by former PA Prime Minister Abu AlaaIndeed.”” 

Don’t expect peace as long as the Fatah party is in power in Palestine–they are still committed to killing innocent Israeli civilians.  That is not a recipe for peace.

Sonia Sotomayer was confirmed yesterday as a Supreme Court Justice. The Wall Street Journal points out in an article today that she was questioned closely, but treated fairly.  Her confirmation was opposed by nine Republicans, but she was treated respectfully during the process.  Hopefully her confirmation will set the example for future confirmations when the Republicans are in power.  I doubt it, but that would be nice.

There are questions about Ms. Sotomayer’s objectivity as a judge, but since she is a liberal-leaning judge replacing a liberal-leaning judge, I don’t see that as a problem.  I am more concerned about the rumors concerning her temperament in the court.  We shall see in October.

The AARP has come out in favor of President Obama’s healthcare proposal despite the fact that passage of the program may be detrimental to the health of its members.  One thing to remember when dealing with Senior Citizens is that many of them pay close attention to what is going on politically.  They are not tied down with the responsibilities of working, raising a family, and everything that goes with that, and often have the time to pay attention.  The AARP’s endorsement of the currently proposed healthcare reform has not been well received by its members.

The Washington Examiner is reporting today that AARP members are beginning to voice opposition to the position taken by the leadership of the organization.  You Tube has a video of what happened at a recent AARP meeting in Dallas, Texas, when the AARP tried to sell their support of Obamacare.  These are not the Brooks Brothers protesters as charged by some Democrats–they are sincerely interested Senior Citizens voicing their opinions.  The AARP eventually left the meeting because they encountered opposition.  The video is amazing.  Democracy at work!!  Sometimes it isn’t pretty, but it works!!

Townhall.com is reporting today that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking in Kenya, says it is a “great regret” that the United States is not a member of the International Criminal Court.

The purpose of the court is to try people for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity when national courts are unwilling to do so.  The U. S. refused to sign on to the Court in 2002, fearing that soldiers looking for terrorists would be subject to prosecution because of international politics.

In deciding whether or not to join the International Criminal Court, we need to look at what the United Nations has become.  The United Nations began with the idea of peace and justice throughout the world.  It has become a place where brutal dictators head the human rights committee.  If the Court were run by countries with democratic governments, it would probably work, as the trials after World War II worked.  The Allied Forces after World War II were (with the exception of Russia) democratic governments.  They ran fair, non-political trials and dispensed justice.  There are too few powerful democracies in the world today to ensure that would be the case.  Consider that Israel has repeatedly been condemned by the UN, while Islamic suicide bombers are not even criticized! 

Investor’s Business Daily posted an editorial today about the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the journalists who were nabbed by Kim Jong Il’s security forces while on a reporting mission on the China border.  While it is fantastic that they are safely home, many journalists are worrying what price was paid and will be paid for their release.

The article points out:

“Groveling, anyone? Kim now knows the current U.S. leader can be blackmailed — if he didn’t know it before. That’s what made President Clinton so appropriate for this mission. It was from Clinton that Kim first learned this lesson.

In 1994, recall, Clinton sent former President Carter — see a pattern? — to North Korea to negotiate that country’s denuclearization. Carter returned with a deal similar in its sycophancy and cynicism to the one Neville Chamberlain brought back from Munich.

In exchange for billions of dollars in food aid and even help for its “peaceful” nuclear power effort, North Korea vowed to behave and decommission its nuclear weapons program.

No sooner had the ink dried than North Korea began cheating. During the Clinton years, the U.S. and the U.N. signed three agreements with North Korea. North Korea broke its word each time.”

Notice that just this week, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s security forces arrested three young American journalists for an alleged border violation of Iran.  Iran and North Korea have both learned that they can take American hostages and use them as leverage in any agreements between their countries and America.  This does not say good things for the future of American citizens traveling abroad. 

This is taken directly from the White House website at Whitehouse.gov:

“There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care.  These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation.  Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.”

What about the false information the Obama camp is spreading?

According to Politico.com, the White House has launched a counter attack on the people who oppose the total revolution in health care proposed by the President and the House of Representatives.

According to Politico:

“The new offensive started early Tuesday morning when the White House posted a video response to a hodgepodge of clips on the Drudge Report that portrayed President Obama as favoring the elimination of private insurance. On the White House blog, Obama’s director of new media, Macon Phillips, asked supporters to send in leads for debunking chain e-mails or anything else that “seems fishy.”

