So far, I’ve had the good fortune to have survived two heart attacks during my life.  The first was pure stress, however, it was made quite clear by a highly skilled, and very well trained, cardiologist that it could have taken my life as easily as a bullet. 

The second, on the other hand, came within less then thirty minutes of doing just that.  Had I not been within reach of a facility that not only had the tools, but were also well trained in their use I would have been viewing the lawn from the under side, rather then being here to share with you this terribly frightening experience. 

The reason I’ve chosen to, and am still able to, relate these facts now is that I had the good fortune of living in a country that boasts the finest health care system in the world.  All that was necessary was to transport me to the nearest hospital in order for me I could take advantage of these miracles.  Miracles that many are quite unaware of.

Not that many years ago, I worked for a company that built MRI equipment into semi-trailers so that they could be shared by those hospitals that could not afford to purchase one of these wonder machines for themselves.  This is the kind of thing goes on every day in this country.  Finding innovative ways to supply this marvelous level of health care to every American that needs it. 

Now I will inject one point here that should to be clarified.  The word NEED is a very important word here.   The ‘need’ that I speak of here is the need of an individual, any individual, to receive medical attention in the case of a real emergency.  A heart attack, and auto accident, etc.  The kind of thing where you need help, and you do not have the time to argue about it.  What you will find is that there is not a single hospital in this country that will turn away someone that truly needs help.  This is what many see at a prime reason for our health care system costing what it does today, and I have to admit there is a certain amount of fact attached to that attitude. 

The real fact is, the health care system that has been developed in this country is the direct product of the funding that drives it.  Research is expensive.  MRI’s and other far more exotic hardware are expensive.  The facilities to house both the research and the hardware are expensive.  By now I’m sure you’ve figured out that the key word here is ‘expensive’.  I guess what most do not understand is volume of expense that is required, and exactly who actually pays the cost of these expensive components.  With or without a dime of insurance, what you pay for a single visit to a hospital will have no effect on paying for the needs of the millions of others that arrive daily without a bit of insurance, nor a time to their name, for their own ‘needs’.

Though most people think they do, the average individual patient pays less then 0.0001% of the actual cost of the health care system.  To be able to afford personal health care we pay premiums to those ‘evil’ insurance companies, who in turn, will pay for the majority of the hospital costs as well as a significant amount of the research costs as well.

I know I’ve taken some time to arrive at this point, but, I hope I’ve given the reader a small glimpse into the good side of the American health care system that we enjoy today.  The reason for this is that, like it or not, we stand a very, VERY, good chance of having it stripped away from us by a group that is far more evil then any insurance company that has every existed. 

This is, of course, the Congress of the United States, and of course their glorious leader Barrack Hussein Obama.  The one we elected just over a year ago, on a promise of “Hope” and “Change”.  Our mistake was, we did not demand that he tell us what he planned to change.  Now we find out that health care was right on the top of his list.  As a matter of fact, it is so much of an obsession to him that he has placed it well above things like the jobless rate is still today just short of 10%.  It is obviously far above the economy that is still in the tank, and which most economists believe could be completely destroyed by this health care bill that he cannot let go of to save his life.

Now I’m sure you know I could go on for many pages with this discussion, but honestly I would much rather you spend a little time (that’s all it will take by the way) to get on the Internet and check into the facts for yourself.  When you do, you will know it very short order, my reason for this article.  Actually, the reason is so simple.  This whole idea of the United States Government, the same bunch that runs the U.S. Postal Service and Social Security, being in charge of our countries health care mechanisms simply scares the devil out of me. 

The absolute last thing on earth I ever want to find in a hospital emergency room is government bureaucrat.   I can just hear it, “Let’s see now.  Your having chest pains dizziness, sweating, hmm.  Yes, that sure sounds like a heart attack.  We can probably see you early next week.  Ahhh, yes, we can work you in on Tuesday.  How’s that for you?”   I’m sure some are snickering, if not outright laughing right about now, but you really shouldn’t be.   The younger you are, the more trouble your going to have getting the services your going to need just to stay alive.  You will most assuredly be doing exactly what people in Canada are doing right now.   You will be flying off to the U.S. to get treatment that the Canadian doctors can’t provide for 6 to 12 months when you only have 3 months to live.   Oh!  I’m sorry.  I forgot that you will have the same health care here, if your lucky.  Well, there is always Mexico.

It’s time to put a stop to this nonsense once and for all.  Call, e-mail, fax, if you have to write a letter to  your Congressman and let them know you do not wish to take part in Mexican health care.  Then in November do the right thing: FIRE CONGRESS – THE ROOKIES CAN DO NO WORSE!

Today I listened to one of the talk radio shows that I frequent.  Yes, I know, I’m a terrible person for listening to one of these conservative rabble rousers, but what can I say?  They tell the truth.  Most of the time!!  This, however, I felt was not necessarily one of those times.   At the very least the persons opinion was a little skewed off the mark.

This person was talking, quite passionately, about the economy, and how it has been nearly flushed, already, by Obama, and now there all these people that are sucking the pot dry with their entitlements.  You know, welfare, free educations, free medical care, social security, Medicare,….. Now wait just a dang minute!!    As you may expect, the commentator now has my total and undivided attention.  He goes on to say that along with all the rest, one of the largest drains on the economy will be all the ‘baby boomers’ that will be hitting the Social Security rolls in the next 10 years.  How they will be sucking on that government tit, just draining it dry, just like the rest of those that expect entitlements these days.

