Warning: This blog is political in nature.

If you are sensitive to political commentary,
please go back to my main Random Thoughts blog.

If you like political discussion, you may also like my Political Positions blog.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Senator Edward Kennedy and Health Care

Senator Edward Kennedy died last night.

He has had a year and a half of treatments trying to save his life.

If the healthcare plan he has pushed passes, other people will not be able to get similar care. They will be given pain treatments instead.

This is not my opinion; Health Czar Dr. Ezekial Emanuel says that care will be provided based on "quality-adjusted life years." That means that if treatment costs more than $50,000 per anticipated year of quality life, the treatment will be denied.

It also means that if treatment will not significantly improve either length or quality of life, the treatment will be denied - for instance, if the procedure will just reduce pain (say, back surgery or knee/hip replacement), they'll just give pain treatments instead.

Of course, the current Democratic healthcare plan exempts the Congress and Senate members from itself; it only applies to "regular people"...

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Reasonable Questions

On his show and copied on his website, Glenn Beck (Fox News) has posed some good questions. Questions that aren't being answered.

Questions like:

- Who is "surrounding" the President in the White House?

- Do any of the President's advisers have criminal records?

- Are the President's advisers working to better the country or their own ideals?

- Who are the anti-capitalists in Washington?

- What roles do they have in crafting bills?

- What was "STORM"? What happened to the founders, where are they now?

- What qualifications must one have to be a Presidential adviser?

- What is the difference between a community organizer and a community activist?

- Do the czars have power?

- Should a communist have the ear of the President of the United States?

- What role did the Apollo Alliance play in crafting bills?

- Does the President know the co-founder of the Weather Underground is a board member of the Apollo Alliance?

- How many people in the administration are connected to the movement for a democratic society?

- What role does George Soros play... CONSTITUTIONALLY?

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- Our unfunded liability for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is close to $100 trillion. Is there any way to pay for these programs without bankrupting America?

- We are in so much debt, why spend more borrowed money on cap-and-trade and healthcare programs before we stop the flow of red-ink?

- The stimulus package funneled billions of dollars to ACORN. How does giving billions of dollars to ACORN stimulate the economy?

- If it was so important for congress to pass the stimulus bill before they even had time to read it why has only a fraction of the stimulus money been spent 6 months later?

- Bush said he had to abandon free market principles in order to save them, how exactly does that work?

- Why won’t members of Congress read the bills before they vote on them?

- Why are citizens mocked and laughed at when they ask their congressman to read the bills before they vote on them?

- Was the cash-for-clunkers program meant to save the earth or the economy? Did it accomplish either?

- How did Van Jones, a self-proclaimed communist become a special advisor to the president?

- Did President Obama know of Van Jones’ radical political beliefs when he named him special advisor?

- The Apollo Alliance claimed credit for writing the stimulus bill—why was this group allowed to write any portion of this bill?

- If politicians aren’t writing the bills and aren’t reading the bills, do they have any idea what these 1000 page plus bills actually impose on the American people?

- If the ‘public option’ health care plan is so good why won’t politicians agree to have that as their plan?

- If town hall meetings are intended for the politicians to learn what’s on our mind—why do they spend so much time talking instead of listening?

- Politicians are refusing to attend town hall meetings complaining, without evidence, that they are scripted. Does that mean we shouldn’t come out and vote for you since every campaign stop, baby kiss and speech you give is scripted?

- Why would you want to overwhelm the system?

- Is using the economic crises to rush legislation through congress what Rahm Emanuel meant when he talked about "not letting a crises go to waste"?

- What are the czars paid? What is the budget for their staffs/offices?

Green Job Czar: Avowed Radical Communist

You read that right. Van Jones, the President's appointed "Special Adviser on Green Jobs," AKA "Green Jobs Czar"is a self-proclaimed Radical Communist. He has been in prison for radical activities, and spent time in jail associated with the Rodney King riots in LA.

That's not me or anyone else calling him a "communist" - it's him calling himself that.

How did he get past the FBI's vetting (background check) process? Simple. The White House does their own vetting now; they won't let the FBI look into his past.

War: Either Do It or Don't Do It

Just like with George H W Bush and George W Bush in Iraq:

Mr. President, either get the job done in Afghanistan or get out.

Don't just play around with it. Let the men and women who are trained to take down an enemy do what they are trained to do. Or bring them home.

Either way, finish there. Don't drag it out for the next eight years and wait for somebody else pull them out for you.

