There is plenty of discussion about what insurance companies have done to claimants and most of that discussion is just scare tactics. On the other hand we have lots of discussion about how fair and good Medicare, government health care, is which is just hot air.
Medicare: Largest Denier Of Health Care Claims
Also, the monstrous insurance company CEOs, they're the ones that deny cute kids while sipping Martinis, and their companies really aren't as rich as their detractors make them out to be.
Now, mix in all the waste, fraud and abuse with the outright corruption and a government run health care system is a nightmare, especially since this fight isn't about helping sick people, it's about government power placed in the hands of a few.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Ancient Stone Work
Karnak (click to enlarge)
An old photo of the huge hall of columns at Karnak, before restoration.The scale here is astounding - that is a man down there at the bottom.
Government Health Care As Brer Rabbit
Brer Rabbit's eyes got very large. "Oh please Brer Fox, whatever you do, please don't throw me into the briar patch."
"Maybe I should roast you over a fire and eat you," mused Brer Fox. "No, that's too much trouble. Maybe I'll hang you instead."
"Roast me! Hang me! Do whatever you please," said Brer Rabbit. "Only please, Brer Fox, please don't throw me into the briar patch."
"If I'm going to hang you, I'll need some string," said Brer Fox. "And I don't have any string handy. But the stream's not far away, so maybe I'll drown you instead."
"Drown me! Roast me! Hang me! Do whatever you please," said Brer Rabbit. "Only please, Brer Fox, please don't throw me into the briar patch."
"The briar patch, eh?" said Brer Fox. "What a wonderful idea! You'll be torn into little pieces!"
From Rich Galen's Mullings:
According to Janet Adamy's coverage in the Wall Street Journal,
The bill requires most Americans to have health insurance by 2013, with fines as much as 2.5% of income if they don't. It would leave 96% of legal U.S. residents with health insurance by 2019, up from 83% today.
Also
Employers that don't offer health insurance face fines equal to 2% of their payroll in companies with minimum annual payrolls of $500,000 a year. The fines increase to 8% of payroll for employers whose annual payroll exceeds $750,000.
Firms with a payroll of less than $500,000 would be exempt.
I'm not certain, but let me work though this. If I had a firm with 20 employees making an average of $50,000 per year each, my payroll would be $1 million per year. If I were offering health insurance, my premiums would be, what about $400-500 per month per employee?
If I stopped offering health insurance, my one million dollar payroll would be subject to a tax of $80,000 per year - or $333.33 per month per employee which is probably less than what I'm paying now.
I might well be ahead of the game to turn the process over to the Feds, pay the tax, and get out of the health insurance business.
So, Mr Obama has promised that companies and individuals can keep the health insurance coverage they like. And, as people and employers heat up and say if this crap passes we'll throw you out of office, Obama and gang protests that they won't raise taxes nor force anyone to do that which they do not wish to do!
And when the people say that the Constitution doesn't give them the right or the power to do this?
The socialized medical gang pleads back that this isn't socialized medicine because we're not going to do any such thing as have a government takeover on medicine AND if it happens because private carriers can't compete with the government and everyone has to go with government socialized medical care, the whole gang will cry;
"Drown me! Roast me! Hang me! Do whatever you please," said Brer Rabbit. "Only please, Brer Fox, please don't throw me into the briar patch."
Right now, we appear dumber than Brer Fox as the caring little bunnies on the left smile like the Chesire Cat.
But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
"Maybe I should roast you over a fire and eat you," mused Brer Fox. "No, that's too much trouble. Maybe I'll hang you instead."
"Roast me! Hang me! Do whatever you please," said Brer Rabbit. "Only please, Brer Fox, please don't throw me into the briar patch."
"If I'm going to hang you, I'll need some string," said Brer Fox. "And I don't have any string handy. But the stream's not far away, so maybe I'll drown you instead."
"Drown me! Roast me! Hang me! Do whatever you please," said Brer Rabbit. "Only please, Brer Fox, please don't throw me into the briar patch."
"The briar patch, eh?" said Brer Fox. "What a wonderful idea! You'll be torn into little pieces!"
From Rich Galen's Mullings:
According to Janet Adamy's coverage in the Wall Street Journal,
The bill requires most Americans to have health insurance by 2013, with fines as much as 2.5% of income if they don't. It would leave 96% of legal U.S. residents with health insurance by 2019, up from 83% today.
Also
Employers that don't offer health insurance face fines equal to 2% of their payroll in companies with minimum annual payrolls of $500,000 a year. The fines increase to 8% of payroll for employers whose annual payroll exceeds $750,000.
Firms with a payroll of less than $500,000 would be exempt.
I'm not certain, but let me work though this. If I had a firm with 20 employees making an average of $50,000 per year each, my payroll would be $1 million per year. If I were offering health insurance, my premiums would be, what about $400-500 per month per employee?
If I stopped offering health insurance, my one million dollar payroll would be subject to a tax of $80,000 per year - or $333.33 per month per employee which is probably less than what I'm paying now.
I might well be ahead of the game to turn the process over to the Feds, pay the tax, and get out of the health insurance business.
So, Mr Obama has promised that companies and individuals can keep the health insurance coverage they like. And, as people and employers heat up and say if this crap passes we'll throw you out of office, Obama and gang protests that they won't raise taxes nor force anyone to do that which they do not wish to do!
And when the people say that the Constitution doesn't give them the right or the power to do this?
The socialized medical gang pleads back that this isn't socialized medicine because we're not going to do any such thing as have a government takeover on medicine AND if it happens because private carriers can't compete with the government and everyone has to go with government socialized medical care, the whole gang will cry;
"Drown me! Roast me! Hang me! Do whatever you please," said Brer Rabbit. "Only please, Brer Fox, please don't throw me into the briar patch."
Right now, we appear dumber than Brer Fox as the caring little bunnies on the left smile like the Chesire Cat.
