Armageddon: The Obama era begins…..and ends

With its most vigorous advocate in memory presiding in the White House and commanding Democratic majorities in Congress, it’s difficult to believe that the end of liberalism may be within sight. We base this suggestion not on a hunch or on wishful thinking, but on mathematics. The Petersen-Pew Commission on Budget Reform has produced a new report warning that “[o]ver the past year alone, the public debt of the United States rose sharply from 41 to 53 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Under reasonable assumptions, the debt is projected to grow steadily, reaching 85 percent of GDP by 2018, 100 percent by 2022, and 200 percent in 2038.”

Even before the national debt reached current levels, the commission warned in reports that “Fears of inflation and a prospective decline in the value of the dollar would cause investors to demand higher interest rates and shift out of U.S. Treasury securities. The excessive debt would also affect citizens in their everyday lives by harming the American standard of living through slower economic growth and dampening wages, and shrinking the government’s ability to reduce taxes, invest, or provide a safety net.”

It would seem that with a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress, and a President that acts more like a marionette than a leader, the debt would be controlled because of the need to keep said majority. That, as most expected, is not true. Through these increases, the Democrats are slowly headed toward judgement day.

Two new Gallup polls spell mega-trouble for the Democratic party: one finds that the Democratic party has now effectively lost the support it gained during the presidency of George W. Bush — and the second shows that independents now leaving the “independent” category are becoming conservatives.

Add that to a political mix where the party is being dissed by liberals/progressives (choose the word you want to use) for not being liberal enough and you get one more instance of how the 24/7 new/old media conventional wisdom needs to be swept under the rug. A new Democratic majority? The GOP merely a regional party? Not so faaaasssssst!

Here’s Gallup on the Democrats’ Bush years’ support evaporating:

The year 2009 marked the end of a three-year run of majority Democratic support among U.S. adults. Last year, an average of 49.0% of Americans identified as Democrats or said they leaned Democratic, the party’s first yearly average below 50% since 2005. Still, Democrats maintained an average eight-point advantage in support over Republicans last year, as 40.7% of Americans identified as Republicans or leaned Republican.

And, Gallup notes, the poll may not tell the whole bad-news story for Democrats:

The 2009 results are based on aggregated data from all Gallup and USA Today/Gallup polls conducted last year, encompassing interviews with more than 21,000 Americans. In each poll, Gallup asks Americans whether they consider themselves Republicans, Democrats, or independents. Independents are subsequently asked if they lean to the Republican or Democratic Party.

The 2009 results are based on aggregated data from all Gallup and USA Today/Gallup polls conducted last year, encompassing interviews with more than 21,000 Americans. In each poll, Gallup asks Americans whether they consider themselves Republicans, Democrats, or independents. Independents are subsequently asked if they lean to the Republican or Democratic Party.

Though total Republican support did increase last year, this came mostly from what can be considered “soft support.” The increase in overall GOP support is owing to an increase in the percentage of Republican-leaning independents…

Indeed, a second Gallup poll shows conservatives are now the country’s number one ideological group — a development that means as the Democratic leadership and White House try to juggle demands from its party base that wants more liberal policies, it risks losing overall support if it veers as far left as many liberals demand:

The increased conservatism that Gallup first identified among Americans last June persisted throughout the year, so that the final year-end political ideology figures confirm Gallup’s initial reporting: conservatives (40%) outnumbered both moderates (36%) and liberals (21%) across the nation in 2009.

More broadly, the percentage of Americans calling themselves either conservative or liberal has increased over the last decade, while the percentage of moderates has declined.

Since 1992, there have been only two other years — 2003 and 2004 — in which the average percentage of conservatives nationwide outnumbered moderates, and in both cases, it was by two percentage points (in contrast to the current four points).

The rather abrupt three-point increase between 2008 and 2009 in the percentage of Americans calling themselves conservative is largely owing to an increase — from 30% to 35% — in the percentage of political independents adopting the label. Over the same period, there was only a slight increase in professed conservatism among Republicans (from 70% to 71%) and no change among Democrats (at 21%).

And (not much of a surprise here and we have noted this before) many partisans don’t like the word “moderate”:

The proportion of independents calling themselves “moderate” held relatively steady in the mid-40s over the last decade, while the proportion of Republican and Democratic moderates dwindled. Between 2000 and 2009, the percentage of moderates fell five percentage points among Democrats (from 44% to 39%) and seven points among Republicans (from 31% to 24%).

Not surprisingly Gallup finds that:

The GOP has grown more conservative.

The Democrats have grown more liberal.

The largest indentification for independent voters is still “moderate.”The problem for the Demmies, Gallup concludes:

The effect of this shift among Democrats is most apparent when one reviews the trend in their ideological profile over the past decade. Whereas moderates constituted the largest bloc of Democrats in 2000, today they are about tied with liberals as twin leaders, and the proportion of conservatives has declined…

…Longer term, however, the 2000s showed a decline in political independence compared to the 1990s, with an average of 36.8% of Americans identifying as political independents from 1990-1999, compared with 34.8% from 2000-2009. Meanwhile, the proportion of Americans identifying as Republicans was a point higher in the 2000s (30.9%) than in the 1990s (29.9%), while Democratic support was steady at 33.3% in both decades.

Gallup’s overall conclusion is one we’ve noted here many times with many polls: it is further evidence of the polarization of American politics. Post-partisan, schmost partisan..

Political independents showed increased attachment to the “conservative” label in 2009, boosting the overall ranks of that group so that it now clearly outnumbers moderates in Gallup’s annual averages for the first time since 2004. Longer term, the proportions of Americans calling themselves conservative as well as liberal expanded slightly this past decade, largely because of increased partisan attachment to each label. At the same time, the percentage of “moderates” has dwindled, underscoring the heightened polarization of American politics as the nation heads into a new decade.

