United Conservatives of Virginia

Red Flags, Klaxon Horns and Sirens

2009-11-07T11:31:00.003-05:00

Nidal Hasan: Ft. Hood Shooter Participated in Homeland Security Disaster Preparation

The gunman who killed 12 people today at Ft. Hood appears, based on current media reports, to be Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan who was listed as a participant in a Homeland Security Policy Institute's presidential transition task force last year.
The task force was not officially affiliated with the White House. It was a project of the Homeland Security Policy Institute, an independent thinktank housed at George Washington University, aimed at drafting policy recommendations for the incoming Obama administration.
According to the task force's May 2009 report [pdf], a "Nidal Hasan" from the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine was a task force event participant. Other participants included Senate and House staffers, Department of Homeland Security officials, Defense Department officials, and reporters for Politico, the Washington Post, and the London Times.

It seems very convenient that this asshat moozziee decided to begin his quest for 72 virgins on the day 50,000 people showed up in DC to protest the takeover of 1/6 of the Nation's economy.
But I am a paranoid cynic who doesn't believe in coincidences.

Buy Healthcare or Go To Jail?..I Don't Think So

2009-11-06T19:40:00.003-05:00

As a friend of mine told his EllTee when he arrived downrange in Iraq in 2004, "You may as well start the paperwork now, cause I'm not going to recognize those rules."

The dhimmicrat Congress is now officially off the reservation. They have gone rogue, or rouge, both apply equally. They have over-stepped their Constitutional limitations by a factor of 100 to the nth power.

Committee On Ways & Means Republicans Ranking Member, Dave Camp http://republicans.waysandmeans.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=153583

Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.

In response to the JCT letter, Camp said: “This is the ultimate example of the Democrats’ command-and-control style of governing – buy what we tell you or go to jail. It is outrageous and it should be stopped immediately.”

Key excerpts from the JCT letter appear below:
“H.R. 3962 provides that an individual (or a husband and wife in the case of a joint return) who does not, at any time during the taxable year, maintain acceptable health insurance coverage for himself or herself and each of his or her qualifying children is subject to an additional tax.” [page 1] - - - - - - - - - -

“If the government determines that the taxpayer’s unpaid tax liability results from willful behavior, the following penalties could apply…” [page 2] - - - - - - - - - -
“Criminal penalties
Prosecution is authorized under the Code for a variety of offenses. Depending on the level of the noncompliance, the following penalties could apply to an individual:
• Section 7203 – misdemeanor willful failure to pay is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.
• Section 7201 – felony willful evasion is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years.” [page 3]

When confronted with this same issue during its consideration of a similar individual mandate tax, the Senate Finance Committee worked on a bipartisan basis to include language in its bill that shielded Americans from civil and criminal penalties. The Pelosi bill, however, contains no similar language protecting American citizens from civil and criminal tax penalties that could include a $250,000 fine and five years in jail.

“The Senate Finance Committee had the good sense to eliminate the extreme penalty of incarceration. Speaker Pelosi’s decision to leave in the jail time provision is a threat to every family who cannot afford the $15,000 premium her plan creates. Fortunately, Republicans have an alternative that will lower health insurance costs without raising taxes or cutting Medicare,” said Camp.

According to the Congressional Budget Office the lowest cost family non-group plan under the Speaker’s bill would cost $15,000 in 2016.

Blackfive Has A Ton of Info On Ft Hood

2009-11-06T19:27:00.003-05:00

Go.

Thank God for everyone who was there, except one.

And Officer Munley is a Carolina girl. Figures.

MyHeritage.org

2009-11-06T18:27:00.004-05:00

November 6, 2009 By Amanda Reinecker
Conservative Comeback

Tuesday was a big day for conservatives. The landslide victories of gubernatorial candidates Bob McDonnell in Virginia and Chris Christie in New Jersey, plus the Maine referendum upholding marriage as a union between a man and a woman, clearly illustrates that "the state of conservatism is strong," writes Heritage's Conn Carroll in Wednesday's Morning Bell.