But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Obama Campaign/DNC Loves Desecrated Flag
In a move so unsurprising it should spawn a yawn:
According to the Organizing for American Web site, the 20 finalists in the “Health Reform Video Challenge” were chosen by a panel of “qualified” Democratic National Committee “employee judges.”
This should win over some people, but the question is, which people and why would any group want them?
According to the Organizing for American Web site, the 20 finalists in the “Health Reform Video Challenge” were chosen by a panel of “qualified” Democratic National Committee “employee judges.”
This should win over some people, but the question is, which people and why would any group want them?
Obama, Instead of McChsrystal Light, Why Not McChrystal Heavy?
When someone comes to me and asks for a specific number of workers, my first question is why that number? I may continue with something along the lines of, is that number stated because you think I'll say fewer? Then I'd ask why not fifty percent more?
'McChrystal Light': Obama considering scaled-down war plan...
In the military it is not just dollars and cents (have we started using the Yen yet?), it is about success and lives. By going light, Obama is sending a clear message to our enemy and that enemy knows that now is the time to step up their attacks and cowardly terror acts used purposely to kill civilians. 'McChrystal Light' will kill more of our troops and fewer of the terrorists. It will win over fewer tribal leaders. They understand the basics of war which each day shows Obama and team have not a clue about. A potential tribal leader ally doesn't read polls. Obama and team do.
Obama should have asked General McChrytal about sending 60,000 troops. He should have asked if 20,000 troops over McChrystals request would make a major difference in terms of success of the over all mission.
McChrystal Light is a sissy's way out which will embolden our enemy in Afghanistan to be bigger neighborhood bullies to terrorize the tribes into believing that America is, once again, a sissy. No, not our troops, not our military leaders, but those in the White House sipping their cocktails, playing generals, politicos and poll parsing sissies.
I'd send a message to our troops, our citizens and our enemy with 60,000 soldiers. That would support the former two and crush the latter in deed and in spirit.
'McChrystal Light': Obama considering scaled-down war plan...
In the military it is not just dollars and cents (have we started using the Yen yet?), it is about success and lives. By going light, Obama is sending a clear message to our enemy and that enemy knows that now is the time to step up their attacks and cowardly terror acts used purposely to kill civilians. 'McChrystal Light' will kill more of our troops and fewer of the terrorists. It will win over fewer tribal leaders. They understand the basics of war which each day shows Obama and team have not a clue about. A potential tribal leader ally doesn't read polls. Obama and team do.
Obama should have asked General McChrytal about sending 60,000 troops. He should have asked if 20,000 troops over McChrystals request would make a major difference in terms of success of the over all mission.
McChrystal Light is a sissy's way out which will embolden our enemy in Afghanistan to be bigger neighborhood bullies to terrorize the tribes into believing that America is, once again, a sissy. No, not our troops, not our military leaders, but those in the White House sipping their cocktails, playing generals, politicos and poll parsing sissies.
I'd send a message to our troops, our citizens and our enemy with 60,000 soldiers. That would support the former two and crush the latter in deed and in spirit.
Excellent Advice On NY-23
I have long countered that 3rd parties are destructive to Republicans and dilute the power of the people. NY-23 is an example of the antithesis in that locals are sending a clear message that machine politics is wrong for Republicans.
Newt Gingrich has become embroiled in the hopes of retaining a unified Republican showing at the polls, which is laudable, but is also interference in local politics, which is not laudable.
Instapundit has some excellent advice which to me cuts the Gordian knot of this conundrum:
To my mind, it’s more important — that people not divide into permanently warring camps than that anything in particular happen in this election. The nice thing about NY-23 is that it’s an opportunity to send a message at low cost, but the cost won’t be low if it produces long-running enmity. Instead, it should be a spur for people to get involved in politics at the state and local level now, rather than complaining about the nominees later.
A Republican Party filled with activists that work together and ignore the petty politics of "my way is the only true way" will lead us back out of the nightmare that is Washington, DC today.
Newt Gingrich has become embroiled in the hopes of retaining a unified Republican showing at the polls, which is laudable, but is also interference in local politics, which is not laudable.
Instapundit has some excellent advice which to me cuts the Gordian knot of this conundrum:
To my mind, it’s more important — that people not divide into permanently warring camps than that anything in particular happen in this election. The nice thing about NY-23 is that it’s an opportunity to send a message at low cost, but the cost won’t be low if it produces long-running enmity. Instead, it should be a spur for people to get involved in politics at the state and local level now, rather than complaining about the nominees later.
A Republican Party filled with activists that work together and ignore the petty politics of "my way is the only true way" will lead us back out of the nightmare that is Washington, DC today.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Obama's Afghanistan Links
"By any measure, our single-minded and open-ended focus on Iraq is not a sound strategy for keeping America safe," Obama said in his speech here, which continued a theme he has outlined before: Afghanistan, not Iraq, should be the centerpiece of the war on terrorism.Politico reports:
Obama has only been in office for just over nine months, but he’s already hit the links as much as President Bush did in over two years.
Obama has only been in office for just over nine months, but he’s already hit the links as much as President Bush did in over two years.
The Religion Of Peace
Remember, we must have a sharp focus on the most important war in Afghanistan. Iraq and other places were a waste, because all the terrorists and Sammy bin Laden are in Afghanistan.
28th October, 2001 : Islamic extremist gunmen burst into a church in eastern Pakistan killing 18 people including children who were at prayer.
If only those peskyterrorists criminals would just recognize borders. Have they no sense of place?
28th October, 2001 : Islamic extremist gunmen burst into a church in eastern Pakistan killing 18 people including children who were at prayer.
If only those pesky
Obama's DC Most Ethical Swamp EVAH!
Might be that Pelosi is running the drainage pumps in the wrong direction.
