Himes -- a true loser

Tonight, Congressman Jim Himes had his very first town hall to discuss healthcare. To say that Himes was a smug apologist for the obamacrats who seemed unable to answer the simplest question with facts rather than talking points does not do justice to the terrible performance of the Congressman. I truly wonder how Connecticut actually elected someone this vapid. In the entire meeting, Himes seemed unable to come forward with any benefit to passing the Obamacrat proposals.

Ted Kennedy

The death of Senator Edward Kennedy is cause for thought about his impact on America. Probably his most important contribution to this nation is never mentioned: In 1980, Kennedy ran a close battle against then president Jimmy Carter. While Carter won the nomination, Kennedy's fight was sufficient to wound Carter severely. The end result was the election of Ronald Reagan in November. We will never know if Carter could have survived Reagan's challenge had the Democrats been truly united. Nevertheless, both for his contribution in the removal of Carter and for bringing the age of Reagan, Kennedy deserves a nation's thanks.

Platitudes for all

After a month of town hall meetings, press conferences, presidential speeches and other events intended to explain the healthcare proposals in congress, all we have gotten are platitudes -- including many which appear to be blatant lies. Obama and his Obamacrats have told us over and over that if we like our current coverage we can keep it; yet, they never explain how that can be in the face of language in the bills which seems to contradicts those statements. Obama and his minions tell us again and again that there are no death panels in the bills; then they call the people talking about these panels liars and crazies; and, finally, Obama and his toadies agree that the panels will be taken out of the bill. Of course, never are we told how they are taking something out of the bill which they claimed was not there in the first place. Obama claims again and again that he will fund the cost of these bills by tightening up medicare, so as to remove a half of a trillion dollars in expenses from that program in the next few years. Obama, however, never explains how he can take out half of a trillion dollars without reducing the scope of the medical care received by the elderly. this is not a 2% reduction which will not be felt. It is a half trillion dollars. Even in Washington, that is still a very big number.

The truth is that Obama simply does not want to give details to the public about the healthcare plan That is why he was in such a rush to pass that bill. It is also why he never misses an opportunity to use glittering generalities and NO specifics in discussing healthcare. Obama realizes that if the American people fully understand his vision for our healthcare, his presidency will be at an end, his political capital shot, and his chance for re--elction nil. Obama's problem is that many around the country have come to realize just this fact.

How low can O go?

Today's Rasmussen poll on Obama's job approval puts the number who rate his performance as excellent at just 27%. That's down from 44-45% in January and from the high 30's as late as mid June. So in two months fully 10% of the electorate no longer thinks that obama has done an excellent job according to this daily poll. More important, 41% of the electorate now rates Obama's job performance as poor. These folks are not likely to switch their opinions any time soon. It takes an active dislike of the president's policies for someone to rate his job performance as poor. To have 41% of the voters in this category is an ominous sign for the administration. The congressional democrats are not blind to these results, and it will become progressively harder for Obama to win his battles if his political standing continues to deteriorate or even stays constant at this level. After two years of non-stop criticism of Bush by Obama, Obama is now turning into Bush -- at least as far s his approval ratings are concerned.

The real question at the moment is whether or not Obama can stabilize his ratings. while his job approval is sinking, his approval on specific issues is going even lower. The issue questions are usually a leading indicator of where the overall job approval is going, so we may soon see Obama with overall ratings in the low 40's or even the high 30's. Clearly, Obama's speeches about health care are not making much difference. He is out there so often saying the ame thing again and again, that no one much is listening anymore. Obama says that we can keep our insurance plans if we want. Then he says it again and again and again. By now, anyone who was paying attention has heard that the statement he is making is basically false. Even the CBO agrees. But it does not stop Obama. He also has a routine that he does about not pulling the plug on Grandma, but he still has yet to explain how he can cut medicare by half a trillion dollars without rationing care for those who are too old or infirm to benefit much from treatment. In other words, he says he won't do it, but his plan basically calls for pulling the plug on Grandma. In short, Obama has forfeited his credibility by attempting to win approval for his plan based upon demonstrable lies. That is a harsh way of stating it, but the only alternative one can have is that Obama simply does not understand the terms and the impact of the plan he is pushing. The choice: Obama is either a liar or an idiot. I do not believe he is an idiot, so that leaves liar as the likely choice.