My personal preference: Take out Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Completely. (I am considering that "if you cut off the head, the snake will die;" ex-members of a dead group don't need to be individually taken out unless they are themselves a continuing threat.)

Don't play around with threats to our national security. Like poisonous snakes, either kill them or leave them alone. We don't want to get bitten again, because that would probably mean thousands (or more) of more people would die.

Of course, if they nuke DC, we'll get a new Congress and Senate out of it... But that's no excuse for the collateral damage of possibly millions of people to die because you just wouldn't let our military and intelligence services do their jobs.

It should be quite simple, really. We know our services have the ability to infiltrate them, a few people in varied positions. They can take out the leadership. In a manner that allows deniability, obviously. (Yea, the Taliban leadership must have gotten some dirty water or something. Always drink UPstream from the horses. We had nothing to do with it...)

Monday, August 24, 2009

Dems say Republicans only complain, no ideas

The Democrats repeatedly say that the Republicans only complain about the Democrat healthcare bill and offer no ideas of their own.

Well, I will readily admit that the Republicans aren't doing nearly as much as they could. That the Democrats can say what they do without getting laughed at is a case in point.

But the simple matter is that while the Democrats have put out one healthcare plan, the Republicans have put out three.

There is a saying that if you tell a lie often enough, people will believe it as true. The Democrats are telling lie after lie, but the Republicans aren't standing up to them.

"Stimulus" Exposed, This Week on Fox News

This week on Fox News (each night at 5PM EDT), Glenn Beck is going to expose the people and motives behind the "Stimulus" package.

He has given some information already on his radio show.

Rep. John Conyers said that he didn't need to read the bill, and mocked those who said he needed to, not because the bill isn't important, but because he trusts those who wrote it. This is a key in the Progressive movement - you don't need to actually do your job (that is, read the bill and make sure it is good for your constituents); just trust those who work with you in your movement.

So, who wrote the bill? Glenn gave some info on some of the people, but it's a long list. It includes heads / key figures in the big unions (United Steelworkers, SEIU), extreme environmental groups, Zero Population Growth, and members of the Revolutionary Communists. Not just "regular" Communists, but "Revolutionary" Communists.

Watch Glenn Beck at 5PM on Fox News for all the details. He is not speculating on this; he has all the documentation. (5PM EDT - adjust the time for your situation of you're not in Eastern Time.)

Friday, August 21, 2009

Our Federal Government is Financially Irresponsible

Our federal government can't handle $1 billion for Cash for Clunkers. The money was supposed to last 5 months, but it was gone in the first weekend.

Their response? Triple the funding. As it turned out, that only lasted a few more weeks. The Cash for Clunkers program, which was supposed to last until November 1, will now end on Monday, August 24.

A simple rebate requires 30 pages of paperwork, which has 136 pages of documentation. Rebate forms are being returned unpaid for simple spelling mistakes. The user agreement on the government website (though it was later changed after people complained) said that any computer that accessed the site became the property of the federal government and all information on it could be copied and any communications could be monitored and all information could be shared with any government entity, national or international.

Car dealers aren't getting reimbursed. They are giving out $3500-4500 per customer out of their own pockets (literally - most dealerships are sole proprietorships), but a month later, the government has only repaid 2% of the amount they've promised. Dealerships are stopping using the program because they can't afford it. And some in positions to know such things suggest that if the federal money runs out, the dealerships will just be out of luck on getting repaid at all.

Our federal government can't handle $1 billion for Cash for Clunkers.

But the same government, with the same legislators and the same bureaucrats, says they want $1.5 trillion for healthcare. They say they'll improve things. They really expect us to trust them?


With healthcare, the $1.5T will be spent in just as short a time. Then they'll just pass increases. Of course, they won't be able to just end the program once they've dismantled our current system, so they'll have to increase the funding again. Obviously, this means taxes. They've already long forgotten the campaign promises for no tax increases of any kind on anyone making less than $250,000/year, so there's no telling where things will head at that point.

There's no telling how much paperwork will be involved for a simple checkup, an x-ray of a suspected broken leg, a cut that needs stitches. Will the doctor be required to complete the 30 pages (or 300 pages, the way things are heading) before giving someone a drug for a heart attack? Or will the patient be expected to complete the paperwork himself before he can receive any treatment?