Look back to the 1970’s, back to Carter-era democrat politics. History repeats itself….and the Democrats are headed toward their judgement day. Their Armageddon has come by their own actions.

The Mad Hatter

Since the 1700s, hat makers sometimes experienced nervous disorders and odd behaviors to the point that they were accused of being mad. It occurred in observable patterns, but remained a puzzle at the time. What was going on?

The craft of hat making was brought to the Colonies by early European colonists. Raw materials were abundant here, and there was a huge market for hats in Europe, so the industry flourished. In fact, in 1731, King George II banned Colonial-made hats from being imported in order to protect the hat-making industry in England. Danbury, Connecticut was the center for hat making in the Colonies, and even though the city was burned by the British in 1777, the Industrial Revolution that followed independence brought the industry back to the rebuilt city in full force. Hat making changed from a cottage industry to factory production as mechanized factories were built. In the 1800s, Danbury was the hat making capital of the world. At the industry’s peak, there were 56 hat factories making over 5 million hats a year in Danbury. Felted fur was the most common material used in making hats. Part of the felting process included “carroting” which was so named for the orange liquid used to wash the furs. This orange liquid helped the fur separate from the skin, and it made the hairs lie together smoothly in the felting process. The orange liquid was mercury nitrate.

Being as Mad as Hatter comes much easier these days, however, it does not take unintentional poisoning to do such. Much like the Hatter, I am going mad thinking about the nonsense world we have come to be in my short life. Alice say’s it best in the beginning of the film: “If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn’t be. And what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?”

It the simplest form of 2009 belt-way thinking. Let’s spend money to recieve it, let’s take money to give it, let’s disarm to protect ourselves, let’s complain about purchasing oil from arab nations yet not drill in our own deposits. It befuddles me to even make sense of the lack of logic.

Reading bills, legislative bills from both houses of Congress, is essentially injecting yourself with the same mercury nitrate that made hatter’s mad. Not only do you need an aspirin afterward, the bills are written in such a way that the American public, with their scientifically proven short attention spans, will give up not even half-way through. Thus giving the career Congressmen and women of this country the open door they need to pass what ever tickles their fancy.

When I sat down to write this editorial I had set out to recap the year’s madness. However, thinking about it, you as an American know exactly what has happened in the last year. We embarked on a journey of change, yet, I have only seen the continuous waste of Washington politics that I saw before. There is no party that is exempt from the blame, no individual who has kept their hand out of the fire. Give a congressman something shiny and they will keep their hand in the flames regardless of the burns suffered (case and point: Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson).

Not very long ago, legislation had to pass or fail based on its merits.

If it was poor public policy, the votes to secure its passage could not be found and it died.

On the other hand, good legislation could win passage on its merits alone.

Those days seem to have passed.

On Christmas Eve, December 24, Senator Nelson delivered an unwanted Christmas present to America when he gave his vote to its purchaser: United States Senate Majority.

Senator Nelson’s price was high – a reported one hundred million dollars in new Medicaid expense exemptions for Nebraska…. forever.

This high price was acceptable and agreed to by Senator Reid and the Democratic Leadership because they had no problem forcing the taxpayers of Alabama and 48 other states to pick up the tab for their vote buying.

Seem a bit maddening?

Thats what I thought.

Beginning in 2010 make a real resolution. Not one that will go in one year and out the other. But one that you will keep, one that will truly help others in this country.

Make a resolution to change the face of American politics.

Now many of you will say that the face was changed last year.

Not so.

The head of the snake may have changed, however, the snake still slithers the same way down the same path. Only through the changing of the body, as well as the head, may we move away from the madness.

Congress is the mercury nitrate being poured down the throats of Americans. Please just do one thing when you return to take another sip from the bottle.

“Better read it first, for if one drinks much from a bottle marked “Poison”, it’s almost certain to disagree with one sooner or later.”-Alice

Happy New Year and God Bless.

He could have went the distance.

I would think that the front-runner, and likely nominee, should be Romney.  However, a combination of the sorry state of the GOP, the strong state of the Democratic Party, and the public’s love-affair with Obama could change the dynamic enough to allow someone unexpected to win the nomination.  I think 2012 could be a year where the GOP rejects its tendancy to nominate the “next-in-line”. Mark Sanford could have been that man.

Before the scandal I had said this statement to a friend of mine: “I can’t shake this gut feeling about Mark Sanford.  He’s a deficit hawk (what will argument #1 be for the GOP in four years?), he’s young (by Republican standards), he’s chairman of the RGA (not a huge deal, but I assume it would help with name recognition, build relationships, build contact lists, etc.), and he’s a Southerner (as much as the GOP would like to avoid being a regional party, there is undoubtedly an advantage to being from the South)”. Now this is irrelevant and meaningless to the general public.

There is the issue of whether he even has presidential aspirations.  I think he was quoted during his last gubernatorial run that it would be his last campaign.  But can we all agree that, in modern politics,  statements like that mean absolutely nothing?  I do think he wanted a VP slot, based on him not endorsing anyone until the nomination had been decided.

Would he have been the strongest candidate?  I don’t think so.  As I’ve stated before, I think it’s very possible for his opponent to paint him as a simpleton.  I still shudder when I think of his freeze-up on one of the cable news shows, when asked to explain the difference in economic policy between McCain and Bush.  But, of course, McCain might’ve borne the brunt of it more than Sanford ever would have.