It continued through the day with press secretary Robert Gibbs and Democratic National Committee spokesman Brad Woodhouse both saying a series of confrontational town hall meetings were manufactured by Republicans, conservative groups and lobbyists who are paid to drum up opposition.”

Why are they asking us to let them know who is organizing the opposition?  Aren’t people who object to legislation allowed to do it as a group?  When lobbyists lobby for legislation, does the White House publish or use that information?

What the White House needs to understand is that those of us who oppose this healthcare plan are not necessarily in favor of the status quo.  What we are in favor of is less government intervention in our health insurance.  This is not about healthcare, it’s about the health insurance industry.  The government sees a successful industry and wants to take the money out of it and put it in the government’s pocket.  It’s our job as citizens to stop them. 

All of us need to pay attention to the way this administration treats the people who disagree with them.  It is not befitting a democracy.

The House Republicans Oversight Website has posted a letter from House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA) to Rham Emanuel citing threats used against Republicans who negatively reported on the success of the stimulus program.  Below are some excerpts from that letter, including some of the threats made:

Letter from Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation:

On Sunday, Arizona Senator Jon Kyl publicly questioned whether the stimulus is working and stated that he wants to cancel projects that aren’t presently underway. I believe the stimulus has been very effective in creating job opportunities throughout the country. However, if you prefer to forfeit the money we are making available to your state, as Senator Kyl suggests, please let me know [emphasis added].

 

Letter from Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior: 

Some key Republican leaders in Congress have publicly questioned whether the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is working and suggested cancelling all projects that are not currently in progress. I believe they are wrong. The stimulus funds provided through the Recovery Act are a very effective way to create job opportunities throughout the Country. However, if you prefer to forfeit the money we are making available to Arizona, please let me know [emphasis added].

“At what point do you believe your practice of Chicago-style politics violates a public official’s right to speak out in favor of alternative policies,” Issa asks.  “The American people have a right to know what role you played in developing the threatening letters to Governor Brewer and whether you intend to continue to engage in these tactics in the future.”

This is not American politics as usual and should be brought to the public’s attention.  Anyone engaging in this type of practice should be promptly voted out of office.

According to the Attleboro Sun Chronicle, which is my local paper, my Congressman, Jim McGovern, stated at a townhall meeting last night that:

“The biggest obstacle to meaningful health care reform is the false information being spread by supporters of the status quo.”

First of all, I received no notice of the townhall meeting.  Second of all, I don’t necessarily support the status quo, but I definitely do not support the current proposal.  Let’s look at some of that supposedly ‘false information’.  My two sources for the following information are The Hill, which ran an article on The Healthy Americans Act on June 6 of this year, and the Washington Times, which ran an article today on the progress of the healthcare legislation the Democrat Party is proposing.

One of the things not being reported is that there is a bi-partisan healthcare bill sponsored by Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah).  A companion measure is being pursued by Reps. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.) in the House.  In the Senate, the bill is called The Healthy Americans Act and is S.334.  According to The Hill, the bill would:

“Require Americans to buy a basic health insurance policy for themselves (like we do for auto insurance), reduce healthcare costs by putting individuals into large private insurance “pools,” slash healthcare paperwork and administrative expenses by eliminating several government bureaucracies and establishing electronic transfers and enrollment, and create bold incentives for more preventive care.”

Unlike to Democrat legislation Congressman McGovern is supporting, the bill will not add additional cost to the healthcare system–it will eliminate some of the government interference with the free market in the healthcare industry that drives up the cost of healthcare.

The Washington Times reports on the current Democrat healthcare proposal:

“…the Congressional Budget Office has found that the legislation:

*Would not cover virtually all of the uninsured.

*Would increase the deficit by more than $1 trillion.

*Would increase in the long term, rather than reduce, the overall cost of health care.”

The Congressional Budget Office is non-partisan and does not lie.  I guess my question now is whether my Congressman is misinformed or is simply not telling the truth.

According to The Times Picayune in New Orleans, the New York Times has just assigned a full-time reporter to New Orleans.  I find the timing of this very interesting.  The position has been vacant since April, and the New York Times says it wants to cover the slow recovery of New Orleans after hurricane Katrina.

I am interested in this article because I have children who own a house in New Orleans and were there (although evacuated) during Katrina.  I have driven through the lower ninth ward and seen the X’s on the doors with the information on the searches of the houses.  It is amazing how much damage was done to the city by hurricane Katrina.  

