Democrats pull all stops to pass Senate health care bill

Senior Dem: Kill the Senate health reform bill and start over - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

Democracy? Representative government? Apparently things of the past. The ruling Democrat party will take power of the medical industry in any way it can, despite strong public opposition.

How many U.S. citizens think their senators and congressmen are representing their wishes in this matter?

Abortion rights group endorses Quinn, Schillerstrom

Abortion rights group endorses Quinn, Schillerstrom -Chicago Tribune

...On the Republican side, Schillerstrom, the DuPage County Board chairman, is the lone abortion-rights supporter in the Feb. 2 primary contest for governor. Cosgrove said the group sent questionnaires to all of the governor candidates, but Schillerstrom was the lone Republican to return his and seek the endorsement.

"We’re comfortable with his positions on the issues," Cosgrove said of Schillerstrom.

In a statement today, Schillerstrom’s campaign said Personal PAC’s support "distinguishes him as the only moderate Republican running for governor and positions him as a centrist with the best chance of winning the general election."

Anyone who supports the "right" to legally kill unborn children is not "moderate", and is not fit for public office.

Caritas Internationalis clamors for climate control?

Caritas charges Japan, Russia attempting to subvert climate talks -Catholic Culture

Caritas Internationalis-- the consortium of Catholic relief agencies-- has charged that Japan, Russia, and other wealthy nations are attempting to subvert climate negotiations in Copenhagen by sidelining the controversial Kyoto Protocol. Referring to poorer nations' "fear that rich countries are trying to kill the strongest legal climate agreement we have," an Irish Caritas representative said, "As heads of state come to Copenhagen in this second week, it's up to rich countries to get the talks back on track by re-committing to the Kyoto Protocol."

"Abandoning the Kyoto Protocol would be a step back for all countries, but especially for the world’s poorest. For them the negotiations are a matter of survival," added a Caritas representative from Scotland. "Vulnerable communities across the world need a fair, ambitious and binding climate agreement, of which the Kyoto Protocol is an essential element."

Caritas is pushing for the Kyoto Protocol? How will the world's poor be better off if the world's largest wealth-producing economies are strangled to death? Who, then, will provide the goods, services, and consumer markets that developing nations need in order to develop and prosper?

The worst scientific scandal of our generation?

Climate change: this is the worst scientific scandal of our generation - Telegraph

...Perhaps the most obvious [revelation]... is the highly disturbing series of emails which show how Dr Jones and his colleagues have for years been discussing the devious tactics whereby they could avoid releasing their data to outsiders under freedom of information laws...

The second and most shocking revelation of the leaked documents is how they show the scientists trying to manipulate data through their tortuous computer programmes, always to point in only the one desired direction - to lower past temperatures and to "adjust" recent temperatures upwards...

The third shocking revelation of these documents is the ruthless way in which these academics have been determined to silence any expert questioning of the findings they have arrived at by such dubious methods...

...Our hopelessly compromised scientific establishment cannot be allowed to get away with a whitewash of what has become the greatest scientific scandal of our age.

Whoops! It looks like the Warmers have been caught with their temperatures down. See who's feeling warm now.

But the Warmers are still after the greenbacks, so they won't easily be dissuaded from yoking the world to their Gospel of Warmth. To save the world, we and our children's children will have to give, give, give until it hurts.

Illinois bureaucrats above the law

Abortion foes upset over delay in parental notice law - Chicago Breaking News

What authority does the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation have to "delay the enforcement" of a law that has been upheld in federal court?

This law has been on the books for 14 years. Hasn't it been delayed enough?

Americans Are Like ‘Teenage Kids’

Steven Chu: Americans Are Like ‘Teenage Kids’ When It Comes to Energy - Environmental Capital - WSJ

When it comes to greenhouse-gas emissions, Energy Secretary Steven Chu sees Americans as unruly teenagers and the Administration as the parent that will have to teach them a few lessons. Speaking on the sidelines of a smart grid conference in Washington, Dr. Chu said he didn’t think average folks had the know-how or will to to change their behavior enough to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

"The American public... just like your teenage kids, aren’t acting in a way that they should act," Dr. Chu said. "The American public has to really understand in their core how important this issue is."

