Merry Christmas to all and God's blessing to everyone ...

How Trillions of Dollars Were Stolen From U.S. Taxpayers

How Trillions of Dollars Were Stolen From U.S. Taxpayers
DON'T MISS THE MOVIE LINK ABOVE

I encourage you to direct this to fellow Americans that want to preserve and follow what our founding fathers designed.

Bank Failures Find F.D.I.C. Has Fallen Into Red

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/business/economy/25fdic.html

The fund had a negative balance of $8.2 billion at the end of the third quarter, federal regulators said Tuesday. Bank customers, however, should remain confident that their deposits would be protected since most of the amount reflects money that Federal Insurance Deposit Corporation has already set aside to cover the losses from future bank failures.

Liberals and Consevatives are calling for Geithner to Resign

The pot has finally boiled over, with black caucus members walking out of a Barney Frank financial markup, liberals and conservatives calling for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to resign and a policy victory for none other than Ron Paul on his "audit the Fed" proposal.

The tensions show why Democrats want to get the health care debate done as soon as possible — they can then spend much more of 2010, an election year, on jobs and economic reforms.

The wave of Democratic grief had been building privately for months, but Hill Democrats had held back on publicly criticizing the Obama presidency. But now, Democrats who see that their economic agenda seems to be flailing and fear getting wiped out in the 2010 congressional elections are going public with a burst of criticism, and much of it has poured out in the past 48 hours.

It’s coming from some of the most liberal supporters of the president, like John Conyers, who said Thursday on the Bill Press radio show that President Barack Obama was “bowing down” to the right.

"I'm getting tired of saving Obama's can in the White House," Conyers said. "I mean, he only won by five votes in the House, and this bill wasn't anything to write home about."

Oregon Democrat Peter DeFazio, who has called on Geithner to resign, vented his frustrations about the Obama economic team in an interview with POLITICO.

This new oldie has new meaning with the Obama administration running things!

Click arrows to advance to song #7 "EVERYTHING IS BROKEN" and see if you don't agree ...

Al Jazeera News: Ahmadinejad claims Islamic principles to replace capitalist values

Read the entire story here:
http://ow.ly/BI9I

"Ahmadinejad said the global economic order needs "radical change" (sounds familiar), calling for Islamic principles to replace capitalist values.(that also sounds familiar)

"The present economic crisis is due to the capitalist system" (Is Michael Moore on his staff?).

Describing interest rates as the "biggest and most fundamental problem of the capitalist system". "Ahmadinejad said economic programs based on Islamic principles offered the way out."

Lou Dobbs Farewell on CNN

The only reason to ever tune into CNN has departed that news agency. I wish you well Lou and look forward to seeing where and in what capacity you surface.

Eric Cantor's response to "WILL THE HOUSE PASS HEALTHCARE THIS WEEKEND--OR NOT? SPECULATE, PLEASE, ON THE CONSEQUENCES EITHER WAY?"

The Arena - Eric Cantor's response to "WILL THE HOUSE PASS HEALTHCARE THIS WEEKEND--OR NOT? SPECULATE, PLEASE, ON THE CONSEQUENCES EITHER WAY?" | POLITICO.com

On unemployment: We saw the results of the elections in New Jersey and Virginia – where 9 in 10 people said they were greatly concerned about the direction of the economy. The people are representative of all Americans – particularly those with friends, neighbors, and family out of work – and are pleading with leaders in Washington to focus on jobs and the economy. With millions of Americans desperately seeking work, I ask the President to put the economy first, and sit down with Republicans to develop serious bipartisan solutions that will change the direction of this economy and get people working again.

HR 3962 Health-Care Bill (PDF file)

Another "shovel ready" component of the Stimulus/Bailout package

http://ow.ly/yNAA

Paying for Washington's Mistakes

Paying For Washington's Mistakes
IBD Editorials: Posted 11/03/2009 06:51 PM ET

Taxation: Policymakers piled up a $1.4 trillion deficit for fiscal 2009. The figure is so high that if Congress were to use the income tax to balance the budget, rates would have to be nearly tripled.

The 2009 deficit was larger than the combined federal debt of the first two centuries of the country's existence. As staggering as that is to the mind, the 2010 deficit projects to be even bigger, roughly $1.5 trillion.

Unless Washington issues another foolish stimulus package or decides it will continue its ill-advised bailout business, the deficits should moderate somewhat. But the debt created by the deficits will still have to be paid. Ultimately, taxpayers will have to satisfy Washington's massive tab.

While it's unlikely policymakers would try to use income tax revenues — which provide almost half of all federal revenues — to close the deficits, it's instructive to see how high the rates would have to go to do that. Data from the Tax Foundation show this Congress and administration are poor stewards of other people's money and are failing their constitutional duty to protect the future of the republic.

The biggest hit in a world in which Washington bridged the budget gap with income tax revenues would be, naturally, on those who have the largest incomes.

The rates for joint filers earning at least $373,601 would have to be almost tripled, from 35% to 95.2%, to help close the 2010 deficit. (See table.) Though the brackets are at different income levels, the rate progressions are the same for single filers.

The rates would not be as punitive in 2012, when the deficit is smaller, but they would still be excessive. Those at the top of the income scale would be moved from 39.6%, the rate that will be reinstated after the Bush tax cuts expire, to 74.1%.

