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

Obama Approval Index Month-by-Month

Obama Approval Index Month-by-Month



When you track the President’s Job Approval on a daily basis, people sometimes get so caught up in the day-to-day fluctuations that they miss the bigger picture. To look at the longer-term trends, Rasmussen Reports has compiled the numbers on a full-month basis and the results can be seen in the graphics below.

Looking back, after the initial euphoria of inauguration day, the President’s ratings slipped a bit but remained steady and positive from February thru May. In June, the numbers began to move down a bit, still remained generally positive. July and August were less positive months for the President.

Overall, the number who Strongly Approve has fallen from 43% in January to 30% in August. During that same time frame, the number who Strongly Disapprove has grown from 20% to 39%. Those numbers translate to a Presidential Approval Index that has declined from +23 in January to -9 in August.

Also in August, the President’s total approval fell below 50% for the first time.

While opposition to the President’s proposed health care reform is partly responsible for the declining approval ratings, the numbers reflect a broader level of frustration. Last fall, during the Bush Administration, voters overwhelmingly opposed the bailout plans for banks but the bailout went ahead. Earlier this year, voters overwhelmingly opposed the federal takeover of General Motors and Chrysler, but they went ahead as well. Two-thirds of American voters (64%) support a law requiring the federal government to sell its interest in GM within one year.

40% of voters see reducing the deficit as the top priority while 21% say health care is number one.

Currently, Republicans have a modest lead on the Generic Congressional Ballot. But, the good news for Democrats is that they have fourteen months to do some damage control before voters render a judgment.