As more and more people come to realize this basic truth, Obama's number will continue to fall along with all of the other Obamacrats. The bleeding could stop if Obama throws in the towel on health care and cap and trade. He could then try to tinker around the edges of health care and announce a victory that many in the media would pronouce historic. It is too late to regain his status as the chosen one. Fast action could restore support to him, but delay will strip that away for the rest of his term

Kieth, they finally got it right

The L A Times ran a correction today in which they pointed out that they had misidentified Kieth Olbermann as "Jackass" in two TV listings.

I am at a loss to see the need for the correction. I think they got it right the first time.

And now we know

It has take 8 months but now we know -- Obama thinks he is a character in a nursery rhyme. Remeber the little piggy who cried wee, wee wee .............

why people are angry

It amazes me when columnists wonder about why the American people are angry. The answer is clear. The administration and most of those in Congress treat the American people like fungible idiots who exist for the benefit of the State. First, they do not give out the relevant information about the proposals being considered. We had the stimulus bill pass with only a few in Congress having actually read it. No one outside of Congress had access to that bill long enough before the vote so that there was any chance for an informed discussion of it to take place. Certainly, no one had the chance to make his or her views know to Congress on that issue. The bill was sold as an emergency measure for which every hour of delay was critical – then Obama waited 5 days to sign it and six months later we still have not seen even a quarter of the spending included to “stimulate” the economy.

After the Stimulus, we had the budget bill. It was treated much the same way as the stimulus – keep the American people in the dark and tell them that it is a crisis.

On cap and trade, the façade began to crack. Here there was enough information leaking out about the bills contents to allow for a rational opposition. It could not be a rational discussion of the bills contents since the democrats were not listening to anyone outside of Washington.

So after two crisis moves the American people have been able to see the results. Obama promised a maximum of 8% unemployment and we are already at 9.5%. Biden admitted that the administration just got it wrong. The economic news is touted by the media as being “good”. But everyone who listens knows that it is not good, just not as bad as before. In other words, maybe we do not have to fear a depression, but the recession is still going strong.

Then there is the GM and Chrysler stuff. Again, Washington acted to avoid a bankruptcy by these automakers which would be catastrophic for the US auto industry, and then, some 50 billion dollars later, Washington puts them into bankruptcy. Of course, the companies and the republic survive, and the UAW does exceeding well for its members. The point is that Americans watched the administration act to avoid a bankruptcy only to fail miserably. It is not a confidence builder – for sure.

Now we get to health care. This does not affect just Michigan or just the unemployed. It covers everyone. Even those who are retired will be affected. As a result, the interest level is quite high. But what does Washington tell us—not much. There is no proposal from the administration. Every time that something in one or another of the bills is discussed, we hear that it will not be in the final bill (at least that day). Later it comes back. We see video of Obama saying that he favors a single payer system and a public option only to be told that our eyes have deceived us and that video is misinformation. Those who ask questions are vilified. Pelosi calls them Nazis and un-American. Other dems call them racists. The general description in the media is that they are unruly mobs. And this is the same Democrat party and media that glorified protesters like Cindy Sheehan during the Bush years. Indeed, for my entire adult life I have watched anti war or civil rights demonstrations covered as if they were evidence of a Divine presence on Earth. Even demonstration led by people like Al Sharpton who protest for profit are covered with reverence – oh, how truly American they are! Now when a bunch of old folks want to get answers about health care from their elected representatives and raise their voices to do so, they are hooligans. I do not know the word for what comes after hypocrisy, but I am seeing it now from both the Democrats and the media. And I am not alone! Countless people across the country have seen the same thing.

