Barbara Norton and Highway To Health Care

The Make America Happen bus stopped in Shreveport yesterday. The group is touring the country promoting ObamaCare. Make America Happen is part of AFSCME which is American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which is part of the AFL-CIO; no surprise that they support ObamaCare.

There were some local politicians in attendance at the Highway2HealthCare bus stop at County Market in Shreveport yesterday; Representative Barbara Norton was there (she's also the godmother of Hurricane Chris and introduced him in the Louisiana legislature earlier this summer) and City Councilman Joe Shyne. Shyne was convicted in federal court of extortion in the early 1990s and later pardoned by Governor Mike Foster.

The Highway for Healthcare Now website says, "AFSCME is part of Health Care for America Now (HCAN), a national grassroots campaign of more than 950 organizations in 46 states representing 30 million people dedicated to winning quality, affordable health care we all can count on in 2009. Our organization and principles are supported by President Obama, Vice President Biden, and more than 190 members of Congress."

This video is La. State Representative Barbara Norton refusing to speak about ObamaCare. It was sent to me by Matt Sciba, who shot the footage.

Going It Alone

It seems that the Dems are ready to "go it alone" on ObamaCare, according to this piece in the New York Times. Their current position seems to be moving toward blaming Republicans for lack of bipartisanship and refusing to compromise, and moving ahead with their plans for enacting reform on their own. Does that mean reconciliation? That much isn't clear.

The Times quotes Rahmbo who says "The Republican leadership has made a strategic decision that defeating President Obama's health care proposal is more important for their political goals than solving the health insurance problems American's face every day."

This quote is interesting on two points, to me. First is that he assumes, or at least pretends to assume, that Republicans are opposed to ObamaCare simply on political grounds; it's all about Obama. Never mind the move toward socialism, forcing people into government run plans, and shutting down the private insurance industry over time. Never mind fears of health care rationing and poor care. It's all about defeating Obama. To assume that is delusional.

The second point is that he says the Dems goal is to solve "health insurance problems." People with insurance don't perceive any problems. Polls indicate that people with insurance are pleased with it. No reform needed.

What about the eight million (which is more accurate than the Dems touted number of 47 million) without insurance? There are more reasonable plans that have been floated to solve that problem than the current ObamaCare plan of total government takeover. Tax incentives and insurance savings plans to name two.

The Dems will be creating their own "Waterloo" should they shut Republicans out of this process as they did on Porkulus. People are fed up. People are sick of big government and sick of the current way of business in Washington. The town halls across the country are evidence of that.

I would say to the Dems, tread carefully on this one, but don't tread on me.

(More at Memeorandum)

Sorry So Quiet

Sorry so quiet but life has gotten interesting in the past 24 hours; The Teenager, out of the blue, has gone and hooked himself up with an Army recruiter and has decided to enlist. This is not a bad thing at all; I'm for it, actually, but I want him to talk to more than one person. He's a better fit for the Air Force, but this recruiter has done some trash talking about the Air Force and he's negative about it. We're encouraging him to get all the information he can before he signs on the line.

Steve is retired Army and is going to the recruiter with him tomorrow, so we shall see how much the smoke and mirrors change.

Anyway. Been occupied. Sorry!

I'll catch up.

Public Option Ploy

Yesterday, Kathleen Sebelius floated the suggestion that maybe a public option wasn't exactly necessary after all; late Sunday, administration officials say she misspoke.

Obama has been loudly in favor of the public option from the beginning and has made no secret about his perception of its importance.

Michelle Malkin today suggests that Kathleen Sebelius did NOT misspeak, that she was intentionally floating a trial balloon of compromise to guage the backlash from the left. I'm siding with Malkin on this one; I don't think Obama will EVER back down from the public option because that's why he's pushing this so hard. He's devoting an inordinate amount of time on ObamaCare right now. Certainly there are other things he could be spending his time on.

No, no. He wants the public option.

American Thinker has a scorecard of tactics today, if you're losing count of all the different ploys Team Obama is using to get this pushed through. The Sebelius "misstatement" would likely come under number 8:

8. Pretend to give up on controversial issues that were never acknowledged in the first place. We've heard that the alleged Senate bill has omitted the controversial "death committee" provision that was never acknowledged to have existed in the first place. This offers the illusion of compromise.

Sit back and see what today's spin will be.

