The Devil Is in The Details

While we do need to tweak our present system of health care, this country still provides the best health care in the world. The United States is where Europeans and Canadians come for treatment if their situation is serious and if they can afford it. A few free market changes in our current laws will make it much more affordable without involving the federal government in our private lives. However, when you read the 1,018-page bill that the House is considering, you realize that it’s not about health, insurance, or poverty stricken people, but about control.

Here is a list compiled by a hospital administrator and sent to me by a friend of the devilish details that will forever change our government and our way of life. All references to the government in the following list mean the federal government and HCB refers to the Health Care Bill now available to the public. Go to Obama's Healthcare Bill if you want to check it out for yourself.


1. Page 22 of the Health Care Bill – MANDATES that the Government will audit books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self-insure!

2. Page 29 lines 4-16 in the HCB - YOUR HEALTHCARE IS RATIONED!

3. Page 30 Sec 123 of HCB - THERE WILL BE A GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits you get, not your physician.

4. Page 42 of HCB - The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your health care benefits for you. You will have no choice!

5. Page 50 Section 152 in HCB- Health care will be provided to ALL non-US citizens, illegal or otherwise.

6. Page 58 HCB - Government will have real-time access to an individual’s finances and a National ID Health card will be issued!

7. Page 59 HCB lines 21-24 – Government will have direct access to your bank accounts for electronic funds transfer.

8. Page 65 Sec 164 – Provides a subsidized plan for retirees and their families in Unions and community organizations, such as ACORN.

9. Page 72 Lines 8-14 – The government is creating a Health Care Exchange to bring private health care plans under Government control.

10. Page 84 Sec 203 HCB – The government mandates ALL benefit packages for private health care plans in the Exchange

11. Page 95 HCB Lines 8-18 -- The Government will use groups, i.e., ACORN and Americorps, to sign up individuals for the government health care plan.

12. Page 102 Lines 12-18 HCB - Medicaid eligible individuals will be automatically enrolled in Medicaid. No choice.

13. Page 124 lines 24-25 HCB -- No company can sue the government for price fixing.

14. Page 145 Line 15-17 -- An Employer MUST automatically enroll all employees into public option plan. NO CHOICE.

15. Page 146 Lines 22-25 -- Employers MUST pay for health care for part time employees AND their families.

16. Page 149 Lines 16-24 -- ANY Employer with a payroll of $400,000 and above but does not provide the public option will pay an extra 8% tax on all payrolls.

17. Page 150 Lines 9-13 Businesses with payroll between $251,000 and $400,000 but does not provide the public option will pay a 2-6% tax on all payroll.

18. Page 167 Lines 18-23 -- ANY individual who doesn’t have acceptable health care according to Government official will be taxed 2.5% of income.

19. Page 170 Lines 1-3 -- Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual taxes.

20. Page 195 HCB – The officers and employees of the Health Care Administration will have access every individuals' finances, private papers, and records.

21. Page 203 Line 14-15 HC - "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax." Yes, it says that!

22. Page 253 Line 10-18 – The government will set the value of each physician’s time and professional judgment.

23. Page 265 Sec 1131 – The government will mandate and control productivity for all private health care industries.

24. Page 268 Sec 1141 – The federal government will regulate the rental and/or the purchase of power driven wheelchairs.

25. Page 280 Sec 1151 -- The government will penalize hospitals for what Government deems preventable readmissions.

26. Page 298 Lines 9-11 -- Doctors who treat a patient during initial admission that results in a readmission will be penalized.

27. Page 317 L 13-20 The government will determine what and how much a physician can own or invest in health care related companies.

28. Page 317-318 lines 21-25 -- The government will mandate whether hospitals can expand.

29. Page 321 Lines 2-13 -- Hospitals have option to apply for exception to above rule, but community input and support will be required.

30. Page 335 Lines 16-25 and Pages 336-339 – The government sets and mandates establishment of outcome based measures any way they want.

31. Page 341 Lines 3-9 -- Government has the authority to disqualify Medicare, Adv. Plans, HMOs, etc.

32. Page 354 Sec 1177 - Government will RESTRICT enrollment of special needs patients!

33. Page 425 Lines 4-12 -- Government mandates Advance Care Planning Consultation about end of life issues for all senior citizens and residents of nursing homes every five years.

34. Page 425 Lines 17-19 -- Government will instruct and consult all patients regarding living wills and durable powers of attorney. Mandatory!

35. Page 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3-- Government provides approved list of end of life resources and guides patients as they approach death.

36. Page 427 Lines 15-24 -- Government mandates program for orders for end of life.

37. Page 429 Lines 1-9 -- An "advance care planning consult" will be used frequently as a patient’s health deteriorates.

38. Page 429 Lines 10-12 – The Advance Care Consultation may include an ORDER for end of life plans.

39. Page 429 Lines 13-25 - The government will specify which physicians can write an end of life order.

40. Page 430 Lines 11-15 -- The Government will decide what level of treatment each patient will have at end of life

41. Page 494-498 -- The Government will define which Mental Health services will be allowed or required.

42. Racial preferences for admittance to medical school and to obtain research grants are built into the health care bill, according to The American Thinker. Such preferences will forever stigmatize all people of that race and label them as ill equipped.

Just As I Suspected

According to Rasmussen Reports, the majority of Americans dislike the new law that will force everyone to use flouresent bulbs beginning in 2012. In fact, 72% think that it’s none of the Federal Government’s business what kind of bulbs they use. Many are quietly stocking up in preparation for the dreaded day. Others quietly hope that the Public Monarchs (We thought we were voting for Public Servants, but we got Monarchs instead.) now in control of our government will relent and change the law before it goes into effect.

Krauthammer Eviserates Obama

Charles Krauthammer has a great article in the Washington Post today. He skillfully disembowels the obvious contradictions of logic in Obama's defense of his healthcare proposals. I suggest you read it just for fun.

What Do Physicians Think?

Of the 15 Congressional Clowns who are also physicians, 12 are opposed to Obamacare:*
Senators Barasso (R, WY) and Coburn (R,OK)
Representatives:
Boustany (R, La.)
Broun (R, Ga.)
Burgess, (R, TX)
Cassidy (R, LA)
Fleming (R, LA)
Gingrey, MD (R, GA)
Griffith (D, AL)
Paul (R, TX)
Price (R, GA)
Roe (R, TN)

One, a Blue Dog Democrat from Arkansas, Rep. Vic Snyder, appears to still be hedging his bets.

The other two are also House Democrats: Steve Kagen from Wisconsin and Jim McDermott, a psychiatrist from Washington who has never been in private practice. Both are committed to liberal causes.

More and more Americans are saying okay to health care ONLY if all of the DC Clowns give up their health care provisions and submit to the plan they are trying to force on the rest of us. Or, as a friend of mine suggested: let them devise a bill and try it out for about 10 years, then when they get the kinks worked out, let us unwashed masses into it.

Meanwhile, please take note that no one in favor of the bill is defending it specifically. From Obama on down, arguments center on emotions and generalities. They’re selling us something they firmly believe we need whether we want it or not. But increasingly, voters feel like they’re selling a “pig in a poke.” On the other hand, those who oppose the bill state specific items found in the bill and explain the effect those provisions will have. That observation itself should stop the bill in its tracks.

*Some look at this list with disdain because the physicians are all from the South and West, as if no one in these states knows how to think and their ideas are therefore specious at best.

The World View of A Community Organizer

As the Obama presidency continues, he reveals more and more about himself; many observers are less than inspired. Last night he based his sales talk about his health care proposals on “victim hood.” That should surprise no one since it pervaded both his foreign policy and campaign speeches.

The interesting thing about the victims he seeks to rescue and the villains he condemns is that he categorizes them by their status, not by their actions. Thus, he apologizes for the US because it leads the world financially and he ignores the many generous and kind acts the country has done for subjugated people. Who, besides the American soldier, will lay down his life for citizens of other countries and thus put into action Jesus’ words about the greatest love?

In last night’s press conference, he bewailed the insurance companies because they make a profit, ignoring the many needs they fulfill in our economy. Similarly, Wall Street was excoriated because the profit motive underlies their activities. And, like most liberals, he ignores the fact that nearly all Americans are invested in Wall Street, depending on profitability to fund their retirement programs. Wall Street is not just the traders on the floor, but anyone with money in a mutual fund.

He also threw physicians under the bus because they tend to be in the upper middle class once they become established. He ignored the years of exacting preparation, the enormous costs of obtaining degrees and certification, and the 60+ hours of work most perform every week. He also ignored their generous attempts to help patients without regard to payment in order to accuse them of unnecessary procedures that merely enhance their bottom lines.

Then, just in case one might still doubt his status as Whiner-in-Chief, he used a planted question to viciously slander all policemen in the country and defend his friend, Prof. Gates of Harvard. Does anyone other than community organizers and criminals believe that all cops are evil?

