Health Care

Well now it appears the Health Care Bill has run into a road block called unconstitutional... back to the drawing boards

Fourteenth Amendment

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States;

Michelle Bachmann Theories - Anyone?

I assume by now you all know what she said last weekend at a speech in Iowa:

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) said the United States was founded on racial and ethnic diversity and that the founding fathers were responsible for abolishing slavery.

Speaking at an event sponsored by Iowans For Tax Relief, Bachmann hailed the "different cultures, different backgrounds, different traditions" of the early European settlers in America, adding that the "color of their skin" or "language" or "economic status" didn't preclude them from seeking happiness.

"Once you got here, we were all the same," she said. "Isn't that remarkable? It is absolutely remarkable."

The Minnesota Republican called slavery an "evil" and "scourge" and "stain on our history."

"But we also know that the very founders that wrote those documents worked tirelessly until slavery was no more in the United States," Bachmann added, claiming "men like John Quincy Adams... would not rest until slavery was extinguished in the country."

The general reaction has been: what a dope. But I don't think she can possibly be that stupid. It just isn't possible, is it. She went to third grade. She went to high school. She obviously possesses an IQ somewhere around 100. So she can't be this dumb.

My alternative theory is that she, like many people on the right, just says s--t. She just says it and doesn't care. She said the thing about "skin color" because she doesn't care if she offends anyone with a skin color different from hers. She says J.Q. Adams was a founding father because, well, close enough. And she said the founders eradicated slavery because, you know, some of them wanted to and it happened eventually.

She'll just say anything. If it pisses off liberals, so much the better. Of course, even right-wingers who know something about history will find these kinds of things embarrassing eventually.

Do you have a theory?

Should be an easy fix

Life, liberty and the persuit of...free CT scans and PLASMA TV's

Honestly so stupid as to almost not require comment....nah.  

Baxter said...


Healthcare is already rationed, and has been, by cost and ability to pay. It will always be rationed in some manner or form.

Really?  No kidding, things are rationed based on ability to pay?  Wow.

If not, then where is my free Cadillac?

Rick Perry Texas Governor on Stimulus Money

Texas filled nearly 97 percent of its shortfall last year with Federal stimulus dollars, even as its governor has been sharply critical of "bailout" policies, citing the National Conference of State Legislatures.
In the wake of the recession, Texas is one of many states that, contending with diminished revenue, have benefited from Federal support.

After facing a $6.6 billion budget hole, Texas used $6.4 billion of Federal money to help patch it, allowing the state to keep its $9.1 billion emergency fund intact.

But on the same day he asked for the bailout money, governor Rick Perry started a petition called "No Government Bailouts." Indeed, Perry is a consistent critic of government spending, frequently pointing to his own state as proof that budget austerity -- spending cuts coupled with low taxes -- works.

But now, with the stimulus money running out, and with the economy still sluggish, Texas is projected to run a nearly $27 billion deficit over the next two years.
Repeat the lie, repeat the lie, till everyone believes it.

Crisis No More

The Success of Obama's Stimulus Program
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/articles/2010/0817_stimulus_success_burtless/0817_stimulus_success_burtless.pdf

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/where-did-the-stimulus-go--15610

About Those Death Panels . . .

The very real threat of government health care rationing.
When Sarah Palin warned that Obamacare could lead to medical rationing and “death panels,” supporters were outraged. Alarmism! they roared. A lie! Right-wing propaganda! Alas for supporters of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Palin’s provocative sound bite was at least partly grounded in reality—which is why the term entered the political lexicon.

Now, however, some are seeking to wield the term against conservatives. Case in point: The Arizona legislature recently cut its Medicaid budget because the state is in dire financial straits—a move approved by the Obama administration. When the cuts led to canceling Medicaid coverage for organ transplant surgeries, and a potential organ recipient died, death panel claims suddenly became all the fashion. For example, CBS’s HealthWatch opined:

There is a certain irony here. During last year’s federal battle over President Obama’s health care legislation, some Republicans claimed his program promoted “death panels” which they seemed to suggest would involve government bureaucrats deciding who lives and who dies. The health care bill did include language which paid doctors to offer end-of-life counseling. That was eventually removed. Facing a tough budget situation, however, Arizona has instituted what critics say is much closer to these so-called “death panels” than anything that ever appeared in the federal government’s health care legislation.