There are plenty of other dark horses should the GOP break from tradition.  But with the recent announcement by Jenny Sanford declaring a divorce imminent, the run seems highly unlikely.

Lucy and Charlie Brown

Poor Charlie Brown. He just wants to kick the football. But Lucy has plans of her own! Will Charlie Brown ever learn? Most of us know of this classic Peanuts scene where Charlie Brown attempts to kick a football as Lucy “holds” it in place only to pull it away as Charlie Brown falls on his head.

A second Republican senator signaled last Wednesday she’s open to voting for sweeping health care legislation this year, putting President Barack Obama closer to a historic achievement that has eluded generations of Democratic leaders.

But Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told The Associated Press that the bill approved Tuesday by the Finance Committee needs substantial improvements to make coverage more affordable, contain costs, and protect Medicare. Nevertheless, she joined her Maine GOP colleague Sen. Olympia Snowe in endorsing the goal of far-reaching changes.

Wednesday, Snowe tackled the most divisive issue still on the table: creation of a government insurance plan that would compete with private ones.

While emphasizing that she still opposes the so-called public option, Snowe said in a nationally broadcast interview that she could foresee a government-run plan that would “kick in” if private insurers failed to live up to expectations that they keep premiums in check.

“When has business ever lived up to promises like this? This is like when Lucy holds the football for Charlie Brown and promises that this time she pull it away. He always thinks this time will be different, and he’s always wrong. This attitude is especially crazy when we currently have the example of financial institutions, bailed out by taxpayer money so they could keep loans available to other businesses, giving big bonuses to their executives who caused the financial meltdown, while resuing loans to small businesses.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has created an”opt-out” option for states who do not wish to accept the federal health care plan in their own budgets. However, this “option” does not exclude people in that state from the impending taxes to pay for such a expensive plan.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), a potential president candidate, says that his state should opt out of the public option if given the chance.

“I don’t know if we would opt out, but I personally would like to opt out because I don’t like government-run health care,” Pawlenty said.

This shouldn’t be too much of a shocker, considering that Pawlenty had previously talked about invoking the Tenth Amendment and attempting to nullify health care reform at the state level. Really, being given permission by the federal government to opt out isn’t much in comparison.

Is government run health care unconstitutional?

Any requirement that individuals either obtain coverage or pay a percentage of their income as a fine – is unconstitutional, presumably because it infringes on an individual’s rights.

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”-Ronald Reagan

Fight for your future as I do, fight against tyranny and taxation, the blood of our founders were not shed to see it all go to waste in an excessively broke government. Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton and Franklin are looking down upon us and weeping….knowing full well what went wrong and wondering why we do not know the same.

Scooby and the Gang.

President Barack Obama sensationally won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, less than a year after taking office, with the jury hailing his “extraordinary” diplomatic efforts on the international stage.

Obama was honored “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” the head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Thorbjoern Jagland said.

The committee attached “special importance to Obama’s vision and work for a world without nuclear weapons” and said he had created “a new climate in international politics.”

However, as he is overseeing the ongoing military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, President Obama was not considered by many Nobel-watchers to be a leading candidate.

“Likely candidates had been seen here as including human rights activists in China and Afghanistan and political figures in Africa,” The New York Times noted in a story published moments after the decision was made. “But the committee said it wanted to enhance Mr. Obama’s diplomatic efforts so far rather than reward him for events in the future.”

“Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future,” the committee said.

As word spread around the world of Obama’s shocking victory, many welcomed the announcement with open arms.

“We trust that this award will strengthen his commitment, as the leader of the most powerful nation in the world, to continue promoting peace and the eradication of poverty,” read a statement issued by the Mandela Foundation.

Exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer added: “I am very happy that he got it. Now he has to do something with the award. It raises expectations on him to stand up for oppressed nations. … Uighurs are getting killed even now. With the award, he should know how to talk to dictatorships like China.”

“Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts,” the Nobel citation reads. “The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama’s initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.”

“This year’s peace prize nominees included 172 people and 33 organizations,” noted CNN. “The committee does not release the names of the nominees.”

Former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari won the award in 2008.

The deadline for applications (for the prize) was February 4th; not even a month after he was President. Questionable? Yes. Planned? Oh yes.

In a PR move the applicants are attempting to boost the President’s slipping support, though it seems the prize has only brought more attention to his lack of action over the past year.

Even SNL (known for their liberal leaning tendencies) has spoofed the President on his lack of action.

Seems like the Scooby Snack has done nothing to help Scooby……it has only made more of the gang leave him in the Haunted House.

Obama Vs Bush…more dollars yet no sense

President Barack Obama has repeatedly claimed that his budget would cut the deficit by half by the end of his term. But as Heritage analyst Brian Riedl has pointed out, given that Obama has already helped quadruple the deficit with his stimulus package, pledging to halve it by 2013 is hardly ambitious. The Washington Post has a great graphic which helps put President Obama’s budget deficits in context of President Bush’s.

What’s driving Obama’s unprecedented massive deficits? Spending. Riedl details:

• President Bush expanded the federal budget by a historic $700 billion through 2008. President Obama would add another $1 trillion.
• President Bush began a string of expensive finan­cial bailouts. President Obama is accelerating that course.
• President Bush created a Medicare drug entitle­ment that will cost an estimated $800 billion in its first decade. President Obama has proposed a $634 billion down payment on a new govern­ment health care fund.
• President Bush increased federal education spending 58 percent faster than inflation. Presi­dent Obama would double it.
• President Bush became the first President to spend 3 percent of GDP on federal antipoverty programs. President Obama has already in­creased this spending by 20 percent.
• President Bush tilted the income tax burden more toward upper-income taxpayers. President Obama would continue that trend.
• President Bush presided over a $2.5 trillion increase in the public debt through 2008. Setting aside 2009 (for which Presidents Bush and Obama share responsibility for an additional $2.6 trillion in public debt), President Obama’s budget would add $4.9 trillion in public debt from the beginning of 2010 through 2016.

