nuggets of logic

The Senate's Christmas Eve Screwing of America

2009-12-20T00:15:00.006-06:00

Well, it's been quite some time since I've posted on this blog. Lots has been going on in politics, most of it bad, but given that I've got a 10-month old who still isn't sleeping through the night, I've elected to try and get some rest when possible instead of posting. However, after I learned today that Harry Reid seems to have secured the 60 votes necessary to ram the government-run healthcare plan through, I decided that it's time to get back on the horse.

It's very hard to come out and criticize this bill with any authority for a very simple reason. No one has been allowed to read it. Now this alone coupled with a vote being scheduled for Christmas Eve, less than a week away, is enough for us to know that this is a crap bill for the American people. The always detestable Harry Reid wrote this bill behind closed doors and did not even allow Republicans in the room to know what is in it. Don't you remember the president saying something about a new era of transparency in Washington? If you don't, a little reminder for you is below at around the 55 second mark.

The United States Constitution was only 4 handwritten pages long, yet was debated for 4 months at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. This came out to around a month of debate per page. Using that as an approximate measurement, debate for the current 2000+ monstrosity should take over 166 years. As it is, once it is unveiled either Sunday or Monday, there will be less than 166 hours to debate this bill before a final vote. Truly pathetic. All this so that our miserable, weak, inept, buffoonish, idiotic excuse for a president will be able to have something to talk about for his State of the Union speech in January. Something, of course, other than his pissing away trillions of dollars we don't have on programs that don't work.

I've spent a lot of time on this blog discussing why getting the feds so involved in our health care is a horrible idea, not to mention an unconstitutional one and an assault on our liberty as individual citizens. In the meantime, the administration's handling of Cash for Clunkers only reinforced my view that the government can take what should be a simple task and completely screw it up. It seems we see every day the wisdom of our founders in laying out a limited federal government.

What's really sad is that America doesn't want this bill and the politician don't much give a damn. The polls are absolutely overwhelming that the public doesn't like this. In fact, I heard a poll Thursday or Friday that Americans would rather keep the health care system we have, or pass nothing, than enact the Senate bill. This means that regardless of what that dimwit Obama says, the people of this country prefer the status quo to where his party wants to take us.

We'll talk about more details on the bill after it's released, but one thing we already know for sure. The federal government is going to mandate that you, me, and everyone else in this country purchase health insurance. This alone should be enough to invalidate the entire bill as unconstitutional. Even the CBO said in the 90's when Clinton was trying to pass Hillary-care that "The government has never required people to buy any good or service as a condition of lawful residence in the United States."

The federal government has absolutely no business demanding that we purchase anything. As I've often asked, who the do these politicians think they are, God? Well, maybe Obama does. Nevertheless, they are supposed to be working for us, not trying to work around us as Reid is doing. They DO NOT have the authority to mandate that we purchase a damn thing, and I'm very curious to see the number of Americans who say "Screw you" to Reid, Pelosi, Obama, and every other leftist up in Washington who's trying to take what's great about this country and flush it down the toilet by refusing to do so.

Hope and change, my butt.

8 Years Ago...

2009-09-11T18:06:00.003-05:00

A year ago today, I posted the following on this blog. All that's changed is the passing of another year. I can still remember the day quite vividly and rather than try to reinvent the wheel, what I said last year pretty much sums up my thoughts and feelings surrounding this day.

I remember 9/11/2001 like it was yesterday. I remember where I was when I heard about the first plane hitting the World Trade Center. I was in college and my wife (then my fiancee) was at work. She called me in a panic, telling me to turn on the TV to CNN. I started watching just in time to watch the second plane hit live. Then came the report about the Pentagon. Then came the report about Flight 93. I watched those towers fall.

My cousin/roommate and I spent the vast majority of the next few days glued to the 24-hour news channels. It's so strange that it took a day or two to realize we were living through what would go down as a major moment in history. It was brought to my attention when I went back to class that many professors did not see fit to cancel classes on 9/11. That was a major surprise to me. I learned more in those two days after the attacks than I did throughout high school. Not only about how our government works, but what it really means to be an American.

