Healthy as a Dead Horse.

Update:  Half of households in US pay no income tax.

Yeah, this is fair.  Note that I’m not in the top 10% – not even remotely close, but I say that just isn’t fair at all.

The result is a tax system that exempts almost half the country from paying for programs that benefit everyone, including national defense, public safety, infrastructure and education. It is a system in which the top 10 percent of earners — households making an average of $366,400 in 2006 — paid about 73 percent of the income taxes collected by the federal government.

Here’s the knife to the heart…

The bottom 40 percent, on average, make a profit from the federal income tax, meaning they get more money in tax credits than they would otherwise owe in taxes. For those people, the government sends them a payment.

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Operation Remodel continues on.  I am continually amazed at the stupidity of the people who owned the house before us and I now actively hate them.

Father-in-Law – aka Crash Bandicoot fell two days ago and wrecked his shoulder.  He still can’t lift a weight (other than the weight of his arm) to shoulder height.  Bad fall and that was just walking across the driveway.

Told him to relax and not worry about the remodel, I can certainly try to do it in steps that will minimize damage to myself.  Note I did not say “No damage.”  There will be pain.  Not looking forward to it, but it has to be done.

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All the hopesy-changey people who love Obama and are willing to suckle at the Great Teat (aka the Largesse of the Taxpayer) for free have been confused, the poor dears.

It seems that they thought things would be free, free, FREE.  And right now.

I’m tickled that they are disappointed.

I know that they have very real serious problems that are hardships, and I do feel for them.  I also know that the US was clearly not founded to be a Socialist State.  Asking me to pay for someone else’s health care just increases the welfare state.

Volcker’s Value Added Tax is a way to increment taxation while making it less obvious to the taxpayer.

Acknowledging it would be a highly unpopular move, White House economic adviser Paul Volcker said yesterday the United States should consider imposing a “value added tax” similar to those charged in Europe to help get the deficit under control.

A VAT is a national sales tax that, like state and city sales taxes, would be collected by retailers.

Volcker, at the New-York Historical Society, told a panel on the global financial crisis that Congress might also have to consider new taxes on carbon and energy.

“The President has passed historic tax cuts for middle-class families and continues to push for more tax cuts. The President is not proposing to cut the deficit at the expense of middle-class families,” said a White House official asked for comment.

See the bold type up there?  Historic tax cuts?  I’m going to get reamed for more health care dollars and they call this tax cuts?  All this extra spending has to come from somewhere, and it won’t get paid for by tax cuts.

Whatever happened to cutting fat out of the budget as opposed to spend-spend-spend and take more from taxpayers to cover it?

He added, “If, at the end of the day, we need to raise taxes, we should raise taxes.”

With their current plans, taxes will have to be raised.

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WikiLeaks, which really is pretty much a biased show, showed video skewed to make it look like the US carried out unprovoked attacks on civilians.  Two Reuters photographers died during the strikes.

Civilians don’t carry AK-47′s AND RPG’s.

Hanzlik called the death of the Reuters photographers “incredibly unfortunate.” That sad part is, he said, they weren’t wearing any markings or jerseys that would have signaled to U.S. forces they were members of the media.

Unmarked reporters hanging out with militants who are attacking the US forces should not expect safety.

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How come Tea Partiers are continually considered an all-white organization?  To the best of my knowledge there were no requirements to join and that it actually was fairly diverse.  Oh, that’s right… Brightbart.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – They’ve been called Oreos, traitors and Uncle Toms, and are used to having to defend their values. Now black conservatives are really taking heat for their involvement in the mostly white tea party movement—and for having the audacity to oppose the policies of the nation’s first black president.

I would think taking heat on something like this would be a badge of honor – standing up for what you believe in, even if it goes against the flow of a number of your contemporaries – not taking the easy route and standing up for what you believe in.

“You have to be honest and true to yourself. What am I supposed to do, vote Democratic just to be popular? Just to fit in?” asked Clifton Bazar, a 45-year-old New Jersey freelance photographer and conservative blogger.

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Are We Happy Yet?

Has the world grown to love Obama every bit as much as they did when he won the election?   Let’s see…

1. Rocky relations with Russia/Putin.  Hardly bridge-building here.  And is playing nice-nice helpful…?  You gotta be firm yet respectful, not one or the other.
2. Insult Britain.  Several times.  Again.
3. Piss off Israel.
4. Piss of Karzai in Afghanistan.