But why would states that voted last year for President Barack Obama now vote against candidates the President himself campaigned for? Heritage Vice President Michael Franc explains that "it's all about taxes, debt, and too much government." In short, it's about the government's complete abandonment of conservative principles.

The results in Virginia, New Jersey and Maine confirm what has become increasingly evident over the past 10 months: conservative principles are very much alive and popular among most Americans.

Since taking office, President Obama has made it clear he is among the most progressive Presidents in our history. But he didn't win based on his progressive tendencies. In fact, Carroll explains that the President led a fairly moderate campaign:

Obama promised to address jobs, the economy, our national security and even hold teachers accountable for children's education. Obama promised that most of America would receive a tax cut. He promised to win a necessary war in Afghanistan. These are conservative principle.

Once elected, however, the President and his allies on the Left quickly abandoned these sound campaign promises in favor of big-government policies that increase taxes, kill jobs, raise the deficit and weaken our national security. As history has repeatedly revealed, there is an inherent conflict between these progressive policies and the "overwhelming conservative philosophy in America."

Tuesday's results exposed this conflict by demonstrating the broad support for conservative ideals. They reflect the same sentiments expressed at tea parties, protests and town hall meetings nationwide: enough is enough!
An even worse health care plan

On Thursday, over 10,000 people rallied on the steps of the Capitol to express their concerns about the harmful health care discussions currently under way in the House of Representatives. The House could vote on this proposal as early as Saturday, though this timeline could slip as moderates peel off.

"Look closely at the latest House bill," writes Heritage health policy analyst Bob Moffit in Human Events. "This 1,990 page beast contains all of the problematic issues Americans has with [the last proposal] -- and then adds more," all of which will adversely impact the lives of all Americans.

Moffit outlines a few of the major flaws with the House's "revised" bill:

1. The federal government will control the health insurance market, roughly one-sixth of the nation's economy;

2. A great deal of power will be granted to a newly appointed "Health Choices Commissioner," i.e. a health czar, who would define coverage and premiums for everyone;

3. Eligibility for Medicaid, a poorly functioning entitlement program in desperate need of reform, will expand, causing benefits to decrease for those who truly need them;

4. Federally mandated minimum benefits that will be subsidized by taxpayers, regardless of whether they need the benefits or not;

5. Individual mandates that will require everyone to purchase government-approved coverage or else pay an extra income tax of 2.5 percent; and
6. Employer mandates that will likely force small business owners to cut wages and lay off workers in order to meet the coverage requirements, or pay a heavy fine per employee by choosing not to provide coverage.

And all of this will be ours for a whopping $1.055 trillion over the next 10 years -- a price tag that will surely add more than "one dime to our deficits" and saddle future generations with massive debt. All of this is in the bill, but few will be able to see it, as Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) has rescinded her pledge to post the final language online for 72 hours before a vote.

This is not real health care reform. Instead, Moffit argues, "it is a new health care entitlement that will speed up our fiscal insolvency, push new taxes on Americans in all income brackets and have a greater say over our health decisions."

In an exclusive interview recorded at The Heritage Foundation, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) explains that the current health care bill reflects a big-government approach to problem-solving. "The most outrageous detail in the current House bill is the philosophy on which it is premised," he argues. "It is premised on the philosophy that the government knows best how to organize one-sixth of our economy."

Real reform should be a bi-partisan product, based on America's core principles, that empowers the individual to choose the coverage that best suits his specific needs and budget and those of his family.

Best Sign From Yesterday's House Call

2009-11-06T15:28:00.005-05:00

Don't mess with the old folks.
H/T FreeRepublic.com

A Soldier Died Today

2009-11-06T14:32:00.004-05:00

The Old Soldier
(A Soldier Died Today)

He was getting old and paunchy

And his hair was falling fast,

And he sat around the Legion,

Telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he once fought in

And the deeds that he had done,

In his exploits with his buddies;

They were heroes, every one.