Sleeping Giant

Paging Arlen Specter: Call Your Office!

George Stephanopoulos has a quote from Arlen Specter that illustrates how out of touch he is:

“I think we have to bear in mind, that although those people need to be heard and have a right to be heard, that they are not really representative of America in my opinion...We have to be careful here not to let those town meetings make the scene that influences what we do on health policy.”

Video here.

Maybe this explains why Toomey is now leading Specter by 12 points in the polls.

If Specter doesn't think that the town halls are representative of America, he is truly clueless. Americans have huge concerns over ObamaCare. Huge. Rasmussen's latest poll has 54% of Americans saying that no reform at all is better than ObamaCare.

Specter seems to be following Obama's theorem that people just need to "get outta the way and not do a lot of talkin'."

I have two words for Mr. Specter. Sleeping Giant.



(H/T to Carol for the video! )

Obama Pens an Op Ed on ... ObamaCare

The New York Times is running an OpEd by Pathological-Liar-In-Chief today entitled "Why We Need Heath Care Reform." Let's take at look at it, shall we?

Sentence number two: "And over the past few weeks, much of the media attention has been focused on the loudest voices." Now, who is he talking about? The loudest voices? Are those the voices of dissent? Of course they are! Has much of the media attention been focused on THEM, as he says, or on the town halls themselves and the legislators being held accountable? I'd say the latter.

In paragraph two he recounts the stories of some unfortunate folks who don't have insurance. In paragraph three he quotes the already proven inaccurate, and therefore intentionally deceptive, figure of 46 million people that are uninsured.

Right there, in paragraph three, he lied to me. So he's lost me right there. But, I'll forge ahead in the interest of investigation.

His next line? "There are four main ways the reform we’re proposing will provide more stability and security to every American." Another lie. What he's proposing will NOT provide more stability and security to ME. I'm going to be worried every single day about losing the coverage I already have. When I DO lose it, I'm going to be worried about finding another private carrier to cover me. When I can't, and I have to go to one of the government options, I'm going to be worried about rationing and inferior care. That's not what I call "more stability and security."

Next line in question: "...you will have a choice of high-quality, affordable coverage for yourself and your family." Since there are no plans written just yet, much less any policies, I'm not sure how he knows this. What tests will be covered under ObamaCare? Will abortion be covered? How can he possibly guarantee that the care will be "high-quality" when there is no plan? Many experts suggest that care will likely be inferior as rationing will have to occur in order to keep costs down. So this is another lie.

Then he says, "Second, reform will finally bring skyrocketing health care costs under control, which will mean real savings for families, businesses and our government. We’ll cut hundreds of billions of dollars in waste and inefficiency in federal health programs like Medicare and Medicaid and in unwarranted subsidies to insurance companies that do nothing to improve care and everything to improve their profits."

Okay. A couple of points here. One, of course, goes back to the rationing arguement. How else can he "cut hundreds of billions of dollars in waste and inefficiency" without it? He's going to have to cut Medicare and Medicaid to do that. He's going to have to ration tests. And he's going to be sure that the big, bad insurance companies don't "improve their profits." But not one single word about tort reform or trial lawyers improving THEIR profits. Nada.

His next tangent is on the big, bad insurance companies who don't cover pre-existing conditions or who charge higher premiums if they do actually cover you. That's the free market, capitalist system. Which is, of course, his target.

And, oh my, look at THIS whopper; I'll have to address this one in parts: "If you have health insurance, we will make sure that no insurance company or government bureaucrat gets between you and the care you need. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan. You will not be waiting in any lines. This is not about putting the government in charge of your health insurance. I don’t believe anyone should be in charge of your health care decisions but you and your doctor — not government bureaucrats, not insurance companies."

One: In the House bill there is a section that specifically says that life sustaining treatment will be "guided by a coalition of stakeholders includes representatives from emergency medical services, emergency department physicians or nurses, state long-term care association, state medical association, state surveyors, agency responsible for senior services, state department of health, state hospital association, home health association, state bar association, and state hospice association."

I'd suggest that statement indicates a very real possibility that this bill is "putting the government in charge" of my insurance. Or at least my care, and that's what people are worried about.

Two: He continues to say "If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan."
Intentionally misleading. You can't keep it when they pack their toys and go home because they can no longer compete with a government run plan. He knows this. He is for a single payer system. He said so. He's intentionally deceiving you here.