Democratic donors rewarded with W.H. perks
"The argument is not that I'm pristine, because I'm swimming in the same muddy water," Mr. Obama said during a campaign appearance. "The argument is that I know it's muddy, and I want to clean it up."
Democratic donors rewarded with W.H. perks
"The argument is not that I'm pristine, because I'm swimming in the same muddy water," Mr. Obama said during a campaign appearance. "The argument is that I know it's muddy, and I want to clean it up."
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
An Unmaking Of The American Quilt Party In Obama's WH
If Obama is the host, Rahm Emanuel and David Axlerod must be the hostesses to the Busy Bee Committee unquilting, piece by piece, the American Quilt that is America. The group is made up of not just celebrities, such as Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, but also luminaries of the socialist world view like Senator Chuck Schumer, Representative Henry Waxman, interim White House Communications Director Anita Dunn, Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner and a ever growing number of American czars. All hellbent on tearing America apart to be reshaped into their vision of what America should be. A nanny state that covers a iron fist with a velveteen glove of concern.
Square by square, the quilt is looked at by this group through a lens that views those who have built America as unAmerican. A view that America has basic faults that once exposed will be corrected by government intervention, guiding America back to what made it great, which to them is government control from cradle to grave. Never mind that this is the precise formula that our founding fathers abhorred and put their lives and fortunes on the block to fight and defeat to form a new country where king and government were cast aside for the creative force of economic and personal freedom.
Cap and Trade and health care reform have become the vanguard of this effort to fundamentally dumb down America.
Cap and Trade represents a huge tax on an elusive target that is much debated and rejected by the same taxpayers who don't want to pay for it. Health care is being reformed for a public that doesn't want the reform, especially in the way that the unquilting party is promising.
Cap and Trade and health care reform are just the tip of what Obama has not already done and what he wants to do, thus speed becomes Paramount. Paramont because his view is losing support quickly and each day brings more questions such as, has anyone even read what is in these plans and how will these things be paid for. That debt and dominance will be our future is becoming a very real fear to voters and that could be what brings down the Obama Administration. The administrations' fear of the voters is driving the frenetic pace with which the administration whips its people to offer more proof of the need for government intervention into the everyday lives of Americans.
That government intervention is a necessity can be witnessed by the faits accomplis, global warming, bank takeovers, driving insurance companies out of business, the taking of auto corporations and stimulus packages that stimulate nothing. The ying and yang of the need for a national police force and the wonder of a national youth service are extensions of the policies already enacted.
This American dream envisioned by Obama and his hard core leftist followers is a new quilt made of swaths of promises of a bigger pieces of the pie, more pay, less work and no responsibility. It is a quilt that will leave us unwarm on the cold night before reality brings a colder morning of poverty, no opportunity and no security on any front.
Congress will bring some form of the public option, ie government control, to health care reform because that is what they want. They will rename it a "consumer option", maybe a "competitive option" or they will say states will be able to "opt in" or "opt out" in hopes that people will think they will still control their own destiny, but however they try to fool the people, they will bring the take over of health care in America.
As Obama said, it may take 10 years, maybe 15 years, but the end of private health care and total government control of health care is the holy grail of these secular crusaders. It is because if they fail in the here and now, the rest of their goals will fail as well.
Health care reform is simply the mechanism on which they have hung their hat to complete their take over of the government which will control us. The constant campaign never seems to stop.
Square by square, the quilt is looked at by this group through a lens that views those who have built America as unAmerican. A view that America has basic faults that once exposed will be corrected by government intervention, guiding America back to what made it great, which to them is government control from cradle to grave. Never mind that this is the precise formula that our founding fathers abhorred and put their lives and fortunes on the block to fight and defeat to form a new country where king and government were cast aside for the creative force of economic and personal freedom.
Cap and Trade and health care reform have become the vanguard of this effort to fundamentally dumb down America.
Cap and Trade represents a huge tax on an elusive target that is much debated and rejected by the same taxpayers who don't want to pay for it. Health care is being reformed for a public that doesn't want the reform, especially in the way that the unquilting party is promising.
Cap and Trade and health care reform are just the tip of what Obama has not already done and what he wants to do, thus speed becomes Paramount. Paramont because his view is losing support quickly and each day brings more questions such as, has anyone even read what is in these plans and how will these things be paid for. That debt and dominance will be our future is becoming a very real fear to voters and that could be what brings down the Obama Administration. The administrations' fear of the voters is driving the frenetic pace with which the administration whips its people to offer more proof of the need for government intervention into the everyday lives of Americans.
That government intervention is a necessity can be witnessed by the faits accomplis, global warming, bank takeovers, driving insurance companies out of business, the taking of auto corporations and stimulus packages that stimulate nothing. The ying and yang of the need for a national police force and the wonder of a national youth service are extensions of the policies already enacted.
Now, in a classic yet never ending Obama campaign ploy to rejump start health care reform, we are bombarded with stories of flu epidemics, how women pay 50% more for health care, that 1/3 of those afflicted with AIDS are not even aware they have the disease, that Democrats have just realized that Medicare/Medicaid is in a state of crisis and that (insert this weeks' number) of Americans are without any health care. This is just at the national level and is classic divide and conquer by scaring the bejeebus out different groups. At the state and local level, that media, almost daily, there are stories of a 'crisis' that cries out for government help.
The forces aligned to further health care reform as 'good' for America now feel that finally they are now realizing what they have been promised for decades. Unions that have existed as well as newer unions that have serpentined into our schools and universities, government and even our security functions, leftists that feel disaffected by the necessities of living, leftist media and political functionaries, even artists, are demanding the due promised them by liberal/progressive/socialists in the Democratic Party. Again, it is classic Obama campaigning to gather those promised handouts as a 'right' with those who feel disaffected with leftists in the Democrat Party to organize. This is a coalition of the takers, fakers and breakers of the American Quilt that symbolizes the American Dream.