A Physician's View of Obamacare

Please watch this video of Dr. Tom Price, a Representative from Georgia, talking about the health care proposal now before the house. Like most people, he does not maintain that our current health care system is perfect, but that the remedy championed by Obama is much worse than the problem it supposedly solves.



In an earlier radio interview, Dr. Price questioned why Obama voted against all bills aimed at reform in health care while he was still a member of the Senate. If concern for patients were his true motivation, it does seem that Obama would have championed any reform possible before insisting on a complete redesign of the entire system. It also seems that he would be open to a lengthy debate in order to refine his basic ideas instead of rushing it through Congress without input from all sides.

In Case You Missed It

Here is the Republican chart demonstrating the organization of Obamacare as it is currently proposed. Democrat Clowns say that it is full of errors and refuse to allow Republican Clowns to mail copies of it to their constituents back home. Therefore, I am posting it myself to make sure that everyone has a chance to admire their expertise at bureaucracy.


Here is the link if you want to add it to emails or post it on your own website:

http://media.photobucket.com/image/republican%20health%20care%20chart/marabout40/republican_HC_chart.jpg?o=1

Reconciliation Last Resort for Health Care?

With opposition to his favorite cause growing daily, this week Obama asked the left leaning blogosphere for support on his health care proposal. Apparently he held a conference call where someone asked him if he intended to use reconciliation process to get it passed. His answer was:

“Keep in mind that the way we had structured the reconciliation issue several months ago, we moved forward on the basis of the assumption that we can get a bill through the regular order and the regular process by October. If I think that that is not possible, then we are going to look at all of our options, including reconciliation.”

Reconciliation in the US Senate allows a bill to pass by rushing it to a vote by not allowing debate or amendments. Bills can pass with only 51 votes, not 60, since filibusters are forbidden. If you remember, back in April, Obama used reconciliation to pass his 2010 Budget. Incidentally, he even larded that budget with many health care measures. This man intends to change our health care system whether we want it or not.

$734,152,000,000

That’s the total amount spent if 1 million dollars were spent every single day from the time Christ was born until the end of 2010. It still adds up to less than $1 trillion.

According to the inspector general of TARP, the potential financial commitment of US taxpayers to fix the financial system could be $23.7 trillion. Now, you figure out how many thousands of years it would take to pay back $23,700,000,000 at a million dollars a day.

Then consider the current deficit (as of 7:22 am EST today) is already $11,614,505,913,666.00 or $37, 883.13 for each man, woman, and child in the country. Both the totals and amount each person owes grows by the minute. Just wait until the bills for health care “reform” come in.

Government of, by, and for the Czars, Part II

Finally, I have a more complete list of Obama’s Czars as of July 15. I have read, but not verified, that each one was hired at $172,000 per year. No one seems to know about the cost of their office staffs, rent, and equipment. Nor do they know where their offices are located or how to contact them. But what really should concern citizens is the fact that these appointees will be fashioning regulations that will control our lives, but they are answerable to no one except President Obama. Neither the voters nor their representatives have any input into their selection or oversight.

In an effort to counteract Obama’s moves, Jack Kingston (R GA) introduced the Czar Accountability and Reform Act (CZAR) in the House last Thursday. It would prohibit the use of government funds to pay the salaries and expenses of the czars or their staffs. The question is whether Nancy Pelosi will even allow it to reach the floor for a vote.

Af-Pak - Richard Holbrooke
AIDS - Jeffrey Crowley
Border - Alan Bersin
Car - Ron Bloom
Climate - Todd Stern
Copyright - Not yet named
Cybersecurity - Not yet named
Domestic Violence - Lynn Rosenthal
Drug - Gil Kerlikowske
Economic - Paul Volcker
Education - Not yet named
Energy - Carol Browner
Executive Pay Rate - Kenneth Feinberg
Faith Based - Joshua DuBois
Great Lakes - Cameron Davis
Green Jobs - Van Jones
Guantamano Closure - Daniel Fried
Health Reform - Nancy Ann DeParle
Info Tech - Vivek Kundra
Iran - Not yet named
Mideast Peace - George Mitchell
Mortgage - Not yet named
Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia - Dennis Ross
Regulatory - Cass Sunstein
Safe Schools - Kevin Jennings
Science - John Holdren
Stimulus Accountability - Earl Devaney
Sudan - J. Scott Gration
TARP - Herb Allison
Technology - Aneesh Chopra
Terrorism - John Brennan
Urban Affairs - Adolfo Carrion, Jr.
Weapons - Ashton Carter
Weapons Mass Destruction - Gary Samore

Previously, I mention a couple of things about the science czar, John Holdren. Go to A Czar Too Far to if you wish to read more about him.

President Obama Was Absolutely Correct!

Obama's speech in Ghana recently was spot on. Too bad, Obama does not follow his own advice. He chided the African nation for corruption and excessive taxes. "No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20 percent off the top," he told the Parliament of Ghana.

I wonder if his listeners realize that this pronouncement came from the leader of a country where the federal government skims off 39.4% in corporate taxes, the second highest of any industrialized country. Or that he has many plans for new taxes and regulations to further squeeze the business community? Maybe he should pay more attention to the words his teleprompter gives him.

Does he not comprehend that corporate taxes become part of the overhead and every single customer ends up paying the tax, not the so-called evil corporation? Does he not notice how many companies have already moved their headquarters from the US and how many more are planning to in the near future?

Texas VS California

Way back in September, Nelson Guirado of Assymetric provided an excellent analysis of the current status of California and Texas. This is important now because California has been following the liberal program on taxes, the environment, and social services for years, while Texas has implemented more conservative laws and programs.

Here are Guirado’s highlights (remember these are figures from the middle of September):
1. Education results (with similar ethnic groups): Texas ranks 25th while California lags behind at 47th.
2. Unemployment in Texas is 4.3%, but in California, it’s 7.3%.
3. Taxes: Texas has the third lowest rate among the states while California is ranked eighth highest.
4. Deficits: California has a deficit of $15, 000,000,000 while Texas has a surplus.

From what I’ve observed since January 20, Obama and the Democrat Congress are rushing headlong to emulate or overtake California’s programs. Why? We have a proven life lesson right before our eyes.

Law of Unintended Consequences

Today Politico offers the public a breathless interview of Nancy Pelosi’s most exciting work ever. The pinnacle of her career will be successfully pushing Obamacare through the House. To do this, she, Robert Reich, Charlie Rangel, and other Democrat leaders gleefully insist that only millionaires will be taxed and surcharged, but everyone will benefit from their forced largesse.

There are several problems with Democrats playing Robin Hood with taxes beside the lack of morality in their tactics – forced compassion is still stealing, no matter how devious the public relations surrounding the program. One, which FairKaye has mentioned several times, is that estimates of costs ALWAYS turn out to be at least double or triple original forecasts. When that happens, invariably bureaucrats begin cutting back on benefits rather than cutting back on bureaucracy or systemic problems that were left unaddressed from the beginning. To corroborate this, just review the sad history of Social Security, Medicare, the War on Poverty, or other long-standing government programs.

But one problem that is seldom mentioned is that when “millionaires” are taxed more highly, the cost of consumer products invariably increases. Thus, even those who pay no income taxes, share the pain with the millionaires. True, some of these millionaires are parasites, living off of inherited wealth, but most millionaires function as the economic engines of our country, creating jobs, goods, and wealth for the rest of us. They are NOT the enemy.

Politicians who lie, cheat, and steal are our enemies. And we have far too many enemies in federal, state, and local governments. It’s time for average Americans to participate in our government from voting, to signing petitions, to calling Congressional Clowns, to attending neighborhood and PTA meetings.

Please Share This Video

Please send this video about nationalized health care to everyone on your email list. You can either embed it in an email or send a link to this site.