Those on the lowest end of the income scale would not fare much better. Their rates would have to jump from 10% to 27.2% to help eliminate the 2010 deficit, and from 10% to 18.7% to help close the 2012 deficit.

In terms of overall tax bills, the increases are just as alarming.

The average tax bill for a joint return in 2010 will be $7,169. If the deficit were to be closed, however, the federal government would have to have an average of $19,001 from each couple filing jointly (See table). For joint filers with taxable incomes from $50,000 to $75,000, the tax bill would triple, from $4,208 to $12,537.

Thomas Jefferson - Quote of the Day

"The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first." - Thomas Jefferson

Amazing Rock Show - Nickelback, performing 'Burn it to the Ground'

Nickelback - BURN IT TO THE GROUND from Nickelback on Vimeo.

this was one of the best LIVE concert shows and performances I've EVER seen - completely blew me away. I highly recommend it if you are of fan of hard rock!

Dismantling America

Thomas Sowell : Dismantling America - Townhall.com

Just one year ago, would you have believed that an unelected government official, not even a Cabinet member confirmed by the Senate but simply one of the many "czars" appointed by the President, could arbitrarily cut the pay of executives in private businesses by 50 percent or 90 percent?

Did you think that another "czar" would be talking about restricting talk radio? That there would be plans afloat to subsidize newspapers-- that is, to create a situation where some newspapers' survival would depend on the government liking what they publish?

Did you imagine that anyone would even be talking about having a panel of so-called "experts" deciding who could and could not get life-saving medical treatments?
Scary as that is from a medical standpoint, it is also chilling from the standpoint of freedom. If you have a mother who needs a heart operation or a child with some dire medical condition, how free would you feel to speak out against an administration that has the power to make life and death decisions about your loved ones?

Does any of this sound like America?

How about a federal agency giving school children material to enlist them on the side of the president? Merely being assigned to sing his praises in class is apparently not enough.

How much of America would be left if the federal government continued on this path? President Obama has already floated the idea of a national police force, something we have done without for more than two centuries.

We already have local police forces all across the country and military forces for national defense, as well as the FBI for federal crimes and the National Guard for local emergencies. What would be the role of a national police force created by Barack Obama, with all its leaders appointed by him? It would seem more like the brown shirts of dictators than like anything American.

How far the President will go depends of course on how much resistance he meets. But the direction in which he is trying to go tells us more than all his rhetoric or media spin.

Barack Obama has not only said that he is out to "change the United States of America," the people he has been associated with for years have expressed in words and deeds their hostility to the values, the principles and the people of this country.

Jeremiah Wright said it with words: "God damn America!" Bill Ayers said it with bombs that he planted. Community activist goons have said it with their contempt for the rights of other people.

Among the people appointed as czars by President Obama have been people who have praised enemy dictators like Mao, who have seen the public schools as places to promote sexual practices contrary to the values of most Americans, to a captive audience of children.

Those who say that the Obama administration should have investigated those people more thoroughly before appointing them are missing the point completely. Why should we assume that Barack Obama didn't know what such people were like, when he has been associating with precisely these kinds of people for decades before he reached the White House?

Nothing is more consistent with his lifelong patterns than putting such people in government-- people who reject American values, resent Americans in general and successful Americans in particular, as well as resenting America's influence in the world.

Any miscalculation on his part would be in not thinking that others would discover what these stealth appointees were like. Had it not been for the Fox News Channel, these stealth appointees might have remained unexposed for what they are. Fox News is now high on the administration's enemies list.

Nothing so epitomizes President Obama's own contempt for American values and traditions like trying to ram two bills through Congress in his first year-- each bill more than a thousand pages long-- too fast for either of them to be read, much less discussed. That he succeeded only the first time says that some people are starting to wake up. Whether enough people will wake up in time to keep America from being dismantled, piece by piece, is another question-- and the biggest question for this generation.

Sunday Funnies - from Australia I like their perspective & observations!

HUMOR FROM BEYOND THE U.S. BORDER - COMPLIMENTS OF THAT GREAT LAND DOWN UNDER ...

A very clear explanation of the VAT: It's a NEW TAX to Finance Much Bigger Government

CLICK THE VIDEO BELOW --

Health Bill Includes $507 Billion in New Taxes and Fees

Finance Committee Health Bill Includes $507 Billion in New Taxes and Fees
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
By Matt Cover
http://ow.ly/ugCn
MP3 http://ow.ly/ugGc


In this Sept. 29, 2009 file photo, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, of Nev., right, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., left, and newly-named Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, center, listen. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
(CNSNews.com) – The health-care bill that the Senate Finance Committee will vote on today will cost a total of $829 billion over 10 years, with $507 billion of that cost being covered by new federal taxes and fees, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

On Oct. 7, the CBO released a report on the budget impact of the “chairman’s mark” summary of the bill that the Finance Committee is set to vote on today. Based on the document it was given, the CBO found that the bill would reduce the federal budget deficit by $81 billion over 10 years. That estimate was based on the calculation that, if enacted, the bill would bring in $480 billion in new tax revenues and $27 billion in fees.

These new taxes and fees include:

-- $201 billion in new taxes on high-premium health care plans.

-- $83 billion in new taxes paid by workers who will receive less employer-sponsored coverage or lose that coverage altogether but will be compensated with higher wages or monetary benefits, which are taxable.