Maybe people haven't forgotten in terms of the historical events that took place, but they have forgotten the helpless emotions that take hold when one realizes how fragile and precious our freedom and liberty really are, and to what lengths some will go in an attempt to destroy them. There was one shot in this program that particularly stands out in my mind. The camera was looking down from about the 3rd or 4th floor of an apartment building. On the street there was a flock of people running from left screen to right, fleeing the devastation at the towers. Making their way through the people, walking the opposite direction, were the brave FDNY firefighters as they moved in toward the towers, preparing to go up and save as many as they could. Many of these heroes did not come back out alive. It really made me stop and think.

We live in the most blessed country on the face of the Earth. We have freedom to pursue our passions, worship our God how we choose, and build a life for ourselves and our families that is limited only by our own desire and ambition. But those freedoms penned into our founding documents are worthless without the dedication and sacrifice of certain people. Without selfless first responders like police officers, EMTs, and firefighters, as well as those in the military which defend our freedoms from enemies both foreign and domestic, we would be lost. Thank God for each of you, we owe you a debt we can never repay.

God Bless America.

No Shame

2009-08-26T19:45:00.007-05:00

As everyone who has access to a newspaper, computer, TV or iPhone knows, Senator Ted Kennedy passed away early this morning. The Kennedys have seen more tragedy than a Shakespearean play, and my condolences go out to his family.

Although I'm not sure why, I found myself a little taken aback when after less than 24 hours, the Democrats are already using a dead man's memory to try to resurrect the government health care bill. I remember when Rush first mentioned months ago how this would eventually be called the "Ted Kennedy Memorial Health Care Bill" and how Dems would be talking about "getting this done for Teddy". He caught all kinds of hell for it. Here's a quick example from none other than Media Matters.

Say what you will about Rush, but he's got the left pegged.

Obama's Blame Game

2009-08-21T19:12:00.002-05:00

This from Bloomberg. Caroline Baum goes through 4 people or groups of people that Obama is pointing fingers at and blaming for the current public opinion of his health care plan, rather than admitting that maybe Americans just don't want what he's selling. I think she left out a major recipient of Obama-blame: George Bush.

I've said before that I don't believe Obama to be a strong leader. One of the easiest ways to tell if someone is ready for real leadership is to watch how they handle criticism and tough questions. A true leader, especially a sitting US President, does not continually throw out his predecessor as the reason why things aren't going well, why the public doesn't like what he's doing, etc. This shows a lack of class, character, and leadership. I'm sorry to keep repeating myself in muliple posts on this, but this seriously rubs me the wrong way.

Remember the old saying, King BO. Whenever you point a finger at someone else, you've got 3 more pointing back at you. Possibly a thumb too, but whatever.

From the WSJ

2009-08-20T19:46:00.003-05:00

This is an opinion piece from the August 12 Wall Street Journal by John Mackey, Chairman and CEO of Whole Foods entitled The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare. It gives his opinion on other ways to accomplish health care reform without resorting to the government taking it over, directly or indirectly.

Politicians on the left have taken to saying that the GOP is the party of "no" and has no ideas of its own. The suggestions put forth here show that that's not the case. In fact, I've heard all the ideas presented in this article for quite some time now, but Mackey really sums it up quite nicely and succinctly. When you add to that he has the experience of actually running a large company and having to figure out how to efficiently provide health benefits for thousands of employees, I think he's worth listening to.

What are your thoughts?

This Week in Politics

2009-08-14T18:33:00.004-05:00

Given that the numbnuts who make up the US Congress are out on their August recess, there's not much new in the way of politics to discuss other than the wonderfully entertaining town hall meetings. Citizens are still attending these meetings with their representatives in droves and making their voices heard in a major way. I've never seen American citizens rise up to take on the political elite the way they are currently doing, and it's honestly a pretty cool thing to behold.

Of course, Democrats have taken to calling the citizens of this country who disagree with the government health care plan they're trying to ram down our throats:

The White House also published its "snitch email address", which is where people are supposed to forward emails from their friends, family, etc. that speak negatively about the health care reform effort he is trying to push through.