At home, things are pretty similar what with Government Motors, buying up commercial real-estate, regulation of more industries, dictation of “how it will be” with several sectors, forcing the American Public to accept health care with the promise that once we try it we’ll love it, and the looming in the wings fight over environmental issues.  With respect to health care – usually when I’m going to shell out big money, for a car or a home as examples, I am convinced I’m going to like it before my hard earned money goes away.   Guess Democrats don’t seem to think that my opinion matters a great deal.

This is not a happiness-building administration.  They have bungled every public relations issue they’ve put their hands on – largely because of fake sincerity and false friendship that covers up a truly disdainful approach to everyone that has a view contrary to the Administration.

How about mockery of Tea Party’ers?  One-sided media coverage?

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Today on NPR a guest said that we’ll be secondary-screening individuals not just based on names but on “characteristics”, such as “A Nigerian man who has been to Country X recently”.  How, pray tell, does this differ from profiling?

Under President Obama’s new airport security plan, anyone traveling to the US will be stopped if they match the description of a potential terrorist. Wait, we weren’t doing this already? – Jimmy Fallon

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Oh Pish…

While we’re worrying about the health care thing, this has been going on for a long time but it makes it no less wrong:

One problem facing all the state proposals is that federal law generally trumps state law.

States are proposing things against the new Health Care Reform voted in, and you see statements like that.

Should there not be much more bristling at this sort of talk?  Yes, yes, I know it has been this way a long time, but the federal government was only supposed to have powers given to it explicitly, not have any powers it wants that were not explicitly taken away.

Such consequences are what Lincoln set in motion when he laid the idea of State’s sovereignty in the ground so many years ago.

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Let’s use California as an example of the griping, even though it is other states involved in the story… because there are states that are griping and are going to SUE THE US GOV’T OVER THE HEALTH CARE BILL.  Oh, won’t this be fun?

States that sued:  The states that sued are Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington, McCollum said in astatement on his office’s Web site.

This is significant because ONLY ONE REPUBLICAN VOTED FOR HEALTH CARE REFORM (a Louisiana turncoat from New Orleans – surprise, surprise).

Some states look like they were drug in – Louisiana, Florida, and Texas, for example.  Louisiana looks a teensy bit bad because they had the one Republican turncoat but had a Democrat vote against, too.

Note:  By “drug in” I mean that they’d rather not even had this issue at all and really would rather they didn’t have to sue to get their rights back.

Washington, Colorado, and Michigan – you look like crap, you guys – you can vote in people that won’t listen to you but when it comes time to pony up the bucks you sue against the Fed because it’s a crappy law.

Another state which I think would love to sue but won’t, at least until they find out how much they personally will have to spend would be California and their 34 Democrats to 19 Republican seats – not a one of those democrats voted against the bill..

Louisiana 6-1, Republicans.

Florida 15-9 (1 vacant), Republican.

Texas 20-12, Republicans.

Pennsylvania 11-1 (1 vacant), Republican.

Nebraska 3 Republicans.

Alabama 5-2, Republicans.

Idaho 1-1, tied.

Utah 2-1, Republicans.

South Carolina 4-2, Republicans.

South Dakota 1 Democrat (Stephanie Sandlin – who voted against the bill)

Virgina 6-5, Democrats.  (Two dems voted against so I don’t know what to think)

Michigan 8-7, Democrats. (Michigan has Stupak, which is humiliating)

Colorado 5-2, Democrats. (One dem against – bad show you jerks)

Washington 6-3, Democrat. (One dem against)

Well, I won’t say I have respect for a single one of the 39 Dems that voted against HRC.  I got burned by Stupak already.  For all I know, those 39 just didn’t get their palms properly greased like Stupak did.

Give California time – sticker shock just hasn’t set in – they’ll start bitching once people stop accepting their IOU’s.  By roughly 56%, Californians helped pass this sumbitch of a law by virtue of the idiots they voted into power.

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They think that Obama/Demo-Care will take away our freedoms.  Oh pish.  How could government-run health care possibly take a way our freedoms?

I didn’t have the heart to even post 15 and 16, which are so bone-chilling, so hair-raising, so terrifying – based on the effect that they will have on pharmaceuticals and device makers – that I can’t put it on a family blog.

Europe is just amazed how we can be happy with our current medical care system and slap each other on the back about how civilized their systems are.

Simple fact – more gets innovated and developed in the US through our way of doing things than anywhere else.  The world greatly benefits from our pharma system.  They had best hope this doesn’t put a crimp in that, or they’re going to have two choices:  (1) pay lots more for drugs, or (2) be more blatant about stealing the recipe and reverse-engineering/making knock-off drugs.

