Full disclosure, I am not a doctor or a nurse but I do work in the medical field so my opinions on this bill are biased.

Please forgive the rant…

I have to laugh when listening to the various commentators talk about how republicans will remember the passage of this garbage this coming November.

Really?

The only thing I need to remember are the last two election cycles where the republicans got hammered. The same republicans that nominated a great American but horrible politician in John McCain. The same republicans that couldn’t stop spending, the same republicans that lost their way from their conservative values. That same batch of republicans was more concerned about being accepted by the dems, they didn’t want to be left out of the D.C. cocktail circuit.

They got their wish and in turn they got their pockets picked.

Elections have consequences…

We are seeing the results of that election today.

No decent person would say that all Americans should not have affordable health care. Of course they should, but what will we actually get with this piece of legislation? It may be affordable but the quality won’t be very good as many physicians will leave the profession in droves. Many more potential HCP’s will take a second look and and go on a different career path.

Those in favor of this bill will feel good today but when they walk into an over crowded E.R. for treatment or when they have a poor quality physician bungle their procedure then they too will understand that elections have consequences.

You get what you pay for.

There is a reason why many great physicians no longer take insurance or participate in medicare…they are good enough to demand cash up front.

I do not have faith in the current state of the republican party because most of them are RINO’s. They are more concerned about being in power then they are about keeping to the conservative values that they claim to embrace.

You know the republican party is a mess when the RNC is more concerned about staying to the center than staying to the RIGHT. We saw it in upstate New York and we are seeing it in Florida. These clowns like Steele and Boehner and McConnell don’t know how to lead, they only want to stay in power. They are addicted to Washington’s polluting ways.

They have no message, they have no plan. They have let the Republican party as we once knew run adrift and then run aground.

This bill is only the beginning. The dems will continue to chip away until they get what they wanted all along…the public option. What a sad day that will be.

I do not have faith that republicans will change. They are to worried about being nice, they don’t want to get down in the trenches and get dirty they dems do seemingly with ease.

Just once I would love some republican pundit melt down like that clown Lawrence O’Donnel does…then maybe it will wake these idiots up that they in the fight of their lives.

Taking back control of one or both houses is not enough, there has to be a fundamental change in the way they do the peoples business. They need to get a fire lit under their butts.

I am disgusted today…

/rant

This idea that the block of pro-choice dems will stay that way if they need their votes was contradicted by Stupak on Greta. If they get close an need them, they’ll do some kind of deal–probably going further than they wanted–but knowing that the prize will be won–Senate bill will be in the books–once the reconciliation bill falls apart in the Senate. So the question is not when will Stupak and others cave, but where is their duping point? In that interview I heard no conviction on his part to defend the Constitution, to head off this trillion dollar boondoggle, etc. Make him happy with some assurance–and Pelosi will find something that pushes his button–and he will vote yes. Actually, if they peel enough of his block off, he floats in the wind, unneeded.

Healthcare Reform Takeover

Details. Details. Details.

What the President and progressive liberals DON’T want you to know.

I have just finished reading the proposed Healthcare Reform Bill that will be “deemed” and “passed” into law after this weekend’s farce “vote”.

To say it is complex and difficult to understand is an understatement. I believe they wrote it this way so they (they=those voting Yea to this monstrosity bill) can fool the American public with “reform” versus what this bill will actually do. Case in point, did you know…

· Final decisions regarding your healthcare will NOT be made by you and your doctor; they will be made by a newly created position of Commissioner of the Health Benefits Advisory Committee (Page1062, Line17).

· The Health Benefits Advisory Committee will determine what is covered and what is not, they will decide what is covered under essential, enhanced and premium plans (Page 1062, Line17).

· The Bill states that the Health Benefits Advisory Committee and Commissioner will determine the essential benefits, general treatments, items, and services you need and get (Page 1066, Line16).

