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Friday, July 31
War On Health Care Lies Ahead
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Fri 31 Jul 2009 07:10 PM EDT
I am gratified that an awakened public has sent Congress an unequivocal message not to socialize our health care system, but note that this war is just beginning. Gen. Barack Obama is not the slightest bit deterred by the public's negative reaction, because he knows more than they do about what's best for them. More>>>
Health Reform and Cancer
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Fri 31 Jul 2009 12:17 PM EDT
The danger is that ObamaCare will stifle medical innovations that could save patients like me. More>>>
Town halls gone wild
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Fri 31 Jul 2009 11:34 AM EDT
The targets in most cases are House Democrats, who over the past few months have tackled controversial legislation including a $787 billion economic stimulus package, a landmark energy proposal and an overhaul of the nation’s health care system. Democrats, acknowledging the increasing unruliness of the town-hall-style events, say the hot-button issues they are taking on have a lot to do with it. “I think it’s just the fact that we are dealing with some of the most important public policy issues in a generation,” said Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), who was confronted by a protester angry about his position on health care reform at a town hall event several weeks ago (Dealing with these issues is the problem? No, sir, that's not the problem and you know it. American's are finally waking up to the big, steaming and stinking pile of socialism that the Democrats' health care bill represents and they're speaking out against it. Ignore them at your own political peril. - Roland) More>>>
Bad Employer Bailout? Reform Could Fund Health Care for Illegal Workers
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Fri 31 Jul 2009 09:27 AM EDT
Under health care legislation on Capitol Hill, undocumented workers would technically not be covered. But the reality, immigration analysts say, is that the legislation is missing any mechanism to keep them out of the system. And if they exploit that loophole, taxpayers could be on the hook for billions to cover health care costs that employers don't! More>>>
An opportunity lost for a "teachable moment"
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Fri 31 Jul 2009 12:12 AM EDT
In reality, only Whalen, the woman who called 911 on July 16 to report a possible break-in at the Cambridge, Mass., home of Gates, acted responsibly from beginning to end in this whole affair. And she doesn’t even get a free drink out of it. Instead, she has been reviled. She has been scorned. She was pilloried in the mainstream media and abused in the blogosphere. “Whites like Lucia have bigotry programmed into them,” one Cambridge blogger wrote. “Her description of the two black males is just so, so bigoted. Not only that, it could have led to people getting shot unnecessarily.” Facts? Truth? We don’t need no stinkin’ facts! And the truth is too slow! In this age of instant communication, we must publish conclusions first — no matter how hurtful or how dangerous — and then let the truth catch up. More>>> Thursday, July 30
1,200 R.I. businesses face closure over sales tax
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Thu 30 Jul 2009 10:04 PM EDT
“I understand the state needs money, but to put pressure on the small guy or the moderate guy that’s struggling, it’s not going to do any good,” said Mike Suriani, who owns an electrical supply company in South Providence. In Suriani’s case, it may have been a bookkeeping error that landed him in the three-hour line. Suriani says he paid his taxes in full — albeit a little late –– and had copies of the cancelled checks from the state showing he had indeed turned over the sales taxes he collected. But that didn’t keep taxation officials from appearing at his door Tuesday demanding that he close up shop. “Yes, the rules state that we have a responsibility to pay our bills every quarter. But when your customers come in and they don’t pay you for a month, and then another month, and another month, businesses have no choice [in] the eyes of the state but to close up and get out,” Suriani said. More>>>
Revenge of the ‘Shoe Bomber’
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Thu 30 Jul 2009 09:40 PM EDT
