Below is a posting from one of those on the blogshpere sharing the great measure of democracy seen in our fair nation toward the citizens by the President and involving the "town hall" with the Presidnet, staged and with staged questions too I have no doubt.  The shocking part is that the DCN organizers are being hearded into supporting this thing and they themselves have little to no idea what they are being asked to support or fight for, literally.  I have read the bill, the amendments, and the information for for and aganist this bill from liberal and conservative sites.  I have made up my own mind and have my own thoughts on the strengths, merits, issues, and downright lies and pay offs included in it.  Unfortunately the sheeple of the unions can not say the same as they are fully indocrinated and devoted to the lie.  The amount of angst and anger directed at those of us who question, request people to do their duty and jobs, and act as a vehicle for our choices as well as that of their party is disturbing. 

I myself am angry, I know many who are also angry and our anger is not at Obama personally, politically, or even as a Democrat.  No my and the anger of millions across the nation are at the brasen ideollogy and drastic shift from a moderate nation to one in the full throws of socialism.  Controlling people on every level of their lives; Cap & Trade dictate energy use and energy policies (from corn going to ethinol to what kind of stove you can use to heat your home), Card Check dictating how a union can be put into your employment (with union membership at an all time low the Obama ideology will reverse the trend to bring about socialism into the employment sector better then it was before), and now to Health Care (HR 3200 and HR1 and associated amendments will establish death pannels, forced abortion and birthing intervals, rationed care based off of future earning potential, etc.).  We are mad because we were not informed, asked, or even thought about before these idologies were put on paper and voted on.  We are mad because our represenatives are not representing us, they are representing the far out wacky left fring who are now ramming through measure after measure after measure without appology and without doing what they promised they would, transparency and accountability.  We are mad because the stimulus increased the deficeit by $1.7 trillion this year and $1.5 trillion next year.  All our government revenue is $3 trillion per year in taxes, so we are spending $4.7 trillion this year and $4.5 trillion next year (with tax revenues expected to drop thanks to less money being made by people who invest 90% of our revenue and people who lost their jobs). 

All this means is at the end of next year we will have increased our national debt a minimum of $3.2 trillion, without adding the war or loss of revenue as companies move off shore and Obama himself admits we won't see a positive recovery until 2012!  We are all mad as Hell because we are NOT idiots and mindless sheeple.  We can see what is going on around us and it scares us more then just someone being in a silly political party, being a jerk, a racist, a fraud, a fool, whatever.  Our nation was going on a wrong heading from the last administration, all this adminsitration is doing is changing the direction 180 degrees.  We are just doing the opposite of what we were doing before!  This is not the new direction we wanted and demanded.  The Dems need to get over it and over themselves and start leading or get out of the way and let us, the people, regain and restore this country before they destroy it. 

Quote

Presidential Staging

 

Got an interesting e-mail I want to share.  It gives a little insight to how campaigns are set up and how views are slanted.  Both sides of the aisle use similar tactics but this is one of the more unusual tactics I have heard of.  How much truth there is I have no idea nor how much distortion there is.  It does give one an idea of the fear and anger that is in the US.  It is an anger I haven't read about since the 20's.  The point is there are some very angry people out there and they are getting angrier.

 

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On Wednesday, August 5th it was announced locally that the President would be coming here. There are many groups here that are against his healthcare and huge spending so those groups began talking and deciding on what they were going to do. The White House would not release ANY details other than the date.
 
On about Tuesday Bill found out that they would be holding the "Town Hall" at the airport. (This is only because Bill knows EVERYONE at the airport) Our airport is actually located outside of Belgrade (tiny town) in a very remote location. Nothing is around there. They chose to use a hangar that is the most remotely located hangar. You could not pick a more remote location, and you can not get to it easily. It is totally secluded from the public.
FYI: We have many areas in Belgrade and Bozeman which could have held a large amount of folks with sufficient parking. (gymnasiums/auditoriums). All of which have chairs and tables, and would not have to be SHIPPED IN!! $$$$$
During the week, cargo by the TONS was being shipped in constantly. Airport employees could not believe how it just kept coming. Though it was our President coming several expressed how excessive it was, especially during a recession.  $$$$$   
 
Late Tuesday/early Wednesday the 12th,  they said that tickets would be handed out on Thursday 9am at two locations and the president would be arriving around 12:30 Friday.
 
Thursday morning about 600 tickets were passed out. However, 1500 were printed at a Local printing shop per White House request. Hmmmm......900 tickets just DISAPPEARED.
This same morning someone called into the radio from the local UPS branch and said that THOUSANDS of Dollars of Lobster were shipped in for Obama. Montana has some of the best beef in the nation!!! And it would have been really wonderful to help out the local economy. Anyone heard of the Recession?? Just think...with all of the traveling the White House is doing. $$$$$ One can only imagine what else we are paying for.
 
On Friday Bill and I got out to the airport about 10:45am. The groups that wanted to protest Obama's spending and healthcare had gotten a permit to protest and that area was roped off. But that was not to be. A large bus carrying SEIU (Service Employees International Union) members drove up onto the area (illegal)and unloaded right there. It was quite a commotion and there were specifically 2 SEIU men trying to make trouble and start a fight. Police did get involved and arrested the one man but they said they did not have the manpower to remove the SEIU crowd. (Who $$$$ the SEIU) 
The SEIU crowd was very organized and young. About 99% were under the age of 30 and they were not locals! They had bullhorns and PROFESSIONALLY made signs. Some even wore preprinted T-shirts. Oh, and Planned Parenthood folks were with them.....professing abortion rights with their T-shirts and preprinted signs.  (BTW, all these folks did have a permit to protest in ANOTHER area)
 
Those against healthcare/spending moved away from the SEIU crowd to avoid confrontation. They were orderly and respectful. Even though SEIU kept coming over and walking through, continuing to be very intimidating and aggressive at the direction of the one SEIU man.
 
So we had Montana folks from ALL OVER the state with their homemade signs and their DOGS with homemade signs. We had cowboys, nurses, doctors you name it. There was even a guy from Texas who had been driving through. He found out about the occasion, went to the store, made a sign, and came to protest.
 
If you are wondering about the press.....Well, all of the major networks were over by that remote hangar I mentioned. They were conveniently parked on the other side of the buildings FAR away. None of these crowds were even visible to them. I have my doubts that they knew anything about the crowds.
We did have some local news media around us from this state and Idaho . Speaking of the local media...they were invited. However, all questions were to be turned into the White House in advance of the event. Wouldn't want anyone to have to think off the top of their head.
 
It was very obvious that it was meant to be totally controlled by the White House. Everything was orchestrated down to the last detail to make it appear that Montana is just crazy for Obama and government healthcare. Even those people that talked about their insurance woes........the White House called our local HRDC (Human Resource and Development Committee) and asked for names. Then the White House asked those folks to come. Smoke and mirrors...EVERYTHING was staged!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I am very dismayed about what I learned about our current White House. The amount of control and manipulation was unbelievable. I felt I was not living in the United States of America , more like the USSR !! I was physically nauseous. Bill and I have been around when Presidents or Heads of State visit. It has NEVER been like this. I am truly very frightened for our country. America needs your prayers and your voices. If you care about our country please get involved. Know the issues. And let Congress hear your voices again and again!! If they are willing to put forth so much effort to BULLY a small town one can only imagine what is going on in Washington DC . Scary!! 