The administration aims to teach them -literally. The Environmental Protection Agency is focusing on real children. Partnering with the Parent Teacher Organization, the agency earlier this month launched a cross-country tour of 6,000 schools to teach students about climate change and energy efficiency.

An update: Energy Department spokesman Dan Leistikow added: "Secretary Chu was not comparing the public to teenagers. He was saying that we need to educate teenagers about ways to save energy. He also recognized the need to educate the broader public about how important clean energy industries are to our competitive position in the global economy. He believes public officials do have an obligation to make their case to the American people on major legislation, and that’s what he’s doing."

-Wall Street Journal, 2009.09.21

Dr. Chu's words are plain enough, despite the subsequent clarification, which unconvincingly attempts to explain away Dr. Chu's condescension.

President Obama's opponents are violent racists?

Carter again cites racism as factor in Obama's treatment - CNN.com

"'I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he's African-American,' Carter told 'NBC Nightly News.'"

Does this mean that everyone who has expressed any strong disapproval of the President Obama's policies and actions is motivated by racism?

The CNN article states that Bill Cosby agrees with Jimmy Carter, so it must be true. And Nancy Pelosi warned us yesterday that the president's opponents are inciting violence.

Is there a coordinated effort to silence and discredit the president's political opponents by smearing them as violent racists?

Offended by Life, Death strikes a blow

Michigan Gunman Was Offended by Victim’s Pro-life Message -EWTN.com

A clash of world views:

1) A man peacefully holds a pro-life sign, advocating the right of each person to be permitted to live.

2) Another man, "offended" by the sign, shoots him dead, advocating a "right" to kill someone who offends or inconveniences him.

Fallen Czar: Van Jones blames "vicious smear campaign"

Controversy over fiery remarks fells Obama adviser -Lake County Record-Bee

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama's environmental adviser Van Jones, who became embroiled in a controversy over past inflammatory statements, has resigned his White House job after what he calls a "vicious smear campaign against me."

Last week word got around that "Green Jobs Czar" Van Jones publicly described Republicans as "a**holes". Many people thought that this was a bit over the top for an official appointed by the president -even for the Obama administration. This, on top of increased awareness of Van Jones' past statements and activities, created enough heat to raise the temperature in the White House.

Many citizens, now awakening from their political passivity because of the threat of a federal deconstruction of the world's greatest health care system, voiced loud disapproval of Van Jones' unseemly outburst, and the White House responded by quietly announcing Van Jones' "resignation" this morning, on the Sunday of a three-day weekend.

Jones, of course, has his own view. It wasn't his own derogatory name-calling that cost him his job. His speedy de-czarification is a result of "vicious smear campaign against me." Obviously those who objected to his performance must be "a**holes".

Charles Rangel, D-NY, pays members investigating his ethics

Rangel-ing: Charlie Pays 'Angels' In Ethics Probe - wcbstv.com: "Harlem Congressman Gave Campaign Contributions To 3 Dems On Ethics Committee Charged With Investigating Him"

CBS 2 HD has discovered that since ethics probes began last year the 79-year-old congressman has given campaign donations to 119 members of Congress, including three of the five Democrats on the House Ethics Committee who are charged with investigating him.

Charlie's "angels" on the committee include Congressmen Ben Chandler of Kentucky, G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina and Peter Welch of Vermont. All have received donations from Rangel.

Only Welch sees something wrong with being financial beholden to Charlie.

"In an abundance of caution, he has returned all campaign contributions from Mr. Rangel," said spokesman Bob Rogan, Welch's Chief of Staff.

It amounted to nearly 20 grand...

