Are YOU Smarter than Congress?

Contraceptive Coverage and Obamaism

2012-02-11T14:55:00.000-05:00

President Obama, in a great display of magnanimity, has backed off from his requirement that all employers, including religious institutions, provide "free" contraceptive and abortion services to their employees. With this concession, the encroachment by Obamacare on religious freedom seems to have been forestalled. Now we come to the next layer of the onion: encroachment by Obamacare on economic freedom.

The new ruling by Obama--and I am setting aside, for the sake of argument, the issue of whether Obama has the authority to make such rulings--is that insurance companies, not employers, will be required to provide "free" contraceptive services to all women who request them. My understanding is that this includes conventional birth control pills as well as Plan B One Step, aka the morning after pill. I do not know whether cervical rings, diaphragms, IUDs, Norplant, and tubal ligation are covered, but to keep it simple, I will consider only oral contraception.

Everyone, I hope, understands that under Obama's edict, contraceptives are not FREE. If insurance companies are required to provide them free of charge to their customers, then insurance premiums will go up. This means that everyone who pays premiums (or taxes, in the case of Medicaid, Medicare and the public option under Obamacare) will be paying for those who use contraceptives.

Of course, all insurance follows this model. You pay a premium with the understanding that you may never benefit from insurance, and that someone else may. Most non-diabetics do not object to diabetics receiving covered health care services for their diabetes. Most people with healthy hearts do not object to people with heart disease receiving covered health care services for their heart disease. Insurance is a method to transfer wealth from the healthy to the ill. From non-diabetics to diabetics. From healthy hearts to weakened hearts. From the non-injured to the injured. From cancer-free to cancer. Does anyone object to this. I think not.

But what about the contraceptive mandate. This is a transfer of wealth from men to women. From people who abstain to people who are sexually active. From homosexuals to heterosexuals. From the monogamous to the promiscuous. From older people to younger people. From women who have had their tubes tied to those who have not. From women who's husbands have had vasectomies to those who's husbands have not. From people who want to have children to those who do not. From Asians, Hispanics and Blacks (56.4%, 68.2% and 78.4% usage of birth control pills, respectively) to Whites (88.8% usage) [1].

Is this even consistent with the tenets of liberalism? I agree with using insurance premiums to allow the sick to receive health care. I can even see the rationale, though I disagree with it, for the transfer of wealth from rich to poor. But this? Transfer of wealth to make it easier for people to have recreational sex? That, my friends, is not liberalism, it is Obamaism.

[1] Use of Contraceptives in the United States, 1982-2008, US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, P.5, Table 2, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_029.pdf

New York Times to Obama: YOU LIED!

2010-07-19T09:53:00.000-04:00

This article says it all:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/18/health/policy/18health.html?emc=eta1

Can it be that even the New York Times is waking up? Has the old grey lady joined the Tea Party?

McChrystal for...VP?

2010-06-24T12:42:00.006-04:00

According to Michael Hastings*, General Stanley McChrystal's favorite movie is Talladega Nights.
My theory is that he has watched one too many reruns of Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, and is channelling the nameless-disgruntled-pepper-spray-eating-former-special-ops-rogue-commando played by Everitt McGill (pictured above). As a result of his carefully cultivated, but true, tougher than thou image, the talk-radio circuit has brought up the idea of McChrystal for President. Actually, it is not a bad idea, and is just what this country needs, a physic to cleanse us after the current occupant leaves the White House.

However, I fear a different outcome. Remember, McChrystal voted for Obama, and it was plain as day, from the beginning of the campaign, what Obama was: a metrosexual, a member of the castrata elite, whose only skills were agitation and fund-raising. That McChrystal voted for Obama rather than the battlefield-tested McCain shows clearly that the general is not a hard core Republican.

Q: How could a guy like McChrystal vote for a guy like Obama?
A: Because his first choice was not in the race.

Hastings article makes one brief reference to another political camp that is neither the GOP nor Obama, but that has feelings for McChrystal, and is crouching in the wings waiting for the right moment to pounce:

Only Hillary Clinton receives good reviews from McChrystal's inner circle. "Hillary had Stan's back during the strategic review," says an adviser. "She said, 'If Stan wants it, give him what he needs.' "

Could it be that the Secretary of State will recruit the General as a running mate in a bid to usurp the Emperor? I am not making a prediction, only thinking about worst case scenarios.