How Do I Hate This Health Care Bill? Let Me Count The Ways

1. It ignores the obvious fact that at least part of reason for spiraling health care costs is because insurance companies, trial lawyers, and federal regulations increasingly insert themselves between the physician and the patient.
2. Imagine the result on grocery store prices if employers had to cover the costs of groceries for all their employees. (And groceries are surely more vital to employee well being and job performance than insurance.) Wouldn’t employees be less careful with their grocery shopping? Wouldn’t they tend to buy more of the allowed items and less of whichever items were not covered? Think how much more reasonable plastic surgery has become because most of it is not covered by insurance.
3. While each botched diagnosis or surgery is grievous and victims deserve some compensation, the trial lawyers have developed a cottage industry out of malpractice lawsuits. It is common for malpractice insurance bills to average $250,000 per year. And that has to be paid before caring for the first patient. John Edwards, for just one example, built up a fortune and encouraged numerous obstetricians to flee North Carolina because his lawsuits wrongly convinced juries that birth defects were caused by the physicians.*
4. Regulations by the federal government needlessly cause the price to be higher for selected procedures. For example, Medicare patients must endure multiple days in the hospital when a home health care assistant would be just as effective, less costly, and easier on the patient while simultaneously protecting him from hospital induced illnesses. For example, private insurance companies cover in-home IV infusions treating some cancers, arthritis, gastrointestinal disorders, and infections, but Medicare only pays if it’s done in the hospital.
5. All health care “reforms” now being considered focus only on insurance, not on the whole health care system in the United States. And what we know of the proposals so far reveal that Congressional Clowns are more interested in increasing government control than in caring for patients.
6. The bills now on the table ignore all common sense solutions such as those proposed by Herman Cain: change the tax code so that individuals could deduct insurance expenses just like businesses do, reduce costly government mandates and regulations (see above), allow insurance companies to operate across state lines to enhance competition, encourage retail clinics for basic services, and expand health savings accounts to allow people to make better choices for themselves.
7. The mass media has studiously avoided publicity about any proposals by Republicans. In May, Senators Richard Burr (R NC) and Tom Coburn, M.D. (R OK) along with Representatives Devin Nunes (R CA) and Paul Ryan (R WI) introduced the Patients’ Choice Act that received accolades from conservative groups, but hardly anyone knows about it. Apparently S 1009 just does not cost enough money or expand government enough to make it newsworthy. Just this week Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) introduced H.R. 3218, “Improving Health Care for All Americans Act.” Did you hear about it on television news last night?
8. The bill now on the table will allow government agents to enter private homes to vaccinate family members that they deem to have inadequate inoculations. And who knows what vaccinations from Big Brother may be in our future?
9. It costs too much money. The estimates now are $1,500,000,000,000 and we all know estimates are low-balled. The nation is in a recession and government spending is already way out of hand. We owe so much money that our creditors are becoming increasingly reluctant to buy our bonds. Yet our President and Congressional Clowns insist on ramming a new money-pit law down our throats. No one but Joe Biden believes that ‘we have to spend more money to avoid bankruptcy.’
10. The bill in all of its variations will damage, if not kill small business, the real engine of American economy and innovation.

And, I’m sure I’ll find more reasons when I have time to think about it. To read past blogs about health care "reform" and socialized medicine, go here.

*My brother was a trial lawyer, and my niece and her son did suffer greatly because of a poor obstetrician, but that is much more rare than John Edward would have you believe.

Reading The Bill

According to Investor's Business Daily, page 16 of the proposed Health Care bill has a provision outlawing private insurance. Of course, it's included in another one of those totally misnamed sections entitled, "Protecting the Choice to Keep Current Coverage." The bill states ". . . the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day" of the year the legislation becomes law. Translation for people who speak plain English is that after the bill becomes law, individuals who have private insurance can not change their plan and those who leave a company to form their own business will not be able to buy from private insurance companies.

It is a Trojan Horse, no matter what President Obama claims.

Barack H(ubris) Obama

U.S. News and World Report has just reported about a dinner Obama held on June 20 with several presidential historians. No mention was made of the reason for the secrecy, but USN&WR did admit that the dinner revealed Obama's belief that he has uniquely positioned to bring about transformaltional change in the US. Chief among his goals is "reforming" health care.

The chosen ones were Michael Beschloss, H. W. Brands, Douglas Brinkley, Robert Caro, Robert Dallek, Doris Kearns Goodwin, David Kennedy, Kenneth Mack, and Garry Wills. Skeptics wonder, since Obama has already published two autobiographies, if the dinner was not a job interview for his chosen biographer.

The "Health Care" Proposal

Americans for Tax Reform has a link to download the proposal the House will be considering and voting on before the August recess. Since we can't depend on the Congressional Clowns to read it, we should. According to ATR, the bill includes:
* insurance mandates for both individuals and businesses
* an excise tax on health insurance
* steps towards full double-taxing of corporate income earned abroad
* a new surtax on small businesses and high income earners
Please read all 1018 pages (that's over two reams of paper) and then let everyone know what is in there. We can not continue to let these clowns act so shamefully with legislation. And, when you contact your Clown, try to make him agree to sign up for the government program if he votes for it.

On a related note, Friday, July 17 from 12 to 1, go to the local office of your Congressional Clowns to protest this travesty as part of the Tea Party Protest. If you think you don't have time, remember that freedom is not free; it demands citizen involvement. If we ask our finest young men and women to protect us in the military, then those of us at home must do our part politically.

Great Minds Run Together Again

After I posted about John Holdren's unsavory ideas yesterday morning, Sean Hannity featured him last night on his Fox News show as he also discussed Obama's czars. Sean added a few more details, such as Holdren's belief that people who deny Global Warming should be prosecuted. You can read about it here.

Speaking of Czars, I neglected to mention Obama's Car Czar, Steve Rattner, who resigned yesterday. Please add comments if you know of others I missed. I'd like to keep an up-to-date list of our new ruling elite.

More Recession Woes

Last week while writing about various aspects of the recession, I mentioned that the real unemployment rate was closer to 16.5% or about 25,000,000 people who need jobs. Today both the Wall Street Journal and American Thinker add details to that statistic.

For example, the average work week for rank and file workers (80% of the work force) fell to 33 hours, the lowest since the government started tracking the data in 1964. Also the length of official unemployment increased to 24.5 weeks, the longest ever recorded. (This record keeping started in 1948.) Another unpleasant fact is that over the next five years the net increase in the labor force (new entrants less those who retire) will be about 1,936,600 per year. So as we try to find jobs for the people who lost them, we will have to also find almost 2 million additional ones for new workers each year for five years. These economic writers expect double digit unemployment to continue well into the future.

Sorry for Late Posting

I did Grandmother Duty all morning and I'm just now getting back to doing my stuff.

Government of, by, and for The Czars

Obama has named at least 21 czars that greatly increase the power of the Executive Branch of our government. None of these people face hearings or confirmations; their sole allegience is to the president. It is such a massive power grab that even Robert Byrd left his sick-bed long enough to pronounce the moves, which are outside of congressional oversight, violate the Constitution.

A president may have as many advisors as he wishes, however the Constitution does not provide for executive “czars” who directly dictate policy, such as Feinberg who will approve of executive pay for any business that receives government money.

After a two-hour search of the Internet I found the names and positions of 21, but I am not certain my list is complete. They are:

Af-Pak: Richard Holbrooke
Border: Alan Bersin
Cars: was Steve Rattner
Climate: Todd Stern
Cybersecurity: Rod A. Beckstrom
Drug: Gil Kerlikowske
Energy: Carol Browner
Executive Pay Rate: Kenneth Feinberg
Faith Based: Joshua DuBois
Guantamano Closure: Daniel Fried
Health Reform: Nancy Ann DeParle
Info Tech: Vivek Kundra
Mideast Peace: George Mitchell
Non proliferation: Gary Samore
Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia: Dennis Ross
Regulatory: Cass Sunstein
Science: John Holdren
Stimulus Accountability: Earl Devaney
Sudan: J. Scott Gration
TARP: Herb Allison
Terrorism: John Brennan
Urban: Adolfo Carrion, Jr.

Little is known about their backgrounds, about their direction from the President, or about the exact scope of their power. For example, few people know that John Holdren has co-authored a book praising forced abortions and mass sterilization, that his Cyber Security Czar claims to know nothing about IT, or that his energy czar is a member of the Socialist International who believes in one world government.

Next time, let's test the candidates for President on their understanding of basic civics and the Constitution. And maybe we need to re-read the Tenth Amendment ourselves.

Read The Bill before Voting!

Last Friday, Investors Business Daily took up my July 8 battle cry to make it illegal for Congressional Clowns to vote on bills they had not read. IBD goes into a lot more detail than I did, but our conclusions are the same, proving, no doubt, that great minds run together.

Let Freedom Ring is sponsoring a pledge drive to get all Senators and Representatives to sign that they will not vote on health care reform if they have not personally read the bill. I think that's great, but it should apply to all legislation. To do otherwise is fraudulent and should be grounds for impeachment.

Card Check!

Al Franken began his Senate career by becoming a co-sponsor of the totally misnamed Employee Free Choice Act (S. 560), better known as Card Check. That is no surprise since he received almost $300,000 from unions in his campaign to win that seat in a state where only 16% of the workforce is unionized. Membership in unions has been declining drastically in all states, so union leaders desperately want Card Check to pass so they can hold on to their power.

Americans for Tax Reform has several articles discussing the effects on our economy if Card Check passes. But the best one is an interactive game, Get Card Checked!, complete with documentation for each decision chosen during the game. I highly recommend you play it, then send it to your Congressional Clowns.

