Naked Airport X-Rays

The absurdity of modern airport security showed its ugly face in all of its glory on Christmas Day. With every red light signal available flashing as bright as could be, a 23 year old “isolated extremist” boarded a plane in Amsterdam and almost succeeded blowing it up as it approached the Detroit airport. Close to 300 people could have lost their lives.

Never mind that he paid cash for his ticket. Never mind that his ticket was one way. Never mind he didn’t have any luggage. Never mind he didn’t have a visa or passport. Never mind his father approached US officials more than one time warning that his son was becoming radicalized and posed a danger. Never mind that he was under CIA observation.

Obama first addressed the nation using terms like “isolated extremist” and the "alleged bombing attack," then went back to playing golf in Hawaii. Only when the press asked what world he was living in did re-address the nation in more urgent tones, still parsing words.

Meanwhile, as the 23 year old Jihadist attempted to ignite a bomb planted in his underwear, most Americans were dutifully taking off their shoes to get through security check points; 80 year old white men in wheel chairs were having their hip replacement felt up; and the government wants us all to stand in an x-ray machine showing us buck naked to total strangers.

It’s time for Obama to finally admit that we are at war with Islamic radicals. It’s time for Obama to admit that these aren’t isolated incidents of a few whackos. It’s time for Obama to admit that we in this non-existent ware we have troops in Iraq, troops in Afghanistan, using troop incursions into Pakistan, fighting Islamic whackos in Somalia, and are now moving into a presence in Yemen. If this isn’t a war, would someone please tell me what it is.

Mr. President, I will make you a deal. You can take a naked x-ray of me before I board a plane when you begin to allow our security people to profile the bad guys. Yes, I agree profiling will not end all terrorist attacks, but it certainly will end most Islamic terrorist attacks, and make the rest of our lives a lot easier. You couldn’t even catch a terrorist with the most of basic of non-profiling standards, all of which are enumerated in the second paragraph above.

Here’s the deal. If I am looking for an Irish Republican Army terrorist, I doubt he would be an 80 year old black man in a wheel chair boarding a plane in Kenya. I would be looking for a young to middle aged white guy, with an Irish accent, probably with blue eyes, with a light complexion, coal black hair, living in Belfast, and hopefully whistling Danny Boy.

Of course, if one refuses to admit there is a war on terror, and believes there are no Islamic terrorists, one would continue to pat down granny’s bra looking for hidden explosives planted between her sagging bosoms, not to mention patting down every man’s hoo-ha looking for PETN in his underwear.

Oh ya…you know all of those new rules that passengers are not allowed out of their seats one hour before a plane lands? That same plane can be blown up one hour and five minutes before it lands just as easily. I thought I would point that out just in case you couldn’t figure that out.

Happy trails to you.

Christmas in Washington

It’s Christmas Day, and not a particularly conducive time for a rant. White Christmas is playing on television. It brings me back to simpler times. We knew what was right and wrong. We worked hard. Optimism abounded in America.

Now I am not so sure what is going on. The spectacle in Washington is appalling as a Democratic Congress races hell bent forward into finalizing health care reform legislation that was written on the fly, never read, and not understood. The attendant lies have been told so many times Harry Reid and crew either no longer deny them or actually has started to believe the lies themselves. Anyone who can follow a flow sheet knows what has been proposed can’t work, and it still leaves millions upon millions Americans uninsured…which was the purpose of the bill in the first place. Whether the Congress views this as political payback, or a power grab, or the finalization of a ideological dream, the American public is overwhelmingly opposed to “this” health care reform.

The stink of the horse trading that went on to get this bill is overpowering. Yes, give and take is part of the process, but the payoff to some of the states, especially Nebraska, may be downright unconstitutional. It affronts American concepts of fairness and decency. It reminds me of the Supreme Court decision on pornography…I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it. What went on with Nebraska and Florida is downright pornographic, and I believe the courts will overturn it as the remaining states line up to sue.

Even Obama turned tail and skipped out of Washington after cursory remarks related to the Senate passage of health care. He can read polls, too.

So now America can take a breather from the socialist check list of reform. Perhaps the Senators and Congressman can return to their districts and understand constituent anger as unemployment is unacceptably high and salaries remain low and falling while the falling value of real estate continues to destroy most families’ single biggest asset: their home.

Democracy is funny. The will of the people will ultimately prevail. I guess change we can believe consists of payoffs, off the charts spending, and partisanship in the extreme. Congress had its vote a few weeks ago, and the Senate on Christmas Eve. The voters will have their turn in November.

Meantime, enjoy Christmas in Washington.

NBC News?

My number one rule in life is when you are in trouble, lay low. And apparently that is what NBC News has decided as it runs to offer cover for the increasingly unpopular Obamacare legislation pending in the United States Senate.

In case you haven’t noticed, it has become increasingly unpopular. Right now only 37%of the American public favors it. The Senate Democrats are meeting in continuous secret meetings and refuse to make public the terms of the bill they are going to vote on. The secrecy of the Senate, in and of itself, should be major news. But NBC has decided to give them cover, and have simply stopped reporting on the matter.

I watched NBC and Fox News simultaneously this morning between 7:00 and 7:30 AM, which is the closest thing The Today Show offers for a hard news segment.

Fox News stories in the order of appearance:

1) “Jobs” bill passed by Congress last night. It provided an in depth analysis of the how the money was to be spent, and the closeness of the vote. Air time…about 5 minutes.

2) Health Care Bill updates. It provided possible scenarios for voting, and which Senators are taking what positions. It also offered some in depth cost analysis.

3) The potential for a Christmas Day vote on the Health Care Bill, when America isn’t looking; and the possible political ramifications for Harry Reid and Democrats in general.

4) The Goldman kidnap story and Mr. Goldman’s trip to Brazil in another effort to retrieve his son after the latest court order in his favor.

5) An analysis of the benefits of Health Savings Accounts and how the Health Care Bill might effect this particular kind of insurance, and the related benefits of paying for health care ourselves as opposed to third party insurance companies.

NBC news stories:

1) The Goldman kidnap story…which ran for almost the first 10 minutes of the ½ hour.

2) Terrorists possibly hacking into to drone video pictures in Iraq.

3) The urgency for climate change agreements in Copenhagen, and how Obama may effect an agreement.

4) The hikers lost on Mount Hood.

5) “Congress passed a jobs bill last night”. 20 seconds on an expensive piece of legislation.

6) Sarah Palin’s visor which blacked out John McCain’s name…complete with pictures!

7) A story on how Obama’s friends have “turned” on him.

8) Tiger Woods…again!

Do you see the difference? That is why I watch Fox News, and why Fox News has the highest cable ratings. NBC should be ashamed of itself.

My Back and Health Care

I have had chronic back pain for the past 15 years. My doctor diagnosed it as “butt pain,” which is funny on its face, but not so much as the condition continued to worsen. Over the past 6 months, I have developed substantial neuropathy in feet and legs, as well as a major step up in the pain in my lower spine. Those who have watched me walk will notice a definite hitch in my gitalong.

Getting necessary treatment has been less than stellar, peppered with substantial delays in doctor’s appointments, misfiling of insurance forms, name swapping on a needed injection for a bone scan, dual appointments made at different facilities for the same procedures, receptionists making appointments with the wrong person in the doctor’s office, and cavalier attitudes by the one individual who ended up with my file through no fault of my own and obviously couldn’t be bothered. This individual was rude, uncaring, and ought not to be in the medical profession in any capacity.

I reached the end today, and called the doctor’s office, asked the Gestapo receptionist for the proper person to call me back, and then made my feelings known as only I can do when he did. At least I got a name for what my problem is and learned about some alternative treatments. Had I not been able to reach the proper person, I was ready to drive up to the office, pick up my file, and head to someone else. We are lucky to live in a society where our system is set up so that accountability for medical bad behavior benefits the patient.

The individual I finally reached was actually very helpful. When I hung up, it struck me that more likely than not, if this were 3 years from now, I would not be able to do what I did today.

This is what we will lose when the government starts to dictate health care, no matter what the form. The accountability won’t be to the patient, it will be to the government and its attendant bureaucracy. We will be getting what the government thinks we should get, not more and no less.