*Rolling Stone, June 22, 2010

More inconvenient truth

2010-06-21T23:15:00.000-04:00

What happened to the vaunted consensus on global warming? Consider the evidence reported in this article from the British Newspaper, "The Register:"

Antarctic glacier melt maybe 'not due to climate change, by Lewis Page, June 21,2010 It says that, although there may be some melting of the Pine Island Glacier, it is not because of a change in the earth's temperature. In a way, it is earth-shattering evidence, but you will not find it on NBC.

Kudos to marklevinshow.com for finding this link.

See also my earlier blog, Boo-hoo, no more man-made global warming.

P.s. Maybe one of these Energizer battery powered subs could shut off the Deepwater Horizon well as well. Maybe Obama can suggest it to Hayward the next time they play golf.

The Big Hug

2010-06-15T18:56:00.002-04:00

One last time, a Democrat role model in action:

Obviously, he does support Obama's agenda.

What CEOs Make

2010-05-21T10:36:00.004-04:00

"Lets see, what costs can I cut to keep premiums down????"

Just in case you were worried about insurance company executives, there's this from the AMA News, May 10, 2010:*

CEO salaries for 2009:

Ronald Williams, Aetna: $18,058,162.

H. Edward Hanway, Cigna: $18,818,467.

Allen F. Wise, Coventry: $17,427,789.

Jay Gellert, Health Net: $3,643,342.

Michael McCallister, Humana: $6,509,452.

Stephen Hemsley, United: $8,901,916.

Angela Braly, Wellpoint: $13,108,198.

I feel sorry for poor Jay Gellert. How can he even show his face at an insurance company ceo party? Does he even get an invitation?

Mind you, I am a good conservative. I do not object to obsce--I mean, high--salaries. I am sure every penny is earned, and I am sure they make every effort to keep our premiums down.

*"Health plan gains bring higher pay packages for CEOs" Bob Cook, AMA News.
Photo of Ronald Williams, Aetna CEO, AP.

Romney for President?

2010-02-16T11:08:00.004-05:00

So, Mitt Romney was attacked by an angry passenger before his flight from Vancouver to LA (Michelle Ruiz, AOL News, 16 Feb 2010). But that is not the most amazing part of the story. This is:

Romney, 62, and his wife, Ann, who were returning from the Olympics, were reportedly sitting in the economy section before
takeoff when Romney's routine request enraged the passenger sitting in front of
his wife.

Mitt Romney sitting in the economy section? Damn! I figured he had a G5. He must really be a man of the people. Romney for President!

Photo: Amy Sancetta, AP

When in Vegas do Like the Vegans

2010-02-03T17:17:00.003-05:00

Finally, Obama says something I agree with (AOL News, 2 Feb 2010):

"When times are tough, you tighten your belts. You don't go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage. You don't blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you're trying to save for college. You prioritize. You make tough choices. It's time your government did the same."

Obama seems to have a thing about Vegas. This is the second time he has insulted that great city. Harry Reid must be seething, but Harry, this time Obama is right. You should not blow your child's college fund at a casino; and that goes for Atlantic City, too, and eastern Connecticut, and New Orleans. The funny thing is, they are all squirming, trying to apologize without losing face.

But the Vegas remark is not the the real scandal in the President's comments.

The scandal is in the last sentence: "Its time your government did the same." He has the gall to brag about making "tough choices" after proposing a $3,800,000,000,000.00 budget, of which $1,400,000,000,000.00 is borrowed???? If I were to follow his government's example, I would be scheduling a flight to Vegas now, and requesting a withdrawal of my entire IRA thinking that I am likely to double or triple it at the slots, and submitting a couple of credit card applications, since the two I have is not nearly enough. That is what I call prioritizing.

It is great having a president who is a role model.

P.s. Liberals, FYI: $3,800,000,000,000. = $3.8 trillion

Environmental Update

2009-12-20T15:00:00.000-05:00

I have heard it said that our most precious and dwindling resource is fresh water. But let’s not put the environmentalists to work on that one, PLEASE. They ALWAYS get it wrong. Here is my sad-but-true story about the fight to save fresh water.