With thanks to By David Hogberg…

2. You are young and healthy and want to pay for insurance that reflects that status? Tough. You’ll have to pay for premiums that cover not only you, but also the guy who smokes three packs a day, drink a gallon of whiskey and eats chicken fat off the floor. That’s because insurance companies will no longer be able to underwrite on the basis of a person’s health status. (Section 2701).

Makes me want to do all three things myself….

5. You are an employer and you would like to offer coverage that doesn’t allow your employers’ slacker children to stay on the policy until age 26? Tough. (Section 2714).

TWENTY-SIX???

6. You must buy a policy that covers ambulatory patient services, emergency services, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment; prescription drugs; rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices; laboratory services; preventive and wellness services; chronic disease management; and pediatric services, including oral and vision care.  You’re a single guy without children? Tough, your policy must cover pediatric services. You’re a woman who can’t have children? Tough, your policy must cover maternity services. You’re a teetotaler? Tough, your policy must cover substance abuse treatment. (Add your own violation of personal freedom here.) (Section 1302).

And that is the ONLY way this could even hope to be set up without being so obvious to even the lowest cretin that it cannot work.  Someone has to pay a disproportionate amount if other’s aren’t going to pay their share.  Simple fact of life.

11. If you are a physician and you don’t want the government looking over your shoulder? Tough. The Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized to use your claims data to issue you reports that measure the resources you use, provide information on the quality of care you provide, and compare the resources you use to those used by other physicians. Of course, this will all be just for informational purposes. It’s not like the government will ever use it to intervene in your practice and patients’ care. Of course not. (Section 3003 (i))

What’s he talking about?  Anyone ever tells you that the government will not use information it has if it decides the need exists, look at Japanese internment in WWII.  If that information is there, it WILL be used by someone who feels they have a right or need to it.

12. If you are a physician and you want to own your own hospital, you must be an owner and have a “Medicare provider agreement” by Feb. 1, 2010. (Dec. 31, 2010 in the reconciliation changes.) If you didn’t have those by then, you are out of luck. (Section 6001 (i) (1) (A)).

Like… is #12 permanent?

14. You are a health insurer and you want to raise premiums to meet costs? Well, if that increase is deemed “unreasonable” by the Secretary of Health and Human Services it will be subject to review and can be denied. (Section 1003)

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Mob rule is what Congress is all about.

I’m a big enough guy to admit that my support of the rep from Michigan – my admission of respect if not actually liking the guy – was naive and probably one of the stupider things I’ve ever done and said in my life.

See, when I say something like what Stupak said, I stand behind what I say.  He caved.  He showed he’s got no intrinsic value.  His word is less than dirt.

Schlafly had some very good things to say about that sack of shit and his cohorts.  She said what I felt in my bones even if I couldn’t say it like she did:

“Any formerly pro-life Democrat who casts a ‘Yes’ vote for this Senate health care bill tonight will be forever remembered as being among the deciding votes which facilitated the largest expansion of abortion services since Roe v. Wade.”

“Mr. Stupak and his Democrat followers have now clarified that you cannot be pro-life and be a Democrat.  If abortion was truly their biggest issue, they wouldn’t willfully align themselves with the Party of Death.”

“This vote will expose the myth of the ‘pro-life Democrat.’  With this single vote, the Democratic Party will divide our nation into the Party of Death and the Party of Life, and future elections will never be the same.”

I posted a comment over at Enas’ (Center of the Anomaly) that I like enough to say ’screw it’ and post here.

What could go right in all of this? Well, it could get bound up in courts right quick. It also has a long fuse, at least for some of it. There aren’t a great many months the libtards have before the next election and so we can hope for a sweeping out of the trash, and getting right down to the business of reversing what damage can be reversed.

But they can do a hell of a lot of damage in the meantime.

The hidden bonus that could be waiting is for a sea-change of sorts – one in which people wake up and realize that hope-n-change kind of thinking is really damned naive and childish. I would hope that the more subtle payoff in any such sea-change is that the republicans actually become conservatives rather than bank on “brand name” and don’t see mixup as a mandate for their screwball policies.

I think it’s probably far too much to expect that even more would come out of this.  The recognition that entitlement programs have always had the most fervent support from those who benefit most who also pay the least in taxes.  Somehow this fact doesn’t piss anyone off.

We have entitlement programs coming due and we’re adding more.  Social Security.  Medicare.  Medicaid.  National Health Care.

Politicians can’t even begin to figure out how to roll out of the way of Social Security before that runaway truck slams into us, and they’re adding national health care?  This is like using avgas as the liquid of choice to put out a house fire.