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• American Medical Association will receive $245 billion in payouts if something like HR 3200 gets passed
• Pharmaceutical Companies will receive $88 billion in contracts and payouts for supporting through drug purchases by the public plan
• Unions will receive a $10 billion direct payout as well as tax payer funded assistance for their pension funds through the next generation according to Montana Senator Max Baucus

Remember Madam Speaker’s very public outrage at ‘sand bagging’ by the GOP and special interest groups for disrupting and organizing to shut down August town hall meetings with terms like ‘astroterfers’ and such.  Well, it seems the DNC and Obama’s own organizing group is itself Astroterfing with union members and liberal groups.  First of all, what evidence is there the GOP was ‘stacking’ any of the town hall meetings.  Second, most of these protests are organic and the frustration is real.  Sure the conservative movement of bloggers, radio and TV shots, etc. have been getting the word out and supplying fuel, but that is different then an organized group of paid participants like the DNC and liberal non-profit publically funded groups are doing to counter this, and did to disrupt any GOP event for years.  Below is some proof from my last stateside home.  The problem, just as the Congress, is the followers of these groups are not reading the bills or the literature that is factual, instead they are just accepting the word of mouth and mantra of their leaders.  So which will prevail, organic anger and disgust over government interference or organized and publicized Rules for Radicals tactics implemented by the extreme left to institute their socialists dream utopia down our throats.

The background of the below email by the liberal tax funded group Community for Change, Paul Ryan has introduced a conservative alternative health care bill.  The liberals are wanting to crush any opposition or alternative to HR 3200.  This is evident by the DNC going after “blue dog” and freshman Democrats who have been taking massive heat from their home districts.  Again, follow the money.  Who is helping out by donating to organizations like Community for Change?  Why does Acorn get so much funding in HR 3200 as well as other community organizing groups?  Why are the drug companies and labor unions in healthcare backing these bills?  The answers are not always where you expect them. 

From: Kelly Gallaher – communityforchange@gmail.com
Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2009 12:01PM
Subject: Paul Ryan’s Roadmap to Hell(th) Tour

Hi Everyone!

Congressman Paul Ryan is touring the 1st CD next week, we met yesterday and laid out a plan.  He has 17 listening sessions scheduled and it is our intention to overwhelm each session with reform supporters.

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin (1st CD Dems), Organizing for America (OFA) and Community for Change are working together to promote attendance at these sessions.

Here are the plans: (Thanks you Meg for taking GREAT notes! and it CANNOT be forwarded enough!)

At each session, we will have 2 tables with a banner.  At the tables, we will have information on:

1. “Organizing for Health Care” (a glossy 4 page brochure),
2. Information on why Paul Ryan’s health care plan is wrong for the 1st CD
3. Contact information for Ryan, Feingold, Kohl of OFA
4. Sign up sheet for these interested in joining us
5. Rally signs

If we encounter official resistance to our table, we will have bags to carry all the same information.  The rally signs may not be allowed in the actual meeting place.

There may be an opportunity for people to go online and print their own 8 1/2 by 11 sheet for display IN the session from www.barackobama.com

It is intended that people rally (keep moving) and carry the signs before the session.

We are scheduling 2 Teams each day. The teams will leapfrog each event, so we are set up in advance and ready to go before the previous event ends.  Each team will have a table and materials.  Team Leaders each day will be assigned to one or more sessions.  In addition, each team will have:

1. Maps showing location(s) for the day
2. Locations of fast food restaurants in the area
3. Questions for key people in the session
4. Information for those who might be interviewed by the media

Team Leaders will:

1. Get tables and materials the night before (for the first session of the day)
2. Get to the location about an hour before scheduled start time
3. Set up and staff the table
4. Be prepared to move the table (or take it down, if officially required)
5. Stay at the table during the session
6. Remain at the table after the session, until people have all gone
7. Sometimes, the teal leaders will move to another session already in progress (particularly at the end of the day which have the biggest locations (Kenosha, Racine, Janesville)

For each day we will have 2 teams per day.

Here’s where you come in.  We’d like help staffing these tables, bringing supporters and attending as many sessions as you can.  OFA is very active in Racine and we will provide at least one person per session.

Please let me know if you can help.  We still need some team leader names in a couple of far flung locations.

We will be phonebanking active volunteers and reform supporters, but turning your people out is essential.

Here is the schedule! (not putting that here)

Eagle: Kelly Gallaher
North Prairie: Glenda Alexander
Sharon: Glenda Alexander
Genoa City: Kelly Gallaher
Paddock Lake: Glenda Alexander and Meg Andrietsch
Kenosha: Kelly Gallaher and Meg Andrietsch
Janesville: Kelly Gallaher and Meg Andrietsch
Rochester: Kelly Gallaher
Racine: Kelly Gallaher

For the Racine session, which runs until 2:30, we have reserved the room until 5pm, so the session can continue with or without Paul Ryan. (That is a bit of a secret, so don’t tell Paul Ryan!)

Thanks for reading this far.  If you call me and say “I thought it was Highway to Hell”, Meg will buy you coffee.

To volunteer, ask questions and submit ideas, please email of call me!

Thank you!

Kelly Gallaher

Now I know that organization is not illegal or immoral, it is indeed admirable and necessary to gain a strong voice to counter the special interest and lobby groups.  However the organic uprising by Americans to voice concern against legislation that lays the ground work for a huge intrusion into our lives by the government, taking over control of 15% of our economy when they have demonstrated inability to run any social program fiscally responsible, and finally the blatant heavy handed and arrogant attitudes by the Congress in stating they don’t need to read the bill, they know what is better for us then we do, trust them, and doing something now (no matter how flawed) is better then doing nothing.

Sure, the death panels are not outlined in the legislation HR 3200, they are found in amendments to other bills, like HR1 – Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Stimulus Bill) that outlines $1.1 billion federal tax dollars to fund the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research.  The Council, created by former Health and Human Services Secretary Nominee Tom Daschle, for creating the Council is to empower an unelected bureaucracy to make the hard decisions about health care rationing that elected politicians are politically unable to make. The end result is to slow costly medical advancement and consumption. Daschle argues that Americans ought to be more like Europeans who passively accept "hopeless diagnoses."  According to Joseph Ashby from American Thinker in his August 15 article 'Death panel' is not in the bill... it already exists  How about word from Obama himself?  From the ABC infomercial: "that at least we (the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research) can let doctors know and your mom know that (taking this treatment or procedure) isn't going to help. Maybe you're better off not having the surgery, but taking the painkiller."

How about Obama stating no federal funds for abortion, well according to Time and AP reporter Ricardo Alonso-zaldivar reported in Time – Health Bill Includes Abortion Coverage  The recent Capps Amendment to HR 3200 is reported to "… allow the public plan to cover abortion but without using federal funds, only dollars from beneficiary premiums. Likewise, private plans in the new insurance exchange could opt to cover abortion, but no federal subsidies would be used to pay for the procedure. "It's a sham," said Douglas Johnson, legislative director for National Right to Life. "It's a bookkeeping scheme. The plan pays for abortion, and the government subsidizes the plan."  And again Time releases another article exposing the sneaky way the DNC is trying to get abortions funded federally by us all in their How Abortion Coverage Could Affect Health-Care Reform by stating “it does find a way for the Federal Government to expand the coverage of abortion services through a government-run program — the so-called public option — without spending what it defines as federal dollars on abortion. Instead, the only money the public insurance option could spend on abortion that does not involve rape, incest or the life of the mother would be money collected from members dues; or, in the words of supporters like Elizabeth Shipp, of NARAL Pro-Choice America, the plan "could only use private funds to pay for abortion services."  The member dues, or premiums, to pay for expanded abortion coverage would be segregated from the federal tax dollars by keeping the money in separate internal accounts. The problem is that all those who sign up for the public option would have to pay into the account for abortion coverage, an amount "not less than $1 per month," according to the legislation. So in effect, anyone who wanted to sign up for the public option, a federally funded and administered program, would find themselves paying for abortion coverage.  Add this to House Rep Stupak (pro Choice Dem) “Obama's statements during recent public events signal one of two things: either he does not fully understand the current House bill”, which Stupak maintains has the effect of publicly funding abortion, or "if he is aware of it, and he is making these statements, then he is misleading people."