Last May at the National Archives, President Barack Obama warned that “more mistakes would occur” if Congress continued to politicize terrorist detention policy and the closure of Guantanamo Bay. “[I]f we refuse to deal with those issues today,” he predicted, “then I guarantee you, they will be an albatross around our efforts to combat terrorism in the future.” On June 17, at the Administrative Maximum (ADX) penitentiary in Florence, Colo., one of those albatrosses, inmate number 24079-038, began his day with a whole new range of possibilities. Eight days earlier, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Denver filed notice in federal court that the Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) which applied to that prisoner—Richard C. Reid, a.k.a. the “Shoe Bomber”—were being allowed to expire. SAMs are security directives, renewable yearly, issued by the attorney general when “there is a substantial risk that a prisoner’s communications, correspondence or contacts with persons could result in death or serious bodily injury” to others. Reid was arrested in 2001 for attempting to blow up American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami with 197 passengers and crew on board. Why had Attorney General Eric Holder decided not to renew his security measures, kept in place since 2002? More>>>
More Hopey McChange: Older, white men more adversely affected by this recession
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Thu 30 Jul 2009 08:32 PM EDT
Jobless rates for men and women older than 55 are at their highest level since the Great Depression, government data show. White men over 55 had a record 6.5% unemployment rate in the second quarter, far above the previous post-Depression high of 5.4% in 1983. The jobless rate for older black men was higher — 10.5% — but more than a percentage point below its 1983 peak. The most remarkable change is in the unemployment rate for black women: 12.2%, far below the historic peak of 20% in 1983. Hispanic unemployment is about 6 percentage points below historic highs, too. In other words, this recession has shrunk the racial gap in unemployment, largely because white men are doing so much worse than usual. (H/t: Tom) More>>>
IBD: Relentless Cuts Net 0.0025% In Savings
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Thu 30 Jul 2009 08:26 PM EDT
The administration has fulfilled a promise to cut spending by trimming $100 million from the 2009 budget. That's right — $100 million with an "m," an imponderably small slice of this year's expenditures. More>>>
RedState: The Four Democrat Blue Dogs Who Sold Out America
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Thu 30 Jul 2009 07:20 PM EDT
Judas only needed 30 pieces of silver to sell out Christ. How much did these four need to sell out their country? More>>>
How About A National Conversation on Race Hoaxes?
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Thu 30 Jul 2009 06:05 PM EDT
As everyone who's read the police report knows, Gates is described as going on an extended tirade against the officer, calling him a racist, saying the officer didn't know who he was messing with, acting irrationally, following the officer outside to continue haranguing him, and engaging in "tumultuous behavior" in and outside his house, drawing a small crowd of alarmed onlookers and police. Suppose a cop didn't arrest a guy who was ranting and raving -- in his own home -- and, an hour later, the hothead assaults someone. Policeman: I was as surprised as anyone that he shot his girlfriend! Every liberal in the country would demand the cop's head. And by the way, try screaming at a judge that he's a racist and see what happens. More>>>
Michelle Malkin more than a match for Today's Lauer
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Thu 30 Jul 2009 05:42 PM EDT
(Give 'em hell, Michelle! Yep, no doubt about it. I love this woman! - Roland)
Britain and US prepared to open talks with the Taliban
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Thu 30 Jul 2009 04:10 AM EDT
Senior ministers and commanders on the ground believe they have created the right conditions to open up a dialogue with "second-tier" local leaders now the Taliban have been forced back in a swath of Helmand province. They are hoping that Britain's continuing military presence in Helmand, strengthened by the arrival of thousands of US troops, will encourage Taliban commanders to end the insurgency. More>>> Wednesday, July 29
Global warming is the new religion of First World urban elites
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Wed 29 Jul 2009 06:35 PM EDT
Ian Plimer has outraged the ayatollahs of purist environmentalism, the Torquemadas of the doctrine of global warming, and he seems to relish the damnation they heap on him. Plimer is a geologist, professor of mining geology at Adelaide University, and he may well be Australia's best-known and most notorious academic. Plimer, you see, is an unremitting critic of "anthropogenic global warming" -- man-made climate change to you and me -- and the current environmental orthodoxy that if we change our polluting ways, global warming can be reversed. More>>>
Surviving the 'End of Civilization'
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Wed 29 Jul 2009 01:49 AM EDT
In his 2008 bestseller, "Wealth, War and Wisdom," hedge fund manager Barton Biggs warns that investors must "assume the possibility of a breakdown of the civilized infrastructure."