To this coalition, what is not to love about benevolent overlords helping citizens who are incapable of understanding a government that is a perpetual motion machine funded by an unending pool of money and is a modern model of governance far too complex for any one citizen to truly understand?
This American dream envisioned by Obama and his hard core leftist followers is a new quilt made of swaths of promises of a bigger pieces of the pie, more pay, less work and no responsibility. It is a quilt that will leave us unwarm on the cold night before reality brings a colder morning of poverty, no opportunity and no security on any front.
Congress will bring some form of the public option, ie government control, to health care reform because that is what they want. They will rename it a "consumer option", maybe a "competitive option" or they will say states will be able to "opt in" or "opt out" in hopes that people will think they will still control their own destiny, but however they try to fool the people, they will bring the take over of health care in America.
As Obama said, it may take 10 years, maybe 15 years, but the end of private health care and total government control of health care is the holy grail of these secular crusaders. It is because if they fail in the here and now, the rest of their goals will fail as well.
Health care reform is simply the mechanism on which they have hung their hat to complete their take over of the government which will control us. The constant campaign never seems to stop.
Monday, October 26, 2009
October 23
23rd October, 2002 :
Fifty Chechen rebels storm a Moscow Theatre taking 7,000 hostages. The rebels had explosives strapped to their bodies and were demanding the withdrawal of Soviet Forces from Chechnya. Three days later after the death of two of the hostages Russian Special Forces stormed the building and during the raid most of the terrorists and 120 hostages were killed during the raid.
23rd October, 1983 :
A suicide bomber drives a truck packed with explosives into the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 military personnel.
Fifty Chechen rebels storm a Moscow Theatre taking 7,000 hostages. The rebels had explosives strapped to their bodies and were demanding the withdrawal of Soviet Forces from Chechnya. Three days later after the death of two of the hostages Russian Special Forces stormed the building and during the raid most of the terrorists and 120 hostages were killed during the raid.
23rd October, 1983 :
A suicide bomber drives a truck packed with explosives into the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 military personnel.
EPA & Obama Newest Attacks on Coal - Zack Space Silent
Following his vote for the Cap and Trade energy tax on every house in America, Zack Space appears to have not lifted a finger to protect his constituents.
War on coal
While campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama said his cap-and-trade tax plans would "bankrupt" anyone building a coal-fired power plant. Although those taxes haven't materialized, the Environmental Protection Agency has put the brakes on 79 surface mining permits in four states since he was elected.
The EPA says these permits could violate the Clean Water Act and warrant "enhanced" review. But the agency went even further last week, announcing plans to revoke a permit for the Spruce No. 1 Mine in West Virginia - a move that has caused anxiety among coal-state Democrats about the future of the industry under the Obama administration.
Mr. Obama's opposition to coal has been apparent since January 2008 when he told the San Francisco Chronicle he would clamp down on miners by enacting a cap-and-trade system that would make it too expensive to stay in business. "So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can," he said at the time. "It's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted."
Although his favored cap-and-trade bill hasn't yet been passed, West Virginia's Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin III, who supported Mr. Obama's candidacy, called the EPA moves part of a stealth campaign to stifle the industry.
"Right now, my belief is that they're trying to kill off surface mining through regulation what they cannot get done through legislation," Mr. Manchin told MetroNews Talkline, a West Virginia call-in radio program, earlier this month. In West Virginia, 23 permits are being held up, with other affected states being Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.
War on coal
While campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama said his cap-and-trade tax plans would "bankrupt" anyone building a coal-fired power plant. Although those taxes haven't materialized, the Environmental Protection Agency has put the brakes on 79 surface mining permits in four states since he was elected.
The EPA says these permits could violate the Clean Water Act and warrant "enhanced" review. But the agency went even further last week, announcing plans to revoke a permit for the Spruce No. 1 Mine in West Virginia - a move that has caused anxiety among coal-state Democrats about the future of the industry under the Obama administration.
Mr. Obama's opposition to coal has been apparent since January 2008 when he told the San Francisco Chronicle he would clamp down on miners by enacting a cap-and-trade system that would make it too expensive to stay in business. "So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can," he said at the time. "It's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted."
Although his favored cap-and-trade bill hasn't yet been passed, West Virginia's Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin III, who supported Mr. Obama's candidacy, called the EPA moves part of a stealth campaign to stifle the industry.
"Right now, my belief is that they're trying to kill off surface mining through regulation what they cannot get done through legislation," Mr. Manchin told MetroNews Talkline, a West Virginia call-in radio program, earlier this month. In West Virginia, 23 permits are being held up, with other affected states being Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Friday FUGLY: Kabul Poppy Palace
Believe it, this is a house. It looks a lot like the jukebox at Buttsies Bar & Grill, though not as pretty.
Pelosi Reads Her Own Constitution
Her's has nothing to do with our constitution, but her status as head of the rarefied strata of righteousness allows for such common discourtesy as fact.
CNSNews reported:
CNSNews.com asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday where the Constitution authorized Congress to order Americans to buy health insurance–a mandate included in both the House and Senate versions of the health care bill–Pelosi dismissed the question by saying: “Are you serious? Are you serious?”
Pelosi’s press secretary later responded to written follow-up questions from CNSNews.com by emailing CNSNews.com a press release on the “Constitutionality of Health Insurance Reform,” that argues that Congress derives the authority to mandate that people purchase health insurance from its constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce.
The exchange with Speaker Pelosi on Thursday occurred as follows:
CNSNews.com: “Madam Speaker, where specifically does the Constitution grant Congress the authority to enact an individual health insurance mandate?”
Pelosi: “Are you serious? Are you serious?”
CNSNews.com: “Yes, yes I am.”
Pelosi then shook her head before taking a question from another reporter.
The forced health care is in an amendment right after the abortion rights amendment and just before the so-called 'Wall' amendment which erects a wall between citizens and their rights to fire arms, religion and freedom of speech not designated in the Constitution of Pelosi (COP).