UPDATE: Many Obama defenders in the comments are claiming that the numbers above do not include spending on Iraq and Afghanistan during the Bush years. They most certainly do. While Bush did fund the wars through emergency supplementals (not the regular budget process), that spending did not simply vanish. It is included in the numbers above. Also, some Obama defenders are claiming the graphic above represents biased Heritage Foundation numbers. While we stand behind the numbers we put out 100%, the numbers, and the graphic itself, above are from the Washington Post. We originally left out the link to WaPo. It has been now been added.

College has made me a Stronger Conservative

As I endeavor into my second year of college, I look back on the year I spent witnessing a wasteland that can praise the product of secular liberalism with no greater purity. Before I began, I wasn’t a firm adherent to any particular side of the culture or political war. I opposed government interventionism that favored anyone. I tended libertarian.

I believe libertarianism to be the ideal political philosophy. It’s fair to everyone. It rewards people according to their worth rather than according to a dictator’s moral judgment of their worth.It is the ideas of Martin Luther King come to life. That people will be judged “by the content of their character”.  

But it cannot succeed when only one side is willing to play by the rules. So called “progressives” want to destroy everything that has been considered the American way of life. They want to destroy what has been the American value system for over two centuries.

I could provide countless recollections of times where my conservative standpoint was under attack by classmates and professors alike, however, I will spare you from the redundant detailing. Our confrontations, ideological battles per say, have proved the age old conservative belief that many professors really teach for no other reason than to indoctrinate.

College is a place that should be open to all ideas. A place where individualism should flourish, not be suppressed by being something different or contrasting with the liberal belief. It seems hypocritical that a ideology that presents arguments of inclusion and tolerance are the ones who are intolerant and excluding conservative ideals from the classroom.

Before last week, we did not have an oligarchy, in which an elite few impose their values on the majority. However, now with the confirmation of Al Franken as the new junior Senator from Minnesota, an oligarchy is exactly what we have in the Obama era.

For some, college is a necessity. But only about 30% of American adults have attended college — and I would argue that the 70% who have not had to deal with this valueless, ideological whorehouse are all that has kept this nation from falling into the abyss of despotism.

I have seen the result of years of indoctrination in friends and professors alike. What starts out as a fear to speak out against the herd in order to save your grade ends up being a conforming to those beliefs you opposed in the first place.

I for one will not let my voice, or ideals go to waste for a grades sake. Stand tall fellow conservatives because I know that this fight of ideology does not end at college campuses and classrooms.

I have learned from a quote presented to me during my graduation party (high school) in advice.

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Leave a trail fellow conservatives, leave a trail fellow classmates, leave a trail as Americans.

 

What the heck is Obamacare?

Apparently, that is the question the Senate is asking themselves regarding Health Care Reform in the US.

Time and time again, President Barack Obama has insisted that his proposed health-care overhaul won’t add to the U.S. deficit. With grim new deficit figures out this week, analysts say it’s more important than ever for the president to follow through on that promise. Experts say, however, that the current bill being pushed by both the White House and Congressional Liberals will exponentially increase the budget deficit for decades to come.

So what is in the bill?

Here is what is in the thousand page behemoth:

PG 22 Mandates the Government will audit books of all employers that self insure.

PG 24 Line 116 Government effectively sets prices for ALL private health plans.

PG 30 Line 123 There will be a Government committee that decides what treatments/benefits you get.

PG 37 Line 132 Te Government will be reviewing grievances about themselves and will decide on appeals for rejected claims.

PG 42 The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your HealthCare Benefits for you.

PG 50 Line 152 HealthCare will be provided to ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise.

PG 58 Government will have real-time access to individuals’ finances & a National ID HealthCare Card will be issued.

PG 59 Line 21-24 Government will have direct access to your banks accounts for electronic funds transfer.

PG 61 Line 22-24 Congress has no clue what Electronic Medical Records will cost. Asks for estimate.

PG 62 Protection of Data, Government shows they will have database of your personal & financial info.

PG64 L 21-25, pg65 L 1-5 refers to processing payment transactions by financial institutions

PG65 Line 164 is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in Unions & community organizations (ACORN).

PG 72 Line 8-14 Government is creating an HealthCare Exchange to bring private HealthCare plans under Government control.

PG 84 Line 203 Government mandates ALL benefit packages for private. HealthCare plans in the Exchange.

PG 85 Line 7 Specs for of Benefit Levels for Plans = The Government will ration your HealthCare! #AARP members – your Health care Will be rationed.

PG 89 Line 6-10 Te FAR is not applicable. Government can write contracts any way they want.

PG 95 Line 8-18

The Gov. will use groups i.e., ACORN & Americorps to sign up individuals for Government HealthCare plan.

PG 98 Line 8 Americans – You will be paying for others HealthCare while paying for your own.

PG 100 Line 15-19 Te Government Will be using ACORN and other community groups to promote & enroll.

PG 102 Line 12-18 Medicaid Eligible Individual will  be automatically enrolled in Medicaid. No choice.

PG 109 Line 207 Health Trust Fund.

PG 110 Line 7-12 Employment taxes on ALL employers NOT offering Government HealthCare. No choice.

PG 110 Line 13-18 An excise tax on ALL goods from companies not offering Government HealthCare. ALL Americans pay.

PG 110 Line 19-24 the Treasury can take $$ from Soc Line to pay HealthCare.