Please Read the Encyclical before Commenting

Finally someone with access to the latest Papal encyclical, Love in Truth, actually read it before writing or speaking about it. It does NOT promote one world government or call for more power in the UN despite the claims of the New York Times, Reuters, conspiracy bloggers, et al. Non-Catholic reporters usually only skim Pope Benedict’s writings, looking for fodder to bolster their own preconceived notions whether they support “a new world order” or believe that the Pope is the anti-Christ.

His work to too dense to be treated so cavalierly. One must read the whole thing, noting his digressions and illustrations, as well as conclusions.

John Henry Westen of LifeSite News has an editorial explaining it that has also been carried by Canada Free Press. Check it out if you want a better understanding of Pope Benedict’s work.

You Vote for It; You Use It

Often the US Congress has voted for laws that apply to the taxpayers, but not to the law makers. Despite occasional protests from the more savvy voters, this practice has continued for decades.

The primary example is social security. Members of Congress do not participate; they have a different retirement program. And while every election cycle brings ominous predictions that social security will soon be bankrupt, there is no such concern for their retirement program.

Yesterday Rep. John Fleming (R LA), introduced a resolution calling for Congressional Clowns who vote for health care reform to sign up for it themselves and their families and to forego participating in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. If it’s good enough for the people, it should be good enough for the people who impose the law upon them.

Representatives Wilson (SC), Burton (IN), Bartlett (MD), Linder (GA), Garrett (NJ), Blunt (MO), Scalise (LA), and Alexander (LA) joined him in co-sponoring the resolution. I believe that fed up voters should inundate offices on Capitol Hill with demands for passage of the bill AND we need to call for an amendment to make it apply to all past and future laws passed by Congress.

I, for one, am tired of Public Monarchs instead of Public Servants!

When The Cat’s Away, The Mice Will Play

While the US media spent 12 days keening for Michael Jackson, our Congressional Clowns continued their headlong rush to pass additional damaging legislation.

The financially destructive Cap and Trade bill passed the House with provisions that prove the “green” movement is more about control of citizens than about the environment. Some of the items seldom mentioned are regulations that force bureaucrats to inspect your home in person before allowing you to obtain a building permit to remodel anything. Then they get to come again before you can put it on the market; if they decide anything is amiss, you have to correct it before it’s advertised.

Those freedom restrictions are in addition to increasing utility costs for every household and increasing costs on everything that’s manufactured in America and thus eliminating jobs in the process.

Not only was it passed without being read, the staffers had not even finished writing the bill before the final vote was taken.

The media didn’t mention those items because what little time they had left after covering Michael Jackson’s family, friends, influence, music, wealth, will, lawsuits, and needle marks was used to advertise the “need” for Democrat versions of health care reform. As frequently happens nowadays, competing bills by Republicans like Dr. Tom Coburn that promote natural market forces to effect savings in health care were deemed unworthy to be brought to public attention.

But, the coup de grâce was delivered by our dear friend, Barney Frank. He used the distractions in the news to introduce TARP for Main Street Act of 2009. As has become routine, the name of the bill does nothing to reveal its outcome. It’s anything but a bill for Main Street.

When Congress passed the TARP bill last fall, the law was written to force banks to pay dividends and loan payments to the general fund of the Treasury to reduce the public debt. Its supporters repeatedly reassured us that TARP was really an investment and we would eventually enjoy a profit.

But Barney’s fingers got itchy when a little bit of money began to dribble into the coffers the second week of June. So he introduced a bill to change the original intention of the TARP bill and instead use the money to fund some of his favorite causes. To wit:
1. Use a billion or so to fund a low-rental housing project that was previously mandated, but not funded. (Hasn’t fifty years of low rent housing proven to be ineffective in every city in the US?)
2. Give $1,500,000,000 to ACORN and other groups for the purpose of “neighborhood stabilization.” (That means that many neighborhoods inside the city are “stabilized” rather than allowed to "gentrify.”)
3. Allocate $2,000,000,000 to subsidize people who are delinquent on their mortgages. (In addition to the money that has already been allocated to allow dead beats to stay in their homes a few months longer.)
4. Hand over another $2,000,000,000 to "stabilize multifamily properties that are in default or foreclosure." (Assisting deadbeats with bigger bills.)

It’s going to be a long, hot summer.

The Real Recession (As Opposed to The One The Media Tried to Whip Up for Six Years)

It may take awhile to get back to normal economically. Even the Washington Post has admitted this week that the “Stimulus” is not working. Unfortunately, the knee jerk reaction by some politicians is to start demanding a second “Stimulus” bill.

I think the better reaction would be to pass a bill making it a felony for any Congressional Clown to vote on a bill he has not read. If anyone had bothered to read it before passing the blasted thing, they would have understood that is was nothing more than a conglomeration of Democrat pet projects cobbled together with no real regard for stimulating the economy.

Unemployment continues to rise everywhere except Washington, DC. The official figure, based on people filing for unemployment checks, is 9.5%. According to a Wall Street Journal article last week, the real unemployment figure may be closer to 16.9%. That percentage also includes those who no longer receive unemployment checks, either because they accepted part time jobs in lieu of full time work or gotten out of the job market all together.

Then there is an insightful article in yesterday’s American Thinker about the states with big deficits. When the talk centers on mere numbers, the figures vaguely seem bad, but when taken as a percentage of state budgets, one gets a much better understanding of the crisis. For example, California’s deficit of $53,700,000,000 represents 58% of its budget. According to AT, the reason for the deficits is that tax revenues are down. In fact, tax revenues have dropped more than they did during the Great Depression.

Sometimes Obama Does Meddle

Many were distressed to see Obama waffle during the uprising in Iran because the leader of the free world did not support people who merely yearned for more freedom in a country oppressed by religious tyrants. But these same people are flummoxed that a week later he vociferously supports a leader who was removed from office in response to a Honduran Court arrest warrant.

He says he doesn’t want to meddle, yet he repeatedly meddles in Honduran affairs.

Of course, he is not alone. Both the OAS and the UN have denounced Zelaya’s legal removal office. Has rational thought about the rule of law and national sovereignty ceased to exist?

Socialized Medicine by Any Other Name Is Still Socialized Medicine

The Democrats keeping renaming their plans for total control of the health care industry in the United States with such appealing words as “reform” and “insurance.” But, as my grandmother used to say, ‘anyone with one eye and half sense’ can easily figure out that it’s still socialized medicine. Despite their protestations of deep concern and sympathy for people like me who were once caught with a catastrophic illness but without insurance, it’s still a grand scheme to increase bureaucratic control of our lives.

There are a few things to always keep in mind when discussing this issue:
1. No one, citizen or illegal alien, is ever denied necessary health care in the United States. Our current system of Byzantine insurance rules and federal regulations needs to be corrected, not transformed.
2. Our most egregious problems with delivery and cost of health care directly result from stupid laws passed by stupid Congressional Clowns in the past. We should work to eliminate their interference with physicians, patients, and hospitals, not increase it.
3. Socialized medicine has not worked well in any country where it’s been enacted; there is no reason to destroy our superior system and follow the same path to destruction.
4. Socialized medicine inevitably results in health care rationing and inferior treatment.
5. Federal bureaucrats will use cost cutting as an excuse to interfere with personal freedom for all citizens. Any activity they decide is counter productive will become illegal. *
6. Adding the U.S. government to the list of 1300 insurance providers we already have will eliminate private insurance, not increase competition. Do not be fooled by pious claims made to make a bill sound better to the general public.
7. Costs ALWAYS greatly exceed the original estimates and so far even the estimates of any Democratic plans are high enough to engender a round of heart attacks across the land.
8. Increased federal control will eliminate conscience clauses for physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and hospitals. Both abortion and euthanasia will increase.

Many of the changes Obama’s administration has effected are deleterious, but they can be changed by future administrations. However, entitlement programs never go away or diminish. This must be stopped! Sign the petition at this website because one petition with many names has more effect that several petitions with fewer names. Then call your Congressional Clowns and email them. Or, best of all, confront them face to face and explain your extreme opposition to any plan proposed thus far. Then recruit your friends and family to take up the cause. Their lives may depend on it.

We need to remember the closing lines of our Declaration of Independence because our country will always need patriots to defend its principles: "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

To read all posts on health care, go here.

* Remember the egg. In the fifties, it was considered the perfect food. Then with the fat phobia of the seventies, it almost became contraband. There was no memory of the lecithin in the yolk or its benefits for health. Instead, families were daily encouraged to avoid eggs for their health. Recently, some semblance of sanity has returned to the breakfast wars. But just imagine bureaucrats let loose with the ability to put the latest food fad into law.

Yes, We Had A Wedding

Pictured above are Craig, Fr. Bolton, and Carrie inside Church of Our Saviour.

And after the wedding, we had to catch up with all the stuff we'd been postponing until after the wedding. But life is back to its new normal and FairKaye will help you keep up with politics and culture.