Three: "You will not be waiting in any lines." Really? I wait in the doctor's office for a long time sometimes now. He's going to do away with that? No, seriously, how can he know this? There is no plan. Is he trying to say there will be no rationing? If so, that's a lie. There MUST be to pay for this.

He begins to close his Op Ed with some finger shaking at the opposition: "We are bound to disagree, but let’s disagree over issues that are real, and not wild misrepresentations that bear no resemblance to anything that anyone has actually proposed."

I shake my finger back at him. Yes, we disagree, but the thousands of people at these town halls across America DO believe these issues are real. It is not a "wild misrepresentation" to know that I will lose my current coverage or that care will be rationed. That the medications I need may not be covered under the government plan.

The end of life counseling is not a "wild misrepresentation" either. It's in the House bill, which is the only one I've read so far. And whether it's compulsory or not, which is still a matter of debate, it's no place for the government. Period.

Then he says, "Almost everyone knows that we must start holding insurance companies accountable..." but nothing about tort reform. Again.

He says, "The AARP supports this policy..." but didn't AARP say this week that they haven't endorsed any plan? Let's look at the whole context of that quote: "And we have an agreement from the drug companies to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors. The AARP supports this policy, and agrees with us that reform must happen this year." Is he saying AARP just supports lower drug costs? But the way he links that with "reform must happen this year" talking about ObamaCare in general, he makes it sound like AARP supports ObamaCare. Deceptive. Sneaky. Misleading.

Oh my. Look at this one: "In the coming weeks, the cynics and the naysayers will continue to exploit fear and concerns for political gain. But for all the scare tactics out there, what’s truly scary — truly risky — is the prospect of doing nothing. If we maintain the status quo, we will continue to see 14,000 Americans lose their health insurance every day."

Gotta love this. He warns against fear-mongering then he fear-mongers. I haven't seen that statistic that 14,000 Americans lose their insurance every day, but assuming it's true, it's nothing compared to the numbers that will lose their current coverage under his plan.

He criticized the insurance company profits five times in that Op Ed. He criticized insurance comapnies in general much more.

In the end, according to the polls, 54% of Americans currently favor doing nothing as opposed to enacting ObamaCare. I think that's lowballing, but it's still a majority.

Back up and regroup, Barry. Take a vacation.

Related posts:
Obama Sanders Doctors Once Again
Will Obamacare Cover Illegals?
"This Isn't About Me!"
Lack of Empathy?
Obama Now Worried About Saddling Our Children With Debt?
Obamacare Team Visits Reserve, LA.
"You WILL Lose Your Current Insurance"
Obamacare for Illegals
No More Private Insurance with Obamacare
Starting to Look at the Obamacare Bill
John Boehner Says the Republicans Have a Better Plan
"Say Hello to My Little Friend!"
Take a Look at Obamacare
Going Galt Over Obamacare
Congressman Fleming: What's Good for the Goose.

(More at Memeorandum)

Font?

Blogger just randomly changed the font on my entire blog.

And it's made my header fuzzy.

I'm confused.

Wish I knew HTML.

I'm not sure I like this.

Check List

Follow the progress of my nasty To Do List today.

So far?

Yardwork.

Check.

Up next? Shampoo the carpet. (Can you hardly WAIT for the picture on that one?)








Update!





Carpet cleaning?

Check! God, I totally "get" why people have hardwood or tile floors. Totally. Get. It.

Up next? The daily check on Mom thing. Mom has an inoperable pinched nerve which, long story short, means that she can't drive. Or cook. Or any of those sort of things that people do that makes them totally independent.

She does pretty well, but being cut off from the outside world sometimes sucks. Anyway, carpet is done. Now to Moms. Will there be a picture?

Update!

Did the mom thing. I made some pimento cheese - she loves that and it's easy for her to fix it for herself to eat.

When I got there she was watching the golf tournament; she's a huge Tiger Woods fan. She didn't have much interest in talking to me today because she likes to watch golf. I did my daily chores over there, sat on the porch and had a beer (check! - was on the list!), then headed back home to continue with my list.

Update!

Next on the list was bathing the puppy. I went for bonus points and bathed Checkers, too. Puppy, whose name is actually Jazz, rather liked the bath. When I finished with him, I put Checkers in the water, much to her irritation, and Jazz kept trying to jump back in. Water dog.