· So who makes up this Health Benefits Advisory Committee? Well, its 25 people; 9 who are APPOINTED BY THE PRESIDENT; 9 who are appointed by the Comptroller of the United States (the Finance Guy); and another 8 who are also APPOINTED by the President. Of these appointees, they will come from various groups representing YOU, including; “experts in racial and ethnics disparagements”, “labor” (think:unions) and ONE (1) “healthcare professional” (Page1064, Line11). Do you think they represent YOU?

· Why a Health Benefits Advisory Committee? Because they want to “protect” you (Page37, Line1)

· What about preventative medicine? Good question…well, for preventative healthcare the Health Benefits Advisory Committee will create a Task Force on Preventative Services (Page1992, Line8) to review and advise which preventative services you and your family will receive, including vaccines, treatments and care (Page 28, Line1). What else is listed under Preventative Services? Would you believe Maternity, Well baby, and Well Child Care (Page 1061, Line 3) are listed as preventative medicines? Yes, the Government will now tell you what care, vaccines, treatment your child will and will not receive. But not yet, you see those healthcare benefits are currently listed on the NO Cost-sharing List meaning the Health Benefits Advisory Committee and Task force still need to review and determine what services will be covered. Yeah like I said, takeover!

· As we have been told, “the government currently does not sponsor abortions” but ask yourself two questions; why is maternity listed as a preventative service? And, why does the term “abortion” not appear anywhere in this 2310 page document? If the federal government absolutely did not want your tax dollars going towards abortion wouldn’t they have stated that someplace within this document? I think “preventative services-maternity” might be government code for “preventative pregnancy”.

· Three more important items within this bill; first, each State can put demands on your coverage and those demands must also be met. So, this is really not universal healthcare for all. Each state can and probably will be different. BUT, the cost will be shared across the board. Remember the Health Benefits Advisory Committee and Commissioner will determine what is “best for all” (Page 1992, Line 8).

· The second item is enrollment. The President will establish community organizers (ACORN?) to enroll you and your family (Page 1144, Line 3 and Page 1149, Line 15). Can we trust community organizer with our healthcare information?

· And Finally, Your EMPLOYER can be fine $100 per day for each day they don’t provide you with this insurance. (Page 1212, Line 11) Do you think that will drive job creation?

So there you are folks, is this healthcare reform you want?

The progressive are hoping you will not take the time to research this bill but you need READ IT. Look up the page and line numbers I pointed out and see for yourself. Then call you state senator and representative and say NO! But you must act now because the progressives are about t make this law.

Tick, tick, tick, tick….the clock is running.

The United States of America is great for a number of reasons. Its commitment to liberty, dedication to charity, defense of its friends and freedom around the globe, historical reliance on the individual and on free markets, and in my opinion, national reverence for the Almighty, are among those things that make our nation the greatest the world has ever known. But perhaps second only to our collective Faith in God – our commitment to the rule of law sets us apart and serves as the foundation for our strength and prosperity. One need not look any farther than our southern neighbors in Mexico to see what the world looks like when the rule of law is abandoned.

In America, the rule of law is under direct attack. And unfortunately the frontal assault comes primarily from the President of the United States, the Attorney General, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to name a few.

Example #1: The President and the Attorney General fraudulently and recklessly declare that terrorists can and should be convicted in civilian courts, yet will not say what will happen if these terrorists are found innocent - saying only that “this will not happen.” (see, e.g. Andy McCarthy here, and generally). By doing so, they make a mockery of the very rule of law they pretend to be protecting - and they weaken our national security in the process.

Example #2: The President and the Speaker of the House are on the verge of colluding to pass a bill that will effectively nationalize 1/6 of our economy, turn our personal healthcare decisions over to bureaucrats, spend trillions of dollars – and they will do so without actually having passed the bill in both Houses. Even if one doesn’t think this is unconstitutional in the sense one might get the Court to strike it down (though sue we should – and kudos to Mark Levin and Landmark Legal for preparing to do so) – it definitively, most assuredly, turns the Constitution and the rule of law on its head – and dangerously so.

Suffice it to say that President Obama and his minions arrogantly and callously barrel full steam ahead with total reckless disregard for the Constitution and the rule of law – and it’s not just our national security and healthcare that is at stake. It is our very way of life. The rule of law cannot be compartmentalized – when we weaken it in one respect, we weaken it in all respects – and thus property rights, faith in our system of justice, belief in our elected leaders and virtually every link between citizen and government is destroyed.

