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Archive for March, 2010

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Tea Party Express III comes to Colorado

Posted by Richard on March 30, 2010

The Tea Party Express has two stops in Colorado on Wednesday (via email):

GRAND JUNCTION: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31 – 10:00 AM

1301 East Sherwood Drive
Grand Junction, CO

DENVER: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31 – 4:00 PM

West steps of the State Capitol
200 E Colfax Ave
Denver, CO 80203

Tea Party Express III: Just Vote Them Out national tour kicked off this weekend in Searchlight, NV where one of the largest political gatherings in Nevada history took place. The Tea Party Express will hold 44 tea party rallies across the nation, ending in Washington, D.C. for the Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th.

Of course, the Denver turnout won't hold a candle to the Searchlight, Nevada, mega-rally. But I hope the Denver Post at least provides fairer coverage than CNN gave the Searchlight event.

Searchlight's population is about 600, and it's in the middle of the desert 60 miles south of Las Vegas. Crowd estimates for the "retire Harry Reid" rally ranged from 9-11,000 to more than 20,000. Countless others weren't able to get there; even after the rally had ended, traffic headed into Searchlight was still backed up 15 in both directions. So how did CNN's Fredricka Whitfield report the event? According to NewsBusters (emphasis in original):

"Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin there in Searchlight, Nev., was the backyard of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, but today it's the backdrop of this Tea Party Express – making a stop here," Whitfield said. "Hundreds of people, at least dozens of people – we haven't gotten a count of how many people turned out there. We heard Sarah Palin talk about everything about the campaign, to unseat Sen. Reid to what she calls ObamaCare, on the heels of that health care vote and even talking about her definition of her love of America."

Pictures and links at Gateway Pundit. Yep, that's at least dozens. 

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I forgot about Earth Hour!

Posted by Richard on March 28, 2010

Aw, jeez, I completely forgot that Earth Hour was tonight! From 8:30 to 9:30 PM, Gaia-worshipping idiots around the world who think the planet would be better off if the Industrial Revolution had never occurred turned off their lights "to reduce energy consumption and draw attention to the dangers of climate change."

As I have in the past, I'd intended to counter this anti-technology, anti-reason, anti-modernity, and anti-human nonsense by turning on every light and electrical device in the house. But I spaced it out. So I only had on the usual lights, two computers, big-screen HDTV, satellite receiver, 6.1 audio system, and assorted small electronic devices. Damn! I could have done so much more!

Well, maybe I'll just leave some lights on overnight to compensate for my earlier slacking. And I'm sure there'll be another Carbon Belch Day this June, and I can celebrate by maximizing my carbon footprint then. 

As I've said before, "My ancestors didn't survive the Black Plague and Dark Ages, create the Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution, and bring about the past two hundred years of astonishing scientific and technological progress so that we could huddle in the dark." 

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Controlling the people and redistributing the wealth

Posted by Richard on March 26, 2010

For a long time, the Socialist Democrats have hidden their true agenda from the American people. No more. They're now so cocky and confident (and so contemptuous of their opposition) that they're dropping the facade of moderation and centrism.

On Tuesday, Rep. John Dingell (SD-MI) was asked on a Michigan radio program why Obamacare would not be fully implemented until 2014 when so many people are dying each year due to lack of insurance (a claim based on a totally bogus study, BTW). Dingell explained that "it takes a long time to do the necessary administrative steps that have to be taken to put the legislation together to control the people."

The same day, a New York Times story (I'll link to the excellent fisking at Sweetness & Light) made it clear that the government takeover of the health care industry is "the federal government's biggest attack on economic inequality since inequality began rising more than three decades ago" and the centerpiece of Obama's plan to reverse the Reagan Revolution and redistribute wealth. 

And just today, as the Senate was preparing to pass the "reconciliation" bill containing the House "fixes" for Obamacare, Sen. Max Baucus (SD-MT) addressed the Senate as follows: 

Too often, much of late, the last couple three years the mal-distribution of income in America is gone up way too much, the wealthy are getting way, way too wealthy, and the middle income class is left behind. Wages have not kept up with increased income of the highest income in America. This legislation will have the effect of addressing that mal-distribution of income in America.