Now he really has me boiling.  Needless to say, I made a very direct call (man I love cell phones) to the radio station, was allowed on the air, (now that was a mistake) where I proceeded to vent my spleen for nearly ten minutes.  In so many words, I informed him that Social Security was, by no means, the idea of the ‘baby boomers’.   It was, in fact, signed into lay FDR in 1935.  Somewhat before my time, you can be sure.

I explained that by the time I became involved in the late 50’s they really had this Social Security thing down to a science.  I had no say, what so ever, about paying the “tax” that wasn’t a tax according to Washington.  However, it was taken right from you check, like it or not.  Nor was I allowed to decide just how much of my hard earned money would be handed over to Uncle Sam.  They had that worked out too.   Of course, we were guaranteed that we would have this money to retire on.  I mean let’s face it, this is backed by our government.  No, I’m not a comedy writer, that’s what they told us.   It’s in a ‘lock box’ where no one can touch it.  In fact, they wouldn’t even invest it because they were afraid they might loose it to those evil Wall St. types.

Like it or not we went along as if we had a choice.  Each week they took a piece of our paycheck and put it in that ‘lock box’ for us.  Of course, we didn’t notice that each year that piece kept getting bigger.  I remember the times when our checks got bigger in Sept. or Oct. because we had paid up what we were expected to pay in S/S contributions for the year.  How many of you remember that.

Now, to shorten this long story a little bit, I’ve paid into S/S now for 52 years.  Yet this yahoo on the radio that has been around just over half as long as I have, has the sand to say that I will be ‘sucking the economy dry’ with my “entitlement” payments. 

Well Bunkey this is the way I see it.  As I said, I’ve been paying my hard earned money for 52 long years.  It’s my money!!  The government didn’t invest it, as I would have had they left it to me, nor did they leave it in that ‘lock box’ as they guaranteed us they would.  Instead, they took it out of that box and put it in the General Fund where they keep all the other money they’ve taken from us.  Now they have no way to telling which money is mine, yours, or anyone else’s. 

If that’s not bad enough for you, they gave a BUNCH of that money to all those people that came here from Viet Nam after the war to ‘help them get started’ in life here in our old US of A.  Then there were the Cuban’s that flooded our shores not long ago.  They had to have money to live on too.  Of course there are also somewhere between 12 – 15,000,000 illegal aligns we have to support. 

Now don’t misunderstand, I have nothing against any of these people, but the money they are getting from the government is MINE!!    I worked for every dime, which I can’t say for them.  It was taken from me against my will, which sounds a lot like theft to me, considering we may not get it back now, if some get their way. 

I do understand that there are generations that will have a less chance then I will to get their money back and that is just as disgusting as they have had the same treatment foisted on them.    They, however, have the time to get the laws changed so they will not get hurt quite so badly.

What is comes to is this.  We have had a very, VERY large amount of money literally stolen from us and the government needs to be held accountable.  I don’t care that it is seventy five years later.  I don’t care that these politicians are not the ones that started it.  They are but a few of thousands that have made use of their position to not only continue to rob one generation after another.  They are all part of the same corrupt group that has raised the national debt to such a level they can no longer afford to pay us.  They have basically sold our children to China, and it’s unlikely we will be able to buy them back.

To make it simple, We The People, have once again been taken advantage of, and while I would love to blame all this on the Democrats, I cannot.  Every party and every administration has had the opportunity to fix this problem.  Nearly every one has claimed to have tried.  I say claimed because if they really wanted to the would have.   The fact is this falls in the laps of every Representative, Senator, and President since Roosevelt started this sham.  

Now, with the entire system at risk, it’s time that every one of you in Washington get off our broadening backsides and actually fix this outlandish, and shameful, situation.  You surely understand that your wonderful jobs really are on the line.  Right?  Well be sure of it!!  There are millions of us out here that are planning on you fulfilling your promise.  

 If you cannot, I’m sure we can find those that can.  Starting this November.

Why was the decision made in the first place to move the trial to New York City?  Attorney General Holder needs to start looking for another job!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

“To say that the United States should be answerable for twenty-five millions of dollars without knowing whether the ways and means can be provided, and without knowing whether those who are to succeed us will think with us on the subject, would be rash and unjustifiable.” –James Madison

The Game of The Day

This evening, our president, the Anointed One, will grace us with yet another chapter in the ongoing saga of his excuses crusade.  Excuses why the economy is so far in the hole that our great-great-great-(well you get the picture)-grandchildren will still be trying to pay off the interest he will have accumulated on our debt.  Of course that’s W’s fault. 

He will try to excuse the fact that he has been in office more then a year and the Health Care plan is very little closer to being passed then it was in August.  Of course that’s the Republicans (and W’s) fault.  It doesn’t matter that more then 65% of the people in the country do not want it, or that he cannot get enough support in his own party to pass it.  Oh, that’s Massachusetts fault.

What is amazing to me is that with all his failures, this man remains so arrogant that he really believes this minimal gesture of a spending freeze of only 17% of the budget will satisfy the people, and cause them to return the support he was blessed with only a few months ago.  What he will not tell us, is that these same programs have already had a 22% increase in their annual appropriations in the past two years, and another 25% increase including stimulus.  He will not tell us what the CBO already has.  That the during the first three years of his Presidency, 2009-11, the federal government will borrow and estimated $3.7 trillion.  That’s $3,700,000,000,000.00!!  The sad part of this is that my father had never even heard of the word ‘trillion’ before he died, and today they talk about it as if it’s common place. What’s more, that is substantially greater than all of the accumulated national debt for the first 225 years of this countries history.  Again, we must remember, that too is W’s fault.

I think if these borrowed funds were going to defense investments, or tax rate reductions to spur the countries economy we might not be so concerned.  Instead, however, it’s going to individuals, or subsidies to home buyers and highly inefficient businesses that will do nothing, or at least very little, to improve the economy, and build wealth.