In the articles that I have listed on my web site, you will find an one entitled “Your Will Lose Your Private Health Insurance.” It is the single best article I have read about the consequences of the health care “reform” efforts going through the House and Senate right now.
Read it. Understand it. And know that if this sort of system is in place, I would still not know the name of my condition, or what to do for it.

The kind of treatment I got for my back will the kind of treatment we will all get for everything else, and there will be no recourse but to sue the government. And good luck with that.

Too Good to Pass Up!!!!

This one is just too good to pass up. American green jobs make for good rhetoric, but the fact of the matter is most of these jobs are located overseas. The leader in green energy technology, believe it or not, is China. In last week’s issue of Business Week, an article appeared describing alliances forming between American and Chinese electric companies.

The Chinese, apparently, have patents on gizmos that remove CO(2) from coal emission stacks. This technology actually removes the carbon dioxide from the emissions and moves it into mammoth storage tanks. Then they recycle the stuff. They actually sell it to soft drink bottlers where it is used to carbonate beverages. Wow!! You get electricity and club soda all at the same time.

Well, I thought about this for awhile. The goal, of course, is to keep the carbon dioxide from getting into the atmosphere. It occurred to me that this doesn’t quite accomplish the ultimate goal. The carbon dioxide is going to get into the atmosphere one way or the other.

I don’t know about you, but if I were to guzzle a bottle of Coca Cola, that carbon dioxide would get into the atmosphere with one great big belch. And if I were to drink a Coke or some root beer after eating a dish of ice cream, that nasty greenhouse gas would reach the atmosphere another way a lot less pleasant!!

You see. It doesn’t change the amount of carbon dioxide reaching the atmosphere, only the method of delivery…unless Obama wants me to attach carbon scrubbers to my various body parts. Parts is parts. Don’t put it past them. After all, they want to tax cows, can anything we do be far behind?

I can’t believe that I have reduced myself to writing something like this.

DUBAI AND U.S.

Fresh off a day of binge eating and holiday frivolity, America is waking up to the stark reality of the financial crisis that just won’t go away, and an administration that seems is in total disconnect between its ideology and economic realities.

Dubai World, the city-state owned corporation of Dubai, announced that it was seeking a 6 month extension to repay its bonds. Translated: it defaulted. It owes approximately $80 billion. Okay… what does that have to do with us…and U.S.? Well, if you are reading this, most of you have seen the pictures of those gorgeous buildings built in the middle of the desert on the Arabian Peninsula. If you are golfer, you have seen Tiger Woods play golf tournaments on Dubai’s green oasis golf courses. If you are a musician, you know that this is where Michael Jackson went to recover from his child molestation charges. That’s Dubai.

The Dubai government, with no oil of its own, attempted to build an Arab financial center on its little piece of heaven. Seriously, it was admirable effort to develop a pro-western financial center in one of the hot bed areas of the world. Although it enforced strict Muslim rules for its residents, guests were isolated in very pro-western luxury. It, indeed, is a beautiful city.

But it was built on borrowed money based on the overall influx of petrodollars into the region. The near financial collapse of the West in 2008 extended to Dubai as world credit markets froze, and have only partially and stingily thawed. The good times stopped rolling here, and they stopped in Dubai. One newspaper reported several months ago that the Dubai airport had thousands of abandoned Mercedes. Folks just drove the airport and flew off.

Although it sounds like a lot of money, the Dubai default is relatively small, but it has major implications. First, nobody knows who holds the bonds. Second, credit default swaps (bond insurance) exist Dubai bonds, and nobody knows who issued them. So far, it appears that European banks and financial institutions will bear the brunt of the losses. Asian banks also appear to have substantial exposure, although they have initially denied it. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Citigroup and AIG, the two largest American bailed out financial institutions, have exposure. It just keeps getting better.

The biggest risk to the fragile world markets is the fear of another credit freeze. The recovery since September, 2008, has been tenuous at best. The Obama administration, rather than concentrating on economic recovery, decided to push an ideologically based health care initiative and cap and trade garbage legislation. Not a good thing when the United States is awash in debt, with that debt growing geometrically each day.

In the meantime, Obama is out playing golf on a regular basis. He hosted a gala state dinner with Michelle dressed in a gold gown that was gorgeous, but a tad out of touch when people are banging on food bank doors in record numbers.

I doubt if the Dubai crisis will have long lasting effects other than a short term, but painful, blip on the radar screen. But the fact the blip is there at all should be a wake-up call to the Obama administration. Mr. Obama, please concentrate on getting our fiscal house in order. Leave your left wing politics for another day.

Government Health Care and Breasts: Do You Get It Now?

In a stunning example of things to come under the proposed Obamacare legislation, a government/medical task force has concluded that women under the age of 50 do not need mammograms, nor should they be taught how to do a self examination of their breasts. Such things are worthless and too costly.

Is there any more blaring example of what government will do to our healthcare? Can you imagine over 130 government bureaucracies determining not only whether women should receive breast exams, but whether men should get PSA exams, or prostate exams, or whether colonoscopies are necessary under the age of seventy; then to have these decisions enforced by coercion directed at what will be left of the private insurance industry, and be outright refused if you are under a “public option” plan.

Sarah Palin warned about death panels. People laughed. This is what she was referring to; panels of bureaucrats, sitting around looking at statistics and cost effectiveness of procedures. Who is too old for a hip replacement? Who is too old for cancer medicine? Lives saved from mammograms as a percentage of women aged 30 – 40 is not worth the expense of paying for them. Do you get it now?

According the government panel studying the cost effectivness of mammograms, they produce too many false alarms in women under 50. My question is, what about the ones that don’t? Those women would be dead. The study is framed in terms that mammograms cause more bad than good with unneeded biopsies. What they really mean is that the expense of the false alarms doesn’t outweigh the lives saved by the procedures.

Who determines where that line is drawn? Are 10% of the biopsies being positive sufficient to justify the mammograms? Is it 30%? Is it 50%? Who is the judge? Appointed bureaucrats with no political responsibility to anybody are the judges. Let me introduce you to the death panels.

Here is what the American Cancer Society said in response: "The task force advice is based on its conclusion that screening 1,300 women in their 50s to save one life is worth it, but that screening 1,900 women in their 40s to save a life is not. (They are) essentially telling women that mammography at age 40 to 49 saves lives, just not enough of them."

This is just a taste of what is to come if government starts to dictate what constitutes our health care. America…beware!!!

Coming Soon: The New York Terrorist Trials

Khalid Sheik Mohammad (KSM), the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, and the executioner of Daniel Pearl by beheading, will be moved from Guantanamo Bay (Gitmo) and tried in New York City. The news was announced by United States Attorney General Eric Holder. Several other Gitmo detainees will also stand trial in New York. Once again, as in all things Obama, ideology triumphs over common sense.

To be honest, my feelings are mixed. It certainly has degree of poetic justice that the 9/11 guru be brought to New York, the scene of the crime, to stand trial. It has the possibility of being cathartic. The country is still feeling the after-shocks of the World Trade Center attacks. Many of our current economic ills can be traced directly back to September 11, 2001, and the subsequent flooding of the world economy with dollars and cheap money causing economic bubble after economic bubble; and ultimately the near collapse of our financial system.

But I suspect that this decision was purely ideologically based, and as in all such decisions, has a high risk of being a complete disaster. Several of the issues are practical. There is no doubt in my mind that there will be a circus like atmosphere surrounding the trial. It runs the risk of focusing terrorist attention on New York City, and I fear NYC runs the risk of new terrorist attacks during such a trial. It puts KSM right smack dab in the middle of our prison system, where disaffected prisoners can fall prey to his propaganda, and become activists upon their release from prison.

Legally, KSM will now be afforded all of the Constitutional rights that we enjoy. He will be given the best legal defense money can buy at the taxpayers’ expense. And those high priced lawyers will do Eric Holder’s, and Barack Obama’s dirty work, in delving into perceived Bush missteps, like claiming the charges should be dismissed because any information derived came from water boarding. You can’t even fathom the issues surrounding classified information that KSM’s lawyers will demand. The possibility exists, although small, that KSM may walk.