Took 'em outside to dry in the sun, and had a beer. Dogs - Check. Beer - Check.

What's next?

Full Metal Jacket Saturday: To-Do List Edition

One week down. I haven't actually had students for one week, only three days, but I've been back at work for one week. I slept in today. But it's all good - I'm getting back into the routine; my classes are great, I love my school (this is my 9th year there), and everything is falling into place. My little blog has suffered some this week, but we'll rebound. You don't get as many hits when you aren't updating all day. Who knew!?

I have a huge "To Do" list today so on to the linkage - and hey - click on the links, people! That's the point. I'm pulling my favorite posts from my favorite blogs for you; this is a GOLD MINE of good reads, right here!

I'm starting with Fausta today who reminds us that "there is no plan" with regard to health care. There are five different versions. But, of course, all five are horrible. Speaking of horrible, Fausta is monitoring her keyword activity, to surprising results.

Yukio at Crittical Narrative is reading one of those bills, one of the Senate ones. His analysis is here.

Doug Ross makes note of the increasing violence in Chicago.

I love Ann Althouse's photographs! Silverton churches, I love this unpainted building, bicycles, even this street scene is cool, and oh my goodness, Sunset Tavern. She makes me want to break out my camera again. I've gotten lazy with it.

The Daley Gator has a new game to play; I know some people who would benefit from this as a stress reliever.

Pundette makes an interesting point with regard to keeping your health coverage. Who would have thought Obama could ever be contradictory. My goodness.

Poliltical Byline has a great Glenn Beck clip. And speaking of Beck, Robert Stacy McCain weighs in on the groups boycotting Glenn's show. When I wrote about that earlier this week, I had a comment someone posted that those participating in the boycott are just participating in their own version of free speech, which is absolutely true. The point I was making, however, is that the organization leading the boycott was founded by Obama's Green Jobs Czar, which seems inappropriate to me, sort of like the government, with all it's influence and power behind it, ganging up on one man's television show. Not cool. And stifling free speech is NEVER cool.

Be sure you read this article from Carol at No Sheeples Here! about Obama's remarks regarding diabetes and physicians. It's important.

Donald Douglas has an interesting read on Caroline Heldman and the politics of town halls. Never heard of her? Me neither. Till now.

Grandpa John has a picture of...panties?

I'm not linking Flopping Aces this week, because they never link me.

I want to link to this story at Carol's Closet about this mad little old lady, but when I click on the headline to get the link, it takes me to JWF. So just go to Carol's blog and scroll down. Never mind - I got the link by going through the comments. Go here. It's worth it.

Legal Insurrection has an interesting situation in which a woman in Britain compares their health care system to Abu Ghraib yet still supports it. WTF? The good professor has an explanation. He also weighs in on the Glenn Beck Boycott.

Loved Troglopundit's post on VJ Day!

You might have noticed I like books and I'm always interested in what people are reading. I get ideas for my own reading that way. I found out about Ira Stoll's Samuel Adams book via Hot Air. Also found Inside Gitmo that way. Now I'm looking at Jules Crittenden's list. He's got some good ones on there! Not all of it is up my alley, but he's got some good suggestions.

How did a NRA member get into Obama's town hall? Seriously?! I love it. Left Coast Rebel has the video.

Bride of Rove has a new favorite quote and is considering a career in spamming! :)

Okay Chris, I'm now taking you up on your free beer offer. Remember me. Although New Jersey IS a long way to drive (from Louisiana) for a beer. But I'll do it.

oooooooo Snaggletoothie has launched a new blog; looks like it'll be good! Add it to your blogrolls!

Jimmie at The Sundries Shack posts on Obama's polls. That's just what I've been wondering, Jimmie.

Caught Him With a Corndog also posted that hilarious dog video! If you didn't watch it on this blog, go watch it there. Or hell, go watch it there anyway because it's just funny. Red, someday you've got to tell me how you came up with the name for your blog - it's wonderful!

Generation Patriot makes some interesting observations about Twitter, idealism and youth. Been there.

Okay you blogging heads, I have Saturday things to do. This is my "To Do" List today: do the yard (that includes topping the two sweet olives by the deck that are too tall), shampoo carpets (housetraining puppies is a slow process), bathe two dogs, the daily mom house-call, laundry, various housework chores, cook dinner, post SOMETHING of substance on this blog that has been neglected this week, and drink beer. That's my day. I better get started.