Nanna needs some more of her "mother's little helpers" and soon.
UPDATE: A great idea from a Hot Air commentor:
I just sent the following message to http://www.speaker.gov/contact/
Where specifically does the Constitution grant Congress the authority to enact an individual health insurance mandate?
Maybe if enough people ask, she’ll realize it’s a serious question.
malclave on October 23, 2009 at 3:28 PM
CNSNews reported:
CNSNews.com asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday where the Constitution authorized Congress to order Americans to buy health insurance–a mandate included in both the House and Senate versions of the health care bill–Pelosi dismissed the question by saying: “Are you serious? Are you serious?”
Pelosi’s press secretary later responded to written follow-up questions from CNSNews.com by emailing CNSNews.com a press release on the “Constitutionality of Health Insurance Reform,” that argues that Congress derives the authority to mandate that people purchase health insurance from its constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce.
The exchange with Speaker Pelosi on Thursday occurred as follows:
CNSNews.com: “Madam Speaker, where specifically does the Constitution grant Congress the authority to enact an individual health insurance mandate?”
Pelosi: “Are you serious? Are you serious?”
CNSNews.com: “Yes, yes I am.”
Pelosi then shook her head before taking a question from another reporter.
The forced health care is in an amendment right after the abortion rights amendment and just before the so-called 'Wall' amendment which erects a wall between citizens and their rights to fire arms, religion and freedom of speech not designated in the Constitution of Pelosi (COP).
Nanna needs some more of her "mother's little helpers" and soon.
UPDATE: A great idea from a Hot Air commentor:
I just sent the following message to http://www.speaker.gov/contact/
Where specifically does the Constitution grant Congress the authority to enact an individual health insurance mandate?
Maybe if enough people ask, she’ll realize it’s a serious question.
malclave on October 23, 2009 at 3:28 PM
Casinos And Increased Crime Go Hand In Hand
Gambling and Crime
Chad Hills (Originally written by Ron Reno)
Data from gambling communities across the country indicates that gambling does indeed foster a significant increase in crime.
Polls show that most Americans assume an association between gambling and increased criminal activity. The gambling industry offers hearty denials and various statistical manipulations attempting to counter this perception. Data from gambling communities across the country, however, indicates that gambling does indeed foster a significant increase in crime.
"In the most desperate phase of compulsive gambling, they will do anything to gamble," Schaff said. "They start stealing money from their spouses, family . . . they'll get money anyhow, anywhere. They'll do forgeries, embezzlements, thefts. It's mostly white-collar crime." -Counselor for the Dept. of Corrections in Wisconsin1
"We have studies that show for every dollar you bring in gambling revenue, you'll lose $1.90 in costs to the taxpayer," he said. It's as simple as ABC, "the addiction, the bankruptcy, the crime and corruption that you already have will just multiply with this expansion." … "If you're not fighting it, it's like cancer and will metastasize and take you over," said Tom Grey, President of National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling. 2
"We arrest 450 to 500 people a year for various types of embezzlement crimes. About 40 percent are employees," Keith Copher, chief of enforcement for the Gaming Control Board in Nevada, validates.3
Tony Washington's addiction to gambling was so strong that he robbed to gamble. What began as a flirtation with gambling on weekends, soon suffocated him in unpaid bills. For Washington, a 40-year-old Wisconsin man, the compulsion to gamble led to life in prison. Washington is one of 250,000 compulsive gamblers in Wisconsin and about 8 million nationwide who claim gambling either led them into debt or trouble with their families or the law. Schaff counsels inmates on gambling for the Department of Corrections in Wisconsin.4
The number of purse snatchings, assaults, rapes, robberies and murders skyrocketed after the casinos opened. FBI statistics show the crime rate per 1,000 residents went from 134.3 in 1978 to a peak of 450.3 in 1988.5
In the first six years of casinos in Minnesota, the crime rate in counties with casinos increased more than twice as fast as in non-casino counties. According to an analysis by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the median crime rate in casino counties rose 39 percent during that period as compared to an 18 percent increase in non-casino counties.6
The total number of crimes within a 30-mile radius of Atlantic City increased by 107 percent in the nine years following the introduction of casinos to Atlantic City. 7
The Mississippi Gulf Coast experienced a 43 percent increase in crime in the four years after casinos arrived. Harrison County, where most of the Gulf Coast casinos are located, witnessed a 58 percent increase in total crimes between 1993 and 1996. 8
A U.S. News & World Report analysis found crime rates in casino communities to be 84 percent higher than the national average. Further, while crime rates nationally dropped by 2 percent in 1994, the 31 localities that introduced casinos in 1993 saw an increase in crime of 7.7 percent the following year.9
The number of court cases filed in Tunica County, Mississippi, went from 689 in 1991, the year before casinos began operating there, to 11,100 in 1996. 10
The annual number of calls to the Ledyard, Connecticut, police department jumped from 4,000 to 16,700 within five years after the opening of the nearby Foxwoods Casino. 11
University of Nevada-Las Vegas researchers concluded that the state of Wisconsin experiences an average of 5,300 additional major crimes a year due to the presence of casinos in that state. They also attributed an additional 17,100 arrests for less-serious crimes each year to the existence of casino gambling. 12
Nevada ranked first in crime rates among the fifty states in both 1995 and 1996, based on an analysis of FBI Uniform Crime Report statistics. Further, the violent crime rate in Nevada increased by close to 40 percent from 1991 to 1996, a period in which the national violent crime rate dropped by approximately 10 percent. 13
The San Jose, California, police department reported significant increases in crime in the vicinity of a new cardroom in the year after its opening. Narcotics offenses increased by 200 percent, property crimes by 83 percent, petty thefts by 56 percent, auto thefts by 21 percent, and traffic accidents by 55 percent in a single year. 14
The number of police calls in Black Hawk, Colorado, increased from 25 a year before casinos to 15,000 annually after their introduction. In neighboring Central City, the number of arrests increased by 275 percent the year after casinos arrived. In Cripple Creek, Colorado, serious crime increased by 287 percent in the first three years after casinos. 15
The annual number of felony cases filed in Lawrence County, South Dakota, has increased by approximately 69 percent since the introduction of casinos to Deadwood.16
Half of Louisiana District Attorneys surveyed in 1995 noted gambling as a factor in rising crime rates in their jurisdictions.17
Endnotes:
1. Zahida Hafeez, "Compulsion to gamble led to bank robbery Robber's sister on a mission," Journal Sentinel (WI), 19 October 1998, News, p. 1.