So. Now that it's a done deal, the Socialist Democrats are proudly proclaiming what they previously and angrily denied, what they previously denounced as right-wing lies and fear-mongering: the government takeover of the health care industry is intended to control the people and redistribute the wealth. It's intended to turn citizens into subjects and to ensure equality of misery.

They're slightly less crazy-sounding, but fundamentally not all that different from Hugo Chavez.

But don't worry about the constitutionality.  Rep. John Conyers (SD-MI), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and noted constitutional scholar, has assured us that it's all authorized by the Constitution's "Good and Welfare Clause."

Costa Rica's looking better all the time. Or maybe Honduras, where they still respect the rule of law.

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Health care haiku

Posted by Richard on March 25, 2010

This poetic gem was posted as a comment on Hot Air:

If you have a Right
To the service I provide,
I must be a Slave.

Haiku Guy on March 24, 2010 at 5:25 AM

(HT: Doug Ross)

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Anyone can be an expert on a TV newscast

Posted by Richard on March 25, 2010

We had about 10" of wet, heavy snow yesterday and overnight — typical March storm — and all over Denver there were fallen branches and downed trees and power lines. On one of the local newscasts tonight, they talked with a "tree expert" (I think he was from the Denver Forestry Dept.) about what people should do to save their trees. He advised people to try to knock the snow off because "if it freezes overnight, it'll become twice as heavy."

Who knew that H2O was capable of such an amazing transformation? Is that what they mean by "heavy water"?

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Sowell and Williams on the health care vote

Posted by Richard on March 23, 2010

Two of my favorite living economists have slightly different takes on the House vote for government-controlled health care. Dr. Thomas Sowell, as I would have guessed, has a somewhat pessimistic take:

With the passage of the legislation letting the federal government take control of the country's medical care system, a major turning point has been reached in the dismantling of America's values and institutions.

Even the massive transfer of crucial decisions from millions of doctors and patients to Washington bureaucrats and advisory panels — as momentous as that is — does not measure the full impact of this largely unread and certainly unscrutinized legislation.

…

With politicians now having access to our most confidential records and having the power of granting or withholding medical care needed to sustain ourselves or our loved ones, how many people will be bold enough to criticize our public servants, who will in fact have become our public masters?

…

The corrupt manner in which this massive legislation was rammed through Congress, without any of the committee hearings or extended debates that most landmark legislation has had, has provided a road map for pushing through more such sweeping legislation in utter defiance of what the public wants.

Too many critics of the Obama administration have assumed that its arrogant disregard of the voting public will spell political suicide for congressional Democrats and for the president himself. But that is far from certain.

Dr. Walter Williams, predictably, is somewhat more optimistic: 

If there is anything good to say about Democrat control of the White House, Senate and House of Representatives, it's that their extraordinarily brazen, heavy-handed acts have aroused a level of constitutional interest among the American people that has been dormant for far too long.

Part of this heightened interest is seen in the strength of the Tea Party movement around the nation. Another is the angry reception that many congressmen received at their district town hall meetings.

Yet another is seen by the exchanges on the nation's most popular radio talk shows such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin and others. Then there's the rising popularity of conservative/libertarian television shows such as Glenn Beck, John Stossel and Fox News.

 Read both columns, please. I think both make valuable points. I agree with Sowell that this is a terrible turning point, and one that could usher in a new era in which this country permanently abandons the ideals and principles that have made it unique among nations.

I also agree with Williams that there are reasons for optimism — that the brazen and outrageous nature of this bill's passage and the contempt Democrats have shown for the will of the people will serve to awaken the populace and lead to a wide-spread public reaction and "Constitutional reawakening." 

Of course, I hope Dr. Williams is right. But I won't just hope. I'll do what I can to help make it come to pass. 

I hope you will, too. 

And keep an eye out for that new Reagan or Thatcher, too. We could really use one. 