We were also told by Obama that those in Congress opposing him should sit down and shut up.

Funny, I seem to remember this being spoken by his Secretary of State during the Bush years.

Ah well, what really took the cake and illustrated the disconnect with reality that most of these politicians have happened right here in Texas. Good old Sheila Jackson Lee from Houston decided it was more important to be on the cell phone than listen to one of her constituents. Not sure if she was ordering Chinese takeout or what, but here you go:

Wow. Just, wow.

Mark Levin Clip

2009-08-06T18:21:00.002-05:00

Heard this last Friday on Levin's show and was hoping someone would put it on Youtube. Give 'em hell Mark!!!

New (Old) Obama Footage Found

2009-08-03T15:00:00.002-05:00

Obama's been trying to say that his plan has never involved a "government takeover" of health care. Portions of this video that popped up over the weekend seem to say otherwise. Your thoughts?

Quick Thought

2009-08-01T07:52:00.000-05:00

Has it occurred to anyone else that the same people who cast their vote for Al Franken most likely think Sarah Palin is a moron?

Nancy Pelosi

2009-07-31T16:19:00.004-05:00

I'm not sure there's a more despicable, disgraceful or detestable politician in Washington DC. Insurance companies are the villains now Madame Speaker? The companies which provide access to our health care system for the overwhelming majority of Americans are now villains?!?

To think this old multiple face-lifted hippie is only 2 heartbeats away from the presidency is terrifying. Any other American industries you'd like to smear, Nancy?

Absolutely pathetic.

White House Beer Garden

2009-07-31T07:00:00.007-05:00

This has to be one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen, as well as an illustration of what I meant when I said Obama was not qualified to be president. This whole thing is pretty simple. The President of the United States should have kept his mouth shut from the very get-go on this issue, yet could not resist his community agitator past and chose to make this a racial issue and a slap in the face of law enforcement. This after saying that he didn't know the facts.

Basically, you have a cop called by a neighbor reporting a potential break-in. Cop shows up to home in question and asks to see the resident's ID. All Mr. Gates had to do was provide it and the whole story ends there. Instead, he berates the officer for being a racist, following him outside of the house and continuing to make a scene. Sgt. Crowley arrests Gates for disorderly conduct. I'm not sure how race even factors in to this whole situation, except for the fact that Gates decided to scream racism. For the record, there was also a black cop and a Hispanic cop at the scene, and they both said Sgt. Crowley did the right thing. In walks Obama.

First of all, this is a local law enforcement issue. This is not something for the president to comment on. But then to say that even though you don't know the facts, it's obvious that the police acted stupidly is just moronic.

Then Obama seems suprised that people are outraged that he's siding with a known race-baiter like Gates over law enforcement. He decides to have both men to the White House for a beer so he can appear to act as a mediator and they can have a "summitt" on race relations when there was never any racial issues other than Gates to begin with! This is our fearless leader.

God help us.

Health Care Article from The Economist

2009-07-29T12:48:00.009-05:00

In a comment to my last post, Cody asked what my thoughts were on this article about health care from The Economist which seems to advocate for universal health care or at minimum attack the American health system. This is a very long article that jumps all over the place, but as I looked through it, there are many questions that popped in my mind. I'll quote a few things that stick out and give you my thoughts. I'd be curious to hear yours as well.

"Although 68% of them rate the care they receive as “excellent” or “good”, 52% are dissatisfied with the quality in the country as a whole."
I've seen studies that show a much larger percentage of the population than 68% are satisfied with their health care, but that aside, this seems to be the trend. The vast majority of Americans are satisfied with what they have personally, yet at the same time are dissatisfied with the system. This makes absolutely no sense to me, and the only conclusion I can draw is that people are stricken with guilt about what they have and what they perceive others not to have. I blame the politicians for this who are constantly agitating, dividing up a population and pitting the 2 sides against each other. This amounts to , "I love my health care system, so let's destroy it!" Absolutely no sense at all.