PG 111 Line 208 Te Federal Government will usurp all State powers in State Based HealthCare Exchange. Violation of 10th Amendment.

PG 119 Line 1-3 establish geographically-adjusted premium rates for public option.

PG 121 Line 223 PAYMENT RATES FOR ITEMS AND SERVICES.

PG 124 Line 24-25 No company can sue Government on price fixing. No “judicial review” against Government Monopoly.

PG 126 Line 10-15 Te Government can make up prices for anything at anytime for any reason.

PG 126 Line 22-25 Employers must pay for HealthCare for part time employees and their families.

PG 127 Line 1-16 Doctors: Te Government will tell YOU what you can make.

PG 129  The public option will be subsidized. Credits = your tax dollars. Redistribution of wealth.

PG 130 Line 10-23  Federal Government will subsidize State Medicaid = Even Higher State & Federal taxes for all.

PG 145 Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into public option plan. NO CHOICE.

PG 149 Line 16-24  ANY Employer with payroll 400k & above who does not provide public option pays 8% tax on all payroll.

PG 150 Line 9-13  Biz with payroll btw 251k & 400k who doesn’t provide public option pays 2-6% tax on all payroll.

PG 151 Line 1-3  Aggregate Rules-tax on employers payroll not on public option include payroll of other biz.

PG 167 Line 18-23  ANY individual who doesn’t have acceptable HealthCare according to Government will be taxed 2.5% of inc.

PG 170 Line 1-3  Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual taxes. (Americans will pay)

PG 195  officers & employees of HealthCare Administration (Government) will have access to ALL Americans financial/personal records.

PG 198 Line 1-3  1.5% ADDITIONAL TAX on people who have income of 500k to 1mil. Redistribution of Wealth.

PG 198 Line 4-6  5.4% ADDITIONAL TAX on people who have income of 1mil+. Redistribution of Wealth.

PG 199 Line 1-4  Surtax rates on raised AGAIN on Americans in 2012.

PG 201 Line 12-19 Government will ignore whatever costs they see fit to show savings.

PG 203 Line 14-15  “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax”

PG 202-215 is a Government rewrite of the tax code ensuring more taxes for EVERYONE, Everywhere.

PG 239 Line 14-24 Government will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor affected.

PG 241 Line 6-8 Doctors, doesn’t matter what specialty you have, you’ll all be paid the same.

PG236 L22-25, 237 L1-3 National rate of uninsured defined by Census.

PG 239 Line 10-12 Medicare DSH payments will be increased.

PG 238-249 Line 1121 Doctors-Government mandates your growth, costs, value, services, & income.

PG 253 Line 10-18 Government sets value of Dr’s time, prof judg, etc.

PG 260 Line 1125 Fed Government will adjust Medicare Payment Localities for California based on Census. ACORN?

PG 265 Line 1131  Government mandates & controls productivity for private HealthCare industries.

PG 268 Line 1141  Fed Government regulates rental & purchase of power driven wheelchairs.

PG 270 Line 1144 Government Mandates that all private ambulatory surgical centers submit cost data & other data.

PG 272 Line 1145 TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CANCER HOSPITALS – Cancer patients –

PG 276 Line 3-20 Oxygen Equipment & Supply Companies – Government MANDATES you will provide supplies NO MATTER where individual is.

PG 287 Line 14-25 Proof that Government will ration HealthCare by mandating waiting periods for readmission.

PG 298 Line 9-11  Drs, treat a patient during initial admission that results in a readmission – Government will penalize you.

PG 303 Line 12-25  Post Acute Care Services Data – Government will collect data including personal information as they see ft.

PG 304 Line 17-19  BIG ONE HERE: Expedited Data Collection –Government does NOT have to protect your private information, share with anyone, & is not resp  Expedited Data Collection – Chapter 35 of Title 44 of USC SHALL NOT APPLY. This gives the govt the right to access your data any way they see ft. (8) ensure that the creation, collection, maintenance, use, dissemination, and disposition of information by or for the Federal Government is consistent with applicable laws, including laws relating to— (A) privacy and confidentiality, including section 552a of title 5; (B) security of information, including section 11332 of title 40 [1] ; and (C) access to information, including section 552 of title 5; PG 306 Line 3-6  Te Government can expand the scope & size of Post Acute Program Services anytime & as they see ft.

PG 313 Line 9-14  Government MANDATES Health Services providers will state ownership, invest, & compensation arrangements.

PG 317 Line 13-20 Prohibition on ownership/investment. Government tells Drs. what/how much they can own.

PG 317-318 L 21-25,1-3 Prohibition on expansion- Government is mandating hospitals cannot expand.

PG 318-319  Government is mandating how hospitals & physicians conduct business & investments.

PG 321 2-13 Hospitals have opportunity to apply for exception BUT community input required.

PG 328 Line 1157 Government study disguised. It’s a HealthCare workforce study mandated by law for unionization.

Pg335 L16-25,PG 336-339 Government mandates estab. of outcome based measures. HealthCare the way they want. Essential Rationing.

PG 341 Line 3-9 Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Adv Plans, HMOs, etc. Forcing into Government plan.

PG 355-369 Line 1181 Government disguises tax on Drug Companies as rebate to Government to subsidize Drugs. We pay in the end.

PG 379 Line 1191  Government creates more bureaucracy – Telehealth Advisory Committee.

PG399  If you’re a subsidy eligible individual under Medicare part D and you don’t enroll, the Government will auto enroll you.

PG 401 Section 1221  Americans will fund Medicare Language & Translation Services Program.

PG 404 Lines 12-16  Government exempts itself again from – Chap 35 of title 44, USC including privacy of Americans.