Blog Love

Oh my goodness, THIS is why I love to read Sippican Cottage. At least one of the reasons, anyway. He distills my thoughts into words and makes it seem so easy.

A Reading List for Obama

National Review Online has a suggested reading list for Obama, and it's very interesting; it's not unlike some suggestions I've made in the past. Not that he reads my blog, or anything. But maybe he reads NRO. Well, maybe not.

Anyway, go here to see what they say. One of their suggestions that I liked are David McCullough's Truman, "for a true-to-life look at what grassroots middle America has always been about (hint, hint). It also deals extensively with being a war president and the considerations that brings (including victory)." I'd go one further and also suggest McCullough's John Adams.

As I've said before, I think he needs to read more American History. NRO suggests other areas, too, such as Thomas Sowell and Michael Barone.

What are the chances of us getting him to read Culture of Corrupution?

Obama's Losing Noonan

Peggy Noonan has decided that Obama is losing the health care debate.

In her WSJ column this week, Noonan, for the second week in a row, seems a little soured on the smooth polished candidate she purred over right after the election. Now she's calling the health care debate "a disaster."

We tried to warn you, Peggy.

She says that Obama's town hall this week was "a bit of a disaster" and "It looked utterly stacked, with softball after softball thrown by awed and supportive citizens." I'd go her one further and suggested that it WAS stacked - it didn't just looked stacked. We know the child reading the question to Obama, the one who mentioned the "mean signs" is the daughter of a huge Obama supporter and worker.

Noonan suggests that Porkulus was the turning point in this administration:

"Looking back, a key domestic moment in this presidency occurred only eight days after his inauguration, when Mr. Obama won House passage of his stimulus bill. It was a bad bill—off point, porky and philosophically incoherent. He won 244-188, a rousing victory for a new president. But he won without a single Republican vote. That was the moment the new division took hold. The Democrats of the House pushed it through, and not one Republican, even those from swing districts, even those eager to work with the administration, could support it."

She could be right on that score...I suppose it's safe to say that some slumbering Republicans began to awaken over Porkulus. That's when the Tea Parties erupted.

She also suggests that Obama has done the impossible - he has united the Republican party. I hope that's true, but we still don't have a clear leader, I don't think. Things may be coming into soft focus, but I don't see The One for us out there just yet. Nobody that really excits me like I think Marco Rubio is going to do in time.

But if Obama is losing Noonan (and she purred at his victory and his charisma as much as any of them), he's clearly in a slide. She's been wishy-washy on him from the beginning, but maybe she's seeing what we all saw, now.

Now if we can just find that one Republican to lead us out of this hell hole...

Heh! Smart Dog!

Color of Change Tries to Shut Down Glenn Beck

I find this story from Red State rather disturbing. Obama's Green Jobs Czar Van Jones, who founded the group Color of Change, has hired a Hollywood PR group to pressure Glenn Beck's advertisers to stop advertising with Beck's cable program.

Michelle Oddis has a post on this at Human Events; she says:

On July 28th, Beck made a comment on the Fox & Friends morning show about Obama’s reaction to the arrest of Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. During the discussion of “Professor-Gate,” Beck connected the President’s past association with Rev. Jeremiah Wright to Obama’s comment that Cambridge police officer, Sgt. James Crowley, acted stupidly. Though Beck acknowledged most of the Obama administration is in fact white, he concluded that the President’s world experience made him a "racist."


Now Color of Change has pressured SC Johnson, Progressive Insurance, and Geico to boycott Beck's program. Red State has the contact numbers for these folks if you'd like to send them your two cents. Oddis also includes Proctor and Gamble in her list as well as Nexis Lexis.

Color of Change has this statement on their front page:

Fox's Glenn Beck recently said President Obama is "a racist" and has a "deep-seated hatred for white people." Beck is on a campaign to convince the American public that President Obama's agenda is about serving the needs of Black communities at White people's expense. It's repulsive, divisive and shouldn't be on the air.

Join us in calling on Beck's advertisers to stop sponsoring his show.

Color of Change is a non-profit organization. Were government dollars used to organize this boycott? And if they succeed in shutting down Beck, where will it end?