2. Gordon Govier, "Doyle's gaming stance dismays clerics," Capital Times (Madison, WI), 3 March 2003.
3. Thomas J. Walsh and Sheila Gardner, "Harveys Tahoe pit boss, accomplice nabbed in embezzlement scheme," Reno Gazette-Journal, 10 July 2003, http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2003/07/10/46650.php?sp1=rgj&sp2=Umbrella&sp3=Umbrella (8 December 2003).
4. Zahida Hafeez, Journal Sentinel (WI), Ibid.
5. John Curran, "Mixed blessings in Atlantic City, N.J., a quarter-century after first casino opens it doors," The Associated Press, Domestic News, 13 May 2003.
6. Dennis J. McGrath and Chris Ison, “Gambling Spawns a New Breed of Criminal,” [Minneapolis] Star Tribune, December 4, 1995, p. A6.
7. Andrew J. Buck, Simon Hakim, and Uriel Spiegel, “Casinos, Crime and Real Estate Values: Do They Relate?,” Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, August 1991, p. 295.
8. Robert Waterbury, “1996 Mississippi Coast Crime Statistics,” Mississippi Coast Crime Commission, May 1997.
9. Joseph P. Shapiro, “America’s Gambling Fever,” U.S. News & World Report, January 15, 1996, pp. 58, 60.
10. Bartholomew Sullivan, “Once-Sleepy Tunica Awakens to Gambling-Inspired Crime,” [Memphis] Commercial Appeal, October 20, 1997, p. A5.
11. Mayor Wesley J. Johnson, Sr., “Fiscal Impacts of Foxwoods Casino on the Town of Ledyard, Connecticut,” April 1997.
12. William N. Thompson, Ricardo Gazel, Dan Rickman, “Casinos and Crime in Wisconsin: What’s the Connection?”, Wisconsin Policy Research Institute Report, November 1996.
13. Ed Koch, “Nevada: Most Dangerous?” Las Vegas Sun, July 16, 1997, p. 1A.
14. Louis A. Cobarruviaz, City of San Jose Memorandum from the Chief of Police to the Mayor and City Council, October 27, 1995.
15. Colorado Division of Gaming, Criminal Activity, 24 February 2003, http://www.gaming.state.co.us/enforce.htm (24 February 2003); Ann Herda-Rapp, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Sociology UW-Marathon County, A Review of the Sociological Literature on Gambling's Social Impacts, http://www.uwmc.uwc.edu/news_and_events/casino_files/herda-rapp.pdf (22 February 2003); J. Joseph Curran, Jr., “The House Never Loses and Maryland Cannot Win: Why Casino Gaming Is a Bad Idea,” Report of Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr., on the Impact of Casino Gaming on Crime, October 16, 1995, pp. 9, 12, 27 December 1999, (20 February 2003).
16. Information provided by the Eighth Circuit Court of South Dakota, November 12, 1997.
17. Greg Garland, “Crime Rising with Gambling: Bad Checks, Theft Show Biggest Gain,” [Baton Rouge, La.] Advocate, July 30, 1995, p. 1A.
Chad Hills (Originally written by Ron Reno)
Data from gambling communities across the country indicates that gambling does indeed foster a significant increase in crime.
Polls show that most Americans assume an association between gambling and increased criminal activity. The gambling industry offers hearty denials and various statistical manipulations attempting to counter this perception. Data from gambling communities across the country, however, indicates that gambling does indeed foster a significant increase in crime.