He will also try to excuse the fact that although he assured us the national unemployment rate would not go above 8% if we passed the first stimulus bill, it now stands at 10% and has a very good chance of going even higher in coming weeks.  Some experts predict it to reach as much as 16% if it goes unchecked much longer.  Yes, of course, this is also W’s fault.

In fact, nearly everything wrong today, is W’s fault to hear him tell it.  Or the fault of those horrible Republicans, and Tea Party terrorists.  Now I’m the first to say that the Republicans made some pretty good mistakes.  Also that those mistakes had something to so with starting this economy ball rolling.  The fact is those who are part of this problems conception need to be replaced with much more fiscally responsible people, just like the Liberals.  Yet if you took all the money spent by the fiscally irresponsible Republicans of the past administration it would not make a dent large enough to see in the debt compiled by Obama, and the rest of the Liberal lap dogs, that are now in control of our congress. 

Recently, the people of Massachusetts went to the polls and stated, in a very loud voice, their opposition to the Health Care bill, to the highly excessive spending, and in my eyes, to Obama himself.  They made the point, in no uncertain terms, that We The People are more then a little tired of money being spent as if we have it; that we refuse to spend trillions of dollars on a Health Care overhaul that is not only unnecessary, but would destroy what is already the greatest health care system in the world; that we will not spend billions, and billions more, on Cap and Trade or any other ‘green’ legislation that is made up by scientists with their own agenda.  It might be worth adding here that we are no longer impressed by Al Gore and his silly agenda either.

The sad part is that Barack Hussein Obama seems not to have gotten the memo.  Again!  Every word that will come from his mouth tonight will be nothing more then an attempt to pacify We The People until they can find another back room secret deal that will get them around our wishes, as they have always done.  The shear arrogance of these people is astonishing.   The very next day after the Massachusetts election Obama, Reid, Pelosi, and others, vowed to go on with the fight to force this country to accept their version of health care regardless of our wishes.  They have made it obvious that the will of We The People means nothing to them.  They will rule us whether we wish to be ruled or not. 

So, We The People, it is time to let them know that we cannot be bought, we cannot be pacified, and we will not be ignored.  Voting day in November is only a little over nine months away.  Until then, fight them with all you have.  On that day, FIRE CONGRESS.  THE ROOKIES CAN DO NO WORSE!

This was written by Robin who is a licensed psychotherapist and a recovering liberal in Berkeley.  (This is one of the best descriptions of BHO that I have read. Everyone should read this.)

“He’s a real nowhere man,

Sitting in his nowhere Land,

Making all his nowhere plans

for nobody. . .

He’s as blind as he can be,

Just sees what he wants to see,

Nowhere Man can you see me at all?”

(Lennon, McCarthy)

I used to have a friend with a few screws loose. But you’d never know it.

Barbara would dress impeccably in designer wear, and her house resembled a museum. She was a professor, tops in her field.

But behind the impressive image, all wasn’t right. She said she loved her son, Noah, but acted like he didn’t exist. A single parent, Barbara wouldn’t hesitate to introduce Noah to her boyfriend of the month. She skipped some of his meals, claiming that she was too busy to cook.

Barbara called me her best friend. But she’d cancel dates at the last minute for no good reason. And she always flaked when I needed her.

Even though Barbara looked perfectly normal, there was something awry. Perhaps the neurons in her brain weren’t firing properly.

I’ve been thinking about Barbara since Obama came on the scene. Like Barbara, Obama professes concern for people, but treats many with utter disregard. Since both are charismatic and successful, it’s easy to get fooled.

Some would say Obama’s cool detachment is narcissism. But narcissists are charmers; they know exactly what to say and do, even it’s all hot air.

Others think that Obama is disengaged because he’s elitist, arrogant. The day to day grunt work is beneath him. His motto: I’d rather be golfing.

All of the above may be true, but it’s something else: he seems off to me.

During a 60 Minutes interview with Steve Kroft when the stock market was sinking, Obama giggled. He wasn’t embarrassed afterwards or apologetic. More worrisome than his bizarre behavior was that he didn’t regard it as strange.

Then last week, we’ve faced with a national crisis, soldiers killed and gravely injured by an apparent Jihadist in the guise of a military doctor. When announcing the catastrophe what does Obama do?

He drones on and on for three minutes about Native American health issues, even doing a shout out. In a monotone voice, Obama reports that soldiers have been shot. He’s nonchalant, flat, as though he’s reporting the weather.

Afterwards, the opinions roll in. Some say that Obama looks down on the military. He views our soldiers as the great unwashed, trashy and ignorant, like Sarah Palin.

Others assert that Obama’s sympathies lie with the Muslims. Thus, he wants to avoid our burning questions: Why wasn’t Major Hasan put on leave after he made anti-American remarks and surfed the web for information about Jihad? Most importantly, what is the government going to do to keep our military people and civilians safe?

True, Obama’s disinterest could be related to all of the above. But there’s one more possibility; he may not have the foggiest idea what to feel or say or do.

He may not realize that after dozens of our soldiers are shot, he should be angry. Sad. Worried. That he should feel something. Or at least pretend to.

When Obama isn’t prepped and rehearsed, he flails around like a blind man. He’s clueless, lost in space.

Obama wrote in his autobiography, Dreams From My Father, that he’s not comfortable around people. This speaks volumes about his disengagement.

People who cannot relate to humans, who are made nervous by close proximity, shut down. They isolate and hide, like a snail inside its shell.

This is when my therapist mind goes into overdrive trying to figure out what’s wrong with him.