And don’t be surprised if you see many of Obama’s supporters from the far left hope for that very result. In their eyes, the United States, and particularly George Bush and Dick Cheney, are the enemies. They would be far more interested in embarrassing the United States and the previous administration than convicting this piece of vermin. They have twisted view of life, and they will be unable to contain themselves.

I have a real bad feeling about all of this.

Pelosi Health Care: Lessons Unlearned

Watching Nancy Pelosi gleefully parading her 2000 plus page House health care bill made me literally sick to my stomach, especially in light of the overwhelming public opposition to this type of bill. Do you really think that any government bill consisting of 2000 pages will result in anything good for you?

It is a left wing socialist’s dream. They aren’t even trying to hide what it does anymore. Even the left wing media agrees it does the following

1) It cuts $500 billion from Medicare. Do you really believe they are going to cut that amount from fraud and waste? My God! If they haven’t done it yet, it can’t be done. What they are going to cut is services and medical procedures to seniors. It eliminates Medicare Advantage programs. That is a direct increase in costs to seniors and their proverbial fixed income. It points those folks to AARP insurance, which will charge the seniors substantially more money for a less comprehensive supplemental policy. That is a fact.

2) It will force all citizens to purchase a health care policy, and not the catastrophic type of policies that are attached to health savings accounts and are affordable. No, you will have to buy one of the Pelosi defined policies, and will cost between $3,000.00 and $5,000.00. If you don’t buy, you get fined, or worse, go to jail. This will affect primarily young people. That is a fact.

3) It will raise premiums and taxes on everyone else in between, not to mention cut services. Don’t believe them when they say otherwise. Do the math. If you are able to maintain your insurance, you or your boss, will pay much more. Most likely, your employer will eliminate the policy, and you will be forced into the public plan that Congress says is so wonderful yet won’t use it for themselves. They are sticking up you’re a--.

4) It requires at least one plan to pay for abortions. That, in turn, is funded by a surtax on your premiums for the public plan.

5) The Congressional Budget Office has said that this will insure at least 2.5 million illegal aliens. There is no enforcement mechanism to prevent it.

6) The Cost Effectiveness Board is still in place. This will determine whether or not you are too old to receive the best treatment available. Folks, this is the real death panel.

7) It creates over 130 new government bureaucracies. Who do you think is going to pay for all of those new government employees? And if you think they can do such a great job at handling your health care needs…try to get a flu shot.

I never thought I would see this day where a small cabal of leftists, making up about 20% of the population, hijacks our country.

The leftist leaders in Congress and the White House are ignoring the lessons currently being taught in New Jersey and Virginia. There will be hell to pay for Pelosi, Reid, Obama and Democratic Party in the next election, unless they try to stack the ballots, which is a possibility. That is how they operate. But read the article written by Fred Barnes on the main web site, and truly try to understand the consequences when the government ignores the wishes of the majority of the population in pursuit of ideological purity. It leads to tyranny, and to violence.

God Bless America.

Leave the Damn Kids At Home!!!!!

Okay! Okay! I can hear the groans and read the comments already. But I have reached the end of my tolerance. My nerves are shot. My stomach is tied up in a knot. I have had it with parents who insist on bringing their little darlings to everything. Please. Leave the kids at home. Enough already.

Call me Scrooge…but I have had enough…especially in restaurants that are not designed for kids. Here is a news flash. No two year old wants to sit at a table while Mommy and Daddy eat expensive food and drink and talk on their cell phone. Of course the crumb grinders will be crabby. THEY ARE TIRED AND SHOULD BE HOME IN BED!!!!!

A white table cloth restaurant is no place for a kid on a Saturday night at 8:30 PM while people at adjoining tables are spending in excess of a hundred bucks for nice, adult night out. What are you thinking?

Modern parents seem to live in their own little world. When I was small, my parents called one of my cousins in to babysit me when they went out. When my son was small, we took him to grandma’s or hired a kid to sit for an hour or two while we went to get some peace for ourselves. If we couldn’t find or afford a sitter…or it was going to be a late night…we stayed home. It’s part of being a parent. It's called R-E-S-P-O-N-S-I-B-I-L-I-T-Y!

Not today. A case in point was this past weekend when my wife and I went to a relatively expensive restaurant to have Saturday night dinner. We were shown to our table, and immediately to the left of us were Mom, Dad, and a two year old little girl. Mom was drinking her wine and talking on her cell phone. Dad was trying, and failing, to keep this obnoxious little kid occupied by throwing her up in the air and traipsing her around the restaurant. This was an adult establishment, with average menu prices of 30 – 40 bucks. What could possibly be on the menu that would interest this poor little girl? While she screamed and carried on, and Daddy tried to shush her…Mom continued to drink and talk on the phone. It took just a few minutes for me to arrive at my breaking point, patient though I may be, and we paid for our drinks and left the restaurant, advising the management I hope the little darling would spend as much money there as we would!!

This is a problem generally in our society. Whether it is in movie, or grocery stores, or the theater, or church, it isn’t the kids fault. THEY ARE KIDS. Mom and Dad, you chose to have your children…stay home and take care of them!!!!! Did you not think that the little ones would crimp you social life? They do!!!!!

Today at lunch, Mom and Dad were several booths down from where I and my associate were sitting. Their little adorable two year old carried on, and I mean at the top of her lungs, for almost 15 minutes. It was clear the little girl was tired and needed a nap. The parents were oblivious. “Now, honey, let’s behave!” “NOOOOOOO” “Now honey, let’s be quiet!” “NOOOO!!! I DON’T WANT TO EAT THAT!!! AAAAAAA!” Ad infinitum.

Finally, I turned around and gave the look. I said “Jesus!” The mother snipped at me that the little girl was only two. “That,” I responded, “is exactly the point!” They left in a huff yelling at me that I hoped I enjoyed the rest of my lunch. I did. It turns out the mother was related to one of the waitresses in the joint. Too bad!!!

All kids are going to misbehave at some time, and I have no problem if the parents attempt to do something about it, like put down their cell phones and booze and take the kid outside for a walk. But I have come to the conclusion that the management of these places has to take a stand after a period of time of unacceptable behavior by unruly children with ignorant parents. Other patrons are spending their money too. So I have decided to let them know my displeasure. Will they say I grumpy? Will they call me a mean old man? Will they say I am a curmudgeon? You’re damn right they will. But you know what? At least I will enjoy my hamburg!!

Please address all hate mail to Barack Obama. And thank you for your support!!!

Lay Down With Dogs, You Get Fleas!!

The health insurance companies are learning a hard lesson. You lay down with dogs, you get fleas. What were these guys thinking? For those of you who have only been half following the health care debacle, our stalwart health insurance companies thought they made a deal made in heaven, and it turns out they made a deal with the devil.

When President Obama took office, he made it clear that health care reform was a priority. He immediately tried to build a consensus as to what that reform would look like, and went straight to his view of the problem sources. He went to big Pharma, and told told them if they went along with his proposals he would make sure that Americans would not be allowed to go to Canada to buy cheaper drugs. He went to the doctors, and told them he would stabilize their Medicare reimbursements, or alternatively devise a payment plan that would not decrease their income. He went to the seniors, and told them he would lower supplemental insurance premiums and reduce the drug “donut hole” and not Medicare benefits.

The health insurance companies were lulled into an Obama alliance baited with a huge, new source of insurance customers: those younger than 30 years old that typically don’t carry health insurance. It was to go something like this. Obama’s health care reform would require the insurance company to insure folks with pre-existing conditions at normalized insurance rates that would follow “government guidelines.” In exchange, the government would require everyone to carry insurance. The increased insurance pool would cover the costs of those with pre-existing conditions.

To make it work, Obama told the insurance companies he would be some teeth in the mandate. If you are 21 years old and don’t purchase a government approved insurance plan, you would be fined up to $2,100.00 and face a possible jail term of a year. Oh boy!!! How do you think that went over with those peaches and pie faced young people who chanted for hope and change during last autumn’s election? You got it. It didn’t. They were for hope and change as long as it didn’t cost them anything.