So let the President do some REAL fact checks on death panels and federally funded abortions and then let him explain why he is asking us to accept what he said was not in the bill.  If you want a prelude to what our new socialized medicine will look like, look at CARS or Cash for Clunkers program, it was only 30% funded, ran out, put auto yards, parts dealers, and mechanics out of work and removed millions of cars of which tens of thousands are viable out of the used car market.  If the government can not run a car sale how can you trust them to run 15% of our economy and your and your families healthcare and well being?  How can you trust the president and the Congress when they say one thing and we find them doing the opposite in other places.  Sure the bill HR 3200 has no death panels but they are in other pieces of legislation akin to 3 card monty or the shell game?  If they are lying about what is in the bill then then why should we be surprised they are doing what they complain about at these birthers, astroturfers, insurance lobbyists etc are stacking the town halls when we now know they are doing just that.  Keep up the pressure and keep the Dems honest, or as honest as they can be.

"These disruptions are occurring because opponents are afraid not just of differing views -- but of the facts themselves.  Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American.  Drowning out the facts is how we failed at this task for decades." – Direct Quote: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer in a special OP-Ed piece in USA Today.

So first I am a suspected terrorists, according to the Department of Homeland Security, because I am a veteran, conservative minded individual, and I put my views out on the web for the whole world to view while Bill Ayres, the leader of the radical ‘60’s and ‘70’s domestic terrorist group The Weather Underground is lauded and celebrated by the likes of Pelosi, Hoyer, Obama, Ried, Frank, etc.  Second, throwing rocks and bombing military recruiting stations is seen as legitimate protest against America’s aggressive military campaigns in Iraq while shouting and a limited and few isolated instances of shoving is seen as being too aggressive and disruptive a form of demonstration.  Third, Senators are now taking questions for meetings with constituents in advance or holding telephone/teleconference meetings are good because they are afraid of dealing with people asking questions who get upset and loud when non answers or no answers are given, this was done for 7 years since the Patriot Act was signed.  The list goes on and on and on.  Pelosi and Hoyer listed some interesting items they are concerned with; burning effigies, mock tombstones, shouted chanting, disrupting meeting formats in her USA Today article.  Care to count the times Bush and GOP Congress members had to deal with the same treatment during the years since 9/11?  Care to ask Sarah Palin about hanging effigies in Pelosi’s own district?  How about the movie about Bush’s assassination by a disgruntled military member?  What about all the domestic flag burnings at GOP town halls protesting the war, megaphones shouting down speeches, and again on and on and on and on for the last 7 years of Bush’s administration.

Maybe Pelosi and Hoyer need to actually READ the Constitution they took an oath to uphold and defend they would know ALL Americans have the rights to assembly, air grievances to representatives, and speech among many others.  If Pelosi and Hoyer had memories longer then a gold fish they may remember all the boisterous and high profile condemnation they spewed and enticed their members to shout from the mountain tops when the GOP suggested opposing the war on terror was un-American.  Maybe Pelosi forgot her comments of praise and admiration towards the members of Code Pink who disrupted and shouted her down after she took Speaker of the House and still voted to extend war funding and not stopping the Iraq War as she campaigned to in her congressional bid.  She praised Code Pink as “…democracy in action” and how ‘excited by protesters’ she was in stating their anti-war moves by taking over her town hall meeting’s agenda with signs, shouting, and chanting.  Maybe she needs some memory drugs or exercises.  As I have stated many times on this blog I detest hypocrisy and this time Pelosi and Hoyer are not only being hypocrites, they are actually believing we American’s are too stupid or ignorant to call them out on it.  At least the White House realized it was a bad move on their part and quickly began putting distance between their comments and its stance in this great debate.

All of this is a great circus and ultimate slight of hand.  Why are we focused on defending the patriotism of people who have genuine questions or have issues they want their elected officials to hear?  Why are we focused on comparing and contrasting the actions of Democrats to conservatives, Republicans, and independents who are anxious to be heard?  Why are we wasting this time on if the anti-health care crowd is organized like the Democrats do when they show up to meetings through paid trips and time by unions, community organizations, NGO groups, etc.?  Why, because they know the bill is flawed and despite their rhetoric on truth of what is in the bill, NONE OF THEM HAVE READ IT!  Despite the White House circling the wagons and presenting a counter strategy to combat rowdy crowds we are still focusing on the crowds themselves.  Why are we not focusing on the real issues, the 1,100 page bill that outlines taxes, fines, and penalties if you DO NOT chose a healthcare plan?  Why are we not getting clarification on the ‘real-time’ access to participants financial records to determine eligibility?  There are hundreds of valid questions and concerns needing to be aired, not if some congress member had to see a poster of a swastika with a line through it insinuating the holder was opposed to nazis and fascists styles of governmental controls.  We are dealing with a part of our economy that accounts for 15% of GDP, a program the CBO weekly publishes report after report stating the program is unsustainable, too expensive, unable to fund without massive tax increases. 

For my Asian readers the title may seem odd.  It’s an old saying in Western culture that pre-dates the ‘throwing stones when living in a glass house’ saying.  In old days pots and kettles were used over coal or wood stoves and the soot and ash would collect on the items charring them black.  So when one says ‘that is the pot calling the kettle black’ they are saying the person is a hypocrite because they are doing the same thing they are voicing outrage against.  Obama campaigned on the premise that the Bush budgets were unsustainable and unacceptable, well he has exploded that 4 fold and that is just fine.  Pelosi liked protests when they were protesting against the issues she was against.  Hoyer was encouraging groups like ACORN, MoveOn.org, trade unions, etc. to protest against the war, deficit spending, expanding executive powers but he is opposed to groups like the GOP or insurance companies and similar groups from doing like actions.  These people state we are afraid of the truth and the facts.  If so, why are they keeping the focus on those making up the debate and not the facts and truth they keep saying exist?  The White House, sensitive to polls and negative appearances, is doing what it can to erect a gulf between themselves and Pelosi.  There are liberal groups out there trying to get facts out, but they are rare rather there are trade unions and liberal NGO’s packing busses and packing halls to counter and silence the opposition voices, and that ladies and gentlemen is un-American.  We have the right to access to our representatives to air our grievances, not have them get frustrated and shout back that we just don’t understand when they have not read or understand what they are asking us to blindly accept.  The town halls are being structured as mass media presentations with legislators wanting to discuss talking points and only discuss how much we all need this, not trying to convince us all why we need this legislation.  They are not prepared to defend the very thing they are demanding we accept.  This arrogance is not the American way of changing the status quo.  We Americans are a skeptical lot, not the liberals who switch alliances as the wind blows, no the mass middle America and the conservatives.  We need to see logical steps of why this is better and why we have to pay more for it.  The truth is this will be the most expensive program in world history and we want to ensure it is what is promised.  Promised by people who refuse to read, explain, or able to intelligently defend it themselves.

So to those members of the DNC and talking heads who are all stating we who question the intellectual elites decisions for the rest of us are ourselves un-American and un-patriotic need to check your memories.  While there were those on the right who suggested those opposing the war or the policies of the president were such, they were wrong then and you are wrong now.  Just because you won the presidential election and hold both house majorities it did not give you a license to do as you please.  We the people are still in charge of the country and you.  We are the ones who decide the policies we want to follow.  The elections are not the beginning but the end.  We use the elections to rate your performance, not to give you a blank check for which to fill in without conciliations with us, the people of the country.  We are seeing a massively socialists agenda taking light, we will concede some ground for ‘progress’ but not the whole farm.  You see, to be American is not to agree or to bully your views onto others, but to debate and discuss through differences until an acceptable compromise can be reached and then let it play out until it proves a success or a failure.  Parts of this HR 3200IH are encouraging, but the parts that are not are so far out of acceptance they have to be changed or scrapped before we will accept it.  Remember there is no right to health care in the Bill of Rights, Constitution, or Amendments.  Our rights are extended only to the limit of self reliance, and this bill in its current form infringes on self reliance and that is un-American.