PG 404 Lines 17-19  Government doesn’t know the cost of Language services but states that money is there.

PG 425 Lines 4-12  Government mandates Advance Care Planning Consult.

PG 425 Lines 17-19  Government will instruct & consult regarding living wills, durable powers of atty.

PG425 L22-25, 426 L1-3 Government provides approved list of end of life resources, guiding you in death.

PG 427 Lines 15-24  Government mandates program for orders for end of life. Te Government has a say in how your life ends.

PG 429 Lines 1-9  An “advance care planning consultant” will  be used frequently as patients health deteriorates.

PG 429 Lines 10-12  “advance care consultation” may include an ORDER for end of life plans. AN ORDER from Government.

PG 429 Lines 13-25  The Government will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.

Logan’s Run anyone?

PG 430 Lines 11-15  The Government will decide what level of treatment you will have at end of life.

PG 432 Lines 18-21  The Government will publish “quality measures” for individual’s end of life in Federal Register.

PG 434 Section 1234  Military Active, Reservists, Families – If you’re not enrolled in Tricare it is mandated.

PG 434 Section 1234  Military Active, Reservists, Families – Once HealthCare bill is passed your premiums will go up.

PG 438 Section 1236  The Government will develop a patient decision making aid program that you & Dr. WILL use.

PG 443 Lines 7-24 Government at taxpayer’s expense test out an “Accountable Care Org” program (Government doesn’t have plan.)

PG 444 Lines 1-6  Government’s Accountable Care Program will mandate services & infrastructure thru reward/penalty system.

PG 448 Lines 4-17  Government will set performance targets for ALL Accountable Care Organizations including private.

PG 455 Lines 3-4  Government exempts itself from Chapter 35, Title 44 Paperwork Reduction & Citizens Privacy Protection Act.

PG 460 Section 1302  Government and I’m PG 460 Section 1302  The Government WILL provide medical services in your home.

PG 469  Community Based Home Medical Services=Non profit organizations.

Page 472 Lines 14-17  PAYMENT TO COMMUNITY-BASED Organization – 1 monthly payment to a community-based organization Like ACORN?

PG 476 19-20  Chapter 35/ title 44, (Privacy of personal records) shall not apply Home Medical Services

PG 489 Section 1308  Government will cover Marriage & Family therapy. Which means they will insert Govt into your marriage.

PG 494-498  Government will cover Mental Health Services including defining, creating, rationing those services.

PG 502 Section 1181  Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research Established. -

PG 502 Line 5-18  Government builds the “Center” to conduct, support, & synthesize research to define our HealthCare Services.

PG 503 Line 13-19  Government will build registries and data networks from YOUR electronic medical records.

PG 503 Line 21-25  Government may secure data directly from any department or agency of the US including your data.

PG 504 Line 6-10  The “Center” will collect data both published & unpublished (that means public & your private info)

PG 506 Line 19-21  The Center will recommend policies that would allow for public access of data

PG 518 Line 21-25  The Commission will have input from HealthCare consumer reps -

PG 524 18-22  Comparative Effectiveness Research Trust Fund set up. More taxes for ALL.

PG 525-620  deals with the Government basically taking over nursing homes,

PGs 525-620 deals with the Govt basically taking over nursing homes, long-term care facilities (think assisted living) through regulations of the facilities, the owners of sd facilities, the employees of said facilities and even the land owners of that said facilities reside on.  Additionally as you read these 90+ pages you can come to the conclusion that any Health related services will be determined and rationed by the Govt for our senior citizens and others in nursing homes.

PG 620 Line 1-9 The  Government will define, prioritize, and nationalize your Health Care Services.

PG 622 Lines 2-9  To pay for the quality Standards Government will transfer $$ from to other Government Trust Funds. More Taxes.

PG 624  “Quality” measures shall  be designed to assess outcomes & functional status of patients.

PG 628 Section 1443  Government will give “Multi-Stake Holders” Pre-Rule Making input into Selection of “Quality” Measures.

PG 630 9-24/631 1-9  Those Multi-stake holder groups including Unions & groups like ACORN deciding HealthCare quality.

PG 632 Lines 14-25  Te Government may implement any “Quality measure” of HealthCare Services as they see ft.

PG 633 14-25/ 634 1-9  The Secretary may issue non-endorsed “Quality Measures” for Physician Services & Dialysis Services.

PG 635 – 653  Physicians Payments Sunshine Provision – Government wants to shine sunlight on Docs but not Government.

PG 654-659  Public Reporting on Health Care-Associated Infections – Looks okay.

PG 660-671  Doctors in Residency – Government will tell you where your residency will be, thus where you’ll live.

PG 676-686  Government will regulate hospitals in EVERY aspect of residency programs, including teaching hospitals.

PG 686-700  Increased Funding to Fight Waste, Fraud, and Abuse.

PGs 701-704  Section 1619 If your part of HealthCare plan that isn’t in Government HealthCare Exchange but you qualify for Federal aid, no payment.

PG 705-709 SEC. 1128  If Secretary gets complaints (ACORN) on HealthCare provider or supplier, Government can do background check.

PG 711 Lines 8-14  The Secretary has broad powers to deny HealthCare providers/suppliers admittance into HealthCare Exchange.

Pg 719-720 Section 1637 ANY Doctor who orders durable medical equipment or home medical services MUST be enrolled in Medicare.

PG 722 Section 1639  Government Mandates Doctors must have face-to-face with patient to certify patient for Home Health Services.

PG 724 Lines 16-22  Government reserves right to apply face-to-face certification for patient to ANY other HealthCare service.