About 2 years ago we renovated our kitchen. Part of the job was a new dishwasher. We had a 20 year old model that did a great job of cleaning, but it was ugly and noisy, so we bought a new Bosch, a brand that we had used before and our past experience with that brand was very positive. But the new one—it just did not do a good job: water spots on the glasses, dirt left on the plates and utensils. After about a year of cajoling the vendor, we finally had an “expert” come in to check it out. The diagnosis? Hard water. But, we asked, why did the ugly, noisy, obsolete 20 year old dishwasher do a good job.

He answered that older dishwashers used 13-15 gallons of water, but the newer ones, in the interest of SAVING WATER, only use about 4 gallons. Well, it seems if you use more water, the hardness (calcium and magnesium salts) gets washed away, but if you use less, the hardness does not get washed away. Furthermore, the hardness build up in the circulation of the newer models, eventually restricting the flow of water so that the problem gets progressively worse. If the water is soft, as in our previous home, NO PROBLEM. But, if the water is hard, as it is in most of the U.S., you have to get a water softener!

So, we installed a water softener, to the tune of $1850.00, and that’s cheap. Here is the catch: every third night or so, sometimes more, the water softener has to regenerate, a process that CONSUMES MORE THAN 25 GALLONS OF WATER.

For the sake of this discussion, I will overlook the cost of municipal water, which I have to pay for. Lets just focus on the enviromental aspect:

Let’s say we run our dishwasher once a day. That means we save 10 gallons of water per day compared with the old fashioned model. If we regenerate the softener every 3 days (that’s the bare minimum) thats 25 gallons every three days (also the bare minimum).

So, every 9 days we save 90 gallons with the dishwasher and spend 75 gallons (minimum) with the water softener. That is a best case scenario. The reality is, the softener has to be regenerated more often that every 3 days and uses more than 25 gallons per cycle.

Hardly seems like much of a boon to the water supply. It was a boon to my plumber, and to Blake Water Systems, who made the softener.

Do the geniuses, i.e., Congress, who make environmental regulations ever bother to think these things through?

Technorati Tags: Environment,water softener,water,fresh water,dishwasher,Congress

Copenhagen: Failure is Not an Option!

2009-12-17T13:44:00.004-05:00

Super-Earth GJ1214b, seen at right in this illustration, has an estimated temperature of about 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

The above illustration and caption were reported today in Sphere by John D. Sutter. Apparently, there is a planet circling a star about 40 light years from here, and this planet may have WATER on it! Sounds like fertile soil for life: DNA, viruses, bacteria, paramecia, hydras, worms, brachiopods, crustaceans, reptiles, birds, dinosaurs, mammals, civilization! But judging from the caption, the natives (can't use the word aliens, politically incorrect) failed to address global warming.

Anybody wanna bet the atmosphere is chock full of CO2?

Does Al Gore know about this?

Just Words

2009-12-02T11:29:00.004-05:00

In President Obama's stirring pep talk on Afghanistan last night two words were notably absent:

Victory and Defeat. But then, we already know Obama is uneasy with the idea of victory. According to Fox News from July 23, 2009:

I'm always worried about using the word 'victory,' because, you know, it
invokes this notion of Emperor Hirohito coming down and signing a surrender to
MacArthur," Obama told ABC News.

Of course, he is very comfortable with the idea of victory over certain groups, e.g., political opponents, Republicans, White House staff, corporate CEOs and other capitalists.

More troubling to me was his thinly veiled contempt for the Constitution, that he cryptically referred to in the next-to-last paragraph of his speech:

I believe with every fiber of my being that we--as Americans--can come
still together behind a common purpose. For our values are not simply words written into parchment--they are a creed thatcalls us together, and that hascarried us through the darkest of storms as one nation, one people.

Those "words written into parchment," aka the Constitution of the United States of America, are the source and foundation of that creed. His now publicly-stated disdain for this great document is very troubling.

Also, I guess when Obama says "the darkest storms," he is probably referring to the Bush presidency, and not the Civil War, WWI, WWII, or the Carter era.