And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors

His tales became a joke,

All his buddies listened quietly

For they knew where of he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer,

For ol' Bob has passed away,

And the world's a little poorer

For a Soldier died today.

He won't be mourned by many,

Just his children and his wife.

For he lived an ordinary,

Very quiet sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family,

Going quietly on his way;

And the world won't note his passing,

'Tho a Soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth,

Their bodies lie in state,

While thousands note their passing,

And proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell of their life stories

From the time that they were young

But the passing of a Soldier

Goes unnoticed, and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution

To the welfare of our land,

Some jerk who breaks his promise

And cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow

Who in times of war and strife,

Goes off to serve his country

And offers up his life?

The politician's stipend

And the style in which he lives,

Are often disproportionate,

To the service that he gives.

While the ordinary Soldier,

Who offered up his all,

Is paid off with a medal

And perhaps a pension, small.
It's so easy to forget them,

For it is so many times

That our Bobs and Jims and Johnnys,

Went to battle, but we know,

It is not the politicians

With their compromise and ploys,

Who won for us the freedom

That our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger,

With your enemies at hand,

Would you really want some cop-out,

With his ever waffling stand?

Or would you want a Soldier--

His home, his country, his kin,

Just a common Soldier,

Who would fight until the end.

He was just a common Soldier,

And his ranks are growing thin,

But his presence should remind us

We may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict,

We find the Soldier's part

Is to clean up all the troubles

That the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor

While he's here to hear the praise,

Then at least let's give him homage

At the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline

In the paper that might say:

"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING, A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."

Author Unknown

Reduction of Supplemental Medicaid in HR 3962

2009-11-06T13:03:00.002-05:00

H/T The Dillard Doctrine

Today's Virginian-Pilot reports that one of the provisions under consideration to fund HR 3962-the healthcare bill that will be voted on in the House tomorrow-is a reduction in supplemental Medicaid payments to hospitals that serve a substantial amount of poor and uninsured patients.

One of the hospitals that could lose funding under this bill is Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters. This hospital sets the standard for neonatal and pediatric care in Hampton Roads.

People trust CHKD with their children's care in both emergent and non-emergent situations.

As a citizen, I would question the support of my representatives who choose to support this bill. I would want them to explain to me why, in the words of one representative, it "makes sense to keep [the bill] moving forward," knowing that one of our region's best hospitals could suffer as a result.

Military.com Article on Asshat Mooozzziee Murderer

2009-11-06T10:33:00.004-05:00

Alleged wounded? Alleged casualties?

Details Emerge on Hood Rampage Suspect

WASHINGTON - His name appears on radical Internet postings. A fellow officer says he fought his deployment to Iraq and argued with Soldiers who supported U.S. wars. He required counseling as a medical student because of problems with patients.

There are many unknowns about Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the man authorities say is responsible for the worst mass killing on a U.S. military base. As of this morning 13 people are dead and 30 wounded following his alleged shooting spree at Fort Hood, Texas.
Most of all, Hasan's motive remains unknown. But details of his life and mindset, emerging from official sources and personal acquaintances, are troubling.
For six years before reporting for duty at Fort Hood, Texas, in July, the 39-year-old Army major worked at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center pursuing his career in psychiatry, as an intern, a resident and, last year, a fellow in disaster and preventive psychiatry. He received his medical degree from the military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., in 2001.

This Aint Hell has some insight and I agree.

Government Enforced Compliance

2009-11-06T08:44:00.002-05:00

Obamacare is government-by-coercion, not consent.
Examiner Editorial
"Welcome to America, land of the formerly free, and home of citizens covered by a nationalized health care system crafted by the same government that can't care for American Indians on their reservations or deliver swine flu shots on time."

