Obama's Sleazy Sale of Health Care Reform

When I was a very young woman, a slick salesman sold me a gym membership. Actually, he wasn't that slick, but he definitely had techniques, and I was very naive.

The fabulous package was all detailed in the 2 page fine print contract he slid across the desk to me. No time to think about it, no time to read the contract, it was urgent, urgent, urgent that I sign right away! And he was cool, didn't I want to be cool? Tomorrow could be too late! I would be healthy, I would look fabulous! What could be wrong with that!

I couldn't afford it. That's what was wrong with that.

I was caught up in the excitement and urgency. I signed.

The next day, of course, reality set in. Buyer's remorse prompted me cancel the contract. It wasn't easy, and I had to have help, but I got out.

Now I can see Obama and his allies using the same slick sales techniques.

The miraculous package is all detailed in a 1000 page, fine print bill. No time to read it, just sign the bill, hurry, trust us, we'll take care of you, we care about you, don't you trust us, aren't you cool, don't you care about the uninsured, we'll be healthier, we'll be fabulous, like Europeans!

But when America wakes up, there'll be no way out of this contract. And this contact can be changed almost at will by them, but not by you. Trust them. Go ahead, . . .

Healthcare v Post Office

I couldn't have said it better than this. I wanted to, but . . .nope.

The only thing I would add is this: If you're not trying to make a profit, you're not running a business. If you're not running a business, you're not competing fairly. How can you lose? You're run by politicians. Political decisions will always trump efficiency and vision.

New Record Home Foreclosures

Thank God we elected Obama to put out the foreclosure fires created by Bush.

I recall his supporters saying Bush started the fire, and if Obama's rescue methods seemed extreme, it was only because the circumstances called for it.

I recall thinking the fire was started decades ago by Democrats, fanned in Bush's administration, then Obama came and threw kerosene on it.

Government dole-outs don't solve problems.

It Doesn't Matter What's in Obamacare Now

It doesn't matter because the legislation will change, in two years, four years, ten years, and on and on. Things will be added, things will be taken away.

Sometimes there will be big changes, as No Child Left Behind was big in education.

Sometimes there will be small changes that don't make the news.

Sometimes the changes will be hidden in totally unrelated legislation.

If any changes are unpopular, it'll be difficult to tell who's responsible as the two parties volley blame.

No matter who you vote for, you'll no more power over your own health care than you have ever had over foreign policy, education, or the economy.

Did You Know William Jefferson Got Convicted?

Hooray! I had given up ever receiving the good news of Jefferson's conviction, and still, I almost missed it. Even still, this report makes no mention of his fishy behavior in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver is getting more press.

Sarah Palin took more media heat for purchasing her campaign wardrobe on the RNC's dime.

My favorite line from the article: "If Marion Barry can be convicted of smoking crack cocaine on video and come back, then I think Bill Jefferson can have a second chance," [the Rev. Aubrey Wallace, a Jefferson supporter] said.

That's quite a message. What do these guys have to do to to be unelectable?

His sentencing is in October. Perhaps then this story will get the attention it deserves.

What's Wrong with this Pyongyang Picture

What a strange collection of coincidences.

The news station who sent the reporters is "fronted by Clinton's former vice president Al Gore"?

One of the reporters is Laura Ling, desperate to duplicate the fame of her sister Lisa Ling?

A "Left-wing cable television network" is involved in a story that gives Bill Clinton revived legitimacy?

The reporters were suspected to be spies, but were well treated, allowed to receive correspondence and gifts from home?

Euna's husband is a struggling actor.

This "tragic" story seem loaded with prizes for every one involved except Obama. Don't you worry about him though. I'd bet he'll receive much praise for achieving a diplomatic solution, even humbling his status for the greater good. Please read the linked news report. Draw your own conclusions


Thanks Drudge Report and Mail Online

RobinHood and Progressivist Wealth Redistribution

I really don't like when people compare wealth redistribution to the legend of Robin Hood.

Robin Hood, according to legend, stole from the rich (the "haves") and gave to the ("have nots").

That's where the similarity ends.

Robin Hood stole back the money that was taken from the overtaxed citizens by the oppressive Prince John and his lackey-thug Sherrif of Nottingham.

Also, I can't recall any part of the story in which he stole from people of average means to give to the poor.

It would make more sense to compare the Democrats (and progressive Republicans) to Prince John. Sure, they take from the "haves" and give to the "have nots". But the "have not's" continue to languish in poverty while the so-called Robin Hoods live lavishly.

Our modern Robin Hood (government) steals from all, gives a little to many, and keeps most for himself.

I Don't Understand the Express Jet Story

This story, which I saw on Drudge, is very puzzling. I sure hope to see more about this, because it just doesn't make any sense to me.

Why would Express Jet claim the passengers had to be screened coming off the plane? That's obviously untrue to any one who's ever flown.