So now the commentators seem concerned that these folks have gotten angry. Imagine, after being intentionally kept in the dark, manipulated through bogus emergencies, insulted, ignored and vilified, these folks are calling upon their purported representatives to pay attention to their views. This is not surprising. What would be surprising is if this were not happening. Americans do not take kindly to being treated as if they do not exist. Our national self image is still comprised for a great many as the land of rugged individualists. Very few are prepared to take on a role of cog in the great machine of the state.

That didn't take long

Just a few days back, the Obama administration lofted a trial balloon announcing that the public option was no longer the necessary centerpiece of the health care plan. After a furious response from the leftist fringe of the Obamacrats, we now hear the contrary: according to today's New York Times, the Obamacrats are going to ignore the Republicans and pass health care totally on their own -- and it is going to include a public option. While anyone who takes reports in the Times as being accurate or even unbiased does so at his own peril, it is unlikely that a front page story like this is a total fantasy. The story is certainly funny -- according to the Times it is front page news that the Obamacrats are ignoring the Republicans. I guess that the Times has forgotten how the Obamacrats ignored the GOP onthe Stimulus, the budget, cap and trade in the House and other bills.

The truth is that the real meaning of the article is that the obamacrats are going to ignore those Americans who were out protesting and speaking up at August's town hall meetings. These fascist (according to Barney Frank), unamerican (Pelosi-speak), racist (according to a whole host of Dems) hooligans (many of whom were in their 79's and 80's) cannot be credited in any way. The obamacrats have to carry out their plans for National Health care even if the American people do not want that to happen. The new slogan for the Obamacrats should be "Democracy is irrelevant".

Since the big O actually believes that he has answers to many problems facing this country, it does not surprise me that he still wants to go ahead despite the clear desire of the people for him to stop. One only need look at the large numbers of polls that all show a lack of support for Obamacare in order to see how the public feels. Even after weeks of demonizing those who would dare to speak out on the issue, Obama's poll numbers continue to tank.

I only hope that people keep up their protests until the health care bill is killed and that they remember in November 2010 that the obamacrats think that anyone who disagrees with them is a fascist, unamerican, racist hooligan. Hopefully, the fascist, racist, unamerican hooligans will vote out the pompous, self deluded, socialist fools who refuse to accept the basic freedoms of American citizens. Time will tell.

Many out of one

The latin motto on US currency, "E pluribus unum" means "out of many, one". It is a reference to the joining of the various states into one unified country. I do not know the proper Latin phrase, but it seems that the new motto for the Obamacrats ought to be "Out of the one --many". On the issue of health care alone, the Dems seem to be splintering into a myriad of groups, each pushing for a different part of a final bill. Thus we have seen the fighting in the Obamacrat ranks after the White House sent up its trial balloon regarding removal of the public option from the final bill. The death panels have been put in and taken out depending upon the person speaking. Taxes are going up and staying the same. Uninsured Illegals will be covered and they will not be covered. In short, the Obamacrats do not seem to be able to get a unified view of what ought to be in this law.

One thing is clear. Obama and his minions were a lot better at running for office than they are at actually governing.

O backs down

It seems that the Obama health plan is falling to pieces as Obama backs down from many of his prior positions. Today, administration oficials made clear that they would settle for co-op insurance providers instead of the public option. Supposedly, this will provide competition for private insurers. No one has yet explained why the 1400 insurance companies already in the market do not provide that competition. Nevertheless, for someone who wholeheartedly endorsed a single payer system during the campaign (something which goes way beyond a public option), Obama has retreated awfully quickly. I guess it is change that we can believe in with regard to his priciples. Beyond this, the so-called death panels are also being removed from the bill. Another retreat by the big O. (That is pronounced the big Zero for those who need assistance).

Hopefully, we will not now see Republicans coming forward to let Obama off the hook by passing a watered down version of Obamacare. There remain many, many terrible provisions in the bill. Most important is the issue of rationing. Obama still plans to increase coverage to millions of people while simultaneously removing some 500 billion dollars from Medicare and medicaid so as to pay for those newly covered. Someone will have to determine what portion of the current care received by the elderly will be removed to make up for this 500 billion dollar cut. There may be no "death panels", but there will still be a rationing body that will be telling the elderly that it is just to expensive to keep them alive.