-- $23 billion in penalty fees paid by employers who do not comply with the federal insurance mandate.

-- $4 billion in penalty fees paid by individuals who don’t have health insurance.

-- $16 billion in new income and Medicare payroll tax revenue due to changes in Medicare.

-- $180 billion in other tax revenues items calculated by the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT).

According to the JCT, this $180 billion in new taxes would include: A new tax on prescription drug makers that would account for $22.2 billion over 10 years; a new tax on medical device manufacturers that would bring in $38.6 billion; and a new annual tax on insurance companies would net the government $60.4 billion.

Also, a provision that raises the threshold at which medical expenses become tax deductible, from 7.5 percent of income to 10 percent of income, would reportedly yield the government $15.2 billion in new revenue from sick and disabled Americans with high out-of-pocket medical costs.

It would also include $5.4 billion derived from changing the definition of a deductible medical expense for health savings accounts; $14.6 billion from limiting to $2,500 the tax-deductible amount in flexible spending arrangements between employers and employees; $17.1 billion in revenue from expanded requirements (and potential penalties) on corporate reporting of taxable payments to other parties; and $5.4 billion from sponsors of Medicare Part D plans who are no longer able to deduct subsidies paid by the government to those plans.

The overall bill would cost $829 billion, according to the CBO, the cost of which apparently would be covered by a combination of savings, taxes, and penalties. The CBO said that the Baucus bill (currently in summary form, not final legislative language) would probably achieve $404 billion in spending cuts and other savings, largely through cuts to Medicare payments to physicians and to the Medicare Advantage insurance programs. The costs would come primarily from generous federal health insurance subsidies and entitlement expansions.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Phoenix Arizona Interview on CNN

Notice how the reporter cannot accept the FACT from the sheriff, that 20% of those in prison in Maricopa County (Phoenix AZ) are here illegally.

BIG names LEAVING the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

THE CONSERVATIVE RETURN: Why the GOP needs to return at the state level

Why An Obama-World Is Dangerous

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Kevin McCullough

- FOXNews.com

- October 07, 2009
Why Obama-World Is Dangerous

In President Obama's utopia he is fine with the idea of "American Exceptionalism" being challenged or even turned upside down. To Obama, an America that stands tall in contrast to others seems arrogant. To our enemies, an America that seems ashamed of herself seems weak.

Although he's 48-years-old President Obama is, in many ways, still just a lost boy. He seeks to live, not in the real world, but in a utopia. His insistence on living in this world -- though it may appear attractive to the uneducated, neglected and naive -- is dangerous and impacts every American.

As the first pundit in America to predict Mr. Obama's political rise and electoral success, it is with great regret that I say the following: President Obama is not a strong leader. His willingness to cede most of his domestic agenda to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has cost him dearly in his first year. And his unwillingness to admit that the world is at a crossroads is a demonstration of his paralysis as a leader on the most important questions of our time.

His rejection by the International Olympic Committee last week in Copenhagen was a stinging rebuke. And it confirmed not only his global impotence but also his inability to successfully push through projects he supports. It also revealed that the president has been relying on nothing more than his personality to win the day.

President Obama believes his good press far too often, relies too much on support from his trusted advisers -- instead of being open to genuine critical analysis -- and seems to feel that the American people are too "unevolved" to understand his political message and methods. All of these realities are just pushing the president further into an altered state. They're shaping his worldview and it's having a disastrous impact on the lives of average Americans.

Take the latest jobs report, for example. The report finds that the American people are suffering under an unemployment rate that is almost at 10 percent. And that's not all --the more realistic, unofficial unemployment rate puts the figure at about 17 percent. Why? Because many Americans have simply stopped looking for a job. A proven strategy to grow the economy and jump start a hiring trend would be to keep tax incentives for small business from disappearing in 2010. And the president shouldn't stop there he should add to them and allow the free market to work its magic. Working to expand a robust economy is the only answer to serious unemployment. But the president seems to believe that if he just has the right czar, in the right position, then job losses can be controlled. In the president's utopia, employment and the number of jobs available are fixed and finite, and "saving them" is better than or, at minimum, equal to "creating them."

Then there's health care. New poll numbers from Rasmussen find that the majority of the American people support health care reform but they do not, under any circumstances, support a government controlled "public option" -- or takeover -- of the industry. But President Obama doesn't seem to grasp the expressed will of the people who elected him. In the president's utopia it is *doctors,* not trial lawyers, that are being selfish and charging people for procedures they don't need just to "make a buck." In the world you and I live in, we know that doctors run the risk of a massive lawsuit every time they deliver bad news to a patient.

In Afghanistan, President Obama has deliberated for over a month about about whether to expand our footprint there by no more than 40,000 troops. While the military commanders he put in place to do the job beg him for more troops 43 more soldiers have died. Mr. Obama met with General McChrystal for less than an hour on Air Force One when he was in Copenhagen (but for only the second time since commissioning McChrystal to the theater), while Vice President Biden continues to whisper in his ear that things in the region are not working. In President Obama's utopia he wishes that war did not exist, but he has yet to realize that the threat from not dealing with it could be the worst scenario of all.