Where Did the Stimulus Go?

Nice Dress

Ahem. Specific Spending Cuts?

It has been nearly three months since the election that brought control back to the GOP in the House of Representatives. Out of power, the Republicans spent much of the past two years loudly advocating massive spending cuts and a balanced budget. Once back in power, their first act was to "jam a bill down throats of America" and repeal the Healthcare Act, thus raising the deficit $280B+. They did this despite the fact that three out of four Americans oppose full repeal of "Obamacare". Finally, they have yet to specify any specific spending cuts. What are they waiting for?

Geez, you are thinking, this seems awfully screwed up. Well, that is because it is. But why would you be surprised? These are the same people that cut taxes twice as we headed into two wars and engaged in a general "War on Terror". These are the folks that massively added to Medicare entitlement costs (Prescription Drug Plan) without providing a penny in revenue to pay for it. Our current national debt is a direct product of Republican policies over the past thirty years. And now they have the temerity to decry deficits and debt!?

Don't listen to what they say. Watch what they do. Then vote Democratic.

Pat Toomey is a Deficit Fraud (Much Like His Party)

By Pat Garofalo

Deficit Fraud Toomey Says Spending Cuts Are His Priority While Embracing Budget-Busting Policies

When he’s not reminiscing about having successfully deregulated credit default swaps, Pennsylvania’s Republican senate nominee Pat Toomey likes to scaremonger about government spending. In fact, he told the Harrisburg Patriot-News’ editorial board that one of his “top three priorities” is cutting government spending.

“I hear a lot of people who are fearful about the future of our country,” Toomey said. “They are very worried about the size of the deficit and worried their kids are ultimately not going to be able to attain the standard of living they’ve enjoyed because of the debt we are imposing on them.”

But if Toomey wants to decrease the deficit, he sure has a funny way of showing it. The Patriot News reported that Toomey’s legislative goals are “repeal the Obama administration’s health care reform law, impose no huge tax increases, oppose cap-and-trade energy legislation and make permanent the Bush-era tax cuts and extend them to top American earners.” None of these steps do anything to reduce the deficit, and two of them make it considerably worse:

– Repeal the Affordable Care Act: According to the Congressional Budget Office, repealing health care reform would add $143 billion to the deficit.

– Permanently extend the Bush tax cuts: The entire tax cut package costs more than $3 trillion. Extending just the cuts for the wealthiest two percent of households — which President Obama wants to see expire — costs $830 billion.

– Oppose cap-and-trade: According to the CBO, Sen. John Kerry’s (D-MA) cap-and-trade plan would reduce the deficit by $19 billion over the next ten years and not increase the deficit at all for the next forty years.

If Toomey is against “huge tax increases,” is he endorsing little ones? In any case, no serious analyst believes that the budget can be balanced on the spending side alone (as doing so would require draconian cuts to highly popular and vital programs). As former Reagan economic official Bruce Bartlett wrote, “the idea that we can or even should embark on serious deficit reduction with no tax increase whatsoever is grossly immature and unworthy of consideration.”

So Toomey, after paying the necessary lip service to cutting spending, embraced a legislative agenda that would cause the deficit to explode, and explicitly ruled out raising any revenue to offset his humongous expenditures. He’s either clueless about the effect of his proposals or he’s simply a deficit peacock who is more interested in ginning up anxieties about the deficit than in actually taking the necessary steps to bring it down.

Jim G. Likes spending restraint. Enforced.

Americans Oppose Healthcare Repeal

The latest polling indicates that America does NOT want to repeal "Obamacare" by a three to one margin. Only 26% support full repeal while 43% favor reform that expands the scope of change to our healthcare system. This gives us a front row seat to see hypocrisy in action. The Republicans - when in the deep minority - complained that Democrats were passing healthcare reform against the will of the people. Now that they have the majority, they are rushing to repeal the bill in apparent contradiction of America's wishes. Worse - they would add $280B to the deficit according to the bipartisan CBO.

Not exactly an auspicious beginning...

Read the poll by cutting and pasting the below to your browser:

http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com/pdf/AP-GfK%20Poll%20011411.pdf