So what to do? We continue to fight and we fight harder. We fight this weekend (see gopcodered and call Congress). We fight in the Senate. We get our states to pass laws contrary to this unconstitutional intrusion by the national government (see: 30 states have taken or are taking action… do more). We sue – and sue in multiple places for multiple reasons (see, e.g. Levin above, VA AG Ken Cucinelli preparing to sue, and numerous other states as well). We crush democrats in the fall (give money to conservative candidates like Marco Rubio, Mike Lee in Utah over establishmentarian and pro-government healthcare Bob Bennett), we repeal it (see: www.repealit.org)– and most of all, we all simply say, “hell no.”

Like most Americans, I am committed to God, to liberty, to self-reliance and to taking care of my loved ones as I see fit. No one – and I really mean NO ONE – will ever get in the way of those things. I will fight with every ounce of my being to be able to give to my son his birthright – that of being an American – and to have that mean something. I will not allow a self-absorbed, narcissistic fool hell bent on creating a totalitarian state not even in the name of compassion, but rather, in the name of himself, to destroy the rule of law, and thus the nation. Game on.

(cross-posted at http://submandave.blogspot.com/2010/03/break-rules-and-you-get-no-bone.html)

There should be grave personal consequences for those Democrats who go against the wishes of their constituency and vote for whatever bill it is that eventually leads to enactment of Obamacare. This is especially true for those who are deemed “Blue Dogs.” This has been repeated communicated and, at this point, any Congressman who is determined to votes “Yea” in the face of these warnings is beyond redemption and further entreaties are wasted efforts. Having sufficiently brandished the stick, it now the time for Republicans and conservatives to whip out their carrots in order to try and convince the undecided why it is a good thing to vote “Nay.”

First, how much is defeating this effort worth? Personally, I believe it’s worth quite a bit. With this in mind, I would encourage every Republican, Libertarian, or conservative represented by one of the current fence-sitters to communicate to their representative how voting against the bill personally benefits them. Let them know, in no uncertain terms, that supporting their vote transcends party or philosophical boundaries. Let them know that their “Nay” in March directly translates to your “Yea” in November. Let them know that in 2010 you are a one-issue voter and regardless of how you may have voted on the past, should they help defeat this massive government grab, you’ll be voting for a Democrat for House this time. Let them know that the right vote now and you will give their opponent with neither time nor money. What can Pelosi et. al. (who very possibly may be out of power next year) offer them that is better than an easy reelection.

This vote happens once, but there will be another Congressional election in 2012. I don’t care how much you want to claim that seat, it’s worth it to grant the Democrat incumbent a two-year breather to kill this effort.

I believe that I’ve finally figured out what it will take to make the liberal proponents of Government Healthcare see things from the conservative side of the argument.

Before I show you my idea though, we need to get one thing straight… conservatives are not opposed to fixing the issues that need to be fixed (i.e. helping those that truly need the help with healthcare).  What conservatives are opposed to is the eventual single payer, GOVERNMENT healthcare solution.  Conservatives don’t look to government as the first solution to every problem.

Liberals, you have a laser-like focus on passing this healthcare bill (by any means necessary). While you are focusing on that goal however, you are losing sight of something. It’s the thing that makes conservatives realize that government is not the answer to our problems.

You are not going to be in power forever - even if the current congress tries to “deem” it so. Eventually (probably starting this November) you lose your grasp of power, and the Republicans will hold the reigns. When that happens, guess who will be in charge of your healthcare decisions if the current bill is made into law.

You feel safe now, when your party is in charge.  Do you really think that the Democrats will always be in control of your day-to-day healthcare decisions?  How would you have liked government healthcare if George Bush were in charge? How about Karl Rove?  Dick Cheney?  How would you feel with a medical rationing panel made up of Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and Ann Coulter?

Better yet, think of the two people on the political right that just make your blood boil and your mouths foam in anger?  Now, think about this…

Read More →

The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.