Obama Slanders Doctors Once Again

If you read nothing else today, be sure you read Carol's post at No Sheeples Here in which she lets loose on Obama for once again slandering physicians; this time in reference to diabetes.

He said this in Portsmouth, NH:

“All I'm saying is let's take the example of something like diabetes, one of—a disease that's skyrocketing, partly because of obesity, partly because it's not treated as effectively as it could be. Right now if we paid a family—if a family care physician works with his or her patient to help them lose weight, modify diet, monitors whether they're taking their medications in a timely fashion, they might get reimbursed a pittance. But if that same diabetic ends up getting their foot amputated, that's $30,000, $40,000, $50,000—immediately the surgeon is reimbursed. Well, why not make sure that we're also reimbursing the care that prevents the amputation, right? That will save us money.

So changing reimbursement rates will help. The other thing that will really help both nurses and doctors, helping pay for medical education for those who are willing to go into primary care. And that's something that we already started to do under the Recovery Act, and we want to do more of that under health care reform.”

Take this in addition to his slandering ENTs in his ObamaCare infomercial and you've got to wonder why he's got it in for doctors so bad.

Carol has some knowledge in this issue so I'm going to send you over to her place. Check it out.

Rep. Cao Wants a Sit-Down With Obama

Louisiana Congressman Joseph Cao is taking Obama up on his offer to meet with members of Congress to go over the health care bill. From The Hill:

In a statement released late Wednesday, the 42-year-old lawmaker said that he was taking up the president's offer to go over the bill "line by line" with any member of Congress.

Cao has previously said he would not vote for the bill if it funded abortion.

"I am approaching this healthcare bill with the best interests of Orleans and Jefferson parishes in mind," he said. "If the president is willing to meet with members of Congress, then I'm definitely going to take the opportunity to discuss my constituents' concerns. As I travel the area, I'm asking everyone to share their healthcare concerns with me, and I will deliver them to President Obama."

Go Cao!! I like this guy!

Notes

The first day with students went better than expected, given my unorganized state, yesterday; we'll be settling in for the rest of this week and then should be into a routine next week. Things will be better!

A couple of quick links this morning that caught my eye but I don't have time to write about in any detail just yet:

Victor Davis Hanson, always wonderful, writes about becoming Big Brother.

Karl Rove writes on Obama's Permanent Campaign.

and federal officials look at Michigan for the new Gitmo. I continue to ask, what's wrong with the old Gitmo? Not everyone in Michigan is happy.

Have a peachy day and I'll catch up later.

Lost and Found

It's hard to imagine how one "loses" a "3,998-tonne" cargo ship, but apparently, it can be done.

"President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered the Russian navy to join the hunt for a cargo ship which disappeared after passing through the English Channel.Warships and nuclear submarines have have been told to “take all necessary measures to find and free” the ship and its 15-man Russian crew amid fears that it has been seized by pirates."

First Day

Today is the first day with the students, so I'll be MIA here most of the morning & afternoon. I'll check in later!

Hold down the fort!

Quote of the Day?????????

"Buyer's remorse? Not me. At the North American summit in Guadalajara this week, President Obama resumed the role he is best at -- representing the U.S. with dignity and authority abroad."

From Camille Paglia. Is she kidding? Was this supposed to be satire?

Don't Forget to Water the Plants

Why does it not surprise me that the little girl in the Obamacare "Town Hall" yesterday was a plant? She mentioned the "mean signs" outside and wondered how children could know what was true?

Ugh. Michelle has the story, as does Gateway Pundit. Yukio also adds to the discussion. Much more at Memeorandum, also.

I continue to ask, how can anybody believe anything this man says? He says at the town hall yesterday “I don’t want people saying I just have a bunch of plants in here" but of course he does. Proven.

He says we can trust him on health care - he says you can keep your insurance. A lie.

I know I've been harping on this theme for days, weeks, even, but the man is not honest. It's not even little white lies or cover-ups in the name of national security, even. It's pathological lying. "I don't want people saying I just have a bunch of plants in here" and then calls on a plant. Did he not KNOW who she was? Baloney! Her mother and the mother's law firm are huge Obama donors. There are photos of the woman with Obama on her Facebook page. The mom attended an Obama inaugural event (see Gateway Pundit).

There are no coincidences. Secret Service and Team Obama knew who was in that forum. They always do.

Hope 'n Change, right?

UPS and Fed Ex and Obamacare?