That American citizens should be fined or even put in federal prison for refusing to purchase government-approved health insurance is as un-American as any idea we can imagine. But such a mandate is the very heart of the bill written behind closed doors by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her privileged pals. If their bill is approved by the House tomorrow, we will be a big step closer to the day when everybody gets their health care insurance through the government or from an approved insurer offering policies that meet meticulously detailed specifications contained in thousands of pages of federal regulations.

Zero Cares More About China Than America

2009-11-06T08:36:00.003-05:00

China has no environmental concerns, no EPA, no controls.

China buys into U.S. off-shore oil leases.
Mark Tapscott, Beltway Confidential
"If the administration approves the deal, it will be more vulnerable to charges that the White House is being careless with U.S. national security issues in the energy sector, and that it is putting the interests of a foreign power before those of U.S. energy consumers."

UPDATE: Bishop says Obama policy aids foreign nations, not U.S.

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-UT, says the Statoil/CNOOC deal is indicative of the Obama administration's failure to protect U.S. consumers from foreign nations seeking to tap into this country's abundant energy resources:
“Unemployment will continue to exceed acceptable levels and the economy will continue to suffer until this administration reverses its anti-energy policy. China and other foreign countries are gaining access to the abundant natural resources located in the American OCS, meanwhile an energy starved U.S. continues to experience the detrimental effects of Secretary Salazar’s decisions to place special-interests before the American people.
Since taking office this administration has made great strides in helping countries gain access to American energy resources, it’s just too bad the U.S. isn’t one of them.”
Bishop is chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, which includes a number of representatives from Western states with significant energy and other natural resources.

2200 Pages and Counting

2009-11-06T08:00:00.003-05:00

That 1,990-page Democratic health care bill?
It's longer now; includes new government controls
By: Byron York
Chief Political Correspondent
11/05/09 9:17 AM EST

It's become common practice to refer to the House Democrats' national health care bill as being 1,990 pages long. That's true of the bill introduced last week by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But now Democrats have added a 42-page "manager's amendment" to the bill. Some of the new language in the amendment replaces material already in the bill, but there are enough new provisions to ensure that the bill is now more than 2,000 pages long. And there will likely be even more additions to the bill before the final debate.

What's more important is what is in the new amendment. Much of it reflects Democrats' concerns that their bill would cause an increase in health insurance premiums. Remember when the House leadership, the White House, and sympathetic media commentators everywhere attacked the insurance industry for predicting that the Democratic bill would cause premiums to go up? The manager's amendment is, in effect, the House Democrats' admission that it would do just that. Their answer: more government control. The new language sets up a process for the government to monitor "unjustified premium increases" and threaten insurance companies with exclusion from the government-run Health Insurance Exchange if they exhibit a "pattern of excessive or unjustified premium increases." The government, of course, will determine what is "excessive" or "unjustified."

Virginia Dhimmis Getting Physical With Visitors

2009-11-06T07:46:00.003-05:00

Congressional staffer denies pushing visitor UPDATED!
By: J.P. Freire
Associate Commentary Editor
11/05/09 9:53 PM EST