Your government speaks: Republicans are "a**holes"

RealClearPolitics - Video - Obama's Green Jobs Czar Van Jones: Republicans Are "A**holes"



Question from audience: "How are the Republicans able to push things through, when they had less than sixty senators, but somehow we can't?"

Answer from Green Jobs Czar Van Jones: "Well, the answer to that is, they're a$$holes."

-From a lecture Van Jones gave at the 2nd Annual Berkeley Energy & Resources Collaborative (BERC) event, February 11, 2009, Berkeley, CA.

Why do I oppose the current Obama health care plan?

A few thoughts...

The "reforms" being pressed by the president and ruling party are very unpopular with the public... so much so that thousands of citizens who have never before been involved in political demonstrations are seeking out their congressmen to express their concerns, indignation, and anger. It's amazing to see the reaction of the public.

The democrats' plan is increasingly unpopular not because the plan is being widely misrepresented, but because people are increasingly realizing what the current proposals would bring. The plan is getting more public scrutiny than Congress and the president want, and the better people understand the plan the more they oppose it.

Public anger is increasing also because people who raise concerns or objections to the democrats' plan find they frequently are dismissed by elected officials and the media as misinformed freaks, lobbyists, or even racists. But the town hall videos I've seen recently show meetings attended mostly by intelligent, passionate, middle-aged and older citizens expressing their own concerns, not pawns operated by mustache-twirling lobbyists intent on putting down the poor.

Why are people so agitated about the "reforms"? Several big reasons:

• The democrats would like to provide health care coverage as a "right" to an additional 47 million individuals, and claim they will do so without increasing public debt. Does anyone believe this isn't a lie?
  
• Where are all the new doctors who will care for those 47 million individuals? Congress can't manufacture them.
  
• Many believe that under the proposed plan, their access to medical care and the quality of that care will decrease: millions more recipients will stretch thin the existing pool of medical providers.
  
• The so-called "public option" is hardly an "option". It would be the ONLY option permitted to people who don't already have coverage. They would be legally barred from buying private coverage.
  
• Who really believes that the government plan will not ultimately destroy the existing private providers, resulting in total government domination of health care? People increasingly view our federal government as insatiable in its appetite to nationalize one industry after another, and the medical industry is currently in the crosshairs.
  
• Does anyone really believe that the government can do a better job of providing health care than the private sector? In which countries has this been the case? Cuba? England? Canada?
  
• Many people do not believe it is just or fair to grant comprehensive medical benefits to illegal aliens -many of whom pay no taxes- and expect taxpaying citizens to pay the cost, especially when so many citizens are already struggling to provide for their own families.
  
• The American medical industry is the greatest in the world, despite its flaws. Who thinks that a government takeover really will improve it?
  
• Many people -myself included- deeply mistrust the federal government's ability to administer medical benefits fairly without violating the basic human rights of the unborn, the disabled, and the elderly. The danger is that government will have a strong financial motivation to make medical decisions not to benefit individuals, but according to some other criteria.
  
• And why have the president and Congress been pressing for such rapid passage of such a monumental bill? If it's so important to get it right, why did they press so hard to pass it before the August recess, even before many members had had a chance to read it?
  

These are a few of the big concerns I have about the democrats' plan for the federal government to take over the health care industry, and they are reasons why I oppose the current plan. I'm persuaded that there are some things government should do to improve the health care system, but a massive take-over, a government-run "public option" would badly damage our system of health care which is second to none in the world.

Cash for Clunkers: spreading debt and chaos the socialist way

Cash for Clunkers Ends Monday

The Cash for Clunkers program... let us count its many wonderful benefits:

• All taxpayers are compelled to shoulder the cost of subsidizing the purchase of new cars for a few taxpayers. That's called, "spreading the wealth", and our president likes to do that.
  
• The "clunkers" are cars that were being used; they were working. They had some value. But now they will be destroyed, discarded not because they are worthless, but because the law requires it. Destroying private property and replacing it with federally funded property: our president likes that too.
  