Universal Government Run Health Care?

Our favorite illustrator of political realities (see examples here and here) has a tiny video out on health care as it exists now. Watch it; it's well worth your time.

Silent Scandals

Read Canada Free Press for a rundown of recent scandals in the American political scene that the media has chosen to ignore. All of them involve Democrats, strangely enough. I'm sure that has nothing to do with the media silence. Ahem!

Even this article fails the mention the biggest story of all -- the attempt to ruin our economy (even more) with $134,500,000,000 in (hopefully) counterfeit Treasury Bonds. Two Japanese men were discovered with the bonds by Italian border patrols, but Japanese, Italian, and U.S. officials have refused to give out any information. However, it has been rumored that the nameless men have been set free.

Twitter for Freedom

ACORN has filed suit against Anita Moncrief who has been spilling the beans about the organization on Fox News. Specifically she has accused them of:
1. ACORN has received funds directly and indirectly that were designated for Project Vote. Thus Project Vote has violated its 501(c)(3) status.
2. ACORN, Project Vote and Citizens Services Inc. (CSI) in reality are the same organization using different names with different tax designations.
3. ACORN has promoted a culture of dishonesty, particularly in regard to voter registration.
4. Obama is and has been much more involved with ACORN than he has admitted.

Ms. Moncrief has her own website, at least for now, where she details some of the insider moves. Sweetness and Lightt also has a story on ACORN and Ms. Moncrief. She has used Twitter lately to inform followers because of the restrictions forced on her by the lawsuit.

Until June 30 . . .

This will be my last day to blog until after my daughter's wedding (and after the last guest leaves). In the intervening 10 days, please check out Sigmund, Carl, and Alfred every day for the great cartoons.

I also highly recommend Lucianne.com because of the number and variety of news items posted there every day.

Until we meet online again, keep on the lookout for information on health care "reform." If any of the Democratic versions pass, our country will be unalterably changed for the worse both in regard to quality of medical care and to a dramatic loss of personal freedoms.

The other big problem to keep in the forefront is ACORN. If that organization is not stopped before November 2010, we will lose the possibility of honest elections with all the fraudulent registration forms, illegal votes, and voter intimidation that have been associated with them.

When I return on June 30, blog entries will not be posted until late afternoon. During the hot weather, I really need the cool morning hours to work in the yard and walk my big dog, Wrinkles. (Brutus, the Chihuahua, thinks having to go for a walk is cruel and unusual punishment.)

In the mean time, God bless you, and God bless the USA.

Obama Speeches

While the media continue to swoon over Obama's speeches and press conferences, I find them rather dull. His speech pattern is totally predictable with the inevitable pause as he turns his head from one teleprompter to the other. The timbre of his voice seems condescending, as if he were trying to explain physics to unruly six year olds. And the practiced professorial tone grates on my ears.

But the content is even more predictable:
1. He faces a problem through no fault of his own. The implication is either that Bush did it or it's been happening for decades.
2. He alone has the answer to the problem and somehow his answer always involves giving more power to the federal government and spending more money that we don't have.
3. The problem is so devastating that it must be handled IMMEDIATELY by forcing a new bill through Congress so he can sign it tomorrow, if possible.

His refusal to allow time for honest debate about important issues merely indicates the extreme poverty of his ideas and plans. Good ideas are worth discussion and only increase in value through honest debate. In fact, if his main goal were to destroy our once great country, I hardly know of anything he could do differently than he's already done in the first 150 days of his presidency.

Read American's for Tax Reform for a thorough recounting of his tenure in Taxpayer Timeline of Obama's First 150 Days.

A New Glimmer of Hope

In today's Commentary Magazine, Jennifer Rubin highlights the beginning of an investigation into the controversial dismissal of the case against two Black Panthers accused of voter intimidation last November. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has begun action by sending a letter to the Department of Justice demanding more information. Congressman Lamar Smith (R TX) had previously sent a letter requesting an explanation in light of the profuse amount of evidence against the two men. So, perhaps, something will be done to correct this unAmerican activity.

FairKaye first covered the story in Voter Intimidation Will Continue and mentioned it again in Notice A Pattern Here? a story detailing threats to honest elections.

Is Barack Obama the New Hugo Chavez?

People familiar with my expertise about Venezuelan authoritarian president Hugo Chavez often ask me some form of, “Is Obama like Chavez?” I get this from Venezuelans and Americans.

The answer is both “yes” and “no.” To put it in the most concise format possible, what follows is a brief comparison, or you could say, my 255-page dissertation in a paragraph.

Obama and Chavez are alike in that they...

− Both ran successful bids for election on a “change” platform.
− Both appeal to people who believe the government should have a wide and deep scope of power.
− They were about the same age when winning the presidential election for the first time.
− As candidates they ran as relative political outsiders, but not are not as outside the system as they like people to believe.
− Both are, or already have, installed new bureaucracies on top of old ones.

Obama and Chavez are different from each other in that....

− Chavez has overtly advocated socialism as the preferred economic policy option.
− Any media support for Chavez is the result of either coercion (shutting down inconvenient outlets) or taking ownership of the media.
− The U.S. electorate includes a much stronger entrepreneurial streak.
− Obama is more intellectual while Chavez is the macho military man.
− Obama does not support the narcotics trade in Latin America.
− Obama does not appear to support eradicating our two-party political system.

To summarize, the United States has a stronger tradition of democracy and boot-strapping “I can do it” mindset. Part of the difference goes back to our country being settled by Pilgrims seeking to establish a themselves in a new, self-sustaining community while Venezuela was initially “conquered” by Spaniards seeking loot to bring back to the Old World. The Venezuelan people are inculcated through the educational system that their country's oil wealth is sufficient to provide for the whole population.

What these two presidents really have in common is that they appeal to electorates who are convinced that a government really is capable of guaranteeing them jobs, “fair” prices, free health care, quality education for everyone, a “decent' retirement, good roads and utilities, and of course, freedom from invasion and from anarchy.

It will be interesting to see how each country adapts to the eventual reality check on the limits of any government to solve society's problems.

This is a guest post by Dr. Laura Mixon of Mixonian, a blog dedicated to improving communication and presentation skills. She specialized in Hugo Chavez' communication techniques in her dissertation.

Newest Newsbuster Comedy

This one showed up between 2 am and 8 am this morning.

It's Just One of Those Days

No blogging today; I'm overwhelmed with things to do for my daughter's upcoming wedding. Enjoy the funny video from Newsbusters below.

More Fun from Newsbusters

And They Complained about Bush Spending

According to the Wall Street Journal, federal spending in 2009 will account for 28% of the economy while deficits mount. (No one dares to predict how high the percentage will be after more Obama changes take effect.) WSJ claims that fact is behind the highly unpopular edict that employees pay taxes on 25% of their business phones because of personal use. What’s next? Taxes on personal time in the wash room?

The bright spot, according to the editorial, is the possibility that this will incite rebellion against all the hope and change they’re giving Americans.

Plan on A Hefty Tax Increase; It's Coming

Front Page Mag has an article today about the inevitable and massive tax increase if Obama gets his *socialized medicine plans voted in. Even if none of his plan becomes law, within three years one out of every three taxpayer dollars will go to fund Medicare and Social Security. According to the National Center for Policy Analysis, the current unfunded liability for the two programs is $101,700,000,000,000 or more than seven times the GDP.

*The administration spokesmen keep changing terms in their Orwellian plans to dupe the public, but socialized medicine is the end result, no matter what they call it.

Michelle Leaves Hillary in The Dust

Hillary Clinton is a slacker compared to Michelle Obama. Read this Washington Examiner article to get a closer look at Michelle's plans to remake the American scene, especially AmeriCorps. Remember the often repeated statements during the campaign about “universal voluntary public service?" (Some of us question how it could be both universal and voluntary; it sounds more like involuntary servitude.)

The article also mentions her possible involvement in firing Gerald Walpin, the federal investigator who uncovered too many improprieties by Obama contributors.

Liberal Fascism - Introduction » Quiz Maker

Transparency (Obama Style)

During the endless campaign of 2008, numerous people raised questions about Obama’s birth certificate and his eligibility to become president of the US. Many others took note, but presumed that there was nothing to the concern.

With time, his refusal to present a valid, long form birth certificate has grown more problematic. The version made public would not be sufficient proof of American citizenship in Hawaii, the state that provided it. If everything is all right, then why the continued secrecy? Ordinarily a birth certificate has to be one of the most innocuous documents possible. The cover-up itself provides fuel to keep the lawsuits going and the innuendos growing in intensity.

But, that’s just part of the story. He hasn’t even allowed his kindergarten documents to be made public. The school he said he attended released a photo of two teachers and five students and a statement that he had attended in 1966-67, but no official records. Ordinarily a copy of the birth certificate is required to register at the school.