Is he schizoid? (a detached, asocial person). Bipolar? (Manic depression ). Does he have a brain syndrome? What about Asperger’s (high functioning autism causing a defect in social skills).

Is something wrong medically — a hormone or blood sugar imbalance, a head injury, too many drugs in his youth?

Or is his disconnect caused by damage from childhood, from being raised by freaky people.

Barack Sr. was an abusive alcoholic and a bigamist. Obama’s mother, like my former friend, Barbara, made decisions about little Barry that showed little parental concern, like schlepping him to Indonesia, then back to the States, then wanting to return with him to Indonesia (he stayed with his grandparents).

Obama’s grandfather Stanley was impulsive and volatile; he was expelled from high school for punching his principal.

Stanley weirdly named Obama’s mother “Stanley,” because he wanted a boy. He anointed Frank Marshall Davis, an alleged pedophile and communist, as young Barry’s mentor. In his autobiography, Obama reports feeling uncomfortable having to listen to sexually charged, drunken trash talk between Stanley and Frank.

Did Obama start sealing himself off in childhood? It would be understandable: who would want to bond with people so disturbing? And why form emotional ties when you’ll soon be leaving?

Obama may have felt continually out of place and alien: black in a white family; American in Indonesia; middle class with average grades at a rich kids’ prep school; child of odd, Communist leaning family.

In Dreams, he reveals how he started detaching. About living with his grandparents from pre teen on, he writes, “I was to live with strangers.” And: “I’d arrived at an unspoken pact with my grandparents; I could live with them and they’d leave me alone so long as I kept my troubles out of sight.”

All grown up, Obama remains hermetically sealed. Although he’s been a media star for a couple of years, we have no idea who he is inside.

I’ve often wondered why people haven’t come forth to say, “I knew Barry when….” We live in a media saturated, exhibitionist world where everyone wants their three minutes of fame.

So where are all of his school chums, best friends, and old flames? The groups he hung with? His teachers, neighbors?

Where are the anecdotes of what Obama was like, his interests and predilections? Was he friendly, funny, insightful? Did he win any prizes or trophies? Pen any papers?

Obama was president of the Harvard Law Review, yet from his former colleagues we find no accounts of putting out the journal together under his leadership.

He was a lecturer on constitutional law. Why hasn’t a single student come forth and offered evidence, like a good attorney?

Why the silence? Could it be that Obama left no dent, not even a single footprint? Is there no there there?

When I envision the youth of other public figures, my impressions are vivid:

Little Bill Clinton: People pleaser, Mama’s boy, a show off.

Young Hillary: Brainiac, smartest girl in the school, bossy.

W: Wisecracker, Class Clown, Smart aleck.

McCain: Impetuous, volatile, ornery.

Sarah: Sweet, popular, every teacher’s favorite, Miss
Congeniality.

Young Barry: _________________. Blank. Only this:
Stranger in a Strange Land.

Obama’s identity seemed to have been formed when he found his clan: Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, and Bernadine Dohrn. But these are disconnected people, misfits who aren’t comfortable in their own skin. Their radical ideology arises from rage and alienation.

They, like Obama, treat people with disdain. Rev. Wright damned us after 9/11. Ayers and Dohrn bombed us, even masterminding a failed plot to kill US servicemen attending a dance.

Obama’s indifference and distaste are on display every day. He golfs while unemployment surges. He pontificates after an attack against America.

Why the “let them eat cake” attitude? Is it because he’s pleased that the Left’s long laid plan to decimate capitalism is working nicely? Is he stubborn, not wanting to do what he doesn’t want to do?

I’d say yes. But there’s something much more unsettling.

He may have a limited ability to care.

Sure Obama loves his wife, children, dog Bo, and himself, especially himself. And he relishes his far left ideology.

But the working stiff, the heart and soul of this country? I don’t see it. The United States? I don’t think so.

And that’s why Obama should never have been elected President.

A man or woman can be a decent President without getting A’s in school or graduating from the Ivy League. They don’t need to have had a Brady Bunch childhood.

They can even lack experience if they work 24/7, know what they don’t know, and seek expert advice.

Bottomline: But there’s one requirement that is nonnegotiable: They need to be able to care about us. And, frankly, I don’t know if this President is capable of it.

This was sent to me by one of my 9/12/09 marchers to DC.  I have been very, very sick this holiday and have missed posting and reading with all of you.

For a while now we’ve been hearing “the buck stops with me” from our illustrious President Barack Obama.  He has attempted to become the great Democratic leader of the new century.  Unfortunately, he is unable to force things to go his way.  To date, not a single victory can be added to his tally book, but the rapidly growing string of failures is tipping the scales of trust in a terribly dangerous direction for BHO.  The fact is, however, his most notable failure to date is his inability to stop blaming President G. W. Bush for everything up to, and including, killing Cock Robin. 

Almost obsessively, Mr. Obama raves about the terrible state of the economy under Bush, not to mention all that he (Obama) has had to do to fix it.  Forgetting that the economy has been in freefall for his entire  presidency, Obama cannot, and will not, pass up an opportunity to let us know that he ‘inherited’ all this from Bush.

If he really wants to talk about the economy, he should consider that the people are so very tired of the finger pointing.  It was Bush, it was the bankers, it was Fanny Mae, it was….  They don’t care any more Mr. Obama.  What they want is some good news for a change.  Granted, things seem to be very slowly starting to turn, but with all the HUNDEREDS of BILLIONS of dollars Obama has been throwing at the problem one would expect far more positive results by now.  Or at least that is the result we were told by the congress, and the administration, to expect.