If the republicans – the self-proclaimed conservatives – in office now cannot suddenly behave as a truly fiscally responsible body, then we must get rid of them, too.

Schlafly said “This vote will expose the myth of the ‘pro-life Democrat.”   And this is a fatal mis-step on the part of any scheming democrat party leader.  Not for a very long time will they be able to claim that they stand in both worlds like Stupak did.  Because when the time came to stand up and be counted, they chose to be placed in one camp or the other – there was no in-between here.  Too bad for them.

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From the Politico…

Lawmakers also came down to the crowd too. Anthony Weiner was watching near the House entrance. “These people are very civil when you talk to them one on one,” he said, “but when they get together it’s mob rule.”

That’s because if you force them to the point where they have to join together and protest, which they just don’t live for like any liberal alive, they’re generally pretty pissed.

And if you think they’re pissed now… you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

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Healthcare well below the national norm.

Got a raging sinus infection and I am not up to much clever tonight.  So just kind of play along, won’t you?

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Angry Haitians block roads with corpses.

Yeah, that’ll help.

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Behind closed doors, transparently, of course…

Big Labor got some big love from President Obama and congressional Democrats yesterday after they agreed to exempt union workers from the whopping “Cadillac tax” on high-cost health-care plans until 2018.

The sweetheart deal, hammered out behind closed doors, will save union employees at least $60 billion over the years involved, while others won’t be as lucky — they’ll have to cough up almost $90 billion.

The 40 percent excise tax on what have come to be called “Cadillac” health-care plans would exempt collective-bargaining contracts covering government employees and other union members until Jan. 1, 2018.

The only way they could hope to pass it is to pander to the biggest whiners and screw everyone else.  This is why I hate unions.  I was a union member several times.  Hated them then, too.

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This kind of talk scares me.  Already has.  Continues to do so.  Excerpts from an editorial by C.L. Gray:

Two weeks ago the Mayo Clinic shocked the nation when it closed the doors of one of its Arizona clinics to patients on Medicare. Just this past June President Obama himself praised Mayo as a model of medical efficiency noting that Mayo gives “the highest quality care at costs well below the national norm.” If Mayo feels compelled to walk away from this government-run program, others will surely follow. The nation must understand why.

President Obama reflected this [abusive posture towards physicians] last summer. On national television, he stated as fact a surgeon is paid between $30,000 and $50,000 for amputating a patient’s foot.

In reality, a surgeon is paid between $740 and $1,140 to perform this unfortunate, but often life-saving procedure. This reimbursement must cover a pre-operative evaluation the day of surgery, the surgery, and follow-up for 90 days after surgery—not to mention malpractice insurance, salaries for clinic nurses, and clinic overhead. It is frightening to think our president is so wildly misinformed even as he stands on the cusp of overhauling American health care. But it gets worse.

Given massive federal deficits, Washington now faces increasing pressure to cut Medicare spending. One way to do this is to intimidate physicians into under-billing. To do this Washington intends to spend tax payer dollars to ramp up physician audits using Recovery Audit Contractors (RAC audits) to randomly investigate private physician’s Medicare billing.

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Finally, after one year, something I agree with the Obama White House on…

Robertson’s remark “utterly stupid”.

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Give Them Enough Rope…

… and eventually they will hang us all.

Updated Image to reflect Obama’s Executive Order to elevate foreign entities so that they needn’t be bothered by that pesky 6th Amendment.  Steal the image.  Give it away, use it to your heart’s content.  Please.

Here was last night’s version.  I like the above one better.

But, just like the airline terrorist plot system worked, so too shall our health care system.  Because, as we all know, just because a passenger was burned while being a first responder to the threat, this doesn’t mean things won’t go swimmingly well.  Just like a bunch of molested single-tree homogenized data means nothing to the Global Warming argument.  Just as all the things in 2009 (the bad things, anyway) were all Bush’s fault alone.

Update: They will indeed hang us all.  Soylent Green, ThreatsWatch, and finally  Michelle Malkin (bless them all) have reported on Obama’s plot to ensure that you, too, are now susceptible to a foreign agency operating within your own country’s borders, and they operate without verifiable oversight by your government.

On ThreatsWatch:

President Obama has not rejected the concept of ICC jurisdiction over US citizens and service members. He has avoided any direct reference to this while offering praise for the ICC for conducting its trials so far “in America’s interests.” The door thus remains wide open to the skeptical observer.

Many thanks to cbullitt over at Soylent for passing this on.