And to prepare for a breakdown of civilization, "your safe haven must be self-sufficient and capable of growing some kind of food ... It should be well-stocked with seed, fertilizer, canned food, wine, medicine, clothes, etc." Bloomberg Markets suggested that by "etc." he meant guns, as Biggs added "a few rounds over the approaching brigands' heads would probably be a compelling persuader that there are easier farms to pillage." That warning's not from a hippie radical. Biggs was a respected Wall Street guru at Morgan Stanley for 30 years. As the chief global strategist Institutional Investor magazine put him on its "All-America Research Team" 10 times. Smart Money said: "Biggs is without question the premier prognosticator on the international scene and a mover of markets from Argentina to Hong Kong." More>>>
New U.N. Treaty Targets the Disabled Unborn
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Wed 29 Jul 2009 01:45 AM EDT
President Barack Obama's much-anticipated pro-United Nations treaty campaign has been launched with a White House ceremony declaring support for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. But despite the title and language of the treaty, including the affirmation of a "right to life," it is doubtful whether the treaty would protect the rights of unborn children with disabilities, such as those with Down syndrome. Through its affirmation of "sexual and reproductive health"-a phrase that clearly means access to abortion and abortion rights-the treaty also supports abortion, even though it has been estimated that over 90 percent of pregnancies in the United States with a diagnosis of Down syndrome are terminated through abortion. This controversial aspect of the seemingly non-controversial treaty has been completely ignored in the many stories hailing Obama's endorsement of the "legally binding" measure. However, it explains why a pro-abortion administration would support such a measure. This treaty, for the first time in history, establishes an international right to abortion. More>>> Tuesday, July 28
No Help for the Blue Dogs: Another false ObamaCare ‘saving’ is exposed
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Tue 28 Jul 2009 03:40 PM EDT
When Blue Dog Democrats revolted over the cost of ObamaCare 10 days ago, the White House quickly came up with a plan to give them political cover: a government board that would tell Congress how to restrain costs. Well, so much for that, as the Congressional Budget Office has now exposed this idea as another false economy. But it’s worth understanding the reason because it also exposes the core problem with government-run health care. More>>>
10 Questions for Supporters of 'ObamaCare'
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Tue 28 Jul 2009 03:28 PM EDT
President Barack Obama repeatedly tells us that one reason national health care is needed is that we can no longer afford to pay for Medicare and Medicaid. But if Medicare and Medicaid are fiscally insolvent and gradually bankrupting our society, why is a government takeover of medical care for the rest of society a good idea?...But what is the moral justification of having the state decide what medical care to ration? More>>>
In reading 1000-page bills, Obama reveals his hypocrisy
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Tue 28 Jul 2009 03:16 PM EDT
Shocking Hypocrisy Audio found Obama didnt like it when Bush Rushed Through Legislation. A heretofore "unknown" 2004 interview with Barack Obama by leftwing radio host Randi Rhodes has just emerged. More>>> Monday, July 27
AP IMPACT: Dodd, Conrad told deals were sweetened
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Mon 27 Jul 2009 07:28 PM EDT
Despite their denials, influential Democratic Sens. Kent Conrad and Chris Dodd were told from the start they were getting VIP mortgage discounts from one of the nation's largest lenders, the official who handled their loans has told Congress in secret testimony. Both senators have said that at the time the mortgages were being written they didn't know they were getting unique deals from Countrywide Financial Corp., the company that went on to lose billions of dollars on home loans to credit-strapped borrowers. Dodd still maintains he got no preferential treatment. Dodd got two Countrywide mortgages in 2003, refinancing his home in Connecticut and another residence in Washington. Conrad's two Countrywide mortgages in 2004 were for a beach house in Delaware and an eight-unit apartment building in Bismarck in his home state of North Dakota. Robert Feinberg, who worked in the Countrywide's VIP section, told congressional investigators last month that the two senators were made aware that "who you know is basically how you're coming in here." More>>>
Nancy Pelosi on being unpopular: 'I don't care'
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Mon 27 Jul 2009 07:25 PM EDT
From Politico: “I don’t know about ‘trust’ — I think I’m trusted,” she said. “I certainly want to be trusted. I’m not particularly concerned if I’m liked.” But month after month of polling shows that the speaker is neither trusted nor liked by the general public — even as she emerges from one of the most productive legislative periods any speaker has ever enjoyed. By contrast, Newt Gingrich’s popularity tanked only after his conservative revolution sputtered and he had helped shut down the federal government. More>>>
“We are trying to save this bill and trying to save this party.”
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Mon 27 Jul 2009 04:14 AM EDT
House healthcare negotiations dissolved in acrimony on Friday, with Blue Dog Democrats saying they were “lied” to by their Democratic leaders.