The proposed Baucus Senate plan contained the above mandate and the associated enforcement mechanism. That lasted, however, for about a day when wussie Senate Democrats recoiled in fear of what their constituents would do to them with such a mandate. All of a sudden, the “teeth” part of the mandate dropped from $2,100.00 to $100.00.

So as the plan currently stands, anyone can go in and buy insurance at any time. That means you don’t really have to buy it until you need it. Simply pay the IRS $100.00 and fuggetaboutit. If you get sick, you can always go and buy the insurance as they wheel you into the emergency room…kind of like waiting 'til your house burns down to buy fire insurance.

The insurance companies were aghast that the Senate reversed Obama's promises to them. In a very public move, they presented a Price Waterhouse study showing that it would put them out of business!!!! Do ya think? You don’t have to be a CPA to figure that one out.

But Obama doesn’t care, because that was his plan all along. Now the insurance companies, and the doctors, and the seniors, and the young people are going to learn life’s number one lesson. There is no free lunch. Somebody has to pay. And it is not sitting well with any of these folks who laid down with a dog, and got fleas.

NOT YOUR FATHER'S BUSINESS CYCLE

I listened to a financial analyst on CNBC this morning who kept talking about where we are in the business cycle. In the normal business cycle, unemployment keeps going up even after the recession is over. In the normal business cycle, corporate profits pop due to layoffs and efficiencies imposed by companies. “In the normal business cycle…in the normal business cycle…in the normal business cycle...”

I tried to follow what the guy was saying. In “normal” circumstances he would most likely be correct. But we are not living in normal times, and any economic recovery will be tenuous at best, if it comes at all. The rules of capitalism have been breached. The invisible hand of economics has been severed.

The country will not experience a normal economic recovery because the government has intervened in ways it has not done so before. Not only that, the government has promised to keep intervening in all aspects of our economic life. This fosters uncertainty and fear. How can any business person plan for the future when the unpredictability of the current administration makes any future assumptions more fiction than they normally are? With fear of higher taxes, the falling dollar, cap and trade, health care changes, income redistribution, salary caps, government competition with private enterprise in the auto industry, the banking industry, and the health care industry, why would any sane private business planner spend one thin dime? He won’t, and the economy will continue to stagnate.

What has allowed the economic dynamics of our economy to excel in worldwide competition has been the relative stability of our system. Our rule of law has always given a firm base on which to build an economic structure. Predictability and reliability are the cornerstone of our free enterprise system. That has been shattered.

The Obama administration has spent so much money it has undermined faith in our economy not only here at home, but abroad. There isn’t a day that goes by when there isn’t a news story reporting that the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations, and the likes of OPEC are secretly gathering to eliminate the dollar as the world’s currency of choice. The price of gold is going through the roof. The government printing presses have been turned on. Interest rates are at zero.

The deserved fears of massive deficits of catastrophic proportions are further bolstered by governmental intervention into bankruptcy proceedings, picking and choosing winners and losers in the supposedly free marketplace, subverting the rule of law. Government ownership in failed American businesses changes the rules of competition.

Add to the mix the Obama administration’s attempt to penalize American manufacturers through its draconian cap and trade plan. Meanwhile, back in Beijing, China has been quietly buying up all of the oil it can muster from just about every oil producer in the world. When there is a recovery, China’s current activities will drive the price of oil through the roof, making the spike of 2008 look like a walk in the park. Here is a news flash: China doesn’t give a good damn about climate change.

And don’t forget Obama’s bent to reward his union buddies, representing less than 12% of the American work force. Don’t forget the rising minimum wage. There is a real job creating policy.

So, let’s assume you are person who is of entrepreneurial spirit and want to open up a donut joint. Knowing that you may end up paying your worker’s $10.00/hour, knowing that any profits you make will be taxed at increased rates to “spread the wealth around,” knowing that you will be penalized if you don’t provide health care to your workers, knowing that you will have to spend huge amounts of money for “green” lighting, heat, and air conditioning, knowing that your employees will be encouraged to unionize….

Just how willing would YOU be to make such an investment? I thought so!!! No, this is not a normal business cycle. This time it is different, and this is the first time I believe it.

One postscript: if you are watching the rise in the stock market, it's not based on what is happening in the United States. It is based on what is happening in the rest of the world. The market can rise without any meaningful job recovery here. Just a thought, and one that is unsettling. Let me know when the real business cycle starts again...if it ever does.

Who is Running the Store?

I continually say that I am absolutely stunned about what I am seeing in Washington. Barack Obama ran for president as a centrist, promising to heal the divisions in the country and to work together. What we got was a left wing partisan who hasn’t had a Republican to the White House since April, and has talked to his Commander in Afghanistan just once in the last 70 days. While he has been out traipsing around the country giving speech after speech after speech, General McChrystal requested 40,000 additional troops for Afghanistan (remember, this was the war that should have been fought according to Obama during the campaign). The request was shelved after Obama said he had to formulate a policy. What the hell has he been doing the past 8 months?

As our foreign policy collapses around us, Obama the Savior has appeared on David Letterman, gave inspiration to the good for nothing United Nations, shut down our missile defense system in eastern Europe, gave a pep talk to his union buddies, and denied he had any knowledge of the problems at Acorn. But in the most stunning, and most idiotic thing I have ever seen a politician do, he decides to go to Copenhagen to pitch for the Olympics going to Chicago. My God!!! The troops are dying in the field, his general says the situation is urgent and critical, and Obama goes to Copenhagen to pitch for the Olympics?

Who is running the show? I have come to conclusion that isn’t Barack Obama. His public appearance schedule speaks volumes about how much of his time he spending studying the issues and formulating policy. Any remaining doubt in my mind that he is an empty suit fronting for someone or something else has been removed. He feels he can go to Copenhagen because someone else is making the decisions. All he has to do is sign the Congressional bills and make a speech. HE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF HIMSELF.

I am not sure to whom he has abdicated his responsibilities. I suspect it isn’t any one person. I believe there is a core group of ultra left wing radical libs who are determining policy and telling Obama what to do. He has caved to EVERY left wing demand his party has made of him notwithstanding the gross unpopularity of his administration’s policies. Included in the group are most likely George Soros, Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Rahm Emanuel, John Podesta, his chief of staff w/Acorn ties, and various people located in groups like Acorn. These folks are of a like mind, and have fronted Obama in order to achieve they’re radical agenda.

I believe that Obama has very little say or influence on the policies of this country. He is the spoonful of sugar to help make the left wing Socialist medicine go down. My only question is how long will he remain passive to the demands of his left wing base. I suppose whether he grows a pair, so to speak, will depend just how much he likes being President and its attendant perks.

He only needs to look the Europeans that he emulates to learn that those he admired are no longer there. Europe has wised up, and has lurched to the right in France, in Germany, and soon in Great Britain. Germany in particular has made a major shift to the right in its elections this past week. All of Eastern Europe is staunchly right wing. Obama will have to realize that this is the fate that awaits him if he keeps on his current path. Americans are a patient people, but patience is rapidly running out.

In the meantime, midst his appearances on David Letterman, his boogying off the stage at the Black Congressional Caucus dinner, and his trip to Copenhagen, I hope finds time to address issues of Iran and Afghanistan. Our lives depend on it

Mea Culpobama and the Royal I

For all of you non-Catholics, the confession part of the old Latin Mass says “Mea Culpa; Mea Culpa: Mea Maxima Culpa.” I have sinned “through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault.” Of course, in good Catholic fashion, one beats one's chest three times in sync with the words.

But now it has new meaning: Mea Culpobama. Once more into the breach, our stellar president addressed the United Nations yesterday beating his chest, apologizing for America’s faults. Then he waived the Kum Ba Yah flag saying:

“Responsibility and leadership in the 21st century demand more. In an era when our destiny is shared, power is no longer a zero sum game. No one nation can or should try to dominate another nation. No world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will succeed. No balance of power among nations will hold. The traditional division between nations of the south and north makes no sense in an interconnected world. Nor do alignments of nations rooted in the cleavages of a long gone Cold War.”

In well fell swoop, he dissed NATO, the European Union, the Organization of American States, our alliances with Japan and South Korea, all the while letting know the dictators in Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, and our "frienemies" Russia and China, and any other rogue state, that we will not impose our will on them. Shout Glory to God and Hallelujah. We have seen the light!!