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I’m not one for gushy miracle stories, but I am one for “Guy loses wife, guy loses baby, guy gets back baby, guy gets back wife, all live” type stories.  Talk about going from the peak of Mt. Everest to the bottom of the Mariana Trench to the top of Mt. Everest in under an hour.

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There’s recreational drinking and then there’s professional drinking.  This is a professional.

Woman’s BAC 0.708

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Napolitano and Obama aren’t very reassuring when it comes to reassuring me that they are on top of things in the air travel department.

I had a thought though.  Let’s get rid of profiling after all!  Instead, we do no profiling or background checks whatsoever, and if you are from the middle east or are a middle east whack-job, you just fly on the planes designated for middle easterners.  No security checks there, either!  I’m thinking that it just might give those of the peaceful religions some incentive to stop bitching about profiling for a change and step up and police themselves.

If the plane flies more than two miles off of the scheduled flight plan you just blow the damn thing out of the sky.  Sounds pretty workable, everyone gets to fly, and there is no profiling.

I’m slowly climbing out of my bad mood.  Give me two more days and it’ll pass.

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By the way, thank you all for your kind Christmas wishes.  We had a good one even though the kids ran us ragged.  Tired us out!

It is wonderful to get back into a “slow” mode of operation again.

And I still have five more days off!  Yahoo!

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I’m an angry voter.

If you voted for Obama and if you voted for a Democratic senator to your state, I’m going to clear my throat and voice something I don’t usually voice in so many words:

SCREW YOU.

I’m not at all happy with Congress’ health care bill, a vote of cloture, and a vote at 1am Monday morning.  Malkin has lots of good information posted.

I tried calling my senator’s offices.  Guess what?  Conveniently you can’t leave a message and no one is answering on a weekend.  That shouldn’t be a surprise.

What should be a surprise to some gullible people is that the president and his party – those who so passionately champion transparency, have been and are doing every thing that they can to ensure that they pass this bill in a stealthy fashion

So get ready folks!  Get ready for the ushering in of the Reid-Baucus-Dodd-Harkin amendment #2376.

I’ve left e:mails and voice mails, reminding them that they can vote as they wish but there will be a backlash this fall.  Wherever a seat is up for grabs in Congress, they ought not get too comfortable.  Those who have a little while to go yet, they should also be aware that memories for some are long.

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Most Worthless Information Ever.

Update 2:  I. Am. In. Awe.  Over at Moonbattery is an awesome kickbutt satire magazine cover graphic.  Oh golly, is it good.

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Update:  NOT WORTHLESS.  You know how Obama keeps placing the blame for everything at Bush’s feet?  He ought to clam up – a lot of people are pining for Bush which would argue that not everyone is convinced a lot of issues don’t lie directly at Obama’s feet:

Perhaps the greatest measure of Obama’s declining support is that just 50% of voters now say they prefer having him as President to George W. Bush, with 44% saying they’d rather have his predecessor. Given the horrendous approval ratings Bush showed during his final term that’s somewhat of a surprise and an indication that voters are increasingly placing the blame on Obama for the country’s difficulties instead of giving him space because of the tough situation he inherited. The closeness in the Obama/Bush numbers also has implications for the 2010 elections. Using the Bush card may not be particularly effective for Democrats anymore, which is good news generally for Republicans and especially ones like Rob Portman who are running for office and have close ties to the former President.

Thanks for the news, Ben Smith.  This ought to cheer many.

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THIS may be the most worthless ever but the title of this post refers to stuff after this graphic.  I’m probably going to catch hell for it, but satire is still free, right?

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Oh, wow.  Oh geez.  Oh boy.

So…  ****ing…  What?

Gosh, Breitbart, glad you gave us yet more useless data and some scientists figured this one out:

If the data devoured in the United States last year were converted to text there would be enough books to bury the country under a pile seven feet (two meters) deep, according to a study released Wednesday.

Researchers at UC San Diego.  I would like to know if one cent of our tax dollars went to this utterly worthless information.  In the days of video on-line the information is neither surprising nor significant.

Seriously, when a study is reduced to a visual sound-bite like burying the country under seven feet of books, words can’t express how useless it really is.  Aparalyzed 18″ tail would serve me better than that knowledge.

Yeah, I’m in a foul mood today.

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Cadillacs and Health

Emergency Update:

Obama is going to pre-empt A Charlie Brown Christmas for his speech.  Is there no end to this guy’s narcissism?

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Sent out in the PatriotPost – this picture is so… poignant that it hurts.  I love it.  Whoever you are who put words to this… you get a free dinner if ever you come my way.