A heated exchange during a visit to the office of Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., led to a staffer putting his hands on Teri Christoph, executive director of Smart Girl Politics, in order to get her to put her camera down, reported Jillian Bandes of TownHall.
In a phone interview with The Examiner, the staffer, press secretary George Burke, said that claims that he had "pushed" Christoph were untrue. When asked about the report in TownHall, he replied, "Is that a reporter? Some right-wing blog?" Yes to both questions, but was the claim true?
"She came in and whipped out a camera. Staff people told her, 'we don't want you to use a camera in here.' I put a hand on her shoulder same way I put on my daughter's and of course she said that she was going to the media," he said.
The scuffle started when Christoph joined a number of Connolly's constituents in his office. A younger staffer was distributing pens to enable them to leave a message for their congressman. Christoph, Burke said, had started "badgering" the staffer, preventing him from being able to further help other constituents.
"Voices were raised, so I came out of my office and told her politely to put away the camera," he said. "I didn't even ask her to leave. Just to put away the camera."
I asked what the policy was about having cameras in the office. "Only credentialed media. And I'm sure you know about the rules in the House regarding credentialed press," he replied. Were media cameras allowed into the office? "Yes, throughout the day." But what was the impetus about having her remove her own camera? "It was a decision we made. There was no reasoning behind it."
Burke said that Christoph was the only problematic constituent. "Others came in and were certainly very spirited, but it was a good discussion overall."
Asked about Connolly's decision on the health care bill, Burke insisted that the congressman will not "make a final decision until he sees the final product." The congressman's district, the 11th district, is the wealthiest in the nation as measured by median income. Touting Connolly's achievements in increasing surcharges in the bill to prevent higher taxes, Burke said, "We want to protect the interests of small business, and what we've been fighting for is to relieve them of that burden."
Will he actually read the bill before voting on it? "He has read most of it, he's gone to briefings on it, and he's got several of his staffers reading it. He's not going to commit
to it until he sees what new details are in it."

UPDATED: Christoph posts her account and video:
Christoph provides a detailed post on her blog of the encounter in Rep. Gerry Connolly's office this afternoon, as well as a video of the minute or so immediately before Connolly aide George Burke firmly placed his hand on her. The video makes clear that Christoph was polite and calm, at least during the captured portion of the encounter.

Too Funny

2009-11-06T07:15:00.002-05:00

America..Ya Gotta Love It

2009-11-05T21:56:00.002-05:00

Here we have THREE seperate and distinct groups in front of Princess Nan's office today.

First up are the folks who have issues with federal funding of abortions, trashing the hallway and office of Her Highness.They are tearing up papers and strewing them about the area.

Next up is my favorite lesbo marxist beeeatch, Susie Q herownself, clad in a hospital gown, (thank goodness she had the decency to wear somethng underneath it), with her little pack of lefty useful idiots, chanting "Healthcare for all".

Finally, on th other side of Her Highness's doorway, are the Americans who just want the government to leave healthcare the hell alone, chanting "Kill the Bill".

Only in America. (At least for right now)

Heh.

2009-11-05T09:01:00.002-05:00

Barack Obama's Facebook Page.

h/t SayUncle

A Thank You from Coby Dillard

2009-11-04T10:53:00.001-05:00

The Dillard Doctrine

Congratulations and Thank You!
From Governor-elect McDonnell and myself, THANK YOU for all your hard work and support over the course of our campaign! Yesterday was the culmination of a lot of long days and sleepless nights for all of us, but we should all be proud of our efforts to bring a true leader to Richmond.

It's been my personal honor to have worked with each of you, and I would encourage you all to stay involved in the political process here in Virginia. Our work doesn't end with McDonnell's election; rather, it's just beginning. Our voices-both collectively and individually-are still needed.
Again, thank you for all your efforts...and congratulations!

Conservative Challenger for 3rd District

2009-11-04T10:01:00.007-05:00

I just recieved the phone call I've been wating over a year for.

This blog is proud to be the first to announce that we have a candidate to challenge Bobby Scott for the 3rd Congressional District in Virginia.

Coby Dillard is forming an exploratory committee.
He will be on BlogTalkRadio on 13 November talking about hs plans.

Some of you will recognize the name. He has been an active participant in Vets for Freedom and worked to elect Bob McDonnell as our new Governor. He is a Virginia native, raised in Richmond, grew up in the 3rd District. He enlisted in the Navy and now calls Norfolk his home.

Knowing Coby personally, I can state without reservation that he will be the type of representative the 3rd District can elect and know he will carry our conservative principles to Washington.

BRAVO ZULU!!!!!!!!!!!
OOOOOOOOOORAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

At Last The Long Awaited Announcement

2009-11-03T19:15:00.004-05:00

and yes, I have signed on as a reader, so make it interesting. My normal reading fare is Ludlum, Koontz, King and Clancy.