Couple this with his throwing Israel under the bus, and former Jimmy Carter’s national security advisor, and ardent Obama supporter Zbigniew Brzezinski, stating the United States should shoot down Israeli planes flying over Iraq in any possible raid on Iran, we should all just feel all cuddly and warm inside.

There is no doubt in my mind that Barack Obama is clueless, naïve, and is basing his foreign policy not on reality, but rather his Pollyanna view of the world. This might be based in a basic ignorance of foreign policy and his inexperience. But I suspect it is rooted in a narcissism rooted in his elite ideology based on his superior world view. His speech basically told the world to ignore all the bad things the United States did over the past 60 years; look at what he did the last 9 months. And he used the word “I” a lot.

I come before you humbled by the responsibility that the American people have placed upon me; mindful of the enormous challenges of our moment in history; and determined to act boldly and collectively on behalf of justice and prosperity at home and abroad.

I am well aware of the expectations that accompany my presidency around the world.

I took office at a time when many around the world had come to view America with skepticism and distrust.

I have carried this message from London to Ankara; from Port of Spain to Moscow; from Accra to Cairo.

I prohibited - without exception or equivocation - the use of torture by the United States of America.

I ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed, and we are doing the hard work of forging a framework to combat extremism within the rule of law.

I have outlined a comprehensive agenda to seek the goal of a world without nuclear weapons.

I appointed a Special Envoy for Middle East Peace.

I will also continue to seek a just and lasting peace between Israel, Palestine, and the Arab world.

Well, you get the picture. It must be wonderful to him. After he went through his personal litany of accomplishments, he did tell the world that it will have to step up to the plate and carry some of the water for world peace. But at the end of the day, that isn’t going to happen. The weakness demonstrated in this speech is dangerous, especially after scrapping the defensive missile program to be located Poland and the Czech Republic, and equivocating on troops in Afghanistan.

The number one rule of political science is that a power vacuum is always filled. Obama is digging us into a black hole. In the meantime, while he is digging the hole, do you think he can swap his royal "I" with the royal "we"? I am just being overcome by my awe of his greatness, and need to collect myself.

Losing Precious Freedom

I have written several times about the preciousness of freedom. It is a gift, and we are its caretakers. Never in my lifetime did I ever think I would witness what I am seeing today. If there was any doubt in my mind that our democracy is in more peril today than at any time in our history, it has been removed by numerous things that I have seen this past week. The disdain that this administrations and its allies have for the American people is growing by the day, and they are emboldened to the point that we should be taking serious notice. It is insidious, and these folks are playing for keeps.

1) Andrea Mitchell, commenting last week on NBC news about the recent the tea party events, said that our “system” has provided a “mechanism” by which “these people” can “communicate” with each other. I guess I am one of “these” people.

2) CNN had little coverage of the march on Washington on September 12. What they did cover was an examination of the “dark undercurrents” of the event. And folks, the anchor and news reporter wouldn’t let it go. I have witnessed radical protests since I was 16 year old mostly staged by the whacky left…and these folks were the walking definition of “dark undercurrents.” Is CNN serious?

3) An article in the New Yorker magazine this past week, written by Hendrik Hertzberg, stated: “This sort of lunatic paranoia—touched with populism, nativism, racism, and anti-intellectualism—has long been a feature of the fringe, especially during times of economic bewilderment.” So over a 400,000 people marching on Washington are suffering from “lunatic paranoia”?

4) Tom Friedman, a respected New York Times columnist, wrote an editorial last Wednesday extolling the virtues of the Chinese autocracy, and how this system of government “…is led by a reasonably enlightened group of people.” Then he pretty much ripped the United States system of government apart.

5) The participants in last Saturday’s march on Washington was populated by regular folks like you and me. There was NO mention of it on ABC, CBS, or NBC except as passing aside to commentary relating to other issues. CNN had a small report, and was derogatory in its tone. If any of you saw the aerial shots of the crowd, you can easily reach a figure between 400,000 – 500,000 if not more, not to mention the many hometown rallies like the one in Columbiana which was attended by more than 800 people on a Saturday afternoon. If this group of people were protesting against the war or marching for black rights or gay rights or feminist rights, you can be sure the coverage would have been wall to wall for days. Instead the media chose do to something I have never seen before…they deliberately ignored a major story for overtly political purposes.

There is a sickness growing in this country based on intellectuals drunk on power. Those who are in charge are either in denial as to how serious the country’s unrest is becoming, or simply don’t care believing we are too stupid to acknowledge their elitist, intellectual superiority.

The media's behavior is frightening. It is becoming increasingly clear that these folks are infatuated with dictatorship, or are so far in bed with Barack Obama’s narrative that they are willing to sacrifice their principles. It scares me, and it should scare you. Any student of history will tell you that from Obama’s shadow government, to his cult of personality, to his rhetorical skills, to his making side deals with the business and the media and takeover of major segments of the economy, to his emphasis on the collective and “service” to humanity instead of the sanctity of individualism, to his stony persona, arrogance and use of the words “I” and “me”,to his continue presence on television to the point his face is there all of the time…this is the stuff from which fascism grows. You mark my words…he will go after alternative media and energy companies next.

Wake up America. When the New Yorker magazine runs a story about the greatness of a Chinese communist dictatorship, there is trouble. Freedom is precious, and unless we begin to restore the voice of the people, it may be too late.

YOU LIE!!!!

In a moment of honesty during last night’s 28th health care address, Republican Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina shouted out “You Lie!!!” when Barack Obama stated the proposed House health care bill would not cover aliens. Was it rude? Of course it was. Did it lack decorum? You bet. But it wasn’t any worse than when the Democrats booed George Bush in the 2005 State of the Union Address. Of course, that was different. For the progressive Democrats, it is always different.

Was Congressman Wilson right? Yes he was. Barack Obama has stood in front of the nation and lied, and lied, and lied some more. First, did you notice that 45 million uninsured Americans magically turned into 30 million uninsured Americans in Obama’s speech? That’s because the 45 million included illegal aliens. He finally figured it out. So for the last 4 months he has been lying about the number of uninsured, and he finally admitted it.

Does the health care bill explicitly state it does not cover illegal aliens? Yes it does. But case law and other federal laws prohibit those selling insurance resulting from a public benefit from asking about citizenship. Anyone can go in and buy it with a minimal amount of identification. So guess what…the illegal aliens will go in and buy it…and we wouldn’t even know. Quelle surprise!!!!

Then of course, there is the famous line he has used for the past several months….if you have insurance now and you like it, you can keep your current insurance. He changed that in last night’s speech… now it’s “nothing in this bill compels you to change your insurance.” His previous statement, that he used over and over again, was a lie. Last night’s statement is true. Nothing in the bill compels you to change your insurance. However, as I have repeatedly said, if the policy changes in the list little bit, you are not allowed to keep your insurance. And if your employer decides it’s cheaper to pay the 8% penalty than pay for your insurance, then off you are to the government insurance plan. The Congressional Budget Office estimates under the current House bill, 100 million Americans will lose their current health insurance and be forced onto the government plan. That is different from Obama’s statement last night that only 5% of Americans would go onto the government plan. That is another Obama lie.

As for demeaning the presidency, I think Barack Obama is doing a fair job at that himself. He has opted for celebrity instead of being president with nonstop speeches and television appearances. When does he do any work? Oh ya. He doesn't. Nancy Pelosi is doing it for him. Meanwhile, the stature of the United States is sinking worldwide. Iran is pumping money and supplies into Afghanistan while building the bomb. Hugo Chavez is supporting rebels all through Latin America. But they are leftists, so that's okay. The CIA is in shambles as Obama supporters are outing CIA operatives by showing their pictures to terrorists. Obama is bowing to the King of Saudi Arabia. And last but not least, Obama has surrounded himself with left wing radicals who think the US government engineered the 9/11 attacks and that dogs should have lawyers to sue humans. Things are getting real bad. And you are worried about Joe Wilson?

So, Barack Obama, I agree with Joe Wilson. YOU LIE!!!!! I mailed Congressman Wilson a $50.00 campaign donation today. You should do the same.