His high school records from Punahou in Honolulu have been declared off limits. Even though he attended the exclusive school for eight years on scholarship, no records of what type of scholarship he won have been released. The concern is that his scholarship was one granted to foreign students.

Nor has he allowed Occidental College in Los Angeles to provide information about his scholarship for the first two years of college there. The school has hidden behind the FERPA Act to keep from replying to a lawsuit demanding information about the scholarship, his grades, and classes taken.

True to his established pattern, little is known about his last two years of college at Columbia. He refused to publish his transcript and cannot remember the names of any friends or classmates there. Fox News could not find one classmate out of the 400 they contacted who remembered him. He supposedly wrote a major thesis on Soviet disarmament his senior year, but no copy has been made available either by Obama or the school. A 1983 program lists him as a graduate, but not one with any honors.

That makes one wonder how he got into Harvard Law School without someone, somewhere pulling some strings. He and his staff have carefully guarded his SAT and LSAT scores. They’re remained mum about his grades although he buckled down enough to graduate magna cum laude. He did become the first black to serve as president of Harvard Law Review, but during the entire year, he published no articles.

While modern presidential candidates have made full disclosures of their complete medical records, Obama merely released six paragraphs from his physician, with no supporting documentation, that covered 21 years of treatment. McCain, on the other hand, released 1200 pages of medical records.

His passport is something else that remains off limits to the public. Three times during the campaign, someone in the State department made unauthorized searches of his file, but no one has revealed what they discovered. These files could have contained citizenship information and basic biographical information. However, the one person who was cooperating with the authorities in the investigation was found shot to death in his car in Washington, DC.

Other non controversial records that have been requested, but denied are:
• Baptismal certificate
• Complete files and schedules of his years as an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004
• Obama's client list from during his time in private practice with the Chicago law firm of Davis, Miner, Barnhill and Gallard
• Illinois State Bar Association records
• Obama/Dunham marriage license
• Obama/Dunham divorce documents
• Soetoro/Dunham marriage license
• Adoption records

But Watch What He Does

Yesterday, President Obama loudly proclaimed that he was NOT trying to take over the American health care system and he had no intention of instituting socialized medicine here. It's just this tiny matter of increasing competition by forcing private insurance companies to compete with the federal government. His statements make Orwell's Newspeak in the novel, 1984, look completely straightforward.

He was almost as emphatic as when he said he did not want to run the automobile industry just hours before he fired one CEO and hired another at GM before the government bought them out. He told Chrysler they had to merge with Fiat. He arranged for his union friends to get preferred treatment in both bankruptcy proceedings ahead of the legal creditors. He promised that running GM would be "temporary," but gave no exit strategy. (Amtrack was supposed to be temporary too.) And although he arranged for union leaders and government bureaucrats to sit on the board, he swore that the government would not get involved with decisions about minutiae -- just the important decisions.

If I remember correctly, he didn't want to take over the banks either, then tried to keep them from backing out and returning the money when they found how many strings were attached. This week, he "allowed" them to pay the money back to the government, not to reduce the deficit or repay the taxpayers, but to allow the government to "give away" more money.

Finally, Someone Else Said It!

After spending months wondering if all Republicans had laryngitis or amnesia, Eric Cantor found his voice. Only a few journalists noticed, but his press conference did get reported. Here's the key quote from his interview with AP:

"They said, 'Set aside the rule of law, let's strip secured creditors, bondholders, of their rights. Take them away outside of the bankruptcy process and give them to the political cronies and the auto workers' unions. . .It's almost like looking at Putin's Russia. You want to reward your political friends at the expense of the certainty of law?"

Too bad the Supreme Court is still asleep at the wheel over trashing our Rule of Law in favor of cronyism by The Won.

Stop Government Health Care!

In the last few months, Americans have stood by helplessly as the federal government has taken over the financial industry, the insurance industry, and the automobile industry while spending money so fast that one would think they wanted to destroy our economy. Despite pleas, emails, phone calls, and Tea Party protests to the contrary, the juggernaut has continued to roll on.

The current craze by the Clowns in Washington is "health care for all" which, no matter how it's structured, always ends up being Rationed Health Care. There is ample, recent, empirical evidence of this in other countries that now regret their decisions.

Karl Rove, in today's Wall Street Journal, gives five ways to stop *socialized medicine. Once it is written into law, even as "only" government insurance, it will become almost impossible to change and we will ruin the best (although flawed) health care system in the world.

1. Government insurance for health care is unneccessary. The 1300 insurance companies that now provide health coverage can take care of the needs.
2. Government insurance will only enlarge the subsidies that taxpayers are forced to pay to hospitals. Right now, insured families pay about $1,800 per year to subsidize the legitimate costs that Medicare and Medicaid refuse to cover.
3. Government insurance will force private insurance companies out of business and thus create a single health care system.
4. Government insurance will prove to be far more expensive than the most generous estimates today. We're already hopelessly in debt for at least three generations. We absolutely cannot afford to add to it.
5. It puts government bureaucrats between patients and their physicians. Anyone who's had to fight with their insurance company for coverage, can just multiply that fight by about 100 to get an idea of what patients will be up against. We will have life threatening rationing just like Canada and England experience now.

*Once again, the politicians hide their actions by their choice of words. In this case, "socialized medicine" is never mentioned. It's always government insurance or some other sleight of hand term.

Palin Responds to Letterman

David Letterman in a lame attempt at a late night joke mentioned that Sarah Palin and her daughter, Willow, had attended a baseball game in New York. His supposedly funny punch line was that the game had to be temporarily stopped while A Rod knocked up her daughter.

Concerning Letterman's comments about my young daughter (and I doubt he'd ever dare make such comments about anyone else's daughter): 'Laughter incited by sexually-perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity aimed at a 14-year-old girl is not only disgusting, but it reminds us some Hollywood/NY entertainers have a long way to go in understanding what the rest of America understands -- that acceptance of inappropriate sexual comments about an underage girl, who could be anyone's daughter, contributes to the atrociously high rate of sexual exploitation of minors by older men who use and abuse others.'"

I can remember when politican's children, even those young adults over 18, were protected by the press and by commentators. But, for some reason, the media loves to hate Sarah Palin, even when she's not running for office.

Unthinkable, But True

Eric Holder, Attorney General, has quietly (and without notifying any Congressional oversight committee) sent out the directive that FBI agents must inform all detainees of their Miranda Rights when captured in AFGANISTAN.

Of course it was only February when Obama solemnly intoned: “Now, do [enemy combatants and terrorists] deserve Miranda rights? Do they deserve to be treated like a shoplifter down the block? Of course not.”

Maybe that’s why he’s doing it on the sly now.

It doesn’t take an attorney nor a general to understand that treating enemies in war just like criminals is a recipe for disaster. And how many of our brave soldiers died in order to confer the rights of US citizens on people who are NOT citizens and who have repeatedly sworn to kill us all?

According the Andrew McCarthy, when he finally fesses up, Obama will merely explain that he’s following the rules of the McCain Amendment (enacted as part of the 2005 Detainee Treatment Act) signed by then President Bush. We have been betrayed by the very people who promised to defend us.

"Stimulus" Prediction VS "Stimulus" Reality

Have you succumbed to a mind numbed from constantly hearing big numbers? Watch this new penny visualization from YouTube about the jobs lost WITH the "Stimulus" bill. After a short minute and a half, you'll have a much better understanding of the problems of unemployment.

8 Months = $1,00,000,000,000 Debt

We have faced $1,000,000,000,000 in debt before, since 1981 in fact. At that time the trillion referred to total or cumulative debt acquired over years of deficits. At the end of May the US ran up a trillion dollars in debt in less than a year. Investor's Business Daily has an excellent editorial today about some of the implications. Read it and weep.

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

While Obama remains unapologetic about serving $100 per pound steak at weekly White House parties, sending Air Force One to buzz the Statue of Liberty in order to create publicity photos, and flying to New York City for a date night, he believes that business executives should restrict their use of private jets, fore go refurbishing their offices, and quit sponsoring corporate functions to woo clients.

And after running up the debt to frightening heights in his first four months of office, he had decided to come out in favor of “pay as you go” in relation to future spending bills. By publicly adopting a “conservative” stance, he hopes to defuse the rising fears about his spending policies.

“Entitlement increases and tax cuts need to be paid for. They are not free. . . . The reckless fiscal policies of the past* have left us in a very deep hole. Digging our way out will take time and patience and tough choices."

The easy translation of his new mantra is that taxes will definitely increase despite his oft repeated campaign promise that 95% of Americans would pay no new taxes. Front Page Magazine has an article about his new found penury as does Reuters.

*Almost certainly a reference to his favorite whipping boy, George Bush, not to his own decisions.