"But if the system in general were providing value for money, America’s vast expenditure would at least be reflected in a healthier population than in more frugal countries."
I think this is a false argument. Lifestyle is far more predictive of an overall healthier population and our affluence in this country which allows us to eat the crap we do, never walk anywhere, etc. has in my opinion caused the falling health of our population. Also, if you want access to the latest and greatest medical equipment, procedures, and medicine, you have to pay for it. Fact is, this country produces by far the most medical innovation which the rest of the world happily uses. A health care system designed after those like Britain would put a grinding halt to that innovation.

"...it appears that many Americans are getting mixed or even downright dreadful health care."
Huh? Where? If this system is so bad, why do so many come here when they need a procedure done and need it done now? I'd be curious to see the stats of America's "medical patient imports" vs. "medical patient exports". I have a feeling I know which way that study would turn out. This is an extremely broad statement with no backup whatsoever.

"Mr Orszag points to the Dartmouth work to argue that up to 30% of America’s health-care spending is sheer waste."
Ironically, the paragraph this sentence is in is referring to Medicare. Our government has driven this program into the dirt, yet we should trust them to run health care of all of us. This quote is a great reason not to have government-run health care. Again, a serious lack of logic. On another not, I didn't see anything in this article about the astronomical medical malpractice insurance premiums doctors must carry because of all the slip-and-fall lawyers and their effect on health care cost. Nothing about how fear of lawsuits does cause many doctors to run tests that they really don't think necessary as a CYA measure. If we're serious about reducing costs, why did the committees in Congress (run by Dems) that are drafting these bills immediately shoot down any ideas about limiting payouts in malpractice lawsuits?

"Such reforms would expand coverage, but could exacerbate the third symptom, cost, as the experience of Massachusetts, a trailblazing state that has already implemented a plan for universal coverage, suggests. The state faces possible bankruptcy unless it finds a way to rein in costs."
Not much to say on this, as I agree with it. It should also be pointed out that the respondents to a survey quoted in this article responded by a 2-1 margin that the largest concern was "Cost of care and insurance" vs. "number of uninsured" and "poor quality of care" combined. See, Americans don't really think our system sucks, they have just been conditioned to believe they shouldn't have to pay for it.

"For instance, the OECD countries have an average of 11 magnetic-resonance imaging machines per 1m people. America has 25.9. America uses them more often, too: 91.2 times per 1,000 people per year, compared with the OECD average of 39.1."
So what? Access to state-of-the-art equipment is now a bad thing? The only difference here is lack of supply in other countries (that pesky "reining in costs" thing) plus the fact that a government bureaucrat has to approve it, and we all know how efficient they are. I really don't care if it costs more. If a doctor says you need a certain test for diagnosis, I'd rather have the option available right then and not a few weeks down the line.

"If patients pay very little out of their own pockets they have little desire to curb consumption."
This I agree with, which is why I love high deductible plans and HSAs. However, I thought the point of the article was how much Americans pay for health care...

"In Britain NICE has come under fire for rulings that limited access to expensive drugs for Alzheimer’s and cancer on the NHS."
This is a very legitimate fear for many Americans. The article says we could get around it by leaving insurers and individuals to decide whether to pay for the treatment. That might be difficult when a government-run nonprofit plan with a printing press runs private insurance companies out of business. As I've said, any plan put forward by the Dems which has a government-run option is an automatic "no" in my book.

Joe Biden

2009-07-17T00:04:00.003-05:00

Ah, Joe Biden. You can always count on this guy for a laugh. Yesterday, he was out making a speech defending the stimulus package. Facts have never been a constraint to this clown. My personal favorite quote was:

"To those who say that our economic decisions 'have not produced jobs, have not produced and simply have not worked' I say, take a look around...Come see what I see everywhere I go: workers rehired, factories reopened, cops on the street, teachers in the classroom (it's summertime Joe), progress toward getting our economy back on the move."

You know who Joe reminds me of? Take a minute and think about it...

That's right, BAGHDAD BOB!! Remember this guy, the Iraqi Information Minister? Better than any stand-up comedian I've seen before or since!