School Daze...Obama Daze

Pretend that it is 2002. President Bush is dealing with the after effects of 9/11, and he decides that he should address all of the students in the United States. He arranges for C-Span to carry the address, and instructs the Department of Education to put the whole thing together, complete with lists of what students should do in preparation for the address telling the teachers to make posters of Bush's quotable quotes. Then the big day comes, and every student in the United States is supposed to watch this exercise in communication.

What do you think the chances that such an address could have happened? Slim to none! But that is exactly what is going to happen next Tuesday. The Great Leader, President Barack Obama, is going to address American public school students either by streaming through the White House web site or on television through C-Span.

The political backlash from the press and education system would be heard on the moon if this were a Republican president. Screams of indoctrination and intrusion in the educational process for political gain would be unending. And if it actually happened, the ACLU would be in court demanding equal time. The bias of the press and the education system is now on full display.

This type of political activity is foreign to the United States. It is not foreign to countries like China, North Korea, the old Soviet Union, Cuba, and Venezuela. It smacks of the cult of personality. President Obama has taken to the airwaves to solve his ills which seem to be piling up by the day. When the reality of life meets with the socialist rhetoric, the rhetoric loses every time. Since he can’t resort to arguments of substance, he continues to rely on his personal charisma to get what he wants. Unfortunately for him, the adults aren't buying the charisma bit anymore, so he is selling it to the kids.

Students are indoctrinated on left wing philosophy and theory from the minute they walk into kindergarten. The teachers pay dues to a union which espouses left wing principles and donates regularly to left wing causes and left wing political candidates. The text books are filled with inaccuracies and revisionist theories and history. I remember my son’s elementary school science book…which was more like an environmental textbook talking about how the earth is going to suffer gloom and destruction. I set him straight after I read that claptrap. What was funny is the text book material was the same when I was elementary school and junior high. Miss Kennedy ran around the room to show how the moon orbits the earth, and the textbooks claimed we would run out of oil by 1980 and be burned up in a carbon monoxide baked world. Oh yes, the earth’s temperature would then drop dramatically, and we would all freeze to death if we didn’t burn up previously.

All kidding aside, Bush the 1st and Ronald Reagan made similar addresses to our students. Anything that can be said to help kids stay in school is a plus. Unfortuanely, America is finally turning Obama off. It is finally beginning to connect the dots with its uneasy feeling of discontentment and concern. He can keep talking…but I am not sure anyone is listening anymore. That is, of course, except for the kids who will be forced to watch him in school and then write letters on how they can help him. Oh well, if it gets too boring they can always text message their friends.

Wait a minute…is that Kim Jong-Il over there?

Camelot Lost - The Kennedy's

In the spirit of kindness and in the belief that we are all members of mankind’s great family…if I am allowed to use the word “mankind”…it would be appropriate to comment on the passing of Ted Kennedy.

My claim to fame with the Kennedy clan involved the 1960 election when Presidential candidate John Kennedy visited the area. His motorcade passed through the Canfield green on his way to downtown Youngstown, and the streets were lined with admirers. My parents were big Kennedy fans, and brought me to witness the event. We were standing front row on the street when Kennedy passed by in his convertible. I reached up to shake his hand, and grabbed his thumb. I didn’t let go. I can still hear my mother screaming to let go of his thumb as either he was going to fall out of the car, or I was going to be dragged by the car. It’s hard to forget something like that.

Ironically, my son just returned from a trip to Oklahoma and Texas. While there, he visited Dallas and the Texas School Book Depository Museum. He was able to look out the window that Oswald used. It sounds kind of creepy to me. He brought me back a book about the assassination, and I was reading it the night before the Senator’s death.

I often wondered what this country would have looked like if Kennedy had not been assassinated. He was withdrawing our advisers from Vietnam. It was Lyndon Johnson who followed Robert McNamara’s advice and escalated our involvement. If the Kennedy view had prevailed, I supposed the cultural revolution of the late 1960’s would never have happened, or at least have been substantially less provocative, as it was the war that fueled the movement. I would even go so far as to say as I doubt that Barack Obama would be president right now.

Although they were fascinating people, the Kennedy’s were typical liberal hypocrites. They were big believers in “do as I say, not as I do.” When the courts forced integration through forced bussing, the Kennedy’s hid behind the walls of their Hyannis compound and sent their kids to private schools. While forcing “mixed” development communities, they still hid behind the walls of their Hyannis compound, making sure there was no encroachment on their property. When they wanted the rest of us to use alternative energy sources, they fought to keep a wind farm from being installed off the coast of Cape Cod by their Hyannis compound. Chappaquiddick became a household word representing how the rich can get away with anything. And when Ted Kennedy became terminally ill with brain cancer, he got the best medicine could offer…using experimental techniques that would not be available to you and I under the proposed health care plan. There was no cost benefit analysis to see if extending his life by an extra three months was worth the cost of all of the procedures and medicine.

Notwithstanding, the passing of Ted Kennedy represents the end of an era. The tragedy that has surrounded this family is inexplicable. In the face of continued adversity, these folks lived large and left their impact on our country. Whether that impact is good or bad is a decision I will leave to you.

But somehow, I just can't get that picture of that 10 year old little boy waiting on the Green in Canfield for the Kennedy motorcade, and grabbing a hold of his thumb. Reality and dreams often clash, and in life we deal with reality. His death marks the end of the Kennedy dream, no matter how unrealistic. As the song says: "Don't let it be forgot / that once there was a spot / for one brief shining moment/ that was knows as Camelot!"

Death Panels

Was Sarah Palin right referencing death panels in her criticism of Obama’s health care reform bill? Well, yes and no. She was making reference to the portion of the bill that provides for “voluntary” end of life counseling. In reality, what that provision does is to provide reimbursement to doctors for providing the service while simultaneously spelling out the nature of the service and how it should be provided. On its face, it sounds legit. But read in conjunction with other portions of the bill, one could easily reach the death panel conclusion.

The bill states the following:

“SEC. 123. HEALTH BENEFITS ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a private-public advisory committee which shall be a panel of medical and other experts to be known as the Health Benefits Advisory Committee to recommend covered benefits and essential, enhanced, and premium plans.

(1) RECOMMENDATIONS ON BENEFIT STANDARDS.—The Health Benefits Advisory Committee shall recommend to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this subtitle referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) benefit standards (as defined in paragraph (4)), and periodic updates to such standards. In developing such recommendations, the Committee shall take into account innovation in health care and consider how such standards could reduce health disparities.


PART D—COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH

COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH

SEC.1181. (a) CENTER FOR COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH ESTABLISHED.

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish within the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality a Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research (in this section referred to as the ‘Center’) to conduct, support, and synthesize research (including research conducted or supported under section of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003) with respect to the outcomes, effectiveness, and appropriateness of health care services and procedures in order to identify the manner in which diseases, disorders, and other health conditions can most effectively and appropriately be prevented, diagnosed, treated, and
managed clinically.”

(THE BILL THEN GOES ON TO ESTABLISH A LONG LIST OF RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE COMMISSION INCLUDING THE GATHERING OF MASSIVES AMOUNT OF DATA)

Included in the duties of the commission:

“(K) make recommendations to the center for the broad dissemination of the findings of research conducted and supported under this section that enables clinicians, patients, consumers, and payers to make more informed health care decisions that improve quality and value.”

What does all of the above mean? It means the government sets the standards for what medical treatment is acceptable and what is not acceptable. The Agency for Comparative Effectiveness will provide the information to the Benefits Advisory Board as to what treatments you will receive under the government mandated plan. Included in the massive amounts of information the government will be gathering, will information like is it worth it to fix the hip of a terminally ill cancer patient, if you are overweight and need a bypass, will the estimated length of life justify the expense of the surgery.

These draconian measures absolutely reflect the views of Barack Obama’s two chief advisors on health care issues: Former Senator Tom Daschle and Dr. Ezikiel Emanuel, brother of Obama’s White House Chief of Staff, who have overtly stated that the lives of seniors are worth less than the lives of younger people.

Actual House Bill Language Relating to Your Current Health Insurance

Below listed is the language which allows you to keep your present health care insurance, but only under very strict and limited conditions.