No Republican should ever agree to a system that allows this to happen.

Further, when we hear about how it is just waste and fraud being removed from the system, we should suggest that congress take whatever steps it can to remove that waste immediately. After we see a two year trial run that shows that there is a real savings being achieved, then, and only then, should anyone consider additional expenses made with some of the savings. Even at that point, enough of the savings should be kept so that Medicare will not go bankrupt in a few years.

Death panels gone?

After denying that there were any so-called death panels in the healthcare bills for a week, the Obamacrats now say that they are going to drop those panels from the final Senate bill. Forgetting for the moment that this exposes the lies told by the Obamacrats, one should consider the logic of what they are now saying. According to the obamacrats, the healthcare bill will add coverage for upwards of 10 million additional people (only about 20% of the uninsured- no big deal given all the fuss). with all these millions of additional patients, however, there will be an overall reduction in services since there are to be savings of over one half trillion dollars taken out of the current system. While some of the savings will be achieved by ending waste and fraud according to the latest talking points of the Obamacrats, a big chunk of these "savings" will simply come from reducing overall services. So-- we will have 10 million more patients, but the total amount of health care for society will be reduced by half a trillion dollars. That means that some people will have to do without proper services. And we all know who is going to make the decision as to who will bear this burden -- the government.

There is no question that the current healthcare plan of the Obamacrats really does come down to what Obama calls "pulling the plug on Grandma." Remember that Obama himself said a few months ago that maybe it would be better if the elderly "just took the pain pill" (and waited to die). It is not surprising that a party that has no problem supporting, and indeed applauding, those who kill the unborn would also support the next logical step -- the killing of the old and infirm. I cannot and will not believe that the American people will support camoflaged government euthanasia. If the Obamacrats keep up this position, I fully expect them to destroy their future as a party as completely as they did when they supported continuing slavery in the years prior to the Civil War. After that, they lost the White House for over 30 years and only held it for 8 years out of the next 52. Somehow, being the party of death does not play well with free people.

Let's hope so

I was reading about the boycott of Glenn Beck's show that has led to a few advertisers moving their ads to other shows. One company that was on the list was Progressive insurance. While I think it truly a mistake for anyone to move their ads in response to pressure groups with bogus claims, I must say that I am hope it is true that Progressive has gone. They have the most annoying ads on TV IMO, and that is truly saying something major.

The White House sends out e-mail bursts

Today I heard about the e-mails that the White House is sending out under the name of David Axelrod to try to fight the opponents of the Obama health proposals. Strangely enough, I received those e-mails from Axelrod. One has to wonder how that happened since I did not sign up to get them. Nor did I give my e-mail addrress to the White House. Over the last year, I did send e-mails to various members of Congress and the Senate, some of whom were Democrats. Is the White House now compiling e-mail information on citizens who contact congress? Just imagine the uproar if the Bush Whitehouse had done the same thing.

Actually, I thought the e-mail from Axelrod was pretty funny. I will leave the dissection of it to others, but I can report that I gave up counting the lies in the e-mail when I hit six. Does the White house really think that the American people are dumb enough to fall for the big lie? Apparently so!

Arlen Specter -- a turning point?

The recent Town Hall confrontations featuring Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania are being described in the media as a turning point for Specter's efforts to be accepted as a Democrat. According to these reports, the suspicions of Pennsylvania Democrats that arose from Specter's opportunistic change from the GOP to the Democrats are being erased as loyal Democrats see specter defend the Obama health program in the face of hostile crowds. To those who view these recent interactions by Specter as good for his political future, I have to ask, "What planet are you from?"

The segment most ofter played in the last week is of Specter being berated by an elderly man who is being ejected from the Town Hall by Specter's security force. The man says that he was lied to by Specter's office. he claims that he called Specter's office and was promised that he could speak at the town hall to ask his questions but that he was now being told he could not speak. He tells Specter that this results since he is not a lobbyist and cannot stuff cash into Specter's pocket. He concludes by telling Specter that some day Specter will stand before God and be judged for what he has done.