"There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care.  These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation.  Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to: flag@whitehouse.gov"

"These officials also told skittish senators that fresh polling suggests an emphasis on issues such as barring insurers from denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions is a political winner, able to increase support among independents, women, seniors and rural voters.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to discuss details of the closed-door session that took place hours before lawmakers headed to their home states for a monthlong vacation"

• Section 401 - Tax on individuals without ACCEPTABLE health coverage (according to the Health Benefits Advisory Committee and Healt Choices Commissioner)
  SEC. 59B. TAX ON INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT ACCEPTABLE HEALTH CARE COVERAGE.
  (a) Tax Imposed- In the case of any individual who does not meet the requirements of subsection
  (d) at any time during the taxable year, there is hereby imposed a tax equal to 2.5 percent of the excess of--
  (1) the taxpayer's modified adjusted gross income for the taxable year, over
  (2) the amount of gross income specified in section 6012(a)(1) with respect to the taxpayer
• Section 163(a)"Sec.1173A."(a) - Electronic monitoring of individuals accounts
  (2) GOALS FOR FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSACTIONS- The goals for standards under paragraph (1) are that such standards shall--
  (A) be unique with no conflicting or redundant standards;
  (B) be authoritative, permitting no additions or constraints for electronic transactions, including companion guides;
  (C) be comprehensive, efficient and robust, requiring minimal augmentation by paper transactions or clarification by further communications;
  (D) enable the real-time (or near real-time) determination of an individual's financial responsibility at the point of service and, to the extent possible, prior to service, including whether the individual is eligible for a specific service with a specific physician at a specific facility, which may include utilization of a machine-readable health plan beneficiary identification card;
  (E) enable, where feasible, near real-time adjudication of claims;
  (F) provide for timely acknowledgment, response, and status reporting applicable to any electronic transaction deemed appropriate by the Secretary;
  (G) describe all data elements (such as reason and remark codes) in unambiguous terms, not permit optional fields, require that data elements be either required or conditioned upon set values in other fields, and prohibit additional conditions; and
  (H) harmonize all common data elements across administrative and clinical transaction standards.
• Section 1121(c) - End of life care #1
  (c) Limitation on Physicians' Services Included in Target Growth Rate Computation to Services Covered Under Physician Fee Schedule- Effective for services furnished on or after January 1, 2009 , section 1848(f)(4)(A) of such Act is amended striking `(such as clinical' and all that follows through `in a physician's office' and inserting `for which payment under this part is made under the fee schedule under this section, for services for practitioners described in section 1842(b)(18)(C) on a basis related to such fee schedule, or for services described in section 1861(p) (other than such services when furnished in the facility of a provider of services)'.
  (d) Establishment of Separate Target Growth Rates for Categories of Services-
  (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF SERVICE CATEGORIES- Subsection (j) of section 1848 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-4) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
  `(5) SERVICE CATEGORIES- For services furnished on or after January 1, 2009 , each of the following categories of physicians' services (as defined in paragraph (3)) shall be treated as a separate `service category':
  `(A) Evaluation and management services that are procedure codes (for services covered under this title) for--
  `(i) services in the category designated Evaluation and Management in the Health Care Common Procedure Coding System (established by the Secretary under subsection (c)(5) as of December 31, 2009 , and as subsequently modified by the Secretary); and
  `(ii) preventive services (as defined in section 1861(iii)) for which payment is made under this section.
  `(B) All other services not described in subparagraph (A).
  Service categories established under this paragraph shall apply without regard to the specialty of the physician furnishing the service.'.
• Section 1233 - End of life care #2 Advance Care Planning Consultation
  (hhh)(1) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), the term `advance care planning consultation' means a consultation between the individual and a practitioner described in paragraph (2) regarding advance care planning, if, subject to paragraph (3), the individual involved has not had such a consultation within the last 5 years. Such consultation shall include the following:
  (A) An explanation by the practitioner of advance care planning, including key questions and considerations, important steps, and suggested people to talk to.
  (B) An explanation by the practitioner of advance directives, including living wills and durable powers of attorney, and their uses.
  (C) An explanation by the practitioner of the role and responsibilities of a health care proxy.
  (D) The provision by the practitioner of a list of national and State-specific resources to assist consumers and their families with advance care planning, including the national toll-free hotline, the advance care planning clearinghouses, and State legal service organizations (including those funded through the Older Americans Act of 1965).
  (E) An explanation by the practitioner of the continuum of end-of -life services and supports available, including palliative care and hospice, and benefits for such services and supports that are available under this title.
  (F)(i) Subject to clause (ii), an explanation of orders regarding life sustaining treatment or similar orders, which shall include--
  (I) the reasons why the development of such an order is beneficial to the individual and the individual's family and the reasons why such an order should be updated periodically as the health of the individual changes;
  (II) the information needed for an individual or legal surrogate to make informed decisions regarding the completion of such an order; and
  (III) the identification of resources that an individual may use to determine the requirements of the State in which such individual resides so that the treatment wishes of that individual will be carried out if the individual is unable to communicate those wishes, including requirements regarding the designation of a surrogate decisionmaker (also known as a health care proxy).
  (ii) The Secretary shall limit the requirement for explanations under clause (i) to consultations furnished in a State

This bill, as it stands today, HR 3200 IH, does much of what Obama himself has said he will not sign yet he and Congressional leaders are demanding its passage if not by the August break soon thereafter.  To me this means that either some congressional members are going to be working through the break OR they will pass this thing that A) raises taxes B) sets it up that only a single payer option will survive C) rations care D) explodes costs E) makes it impossible to get care if the goernment decides you don't need it.  So for those who say I am being unfair and rocking the boat with hyperbole and partisan rhetoric I have only 1 thing left to say...

"I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with THIS administration how your not patriotic and we should stand up and say 'We are Americans and we have a RIGHT to debate and disagree with ANY administration'!" - Hilary Clinton on the 2008 DNC nomination campaign trail, now Secritary of State in Obama's Administration

July has been a busy month with over 20 unique candidates for my rant of the month.  Despite China clamping down on internet access, thanks to continued riots in XinJiang and coal workers rejecting a privatization of a state run steel mill by killing the new boss, I have been able to keep up on things, only at half pace however.  July has marked some special events, from the 40th anniversary of the moon landing to the continued assaults on American free markets by our own version of Dear Leader, Obama, through massive legislation that has since stalled once the word got out on what they were proposing.  The socialization of America has only been postponed until after the summer break however, it isn’t dead just stalled until they can regroup and tone down the current bills.  We have seen the passing of 2 cultural icons, Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.  We saw race in America get thrust back into center stage as professor Gates Jr. was arrested after forcing his way into his home at 3 AM.  This distraction was welcomed as Obama wanted to keep his plummeting poll numbers and growing dissent over his 2 pet projects, energy and healthcare bills, he didn’t pull it off in my mind as his attempt to be the person to ‘share a beer with’ to defuse the situation is coming off looking fake.  With all this in mind we should just jump in as its going to be a long one again this month.