“I’ve been lied to,” Blue Dog Coalition Co-Chairman Charlie Melancon (D-La.) said on Friday. “We have not had legitimate negotiations. “Mr. Waxman has decided to sever discussions with the Blue Dogs who are trying to make this bill work for America,” Melancon said. More>>>
Verum Serum: Elmendorf (of the CBO) Crushes White House Hopes Again (Update)
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Mon 27 Jul 2009 02:57 AM EDT
The White House just keeps bumping up against a little thing I like to call reality. [HT: Hot Air] Update: Ed at Hot Air has a new post in which he notes that Orszag appears to be attacking the CBO directly now, saying the following on Friday: White House Budget Director Peter Orszag said the CBO’s analysis — which it relayed to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer on Saturday — could feed a perception of the office’s bias toward “exaggerating costs and underestimating savings.” More>>>
Obama and the CPUSA
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Mon 27 Jul 2009 02:32 AM EDT
If not already painfully obvious to you, let me point out a few things: (1) Obama's policy agenda and that of the CPUSA are in perfect alignment: more stimuli; green jobs; global warming; public sector jobs; more regulation and, in fact, restructuring of the entire economy; eventual single-payer health care, with the public option being critical to any immediate plan; union-friendly legislation; cutting defense spending; engaging and normalizing relations with the US's mortal enemies like Hugo Chavez, the Castro brothers and the reigning mullah's of Iran; claiming victory in Iraq as their own. (2) Obama's political approach is also in perfect harmony with that of the CPUSA's. The method is gradualism. Overall, Obama is doing pretty well at achieving CPUSA's goals under the current political circumstances. The Left should not expect immediate and radical changes. And of all things, the Left should not "define the current struggle as one that arrays the people against President Obama. That's not Marxism; it's plain stupid." More>>>
Goodman: Who Exactly ARE the Uninsured?
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Mon 27 Jul 2009 02:27 AM EDT
What exactly is health reform all about? Readers will be forgiven if they can't come up with a quick answer to that question. No one else can either. But during the Presidential election campaign, Barack Obama mentioned universal coverage a lot. With that in mind, consider that:
* Uninsurance is a lot like unemployment; it happens to many people for short periods of time, but it afflicts very few people for long periods of time. * In fact, of all the people who are uninsured today, less than half will be uninsured a year from now. * Less than one in ten will be uninsured two years from now — an amount equal to less than 2% of the nonelderly population. More>>>
Levin: Conservatism in defense of liberty
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Mon 27 Jul 2009 02:24 AM EDT
Peter Berkowitz, who reviewed my book Liberty and Tyranny for the Weekly Standard, and did a pretty poor job of it, sees the most aggressive assault on representative and constitutional government in modern history and preaches moderation and, ultimately, inevitability. In the first sentence of his review he asserts "Moderation ... is an essential political virtue and a quintessentially conservative virtue." This is the way forward for conservatism, he insists. At no time does he define "moderation" or any governing principles, other than to misapply moderation as prudence, when prudence is, in fact, about judgment. Edmund Burke, who Berkowitz misunderstands and, therefore, wrongly cites for his proposition, supported the American Revolution (while rejecting the French Revolution). The American Revolution can hardly be described as a moderate reaction to England's usurpations. Nor can it be said to be a popular uprising, given that a majority of the nation either opposed it or was indifferent. But it was a revolution whose purpose was to establish a civil society rooted in natural law, a just rule of law, moral order, tradition, faith, reason, and, yes, liberty. More>>>
Waxman-Markey Deserves to Die
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Mon 27 Jul 2009 02:08 AM EDT
The fresh news about Washington--the White House and Congress--is that things are not going very well...The real purpose of Waxman-Markey is to vastly expand the scope, power and authority of the federal government. Washington would permanently regulate and dictate the performance of the U.S. economy, reward constituencies it favors and punish those it doesn’t, and make more and more Americans dependant upon federal largesse. More>>> Friday, July 24
A catastrophe largely self-imposed
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Fri 24 Jul 2009 05:03 PM EDT
"The Negro cannot win if he chooses to sacrifice the future of his children for immediate comfort and safety." That quote from Martin Luther King epitomizes the state of black America and the perpetuation of its demise by the Obama administration. Ironically, and tragically, much of the decimation of the black community, by means of betrayal and deceit, is self-imposed. This deliberate and systematic discrimination would not flourish if it were not for willing pawns, duplicitous individuals more concerned about personal political gain than the future of the lives they serve. Their culpability is disgraceful and deplorable. Their greed for gain works to sustain the status quo of destruction; works to "sacrifice the future of (our) children for immediate comfort and safety." More>>>