This segment does not help Specter win the next election in my opinion. Lying to the elderly does not help win votes in Pennsylvania which has one of the oldest populations in the USA. Being accused of only listening to lobbyists (with no defense presented) leaves an impression of Specter as a hack only interested in his own reelection. Indeed, if anything, this tape reinforces the complaint that Specter is an opportunist looking for money from the special interests not serving the needs of his constituents.

My guess is that Arlen is toast. He may not know it yet, but he is surely toast. to me, the only question is whether or not Specter can win the primary on the back of his new friends who control the Philadelphia machine. I do not think so.

The bleat goes on

The howls of outrage continue from Democrats shouting foul at thhose who would oppose their health plan by speaking out at town hall meetings. both the white house and the lefty media have now told America that the protestors are astroturf, a group of organized people brought to the meetings by opponents of the health plan at the expense of their supporters in big business. These protestors are described as Nazis and UnAmerican by Nancy Pelosi. Other names came from other prominent Dems. this move was designed to drive the story into one where the issue became the craziness of the opponents rather than the bankruptcy of the healthplan. It was designed to shut down those protesting in horro and shame at being called right wingers.

Now the resounding answer has come forth from America. Simply put, the charges flung by the Dems have been ignored as the BS that these charges so clearly are. The elderly father with his handicapped son in the wheel chair is not seen by most Americans as a dangerous figure to be shunned, but rather as a sympathetic figure being confronted by an evil and ever expanding federal behemoth. The senior citizens booing Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania are not threats to the public safety, but rather angry citizens who do not want to be left to die by a new government rationing system for health care.

In short, while the Dems continue to bleat about the protestors, they are making no progress in the debate. Indeed, the Dems seem to be losing in the battle for public opinion. Each successive poll regarding health care shows that support for the Obama plan is falling. There is now about a 15% margin for those who oppose the plan. By September, if present trends continue, we may see a margin of over 25% opposing the plan. With numbers like those, even the Obamacrats will have to think twice before pushing through the plan. Otherwise, they may alienate enormous numbers of voters and bring back the Republicans to power in 2010.

the nancy/Steny axis of stupidity

This morning, in USA Today, nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer "wrote" a column about health care in which they describe those who go to forums and oppose the healthcare bill as "un-American". While I doubt that either Pelosi or Hoyer actually wrote the column (since it appears to have both good grammar and correct spelling) they are responsible for its content. As such, they could best be described as scoundrels and more appropriately as demagogues. We are now to believe that opposing the will of Congressional leaders is un-american? Nancy certainly did not think this to be the case when groups opposed the war in Iraq (which she supported initially). How about those who opposed holding terrorists at Gitmo -- she did not call them un-American. Indeed, nearly every action taken by the Bush Administration during the first 6 years when the Republicans were in control was opposed by some sort of Democrat protest group. Nancy and Steny generally supported all of these protests.

These fools cannot, however, get away with stuff like this. the public is not that dumb. Nor does everyone forget the past. Just as Obama's old statements haunt him on youtube, Nancy will suffer the fate of ridicule for her dishonest posturing. My guess is that this is Nancy's last term as Speaker. Even if the Democrats keep the House, Pelosi is toast. The Dems cannot afford to have someone so blatantly dishonest in that position. They may still need to lie to the American people, but they will have to do so with more style than Nancy can muster.

Dodd "Cleared" by ethics panel

In a not-too-surprising move, a Senate ethics panel "cleared" chris Dodd of wrongdoing in connection with his sweetheart loan from Countrywide. Under that loan, Dodd borrowed about three quarters of a million dollars at a rate about 2% under the then current market. That means that Dodd gets annual savings of $15,000 over the life of the 30 year loan, a total savings of $450,000. According to the Senate panel, Dodd did nothing sufficiently wrong to warrant sanctioning him, although the panel did say that he should have been more careful to avoid the appearance of impropriety.