I know I saw this coming a long time ago – I knew we’d run into these issues – and here they are rearing their ugly heads, over and over and over and over.

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A decision I don’t think I could live with.  Forced to choose between saving your child and your spouse?  I wouldn’t be alive long after this.

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Apparently now your government sees fit to tax you in a higher rate bracket if they decide that you have a “cadillac” health plan.  Guess what?

Your president thinks so, too.

On Sunday, President Obama said he saw the need to protect union members, but he also defended the tax. “I do think that giving a disincentive to insurance companies to offer Cadillac plans that don’t make people healthier is part of the way that we’re going to bring down health care costs for everybody over the long term.”

Any justification they can find, Constitutional or not, will be found and rooted out in order to offset the costs of this boondoggle of a health care “reform”.

A good part of social engineering relies on disincentivizing unwanted behavior using monetary chastisements.

How’s that Obama Vote Working Out for You?

The prez said he saw the need to protect union members BUT defended the tax, which is a great way of saying he didn’t really give a rat’s ass what happens to union members.

It’s all about control.  And you who voted in this congress and this president are giving away all your control – and the rest of ours – one piece at a time.  Thank you so much for that.

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Too Poor to Buy Health Care? Buy it or Pay $15,000.

So, the House passed a health care bill. A senior republican predicts they’ll pay a high price and the dems disagree with that notion.

But the Democrat in charge of defending his party’s majority in the House next year said Democrats took their cue Saturday from voters’ “message” in the 2008 election, which sent President Obama to the White House and strengthened Democratic majorities in Congress. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said voters were upset that Republicans “did nothing” about issues like health care while they were in power and wanted Washington to step up to the plate.

Funny but none of them really get it.  It wasn’t a mandate for the democrats, it was a rallying against the republicans.  One year.  The clock is ticking and there is one year in which they must try to do as much damage as possible before they are voted out.

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Oh?  It’ll cost $15K just to buy it?  The penalties are even higher?

With logic that is breathtaking, the Democrats have plunged and rushed in where even fools fear to tread.

According to the Congressional Budget Office the lowest cost family non-group plan under the Speaker’s bill would cost $15,000 in 2016.

Another shining example of just how naive I can be – I could not picture how anything could be stupider than the health care plans we’ve seen already.   I have been clueless, because these iron-fisted idiots have stupid down to a high art form.

Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail.  The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.

In response to the JCT letter, Camp said:  “This is the ultimate example of the Democrats’ command-and-control style of governing – buy what we tell you or go to jail.  It is outrageous and it should be stopped immediately.

This has gone from being “just a bad idea” to “downright scary in scope and ignorance of economics”.

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Random Detritus Day.

I cannot begin to fathom why or how this guy came to be in a position of political power.  This is, however, fairly typical histrionic behavior on the part of the liberal mindset.  I’ve seen more emotional self-restraint on the part of pregnant women.

The health care crisis is a Holocaust???

That’s like calling a large electric bill a financial disaster.

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Well, Jimmah Carter took the chickensh*t way out.

Carter said in an interview that he was only talking about a “fringe element” when he made the controversial remarks two weeks ago.

A good 'toon by Eric Allie... he captured the look of an idiot anchor quite nicely. I must go look up more of his stuff.

He’s not got a spine that allows him to stand behind his words.  Maybe some day they’ll have a spine transplant but for now, he’s doomed to be a jellyfish.  Watch him soft-pedal it…

“I said those that had a personal attack on President Obama as a person, that was tinged with racism,” Carter told CNN. “But I recognize that people that disagree with him on health care or the environment, that the vast majority of those are not tinged with racism.”

That is absolutely not what he said.   What he said weeks ago was:

“I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he is African-American,” Carter said at the time.

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Michelle Obama: It’s a ‘sacrifice’ to travel to Europe to pitch for the Olympics. But I’m doing it for the kids.

A sacrifice?  What is a “Life-Changing Event”?  Having a slightly damp towel to dry off with after a shower?  A catastrophe must be running out Beluga caviar and settling for Sevruga.

Poor dear.  She has suffered so.

Anyway… Whose kids are you doing this for, Michelle?  Your own and the US’s children?  How is having the Olympics in Chicago better than in some other country for the benefit of their kids?

note:  Let’s not fool ourselves.  The Olympics may be about sports to the competitors, but to nations and political leaders it is about power and money.

Given the democratic/liberal mindset, those who are more successful should give more so that the less privileged may have more.  The US, having one of the best standards of living in the world, how can you argue to take the Olympics away from some less affluent nation?

Oh, we’re centered on our children?