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Boehner: This is the people’s House… Shame on this body

Posted by Richard on March 22, 2010

Shortly before the vote for government-run health care, Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) addressed the House:


[YouTube link]

Aside from a few idiots chortling over the political benefit of letting the Democrats pass such an unpopular bill, the Stupid Party has acquitted itself pretty well during the struggle over government-controlled health care. Maybe — just maybe — some of them have actually learned from their well-deserved drubbing in 2006 and 2008.

The Evil Party, on the other hand, has interpreted public repudiation of Republicans (to be precise, candidates pretending to be Republicans) as a mandate to become even more evil. This fall, they may learn what a mistake that was.

I just hope we can find another Reagan — or better yet, a Thatcher — in the next three years.

If we don't, I'll look into retiring in Costa Rica. Or Belize. Or maybe Honduras — the people of that little country have recently demonstrated great courage and great respect for democracy and the rule of law. I might really like it there. 

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House passes socialist health care takeover

Posted by Richard on March 22, 2010

Concluding the most corrupt and sleazy legislative process of my lifetime, the House moments ago passed a 2700-page bill enacting the complete government takeover of the health care industry. A bill that will lead inexorably to America's decline.

Tonight, I weep for my country. 

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Dems abandon Slaughter plan

Posted by Richard on March 20, 2010

With even some of their supporters criticizing the outrageous and unconstitutional plan to "deem" the Senate health care bill passed without voting on it, House Democrats have backed down and agreed to a vote:

The House Sunday will have to pass a Senate-authored health care bill that many House members don't like. They have crafted a smaller bill that makes changes to the Senate bill, including new language that will exempt labor unions from much of the impact of an excise tax on expensive insurance policies. Democrats wanted to pass the smaller bill and then "deem" the larger, unpopular bill to be passed without ever voting on it directly. But they received considerable backlash, with even Democrats in their own caucus complaining about the tactic.

"We've had sanity prevail here and I'm very pleased about that," said Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Calif., who is a member of the House Rules Committee, which on Saturday spent hours debating the bill and the process that will be used to consider it.

According to a top Democratic leadership aide, the House will vote on the smaller bill first, then hold an up or down vote on the Senate bill.

The dirty little secret about the "smaller bill that makes changes to the Senate bill" is that it's of no real consequence. If the House passes the Senate bill unchanged, it's been passed by both houses, and the President can (and will) sign it into law in a heartbeat. The bill with the changes will have to go to the Senate. Once their version is signed into law, what incentive do Senate Democrats have to even seriously consider, much less pass, a bill that makes changes they don't want? 

Call or email the representatives on this list and tell them that if they're planning to vote for the Senate bill because of the changes being made in the separate House bill, they're fools. Or they think their constituents are. 

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ObamaCare will create jobs

Posted by Richard on March 19, 2010

The inimitable Mark Steyn (emphasis added):

Last Thursday, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board voted to set up a committee to examine whether condoms should be required on all pornographic film shoots.

California has run out of money, but it hasn't yet run out of things to regulate.

For a government regulatory hearing, the testimony was livelier than usual. Porn star Madelyne Hernandez recalled an especially grueling scene in which she had been obliged to have sex with 75 men. The bureaucrats nodded thoughtfully, no doubt contemplating another languorous 18-month committee assignment looking into capping the number of group-sex participants at 60 per scene.

The committee will also make recommendations on whether the "adult" movie industry should be subject to the same regulatory regime and hygiene procedures as hospitals and doctors' surgeries. You mean with everyone in surgical masks? Kinky.

If you've ever been in the filthy wards of Britain's National Health Service, it may make more sense after the passage of ObamaCare to require hospitals to bring themselves up to the same hygiene standards as the average Bangkok porn shoot.

One can make arguments for permitting porn and banning porn, but there isn't a lot to be said for the bureaucratization of porn. Hard to believe there will be California bureaucrats looking forward to early retirement on gold-plated pensions who'll be getting home, sinking into the La-Z-Boy and complaining to the missus about a tough day at the office working on the permits for "Debbie Does The Fresno OSHA Office."