PG 724 23-25 PG 725 1-5 The same Government certifications will apply to medicaid & CHIP (your kids)

Pg 735 lines 16-25  For law enforcement purposes, the Secretary of Health & Human Services will give Attorney General access to ALL data.

PG 740-757  Government sets guidelines for subsidizing the uninsured

Pg 757-762  Fed Government will shift burden of payments to Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSH) to States. (Taxes)

Page 763 1-8  No DS/EA hospitals will be paid unless they provide services without regard to national origin

Pg 765 Section 1711  Government will require Preventative Services including vaccines. (Choice?)

Pg 768 Section 1713 Government – Nurse Home Visitation Services (Hello union paybacks)

Pg 769 3-5  Nurse Home Visit Services – “increasing birth intervals between pregnancies.”

Pg  769 11-14 Nurse Home Visit Services include-economic self-sufficiency, employment advancement, school-readiness.

Pg 769 3-5 Nurse Home Visit Services – “increasing birth intervals between pregnancies.”

Pg 770 SEC 1714 Federal Government mandates eligibility for State Family Planning Services. Say abortion & State Sovereignty.

Pg 789-797 Government will set & mandate drug prices, controlling which drugs will be brought to the market.

Pgs 797-800 SEC. 1744 PAYMENTS for grad medical education. The government will now control Drs education.

PG 801 Sec 1751  The Government will decide which Health care conditions will be paid.

Pg 810 SEC. 1759.  Billing Agents, clearinghouses, etc. required to register. Government takes over private payment system.

Page 820-824 Sec 1801 Government will identify individuals ineligible for subsidies. Will access all personal finances.

Pg 824-829 SEC. 1802. Government Sets up Comparative Effectiveness Research Trust Fund. Another tax black hole.

PG 835 11-13  fees imposed by Government for Trust Fund shall be treated as if they were taxes.

Pg 838-840  Government will design & implement Home Visitation Program for families with young kids & families expecting kids.

PG 844-845  This Home Visitation Program includes Government coming into your house & telling you how to parent.

Pg 859  Government will establish a Public Health Fund at a cost of $88,800,000,000. Yes that’s Billion.

Pg 865  The Government will MANDATE the establishment of a National Health Service Corps.

PG 865 to 876  The NHS Corps is a program where Drs. perform mandatory HealthCare for 2 years for part loan repayment.

PG 876-892  The Government takes over the education of our Medical students and Drs.

PG 898  The Government will establish a Public Health Workforce Corps. to ensure supply of public health professionals.

PG 898  The Public health workforce corps shall consist of officers of Regular & Reserve Corps of Service.

PG 898  The Public health workforce corps shall consist of civilian employees of the U.S. as Secretary deems.

PG 900  The Public Health Workforce Corps includes veterinarians.

PG 901  The Public Health Workforce Corps WILL include commissioned Regular & Reserve Officers. HealthCare Draft?

PG 910  Te Government will develop, build & run Public Health Training Centers.

PG 913-914  Government starts a HealthCare affirmative action program thru guise of diversity scholarships.

PG 915 SEC. 2251.  Government MANDATES Cultural & linguistic competency training for HealthCare professionals.

Pg 932  The Government will establish Preventative & Wellness Trust fund – initial cost of $30,800,000,000-Billion.

PG 935 21-22  Government will identify specific goals & objectives for prevention & wellness activities.

PG 936  Government will develop “Healthy People & National Public Health Performance Standards”

PG 942 Lines 22-25  More Government? Offices of Surgeon General -Public Health Services, Minority Health, Women’s Health

PG 950- 980  BIG Government core public health infrastructure includes workforce capacity, lab systems; health information systems, etc

PG 993  Government will establish school based health clinics.

PG 994  School Based Health Clinic will be integrated into the school environment.

PG 1001  The Government will establish a National Medical Device Registry.

PG 1003 9-11  National Medical Dev Reg ‘‘(iii) other postmarket device surveillance activities” you WILL  be tracked.PG 1018  States give up some of their State Sovereignty.

Most Congressional members have already stated that they are “not familiar” with the bill (including our own President). Only time will tell if the thousand page bill passes.

Guest Editorial: Rick Mahler’s America

 - This guest editorial is self-explanatory. It is a beautiful and tragic story about the corruption of the socialist system.  Rick Mahler has a great story to tell. So, kick back, and spend a few minutes. Trust me, it’s worth it.

Americans are a very diverse group. No surprise there. Remember the melting pot? What can sometimes be a surprise is the types of diversity we show. American people have many differences. But isn’t that what makes this country so great? The fact that we can all co-exist without fear of the government intruding in our live because of our race, religion, or beliefs.

I am the child of Brazilian immigrants. My paternal Grandfather was born in Siberia, Russia and moved to Brazil with his family as a child after his father was murdered by socialist government officials for not giving up his land for “the greater good of the people”. His mother and siblings joined another farmer and his children whose wife had been murdered by the same officials in an effort to escape to the US.. They fled through China and soon found that money did not allow the voyage. Brazil became the only option as subsidies were being offered for farmers. You would think that the rest is history but not quite.