Will costs be unreimburseable if the form has a spelling mistake? Will coverage be denied if an emergency procedure isn't approved in advance by a government bureaucrat? Will doctors have to wait months for reimbursement? Will doctors stop accepting the government "insurance" plan like car dealers are doing with Cash for Clunkers, even if it means moving out of the country?

Unreasonable? Yes. But remember, the people passing the regulations won't have to deal with it themselves. Congress has already exempted themselves; they have their own plan for themselves and their families.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

"Community Organizers" = Thugs for Hire

OK, there are exceptions. But in general, the big well-known "community organizer" groups, particularly ACORN and SEIU, are acting as thugs hired out to left-wing / liberal / progressive political parties.

Several examples:

Black Panthers blocked entrances to a number of polling locations last fall. They wouldn't allow the white voters to enter. There was a lawsuit, but the newly-appointed public prosecutor dropped the case.

All the protests in front of AIG executive's houses? All the death threats? Paid for by ACORN. Bus tours chartered by ACORN.

The fights in Healthcare Reform town hall meetings? The rowdy protesters? All the ones who were actually rowdy were SEIU members. SEUI members have actually beat up - to the point that the people had to go to the hospital - people who disagree with the "reform" that is being proposed.

Again, "Community Organizers" = Thugs for Hire

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Healthcare "Reform" - mandatory abortion coverage

The current healthcare "reform" plan requires - REQUIRES - all insurance plans, public or private, to pay for abortion.

There are many problems with this.

One, I'm a single man. Why should I have insurance for childcare, whether killing the baby or live birth? And why should my parents in their senior years be required to have childcare insurance coverage?

Two, I don't want to pay for other people's elective abortion. And most people agree with me; a Zogby poll last year says 71% of Americans don't want insurance to be required to cover abortion.

Three, I believe abortion kills babies. 82% of Americans believe there should be at least some limits on abortion, and 11% believe all elective abortion should be illegal.

In contrast, President Obama is part of the only 9% of Americans (Harris) that believes that abortion should be legal for any reason at any point in the pregnancy. But more than that, he wants it paid for at taxpayer expense.


Why? Some experts believe that the purpose is population control. This will come in two ways.

One, many people will choose abortion over children. Some women will gladly take the simplicity of a minor surgical procedure (nevermind that only one of the two patients will survive the process) to the extended difficulty of a pregnancy followed by the pain of the birth. And some people, given the choice between meeting their obligations as human beings and actually caring for their own children or discarding their own offspring as "inconvenient" will take the easy way out. Then factor in that they don't actually have to pay for even the abortion themselves, and you have a "no-brainer".

Two, we will soon see encouragement to reduce childhood disorders. We will see efforts to reduce issues like Down's Syndrome, autism, and the 2% of all children who are technically "mentally retarded". How will these be reduced? Simple - fetal tests. And if the baby, that is, "fetus" has signs of a concern, the mother will be advised to abort the child. Later, this "advice" may become stronger. Parents have recently become legally criminal for not having their children vaccinated as instructed; parents may soon become required to kill "substandard" children. Obviously, these steps will require that the abortion be funded.

There may be portents of a third step to come later. Obama's "Science Czar", John P. Holdren (director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy) has written (another reference) that he does not believe a child to be a "human being" until he, excuse me, "it", is several years old, and then only if "given the opportunity to develop properly" including "essential early socializing experiences and sufficient nourishing food". Those who don't "develop properly"? They are never deemed human at any age, and as such can be eliminated without consequence. You know, Christians, Jews, homosexuals, conservatives, Republicans, Libertarians - anybody the ruling authority deems to have a negative influence in society. I would hope that one individual with radical ideas will not unduly influence the rest, but you never know.

I would have hoped that the second phase would not come in my lifetime, if at all. This is the stuff of science fiction, and not the good kind. But experts are now expecting this to come soon. Phase One within months, if the current "reform" passes, and Phase Two soon afterward. On the other hand, it has only been sixty-some years since the third phase was used extensively in Europe.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Cash for Clunkers Fiasco

Cash for Clunkers was supposed to run July 1 to November 1, four full months. But the money ran out after four days. Now they are trying to add another $2B to the $1B that was already used.

The program was supposed to start on July 1. But the program details weren't finalized until July 24.

The application form is 30 pages long, and the instructions are 136 pages.

The privacy policy said that using the CARS system will cause your (the car dealer's) computer and any networked systems to become property of the Federal government, and any information in this system, including usernames and passwords, can be copied and any communication can be monitored, and any of this can be sent to any government organization, either national or international. (This policy has since been changed, due to the loud feedback.)