There is no such thing as a good tax.

We contend that for a nation to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.

The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy.

FYI, I received this ‘Final March” email an hour ago:

Barry –

“I’m here for Natoma.”

That’s what President Obama wrote us yesterday about Natoma Canfield, an Ohio woman whose story helped inspire the President and the nation to keep fighting for reform.

As we speak, each member of Congress is preparing to cast their last vote on health reform, while insurance-company lobbyists bombard D.C. with a million-dollar-a-day campaign of distortions and threats. To break through in these final moments, we must show Congress why we’ll never forget the choice they make: Because we’re fighting for the people who matter most in our lives.

So today, we’ve launched a new tool to help OFA supporters show Congress the names of the people who drive us to support reform. It might be a sick father. Maybe it’s a friend who lost her job. Or maybe it’s a daughter who simply deserves to grow up knowing that affordable care is always within reach. Whoever you know that’s inspired you to fight for reform, the time to act is now.

Our voice is strongest when we speak out together, so we’re aiming to send 2487 messages from Austin to Representative Smith today. Submitting your letter takes just a moment — please click here to join in.

Representative Smith has not supported health reform efforts so far, but a message about why you’re fighting could help provide the resolve to rise above partisan divides and do what’s right for your district and the country.

As the President reminded us, reform is not only about helping those who struggle today — it’s about making sure that no American is ever just one job loss, accident, or illness away from going without the care they require. That’s why we’re committed to reform that ends insurance-company abuses, guarantees affordable choices, and brings down costs.

But it all depends on the upcoming vote in the House of Representatives — and with just a day or two left, it’s still too close to call.

Our new online tool makes it easy to tell Rep. Smith who you’re fighting for, and you can even submit a quick photo to drive the message home. Your words and images will be sent straight to your representative, and they’ll be visible to every member of Congress before the final vote is cast.

Together, we can send a unique message, powerful enough to break through when it matters the most.

http://my.barackobama.com/DayNine

Thanks for making it possible,

Natalie

Natalie Foster
New Media Director

Natoma Canfield is the face for socializing one-sixth of our economy.

My Red State post on Natoma Canfield is here. (Sorry for the typing mistakes–I’ve got two kids under two in this household.) Here’s a recently added comment there about Natoma:

A spokesman for the Cleveland Clinic
mikerazar Thursday, March 18th at 11:39AM EDT (link)
said that Ms. Canfield would continue to receive the best care available. She might qualify for some government or private aid, but under no circumstances would the Clininc put a lien on her home.
Imagine that! The Cleveland Clinic, one of the finest medical facilities in the entire world, is actually behaving ethically and compassionately. Another leftwing lie bites the dust.

My prayers are with Natoma Canfield. I hope she makes a full recovery. What Obama can’t understand is that achieving that outcome means more to her medical team than all the material luxuries in the world. How sad fior him. How sad for us.

So the CBO finally pulled some numbers out of their “Alice in Wonderland” tea leaves. Never mind that behind the scenes, Nancy Pelosi stood outside with purple shirted SEIU thugs ready to do physical harm to any CBO auditor that didn’t come up with the right number, as that was a given. (ok, I made that up.  We all know that Nancy’s just a kitten and would never even imply there would be some sort of retribution!).

And the result? Almost one T R I L L I O N dollars that we will borrow from the Chinese to pay for our health care that my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren will be forced to somehow pay back, or work for the Chinese government in return. Or default on and turn us into Greece. (I’m banking on the latter - sorry, China. Bad investment that “full faith and credit of the U.S.” thing, huh?)

Oh, that and the CBO automagically discovered there will be $130 billion in deficit reduction. Well, at least that’s a pretty good thing…wait…wha?  OVER TEN YEARS??????

Steny “Bootlick” Hoyer says this is the biggest deficit reduction coming out of Congress in 25 years, which …god help us all…is probably true and the saddest commentary of all in this whole mess.

So let’s review.  This Congress and the Obama Administration incurred a deficit of over $250 Billion dollars.

In February.