SEC. 102. PROTECTING THE CHOICE TO KEEP CURRENT COVERAGE.

(a) GRANDFATHERED HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE DEFINED.

Subject to the succeeding provisions of this section, for purposes of establishing acceptable coverage under this division, the term ‘‘grandfathered health insurance coverage’’ means individual health insurance coverage that is offered and in force and effect before the first day of Y1 if the following conditions are met:

(1) LIMITATION ON NEW ENROLLMENT.

(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided inthis paragraph, 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 Y1.

(B) DEPENDENT COVERAGE PERMITTED.
Subparagraph (A) shall not affect the subsequent enrollment of a dependent of an individual who is covered as of such first day.

(2) LIMITATION ON CHANGES IN TERMS OR CONDITIONS.

Subject to paragraph (3) and except as required by law, the issuer does not change any of its terms or conditions, including benefits and cost-sharing, from those in effect as of the day before the first day of Y1.

“A WHOLE BUNCH OF STUFF IN BETWEEN”

LIMITATION IN INDIVIDUAL HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE

(1) IN GENERAL.—Individual health insurance coverage that is not grandfathered health insurance coverage under subsection (a) may only be offered on or after the first day of Y1 as an Exchange-participating health benefits plan.

********************************************************

What this means is your current existing policy is grandfathered and you are allowed to keep it. But if it changes in any way, shape or form, your enrollment will be terminated and you may only enroll in an Exchange participating health care plan…which is defined by the government. Translated: they will all look alike.

Why I Am Afraid of Obama's Health Care Plan

The health care debate is spinning out of control, and for good cause. The Obama administration has steadfastly refused to give any details, leaving the digging for facts to the opponents who are not hesitant to express their points of view. This is bad for the health care debate because it leaves the Obama administration open to charges of lying and trickery. It would have been better had they had an open and full debate on the positions they espouse rather than give vague details, if any, of a very bad plan.

Add Obama’s intimidation of debate by asking Americans to spy on other Americans and report “fishy” emails, websites, and casual conversations directly to the White House, and it looks bad for him. Add Nancy Pelosi’s comments that the people showing up at town meetings are organized by insurance companies, and it looks even worse for him. All you have to do is to look at the people attending these town meetings on the videos. Many of them are senior citizens who are more aware of what is going on than one would think. When it comes to health care and money, they know a scam when they see one.

Let’s start with the basics. If you believe like I do that anything the government gets involved in will be filled to the brim with bureaucracy, red tape, inefficiencies and corruption, then on its face, the Obama plan is bad news. I agree that there are many parts of the health care system that need fixing, pre-existing conditions being one of them, but this isn’t reform. This is a blatant government takeover in line with Obama and his cronies overtly stated goal to create a single payer health care system ala Canada and Great Britain. This has been the radical left’s goal since Harry Truman. As a nation, we have rejected that approach over and over again. The London Times reported today that the British system is on the verge of collapse, notwithstanding the rationing of British health care.

What makes this even scarier are the comments made by Obama’s chief health care advisors in written editorial comments and books. Ezekiel Emanuel, the physician brother of Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s chief of staff, has written extensively about the life choices curve, and states overtly that it is better social policy to provide health care to the young as opposed to providing health care to the elderly. He views the Hippocratic Oath as a “problem” to a health care plan. Former Senator and tax cheat Tom Dashcle has also written extensively, saying that we don’t need any more new drugs, and that seniors should learn to accept their physical infirmities and ultimately, their demise. And now you know why the town hall meetings are packed with seniors.

Under the Obama plan, should you lose your health insurance, private insurance could not sell you a new policy directly. You would be sent to a clearinghouse where government approved plans would be offered to you by participating insurance companies. The plans, however, would be identical, and payment of benefits under the plans would be subject to guidelines established by the Federal Health Review Board. Included would be concepts of “comparative effectiveness”, which would allow treatments and medications based on cost rather than effect (eliminating expensive experimental treatments) and “cost effectiveness,” which simply looks at whether you are too old to receive certain procedures. In addition, both of these concepts would be looked at in terms of your overall health condition. For example, an overweight person would be denied knee surgery because of the excess weight. This isn’t fiction. This is what is being done in Great Britain currently.

If you want a glimpse of what a government run health care system looks like, look at the Veterans Administration. On many levels, it operates well. On many levels, it is a fiasco. One only has to look at the distances the Vets have to travel for treatment in order to get the picture of what is coming.

Do I believe that it is the “intent” of Obama and his cohorts to establish the kind of system here that I have described above? No, I don’t. But it is the inevitable course of all government programs that would result in this disastrous consequence. You should be concerned. I am.

YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BUY PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE

No matter what that lying snake oil salesman says, you will NOT be able to keep your current health care insurance policy under Obama’s health care plan. Here is how it works.

Assume this plan passes. Next year, your employer looks at the cost of the plan he is currently paying for you. He decides that it would be cheaper for him to pay the 8% payroll tax to Mr. Obama, and ceases to offer health care as a benefit. Here’s the rub. Private insurance companies will be forbidden from writing private insurance policies directly to you. They will only be allowed to write insurance policies through a government clearing house, which will dictate to the insurance companies what the plans must contain. What is in these policies will be determined by an unelected Health Commissioner. The commissioner will dictate what is in the policies, and how much the insurance companies can charge. There will be no variation. The insurance companies, in reality, will cease to be insurance companies and become insurance administrators, monitoring the government imposed health insurance on a fee basis. When you hear Obama say he wants to “level the playing field”, this is what he means. This, by definition, is socialized medicine no matter what platitudes he wraps it in, or how convincing his smile.

YOU WILL BE UNABLE TO BUY PRIVATE INSURANCE OTHER THAN WHAT IS MANDATED BY THE GOVERNMENT.

This isn’t health insurance reform. This is health insurance control. We will be no better than Canada or the United Kingdom, whose newspapers and pundits are screaming at us to run the other direction.

Read more here: DEMS WANT TO CONTROL HEALTH DECISIONS
By Robert Tracinski

Health Care and Race: Don't Look Here...Look There!

There are two things Glenn Beck says about Barack Obama that I agree with 100%. In his efforts to consolidate power in the White House to implement his vision social justice: 1) Don’t listen to what he says, look at what he does; and 2) Don’t look here, look over there. Translated, this means he lies and distracts.

Obama believes in government control of everything. He currently controls General Motors, Chrysler, Citigroup, and AIG, as well as numerous other financial institutions. He is also making moves to take student loans out of private institutions and only allow student loans to be issued directly by the government tied to “public service.” Now he wants to control your total life. He is doing this under the guise of Cap and Trade (global warming gobblygook) and Health Care Reform.

Distraction is up first. His efforts to shove health care reform down your throat with no details is failing as his phony figures of cost start to collapse under the reality of the Congressional Budget Office figures. This is on the tail of the failed non-stimulus stimulus package which does everything but stimulate business. Obama and Pelosi and Reid with Tom “let the old folks die” Daschle really thought they could get away with cramming the health care takeover through Congress. It is pretty clear it hasn’t worked, and slowly people are beginning to understand Obama’s socialist beliefs. Notwithstanding, Pelosi is still trying making threats to those who oppose her imperious wishes.

So what did Obama do at his health care press conference to distract the public from what is going on? He played the race card. He called the Cambridge Police Department stupid for arresting black Professor Henry Louis Gates for “breaking into his own house.” Then Obama said that had he been in the same position at his house in Chicago, he would have been shot.

What was the lead story on the NBC, CNN, ABC, and CBS the next morning? Not health care, but Obama’s racial comments. Fox News brought on the New York Times black White House correspondent to comment on health care. When asked about Obama’s health care comments, she responded about the Professor Gates case and issues surrounding the arrest. Who needs health care? DON’T LOOK OVER HERE…LOOK OVER THERE!

I will leave you to read the accounts of what happened to Professor Gates on your own. Click here to read the police report (X). By the way, when my burglar alarm went off at my house, I had to identify myself to the investigating officer and show him my ID. I cooperated. The cop was doing his job. I didn’t think it was racist, and I am an over the hill white guy.