Who Would You Rather Have Staring Down al Qaeda?

2009-07-16T23:14:00.001-05:00

Dem's Health Plan

2009-07-15T18:41:00.004-05:00

Click on Picture for Enlargement

Obama has handed down orders that he wants to House and Senate to have their Healthcare Nationalization Bills ready in the next two weeks before the August recess. I saw an AP story that Obama has "shifted into campaign mode". Let's be honest. This clown's whole presidency has been one big campaign.

I found this paragraph particularly troubling:

Obama's political organization launched a series of 30-second television ads on health care, which were to begin airing Wednesday in Washington and on cable TV nationally. A version will run for two weeks on local stations in Arkansas, Indiana, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, North Dakota, Nebraska and Ohio to prod senators to back the health care effort.

Think about it...have you ever heard of a sitting US President having their private political organization at their beck and call? His group now "partners" with the DNC, but of course has complete allegiance to him.

Anyway, when you ask the Dems how they're going to pay for nationalizing healthcare, you get the standard "Tax the Rich!" mantra that they love to stir up wealth envy with. According to this CNN Money article, that just simply doesn't add up mathematically.

Here's an idea. Studies show that around 89% of the US is happy with their personal health care. 70% of uninsured Americans are satisfied or very satisfied with the health care they receive. Why don't we refrain from pissing away trillions that we don't have along with an extraordinarily accessible and superior health care system?

History Repeating Itself?

2009-07-13T22:36:00.004-05:00

Just a couple of weeks ago I posted about a piece for the Chicago Tribune, Obama's home newspaper, telling him to slow down on cap & trade instead of shoving it through like the House did. Now, the same newspaper is telling him yet again to slow down, this time on trying to ram through the healthcare monstrosity. What is it about this guy and needing to get things done in a hurry? These 2 bills put together represent a HUGE, not to mention mind-bogglingly expensive, shift in our national culture and identity. I've yet to hear why it absolutely has to be done yesterday. If the bill is good, it should be able to stand up to prolonged scrutiny. If not, then we don't want it.

Again on healthcare, like cap & trade, I have 2 problems with the path we're going down. I agree with the article that Washington is moving WAY to fast on a bill that affects so many. However, I also disagree with the whole idea and premise, at least as it's currently being presented by the Dems.

To me, having a government-run option is a deal breaker, period, and I'll explain why. In business, when you are not allowed to write the applicable laws governing you as you go and you are not allowed to tax the public to cover revenue shortfalls, you will lose every time to the organization that is, in this case, the government.

Another deal breaker is the idea of taxing employer-paid health insurance to pay for the government option. Even though Obama has said that he will "allow" you to keep your current health care if you choose to (who the hell is he to "allow" you to choose your own care anyway?), when you take away the tax incentive, many companies will be forced to abandon their benefit plans and their employees forced to go to the government option.

This will produce a snowball effect that will, in the end, eventually snuff out the private health insurance system as we know it. The end game is that we'll all be on the government run system, except for those with enough money to pay for private care in cash like over in the UK. Trust me, you don't want that.

In fact, if you'd like to know how great the system will be for you, try calling your Congressman or Senator. Better yet, call those who support this bill. Call Nancy Pelosi. Call Ted Kennedy. Hell, call the White House. Ask if it is written in the bill that lawmakers and the President will be required to participate. If the answer is no, that should tell you that what they are peddling is inferior to what we have now. It's really as simple as that.

I Agree with Pelosi

2009-07-09T23:51:00.003-05:00

Huh? Who said that? That's right, I did. Nancy Pelosi finally did something I agree with. It seems that one of the huge embarrassments of Texas, Democrat Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, wanted to pass a resolution honoring Michael Jackson. Pelosi shut that down today. Thank you, Madame Speaker, for halting an effort to degrade the House Chamber even further than you already have.