I was impressed at how fast the Zoo and the Aquarium opened up after Katrina and at how fast the French Market and downtown areas came back.  I was in New Orleans just after the Aquarium reopened in October and then in May of the following year.  The difference was amazing, but when I talked to people at the French Market, they told me how difficult it was to find a place to stay and to find people to work in the restaurants.

My hope is that New Orleans will again be the great cultural city it has always been.  It is also my hope that the New York TImes will be fair in its reporting of the accomplishments of the Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.  Hopefully, putting a reporter in New Orleans is not an excuse for trying to destroy Governor Jindal as they have tried to destroy ex-Governor Palin of Alaska.

This is the picture released by the White House of the President, Professor Gates, and Officer Crowley going out to have a beer together in the Rose Garden.  My putting this picture up is not about race–it’s about manners.  Which person involved is actually helping the Professor down the stairs?  Which person involved is too self-involved to realize that the Professor might need help on the stairs?   We need to remember this picture when anyone in the government says anything about helping the average American with the problems we encounter in our daily lives!

The New York Post posted an article on Friday, July 30, about the compromise in the House of Representatives on health care.  The ‘Blue Dog’ Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee had refused to sign on to the health care plan, saying that the plan is too expensive and does not deal with the critical problems of the current system.

On Thursday, Representative Micke Ross (D-Ark.) announced that an agreement had been reached.  The positive part of the agreement is that it delays any vote inthe full House of Representatives until after the August recess.  This gives the American public a chance to examine the legislation–it might even give some Congressmen a chance to read it!

Please follow the link and read the article for the details of the agreement.

The article also reports something that you may not have heard a lot about:

“House Republicans put some new chips on the table on Wednesday in unveiling their own health reform plan, with a likely price tag of $700 billion. It offers a mix of tax credits and deductions to help people buy insurance, gives people more options to purchase private health insurance, and includes medical malpractice reform. It also avoids unpopular mandates on individuals and businesses to buy coverage.”

This makes much more sense in today’s economy.

Michael Barone has posted an article at Real Clear Politics today about the unintended consequences of the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program.  The program was suspended Thursday night (while Congress tries to further fund it),  The House passed a bill to add another $2 billion to the program, but the Senate wants to make its voice heard.  According to The Hill yesterday,  Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) released a statement that said the price of their support to extend it would be tougher mileage standards.

According to Michael Barone:

“Mind you, the government hasn’t yet shelled out the $1 billion authorized for Cash for Clunkers. Dealers reduce the buyers’ prices and have to apply to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for the rebates and NHTSA — surprise, surprise — has only managed to process 23,000 of an estimated 250,000 applications. The checks, we are told, will be in the mail. Oh, there’s another problem: The dealers are required to destroy the clunkers, which will reduce the supply and increase the price of spare parts for those low-income folks who can’t afford to trade their clunkers in even with a $4,500 subsidy. So much for helping the poor.”

It was mentioned on one of the Sunday news shows that only the motor on the cars turned in has to be destroyed, but I suspect most dealers will find it easier to just destroy the entire car, setting up a spare parts problem in the future. 

What I was not aware of was that the program offered $3,500 or $4,500 rebates for trading in  old cars for new ones with slightly (four miles per gallon) better gas mileage.  The aspect of this program that bothers me is the bribery of the American people to buy smaller cars.  If you really wanted to stimulate car sales, why not give everyone a $ 4,500 rebate to buy any car they want?  On the other hand, how long will some of the car dealers wait for their rebates, and will those rebates ever arrive?  Will the financial incentives the car dealers have put out to spur car sales hurt them financially while they wait for the government to come through on its promises?  Will the government actually make good on its promises? 

On Friday, CNS News reported that a bi-partisan group of Senators were uniting to introduce a bill to reinstate the Washington, D. C., school voucher program that was terminated in the stimulus bill.  The article states:

“According to (Senator) Lieberman, the bill would not only keep the program going, it also would allow it to continue taking in more students, including 216 who had been awarded scholarships for the upcoming school year — only to see them vanish when the program was terminated.”

Finally, it looks as if Congress may be in danger of getting something right!  According to the article, during the 2008-2009 school year, over 1,700 children were aided by the Opportunity Scholarship Program, enrolling in 49 different non-public schools. Hopefully, this bill will be passed and children is our nation’s capital will have the opportunity to receive a good education.  While they are at it, vouchers should be legal all over the country!  Competition in education is a good thing and should be encouraged.