Then by what logic can you possibly hold that taking from rich to give to the poor -AND- taking from the poor(er) are not mutually exlusive if not just hypocritical?

The whole idea of taxing one group to pay benefits to another has no moral or philosophical basis because free will has been removed.

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Muslims need to develop a sense of humor and an appreciation of satire — and they need to understand that they are not “free of being mocked or being offended” – Kurt Westergaard, the Danish caricaturist whose cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad incited rage throughout the Muslim world four years ago.

CAIR and muslims everywhere are bitching about it still.

“As an institution purportedly committed to making our campus an educational environment where all students feel equally comfortable, we feel that by hosting Kurt Westergaard Yale is undermining its commitment to creating a nurturing learning environment by failing to recognize the religious and racial sensitivity of the issue,” the group [Yale Muslim Students Association] said in a statement.

So… uh… hosting a fella is undermining a nurturing environment for some students.  Gee, that’s a shame.  Does the next paragraph help illustrate what real undermining is?

Several months after the cartoons were published, a Pakistani cleric reportedly offered 1.5 million rupee — roughly $16,700 — and a car to anyone who killed Westergaard. Mohammed Yousaf Qureshi, prayer leader at the Mohabat Khan mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar, announced the bounty in February 2006 at the mosque and the Jamia Ashrafia religious school that he leads.

I’m sorry.  I’m just not supportive of any religion that in and of itself allows members to behave like thin-skinned overindulged children – to the point of riots, killings, looting, and burning.  And the overinflated sense of self that comes with hypersensitivity is repulsive, too.

But Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said the event was meant to rile Muslims.

“We’re strong believers in the First Amendment and he has the right to publish whatever he wants, however bigoted and offensive it is,” Hooper told FOXNews.com. “The people who brought him here are obviously intending to offend Muslims, but we’re not going to rise to the bait.”

<snip>

“Their intent is to offend and get free publicity by getting Muslims to reply with a reaction,” Hooper said. “So, we will not.”

See?  Choose to be offended and then claim that everything that offends you was purposefully done just to rile you.  There’s an ego trip.

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Kanye West seems to think that his inability to grieve over his mother’s death two years ago is a good pass to behave like an utter ass.

Kanye West may be able to take time off to think about his life after all now that his concert tour has been canceled.
<snip>
The reason for the cancellation was not revealed.
<snip>
West caused a ruckus at the MTV Awards last month when he put down his bottle of cognac, jumped on the MTV Music Video Awards stage and grabbed the microphone from singer Taylor Swift as she was giving an acceptance speech.
Don’t Miss
<snip>
West, who apologized the next day on “The Jay Leno Show,” seemed to blame his erratic behavior on the lack of time he had to grieve his mother’s death two years ago.
<snip>
“I deal with hurt and, you know, so many, you know, celebrities, they never take the time off, and I’ve never taken the time off to really, you know, I just, music after music and tour after tour on tour,” West told Leno.

Actually Kanye, I don’t, you know, know, you know?

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Need any more reason to eliminate the practice of having Czars and have individuals vetted like anyone else would be?  Oh yeah, that advice to a boy to use a condom with an older man… good advice that.  If you have no moral compass and think relationships between kids and adults are ok, yeah sure.

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Healthcare for Illegals!

If you didn’t see this coming, you had your eyes closed on purpose.

President Obama said this week that his health care plan won’t cover illegal immigrants, but argued that’s all the more reason to legalize them and ensure they eventually do get coverage.

It’s just one more step to firm up the democrat’s power through giving to the poor.  The man who takes from Peter to pay Paul can always count on the support of Paul.

Mr. Obama added, “If anything, this debate underscores the necessity of passing comprehensive immigration reform and resolving the issue of 12 million undocumented people living and working in this country once and for all.”

Still more poor people who live close enough to the poverty line to pay zero taxes but impose a huge burden on those of us who do.

Ms. Pelosi should not be surprised at the harsh rhetoric.

Out of that article, here is a pet peeve of mine:

“It is ironic that the president told the American people that illegal immigrants should not be covered by the health care bill, but now just days later he’s talking about letting them in the back door,” said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee.

That isn’t even close to irony.  Whatever else you can say about Rep. Smith, you can definitively say he could not give the correct definition of irony if his life depended on it.  When I become king, those who use the word and cannot define it will be fed to wild pigs.

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Et tu, Glutton?

Fast Food Plastic Utensil Removed From Man’s Lung

They pulled the fast-food foreign object from Manley’s left lung during a Sept. 10 surgery. The 50-year-old Wilmington resident said he probably inhaled it while gulping a drink from Wendy’s.