That Didn’t Last Long

The Supreme Court quickly stomped out that glimmer of hope that they would stop the government takeover, forced bankruptcy, and sale of Chrysler. So much for years of contract law and the orderly distribution of assets.

Glimmers of Hope

Finally the Supreme Court might consider the constitutionality of Obama's edicts regarding Chrysler. Conservatives can thank Ruth Bader Ginsberg for the order to at least temporarily stay the bankruptcy and merger with Fiat. There is hope that all nine justices will study the case. Probably the decision will be made by the end of June when the Court recesses. Read more about it in American Thinker.

Secondly, on the international front, apparently many have rejected continuing the imposition of the state into personal affairs. The people chose conservative candidates and conservative financial policies over more radical ones in most situations. It was a vote of no confidence by people who are living in social welfare state similar to where the US is currently headed. Will Washington learn from this and slow down their unworkable utopian plans?

Obama's Enemies List

Read Obama's Enemies List Grows in the American Spectator. It offers a succinct summary of troubling, "Chicago style" moves by the new administration. Most, if not all have been covered previously in FairKaye, but this puts them all together in one place.

Everyone Understands Except The Politicians

It’s just common sense to understand the danger of continuing unbridled spending by Washington. Last week Ben Bernanke testified to the House about the grave hazard of our burgeoning debt.

His bottom line was our level of borrowing and spending cannot continue at the current rate. When asked about the possibility of the United States losing its AAA credit rating just as England did recently, Bernanke could offer no desirable outcome.

“At -- at some point, you have to have a path of spending and taxes that will give you a stabilization of the debt-to- GDP ratio. If you don't, then fear that the debt will continue to rise will make it very difficult to finance it.

And at some point, you'll hit a point where you'll have to have both very draconian cuts and very large tax increases, which is not something we want. So in order to avoid that outcome down the road, we need to begin now to plan how we're going to get the fiscal situation into a better balance in the medium term. ...”

And he refused to comment on the possibility of rampant inflation, although his questioner brought it up. Read more at Powerline.

Have you told your Congressional Clowns to STOP THE SPENDING? If so, remind them again.

Yet Another Wrong Move

US corporations, with a 35% tax rate, are already more heavily taxed than companies in most other countries. Yet Obama believes that repealing the IRS rules, which he calls "loopholes," which allow them to defer taxes on foreign earnings will bring even more money into the federal coffers.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, a member of the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation begs to differ: "When taxes were reformed in 1986, the United States eliminated deferral for the shipping industry, and in short order, all of the shipping industry fled this country and established headquarters abroad. The same thing will happen across the board if we repeal deferral."

The Washington Times reports that a study released today and authored in part by a Clinton appointee, Robert Shapiro, supports Hatch’s claim. According to the study, Obama's proposed tax law change will actually put American jobs at risk and lower tax revenues.

Don't Read The Headlines!

Journalists discovered ages ago that most people only read the headlines in a newspaper before heading to the comics, lifestyle, or sports section. The next most frequently read portions are photo captions and opening paragraphs. Some will read the final paragraph, but few will read the entire article no matter how important the story is. Radio and television news, because of time contraints, usually consist of mere headlines and leads (opening paragraphs).

Today's journalists carefully craft their headlines, captions, and leads to promote the message they want the public to remember. The Media Rule (I think we're up to four now) for today is: Always be suspicious of headlines and leads in this era of unbridled bias in major media outlets.

For example, throughout the Bush administration, most economic reports were couched in negative terms. Even a tiny rise in unemployment was often accompanied by a story about a newly homeless person or a family facing foreclosure because of job loss. Little attention was paid to the times when unemployment rates were well below what had been considered normal (6%). The R word for recession was bandied about until most people thought we were in the middle of one two years before it actually began.

Now that Obama is in office, the unemployment stories feature people who gladly use the opportunity to vacation, do volunteer work, or garden instead of those in dire financial straits. They even coined a new word, "funemployment" instead of unemployment, to describe the situation.

Friday's unemployment news stories were classic examples of "lying though headlines." By today practically everyone knows that the rate of new applications for unemployment slowed for the first time since September. Most quickly concluded that the recession will soon be over.

Hardly anyone knows that although the rate slowed, the percentage (9.4%) is now the highest in 27 years. Buried in the middle of an AP story is this sentence:
If laid-off workers who have given up looking for new jobs or have settled for part-time work are included, the unemployment rate would have been 16.4 percent in May, the highest on records dating to 1994.*

*Although the sentence above is technically correct, it hardly gives an accurate portrayal of the facts. The highest recorded unemployment rate since 1948 is 10.8% in November and December of 1982. The unemployment rate in 1994 ranged between 5.5% and 6.6%. Go to this Department of Labor statistics page to see the official tabulations. And don't forget that 16.4% is higher than any year listed in the table.

Just for Fun

Watch Newsbuster's latest comedy video. You will enjoy 2.36 minutes of cleverness.

Dealership Closing - Please Explain

I cannot understand the excuses being given to justify the closing of automobile dealerships and I am especially concerned with the rumors that the ones chosen for extinction donated to the Republicans not the Democrats.

Dealerships are profit centers for the auto manufacturers, not cost centers. Detroit gets paid immediately when cars to Joe Blow’s dealership are shipped. So why should Detroit care about competition between Joe Blow’s and Sam Sixpack’s dealerships?

That concern rightly belongs to the local banks who lend money to Joe and Sam to cover their costs until the cars are sold. Since the banks also need plenty of business right now, those loans make money for them too. If either Joe or Sam go out of business, it remains a local concern, not one belonging to the Oval Office.

When local banks lose business and local dealerships are shut down by imperial decree, employees in two firms lose their jobs. That adds demand for government assistance through food stamps and unemployment income while reducing tax money sent to D.C. USA Today says that $1 out of every $6 spent now comes from government largesse. How long can this continue before collapse?

So who’s benefiting from this?

Our First Female President

Today American Thinker postulates that Obama is, in reality, our first female president, just as Clinton was the first black president. His need to talk all the time, his fighting like a girl, and his well developed empathy provide some of the reasons for the characterization.

Hmmmm. Maybe they’re right, especially when you compare his extreme need to control others to the worst mother-in-law ever imagined.

As a mother-in-law of three and soon to be four, of course I exempt myself and most other MIL’s from this hackneyed slur.

Another Week, Another Czar

The administration is ready to appoint its twentieth Czar; this one will be in charge of compensation in private businesses. The public relations spin is that this person is needed only to protect taxpayers who have bailed out banks, insurance, and automobile manufacturers from evil executives there who might over pay themselves. It’s just to protect the little people.

But already hints are emerging that the Pay Czar will also issue “guidelines” to “assist” other companies in designing their compensation packages. The Federal Reserve is openly mentioning the perceived need for bank rules, even for banks not involved in TARP, to restrict pay for executives to avoid bank failure. The policy creep for areas of bureaucratic control will slowly, continually enlarge until it’s forcibly stopped by legislation. As you know, that seldom occurs.

Of course, free market capitalism does all of this without government interference or expenditure of taxpayer money. But now that the government is in charge of major US industries and reaching for control of others, the need for a czar apparently has emerged.

So we get to pay for yet another well-heeled, powerful executive and his staff who are accountable to no one except President Obama. Don’t you just love government of the people, by the people, and for the people?

More on Long-Tiller Murders

Two days after the fact, Obama finally issued a statement about Pvt. Long's death at the hands of a Muslim extremist. The contrast in timing and tone is dramatic.

For Pvt. Long:
“I am deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence against two brave young soldiers who were doing their part to strengthen our armed forces and keep our country safe. I would like to wish Quinton Ezeagwula a speedy recovery, and to offer my condolences and prayers to William Long’s family as they mourn the loss of their son.”

For Dr. Tiller:
"I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller as he attended church services this morning. However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence."

He was shocked and outraged just hours after Dr. Tiller's death, but it took him two days to admit he was deeply saddened by Pvt. Long's. One act of violence was heinous while the other merely senseless.

The silence of the cartoonists, editorial writers, and journalists about the religious persuasion and motives of Mr. Muhammed continues unabated. Also unabated is the implication of Mr. Roeder's pro-life activities, although his major association appears to be with a militia group. Pundits have placed blame on Bill O'Reilly and outspoken Pro-life leaders for Tiller's death, but blame for Long's death does NOT extend to militant Muslims, Muslim terrorists, or any outspoken opponents of the military.

Michelle Malkin has posted an article thoroughly fisking the difference in the media treatment of the two murders, just one day apart. Read it to find more details about the disproportionate responses.

The Deadly Zero Sum Game

Sweetness and Light has posted an editorial from the 1945 Communist New International praising the United Auto Workers’ 113 day strike against General Mothers demanding a 30% raise in wages without promising a 30% increase in production or arguing that the cost of living had increased 30%, the traditional bargaining points.