On Iran, President Obama has issued a stern assessment of the rogue nation's nuclear ambitions. In President Obama's utopia, stern words should be enough. They should cause a reasonable world leader to be so concerned that they will pick up the phone and iron out the differences by the afternoon. Yet even after the IAEA's meetings on Iran, even after the president issued another stern deadline, the administration has begun to backtrack. In President Obama's utopia, the United States is not superior to other nations. That's why we are powerless when we try to suggest what they should do. In fact, in President Obama's utopia, if we simply give up our weapons he believes the bad guys will give up theirs.

When it comes to the economy, "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" sounds good. In a perfect world, such purity of goodness would be a place where we'd all like to live. But it would also be a place no one on this planet would recognize. In President Obama's utopia, the socialists and the communists DO have it right. Maybe this is why, in his memoirs, the president writes about how delighted he was to hang out with them in college. But the depravity of the human race has always been -- and will always be -- the fatal flaw in socialist and communist theory.

Finally, there is America's image in the world. In President Obama's utopia he is fine with the idea of "American Exceptionalism" being challenged or even turned upside down. Yet in reality no country has suffered more loss of its own, for the welfare of others, in history. To Obama, an America that stands tall in contrast to others seems arrogant. To our enemies, an America that seems ashamed of herself seems weak.

President Obama is not a strong decision maker -- most law professors aren't. They are too accustomed to arguing issues from all sides. The president is also a man who envisions a world that will never exist. It is his inability to recognize this flawed vision that makes our country more vulnerable, more hopeless and one with a bleak future, at least in the short run. It is, in a word, dangerous.

A letter to AARP Executive Director, Mr. Rand

RE: AARP Executive Director Mr. Rand

Dear Mr. Rand,
Recently you sent us a letter encouraging us to renew our lapsed membership in AARP by the requested date. While we have proudly maintained our membership for several years and have long admired the AARP goals and principles, regrettably, we can no longer endorse it's abdication of our values. Your letter specifically stated that we can count on AARP to speak up for our rights, yet the voice we hear is not ours. Your offer of being kept up to date on important issues through DIVIDED WE FAIL presents neither an impartial view nor the one we have come to embrace. We do believe that when two parties agree all the time on everything presented to them, one is probably not necessary. But, when the opinions and long term goals are diametrically opposed, the divorce is imminent. This is the philosophy which spawned our 200 years of government.

Once upon a time, we looked forward to being part of the senior demographic. We also looked to AARP to provide certain benefits and give our voice a power we could not possibly hope to achieve on our own. AARP gave us a sense of belonging which we no longer enjoy. The Socialist politics practiced by the Obama administration and empowered by AARP serves only to raise the blood pressure my medical insurance strives to contain. Clearly a conflict of interest there!

We do not understand the AARP posture, feel greatly betrayed by the guiding forces whom we expected to map out our senior years and leave your ranks with a great sense of regret. We mitigate that disappointment with the relief of knowing that we are not contributing to the problem anymore by renewing our membership. There are numerous other organizations which offer discounts without threatening our way of life or offending our sensibilities.

This Presidential Administration scares the living daylights out of us. Not just for ourselves, but for our proud and bloodstained heritage, but even more importantly for our children and grandchildren. Washington has rendered Soylent Green a prophetic cautionary tale rather than a nonfiction scare tactic. I have never in my life endorsed any militant or radical groups, yet now I find myself listening to them. I don't have to agree with them to appreciate the fear which birthed their existence. Their borderline insanity presents little more than a balance to the voice of the Socialist mindset in power. Perhaps I became American by a great stroke of luck in some cosmic uterine lottery, but in my adulthood I CHOOSE to embrace it and nurture the freedoms it represents as well as the responsibilities it requires.

Your website generously offers us the opportunity to receive all communication in Spanish. ARE YOU KIDDING??? Someone has broken into our 'house', invaded our home without our invitation or consent. The President has insisted we keep the perpetrator in comfort and learn their language so we can communicate our reluctant welcome to them.
I DON'T choose to welcome them. I DON'T choose to support them. I DON'T choose to educate them. I DON'T choose to medicate them, pay for their food or clothing.
American home invaders get arrested. Please explain to me why foreign lawbreakers can enjoy privileges on American soil that Americans do not get? Why do some immigrants have to processed to be welcomed and others only have to break & enter to be welcomed?

We travel for a living. Walt hauls horses all over this great country, averaging over 10,000 miles a month when he is out there. He meets more people than a politician on caffeine overdose. Of all the many good folks he enjoyed on this last 10,000 miles, this trip yielded only ONE supporter of the current administration. One of us is out of touch with mainstream America. Since our poll is conducted without funding, I have more faith in it than one which is power driven.

We have decided to forward this to everyone on our mailing list, and will encourage them to do the same. With several hundred in my address book, I have every faith that the eventual exponential factor will make a credible statement to you.

I am MAD as hell, and I'm NOT going to take it anymore!

Obama Meter- scoll down and review the details of how it's tracked and rated.

Obama Meter - updated 09.08.29

Newsworthy posts from 'Bconsdr8' (on Twitter)

Poll reveals that support for Government Health-Care plunges to All-Time low. ONLY 41% support his Govt takeover plan http://ow.ly/rsVw

Federal government is setting a poor example, now states are FAILING and driving residents away because of intrusive and excessive taxes http://ow.ly/rr1X

Vice President Joe Biden brings new meaning to the word ‘UNDERACHIEVEMENT’regarding the Stimulus bill. Joe says: “I Never Thought It Would Work This Well” http://ow.ly/ryN2

Sunday Funnies

The Secrets of Obama's Rhetoric

Everyone marvels at President Obama's rhetorical prowess. But don't be overly bedazzled. With these 13 easy steps, you, too, can give a Barack Obama speech.
http://ow.ly/qO38

1) Create a false center. In his speech Wednesday night, Obama positioned himself between the left calling for a single-payer system and the right agitating to end employer-based health insurance. Presto -- he's the very definition of a centrist. Anyone advocating almost any position can benefit from the same insta-centrism.