This is, however, not the least of the problems that Mr. Obama has to deal with these days.  From the day he entered office, the terrorists world wide have had a field day.  His actions at home, and overseas, have given them a gift they could never have even dreamed of.  A leader of the United States that is even weaker then they had imagined possible.

Just as an example, he was unable to make a reasonable decision on how to prosecute the war in Afghanistan.  Then again, he could only make available a total of around an hour of his critically important time to speak with the General he appointed to run the war.  There were too many other far more important things he had to do.  Such as flying off to get the Olympics for his home town.  Though, now that I think of it he failed at that too. However, after many weeks of hand ringing he finally made a decision that, so far, has not born much fruit either.

Now he plans to bring these war criminals to our own shores and give them rights as American citizens in order that we can give them a trial in American courts.

He admits to his team’s ‘screw-up’ in the botched Christmas airliner attack, but, has made it a point to note all the good that he believes the government has done in protecting us.

“Our progress has been unmistakable,” Obama said as the new year began. “We’ve disrupted terrorist financing, cutting off recruiting chains, inflicted major losses on al-Qaida’s leadership, thwarted plots here in the United States and saved countless American lives.”  I wonder why he failed to note that every Intelligence program now in place he also ‘inherited’ from G. W. Bush.  Or that Bush & Co. had already been keeping us very safe for quite a few years when he was elected.

Every time he opens his mouth to offer us a dose of his own special perspective, he sinks his foot even deeper because he fails to remember that the American public lives by the credo “What have you done for me lately?”, and “lately” normally translates to no more they one month.

The fact is, Mr. O, where terrorism is concerned, very few Americans are concerned about any success they were previously unaware of.  They are, however, very concerned about a public failure that causes them to remember the details of the deaths of 3,000+ of their brothers, and sisters.

As if these failures are not enough for the Anointed One’s tastes, then of all things, he hands us the same old song and dance that’s been passed around for more then thirty years.  The planet is warming, the planet is warming!!! Did they miss the point that the overall world temperature has reduced by two degrees? That we are facing the coldest winters in more then 50 years?  They must have, because now, according to Hillary,  he wants to spend (are you ready for this?) as much as $TEN-BILLION (that is $10,000,000,000.00) each year to help third world countries with their global warming problems.  This is on top of what they expect us to pay to keep our own house clean and green.  Now I don’t know how your see it, but to me, that’s a heck of a lot of money.  That we don’t have, by the way.!!  Guess it’s time to go back to China for another loan.  Oh, that’s right, China is one of those countries we are supposed to help.

Would you like to know where that money is supposed to come from?  Yes, I’m afraid your right.  It’s supposed to come from you, and me, through a new bill (read that as TAX) waiting in the wings called Cap and Tax.  Sorry, that’s Cap and Trade.  I’ve written about this program before, and the details fall squarely into the category terrifying.  The basics are that you are expected to pay for all the carbon generated as a result of your being on the planet.

The details would take many pages to discuss, but you can believe this will be a bill that will make anyone that makes less then a million dollars each year part of the working poor.

“Enough, enough” you say.  Not really.  This is why there are so many people like me out there today.  Obama, Reid, Pelosi, Kerry, Schumer, and the rest of the Liberals literally stay up nights to figure out things for us to write about.  This has to be their goal in life, because the pool of material is very deep and very wide.

There is, however, a point to my ramblings.  We have a chance this very year to do something about it.  We have an election this November that could easily bring the congress back under the control of reasonable people.  Those that are in congress now need to be given pink slips and sent packing.  I do not limit this to Democrats alone, by the way.  There are a number of Republicans that should not be re-elected under any circumstances either.  Every one of us need to get involved and learn who should and should not be retained.

For me, I would retain none of them.  At the very least, this would send the message to the rookies that we will not allow them to do this to us again.

FIRE CONGRESS!!  THE ROOKIES CAN DO NO WORSE!!

Timothy Geithner - 2009 Christmas Grinch? Photo: Public Domain

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; with the exception of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. While visions of sugar-plums danced in his head, Guitner was giving Freddie and Fannie a new blank check! That’s correct, he lifted the ceiling of $200 billion each, without the need of approval from either Congress or the Senate.

CNNMoney Reports – (excellent video discussion): Charles Haldeman and Michael Williams, chief executives of government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, each get a $6 million cash bonus.  What’s amazing is that our government’s pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg, has cut cash payouts at taxpayer-backed companies like AIG (AIG, Fortune 500), Chrysler Financial and GMAC.

Feinberg has made drastic cuts to CEO income and their bonus.  He has required them to take much of their bonus in the from of stocks rather than cash. Neither Haldeman nor Williams will take any stock in lieu of cash!  Fannie and Freddie have not improved their financial crisis which seems to continue to escalate, yet they not only will receive a bonus but are not asked to share the risk by taking future benefits in the form of stocks.

Our current financial crisis started in 2008 with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They were our first federal bailouts totalying $200 billion each, of taxpayer money!  Yet 3 out of every 4 mortgages being written to date are by these 2 companies.

And now for the rest of the story …

You may be asking how Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae would have any affect on Medicare.  We have thrown $400 billion into both companies who continue to be on a path of destruction, yet the Treasury has just lifted the cap for unlimited funding.  Yet, according to the liberals we need to cut Medicare by $500 billion dollars which will be used to pay for the healthcare bill, not to shore up the future of Medicare.

Do you know how Medicare receives their funding?

Above is a very simplistic graphic to give you a basic visual  as to how money goes into Medicare.  As you can see all money coming into the government is collected by the Treasury.  The Treasury pays out cash (in the form of checks) to cover federal financial obligations. How the money is paid into Medicare is a little different.