Okey-dokey. I've been in school in-services for two days, I've played silly games, I've absorbed more information that one person should have to absorb in 48 hours, I've been introduced to new computer software, new rules & expectations, new policies, new procedures, and so...I'm a little fried right now, but WTF is he talking about here? Is this incoherent to anybody but me?



What was that part about him being the next great orator? I'm going to have to back up and see what the hell is going on here. I'll be back.

By the Numbers

Today's Rasmussen poll is rather interesting. Consider this:

51% of those polled fear the government more than private insurance companies.

32% favor a single payer health insurance system.

57% are opposed to a single payer system.

Here is Obama's job approval:
His overall approval index today is -7.

The Rhetoric Over ObamaCare

The rhetoric with regard to the town hall protests and the opposition to ObamaCare has intensified to incredible levels over the past couple of weeks on both sides of the issue.

Protesters have been called everything from an angry mob to Nazis; yesterday Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer called them "Un-American." Incredible.

Sarah Palin was bashed when she referred to "death panels" in the bill. Maybe her terminology was lacking - the House bill doesn't actually SAY death panels, but what Mrs. Palin was referring to was likely the government bureaucracy that is going to deliever cost-effective health care protocols to your doctor regarding your care as a byproduct of your records that are entered into that centralized system set up by the Stimulus bill. That much IS in the House bill.

Palin wrote: "And who will suffer the most when they ration care? The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course. The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil."

I'd agree that her concerns are a bit hyperbolic, but they aren't all that far off base. Again, nobody calls it a "death panel," but the rationing of health care is certainly a reality that will have to be faced should the bill be passed in anything close to its current form. There is no other way to pay for it all. Taxing the rich certainly won't do it.

Politco has a piece today that takes a look at the inflamatory rhetoric we've seen lately. Roger Simon calls it an "age of rabid response." He condemns Palin, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh for their responses to ObamaCare and quotes Limbaugh's comparison of Obama's health care logo to a Nazi swastika. (It IS similar - not just the logo but the entire graphic has unfortunate similarities).

Nancy Pelosi is in the thick of this as she was one of the first ones to say that town hall protesters were carrying swastikas and hanging likenesses of Democratic Congressmen in effigy. I didn't hear any condemnation from her when Sarah Palin was hung in effigy, but I guess that was different. I haven't seen any swastikas at these town hall protests either, but I'm sure there have been one or two. You'd have to watch a lot of YouTube videos of them to find very many.

I honestly don't think these Nazi comparisons are productive at all. I get where they are coming from: ObamaCare is clearly a socialist policy. Nationalized health care IS socialism. Period. Oh, he SAYS that's not what he's trying to do, but of course it is. The evidence is everywhere and has been since before the campaign. Of course, now we have lapdog MSNBC putting race into the argument by claiming that "socialism" could be the next "N-word." The inflamatory rhetoric on both sides is unproductive.

Obama himself contributed to this dialogue with his "get out of the way" and "don't do a lot of talkin'" comments. Everyone is entitled to express their concerns. He would do well to remember that.

Now that Obama is set this week to hold some of his own "town halls" (his are more staged than most), he's decided that it's okay to have dissent. He's gone from sit-down-and-shut-up to this:

"I think there's actually a pretty long tradition of people shouting at politicians in America," White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton told reporters on Air Force One when asked about the comments.

"The President thinks that if people want to come and have a spirited debate about health care, a real vigorous conversation about it, that's a part of the American tradition and he encourages that, because people do have questions and concerns ...And so if people want to come and have their concerns and their questions answered, the President thinks that's important. Now, if you just want to come to a town hall so that you can disrupt and so that you can scream over another person, he doesn’t think that that's productive. And as a country, we've been able to make progress when people actually talk out what our problems are, not try to shout each other down."

Meanwhile, the SEIU is still recruiting members to stuff local town hall meetings and drown out opposing voices.

In the end, the rhetoric escalates, and some Congressmen are either cancelling town halls, or not scheduling them at all, or phoning them in. None of this is productive to the process. I'd also say that it's a fight too important to back down from altogether. If ObamaCare passes, it changes EVERYthing about our country; it enables to government to have way too much control over every single aspect of our lives. This is why passions are so high. I'd suggest losing all the Nazi references; I just don't think they inform the issue.

But don't back down. Don't stop talking. And don't get out of the way.