On the other hand, what was the motive for keeping the passengers on the plane all night? That had to be a nightmare for the flight crew as well. Furthermore, it's terrible publicity for Express Jet and Continental. What was there to be gained?

I hope there are private law suits by the passengers against the airline(s). I think a congressional hearing would be little more than publicity for politicians at tax-payer expense, resulting in legislation mixed in with other legislation and pork and no guaruntee of real solution, but you can address that is the next election cycle, but is that really going to be the issue that determines your vote . . .

Unions and Health Care

What's with unionized workers and health care? I've read about incredible health care plans for members of some powerful unions. Surely nationalized health care would be a loss for them. Do believe their insurance company will be able to compete with the government, and therefore they will be able to keep their plan? At a time when the executive branch is turning legal contracts for "the greater good", how could they not be worried?

If Bush Were Still Prez, Would You Still Nationalize Health Care?

To all supporters of nationalized health care:

You must be pretty confident you'll be able to trust all the future politicians in D.C.

Once the government has hold of your health care, you'll not get it back.

Remember how much you loved G W Bush?

What makes you think there won't be another like him?

Why would you want to hand over your very lives to the police state, knowing that one you despise as much as Bush could be at the helm?

If you don't care whomever gets elected, ever again, maybe nationalized health care is for you.

Moderacy is Highly Overrated

Moderate politicians are lauded by many for their talent of compromise.

I say, the compromise between good and bad is bad.

The compromise between perfection and imperfection is imperfection.

The middle ground between friend and enemy is not friend.

The middle ground between smart and stupid is not smart.

You get the point.

Liberal Republicans Useless

There is no point in voting for a liberal republican.

If you believe federal government intervention is where it's at, you're a leftist. Being to the right of Stalin or Marx is immaterial because you'll lead us to the same place, just maybe a little more slowly.

The only opposition to leftism is conservatism.

Healthcare Elitsm

Our representatives in D.C, the very people who desperately are working to pass nationalized health care will not submit themselves to the same system. That is how even the stupidest, most naive collectivist should know that this plan in not about providing quality health care. Obviously, it is about extending and securing their own power.
If the only way to pass a nationalized health care were to lump themselves in with the rest of us, I bet they'd drop it like a hot potato.
The same way they don't fly commercial or send their kids to public schools.

President Obama Sends Jets to Pick up Actor Guests for Parties

I'm watching "Get Shorty" on AMC. There's a host and hostess doing spots during the commercial breaks. They do a brief interview with Chris Messina. The hostess asks Chris about a super cool movie screening he recently attended. Chris tells the story of our super cool president who sent a private jet out for Chris and some other actors for a movie screening. I wonder how much of this goes on.

Moral Authority vs Justice

What is the importance of U.S. moral authority or reputation outside our boarders? Wouldn't it be the same for the country as for the individual? As humans, we rely on our relationships with others to ease the struggles of life. On the world stage, countries protect their existence similarly.

What reputation do we want as individuals and nations? Of course, we want that which allows us to work cooperatively with others without being victimized. It's no better to be thought the doormat than the bully. We don't want others to ban against us because of our tyranny; neither do we want to invite attack because of perceived weakness.

It is with this balance I approach this story of a Mexican national who was executed in Texas this morning. Consider this excerpt from the story.

"It's important to recall this is a case not just about one Mexican national on death row in Texas," one of his lawyers, Sandra Babcock, said after watching him die. "It's also about ordinary Americans who count on the protection of the consulate when they travel abroad to strange lands. It's about the reputation of the United States as a nation that adheres to the rule of law."

What reputation has the U.S. created in this case, and what reputation does Babcock have in mind? Were we the bully? Should we have been the doormat? I'd say we were neither.

The defendant, Jose Medellin, moved to the U.S. when he was three, and was raised in Houston. One hardly can claim he was "[traveling] abroad to [a] strange [land]". Furthermore, the criminality of gang-rape and murder, of minors no less, shouldn't strike any one as an unsuspected quirk of local law the hapless traveler could not have anticipated.

Medellin lived his life in the U.S., and was tried the same as U.S. citizens. Indeed, the intervention of the Mexican Consolate would have been an extra protection. Certainly, that protection is just in many cases. In Medellin's case, it seems like a technicality and a Hail Mary Pass.

What effect has the Medellin case had on our reputation and therefore the treatment of U.S. citizens in the world? We neither railroaded a foreigner, nor abandoned justice. We were neither the bully, nor the doormat.

Congress Knows Best? Cell Phone Ban

No surprise here, Congress is exercising its power over our personal behavior. Not any power granted them by our constitution, mind you, but that power which we allow them by not standing up for what's right.

You may agree with them regarding the cell phone ban, but your crazy if you think banning cell phone use will prevent people from annoying you on planes. All the people who've annoyed me on planes were intent on conversing not on their phones, but with me. Gazing at an open, nearly finished novel has not deterred them. Listening to music on head phones has not deterred them. Closed eyes and my head on a pillow has not deterred them.