2) Scorn ideology. Obama warned against "the usual Washington ideological battles." Message: He has no philosophical commitments himself. He's pushing a Great Society redux only as a matter of practicality. Superficial pragmatism is the ideologue's best friend.
Obama: Dissembles as necessary.
Obama: Dissembles as necessary.

3) Talk about your openness to ideas from opponents. The more you do this, the less you have to adopt any of their ideas. "I will continue to seek common ground," Obama said. "I will be there to listen. My door is always open."

While he does all this common-ground seeking, Obama will be whipping up the Democratic votes to pass a massive, liberal reordering of the health-care system. But he'll be listening!

4) Embrace empty symbolic measures as a show of reasonableness. The centrist, nonideological, open-minded leader needs something tangible to demonstrate all these qualities, lest anyone suspect it's a rhetorical put-on. This is why God, in his goodness, created the demonstration project.

In a bow to Republicans, Obama blessed medical-malpractice experiments in the states. Thus, he takes the most tentative step toward a GOP idea while marching his Democrats toward an overhaul of one-sixth of the economy by Thanksgiving.

5) Make lawyerly distinctions too subtle for most people to notice. Never underestimate the power of the cagey formulation. Obama said people won't be "required" to change their current arrangements if they like them. That sounds reassuring even though it leaves open the likelihood that millions will have to change insurance as a result of his plan. (Caution: May require the aid of experienced policy hands and professional speechwriters.)

6) Say things just because they sound good. Why not? Obama always says he'll reduce costs even though the Democratic plans do little or nothing to reduce costs. That's his sound bite, and he's sticking to it.

7) Dissemble as necessary. Don't hesitate to brazen it out as needed.

The House plan authorizes the secretary of health and human services to include abortion coverage in the public option. But Obama insists reform won't cover abortion, and accuses his opponents of lying when they say it will.

Shamelessness has its advantages -- especially if a compliant press will over- look it.

8) Make the price right. Washington's new standard for expensive is $1 trillion. Naturally, Obama's plan came in at $900 billion. He might as well have said it will cost $999.999 billion.

9) Never admit any cost or downside to what you are proposing. Even an unparalleled genius of an orator has trouble selling things people don't like. So don't do it.

Obama stipulated the new taxes will fall on insurers and drug companies. Oh yeah, don't say "taxes." They are "revenues" and "fees." Or, in the case of employers, it's called "chipping in." As for the Medicare cuts, all of them will come from "waste and fraud" and "unnecessary subsidies." See how easy this is?

10) Couple attacks on your critics as unworthy hacks with calls for civility. If you favor "a civil conversation," you can better dismiss your opponents for their "bickering" and "games."

11) Be sure to say something like "this is the time." Evocations of the urgency of the moment sound bold and determined. E.g., "Now is the time to deliver on health care," because "here and now we will meet history's test." The status quo can't be accepted: "Not this time. Not now."

12) At least once a speech, keep talking over the applause. This is inspiring.

13) Load it up in a teleprompter. And repeat as necessary.

Change & Transform, Is this Still America?

Is this Still America?

It seems that every day we get an ever clearer idea of what Obama and the Democrats meant when they promised to “change” and “transform” America. Take the dust-up this week between the big Kentucky based insurance company, Humana, and the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus, as an example.

Baucus is a powerful man, and he has resources at his disposal to prove it. To considerable fanfare he recently introduced his version of a health care reform bill. It contained a proposed $123 billion in cuts to the very popular Medicare Advantage program. Other powerful Democrats including President Obama and Nancy Pelosi have pointed to the Medicare program as fertile territory where they expect to find hundreds of billions of dollars to pay for their planned health care nirvana.

Therefore, with all this talk of change for Medicare, it seems reasonable that an insurance company such as Humana – and the tens of thousands of their customers - might have more than just a passing interest in what Congress and the President ultimately do.

Humana sent a one page letter to their Medicare Advantage customers pointing out that “if the proposed funding cut levels become law, millions of seniors and disabled individuals could lose benefits and services that make Medicare Advantage health plans so valuable.” Concerned seniors are urged to contact their elected representatives to express concerns.

While this hardly seems the stuff of which revolutions are born, Max Baucus took great offense, calling the letter misleading and confusing. He expressed outrage than anyone would claim his bill would reduce Medicare benefits, even as Doug Elmendorf, the Director of the Congressional Budget Office told Senators yesterday that “the elderly in the private Medicare Advantage plans could see reduced benefits under Baucus’ bill.” Maybe Baucus hadn’t read his own bill.

He fired off a directive to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency that holds the regulatory hammer over the head of private companies like Humana. When powerful Senators say “jump,” experienced bureaucrats dependent upon those same Senators for their annual budget appropriations are already in the air.