Domestic Issues – The largest crime going on in our nation’s capital, of which there are many, is that of passing legislation by people who represent ‘the people’ without their own staff reading the bill and providing an executive summary.  Now I am a realist and I know that the big shot Congress members have many things going on and can’t read the bills brought before the floor.  That is not the issue, the issue is that bills are being rushed through authoring committee without being fully read and taken to the floor for a vote before being written!  This is like post dating a check, or even worse, sending a blank check to a company that is doing work for you.  On July 6th it came out that to the forefront with ‘a moment of clarity’ by our main stream media.  The 300 page amendment to the cap and trade bill was brought to the floor for a vote BEFORE it was even written, and it PASSED!  A non-partisan group requested every member of the House 435 and Senate 100, sign a pledge to read legislation before it is voted on.  Pelosi and Reid both stated they can’t be bothered by such formalities and even went so far as to refuse to allow the public even 5 days to review the health care bill before moving it forward (since stalled thank God).  This goes well through the top layer of leadership.  House Majority Leaser, Rep Hoyer D-Maryland, even laughed at a press conference to give each law maker/staff 72 hours to review the bill before calling it for a vote stating “I’m laughing because A) I don’t know how long this bill is going to be, but it’s going to be a very long bill…”  He followed up that statement with the following; “If every member pledged to not vote for it if they hadn’t read it in its entirety, I think we would have very few votes…’’  Hoyer is admitting that if people read the bills, there would be little if any support for them.  To me that means the legislation is faulty, contains things it shouldn’t, or passes measures that are unpopular and damaging.  The problem is the bill exceeded 1,500 pages and so much of it was contrary to what moderate Democrats could stomach we now know why it was being rushed through the House.  Add the Waxman cap and trade amendment, the healthcare bill, and the 1,100 page $787 billion stimulus package passed only 13 hours after being written and you get a larger picture of what in the ‘real world’ we would call dereliction of duty or professional negligence.  Of course this isn’t the first time we have seen this, the 341 page Patriot Act was passed and signed into law in a scant 6 days, but that does not mean it was good, just, or necessary.  Now, just like then, highlights why we need debate and openness in our government.  Why is China ahead of India in nearly all aspects of governance?  One is a democracy where things are debated and shaped into something practical and livable while the other is communist where things are rushed through politobureaus and forced on the people.  We are in an era where our government has went from open debate and review to closed door and back room legislation closer to communism then a republic.  That is what makes it a crime, we are foregoing our principles and history to advance a purely political agenda and ideology.  Our government is hijacked and those who have done it laugh it off as if it were a joke.  Again I have said I am a realist on the issue, but the staff of Congress members need more then 13 hours, 3 hours, or 48 hours to review the bills and provide an educated summary to the people voting on these bills, at the least.  Obama promised us a week to review all non-emergency bills, now we know that ALL bills are emergency to him and we still are not seeing him being called out on this or the Congress being called out on the crimes of passing what they have no understanding of.  Let Freedom Ring has a petition out there requesting our leaders to at least know what they are voting on, ReadTheBill.org, unfortunately it was laughed off by the likes of Pelosi, Reid, and Hoyer publically as well.

This month allowed the President a proverbial step back from the losses of support, poll ratings, and lack of leadership on his pet legislative projects of cap and trade and health care.  I am referring of course to the new race relations fiasco of the Henry Gates Jr., black, arrest by Cambridge Police Sergeant James Crowley, white, and mediated by President Obama after a ‘Joe Bidden’ moment where he publicly berated the Cambridge Police Department and its decisions without fully knowing the facts or context of what really happened.  In stead of apologizing for rash judgments and jumping the gun like fellow race baiters Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson our fine President just said he “needed to re-calibrate” his stupidly made comments instead of apologizing and accepting his role in the fall out on a national level.  The facts have now been well published.  911 caller Whalen did not identify the intruders as black, saying 1 appeared to be Latino but she was unsure.  Gates was NOT arrested for his breaking into his own home as he provided adequate evidence he did live there.  Gates was arrested for becoming belligerent to police officers on scene and making a public disturbance by shouting racism when there wasn’t any after the facts came out.  Despite the publication of the 911 call, (I listened to) the arrest report, (I read) and the interviews plastered everywhere on the news outlets there was still need for a national dialogue and photo op for all this?  No.  Gates insulted an officer when asked to go outside and discuss the nature of the 911 call.  Gates refused to go outside, yelled at the officer, accused him of being a racist, cussed at and to him personally, and refused numerous times to cooperate.  Gates kept referring to as being someone ‘you don’t want to mess with’ suggesting he IS ABOVE the law!  When asked to go outside if he wanted to make further statements Gates kept taunting police on scene, spectators, and refusing to obey commands to be calm and lower his voice as a crowed had formed.  Gates was arrested when he refused and continued to threaten officers as a person who is ‘not someone to be messed with’.  Now just as Obama has been hammered by slipping polls and stalled legislation this was a golden opportunity to go back to his better moment of the presidential race where he distanced himself from the bigot Rev. Wright with an eloquent speech and appearance of being a transcendor or race.  Well, he failed.  In stead he acted too rashly and assumed Sergeant Crowley and Sergeant Figuero were being racist and racial profiling before hearing all the sides, just reading the headlines.  Crowley turns out to be an instructor against racial profiling and a leading advocate of positive race relations in the department, oops!  So how did the greatly hyped ‘beer summit’ go?  Like a lead balloon.  Despite some nice photos and cute commentary by the main stream media not much happened.  No soaring rhetoric, no transcending defining moments, no lessons learned or even slight advancement in race relations in America could be seen from this meeting.  What did Obama mediate?  He had already sided with Gates so he was not seen as creditable.  Crowley didn’t offer any insight how things could have went better, there was little if anything he could have done better after reading the police reports.  Whalen did not mention anyone being black.  The only problem was Gates, but as he is black, an intellectual elite, a friend of the President, etc. he has no fault or blame for the dust up.  That is why this was a failure.  Nothing positive came out of it.  Gates IS above the law, the charges were dropped and he is seen as being a victim.  Racial profiling is bad however officers need to know the race of people suspected of crimes in progress to know how best to approach people they find on scene when arriving to a call.  Police need to know race of people they are to look out for who have warrants, or are persons of interest for interview of information of crimes suspected or committed.  Race is not needed for traffic stops, when riding on a beat, or making observations when on duty.  Nothing positive came out of the meeting, oh and by the way, Obama does not appear or come off as a beer drinker, so this was completely transparent as an attempt to look like the ‘average guy’ which he is not.

International Issues – The thorn in the side of every administration on international politics for the last 60 years has been North Korea.  Obama is finding this out despite his being ‘above it all’.  Since the failure of testing his administration on the freighter incident we have seen them test fire more missiles, make crazy and curious comments of our Secretary of State, refuse to restart 6 party talks and state they will only return to the table if recognized as a nuclear equal to the US and for direct bilateral talks.  If Obama agrees he has advanced the chance of peace but only by capitulating and kneeling down to the North Koreans by cowering to their demands.  If Obama ignores it he continues the current system of them acting out more and more until they get what they want.  North Korea needs to be brought back to reality.  Yes, China has vowed to enforce the sanctions recently passed, in part, which is very positive but suspicious and something I will believe when I see it.  The North has been unusually quiet, maybe because Myanmar has stated they will follow sanctions, in a possible deal to overlook their continued crushing of democracy advocates Suu Kyi show trial and kangaroo court.  North Korea has stated the cease fire is no longer valid.  They have ceased South Korean fishing ships recently.  They continue to show a hostile posture towards their peaceful neighbors.  They are acting like that puck kid who knows you won’t do anything to them for taunting them.  Well, maybe we should do something, say bomb their nuclear refining facilities…  Sure its pre-emptive but hey Obama stated a nuclear armed North Korea is unacceptable, well they are armed with nuclear weapons and making more each month, so how much is too much?  Where are the actions behind the words.  We have started to draw down forces in Iraq.  We have sanctions in place and pledged force if they are ignored.  When will we, as a nation and leader in the 6 party talks, say enough is enough and provide clear incentive for the North to return to 6 party talks?  They stated they will never return, they say they are continuing to refine nuclear material, they continue to test missiles, they are dismissing our international policy head as a ‘funny lady’.  When will enough be enough and we put this dog to bed once and for all?  Sure that will result in some military action that will result in loss of life and retaliation but if one side refuses to submit what other course are you willing to take, remember how well sanctions worked against Saddam Hussein?  Of course we have to play this correctly, but we need to get the line in the sand and have clear paths of action and ways to avoid the actions spelled out by all sides concerned; China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, and the USA.  The problem is we are in a cycle of going on the current course indefinitely.  I don’t want to see this come to a head military-wise but there has to be a time when enough is enough.  Obama could pull off a major foreign policy win that the previous 7 presidents could not.  Unfortunately we are seeing something akin to Carter style diplomacy.