• Car dealers benefit from this program -at least if they actually ever receive the promised rebates. Yet, other businesses and industries do not enjoy these benefits. Mr. President, how is it fair to use tax money to selectively benefit only certain sectors of the market?
  
• We are supposed to believe that the program benefits the environment and will save energy. Yet will energy actually be saved? How much energy was used to manufacture the new cars that will be sold to people who otherwise were not prepared to purchase a new car? How much energy is wasted in the premature destruction of the functioning "clunkers".
  
• Many citizens using this program perhaps would not have purchased a car at this time had the program not been in place. Why? Because for many, buying a new car is a big expense, and they had not judged it wise to make such a purchase at the time. Does a $3500 or $4500 reduction in the upfront cost of the car mean that it's no longer expensive to buy that new car? Of course not. So, many buyers will have been wooed by the program to make an expensive purchase at a time when things financially are pretty tough for many people.
  

Like many government programs, Cash for Clunkers does benefit a few... but at a high cost born by the many. The program produces not a net benefit, but a net loss. The total costs to individuals and businesses outweighs the total benefits.

And this is the curse of most every government program which meddles with the economy in order to "improve" it.

White House disables e-tip box

White House disables e-tip box - POLITICO.com

"Following a furor over how the data would be used, the White House has shut down an electronic tip box - flag@whitehouse.gov - that was set up to receive information on "fishy" claims about President Barack Obama’s health plan."

Apparently the White House received more than a small outcry of opposition to its "tip box".

Congress treads upon a dangerous serpent

Column: 'Un-American' attacks can't derail health care debate - Opinion - USATODAY.com

"...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."

-Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer

Speaker Pelosi, here are some facts that You seem not to want to acknowledge:

The American people don't trust You, and they don't trust the plan for nationalized health care that Congress is hellbent on ramming down their throats.

Increasingly, Americans are horrified by the federal government's insatiable hunger to dominate the health care industry and other private sector industries. We're appalled that our government has become so insatiable, so overreaching, and so reckless in piling unsustainable debt upon future generations. And now it seems to be shedding any pretense that its members are required to listen to their constituents and represent their concerns. Rather, we are lectured about the predefined goals that Congress "must reach", "despite the disruptions" of a majority of citizens who strongly oppose the plans.

President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and all members of Congress, should take heed. Their actions are causing cries of alarm to sound throughout the nation: the alarm of citizens who see that their government is increasingly out of control, increasingly deaf to their voices, increasingly menacing to the future prosperity and security of the United States. The rising voices have an edge of defiance and patriotic anger that only fools will attempt to dismiss as "manufactured" and "organized". Common cause has organized this uprising, and a domineering government has started the machine which is manufacturing the newly minted resistance.

Continue to tread on us, and we will strike back. We will sweep You from office, we will find new public servants who will share our ideals and represent our concerns. We will find a way to restore democracy and rid government of those bad apples who view public office solely as a path to power and profit.

Press on, Congress, show Yourselves... and discover what mettle still stiffens the spine of the American people.

When government turns ugly

Peggy Noonan: ‘You Are Terrifying Us’ - WSJ.com

To: flag@whitehouse.gov

President Obama,

I call on You to disavow and shut down the flag@whitehouse.gov program, which is so clearly intended to intimidate and stifle voices critical of Your administration.

Until You shut down this program, and for as long as pursue Your nationalized health care plan and other programs harmful to this country, You can expect energetic opposition and loud criticism from me and many others who will not be cowed into silence.

Until then, You can add my name to the Dissidents List.

Sincerely,
John Robin
(address and phone number provided)

Is the White House building an "Enemies List"?

GOP Senator: White House Encroaching on First Amendment - The Note

Yesterday, White House director of new media Macon Phillips wrote a blog posting urging readers to flag questionable claims about health care proposals.

"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."
-ABC News

To: The White House, flag@whitehouse.gov

Subject: Is the White House assembling an "ENEMIES LIST"?