CMS responded to Baucus by issuing an immediate cease and desist order to Humana on September 18, 2009 demanding they stop all such communications to their clientele including references on the company’s website. CMS takes “this matter very seriously, and based upon the findings of our investigations, will pursue compliance and enforcement actions.”

From the other side of the aisle, an obviously stunned Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell appropriately called the action a “gag order” against not only Humana, but all insurance companies providing Medicare Advantage plans to “shut up..be quiet, and get in line.” McConnell correctly fingered the Baucus/CMS assault as a violation of the Constitutional guarantee of “free speech.”

The Wall Street Journal editorialized with the headline, “Baucus Bludgeons Humana.” The editors open with the observation that, “Political intimidation has always been part of the current Congress’s health-care strategy: ‘If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu’ is tattooed on every lobbyist and industry rep in Washington.” But, even by those harsh standards, Baucus’s attack on Humana is “hard to believe” according to the WSJ.

So this is the real face of the “change” promised to America? These guys will force their changes by taxing, regulating, litigating, and intimidating us out of our freedom and into submission. For my part, they can keep the change…I want my country back.

White House Issues a GAG Order to Humana for informing patients of the possibilities

A special shout out to Bconsdr8 (on Twitter) for this story. Insurer Humana receives a W.H. "Gag Order" for speaking about how coverage might be effected. Read the whole article http://ow.ly/qBh2

Side bar: A government agency working WITH a privately funded group that benefits from that alliance is 'COLLUSION'.

Mitch McConnell addresses President Obama for violating the 1st amendment with this outrageous gag order MUST SEE http://ow.ly/qCeF

The Republican party rushed to defend Humana with this letter...


September 22, 2009

Charlene Frizzera
Acting Administrator
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
7500 Security Boulevard
Baltimore, MD 21244

Dear Acting Administrator Frizzera,

I am writing to express my deep suspicion that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) may be selectively and inappropriately using its regulatory powers to intimidate and silence those who under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution are expressing legitimate facts about the Medicare cuts proposed by President Obama and Congressional Democrats.

This morning, CMS acknowledged it has initiated an investigation into one Medicare health care plan provider, Humana, because it contacted some of its 1.5 million Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries to inform them that these cuts could negatively impact seniors' benefits and out-of-pocket costs.

Given the importance of health care to America's seniors, I am sure you will agree seniors currently enrolled in MA have a right to know about how pending policy changes could affect them. I am certainly aware that MA marketing regulations are supposed to be used to ensure that communications from plan sponsors or affiliated groups do not include inaccurate information that would inappropriately steer seniors to certain MA plans. I have read the letter from Humana to its members and it does neither.

Moreover, I am concerned that CMS has taken action for political purposes, which threatens the integrity of the agency and of our democracy. To my knowledge, Humana is the only such plan to be targeted for investigation for speaking out against the Administration and Congressional Democrat's plan. However, today CMS issued a ban on all MA health plans from distributing similar information.

I note that no such pressure has been applied to those supportive of the President's Medicare cuts. AARP, which has the largest MA plan in Medicare at 1.7 million enrollees, has been a vocal advocate in favor of the President Obama and Democrats' health care proposals. They have spent millions of dollars communicating to its members the group's support of President Obama's proposed changes to Medicare via bulletins, television ads, newsletters, and its website. According to USA Today, AARP sent 8 million direct letters about health care reform and Medicare policies under consideration in Washington to its members over Labor Day. Additionally AARP has a "Health Action Now!" website that asks seniors to contact Members of Congress using an AARP-drafted letter that seniors can send via e-mail. These communications seem to be largely similar to the communications sent by Humana, other than they are in support of President Obama's position.

For example, AARP's website states that it's a "myth" that "health care reform will hurt Medicare", saying that it's a "fact" that "none of the health care reform proposals being considered by Congress would cut Medicare benefits or increase your out-of-pocket costs for Medicare services." This flies in the face of what the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has found as it relates to the MA cuts.

CBO'S findings about the $156 billion in MA cuts contained in H.R. 3200, the House Democrats' health care bill, should be of great concern to senior citizens. According to CBO, the legislation "could lead many plans to limit the benefits they offer, raise their premiums, or withdraw from the program." CBO also predicts that H.R. 3200 will result in 3 million seniors currently enrolled in MA losing their coverage.

Given the requirement that communications by MA plans, or their affiliates, to current and potential MA enrollees, not contain inaccurate information, it would seem that CMS' resources would be better served ensuring AARP no longer falsely suggests that the President's plans to cut $500 billion from Medicare will not have any negative impact on MA enrollees.

In light of CMS' seemingly uneven and potentially politically-motivated use of its regulatory authority, I therefore request that:

1. CMS immediately suspend this virtual gag order on efforts by an MA plan to let its enrollees know how they could be hurt by the health reforms plans being pushed by President Obama and Democrats in Congress;

2. CMS immediately publicly indicate that the providing of accurate information by MA plans to its enrollees is not prohibited by applicable federal rules and regulations and that no adverse action will be taken against any plan choosing to do so;

3. Provide, in writing, by September 28, 2009, an explanation of whether similar enforcement activities were taken against other MA plan and its affiliates, including AARP, and if not why no such action was taken.

I look forward to your timely response.