“I like to take big gulps of drink,” the former home remodeler said. “I don’t know of any other ways of it getting in there.”

Try not eating like an animal?  Maybe that would help?

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What are you, a gay fish?

I’m making fun of Kanye West today.

What are you? A g-g-g-gay f-f-f-f-fish?

The idiot is no longer a poor rapper swigging Colt-45, he’s moved up and is swigging Hennesy.  Way to be a noisy turd in a punch bowl, Kanye.

The rapper stormed on stage to unleash an astonishing rant during an acceptance speech by country starlet Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards last night.

The 19-year-old singer, who was collecting Best Female Video for You Belong To Me, was left humiliated as West snatched the microphone from her hands.

He turned to the audience and shouted that the gong should have gone to his big friend Beyonce, for Single Ladies.  [More...]

I see another South Park episode in the future, starring ol’ fish-stick lover Kanye.  He says he’s sorry but this type of thug is usually only sorry when his kitten-stomping behavior backfires on him and he’s taking heat from a lot of people.

Update:  Amazingly, Obama and I agree on one thing.  That Kanye West is a jackass.  One single thing.  Don’t get used to the idea that I’ll agree with him much more than that.

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Neckdate:

Yesterday was pretty bad.  Spent about 16 hours in a great deal of pain.  It was go-to-the-hospital pain, but I stuck it out.  Don’t know if I did something to earn it or what, but it wasn’t pretty because no comfort was to be had from taking the meds.  I just gotta be patient.  Gotta be patient.  This procedure will give me my life back.  Gotta keep positive.

One thing about an episode like that – it makes you doubly thankful when you come out the other side because the pain is much lessened and you have this huge sense of relief and appreciation for the normal everyday pain.

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Speaking of idiots behind microphones.

The Obamafuhrer.

“I believe that we will have enough votes to pass not just any health care bill, but a good health care bill that helps the American people, reduces costs, actually over the long-term controls our deficit. I’m confident that we’ve got that,” Obama said in an interview broadcast Sunday on CBS’ “60 Minutes. “There are those in the Republican party who think the best thing to do is just to kill reform. That that will be good politics.”

Obama has retaken the offensive on his key domestic policy issue, most notably with a speech last week to both houses of Congress. And sought to turn down the heat over a government-run health insurance plan.

“The public option is only a means to that end and we should remain open to other ideas that accomplish our ultimate goal,” he said.

It makes no sense.  He says “actually over the long-term controls our deficit”.  This is equivalent to saying “Hey, I get 1.73% return for every $1000 I spend on my credit card!  Look at all the money I’m saving!”   Proof positive that you can go to a big university but come out without a lick of common sense.  His proposals don’t tell you anything.

He told CBS he didn’t want Americans to say in the future: “‘You know what? This hasn’t reduced my costs. My premiums are still going up 25 percent, insurance companies are still jerking me around.’

“I’m the one who’s going to be held responsible,” Obama said. “So I have every incentive to get this right.”

Sure, the premiums won’t go up, but my taxes will skyrocket.  As far as who is held responsible… the only way he’d ever take blame for it is if he was given every last thing he wanted on this bill with no exceptions whatsoever.  If it was even one iota different he’d claim that it failed due to his opponents.

God, such arrogance.  Here’s the scary part:

“I have no interest in having a bill get passed that fails. That doesn’t work,” Obama told CBS. “You know, I intend to be president for a while and once this bill passes, I own it.”

Arrogance has to be earned.  So tell me, Obama… What have you done to earn yours?
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The National Review Online has a great article by Victor Davis Hanson. Is this what he’s done to earn his arrogance?

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We broke the  law but we’re going to sue the folks that turned us in!

ACORN shows they are just nuts.

More roasted nuts, anyone?

The small scandal showing an embarrassing video of Baltimore ACORN staffers looking like they were giving tax advice on how to set up a brothel, is now national news. – This story has everything you could ever want – corruption, sleazy actions at tax-funded organizations, firings, government ties, sex, hookers. It is a network news director’s dream. Imagine the ratings!

Only almost no one is covering it.

This is the news media in the era of Van Jones and President Obama. The major outlets cover what they want and create the themes they want. When they find something inconvenient, they let it pass. They didn’t like the Van Jones story, so they ignored it. The network news media liked the financial entity known as Fannie Mae, so they ignored that scandalous organization for years. ACORN is getting the same treatment. – op/ed by Dan Gainor

You can bet that if it somehow embarrassed Bush they’d be all over it.

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