Are they kidding? If anyone other than a sitting Senator had gotten a payoff of $450,000 over thirty years from a company that he or she regulated, the fools in the Senate would be on their high horses yelling that it was corporate misdeeds and greed run amok. Like healthcare, there is one set of rules for senators and another for the rest of us.

Now we will all be treated to Dodd telling the world repeatedly how the charges against him were baseless and he was cleared in all respects. what's next? Maybe Al Qaeda will issue a report clearing Osama Bin Laden of wrongdoing in connection with 9-11. DODD HAS TO GO!!!!!!!

Nancy has to go

Well now Speaker nancy Pelosi is complaining that the unruly mobs who are disrupting the Town Hall meetings held by Democrats are carrying swastikas. That really goes too far. Everyone knows that the only ones allowed to carry swastikas in the USA are Democrats protesting Republicans (Remember Bush=Hitler???).

The truth is that Pelosi cannot seem to understand that in America people have the right to express their opinions without being called Nazis for doing so. She appears to be so confused what to do now that the majority of people have caught on to the lies that are the heart of the so-called health care reform package, that she can only resort to name calling in response. Does she really think that the same people who realize that she has consistently lied about things from the CIA to health care will now accept her view of the people who are appearing at these events to express their views? If so, she is so delusional that she should be institutionalized. Remember, the point of the town hall meetings is for constituents to speak to their representatives. So how can it be wrong for people to show up and voice their views. Nancy is just upset that those views do not align with hers and that of the other Obamacrats.

I hope that Pelosi apologizes for her swastika remark. I am not, however, holding my breath waiting.

Oh no....Not that!!!!

With the inauguration today in Teheran of "Mahmoud the election stealer", the Obamacrats have finally selected their response to the turmoil in the streets and the beating and killing of the protestors by Iranian police and military. Obama has actually moved forward with the one sanction that he is certain will force a change in Teheran. Ready for this? Obama has decided NOT to congratulate Mahmoud on his re-election. How will Iran survive this. Imagine -- the Iranian government will have to go forward somehow without the confratulations of Obama himself. Isn't there a verse in the Koran that forbids a government from continuing without the blessing of the obamanator?

So let's count ... It took the Obamacrats 6 months to change this country from the USA into a bankrupt version of Sweden. I would congratulate them, but I am withholding congratulations in the hopes that it will force Obama to resign.

Late in Life Abortion

The healthcare bill that has now passed the House committees is being marketed by Obama and his party as a plan to provide healthcare for the uninsured in this country. In truth, it is not much about the uninsured. Right now there are supposedly about 45 million uninsured in the USA. This includes 15 million illegal aliens who will be unlikely to come forward to get their insurance even if congress passes a bill to provide health care for illegals. The cost of insuring the remaining 30 million people would be less than two thirds of the projected cost of the current bill if we were just to give them each policies. In truth, since many of the uninsured could easily afford health insurance, the cost to get everyone insured would be less than half the projected cost of the current bill (which is almost certainly projected at too low a price)

The essence of the bill, however, is the creation of a commission which will have the power to set limits on appropriate treatments for all Americans. If the treatment is not cost effective, this body will be able to say no! In english, this means that for the elderly, there will no longer be care until death. Rather, we will see an increase in hospice care and a decrease in treatments that have small chances of working. Even though many of these treatments lead to other discoveries that improve health care for all, we will be guided by the cost and bother of treating the very old. No care for them -- just death doped up so as not to feel the pain.

In many respects, the Democrats plan is an extension of their views on abortion. If the birth of a new human being would impinge upon the comfort of the mother in any way or for any reason, no problem -- just kill it. Similarly, if Grandma's ongoing care would be costly or bothersome, no problem -- just remove all care and let her die!

In many respects, the secularism and moral relativism of much of the Democrat base is coming forward to promote an agenda that does not value life. I doubt that these folks care about the commandments received from the Lord. Even so, I hope these folks remember that if the value of human life is not respected, it may someday be their own lives that are tossed out like so much trash.