Meanwhile, ObamaCare will result in the creation of at least 16,500 new jobs. Doctors? Nurses? Ha! Dream on, suckers. That's 16,500 new IRS agents, who'll be needed to check whether you — yes, you, Mr. and Mrs. Hopendope of 27 Hopeychangey Gardens — comply with the 15 tax increases and dozens of new federal mandates about to be "deemed" into existence.

This will be the biggest expansion of the IRS since World War Two — and that's change you can believe in. This is what "health" "care" "reform" boils down to: fewer doctors, longer wait times, but more bureaucrats. …

Read. The. Whole. Thing.  

And then go here for the Code Red list of representatives to contact to stop this economy-destroying government takeover of the health care industry. And go here to email your representative and the 58 Blue Dog Democrats. And then go here to add to the more than 1 million faxes sent  to Washington opposing government-run health care. 

We're coming down to the wire, folks, and the Socialist Democrat leaders are trying to paint this as a done deal in order to sway some fence-sitters into voting their way. But they still don't have the votes — if they had the votes, they'd have started the roll call immediately instead of waiting until Sunday. This Obamination of a bill can still be stopped if you make your voice heard loud, long, and often, and start right now.

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The truth about health insurance profit margins

Posted by Richard on March 16, 2010

As the President continues, in speech after speech, to demonize the health insurance industry as greedy exploiters of consumers raking in inordinate profits, it seems like a good time to look at the actual data, which refute such demagoguery.

Dr. Mark J. Perry did exactly that last month in a Carpe Diem post. He found that the Health Care Plan industry ranked 88th out of 215 industries, with a profit margin of 3.4% (and even that was inflated by one outlier, Wellpoint, due to a one-time surge in profits from the sale of a division).

Perry did the heavy mathematical lifting of calculating just what that profit margin means for the typical consumer (emphasis added): 

America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the industry's trade association representing 1,300 members, reported last October that annual health insurance premiums averaged $2,985 for individual coverage and $6,328 for family plans in 2009. Using the industry average profit margin of 3.4% means that insurance companies make about $100 per policy in profits for individual coverage, and a little more than $200 in profits for each family policy.

So even if we could strip away 100% of the health insurance industry's profits, it would only save patients between $100 and 200 per year in health insurance costs.

Wow. $100 to $200 per year. So if the government take-over of health care is enacted and completely wipes out the private health care insurance industry (and make no mistake, that will be the long-term consequence), it might save each of us $100 to $200 per year. But only if a bunch of government bureaucrats can deliver the same quality of service with no increase in overhead or decrease in efficiency. 

If you believe that will happen, you're not familiar with the Postal Service. Or the Social Security Administration. Or the Veterans Administration. Or the Department of Education. Or the DMV. Or …

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When will the time for talk really be over?

Posted by Richard on March 16, 2010

I thought it was about a week ago that President Obama, at a campaign-style rally, argued that everything to be said about health care "reform" had already been said and that "The time for talk is over," so I Googled it. I was apparently remembering his speech on March 8 in Philly. But according to Google, he also said it on March 11. And February 5. And December 18. And July 21. And who knows how many more (I didn't check all 603,000 hits).

So if the time for talk has been over since last summer, why has the Prez continued giving the same demagogic and tiresome speech, misrepresenting the bill and the opposition to it ("some people say we should do nothing"), about three times a week for eight months? Why does he keep trotting out poster children for "reform" like Natoma Canfield (who, contrary to what Obama implied, is in no danger of losing her house and is receiving top-notch care at the excellent Cleveland Clinic)? 

Apparently, when the Prez says, "The time for talk is over," he really means, "The time for the rest of you to talk is over. Just shut up and do what I tell you."

Personally, I think the time for talk is over, too. And so is the time for vote-buying, deal-making, rule-breaking, threats, and subversion of the democratic process. Stop it all and hold a roll-call vote in the House right now. Or tomorrow morning. Under Roberts' Rules of Order, calling the question is almost always in order. Isn't there some equivalent rule in the House? The Republicans should do whatever is possible under House rules to force a vote right now. 

Clearly, if Pelosi had the votes to ram through this government take-over of the health care industry, the roll would already have been called. Do these rabid socialist ideologues get an indefinite period of time to cajole, bribe, and coerce more of their own party into line? I should hope not. Somebody call the question!