The financing of Medicare is through 2 different trust funds. There is the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund (HI) and The Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund (SMI).  For detailed information on these trust accounts see:  http://www.kff.org/medicare/upload/7731-02.pdf

The difference between the 2 Trust Funds has to do with financial stability.  Each year government agencies estimate the amount of funds needed in the HI trust fund to meet it obligations for payments to Medicare claims.  The “excess” of that estimate is loaned to the federal government.  The Treasury then takes that “excess” cash to pay for other federal obligations that have nothing to do with Medicare.  The Treasury issues a bond (IOU) to the HI Trust Fund which includes interest.

In realistic terms, money you think you are paying into the HI  Medicare Trust is actually paying other government debts.  It’s spent – gone!  When Medicare wants to cash in the bonds, it has to come from new money in the treasury. If there is not enough money to pay the bond, it must be borrowed or printed.

CBO document dated 12/23/2009

The key point is that the savings to the HI trust fund under the PPACA would be received by the government only once, so they cannot be set aside to pay for future Medicare spending and, at the same time, pay for current spending on other parts of the legislation or on other programs. Trust fund accounting shows the magnitude of the savings within the trust fund, and those savings indeed improve the solvency of that fund; however, that accounting ignores the burden that would be faced by the rest of the government later in redeeming the bonds held by the trust fund. Unified budget accounting shows that the majority of the HI trust fund savings would be used to pay for other spending under the PPACA and would not enhance the ability of the government to redeem the bonds credited to the trust fund to pay for future Medicare benefits.

Obama expects taxpayers continued support of the failing housing market  through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but what are they doing to protect the future of seniors to have acccess to health care?  The current healthcare bill certainly is not strengthing Medicare, if anything it appears that seniors will have less health care.

What happens to seniors that own their own homes and are being devistated with overwhelming property taxes?  Does the government care if seniors loose their homes or will the government benefit from being able to expand the use of the property to generate greater tax revenue?  Will the government come to the rescue to save us from loosing our homes due to unpaid property taxes?  You decide.

Food for thought – In 2009, Obama Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner admitted that he failed to pay $34,000 in Social Security and Medicare taxes from 2001-2004.  It might appear that Medicare and Social Security may not be a high priority for our Treasury Secretary!

• Most corrupt politicians of 2009 named by Judicial Watch
• How is Medicare Funded?
• Santa showers Fannie, Freddie with cash
• U.S. to Lose $400 Billion on Fannie, Freddie, Wallison Says
• CBO: Democrats Double-Counting Medicare Savings

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One Voice Together Can Make a Difference!

Unless it happens within the next few hours, the health care bill will not be voted into law this week end.   So many our ‘high powered’ politicians had tried so desperately to force a final vote by this time.  For the longest time I kept asking the question, “What is the big hurry?”  In the past week or so, I found the answer I was looking for.  The answer is, they are scared to death that We The People will actually find out what they are doing. 

I’ve been watching with interest, and writing about, this health care crime for some months now.  At many stages of the game I had expected it to fall apart like a tall stack of BB’s.  Let’s face it, all those terribly important people out there like the SEIU, and MOVEON.ORG, and AARP, and all the rest are just hammering at their own personal attack dogs in congress to get them each what they want.  Strangely enough, none of them want the same thing.  This leaves Queen Nancy, and Prince Harry, not to for get the Anointed One, with a very serious problem.  Somebody is going to get cut out before it’s done.  Hmm, who can we cut out that will not hurt us too much in the future?  Now there’s a problem. 

It’s delightful to see that this problem, and heaven knows how many others, becoming everything I had expected them to be, and a great deal more.  And they say that dreams don’t come true.  Well, this one has, and it serves them right.

The Liberals have turned both a deaf ear, and a blind eye, to everything We The People have made it very clear that we expect of our elected officials.   They have shoved this package of lies, and corruption, down our collective throats with the gusto of a mother feeding her child a dose of unwanted Caster Oil.  Now it seems the child is fighting back and spiting the fowl liquid all over the provider, and well it should. 

In watching the casting of this terrible mold, we have seen political corruption at it’s best/worst.  So much so that Al Capone would have been proud.  They have made it obvious that they feel disdain for We The People, and that we can do nothing to stop them.  Nor can we retaliate in any meaningful manor.  They have, in their own minds become untouchable.  Bullet proof, if you like. 

With the Drive-by Media planted firmly in their pocket, why shouldn’t they.   They have become overt, and blatant, to a point of being insulting. 

Openly, a Senator from Louisiana ‘sold’ her vote for a mere $300,000,000.00 and this was on a very early vote.  The big one that will be remembered for some time, was Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE), who held out in a very obvious ‘shake down’ move, until his state was removed from ALL responsibility for Medicare payments.  Pretty cool, huh?  Oh, there were others, like two New England states that were given only $1.2 million each for their Medicare responsibility, but you have to admit that Ben Nelson has proven to be a true artist.

Of course, congress as a whole and the President, can’t be left out either.  ON  ”ABC-TV” a while back during one of Obama’s infomercials they called a “NETWORK SPECIAL ON HEALTH CARE” Obama was asked, point blank:  “MR. PRESIDENT  WILL YOU AND YOUR FAMILY GIVE UP YOUR CURRENT HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS AND JOIN THE NEW ‘UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE  PROGRAM’ THAT THE REST OF US WILL BE ON?“   After a long, cold silence, they moved on and Obama simply ignored the question, choosing not to answer. 

Over the course of a week or so after that interview, a number of other Senators were asked the same question.  In every case the Senators dodged the question, or answered “We’ll have to think about it.”  And they did.  In a very short time it was announced that the Kennedy Health Care bill has been written into the Senates bill in its entirety, thereby “ensuring that congress will be 100% exempt.”  Now why wouldn’t they want to be a part of the same wonderful health care bill that all the rest of us are anchored with.