Latin and South America have shown many different styles and types of coups over the years.  The current one in Honduras is unique in many ways.  First off, before you condemn or condone the coup you have to know the facts.  The legitimate democratically elected leader, Manuel Zelaya, was detained and led to the border by the military whom were following the orders of the countries highest court and legislature who were overthrowing the president due to his illegal power grab that would trash the current constitution of the nation, sound familiar… it should because we see it going on elsewhere in the Americas.  While we, America, can not condone a coup where a democratically elected president is ousted we should look at the reason why.  Most people think some military general did a typical power grab, the likes of Venezuela was putting up a like minded banana republic, or a grass roots revolution.  Well none of that happened.  Zelaya made a Hugo Chavez style power grab but did so without a popular vote, this ran contrary to the country’s constitution that has term limits built in.  Zelaya wanted to copy Venezuela’s president for life measure by running an end around behind the legislation and courts.  In an emergency session the power grab was deemed illegal and arrest warrants issues as well as legislation to institute an interim government until the Zelaya would back down or elections could be held.  The problem is while Zelaya is more leftist and friendly to Chavez he is also friendly with like minded socialists Obama and his administration.  The interim government is not trying to circumvent the constitution but preserve it.  That is what makes this situation so unique.  The sanctions against the second poorest country in the region are not so severe to be really effective, see North Korea above.  Second, not many on Capital Hill like or want to be aligned with Zelaya and his camp.  The tide of leftist politics and policies have been running through Latin America since we, the United States, did some really bad things or allowed them to happen for purely economic reasons.  This does not mean we have no morale authority here but we should let the region settle it as they are trying their best to do.  There is a moderator and progress is being made.  Zelaya should be allowed to return on the condition his term limits are put before a vote within a 12 month period.  The Supreme Court should provide the legal authority for their actions or step down for their part.  New legislative elections should be held in 6 months time and the high level leaders in the military should all take retirement to purge all factions of this mess so the government can be refreshed in a calm yet sensible fashion.  Zelaya should be allowed to follow out his term and then step down because the issue has become toxic, his leading a rebel group set to overthrow the government at the time adds to that.  Unfortunately the issue is being moderated by leftist supporters, including the Obama administration.

Financial Issues – We have seen more and more fall out and clarity in what we have gotten into on this financial fix we were told to trust in the experts in.  Remember that, Obama stating to trust in his financial team because there were far more knowledgeable and experts in such things, well turns out we were duped.  First off the $787 billion of the stimulus funds have yet to provide any traction of the current skid our economy is experiencing.  The fault falls at the feet of… nobody really knows, why?  Special Inspector General Neil Barofsky said the Treasury has rejected several of his recommendations for more transparency on its part, according to the Wall Street Journal.  That is the preverbal tip of the iceberg according to his testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform who is supposed to be watching the spending while Barofsky is the person who is supposed to be the one in control of auditing the funds.  The Treasury, you know headed by the guy who failed to pay his taxes for nearly a decade, has been found to intimidate and force itself onto companies requesting stimulus funds as well as strong arm financial and businesses requesting assistance.  Add this to the Federal Reserve acting the same way and you get a strong armed government that is bull headed in its belief it knows what is best for the American People, business, financial, and any sector stupid enough to ask for a handout.  After hearing the report House Rep. Darrell Issa - R of California and a ranking member on the House committee, said the administration had failed to deliver the kind of transparency it promised related to the Troubled Asset Relief Program according to the Wall Street Journal. "This administration promised an 'unprecedented level' of accountability and oversight, but as this report reveals, they are falling far short of that promise," Issa said.  Barofsky has made a gross speculation at the total price for all government run assistance funding under the assumptions they spend all monies allocated, and if the Cash for Clunkers is any yardstick we can expect more to be spend then originally planned, and the whopping total is $23.7 trillion (or $24,700,000,000,000.00 or $82,333.00 for every currently alive man, woman, and child in America, and that is before the national debt or our ballooning spending deficit!).  Of course his calculations do not take into account potential savings, overlapping programs, etc. but as anyone who has worked with or in the government system efficiency is NOT the forte of the Federal Government when it comes to spending tax money.  So while it has been realized the buzz words of ‘shovel ready’ jobs was an illusion and Obama took the vast majority of the stimulus money to repay political debts and fund ACORN for generations to come, we the tax payers are left to foot the bill and saddle our great great great grandchildren with the largest debt burden in human history.  Yes sir, that is change we can all believe in, because after a full weeks worth of work that is all that will be left of your paycheck after all the taxes, fees, and costs to fuel this beast… pocket change.

I said it many times, if GM were serious about staying in business it would shut down ALL of its US based operations and come here to China.  For the first 6 months of the year China is on pace to over take the US in annual automobile sales for the first time in history.  That’s right the booming Chinese economy was softly landed and its emerging millions of middle class citizens are doing their patriotic part by spending more as lending practices here have eased over the past 4 months.  China increased its car sales in June 2009 by 36.5% over last year!  This also marked the 4th consecutive month of selling more then 1.1 million cars nation wide according to Market Watch.  That marks almost 6.1 million auto sales in the first half of the year in China, up 17.7% from last year.  The US was only able to muster 6.69 million auto sales by comparison.  China has its own Cash for Clunkers program as well as tax breaks and reduced fees to spur growth.  Our Cash for Clunkers program has run out of funding less then month after officially starting blowing through the $1 billion and requesting $3 billion more!  US auto sales are down 28% total, thanks to Toyota, Honda, and other Asian and European brands as the big 3 have shed a combined 27% over the bleak 2008 sales.  China has the largest potential market place that makes the entire population of the US look anemic.  Sure the vast majority of Chinese are poor farmers but with 49% of the population now urban and a middle class that is quickly catching up to their western counterparts in creature comforts it is just a matter of a short time before small and medium service sector businesses in China trickle down the upper and middle class wealth that China is now enjoying.  They have a booming stock market, skyrocketing property, and a generation that knows nothing of the poverty of 2 generations ago.  Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen hold close to 10% of America’s population and hold much of the countries wealth and middle class who are the consumers hungry to upgrade their lives.  Eventually wealth will move to the interior and as it does the roads and spending will increase creating an area for growth for many decades to come.  The continuing socialism in America has become appallingly obvious.  The government is now in complete control of over half of people’s ever day life decisions, don’t believe me, look at what has happened.  Our Cash for Clunkers program is aimed at destroying the cars turned in, taking them off the roads permanently.  Remember your first car?  Unless you were a ‘two comma kid’ your first car was a used clunker that was barely legal to be on the road.  Well, Obama wants those cars gone.  Yes there will still be used cars but nothing that is more then 10 years old and gets a certain mileage or no mileage.  The cars are not even scraped for parts, the parts HAVE to be destroyed making the parts for the cars not turned in more expensive and nearly impossible to find after a few years.  Here the government is dictating what you can own.  Here in China they dictate how many kids you can have, there is no real difference (and if you don’t think so, look into John Holdren who is Obama’s Science Czar and you will see he believes in and wants to institute a similar child policy and forces abortion policy in the USA like we have here in China).  Add the socialism to the economic downturn of America and China leaping past South Korea into #3 global economic power and quickly catching up to the anemic Japanese economy and you will see the largest transfer of wealth and prosperity in human history.  China already owns the majority of America’s future as they hold more US bonds then anyone else.  With soaring taxes, fees, costs, cost of living, and growing socialism measures that are intrusive, draconian, and Orwellian in nearly every way would global businesses want to stay in such a business unfriendly and toxic environment.  Sure China is no cake walk for business as the government has to have 50% control but taxes are lower, incentives higher, and labor pool is more educated or cheaper depending on the needs.  The company I work for listed in Ireland to get out of the toxic cess pool of American business, and that is a fortune 500 leading outsourcing firm generating tens of millions of dollars annually.  As I stated before, rats fleeing a sinking ship.