"In the most desperate phase of compulsive gambling, they will do anything to gamble," Schaff said. "They start stealing money from their spouses, family . . . they'll get money anyhow, anywhere. They'll do forgeries, embezzlements, thefts. It's mostly white-collar crime." -Counselor for the Dept. of Corrections in Wisconsin1
"We have studies that show for every dollar you bring in gambling revenue, you'll lose $1.90 in costs to the taxpayer," he said. It's as simple as ABC, "the addiction, the bankruptcy, the crime and corruption that you already have will just multiply with this expansion." … "If you're not fighting it, it's like cancer and will metastasize and take you over," said Tom Grey, President of National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling. 2
"We arrest 450 to 500 people a year for various types of embezzlement crimes. About 40 percent are employees," Keith Copher, chief of enforcement for the Gaming Control Board in Nevada, validates.3
Tony Washington's addiction to gambling was so strong that he robbed to gamble. What began as a flirtation with gambling on weekends, soon suffocated him in unpaid bills. For Washington, a 40-year-old Wisconsin man, the compulsion to gamble led to life in prison. Washington is one of 250,000 compulsive gamblers in Wisconsin and about 8 million nationwide who claim gambling either led them into debt or trouble with their families or the law. Schaff counsels inmates on gambling for the Department of Corrections in Wisconsin.4
The number of purse snatchings, assaults, rapes, robberies and murders skyrocketed after the casinos opened. FBI statistics show the crime rate per 1,000 residents went from 134.3 in 1978 to a peak of 450.3 in 1988.5
In the first six years of casinos in Minnesota, the crime rate in counties with casinos increased more than twice as fast as in non-casino counties. According to an analysis by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the median crime rate in casino counties rose 39 percent during that period as compared to an 18 percent increase in non-casino counties.6
The total number of crimes within a 30-mile radius of Atlantic City increased by 107 percent in the nine years following the introduction of casinos to Atlantic City. 7
The Mississippi Gulf Coast experienced a 43 percent increase in crime in the four years after casinos arrived. Harrison County, where most of the Gulf Coast casinos are located, witnessed a 58 percent increase in total crimes between 1993 and 1996. 8
A U.S. News & World Report analysis found crime rates in casino communities to be 84 percent higher than the national average. Further, while crime rates nationally dropped by 2 percent in 1994, the 31 localities that introduced casinos in 1993 saw an increase in crime of 7.7 percent the following year.9
The number of court cases filed in Tunica County, Mississippi, went from 689 in 1991, the year before casinos began operating there, to 11,100 in 1996. 10
The annual number of calls to the Ledyard, Connecticut, police department jumped from 4,000 to 16,700 within five years after the opening of the nearby Foxwoods Casino. 11
University of Nevada-Las Vegas researchers concluded that the state of Wisconsin experiences an average of 5,300 additional major crimes a year due to the presence of casinos in that state. They also attributed an additional 17,100 arrests for less-serious crimes each year to the existence of casino gambling. 12
Nevada ranked first in crime rates among the fifty states in both 1995 and 1996, based on an analysis of FBI Uniform Crime Report statistics. Further, the violent crime rate in Nevada increased by close to 40 percent from 1991 to 1996, a period in which the national violent crime rate dropped by approximately 10 percent. 13
The San Jose, California, police department reported significant increases in crime in the vicinity of a new cardroom in the year after its opening. Narcotics offenses increased by 200 percent, property crimes by 83 percent, petty thefts by 56 percent, auto thefts by 21 percent, and traffic accidents by 55 percent in a single year. 14
The number of police calls in Black Hawk, Colorado, increased from 25 a year before casinos to 15,000 annually after their introduction. In neighboring Central City, the number of arrests increased by 275 percent the year after casinos arrived. In Cripple Creek, Colorado, serious crime increased by 287 percent in the first three years after casinos. 15
The annual number of felony cases filed in Lawrence County, South Dakota, has increased by approximately 69 percent since the introduction of casinos to Deadwood.16
Half of Louisiana District Attorneys surveyed in 1995 noted gambling as a factor in rising crime rates in their jurisdictions.17
Endnotes:
1. Zahida Hafeez, "Compulsion to gamble led to bank robbery Robber's sister on a mission," Journal Sentinel (WI), 19 October 1998, News, p. 1.
2. Gordon Govier, "Doyle's gaming stance dismays clerics," Capital Times (Madison, WI), 3 March 2003.
3. Thomas J. Walsh and Sheila Gardner, "Harveys Tahoe pit boss, accomplice nabbed in embezzlement scheme," Reno Gazette-Journal, 10 July 2003, http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2003/07/10/46650.php?sp1=rgj&sp2=Umbrella&sp3=Umbrella (8 December 2003).
4. Zahida Hafeez, Journal Sentinel (WI), Ibid.
5. John Curran, "Mixed blessings in Atlantic City, N.J., a quarter-century after first casino opens it doors," The Associated Press, Domestic News, 13 May 2003.
6. Dennis J. McGrath and Chris Ison, “Gambling Spawns a New Breed of Criminal,” [Minneapolis] Star Tribune, December 4, 1995, p. A6.
7. Andrew J. Buck, Simon Hakim, and Uriel Spiegel, “Casinos, Crime and Real Estate Values: Do They Relate?,” Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, August 1991, p. 295.
8. Robert Waterbury, “1996 Mississippi Coast Crime Statistics,” Mississippi Coast Crime Commission, May 1997.
9. Joseph P. Shapiro, “America’s Gambling Fever,” U.S. News & World Report, January 15, 1996, pp. 58, 60.
10. Bartholomew Sullivan, “Once-Sleepy Tunica Awakens to Gambling-Inspired Crime,” [Memphis] Commercial Appeal, October 20, 1997, p. A5.
11. Mayor Wesley J. Johnson, Sr., “Fiscal Impacts of Foxwoods Casino on the Town of Ledyard, Connecticut,” April 1997.
12. William N. Thompson, Ricardo Gazel, Dan Rickman, “Casinos and Crime in Wisconsin: What’s the Connection?”, Wisconsin Policy Research Institute Report, November 1996.
13. Ed Koch, “Nevada: Most Dangerous?” Las Vegas Sun, July 16, 1997, p. 1A.
14. Louis A. Cobarruviaz, City of San Jose Memorandum from the Chief of Police to the Mayor and City Council, October 27, 1995.
15. Colorado Division of Gaming, Criminal Activity, 24 February 2003, http://www.gaming.state.co.us/enforce.htm (24 February 2003); Ann Herda-Rapp, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Sociology UW-Marathon County, A Review of the Sociological Literature on Gambling's Social Impacts, http://www.uwmc.uwc.edu/news_and_events/casino_files/herda-rapp.pdf (22 February 2003); J. Joseph Curran, Jr., “The House Never Loses and Maryland Cannot Win: Why Casino Gaming Is a Bad Idea,” Report of Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr., on the Impact of Casino Gaming on Crime, October 16, 1995, pp. 9, 12, 27 December 1999, (20 February 2003).
16. Information provided by the Eighth Circuit Court of South Dakota, November 12, 1997.
17. Greg Garland, “Crime Rising with Gambling: Bad Checks, Theft Show Biggest Gain,” [Baton Rouge, La.] Advocate, July 30, 1995, p. 1A.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Obama's Socialist Mop Problem
Speaking to the proletariat, Obama has repeatedly used a mop reference to try to point out what a mess President George W. Bush left him. Besides being able to blame somebody else, Obama just loves the imagery of a mop.