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Happy Pi Day!

Posted by Richard on March 15, 2010

Today is March 14, a.k.a. 3.14, a.k.a. Pi Day. Hope you had a happy one and celebrated with a slice. Oh, and it's Albert Einstein's birthday, too! I'm not sure how one celebrates that — converting mass into energy can get a bit messy.

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Slaughtering our form of government

Posted by Richard on March 12, 2010

Just when you think Congressional Democrats can't get any more brazen, contemptible, and outrageous in their effort to cram government-controlled health care down our throats despite overwhelming opposition by the American people, along comes the "Slaughter Solution." Mark Tapscott explains (emphasis added):

Would House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her fellow House Democratic leaders try to cram the Senate version of Obamacare through the House without actually having a recorded vote on the bill?

Not only is the answer yes, they would, they have figured out a way to do it, according to National Journal's Congress Daily:

"House Rules Chairwoman Louise Slaughter is prepping to help usher the healthcare overhaul through the House and potentially avoid a direct vote on the Senate overhaul bill, the chairwoman said Tuesday.

"Slaughter is weighing preparing a rule that would consider the Senate bill passed once the House approves a corrections bill that would make changes to the Senate version.

…

Each bill that comes before the House for a vote on final passage must be given a rule that determines things like whether the minority would be able to offer amendments to it from the floor.

In the Slaughter Solution, the rule would declare that the House "deems" the Senate version of Obamacare to have been passed by the House. House members would still have to vote on whether to accept the rule, but they would then be able to say they only voted for a rule, not for the bill itself.

Why don't the Socialist Democrats just drop the fig leaf of representative government entirely? They could save a lot of time and pointless posturing and pretense if the President simply deems the bill to have passed both Houses of Congress and immediately signs it into law. Come fall, Reid and Pelosi could shepherd through rules deeming all the incumbent Democrats to have been reelected. Then the President could deem the Constitution to have been amended and declare himself President for Life. 

I deem these people to be enemies of the Constitution, our liberties, and our way of life. 

Go here right now to quickly send an email to your congresscritter and to the 58 members of the Blue Dog Democrat coalition. Tell them how angry you are and how adamently opposed to this outrageous attempt to rule against the will of the people and impose government control of health care on us. 

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Boudreaux bitch-slaps Obama on “rationing”

Posted by Richard on March 10, 2010

George Mason University Economics Professor Don Boudreaux wrote an open letter to the President on Monday, and it's a doozy. Enjoy:

CBS radio news this morning ran a clip of one of your recent speeches.  In it, you criticize insurance companies because they “ration coverage … according to who can pay and who can’t.”

My first thought was “not exactly; coverage is rationed according to who pays and who doesn’t.”  Ability to pay isn’t the same thing as actually paying, and what insurers care about is the latter.  Many folks – especially young adults – have the ability to pay but choose not to do so.  They get no coverage.

But further pondering of your point leads me to look beyond such nit-picking to see fascinating possibilities.  Not only insurers, but all producers who greedily refuse to supply persons who don’t pay should be set aright.  Now I’m sure that you don’t ration the supply of the books you write according to any criteria as sordid as requiring people actually to pay for them.  But our society is full of people less enlightened than you.

For example, the typical worker rations his labor services according to who pays and who doesn’t.  That must stop.  Oh, and supermarkets!  Every single one rations groceries according to who pays.  Likewise with restaurants, clothing stores, home-builders, furniture makers, even lawyers!  You name it, rationing is done according to who pays.  Indeed, my own county government has been corrupted by this greedy attitude: if I don’t pay my taxes, the sheriff takes my house – effectively booting me out of the county merely because I didn’t pay for its services.

Preposterous!

I look forward to your changing this selfish and unfair system of rationing that for too long now has kept Americans impoverished.

Of course! It's so simple! We could all be wealthy and happy and have every desire fulfilled if only the producers didn't insist on making us pay! I look forward to our enlightened socialist President putting Boudreaux's modest proposal into practice. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need!"

What could possibly go wrong?

(HT: Carpe Diem)

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