From my buddy Susan Katz Keating:
Announcing the Uniform EnCounters GC3 Writing Competition
Hey, everyone! As promised: We have a writing competition!

As I wrote in my last post, have I got a deal for you! This blog's sister site, UniformEnCounters, is hosting a fundraiser/writing competition designed to benefit three good causes (GC3): wounded troops; soldier morale; and you, the writer.

Here's what you do.

Contest Rules

1. In 700 words or less, write an essay, story, or poem depicting a servicemember or members of the U.S. Armed Forces or their allies (i.e., Australia, Canada, etc.)

2. The subject matter can be any active duty scenario from World War I through the present.

3. Submit your entry in the body of an email to Uniformencounters@gmail.com. In the subject header, use your last name and a slash for category. Example: Obama/Poetry. If you enter more than once in a category, simply add a number in your header (Obama2/Poetry).

4. Submit a $15 entry fee through the UniformEncounters blogsite.

5. Your entry fees will go toward the purchase of voice-activated laptops for wounded troops, in the form of a donation to a remarkably worthy cause, Project Valour-IT.

6. Winning entries will be selected in each of three categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry. Winning entrants will receive $50 each, plus publication on the UniformEnCounters site. Runners-up will receive prizes TBD.

7. Entries must be submitted by 8 a.m. EST on 1 December, 2009. Winners will be announced on the UniformEnCounters site on New Year's Day.

Tips and insights: There are no subject rules, but keep in mind that UniformEnCounters exists to raise support for our men and women in uniform. Enter as often as you like, but each entry must be accompanied by its own fee/donation. Fees are processed through PayPal. If you wish to use another method, please email uniformencounters@gmail.com for instructions on how to submit via snail mail.

Thank you in advance to everyone, and in particular to my intrepid squad of reader-volunteers! So now it's time to start writing. GC3 awaits!

The fine print: You retain all rights to your composition/s. By entering the competition, you agree to allow your winning submission to be published on the UniformEnCounters site.

What To Expect From The Courts For the Next 3 Years

2009-11-03T17:29:00.003-05:00

Zero will load the Appeals Courts with activist judges and the Inquisition will commence.

Family Research Council

For Liberals, Hamilton Is 7th Heaven

When President Obama nominated David Hamilton to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, his staff said the selection "is a kind of signal" about the kind of judge this White House is seeking. If that's the case, then the signal must be: left turn ahead!
Judge Hamilton is an anti-faith extremist whose cases are only notable for their blatant religious prejudice. In the suit for which Hamilton is most recognized, the judge struck down 188 years of prayers "in Jesus' Name" to open the Indiana legislature claiming it unconstitutionally "advanced Christianity." It was a decision that was later reversed by the same court to which Hamilton is now nominated -- the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. What Hamilton lacks in Christian tolerance he makes up for in Islamic hospitality.
The judge may have struck prayers in Jesus' name but has welcomed any in Allah's.
As for his interpretation of the law, Hamilton is on record suggesting that America 's judges "writ[e] footnotes to the Constitution." He's ruled against abortion waiting periods and tougher penalties for sex offenders.
The Washington Times warned readers, "This judge is a radical's radical," whose past jobs have included fundraising for ACORN and heading up Indiana 's chapter of the ACLU. Senate leaders are hoping to slip a vote on Hamilton's confirmation past conservatives this week.
Our sources on the Hill tell us that Democrats may be persuaded to postpone the vote if the grassroots make enough noise. You know what that means! Pick up the phone today and call your Senators. Remind them that a vote for Hamilton is a vote for a judicial activist who is committed to driving a political agenda that's out of step with mainstream America. For more ammunition, check out FRC's letter to Senators explaining why we're scoring the bill.