Obama finally got around to referring to a socialist mop, no doubt to really show his opponents how silly it is to refer to his controlling of large swaths of American business as a socialist idea, and so I decided to see what a Socialist mop might look like.
This example may explain why Obama's stimulus package isn't quite working out and how the whole GM/Chrysler buyout is tanking worse than the Cash for Clunkers fiasco.
I'd leave the mop imagery alone if I were Obama because the floor is dirtier now than before.
Obama finally got around to referring to a socialist mop, no doubt to really show his opponents how silly it is to refer to his controlling of large swaths of American business as a socialist idea, and so I decided to see what a Socialist mop might look like.This example may explain why Obama's stimulus package isn't quite working out and how the whole GM/Chrysler buyout is tanking worse than the Cash for Clunkers fiasco.
I'd leave the mop imagery alone if I were Obama because the floor is dirtier now than before.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Reid Says AMA Promised 27 Republican Traitors For Health Scam Vote
Punch happy Harry Reid ain't happy. The AMA, which has become the American Malpratice Association, told Reid they had 27 Republican senators in their pocket to help pass the latest mathematically challenged bandaid to help pass Health Reform.
Reid: AMA Promised Me GOP Healthcare Votes
The AMA allegedly promised Reid that it could deliver 27 Republican votes for the legislation, according to two Senate Democratic lawmakers, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Reid needs those GOP votes because at least five members of his party have vowed to vote against the doctors' fix.
Good for the 27 Republicans. I hope they stay with their Party against this medical atrocity. Their political life will be on life support if they vote with the Demos on this.
How about more governance and less government.
Reid: AMA Promised Me GOP Healthcare Votes
The AMA allegedly promised Reid that it could deliver 27 Republican votes for the legislation, according to two Senate Democratic lawmakers, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Reid needs those GOP votes because at least five members of his party have vowed to vote against the doctors' fix.
Good for the 27 Republicans. I hope they stay with their Party against this medical atrocity. Their political life will be on life support if they vote with the Demos on this.
How about more governance and less government.
Republicans, Y'All' Do What You're Told
Presidential patois not withstanding, did he just tell us bois that we do what we're told?
I think the real question is how many Democrats will do what they're told on the health care vote?
I think the real question is how many Democrats will do what they're told on the health care vote?
Demo Plan: Go It Alone-All The Way Down
With the help of Pelosi and Reid, Axlerod, Rahm and Obama have given us change that will take generations to recover from and clean up. Well, we can still hope.
Mixed in with being mired down in a war they can't win, the admin has generated these headlines on the Drudge Report.
After Stimulus: 49 of 50 States Have Fewer Jobs!
*6 Million Jobs Shy of Administrations' Projections...
Obama trying to boost party money, morale...
RNC Beats DNC in Money Race...
Dems lock Republicans out of committee room: 'They don't know how to behave'...
HealthCare Propaganda On Govt. Website?
House Dems Want Medicare for Everyone...
Administration plans big pay cuts at bailout firms...
Salaries of top executives by 90%...
RASMUSSEN: Obama Ratings Sinking Again; Approval Index Nears All-Time Low...
Oprah goes rogue, invites Palin on show...
Bailout watchdog expects much to remain unrefunded...
SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER ACCUSES WHITE HOUSE OF 'ENEMIES LIST'...
'Street-brawling'...
Euro breaches $1.50...
Okay, maybe hope is down the crapper as well.
Mixed in with being mired down in a war they can't win, the admin has generated these headlines on the Drudge Report.
After Stimulus: 49 of 50 States Have Fewer Jobs!
*6 Million Jobs Shy of Administrations' Projections...
Obama trying to boost party money, morale...
RNC Beats DNC in Money Race...
Dems lock Republicans out of committee room: 'They don't know how to behave'...
HealthCare Propaganda On Govt. Website?
House Dems Want Medicare for Everyone...
Administration plans big pay cuts at bailout firms...
Salaries of top executives by 90%...
RASMUSSEN: Obama Ratings Sinking Again; Approval Index Nears All-Time Low...
Oprah goes rogue, invites Palin on show...
Bailout watchdog expects much to remain unrefunded...
SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER ACCUSES WHITE HOUSE OF 'ENEMIES LIST'...
'Street-brawling'...
Euro breaches $1.50...
Okay, maybe hope is down the crapper as well.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Lets Get Ready To Rumble Reid Ready To Bribe For Health Care Reform
Harry Reid is doing what he does best, cutting deals in dark alleys, far from the view of the public, to thwart the will of the people for political gain.
Reid Leads Democrats In Carving Out Favors for States on Health
Nevada would get help with its Medicaid bills. The elderly in Florida and New York would receive additional Medicare benefits. And workers in so-called high-risk professions such as firefighting and construction would get a break on a new insurance tax.
Those are provisions that Senate Democrats, including Majority Leader Harry Reid, put in an $829 billion health-care bill to shield constituents from measures intended to pay for the biggest overhaul of the medical system in four decades.
The Mr. Rogers of politics is in trouble at home, but can he be stopped before he destroys again?
UPDATE: It's penny ante compared to Reid, but Obama is doing some bribing of his own and Collecting My Thoughts has some thoughts on that.
Reid Leads Democrats In Carving Out Favors for States on Health
Nevada would get help with its Medicaid bills. The elderly in Florida and New York would receive additional Medicare benefits. And workers in so-called high-risk professions such as firefighting and construction would get a break on a new insurance tax.
Those are provisions that Senate Democrats, including Majority Leader Harry Reid, put in an $829 billion health-care bill to shield constituents from measures intended to pay for the biggest overhaul of the medical system in four decades.
The Mr. Rogers of politics is in trouble at home, but can he be stopped before he destroys again?
UPDATE: It's penny ante compared to Reid, but Obama is doing some bribing of his own and Collecting My Thoughts has some thoughts on that.
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