Sincerely,
DAVE CAMP
Ranking Member
Committee on Ways and Means

Sunday Funnies

Massive March on U.S. Capitol 9-12-09

See the News as it's happening in Washington DC http://ow.ly/p6Fa http://ow.ly/p6J5 http://ow.ly/p6NG http://ow.ly/p6OE http://ow.ly/p7GN

Thousands of taxpayers have filled the National Mall after marching down Pennsylvania Avenue carrying hand-made signs that read:

* 2010: Vote all incumbents out!

* Our Constitution has termites!

* We are under attack by our own government

* Stop the march of socialism

* You can put lipstick on communism, but it's still communism

* My family, my doctor

* Obamacare makes me sick

* Go green: Recycle Congress

* I'm not your ATM

* We had a dream. We got a nightmare

* Is this Russia?

* You Lie!

9-11 Memorial Day, pray for this country, display your flag and comfort those who mourn.

Born Again American from Born Again American on Vimeo.

Top 10 Reasons why Government Health-Care Is Wrong for America

Top 10 Reasons Obamacare Is Wrong for America
http://ow.ly/iN4L

1. Millions Will Lose Their Current Insurance. Period. End of Story: President Obama wants Americans to believe they can keep their insurance if they like, but research from the government, private research firms, and think tanks show this is not the case. Proposed economic incentives, plus a government-run health plan like the one proposed in the House bill, would cause 88.1 million people to see their current employer-sponsored health plan disappear.
2. Your Health Care Coverage Will Probably Change Anyway: Even if you kept your private insurance, eventually most remaining plans--whether employer plans or individual plans--would have to conform to new federal benefit standards. Moreover, the necessary plan "upgrades" will undoubtedly cost you more in premiums.
3. The Umpire Is Also the First Baseman: The main argument for a "public option" is that it would increase competition. However, if the federal government creates a health care plan that it controls and also sets the rules for the private plans, there is little doubt that Washington would put its private sector "competitors" out of business sooner or later.
4. The Fed Picks Your Treatment: President Obama said: "They're going to have to give up paying for things that don't make them healthier. ... If there's a blue pill and a red pill, and the blue pill is half the price of the red pill and works just as well, why not pay half for the thing that's going to make you well." Does that sound like a government that will stay out of your health care decisions?
5. Individual Mandate Means Less Liberty and More Taxes: Although he once opposed the idea, President Obama is now open to the imposition of an individual mandate that would require all Americans to have federally approved health insurance. This unprecedented federal directive not only takes away your individual freedom but could cost you as well. Lawmakers are considering a penalty or tax for those who don't buy government-approved health plans.
6. Higher Taxes Than Europe Hurt Small Businesses: A proposed surtax on the wealthy will actually hit hundreds of thousands of small business ownerswho are dealing with a recession. If it is enacted, America's top earners and job creators will carry a larger overall tax burden than France, Italy, Germany, Japan, etc., with a total average tax rate greater than 52%. Is that the right recipe for jobs and wage growth?
7. Who Makes Medical Decisions? What is the right medical treatment and should bureaucrats determine what Americans can or cannot have? While the House and Senate language is vague, amendments offered in House and Senate committees to block government rationing of care were routinely defeated. Cost or a federal health board could be the deciding factors. President Obama himself admitted this when he said, "Maybe you're better off not having the surgery, but taking the painkiller," when asked about an elderly woman who needed a pacemaker.
8. Taxpayer-Funded Abortions? Nineteen Democrats recently asked the President to not sign any bill that doesn't explicitly exclude "abortion from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan" or any bill that allows a federal health board to "recommend abortion services be included under covered benefits or as part of a benefits package." Currently, these provisions do not exist.
9. It's Not Paid For: The CBO says the current House plan would increase the deficit by $239 billion over 10 years. And that number will likely continue to rise over the long term. Similar entitlement bills in the past, including Medicare, have scored much lower than their actual eventual cost.
10. Rushing It, Not Reading It: We've been down this road before--with the failed stimulus package. Back then, we also heard that we were in a crisis and that we needed to pass a 1,000-plus-page bill in a few hours--without reading it--or we would have 8% unemployment. Well, we know what happened. Now, one Congressman has even said it's pointless to read one of the reform bills without two days and two lawyers to make sense of it. Deception is the only reason to rush through a bill nobody truly understands.

Nobel Prize-winning economist: Says U.S. Recovery Prospect 'Very Weak'

BBC NEWS http://ow.ly/opnt
US recovery prospect 'very weak'

Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has cast doubt on the strength of any US economic recovery, warning it may be hit by a "double-dip" recession.

More positive economic data has convinced many analysts that the US is starting to improve.

But Mr Stiglitz, a former World Bank chief economist, said "the prospects of a robust recovery are very, very weak".

He said there was a "significant chance" that the economy could contract again after a period of growth.

This is what economists refer to as a "double-dip" recession.

'Negative shock'

"We are not seeing a recovery of sustained consumption," Mr Stiglitz said.

He highlighted the fact that any recovery would be the result of government stimulus packages, which could not continue indefinitely.

"The withdrawal of stimulus packages in 2011 will be a negative shock to the economy," he said.

He also highlighted continuing risks in the commercial property sector.

Recent data has suggested a more upbeat view of the US economy.

Last week, figures showed that US manufacturing grew in August for the first time in 19 months and that home sales hit a two-year high in July.

Last month, figures showed consumer spending continuing to rise and durable goods orders jumping sharply.