Words of Wisdom I Wish I Had Said

2009-11-03T16:07:00.001-05:00

"The Republican Party big tent is the United States of America. I don't know where these people get it in their thick heads that we are exclusionary. We are people of conservative principle and belief: Individual freedom and liberty, private property rights, a colorblind society, respect for life, the pursuit of happiness -- things that every American values or should." -Rush

Heritage Morning Bell - Healthcare

2009-11-03T12:29:00.004-05:00

The Public Option Is Neither Public, Nor An Option

When Mike Myers’ Linda Richman character would get a “little faklempt” on the Saturday Night Live skit Coffee Talk, she would give the audience a topic to discuss while she composed herself, like: “The Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire. Discuss.”
If Linda were still hosting her show today, she could as accurately say about today’s health care debate: “The public option is neither public, nor an option.” Let’s discuss.
For the leftist base of the Congressional majority, the creation of a government-run health insurance company has been the defining issue of the health care debate. So, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has explained numerous times that: “The thinking on the public option has been that it gives consumers more choices and it helps keep the private sector honest because there’s some competition out there.” But is this true? Would the public have more choices if a government run health insurance company was created?
Five different organizations and offices have made predictions of how many Americans could end up enrolled in the public option, including: The Lewin Group, the Congressional Budget Office, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Urban Institute, and Health Systems Innovations Network. They all tell a similar story: the number of Americans that end up in the government run plan will greatly depend on who is allowed to buy into it, and how much they have to pay.
The Lewin Group–an independent health care analysis firm–was the first to estimate the impact of creating such a new public plan, when University of California at Berkeley professor of political science Jacob Hacker worked with them to create a model health plan for the Economic Policy Institute.
The left loved the numbers Lewin produced for Hacker’s plan, but they immediately turned on Lewin and began attacking its credibility once Lewin analyzed the actual legislation in the House.What so angered the left was Lewin’s finding that if the government-run plan were open to all employers, 103.4 million Americans would find themselves with government run insurance, including 88.1 million Americans who would lose their current employer-sponsored private coverage. What angered the left so much about this finding was that it exposed the fact that there is very little “optional” about the public option.
Those 88.1 million Americans would not be the ones choosing the public plan. Instead, it would be their employers who decided to discontinue their current private coverage, leaving the 88.1 million Americans no choice but to enroll in the government plan.
The latest version of Obamacare in the House “fixes” this problem by severely limiting who the government can enroll in the government plan. Under the new bill, only employers with 25 employees or fewer are allowed to enroll in the plan in year one (2013), in year two (2014) individuals and employers with 50 employees or fewer become eligible, and in year three (2015) employers with at least 100 employees become eligible.
In other words, the vast majority of Americans will not be eligible to enroll in the allegedly “public” plan. Worse still, even the poorest Americans are specifically denied access to the new government plan. The bill does expand Medicaid eligibility to 150% FPL but it also appears to deny access to those who are “eligible” for Medicaid.
This simply gives the false impression that poor people will get a choice of better care under this bill. The reality is all they get is a chance to join the substandard government-run Medicaid plan.
With these restrictions, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that under the current bill (H.R. 3962) only 6 million people would enroll in the government plan. The Lewin Group has not analyzed H.R. 3962, but did estimate earlier that if a public plan was only open to employers with no more than 20 employees, 21 million people would enroll. The difference between the two numbers comes largely from the fact that the CBO estimates that the public plan would have higher, not lower, premiums than private plans.
Since the left in Congress has chosen to make the public option the defining issue of the health care debate, millions of Americans are set to be sorely disappointed if Obamacare passes and they suddenly learn that they are not eligible for the so-called public option they have been sold.
The scariest part of Obamacare, however, is that the legislation also empowers the new Health Czar to unilaterally rewrite the regulations so that the public option can turn into President Barack Obama’s dream of “Everybody in, Nobody out” government run health care.

GO

2009-11-03T00:09:00.003-05:00

Vote!!!!!