Fast forwarding to the late fifties my family prospered in Porto Alegre, Brazil and became very well known. It seemed that the sky was the limit. At that time, south Brazil had an economy that was very similar to the US. The region was full of hard working European immigrants that had developed what was once jungle into major metropolitan areas. Kind of reminds you of the US doesn’t it? Well here’s where it gets scary. In the early sixties, the Brazilian government which had been mostly hands off and happy with the fair amount of tax revenue it was receiving suddenly had “change” voted in. North Brazil with it’s corrupt politicians and military police was near bankrupt (Chicago? Detroit?) and needed a way to stay solvent. The “change” that came about in their eyes was a perfect solution. The south is full of wealth. Increase tax rates and the problem will be solved, right? WRONG! What resulted was threats of civil war and secession. ( sound familiar? ) With that, the North stepped in and enforced the new rules using the military police. What resulted from this was the more enterprising people left the country. ( my Father, Mother, and Grandparents) Some of the wealthy that stayed invested in things in other countries and banked there as well, and the middle class disappeared. Now, all that remains are the very wealthy (mostly politicians and high level military) and the very poor. Businesses are required to give credit lines at grocery stores for employees, health care, and a 2 hour lunch each day. Yes, I said 2 hour lunch. Most small businesses are gone now. The unemployment rate is astronomical. Poverty reigns supreme.

With that story being told I want you to understand that this was a gradual process in the name of economic stability… They took over the banks that were at risk of failing. They invested in private enterprise that is no longer private. The 40 year process has led to many Brazilians begging for socialism in the hopes that they can eat tonight. I lived in Brazil for a year when I was about 10 years old. The memories I have are good ones. I returned in 2005 to visit family that I had not seen since 1981. What I found was not the Porto Alegre I remembered as a child. My Grandmother’s apartment building is surrounded by iron bars and the owners pay a security firm to have armed guards at each corner. I wanted to walk 6 blocks to see the school I attended and was told I may get killed for the sneakers on my feet. I walked those blocks everyday as a 3rd grader and there was never a concern.

In the eighties and nineties there was an uproar in this country over the fact that our government was spending $500 for each hammer they purchased and $2000 for a toilet. America is the best country in the world. I thank God everyday that my parents came here and that I had the privilige to be born here. Maybe the insight that I am afforded by this is what makes me a conservative. I have seen first hand what happens when the government controls things. That $500 hammer used to make people use terms such as “government waste”, “political red tape”, and many more. Where is the uproar over government slowly taking over private enterprise? Why is it okay to spend millions on helicopters for the Mexican Army but not buy a $500 hammer? Fire the bums!!! Yes all of them. If anyone has been in for more than 1 term vote them out. Sure some good ones will get kicked out. There has to be a couple…right? But overall we can only gain from it.. If they know we are watching… maybe, just maybe, they might represent us and not themselves. We need to be self sufficient! We need a balanced budget! We need the US Constitution to mean something again! Freedom is not FREE, you cannot stay free by watching a sitcom. Spend time with your kids, read a book, read the constitution. Learn and understand why we are free and maybe you will see why it’s slipping away.

Rick can be reached through his website: Mahlerforcongress.com or through his facebook account.

I Told You So.

Apparently Representative Bob Inglis may be able to say it…..and I am saying it in regard to the President.

Since his announcement of candidacy for US Congress (4th Distict), Solicitor Trey Gowdy seems to be in the public spotlight more. While doing research in local news archives, it has only been recently that Gowdy has been a real voice from the office. Before his announcement, approx 90% of all public announcements came by representative or spokesmen from the Solicitor’s office. After, Gowdy has been in front of every camera he can.

Using his job to his political advantage?

Incumbent Representative Bob Inglis caught some heat when he called for Solicitor Gowdy  to take a leave of absence or part time pay while campaigning. Perhaps Inglis saw this coming….

Representative Bob Inglis is facing a tough reelection bid in the SC4 Republican primary. His move to the political center and ignoring of his constituency regarding legislation has angered many.

Currently Bob is trying to make up for lost time in connecting to individuals outside of his own household and those in the beltway.

Now I am not saying that Gowdy is a bad guy, nor am I saying that Inglis should still be in office. All I am saying is that a public servant, should not use their office to further their political ambitions.

Andrew Smart, CEO of Smart Foods, has dropped out of the race (yeah, like that’s a shock) to support Gowdy in the Republican primary. This leaves Christina Jeffrey, Jim Lee, David Thomas and of course Inglis himself in the race.

Only time will tell if Gowdy continues to use his office to his advantage. If he does, as it “seems” he has already, Inglis can say, “I told you so.”

I can finally say, “I told you so,” regarding Comrade in Chief Barack Obama.

President Barack Obama’s treasury secretary said Sunday he cannot rule out higher taxes to help tame an exploding budget deficit. Further, his chief economic adviser would not dismiss raising them on middle-class Americans as part of a health care overhaul.

Both Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council Director Larry Summers attempted to side-step questions on the tax increases and seemed to take a cue from the President when he is missing his teleprompter (er, eh, ah, er, you see, er…).

As most of you should remember, Now-President Obama planted his whole campaign with the seeds of rhetoric. The best known example of this rhetoric, of course, is that, “… the middle class ‘will not see any of your taxes increase one single dime.’”

Now, if the President was so adamant that it would not happen, why are his advisers telling the American people something different?

“If we want an economy that’s going to grow in the future, people have to understand we have to bring those deficits down. And it’s going to be difficult, hard for us to do. And the path to that is through health care reform,” Geithner said. “We’re not at the point yet where we’re going to make a judgment about what it’s going to take.”

I’ve got an idea for the administration. It may seem a little crazy, perhaps a little “right wing extremist” to the socialistic Obama liberals.

How about leaving the American people alone? Let capitalism work as it is supposed to. Get your hand out of my pocket. Rescind the rest of the stimulus funds and do not spend it again. Just say no to government-run health care and leave the states alone.

Maybe this is too “extreme” for liberals to understand. But guess what? If we got the government out of people’s lives….they wouldn’t be spending nearly as much as they already do. Magically, the deficits would cease to increase and begin to decrease. WHOA!

Too bad that will never happen….not yet.