Science Items – The climate change debate will not go away.  First the EPA was found to have scuttled a memo questioning the science behind the theories the current policies are being written to entail.  Some in the EPA stated the author had an agenda and was not heading any credible science ventures but it does show how the current government is going to deal with dissent from the agenda message, quash and cover up, not the transparency and providing proof and evidence supporting their stance.  Next we saw the the American Geophysical Union’s ‘Journal of Geophysical Research’ publish a peer reviewed two year study showing that human activities have had little effect on global temperatures.  The radical left of course jumped on the study calling it flawed and baseless, typical as they can only say so and not PROVE otherwise.  From the Dakota Voice, “From the natural cyclic climate change data going back thousands of years, to solar activity, to global warming on other planets, to unreliable data, the case for natural warming and against Global Climate Change is overwhelming for anyone who isn’t religiously or ideologically invested in maintaining faith in this discredited theory."  Now we have seen findings that solar activity is playing a larger role in planetary temperature fulgurations.  The National Science Foundation and National Center for Atmospheric Research published a study in the Journal of Climate stated that the Sun’s 11 year solar cycle with the tropical Pacific Ocean phenomenon known as El Nino and La Nina.  If anyone cares to remember in the late 1990’s we had a series of solar flares that knocked out satellite communications a couple of times.  Well, it seems those same flares may have marked the end of the 11 year cycle because since then global temperatures have stabilized and even started to go down.  As I have stated many time, we humans can directly effect our local environments.  2/3 of our planet is water, leaving 1/3 surface of which less then 1/2 is habitable for humans.  So how is it activity on less then 1/6 of the planet is causing massive damage to the remaining 5/6?  I have always said we need to clean up our act, but dismantling our economy when no other nation is going to for the sake of following some crack pot scientific hypothesis is a little extreme.  The ozone is getting thicker, the temperatures are cooling, yes we are losing polar ice but there was little to no polar ice in the periods of time before humans and last ice age.  We need to better understand what is going on.  In Al Gore’s infamous movie we have already not seen the destruction and devastation predicted.  Is New Orleans, Miami, New York, San Diego, etc. under water?  Are we seeing more and more destructive hurricanes?  Were the effects of Katrina caused by global warming or the facts that A) New Orleans is build under sea level, B) The city is in a prime hurricane corridor, C) the marshes and wetlands that form a natural barrier for tidal surges has been removed by dredging, damming, and waterway development as well as draining marshes for land usage reasons, D) The Corp of Engineers never upgraded the levy system protecting the city to meet a category 5 hurricane, E) The city holds a caviler attitude towards hurricanes and did not have proper infrastructure or planning in place to deal with such a natural disaster?  Global warming is the radical left’s new god.  The all knowing, all seeing, everywhere at all times being that they created to ease their guilt over pollution through ceremonies of anti-technology and quality of life.  Sea levels are not flooding out coastal regions, the messing with the natural flows of rivers is because the deposits of silts and sands on which deltas and marshes are formed is being removed.  Temperatures go up when the sun fluctuates and its atmosphere erupts sending out massive bursts of radiation.  We do need to curb and eliminate some pollutants but we need to get to the real bottom of what is going on here.  Our science is too young and too inaccurate to explain what happened in the past or what will happen in the future.  We need more common sense approaches.

This brings me to Obama’s science czar, the previously mentioned John Holdren.  I feel it is time people learned just how radical he, and the rest of Obama’s czars are.  Holdren himself believes in the "de-development of the United States" in a book he co-authored in 1977 stating in the book, "A massive campaign must be launched to restore a high-quality environment in North America and to de-develop the United States." The book is titled Ecoscience: population, resources, environment.  This guy is not stupid, he is a MIT graduate, 20 year teacher at UC Berkley, and many many accolades and achievements yet he has stated he wants to extend legal standings to trees so they can sue timber companies.  In 1973 Holdren published a paper, solo this time, entitled Daedalus, The No-Growth Society pp 31-44 where he states "if the population control measures are not initiated immediately, and effectively, all the technology man can bring to bear will not fend off the misery to come." and follows this with "210 million now is too many and 280 million in 2040 is likely to be much too many”.  He then outlines a group of policies for population control in America including voluntary and involuntary measures including forced abortion and encouraging a purposeful decline in fertility.  How?  Good question.  Now this he did state he no longer held these views during the vetting process however he has shown to be a radical believer and purveyor of the extreme left views over his early career so why would he have toned down now?  So where is this healthcare bill coming from, you know the 1,100+ page bill that has been found to; mandate government audits Sec.113 p21-22, rationed healthcare Sec.122 p29, governmental control of care Sec.142 p30, government selection of care Sec. 142 p42, government real time access to bank accounts Sec. 163 pp58-59, ACORN will enlist people into the system Sec.205 p95, forced Medicaid with no choice Sec. 205 p102, government dictated pay scales for doctors Sec.225 p127, no care people have penalty of 2.5% income until they get covered Sec. 401.59B p167, cancer treatment rationing Sec. 1145 p272, government forced cancellations of Medicare Part B and HMO’s Sec. 1162 p341, rationed healthcare for elderly and mandatory end of life counseling at 55 Sec. 1233 p425, government controlled marriage and family therapy Sec. 1308 p489, government forced vaccinations Sec. 1711 p764, government forced nurse home visits to monitor and evaluate child health and welfare, increasing birthing intervals between pregnancies, abortion conciliation Sec.1713 p768, government forced out of pocket expenses due to income review Sec. 1801 pp819-823, government run clinics in all schools Sec. 2511 p992.  So the fingerprints of of some of Holdren’s past thoughts and his more radical philosophies have shown up in this healthcare bill as a coincidence?   In Washington DC there are few coincidences.  Between Holdren’s population controls, Cass Sunstein’s (regulation czar) belief that large companies and governments are better suited to make people’s decisions for them based on his book Nudge, Dawn Johnson’s (legal oversight czar) no restrictions on abortions, etc. you see how dangerous it is to pass such legislation without reading it first.  Please take a look at the legislation in the link provided in this article.  Holdren has shown to harbor extreme environmental and population control views.  Sustein has shown to harbor extreme animal and environment rights views.  These people are now in charge and answerable only to the president on all matters related to science and oversight on items related to science.  The radical flower children who grew up and went from placing peace symbols on their faces to getting law degrees to argue trees, animals, and such should have rights and can sue and that people are not responsible for the everyday decisions of their lives placing that burden on an intellectual elite who are better suited to run their lives, kind of like they are the ones playing the Sims with us being the Sims controlled.

Sports Items – Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox pitched a perfect game on July 23rd in US Cellular Field.  Buehrle achieved the 18th occurrence, and only the 16th in the modern era, of this feat joining the ranks of some of baseballs greatest names.  Pitching a perfect game means just that, shutting out the opponent to scoring no runs and allowing no hits over 9 innings, 27 batters denied a hit.  That does not mean he had to strike out all 27 batters, but his fielders had to catch each ball hit or throw out any batters who got a hit before they reached 1st base.  Buehrle threw 116 pitches and had 6 strikeouts, so he had to have help from his fielders on 21 hitters. The feat is his second no hitter, denying any runs scored, and makes him just the 24th pitcher to throw more then 1 no hitter in his career and just the 6th pitcher to throw both a no-hitter and a perfect game joining Hall of Fame pitchers in that feat.  Incidentally he pitched a perfect 3rd inning in the 2009 All Star Game, the one President Obama wore a White Sox jacket for when he threw out the first pitch (which fell well short).  Obama later joked in calling Buehrle to congratulate him stating his wearing the jacket brought him good luck (failing to state he wore it because his wife said he looked cute in it as he did to reporters and others after the All Star Game and forgot which ball park the Sox played at – hard to forget for a fan of the Sox).