Now, the biggest reduction in deficit spending in 25 years will return about two weeks of federal spending back to the kitty, but only over the course of ten years.  We think. Maybe. Because anything more than 10 months out is a guess anyway, and my 5 year old can “guess” more accurately than these guys, given their track record on what things will cost.

And the Blue Dogs and fiscal moderates are going to use THIS as their fig leaf to vote for health care????

Seriously guys…have some dignity.  Go out there, stark naked, vote for the bill, and at least be man enough to say that Pelosi has your nuts in a jar somewhere, and wouldn’t give them back unless you voted for this monstrosity.  That we could empathize with.  But don’t pretend that two measly weeks of deficit reduction spread out over 10 years of reading tea leaves is going to give you ANY kind of cover whatsoever.

We know you think all we conservatives are knuckle-dragging nut jobs who can’t read, but even the most “challenged” among us know that a used tissue would be more cover than this CBO report will be come election time.

End your delusion. Oh, and thanks for 18 months of political jihad just to save a couple weeks on the deficit.

Wow.  Never have so many, fought so hard, for so long, and suffered such casualty for so absolutely little.

PS.
So little, you say? Yes, because no matter what happens on Sunday, the chances of this bill actually going into effect for any number of reasons are exactly ZERO.

Constitutional, states rights, nullification…all nice intellectual cases that can be made.  But I’m banking the pols at the state level won’t be much help when it comes right down to it, and only when 30 million Americans refuse to BUY health insurance, and refuse to pay the “fine” and opt for jail time, then we’ll see what real nullification looks like.

You gonna jail 30 million, Nancy and Barry? (Harry will be gone come November)

March 16th Leonard Boswell sent out a press release on why he supports health insurance reform quoting President Theodore Roosevelt saying “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain difficult…”

He goes on and says, “[f]or nearly 100 years, we as a country have recognized that there is a need to reform our health care system, but have instead let partisan bickering and politicking trump the health and well-being of our loved ones…

“…It will address the fact that medical expenses are the number one cause of bankruptcy in this country…

“…My priority has always been to make sure that the needs of all Iowans are addressed in final health insurance legislation…

“…Just last month, 80,000 individual policyholders in Iowa were faced with premium hikes averaging 18 percent…

“…Small business owners have been unable to hire additional employees because they can’t afford the increase in insurance costs.”

Yet another great example of the audacity of corruption.

Leonard Boswell has done nothing but politicize healthcare along with his left standing hypocrite friends.  They claim to address issues like medical bankruptcy, high insurance costs and quality of care issues yet in our own VA Hospitals currently run by the government they’ve done nothing but mismanage the entire process to the detriment of our Veterans.  This bill will do nothing to control costs.  You can’t lower premiums when costs are rising for the manufacturers and expect anything to happen.  This will lead to higher consumption rates and higher costs.

Leonard Boswell claims that he has always been working to ensure Iowans are addressed in “final” health insurance legislation.  Is that why he stood by and said nothing when Obama, Reid and Pelosi were making threats to some and bribing others to agree to this debacle of a bill?  Leonard stopped caring about Iowa and stopped voting for Iowa long before now.

Leonard Boswell uses fear-mongering tactics arguing that 80,000 Iowans saw insurance premium hikes this year yet they are the ones that are not allowing interstate competition to lower those costs.  This is what happens when you have a government regulated monopoly.

Leonard Boswell claims that the reason small businesses can’t hire new people because of the costs of insurance.  Has he forgotten we are in the middle of a recession and that the cost of a new salary is much more daunting than health insurance?  Unemployment is not tied to healthcare costs.  It is tied to the fact that the economy isn’t growing and won’t grow until Boswell and his colleagues step out of the way.

This bill is nothing but corrupt.  Leonard Boswell and his leftist leadership have done nothing but propagate lies and hide facts.  These are fabricated lies.  Government run healthcare will not decrease costs.  Government run healthcare will not increase availability. Government healthcare will not improve quality.  Government healthcare will not fix our economy.  Government healthcare is unconstitutional!  Congress has no right to dictate what I do and don’t do with my body.