Perry raises possibility of states' rights showdown with White House over healthcare
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Fri 24 Jul 2009 04:50 PM EDT
Interviewed by conservative talk show host Mark Davis of Dallas’ WBAP/820 AM, Perry said his first hope is that Congress will defeat the plan, which both Perry and Davis described as "Obama Care." But should it pass, Perry predicted that Texas and a "number" of states might resist the federal health mandate. "I think you’ll hear states and governors standing up and saying 'no’ to this type of encroachment on the states with their healthcare," Perry said. "So my hope is that we never have to have that stand-up. But I’m certainly willing and ready for the fight if this administration continues to try to force their very expansive government philosophy down our collective throats." More>>> Thursday, July 23
IBD: Behind The Polls: A Craving For Truth
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Thu 23 Jul 2009 05:47 PM EDT
Public Trust: Judge Sonia Sotomayor has record negative ratings, and the popularity of the president himself is declining. Americans seem to be getting tired of being looked in the eye and told tall tales. More>>>
Obama to Dems: “You’re going to destroy my presidency”
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Thu 23 Jul 2009 05:02 PM EDT
Finally, House Democrats are doing something I like...Republican Chuck Grassley said: “A Democrat congressman last week told me after a conversation with the president that the president had trouble in the House of Representatives, and it wasn’t going to pass if there weren’t some changes made… and the president says, ‘You’re going to destroy my presidency’.” More>>> *Flashback Wednesday*: "This isn't about me" More>>>
ObamaCare: Republicans Assail Obama Meeting with Congressional Budget Office Director As Inappropriate
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Thu 23 Jul 2009 02:23 AM EDT
Republicans on Wednesday criticized as inappropriate a meeting President Obama held Monday with the director of the Congressional Budget Office, Douglas Elmendorf. Elmendorf, a Democratic appointee, has been a thorn in the side of President Obama and congressional Democrats for the way he has analyzed health care reform legislation. In their view, Elmendorf hasn’t sufficiently given their health care reform proposals enough credit for cutting costs – which has caused them political problems in getting the legislation passed. Last week, frustrated at one analysis by Elmendorf, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., snapped, "what he should do is maybe run for Congress.” “No one blames Mr. Elmendorf for accepting an invitation from the President of the United States,” House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement.“The issue is whether it was appropriate for the White House to invite him to discuss pending legislation before Congress at all.” Said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky: "I noticed that the CBO director was sort of called down to the White House yesterday. It strikes me as somewhat akin as the owner of the team asking the umpires to come up to the owner's box." More>>> Wednesday, July 22
Monday, July 20
Did deregulation and free markets cause the recession?
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Mon 20 Jul 2009 10:06 PM EDT
Saloon regular Tim sarcastically opines:
'I agree. Capitalism has failed. If the Free Market System can't stand up to a little Government regulation, prosecution by the DoJ, interference by the IRS, a judicial system which all but encourages frivolous lawsuits against "Big Business", and crushing laws made by zealous anti-business politicians, then maybe the thing was just bound to collapse.' (Bullseye! Thanks, Tim, for that badly needed dose of reality and humor. There isn't much to laugh about with these guys in power right now. Sadly. - Roland) More>>>
Obama brazenly suggests: Healthcare battle 'isn't about me'
by
Roland, the Gunslinger
on Mon 20 Jul 2009 09:34 PM EDT
"This isn't about me. This isn't about politics. This is about a health care system that is breaking America's families, breaking America's businesses, and breaking America's economy," Obama said on a visit to a Washington hospital... ...Last week, South Carolina Republican Senator Jim DeMint predicted the Obama plan would not pass Congress, and said such a failure could be Obama's "Waterloo," referring to the battle that effectively ended Napoleon Bonaparte's military career. "It will break him," DeMint said. (It isn't "about politics"? Wow, does this guy ever think we're stupid. Mr. Obama, when are you going to shut the hell up and start listening to the people who really make this country run? Not the political or academic elite! Not ACORN! The business owner, the entrepreneur, the real taxpayer! This health scare sham, not unlike the so-called cap and trade sham, is totally about politics. It's about amassing power and control for the Democratic Party and nothing else. Never mind that it will devastate the economy and may even bring down the country. Never mind that you and your advisors are on record as saying that single-payer health care will be less efficient and will adversely affect the elderly and infirm...you know...the people who NEED medical care! You aren't fooling anyone, Mr. President. There are reform ideas being presented out there that WON'T bankrupt the country and it's high time the Democratic Party start considering a few of them!- Roland) More>>> Obama Gaffe (or rare moment of honesty?): Health Care Reforms Will Bring About Greater ‘Inefficiencies’ |
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