Sunday Funnies

Waxman-Markey / Cap & Trade Effect On Gas Prices In Your State

The "Waxman-Markey" energy bill, which would restrict greenhouse gas emissions by creating a cap-and-trade system, was passed by the House in June and will likely be considered by the Senate soon.

If this bill becomes law, gasoline prices would increase significantly in order to meet emissions limits imposed by the legislation.

The link below will provide an interactice map showing each state's projected TAX increases:
Waxman-Markey’s Effect On Gas Prices In Your State » The Foundry

Obama: 'Judge me by the people who surround me'

Obama: 'Judge me by the people who surround me'

September 3, 1:56 PM Columbia Conservative Examiner Anthony G. Martin

During the 2008 Presidential campaign Barack Obama told audiences, 'Judge me by the people with whom I surround myself.'

OK, we will.

And that is precisely the problem with Obama.

In order to understand Barack Obama one must look beyond the official, Congressional-approved Cabinet choices to the truckload of unofficial 'czars,' 'special advisor's,' and 'officers' he has chosen to come to the White House to have direct access to him.
If one uses the criterion Obama laid out by which to judge his character, political ideology, and plans for the country, we can only conclude that the President is a far-Left extremist who disdains capitalism and free commerce, free speech in the open marketplace of ideas, Caucasian people who have accumulated wealth, and any dissent from the concepts propounded by his 'regime.'

How do we know this? Look at his czars, special advisers, and officers. These are the ones closest to Obama.

John Holdren, science czar, advocates for population control using the most extreme measures, such as mandating the number of children Americans can have. He is also a proponent of 'de-developing' the United States, sending its agricultural practices and technology back to the 19th century. Holdren has also suggested that infants and chronically ill elderly do not fit his definition of 'human,' and therefore can be expendable.

Cass Sunstein, regulatory czar and Harvard law professor, believes that animals should have the right to legal representation. If you try to get rid of rats in your home, a 'concerned citizen' could bring a lawsuit, with the rat as the plaintiff, to sue you for endangering a species. He also believes that if bloggers post something that turns out to be false, they should be prosecuted. In short, Sunstein is a Leftwing moonbat with Fascist leanings. Remember, Obama said to judge him by the people around him.

Ezekiel Emanuel, healthcare czar, believes in using cost-benefit and comparative-benefit analysis to allocate healthcare resources. This means the fewer years you have left to live, the less cost-effective it is to treat you. Thus, most of those resources should be diverted from the elderly to younger people. This is the 'rationing' portion of ObamaCare that many of us have warned about. And this will be done even without the so-called 'public option,' which is not really what the debate about government control of healthcare is about in the first place. Even without the public option, the provision for rationing is inherent in the provisions of the bill, thanks to advisers such as Emanuel.

Van Jones, green jobs czar, is perhaps the most extremist of the extreme in the entire lot. As a self-avowed, self-identified Communist, Jones abhors liberty, the Constitution, the American way of life, and seeks to change it from top to bottom. Here is more on Van Jones.

Mark Loyd, FCC 'diversity czar,' supports Communist Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and believes that what Chavez did to squelch free speech in the media and seize the means of communication is a good model for the United States. His plan is to silence conservative talk radio by forcing ownership to change hands to minorities and by implementing a fee structure for licensing that will put most private broadcasters out of business. At that point, Loyd would make PBS, or NPR on the radio, the most powerful forces in broadcasting--controlled by the government, of course.

Due to the areas over which they have jurisdiction, the above-named 'special advisers' to Obama are the key players. Jobs, communication, healthcare, agriculture, population control--all of these amount to a major shift in the way America has operated as a Free Republic for over 200 years.

Questions for consideration: Given these czars and special advisers who have offices in the White House with easy access to the President, how, then, should we judge Barack Obama's ideas and plans for the country, just as he asked us to do?
Why is a Communist operating out of the White House as one of Obama's closet advisers?

What can Americans reasonably expect over the next few years if the policies espoused by Loyd, Jones, Sunstein, Emanuel, and Holdren are implemented?

Border Security - Government is FAILING, again!

Government has failed to provide one of it's MOST BASIC FUNCTIONS - America's sovereignty.

Illegal immigrants cost every American Tax Payer look at our prisons, schools, crime, healthcare, drugs and gangs
(admittedly not all fall into these categories) but the cost is real when they do!

And what about that oath to protect us from our enemies, both foreign and domestic? is that another failure?

Ben & Jerry ice cream honors same-sex marriage with 'Hubby Hubby'

Ben & Jerry's ice cream honors same-sex 'marriage' (OneNewsNow.com)

Ben & Jerry's has announced that it will temporarily change its "Chubby Hubby" ice cream to "Hubby Hubby" in honor of homosexual marriage.

New poll shows Congress' popularity dropping

New poll shows Congress' popularity dropping

Slightly more than one-third of Americans have a favorable opinion of the Democratic-led Congress, a new poll said Wednesday in a clear warning to the majority party.

The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press said the 37 percent expressing a positive opinion represents a decline of 13 points since April.

The poll found a major drop in intentions to vote Democratic in next year's midterm elections.

Obama Calls Islam a Great Religion at Ramadan Dinner

Obama said Islam is "part of America." He said the American Muslim community is diverse, like the broader citizenry of the United States. http://ow.ly/nG1L

And Christians in America dedicate this to him http://ow.ly/nG9w