Then there is the Obama use of Clintonian word parsing. First he said there will be no tax hikes on the middle class to pay for his vision of health care. But at the press conference, he changed his tune a bit, and “viva la difference.” Now he is opposed to tax hikes which put the burden of paying for his utopian health care plan “completely” on the middle class. He is opposed to a plan in which the burden is “primarily” on the middle class. His plan will be revenue neutral for a “decade”.

Take it apart, and you should be concerned. Look at the words. He is now saying that there will be a tax hike on the middle class to pay for health care, but not completely, and not primarily. Do you think you can define that? And that “decade” comment…assuming you believe the figures he is currently giving…he accomplishes that by raising taxes before he starts to spend money on the new health care plan by two to four years. He front loads the funding. So maybe it stands a miniscule chance of sort of being revenue neutral for about a day. After 10 years, it skyrockets out of control. Of course, he won’t be President then…and who cares?

You should.

He's Gonna Pay My Mortgage...Literally

I think we all like to believe that we have good hearts. I know whenever I am able, I try to help folks in need in any way that I can. Even mean lawyers do substantial amounts of pro-bono work, and rarely toot their horns or ask for any recognition in return. I truly believe that for the most part, the human race is fundamentally good and compassionate.

On the other hand, being good and compassionate should not be confused with being a sucker. And two recent articles that I read show that the government spending binge has crossed the line and is now going to sucker punch the American public. At some point in time, the give-a-ways have to stop, and people need to take responsibility for their own lives. What a man the President is giving away other people’s money. If I could do that, I would be a big shot too.

Reuter’s News Service reported the following on July 14: “Officials are also considering whether the government should make mortgage payments on behalf of borrowers who cannot keep up with their home loans, tapping an unused portion of a $50 billion housing aid kitty.” Why? I ask you, has any one, at any time, ever paid your rent? The plan under consideration would tack rent on as a rental stipend to extended unemployment benefits.

In addition, The Denver Post has reported that the Colorado is considering a plan to give free cell phone service to those receiving public aid as part of a public assistance program for utilities. How about that? Free cell phone service!! What do you pay for your cell phone service? I didn’t know that cell phone service was a necessity of life…but this same plan is currently in operation in 17 states. Why? Who has paid for your cell phone?

It is clear that we are reaching the tipping point. As the Obama supporter claimed in last fall’s campaign, “I won’t have to worry about putting gas in my car. I won’t have to worry about paying my mortgage.”

The liberal goal of a total "cradle to grave" nanny state is here. From free health care to free pre-school to free food to free rent to free utilities to free college….except the question still remains, who will pay for it? The answer is easy…you and I. And what the government offers as free, will be sustenance level at best. If you want to know what we are headed for, look at the former Soviet Union, and you will see what free will buy.

University Building

While the success of Obama’s stimulus package is floundering in every sense of the word, the nation’s educational system is more than picking up the slack giving us a whole slew of shovel ready projects that merrily spend our tax dollars away. The building industry may be in the hole with home and business construction, but all levels of education are on an unprecedented building spree.

It clicked in my head when my son told my how misses using “THE” Ohio State University fitness facility. Since he has graduated and started back forth between here and Columbus on a semi-regular basis, he has been relegated back to the local Creekside fitness facility, which is a far cry from the four story state of the art facility in Columbus. Of course, YSU also has its own fitness facility…much of it paid for with donations…much of it paid for with tuition and tax dollars.

Can anyone tell me why school buildings wear out so quickly? When I went to Ohio State back in 1970, there was the Ohio Student Union on High Street, which was built in 1950. Then the school built an additional student union between the two new dormitory towers on the west side of the main campus in the late 1960's. If one student union is good, then two student unions must be better!! The school had approximately 49,000 students on the main campus.

Of course, the unions got “old.” The new union was closed and the old union (you know…the one built only 59 years ago on High Street) was torn down, and is being replaced with a temple to student unioness…you have to see this thing to believe it. The school still has about 49,000 students in attendance on its main campus. Can anyone tell me why, in a period of 50 years, “THE” Ohio State University had to build a total of 3 student unions? Who paid for it? You and me!!! Obviously our administrators have never been to Europe, where buildings are still in use that are several hundred years old…and that’s after a couple of major wars. Of course the new union has a grand hall and a great ballroom. Wow!!

My local pet peeve is the tearing down of Volney Rogers Junior High School, which was built in the 1960’s. It was a perfectly good building. But of course the state had some money from the tobacco settlement that was burning a hole in the now broke State of Ohio’s pocket…and they tore it down and built a new one. Why? I thought you needed a chair, a desk, and a teacher in order to teach students basic math. 1 + 1 still equals 2, whether in a new building or one that is 40 years old.

Youngstown State University has been on a building spree as long as I can remember. It has won awards for being one of the most beautifully urban universities in the country with marvelous landscaping. I remember when I attended school there in 1968, we had classes in the basement of the old Lincoln Hotel, that flooded on a semi-regular basis. I still learned English and Public Speaking. The new Williamson Business School had just opened up, and everyone was thrilled. It was a multi-story beauty that had air-conditioning!!!!!! We were so happy!

Now it is moving across the street to a multimillion dollar new facility, because what was wonderful in 1968 is now crap in 2009. Again, there is that 40 – 50 year life cycle for a university building. The new one will be nice, though!!

Oh ya!!! They are going to tear down the Lincoln Avenue deck, which we were also thrilled to get because of lack of parking when it was built about 40 years ago. They claim it is cheaper to tear down than to repair it. Who knows…but it will eliminate a bunch of needed parking spaces.

Oh well, the good news is that as long as the educational institutions are building buildings...Obama can spend his stimulus on things like Nancy Pelosi's mice. Maybe they need a student union.

So You Sew...So You Reap

Very few things get me so upset that I lose sleep over them, but an interview on the O’Reilly Factor last night did the trick. Juan Williams, whom CNN has referred to as “the happy negro”, substituted for the vacationing O’Reilly last night. Williams is, for the most part, a liberal commentator on Fox News, and I was surprised to see him in that position. I was stunned at his adeptness at interviewing, and heard an hour’s worth of some of the best and tough interviewing I have heard in years.

Lost in last Friday’s news cycle midst the 24/7 coverage of Michael Jackson’s early demise was the House of Representatives passing what is better known as the Cap and Trade Bill. This is the global warming climate legislation. It passed by one vote, with approximately 35 Democrats voting against it, and 8 Republicans voting for it. It is the single most draconian piece of legislation to come from the loony left in the history of the United States, and Americans have yet to appreciate what it is and what it does. It will control and tax every aspect of your life, and will be hard to dismantle once implemented.

Juan Williams asked the interviewed White House spokesman about a little known part of the bill called REEP, which stands for Retrofit for Environmental and Energy Performance. What this portion of the bill does is to require anyone selling their homes, and I am not making this up, to retrofit their home to meet EPA mandated guidelines prior to selling their house. That would mean you would have “retrofit” your furnace, your air conditioner, your refrigerator, your insulation, your windows, before you could sell your home. If this stuns you, it should. Nothing else can demonstrate just how radical the current administration is on whacko environmentalism based on questionable science.

Above and beyond the shock of what this piece of legislation does, was the total nonchalance of the White House spokesman being questioned by Williams as to whether those running the government are nuts. His response was a complete defense of the provisions, claiming that it will be good for America in the long run. It will “save” people money in the long run. Of course, the bill provides that the government will reimburse the homeowners for a portion of the retrofitting…translate…the taxpayers…translate…you. And of course, the homes that would probably require the most retro fitting, say in the bad parts of town, will most likely be paid for by the taxpayer in total. That means you will be paying for yours, plus the poor…because it's only fair.

This Cap and Trade bill will destroy the American economy, and bankrupt those of us who are struggling to pay our bills. It will move massive amounts of industry to India, China, Brazil, and Russia, who are steadfastly refusing to implement similar measures in their own countries. Britain already has a Cap and Trade bill, and it is costing each British homeowner an average of $1300.00 per year, while the economy goes into the dumpster as industry flees the country.

While Michael Jackson’s death was certainly noteworthy, it does not affect my daily life on iota. Cap and Trade, on the other hand, will lead us to the poor house. WAKE UP AMERICA!!!!!!