And if you don't think your vote matters.......

Go vote for McDonnell, Bolling, and Cuccinelli.

You know, since it doesn't matter.........to you.....

Thomas Sowell--Would You Have Believed?

2009-11-02T11:33:00.003-05:00

I knew it was going to be bad, but I have an imagination reserved exclusively for fathers and husbands.

via Patriot Post and Patriot Mark Alexander

Opinion in Brief

"Just one year ago, would you have believed that an unelected government official, not even a Cabinet member confirmed by the Senate but simply one of the many 'czars' appointed by the President, could arbitrarily cut the pay of executives in private businesses by 50 percent or 90 percent?
Did you think that another 'czar' would be talking about restricting talk radio? That there would be plans afloat to subsidize newspapers -- that is, to create a situation where some newspapers' survival would depend on the government liking what they publish?
Did you imagine that anyone would even be talking about having a panel of so-called 'experts' deciding who could and could not get life-saving medical treatments? Scary as that is from a medical standpoint, it is also chilling from the standpoint of freedom. If you have a mother who needs a heart operation or a child with some dire medical condition, how free would you feel to speak out against an administration that has the power to make life and death decisions about your loved ones?
Does any of this sound like America?
How about a federal agency giving school children material to enlist them on the side of the president? Merely being assigned to sing his praises in class is apparently not enough. How much of America would be left if the federal government continued on this path?
... How far the President will go depends of course on how much resistance he meets. But the direction in which he is trying to go tells us more than all his rhetoric or media spin. Barack Obama has not only said that he is out to 'change the United States of America,' the people he has been associated with for years have expressed in words and deeds their hostility to the values, the principles and the people of this country.
... Nothing so epitomizes President Obama's own contempt for American values and traditions like trying to ram two bills through Congress in his first year -- each bill more than a thousand pages long -- too fast for either of them to be read, much less discussed. That he succeeded only the first time says that some people are starting to wake up. Whether enough people will wake up in time to keep America from being dismantled, piece by piece, is another question -- and the biggest question for this generation."

--economist Thomas Sowell

Liberal Values Redux

2009-11-02T10:30:00.001-05:00

Washington Post -- Bad news for Democrats in revelation of ethics probes

The House Ethics Committee documents inadvertently posted online last week continue to bear fruit. Democrats are overwhelmingly the targets of the new rules that Speaker Pelosi fought for when she promised to “drain the swamp” as her party took control of the House in 2007. But she has learned that she cannot do without ethically oleaginous lawmakers like John Murtha and Charlie Rangel and so has preserved them at her own peril.

Writer Paul Kane explains:“Two and a half years into Pelosi's reign, more than 25 Democrats have been targeted for ethics reviews by the two ethics bodies, while just seven Republicans appeared to be under scrutiny, according to the document.”

Worst Bill Ever

2009-11-02T10:25:00.002-05:00

Wall Street Journal -- The Worst Bill Ever

The Journal’s editorial page pours out its cup of fury on the almost-final version of the $1.06 trillion House health bill. The piece is useful because it gets to the central point of the moment in Washington – for 8 months of fairly sustained debate on health care, we’re pretty much back where we started.

For all of the presidential palaver and town halls, the Democratic plan is mostly the same (only longer) that it was when the process began.Just as we knew in the spring, the Senate will pass a less liberal bill than the House and then the president will try to make a compromise between the two chambers’ plans. The Journal gives four things for those who love America and capitalism to be frothed about in the Pelosi plan.

“Even so, the House disguises hundreds of billions of dollars in additional costs with budget gimmicks. It "pays for" about six years of program with a decade of revenue, with the heaviest costs concentrated in the second five years. The House also pretends Medicare payments to doctors will be cut by 21.5% next year and deeper after that, ‘saving’ about $250 billion. ObamaCare will be lucky to cost under $2 trillion over 10 years; it will grow more after that.”