These are only a few of the brazen examples of the “We are above you.” attitude that both the congress, and the administration, have come to believe.  They truly believe they are no longer answerable to anyone.  They feel that even your vote no longer means anything as they have people like George Soros and Mickey Moore out there to fund what ever it takes to get them re-elected yet again.  They have the unions, the political groups like moveon.org, the seniors money from AARP.  Like it or not they also have control of YOUR TAXES as well.  If you don’t think they can, and will, use your taxes you are mistaken.  What more do they need? 

Regardless what they may think, however, they still need is your vote.  The best part is that I see a new attitude forming in the voting ranks these days.  Many, MANY people are getting tired of watching their freedoms being removed one at a time; tired of the Constitution being bypassed at will; tired of seeing their paychecks get smaller each week from nonexistent taxes; tired of watching as politicians get richer by the day on their backs; tired of a President that has broken every single promise he made to get their votes; tired of our whole system of government being used as the play toy of those we trusted. 

Well, folks, I think the game is just about over.  I have very a strong feeling that We The People will soon send them a well worded, forceful,  message regarding their foolishness.  A message that is long over due.  We are the ones that have allowed them to get out of control.  Now, we must be the ones to “change it back.”  The politicians should remember that November is coming very soon, and so are We The People! 

It’s time to FIRE CONGRESS.  Remember, The Rookies Can Do No Worse!!

AP Photo - Gov Gregoire, July 18, 2009, in Biloxi, Miss.

Governor Gregoire released her proposed 2010 budget on Wednesday, December 16, 2009. Gregorie’s budget includes eliminating the Basic Health Program  The plan covers those making less than $21,600 per year, or $36,000 for a family of three.There is currently a waiting list for low income families needing basic health care.

This governor who ran on priorities of education and  health care has different priorities once she was elected.  All the programs important to the elderly, families and low income people are out the window however  the unions will get a nice healthy raise, reportedly around $83 million dollars!

Union state workers will be getting pay increases next year, says The Olympian. Cuts? Yes, there are, but not where the unions have power. The Tacoma News Tribune says state workers are willing to share the pain, but their leaders won’t allow them to.vy financial impact on states with steep increases of state participation in Medicaid?  How will the state afford more money to Medicaid while they apparently can’t pay for what the state offers for the elderly, poor and un-insured?

In addition to cutting the Basic Health Plan, Gregorie will also be cutting prescription drug assistance and the General Assistance for the Unemployable program. Gregoire  plans to submit an alternative budget next month which she says will restore some of the proposed cuts in the current proposal. The new budget will most likely include  more tax increases!

Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) voted for the Healthcare reform bill on Christmas Eve. At the same time their states Governor Christine Gregoire’s has made drastic budget cuts to healthcare. The state of Washington is currently facing a $2.6 billion budget shortage.  Apparently Democrats believe in do what I say not as I do!

Below are excerpts from the Office of Financial Management for Washington State, that affect healthcare services to the elderly and poor:

Family Caregiver Support Reduction – The Family Caregiver Respite Program (free assistance finding the right skilled assisted living facility) provides respite care for relatives who provide unpaid care to elderly and disabled family members who would otherwise enter a residential or institutional facility. Many families  providing care to their loved ones so that they can remain at home, the physical, emotional and financial consequences for the family caregiver can be overwhelming without some support, such as respite. Respite provides the much needed temporary break from the often exhausting challenges faced by the family caregiver. This program is reduced by ten percent beginning July 1, 2010.

Reduce Senior Citizens Services Act – The state portion of the Senior Citizens Services Act funding is reduced. Beginning July 1, 2010, all funding is suspended except what is required for maintenance of effort funding that is necessary to retain federal match for local information and assistance programs.

Adult Day Health - The savings assumption for the elimination of Adult Day Health services in the 2009-11 Biennial Budget is reversed due to a lawsuit. (General Fund-State, General Fund-Federal)

Level of Care for Medicaid Personal Care Clients – The state has the option of setting eligibility levels for Medicaid Personal Care (MPC), an optional service under the Medicaid program. New standards will equal nursing facility level of care. This will cause 700 in-home and residential clients to lose MPC benefits. (General Fund-State, General Fund-Federal)

Adult Day Health – Revised Savings -  A court decision blocked the 2009-11 decision to only offer Adult Day Health services to in-home clients, resulting in lower savings than were assumed in the biennial budget. All clients who were previously denied services will be reinstated by December. The program will move to a 1915(i) Medicaid state plan option as of January 1, 2010 and enrollment will be capped. (General Fund-State, General Fund-Federal)

Suspend Volunteer Chore – The state-funded Volunteer Chore program is suspended as of July 1, 2010. The program arranges for volunteers to provide assistance for senior citizens living in their own homes, who are not eligible for Medicaid, with tasks such as yardwork, household chores, and minor home repairs.

Expedite Nursing Home Discharges Additional – nursing home discharge staff will provide outreach, financial counseling, and assistance with obtaining necessary services and supports to help an additional 700 Medicai d nursing home residents move to community care residential settings when they are ready. This is a less costly option than staying longer than necessary in the more expensive nursing home setting. (General Fund-State, General Fund-Federal).

For more info: Gov Gregoire budget can be found here. – Governor’s 2010 supplemental

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One Voice Together Can Make a Difference!

I was born more then 60 years ago, in a time when a man could do pretty much anything if he set his mind to it. I was raised by hard working, middle class Americans that believed strongly in God, country, and family. We were as middle class as we could be, in a time when doctors, lawyers and Indian chiefs had not yet been reduced to being a part of the middle class. These days, that bracket has been so modified that it’s become very difficult to be sure where it starts and ends.