Obama Daily Tracking Poll

2009-07-09T21:18:00.003-05:00

The latest Rasmussen polls show some very real slippage for Obama. A few different measurements I find very interesting. A big one is the 38% Strongly Disapproving of Obama's performance and 30% Strongly Approve. Also, the gender gap in those numbers is interesting. According to the website:

There is a gender gap when it comes to perceptions of Obama’s performance. By a 46% to 27% margin, men Strongly Disapprove. Women are more evenly divided—33% Strongly Approve and 30% Strongly Disapprove.

Finally, it looks like 39% say he is doing a good or excellent job handling the economy while 43% say he is doing a poor job. Is this a blip on the radar, or are people in this country beginning to see his policies for what they are and rejecting them? Also, how will Obama react if his numbers continue their downward spiral? Will he pull back the reigns a little, or try even to ram through policy even more quickly before more of the population catches on?

If he keeps overextending, 2010 may be a repeat of 1994 all over again.

Disney Hall of Presidents

2009-07-09T20:24:00.004-05:00

Disney World has unveiled the new Barack Obama animatronic figure in it's famous Hall of Presidents attraction. Two questions:

Doesn't this kind of look more like a cross of Obama and Bush?
Where are the teleprompters?

Happy 4th of July Weekend a Day Early!!!

2009-07-02T09:27:00.002-05:00

What do you get when you mix Craig Ferguson, a dinosaur puppet, and a sparkler use permit? Riotous show business entertainment, that's what. 2nd clip, 1st 4 minutes are where it's at. What's a "sparkler use permit", you ask? It's something you have to get in CA to light a sparkler. Don't worry, with the cap & trade bill I'm sure we'll all have to get one soon enough to light sparklers. As far as the song for the weekend, c'mon, do you really have to ask? Happy 4th of July everyone!

Shooter Jennings More CMT Music More CMT Music Videos

Insensitive Idea

2009-07-01T01:03:00.005-05:00

If all the man-made climate change "gullibles" (opposite of skeptics) in this country think it's so important for the U.S. to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by half, maybe they should try not breathing. I think that might do the trick.

From John Boehner

2009-07-01T00:45:00.005-05:00

Is he partisan? Yep. Is he correct? Yep. Here's a little diddy from House Minority Leader John Boehner about the "Cap & Trade" bill which just passed the House. After reading some of this stuff, it's no wonder Pelosi shoved it through without allowing anyone the time to read it. Also explains the 300+ pages of amendments dropped at 3:00 AM the day of the vote. As I've said before, if the American people had the time to learn all that is in this bill, there's no way it passes.

I mean come on! Mandating California's building codes on the entire country. That state is a disaster, primarily because of bloated government, massive red tape, and the high taxes that go along with these which suck the lifeblood out of businesses. Will anyone please tell me why in the hell we'd want to follow California's example on anything?

Also, for anyone doubting that this bill amounts to a massive tax increase on Americans, let's hear from King B.O. himself.

Nice to Hear a Politician Tell the Truth for a Change

2009-06-28T00:10:00.002-05:00

You can read the story if you choose, but the headline says it all quite nicely...

Happy Weekend!!!

2009-06-26T18:12:00.004-05:00

Here's your weekly dose of high-class comedy and awesome music (sorry, no good video for this one but a great song). Have a great one!!

Iran

2009-06-26T18:01:00.002-05:00

Check out this video from CNN International from a couple of days ago. This girl calling in is a student from Tehran who was on her way with her friends to protest the killings by the government. This will turn your stomach.

This is Obama's opportunity. This is his chance to forcefully come out against what the Iranian regime is doing to its own people. No, I don't think we need to be sending the military in at this time, but I strongly feel that our government should be doing everything outside of that to help the masses rising up that are crying for freedom. As I've said before, this is the moment the United States has been waiting for in its dealings with Iran for the last 30 years. We've been waiting for the people to rise up. They are now doing so, and we're letting them get squashed down.

As I just said, this could be Obama's moment. My fear is that while he makes political calculations about how to respond, the opportunity is quickly slipping away and the window will close for another 3 decades. I'm really rooting for him to do the right thing here, more so than at any point since he declared his candidacy for the Presidency. He needs to be out front on this, and even with a little speech here and there, he's letting me down.