Here is an excerpt with my emphasis:

. . . This capitalist theory is based upon the concept that the interests of capital and labor are complementary, that the welfare (i.e., profits) of industry meant the welfare (i.e., higher wages) of labor. The UAW proceeded from a position which had implicit within it the concept that the interests of capital and labor were antagonistic, i.e., the concept which Karl Marx established a hundred years ago and which the leaders of American labor have until now sought to deny. The UAW stated that it was the aim of labor to increase wages at the expense of profits. It took the position that if the workers continued to work at present wage rates it would only lead to super-profits for GM. The 30 per cent increase, therefore, was to be paid at the expense of GM profits.

It is too bad that the Communists and the UAW only saw the situation in a win/lose paradigm while capitalism offers profits for all who contribute, i.e. “the interests of capital and labor are complementary.” The workers could have bought stock in the company, maybe a little bit at a time, and shared the profits that way. Then they would have received the justice of honest wages for their part in production, and the “icing on the cake” of sharing the profits just like the “evil” stockholders. Instead they chose immediate gratification for themselves, but a dying company adversely affecting the lives of all their grandchildren.

Sweetness and Light believes that this was the beginning of the end for General Motors. All I can add is that throughout my grade school and high school years, there was one strike after another by the UAW, the Teamsters, the AFL-CIO, and the Longshoremen. The end result was that usually the union won the battle, or most of it, but lost the war in steadily losing membership and influence.

Obama wants to single-handily reverse union fortunes during his term of office. The only problem is that his policies thus far have narrowly pitted union wins at the expense of the rest of his country.

Some Crimes Are More Equal Than Others

If you read blogs or listen to talk radio, you’re probably quite aware of the growing outrage over the treatment of Tiller’s murder on Sunday and Pvt. Long’s murder on Monday. Or, if you depend on the main stream media, you may not even be aware of Pvt. Long’s death or who pulled the trigger.

The president and "his" media went into over drive condemning the killing of an abortion doctor, tying the perpetrator (before anyone knew who it was) to the entire pro-life movement. Little attention was paid to the pro-life leaders who also condemned the murder.

The very next day, a Muslim extremist fired shots near an Army Recruiting station in Little Rock, Arkansas killing Pvt. William Long, 23, and wounding Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, 18. When taken into custody, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, 23, admitted shooting the two men "because of what they had done to Muslims in the past" although he later pleaded “not guilty” to capital murder. He is a young black, formerly known as Carlos Bledsoe, who converted to Islam while in prison. After his release, he traveled to Yemen to study jihad. An anonymous source revealed that information on his computer raised the possibility that he did not act alone, but the incident could possibly be part of a larger operation.

The mainstream media has almost buried the story. Only Fox News has given all of the details. President Obama left the country without issuing any statement about it or supporting the work of recruiting personnel despite the fact he is their Commander-in-Chief.

The government offered the use of Federal agents to protect abortion providers after the Sunday incident, but I’ve heard nothing about Federal agents protecting recruiting offices or even allowing the people inside to protect themselves with side arms.

Sacrifice for Thee, But Not for Me – Again

Yesterday, Obama solemnly told the people involved in the GM bankruptcy that they would have to sacrifice the good life for the sake of their children and grandchildren, even though it was not a sacrifice of their choosing. He compassionately sounded all the right notes while he basically admitted that things would not get better in their lifetimes.

It provided a big contrast to his Saturday night date in NYC. No one in Washington is willing to admit to the costs of the jets, helicopters, limousine transportation, etc., but a British paper estimated that over $1,000,000,000 was spent so he and Michelle could have dinner, take in a Broadway play, and go to a club afterward.

That’s a fairly expensive date for someone whose annual salary is $400,000 with a $50,000 expense account, $19,000 entertainment account, and a $100,000 travel allowance.

I have never minded anyone else’s extravagance or lifestyle, no matter how much better it is than mine. That should merely serve as inspiration, if any notice is given at all. But I do have trouble when a leader repeatedly tells the people that they must sacrifice, while he lives in extravagance that would make Nero envious. And when he takes money out of my pocket to support his whims, I get really upset.

Notice A Pattern Here?

• 2008 – Numerous challenges and lawsuits arose involving ACORN’s fraudulent registration of voters. Undeterred, ACORN personnel continued working even after the discovery they had registered the same person 75 times, a fast food restaurant, the entire Dallas Cowboy football team, and numerous dead people, among other blatant examples. Check out old ACORN posts if you want to refresh your memory about the group.

• 2009 – Obama moves control/supervision of the 2010 census to the White House and hires ACORN to take care of personnel needed to perform the task of tabulating results in spite of indictments against them in at least 12 states. He also gives the group billions of dollars in the “Stimulus” and Omnibus bills.

• May 2009 – US Attorney General Eric Holder drops a voter intimidation lawsuit against the New Black Panthers that the US had already won by default, thus encouraging voter intimidation in future elections, as I reported here.

• June 2009 – The US Department of Justice ignored the Tenth Amendment and rejected a program designed by the Georgia Secretary of State to comb through state databases to detect ineligible voters who may not be U.S. citizens, calling it both inaccurate and discriminatory. Karen Handel, who designed the program, intended to verify social security numbers of registrants through the social security department.

The enormity of possible voter fraud in future elections makes the old Chicago Rule of “Vote early and vote often” seem like mere child’s play.

Last Friday’s Hidden News Item

Last Friday few noticed, including me, that the administration issued a statement lifting their previous ban on hiring lobbyists. At least it’s out in the open now, because he’s been hiring lobbyists right and left since winning office. Somehow we all knew that was a promise he wouldn’t keep.

Get Your Dialing Finger Ready

Congress is back in session and up to no good. Please contact by phone and/or email your own Congressional Clowns to insist they STOP THE SPENDING!

Last week Chinese students laughed out loud at both Congressman Nancy Pelosi and Secretary Timothy Geithner when they started explaining the administration’s “responsible” spending policies while visiting China. Why do 18-year-olds catch on immediately while more experienced American journalists are still fooled by Obama’s sophistry?

Obama's Favorite Terrorists

The Dawn Patrol has an interesting article about President Obama's reaction to the Tiller murder. First, she takes the president to task for admonishing pro-lifers to refrain from violence when they disagree with pro-abortionists, as if they engaged in violence every other day. (The accused man is not part of the pro-life movement; he is connected to the Montana Freemen, a militia group.) Then she brings up Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, who not only protested the war, they bombed numerous places and has not yet even apologized for their actions. Yet Obama remains friends with them, while labeling pro-lifers as terrorists.

Obama's statement appears to be hypocritical at best.

Without Congressional Or Legislative Authority

Cybercast News Service begins its General (or rather Government) Motors bankruptcy story by asserting that it's being done outside legal authority. The US government now owns 60% of the company after $67,400,000,000 of government bailouts since last fall. I.e. we taxpayers owe that money with interest while our political elite will make all of the decisions about management, car production, and dealerships and the previous managers will obediently do as they are instructed.

The money flow started when Bush diverted $17,400,000 in TARP funds (supposedly only to assist the mortgage industry with bad loans) from the banks to GM. Later Obama added $20,000,000,000 to the pot and has just promised an additional $30,000,000,000 of our money to the company.

All along, taxpayers have insisted that going through bankruptcy and a legal restructuring would be the better course for both the company and the country. However, the legal bankruptcy procedure would leave government out of the management of a private company, which is fascism, according to Dr. Thomas Sowell. And apparently the new administration really wants to be in management. The same media that has stalked and hounded Sarah Palin since September seems to be remarkably silent about a total redirection of the country into uncharted territory without legal authority.

How's that Obama vote workin' out for ya?

Check out Zazzle if you're interested in making your complaints known. The title above is on the front of the tee shirt, while the back includes Taxes, Deficit, and Tax Cheat in Chief, among other examples. The site also has buttons and bumper stickers.

To Be Pro Life (Updated)

To be pro-life is to be pro-life and against murder whatever the age of the victim. To be pro-life is to deeply regret and to sorrow for the murder of Dr. Tiller. Many pro-life people spontaneously began praying for Tiller and for his family the moment they heard the news. Within hours every major pro-life organization spoke out vehemently against the murder, no matter who did it or why the man was murdered.

Even as they crafted their messages of concern and outrage at the crime, the media began assuming that it was done by a right wing pro-life terrorist. Comments on Internet sites immediately began appearing about the hypocrisy of people in the pro-life movement and the timeliness of the recent DHS report. This despite the fact that he is more an anti-government than anti-abortion extremist.

To be pro-life is to believe in prayer. This is the time for all Christians to earnestly pray and fast for our country. Pray for Truth to be revealed to the public about the murder, about abortion, and about the real pro-life message: "The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly." John 10:10