Like many laws of this kind, the in-flight cell phone ban one will fail in its objective while punishing the innocent. In the close and terribly uncomfortable confines of airplanes, we will still be annoyed by annoying people, and polite cell phone use will still be banned.

Of course, as always, people will excuse this blatant overreach of power with the tired old rationale: Well, we don't need to use our phones in flight. Think that's true? Imagine you're away from home, and a loved one has been rushed to the hospital. You'll not be able to send or receive calls in flight to check on them.

Or better yet, remember 9-11-01 and the passengers of flight 93, who used their cell phones to speak their last words to their loved ones. Also, because of cell phones, they learned of the other attacks that morning. As we know, without this information they believed they simply were being hijacked. Because of what they learned on cell phone calls, those heroic Americans subverted their hijackers ultimate plan to crash them into hundreds more innocent people.

Are we in deep trouble?

I know we all feel the same way about this election and probably we are all feeling blue about the future of conservatism. So, in order that we may commiserate, I share this from the Claremont Review:

Alas, it all comes to an end. Buckley wrote on December 31, 2005, "I regretfully conclude that ‘Notes & Asides' can't continue as a regular feature of National Review. The reason is: We aren't getting enough letters that qualify as ‘N&A' material—inquisitive, zany, confused, annoyed, piquant." Maybe they all grew up. Maybe it was the end of the conservative movement. There is much grousing these days about its loss of direction. Without Communism and, some say, without pre-Reagan levels of taxation to outrage and galvanize the Right, it wanders, confused, in search of its mission, or a mission. Or a leader.

Weird that I come across this at the end of the school year when I am naturally susceptible to its melancholy ... don't we all miss Buckley?

You Don't Need the Olympics

The problem with the Left "helping" always is in the way they go about it.

It's because their methods for problem-solving don't derive from a value system that includes respect for the individual. Instead, they consistently operate from a utilitarian, "end justify the means" sort of approach.

There couldn't be a better example than the call for Olympic boycotts.

It means well. One can pat oneself on the back for being so politically aware and compassionate. Sending a message to the Chinese government justifies robbing the athletes of their Olympic dreams.

It takes from few to benefit many. Olympic athletes, like the wealthy "fat cats" are an elite few. The oppressed are many. It's a very simple utilitarian equation.

It takes from those who have, and gives to those who have not. World class athletic competition is a luxury, just like guns, wealth, and home schooling.

It's been done before; it didn't accomplish anything. The Left loves big end-justifies-the-means-projects, but the end results, if not glorious as intended, are beside the point. After all, doing something is always better than doing nothing, isn't it?.

What about the athletes, one might ask? What about their years of hard work and sacrifice toward their Olympic goals? The Left doesn't care about them anymore than they care about people who worked hard to become rich. The Left doesn't care about you either except to the extent you either are the source or the loyal recipient of their enforced charity. You are the means to an end, an object. You're feelings are irrelevant. Your very identity, like like that on an Olympic athlete, belongs to the glorious and benevolent bureaucracy.

Obama's Bitter Mistake-- My Two Cents

Lest any think I failed to notice Obama stepping in it big time, here's my two cents. I have a couple of points to add that I haven't heard elsewhere.

First, let us review the quote: “So it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations,” he concluded.

Besides the obvious, and very insulting implications of that statement consider these:
1. Turning to church is equated with turning to guns, and protectionism, and bigotry (when he says "antipathy", he means bigotry). It' s just one of a few ugly choices one could make when one has been cheated out of their entitlements.

2. This is how Obama sees the world, with government as the answer to our woes and the center of our world. If you're getting what you need from the government, there's no need for religion. Maybe that's why the Left has so much animosity towards Christianity. They see it as a competitor for the hearts and minds of the downtrodden.

3. This is probably Obamas relationship with religion. That would explain 20 years of attending a church where sermons are political rants. It's common for Leftists to accuse everybody else of doing what they do, thinking how they think.

So, elect Obama. He'll create a government that provides you with the happiness you seek. You won't want guns, you'll stop hating immigrants, and you'll get to sleep in on Sundays.

Everybody's got Something Good to Say

I love this line from one of my favorite PJ Harvey songs, "Good Fortune": "Everybody's got something good to say". Even Barack Obama, with whom I usually disagree, has something good to say.

Obama is at least a socialist, if not worse. That doesn't mean I never agree with him. When he talks about parental responsibility, he is right on the money.

He's also right when he says that words matter.

However, actions speak louder than words, and there's a conflict between Obama's words and policies.

You can talk to a lapcat all day about personal responsibility, and they'll agree with you. But all you've accomplished, then, is to lead the lapcat to water (please pardon the mixed metaphor).

Next, you got to get it to actually drink. That will never happen, and here's why. Nobody will let them get thirsty, least of all the democrats with their entitlement policies.

Obama's words say "put away the video games". His actions, his policies say, "Don't worry, be happy".