Do we really want these people in charge of out healthcare?

Private Jets

Do you remember back when Congress got all over the heads of the auto manufacturers for flying to DC in private jets?

Well, Congress has now ordered half a billion dollars in private jets for their own use.

The Air Force maintains the aircraft for Congressional use, and they say only two jets are needed (to replace old ones), not all the ones that have been ordered. They say that they don't need them and that they didn't order them. Congress went around the AF and ordered the jets themselves.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Judge Sonia Sotomayor Confirmed for Supreme Court

I have said before that "race", someone's culture, heritage and background, are a person's flavor, a seasoning of life.

If someone is from Georgia, grown up with fried chicken and grits, that person is no more inherently "right" or "wrong" than someone from Washington State with their apples and cherries. Do you like New York foldable pizza better than Chicago's thick-crust pizza? Fine. Do you like Texas spicy baked beans better than Boston's sweet baked beans? OK. Neither is right or wrong, just personal preference, and someone should be neither qualified nor disqualified from public office on the basis of such personal culture.

Similarly, is not voting for someone exclusively because of skin color or gender the very definition of racism or sexism? I have no problem with a person being elected (or "confirmed", as the case may be) to office, who may happen to be of a particular heritage or gender, but nobody should be elected or confirmed primarily because of such bias.

Voting for such a person in large part because of a bias is just as bad as voting against the person because of a bias.

A Senator who confirmed Judge Sonia Sotomayor primarily because she has a Latina heritage is just as bad as someone who voted against Barack Obama just because he's black. There is no difference.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Decreased posting frequency

Some may note that my blog postings have become less frequent. This is because I have been listening less to politics. It has gotten depressing.

Examples, from memory:

One of President Obama's appointees (I think a czar of some sort) is a Communist. Not a "he has some positions I see as being Communist" Communist, but a"he is an official member of the Communist Party" Communist.

One of President Obama's appointees (maybe a czar of some sort, and maybe the person above) has said that he thinks offspring (that is, children) who have undesirable characteristics (defects, less desirable genetics) should be terminated. You're thinking, "So? Many people think fetuses with problems should be aborted." The problem is that he doesn't think it should be a problem whether or not the "fetus" happens to already be born. By several years. He thinks any person with a genetic defect should be "terminated" for the good of the society. So, what constitutes a "genetic defect"? Blacks? That's why Planned Parenthood got started, to eliminate black reproduction so the "defective genes" would die out. Christians? Jews? Homosexuals? These were part of Hitler's "cleansing," why not part of this one?

The proposed "healthcare reform" is expected by many experts to end care for many diseases. The University of Tennessee cancer care center is creating plans to close in the event this legislation passes. People who develop issues which are not "cost effective" to treat or are deemed "less beneficial to society" will not be treated. They will be "made comfortable" and allowed to die. This is how things are currently done in some countries with government-run healthcare, and many experts believe it will soon be this way here if this legislation passes. And they believe it enough to already be planning the shutdowns of major centers.

The people pushing for healthcare reform are now trying to change the term from "healthcare reform" to "health insurance reform' because their studies show people respond better to that term. They insist you will be able to keep your doctor. Whatever treatment he recommends just won't be covered under the new plans. And new people won't want to become doctors, because they aren't expected to get paid much. Why pay hundreds of thousands for education when you'll only get paid what the government says you get paid?

The proposed "healthcare reform" includes "end-of-life counseling", required every six months for anyone over 65 years of age. In other words, they are going to tell everyone over 65 just how big a drain they are on society and how they should just remove themselves from being a burden. And then they will repeat it every six months, in one-on-one "counseling" sessions with anyone who chose not to off themselves since the last meeting.

The "Cash for Clunkers" program pays people to buy a car that gets at least 25 miles per gallon in the idea of increasing fuel efficiency. 25MPG isn't very efficient, but someone can get paid up to $4500 for getting one. And the trade-in can't be resold, even if it's in perfect shape; it has to be scrapped. And used cars don't qualify; the bought car has to be new - used car dealers don't get any stimulus out of this.

The cars.gov website for the "Cash for Clunkers" program has an unusual usage agreement. It states that if you use that website, your computer becomes property of the US Government and anything on your computer can be copied and anything you do with your computer can be monitored. Emails, instant messages, Internet-based phone calls, anything.