The NFL has finished draft days and went into gearing up for pre-season.  The quarterback controversy that just won’t go away was back, Brett Farve.  He had achieved a good many records, cemented his Hall of Fame career and even got even with a GM by going to the Jets at the last minute.  His continued drama by going to Packer rivals Minnesota Vikings was just silly.  Another silly quarterback drama building is what to do with Michael Vick.  You remember the Atlanta Falcon superstar QB who got into HUGE trouble over dog fighting scandal and even got suspended and had to sit in jail for a few years.  Mr. Vick is not out of jail met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and this month receive a conditional reinstatement.  Is Vick good for the league?  Is any one player that important?  Just as the drama surround Farve was pretty much useless so is the drama over Vick.  Sure Farve improved the Jet’s season last year but football is a team sport and one position out of 11 is marginal in overall performance.  Vick is older, out of shape, and the baggage he is carrying around is too disruptive for any but the purist of football fans.  Vick will bring in the likes of PETA, banners, and animal rights nuts into the game where we have already turned professional football into a spectacle within itself instead of focusing on the X’s and O’s or as common people call it, the game.  The NFL has become too much of a business.  That is why high school and college football is becoming more popular by the football purists.  We are out of the era of superstars.  Those in the game now are at a plateau of physical and mental abilities.  The focus on the game is no longer the game but the revenue from the game.  That is a shame.  We are now reduced to the drama of ‘will he or won’t he’ play for this team or that team and not the game, who was selected, what new offensive or defensive strategy will work this year, etc. 

Political Items – Former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin has become larger then the woman, thanks to the main stream media.  Anyone who has seen a character assassination before knows that is what happened to her.  Forget everything the press has said, look at the facts.  Palin sat on the Wasilla city council from 1992 – 96, elected mayor from 1996 to 02, lost a lieutenant governor bid in 2002, chaired the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission from 2003 to 2004, and was elected as the 11th governor of Alaska in 2006.  She was the first woman and the youngest governor of the state.  She took 3rd place in the state beauty pageant during high school.  She has attended 5 colleges in 6 years and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Science for Communication (Journalism) in 1987 from the University of Idaho.  She has worked in TV, helped run her husband’s fishing company.  She is an active member of a local church that focuses on children’s studies, has 5 children, one with Downs syndrome, and has been able to separate the time spent between being a mom and politician.  From all accounts she should be a poster child for the modern liberated woman who can have it all; life, family, and a career.  So what went wrong?  Is it because she was listed as a Republican?  Was it because her fiscally responsible policies and measures turned the city of Wasilla around from a sleepy fishing village into a thriving city, all while keeping costs down and even taking a 10% pay cut to help save costs?  Maybe it was her standing up to a corrupted board, the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission over ethics violation by Republican members of the board she chaired?  Maybe it was her decision to not run for Senator at the wishes of her son who wanted her to be one of the ‘team mom’s’?  It could be because she ran on a reform platform and decimated her Democrat rival by 8 percentage points in a campaign where he outspent her campaign thanks to DNC leverage?  How about being one of the most popular governors in history with numerous positive approval rating poll numbers in 7 consecutive polls, her highest numbers were 93% approval and lowest 41% disapproval (only 2 of 10 polls have her disapproval above 35%)?  Quite possibly the ire from the left came from her opposition to the GOP when she endorsed Sean Parnell over seated GOP Rep Non Young, or her challenge to Sen Ted Stevens over his financial dealings?  No, what got the left riled up was her presence.  Palin was a threat.  She could do what most politicians can only dream about, she connected with everyday Americans.  The press had already anointed Obama the winner and his support among the intellectuals, college crowd, and idealists was so solid that any perceived threat had to be put down.  So while the Huffington Post, Washington Post, NY Times, LA Times, Daily Kos, Salon.com, etc. threw the bright spotlight of investigation on her and her past the left wing bloggers got payback over the Dan Rather G.W. Bush Air Force memo.  The hits kept on rolling while a Democrat who’s only achievement in legislation included the passing of a third trimester abortion law in Illinois and the most present votes in US Senate history.  Palin has the one thing the left hates, personality.  The GOP are supposed to be old ugly white men who are easily tied to the rich and evil business types we all hate.  Here was a woman who stood in contrast to all the left’s views of modern liberated feminism, a former beauty contestant, a college graduate, a mother, a concerned citizen, a politician, and a conservative on top of it all.  She looks good, she sounds good, she comes off well.  For this reason the press and the bloggers had to assassinate her again and again and again and again and again.  If she had done something deserving of this treatment, like say Al Sharpton, Jessie Jackson, Bill Clinton, Ted Kennedy, etc. then I would have no issue.  She did not break any laws, despite numerous probes, inquiries, investigations, etc. she did not kill anyone, she did not break public trust or be involved in corruption.  So it seems she was a real threat to Obama and the left.  Well, she was a distraction, an item to keep the spotlight off of themselves and the issues of the day.  This is why the keep beating the dead horse, it still draws a crowd.  So take notice when a feeding frenzy is going on.  Look at Joe Biden, has he shown himself to be smart, experienced, or capable of leading the nation, laughably no, he is worse on his best day then Palin on her worst month worth of days.  This is why I can not be a Democrat.

The shine is off!  Remember that brand new, out of the box, what ever and how new, shiny, and fresh it looked.  Well, that was Obama in January and just a scant 7 months later we have seen the shine come off.  Approval ratings started slipping after the bad legislation began getting rammed through congress, the government started taking over private sectors with no apologies, and ‘shovel ready’ jobs never materialized.  It seems the state of the economy will make or break his presidency.  Obama’s current numbers are at the exact same level as Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and G.W. Bush at the same points of their presidencies.  He now has a negative job approval rating, meaning more people disapprove of his job performance then approve of it.  He is still liked and people still want to give him a chance according to the polling experts however his ability to deliver, lead, and change the nation are showing a growing dissent among those who voted him into office.  Gone are the free passes he and his administration had for the first 4 months of his office.  The criticisms over the number of czars, the continuous tax cheats, the massive failures to deliver on campaign promises of change and transparency, the hiring of lobbyists, the taking over of banking, insurance, auto, and housing industries, and the list goes on and on now.  His policies are now getting hammered for being Orwellian and the socialists label is sticking.  The more exposure and scrutiny his agenda gets now the more people don’t like it.  Unfortunately the damage was done.  It is too late.  Cap and Trade will pass.  He has a spending deficit in his first 6 months larger then the last 4 years of G.W. Bush.  He has a federal budget larger then all previous presidents combined.  He has scored victories in Card Check, Stimulus, Car reform (Cash for Clunkers), and seemingly healthcare.  His lies and doublespeak have worked their magic long enough for Operation Ram Rod to pass the largest transfer of wealth and tax increases in the nation’s history at a time of our second most dire financial crisis.  His tax cheating cabinet has mismanaged and lost control of the largest spending bill in human history with most of the stimulus monies not going to be realized for 2 more years.  Unemployment has nearly broken 10% and the Chinese now own majority share in America’s future with a legislative policy in place to tax and fee the money generating engine of the country forcing it to a crawl.  He ripped out the V-8 we were using and placed in a 3 cylinder!  He finally admitted he will raise taxes on the middle class and the 1,100 page healthcare bill now spells out the future of the country, socialized medicine dictated at every level by government is a fashion that would make the architects of the Cultural Revolution jealous.  Obama has 3 long years left to pass his final 2 measures, education reform and land use reform.  He will institute a better indoctrination program in our public schools and make private schools nearly extinct, including home schooling.  He will tax us more to provide free college to all except for tax payer’s kids.  He will restrict land ownership, transfer, and usage to drive the lion’s share of the population into cities so they are easier to control and put on the government books.  He is going to show us all the way to nirvana, a socialists dream utopia where the intellectual elite make all your decisions for you and all you have to do is provide them with your time and efforts.  He has 1 year to go before the mid term elections and I doubt those will net enough to matter.  He has ensured, through his czars and cabinet, to make his policies permanent and un-reversible.  Thanks for coming out, it was a nice country while we had it…