Re: http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/08/gop-senator-white-house-encroaching-on-first-amendment.html

I call upon President Obama to shut down this surveillance program in which citizens are asked to report directly to the White House (flag@whitehouse.gov) when they encounter private communication critical of the president's proposals and policies. Such a program, if it does not directly abridge the right to free expression, at least undermines and threatens this right, because it raises a legitimate concern that one's exercise of free speech, rightly or wrongly interpreted, may result in being counted a member of a government "enemies list", a target for harassment and retaliation.

Even if there is no intention to assemble such a list, the program reasonably can be perceived as a heavy-handed effort to stifle political opposition and intimidate those critical of the government. Is this really the image that President Obama wants to cultivate?

The president should shut down this citizen surveillance program immediately.

Sincerely,
John F. Robin
(address and phone number provided)

Compact Fluorescent Lamps -what are the real costs?

Jack, thanks for Your informative article, Compact Fluorescent Lamp.

Here’s a CFL concern I’ve been thinking about but really haven’t seen addressed elsewhere…

When I flip a wall switch at home to turn on one or more CFLs, I often hear a pretty large arc in the switch: “snap!”. It’s not just one switch, this happens on different circuits. I suspect that CFLs perhaps have a rather high inrush current, and this may cause accelerated wear of switch contacts. Time will tell whether a few years down the road people will begin to discover that light switches are failing prematurely and need to be replaced. Bad switch contacts can pose a fire hazard, but many people may never recognize such a problem or its risk. Among those who do, many may never decide to seek repairs.

CFLs offer attractive savings in energy use to the consumer, but I don’t see that the disadvantages of CFLs are being addressed seriously in the public square.

It would be good to see more evaluation and discussion of these CFL concerns:

• How much health risk does accidental CFL breakage pose to consumers?
  
• At a national and global level how much mercury is projected to be released into the environment through CFL disposal? How might we manage CFL disposal to minimize this environmental damage?
  
• What is the risk of fire and smoke damage due to failure and abnormal overheating of CFLs?
  
• How does the rate of catastrophic failure compare between CFLs and incandescent bulbs?
  
• How do CFLs impact the reliability of electrical switches?
  
• How can CLF manufacturers and users address the unpleasant color rendering of many CFLs in home environments?
  
• Do CFLs pose a risk of UV damage to fabrics, home, and office furnishings?
  
• How do all these risks impact the long term economic, environmental, and health costs of CFLs?
  
• How will widespread adoption of CFLs impact power generation and distribution (-an issue raised in Your report)?
  

Thanks again for Your report, which is a helpful contribution to this discussion.

Big blobs of mystery goo floating off Alaska coast

Big blobs of mystery goo floating off Alaska coast - McClatchy

Something big and strange is floating through the Chukchi Sea between Wainwright and Barrow.

Hunters from Wainwright first started noticing the stuff sometime probably early last week. It's thick and dark and "gooey" and is drifting for miles in the cold Arctic waters, according to Gordon Brower with the North Slope Borough's Planning and Community Services Department.

I think I know what it is. The scientific term is "mucosa terrestrium", but it's basically the chewy nougat leaking from the outer mantle of the earth through a bad gasket, and floating to the surface of the crust. This happens only every few hundred million years or so, but when it does it's a bit of a problem. The leak will worsen until the gasket is replaced, and if it's neglected too long then it will eventually cover most of the earth's marine surface. The last time this happened the dinosaurs couldn't agree on how to finance the repairs, and their inaction cost them their lives.

A project of this size can be tackled only by the federal government. Nancy Pelosi, please queue this up as justification for a second or third stimulus package.

Independence Day: why do we celebrate?

U.S. independence from England came at a high price, as did uniting the colonies into one nation. The HBO mini-series "John Adams", based on David McCullough's biography, is a fascinating insight into the life and times of one of the key founding fathers.

We live in momentous times. It's important to be clear about what's important, and what was important to those who devoted their lives to founding our nation.

McCullough's book is excellent. So is the HBO mini-series.

John Adams mini-series