CBS News is reporting today that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says that the U. S. must cut the deficit in order to have a sustained recovery from the current recession.  He stated that President Obama’s Administration will do whatever is necessary to bring the deficit down, and would not rule out raising taxes.

He is right, but this is an amazing statement coming from someone in this administration.  On Thursday, April 30 of this year, the Washington Post reported that Congress easily approved a $3.4 trillion spending plan for the coming year.  That is in addition to the stimulus program of $787 billion.  Now this administration is talking about lowering the deficit.  Why in the world should we believe them?

If you believe that raising taxes increases income to the government, please read the Heritage Foundation article on the Laffer Curve.  Historical data since the 1960’s shows that raising taxes lowers government revenue (as the people being taxed find ways to shelter their money), and what happens is that the tax burden on the middle class increases. 

According to an article at Power Line this morning:

“…But a value-added tax would “add to the burdens that the average American already faces,” whether unfairly or not. The alternative, presumably, is higher taxes on “the rich.” But the “rich” are already paying far more than their fair share. The latest IRS figures show that the top 1 percent of taxpayers pay more in federal income taxes than the bottom 95 percent combined.”

This is not the way to grow an economy.

In order to have the two-state solution in the Middle East work, you need two states that agree on a ‘two-state’ solution.  Yesterday’s Power Line reported that:

“Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction will reaffirm its refusal to recognise Israel as a Jewish state at a major congress next week, according to a document obtained by AFP on Saturday.

The congress document also reiterates the refusal of the Palestinian leadership to resume peace talks with Israel as long as it continues building Jewish settlements in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. …

In the document Fatah underlines “its refusal to recognise Israel as a Jewish state” as demanded by Israel’s hardline Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Fatah links this refusal to its determination to protect the right of Palestinian refugees to return to homes they fled at the time of the creation of Israel in 1948.”

It should be noted that Arabs are allowed to buy land and settle in Israel, but Israelis are not allowed to buy land or settle in Arab areas.  Since the Arabs are the majority, this makes no logical sense at all.

Fatah is considered a ‘moderate’ Palestinian group.  If they will not acknowledge Israel’s right to exist, how to do we expect to create peace in the region?

Today on Fox News, I heard a commentator say that conservatives always complain that the media is biased.  She didn’t seem to understand the complaint.  Well, every now and then figures show us what reality is.

Newsbusters.org has some notes today on how the economy is being reported under President Barack Obama and how it was reported under President George W. Bush.  For instance,  a 0.4 percent decline in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product occurred in 2001 after 911 when George Bush was president.  The press declared this a calamity.  Friday, it was announced that the Gross Domestic Product had declined 1 percent.  The media applauded. 

When the GDP showed a .04 percent decline in 2001, the New York Times said in an editorial:

“Gross domestic product shrank by 0.4 percent in the third quarter of this year. That performance was better than most analysts expected, but still the worst in a decade. The economy is probably contracting even faster now, and the recovery many had hoped to see by year’s end is not likely to arrive until well into 2002.”

Compare that to this quote from Associated Press’s Jeannine Aversa on the recent1 percent decline of the GDP:

“The economy dipped only slightly in the second quarter of this year — falling at a 1 percent annual pace, better than expected. And many analysts think the economy is starting to grow again in the current quarter, setting up a long-awaited recovery.”

So a 0.4 percent drop means that recovery will be slow in coming and a 1 percent drop means that recovery is just around the corner!  Do they teach math in journalism school?

According to today’s Washington Times, the House of Representatives has passed a bill to limit executive pay packages on Wall Street.  First of all–Wall Street did not cause the economic crisis–Congress did.  If you doubt this, please watch the YouTube video called “Burning Down The House.”  The video is about 10 minutes long, but it is well worth watching.

Anyway, the article points out:

“”The sweeping compensation mandates in the bill, which were not subject to any committee review prior to its consideration, will have far-reaching and unintended consequences that will drive capital away from our financial markets,” said Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama, the top Republican on the Financial Services Committee.”

This is not an area for government intervention.  Government intervention in the mortgage market, although well-intentioned, gave us the mortgage meltdown.  People who could not afford to make mortgage payments were given mortgages, and those loans defaulted.  Very few members of Congress have ever owned or administered a business, very few of them have studied economics or how the business sector of our economy works.  Their job is to uphold the Constitution–they don’t seem to be doing that very well.

This is the proverbial camel’s nose under the tent.   Do you really think that if this legislation passes, at some point in the future, your wages will not be governmentally regulated?