Though we didn’t call ourselves Conservatives then, you can be sure that is exactly what we were. We believed in God, and moral behavior, that a man should work for what he gets in life, and that he keeps the great majority of what he works for. You managed what money you made, and did not depend on anyone else to support your family. No one expected the government to ‘bale them out’ if they fell on hard times, and the government most certainly did not pay for your rent, car, food, or anything else for that matter.

While I was financially unable to attend collage right out of high school, I made out just fine until I was able to further my education, on my own. Even with this ‘handicap’ I cannot remember being without a job for more then a few very short periods of time when laid off during some fabricated recession. The reason for this was simple. Foolish as it may sound to some, I actually went out and searched for a job, rather then sitting on my hands and letting the government support me.

Now please understand this is not bragging on my part. It is simply to demonstrate the difference in attitude, and personal responsibility, between now and the time I was raised. Back then, if I spilled the milk, I accepted the responsibility and I cleaned it up. I didn’t blame someone else and make them clean up the mess.

Then, a family raised the children. Now, of course, we are told it ‘takes a village’ to raise a child, and I have some serious problems with a large number of the kids that have been raised by these ‘villages’. Instead of working for what they need, they expect to have it given to them. Instead of taking responsibility for their own actions, it is always someone else’s fault. I’m somewhat surprised they do not expect to be spoon fed at meal time. Worst of all, many of them are now in congress, and they wish to perpetuate their species. Unacceptable!!

Having said this, most of you may be saying, “No question about what political party he’s part of.”, and you could not be more wrong. There is a great question there, and the answer is still open. I was once a Kennedy Democrat, which of course is now a centrist Republican. So then, Conservative, yes; Republican, not exactly; Democrat, not hardly; Liberal not on your life. So what could be the reason that I would feel so horribly disenfranchised by both major political parties? Well, for one thing, if you take out the Liberals on the left, and the extreme Conservatives on the right, you can hardly tell where one party leaves off and the other begins, just for starters.  Unacceptable!!

During the Clinton years, it was pretty much business as usual for the moderately Liberal Democratic party. While I was never a big fan, I’ll give Clinton credit for at least trying to keep things under control. At least where his politics was concerned. Then George W. Bush came to the office. I am, in most ways, a big fan of W’s, but at the same time, his open wallet policies were nearly a disaster for the Republican party. Those same policies still haunt the Republicans to this day. The fact that both houses in congress also shared that mindset did not help a thing. Then came a president that could, did, and still does, spend like no president before him. Barack Hussein Obama has spent more money in the first year of his presidency that ALL other US presidents COMBINED!! This does not include the money he blames GWB for spending. Unacceptable!!

That being the short story, we find ourselves ‘ruled’ by a group of Congressional Dukes and Duchesses that have the idea they know more then the people they work for. Us!! They make choices we do not want, then snub us and call us names when we complain. Unacceptable!!

Our President has chosen to place 30+ people in terribly powerful offices, that he calls Czars, that have completely bypassed the congressional inspection and approval, and these people also make major decisions about our lives while being accountable to no one but the President. Making this worse, calling the morals and character of the vast majority of these ‘Czars’ questionable, would be like calling Lake Michigan a big pond. Unacceptable!!

If you wondered why I feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties there it is. From the monumental number of Tea Parties, marches on Washington, and just plain angry people I see each day, I’m guessing I’m not alone in this opinion. So, what will it take then to restore our faith in the American political system?

1. Lets start with the Czars. It would certainly be very helpful if the President would put our Constitutional checks and balances back in place, and fire the lot of them. Every job these ‘individuals’ are doing now should be under the oversight of the congress. Not that I trust them a great deal more, but there are a few good ones left there. So, fire the Czars and let the Senate confirm those people that would be given this much power.

2. The so called ‘Stimulus’ bills need to be withdrawn and the freewheeling spending in Washington needs to stop at once. Now Queen Nancy and Prince Harry want to increase the borrowing limit another $1,200,000,000,000.00 (that’s what $1.2 TRILLION dollars looks like). We can’t afford these peoples spending habits people. The redistribution of our wealth whether in this way, the Cap and Trade bill, the massive Health Care bill, or the 900 ‘pork projects’ they want to attach just one of these, simply must stop now.

3. Loose ACORN altogether! Enough said.

4. Illegal Immigration has got to be halted, and reversed. If a so called ‘shelter’ city, or state, will not enforce the immigration laws then the do not need the federal funds they covet so. Round them up, send them back, and let them go through the proper immigration channels. While their gone, lock down the borders as well. You said you would, now do it.

5. Stop and reverse the growing government control in our lives. Government has no business in my business. Mind your own, I’ll do the same and we will get along just swimmingly. While your at it, how about adding the transparency and accountability that Obama promised in nearly every other sentence during his campaign. If you are not doing something wrong, Mr. President, why are you so intent on hiding everything you do?

A whole lot of people trusted you Mr. President. They even trusted all you Congressmen and Senators to do what you said you would when you took your oath of office. Why have you disappointed us so very badly? Is the temptation of power so strong that you would turn your backs on the people that elected you, not to mention your country? Are you so devoid of character that breaking your country has no effect on your conscience? If so, you can count on one thing as a fact. You will soon be replaced. 2010 is at hand folks. Look behind you. We The People are coming, and we have learned our lesson. We will not be taken advantage of again. Not by you, nor by those that follow you. Your fifteen minutes of fame is up. Fire Congress, the rookies can do no worse!