The Swiss Move the Muslim Cheese, and the Muslims are Not Pleased

2009-12-01T19:56:00.003-05:00

The Muslims are up in arms over the Swiss vote to prohibit construction of minarets in Switzerland. AOL News reported the following:

"The Swiss have failed to give a clear signal for diversity, freedom of religion and human rights," said Omar Al-Rawi, integration representative of the Islamic Denomination in Austria, which said its reaction was "grief and deep disappointment."

What, exactly, does Mr. Al-Rawi expect? The Swiss, after all, are infidels, are they not? I wonder what his reaction was when the Taliban destroyed Buddhist shrines in Afghanistan. Was that a signal for diversity? Is Iranian persecution of Jews and Christians a signal for diversity? Etc., etc.

Crash?

2009-11-27T10:08:00.003-05:00

I am going out on a limb here, but mark my words. It will turn out that the gate-crasher Salahis were invited to the Obamastate dinner. They fit right in with that crowd.

P.s. Can anyone remember a Bush state dinner? He gave them, but without the sycophantic coverage.

Sweeping Away in England

2009-11-25T16:56:00.003-05:00

Theunis Bates wrote, in Sphere

LONDON (Nov. 25) --

Almost seven years after Britain joined the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and amidst a still blazing public debate, a government-appointed panel has launched a sweeping investigation into why the country went to war and why British forces were so poorly prepared for the chaos that followed the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Maybe the Brits should launch a sweeping investigation into East Anglia University and the CRU over the eco-fraud they have perpetrated on the U.N., the U.S., and the rest of the world. Going to war against global warming based on intelligence from these clowns is akin to invading Iraq because the CIA said there were WMD. There is a difference, of course: there were WMD in Iraq. Even if Saddam Hussein's nuclear program was over-rated, there were abundant chemical and biological weapons and medium range missiles. Also, there were a multitude of other reasons for invading Iraq and seeking regime change, including violation of UN resolutions; stealing money from the oil-for-food program;financial and other support for palestinian terrorists; invading Iran and later Kuwait; using chemical weapons on Kurds; the torture, rape, imprisonment and murder of countless innocent Iraqis; etc.

Furthermore, in case the Brits have not noticed, we have been successful in Iraq. Saddam was deposed, tried and executed. There is a stable, democratically elected government that is a coalition of Sunnis, Shia and Kurds. The Iraqis are gradually taking over management of their own security.

On the other hand, how strong is the case for man made global climate change. Not very strong, if the leading "scientists" on the case have to fake their good results, and suppress their bad results. Investigate EAU, not the British military.

And remember: CO2 is Green! Oil is a biofuel! Global warming means a longer golf season!

Global warming is dead! Long live global warming!

Dithering? No, Blithering.

2009-11-24T18:57:00.002-05:00

Nuff said?

Dithering

2009-10-26T22:27:00.005-04:00

So, it is okay to dither about Afghanistan. By all means, Mr Obama, take your time responding to General McChrystal's request for troops. Nine or ten or twelve months of stagnation of our mission in Afghanistan is not important, as long as you get it right, right? By all means, let us wait while American soldiers are dying and the American taxpayer is going broke and the liberal American news media is going through such contortions to keep defending you that they will end up in a rehab hospital. Let us wait until there is a corruption-free government in Afghanistan, until Jimmy Carter certifies their elections are fair, until the Pakistanis clean up the Swat valley, until Ahmadinejad has a nuke. Dither away.

But health care reform? That, Mr. Obama, is an EMERGENCY. Heck, if you do not sign a health care bill by the end of the year, why, some democrat congressmen might not get re-elected in 2010! That would be a bloody shame. Never mind that not one single member of Congress or your administration understands the legislation; never mind that not one single government agency can produce a believable estimate of the cost of the thing; never mind that H.R. 3200 and the Baucus Bill were bought and paid for by the insurance industry, the SEIU, the hospitals and the Trial Lawyers Association; never mind that, a la Hillary Clinton, the whole process of creating the monstrosity has been cloaked in secrecy and politics. No dithering allowed on this.

Mr. Obama, one of the challenges of being President is knowing when to dither. You, my friend, have a lot of learning to do.

MOP

2009-10-13T11:43:00.003-04:00

WASHINGTON (Oct. 13) - The Pentagon is speeding up delivery
of a colossal bomb designed to destroy hidden weapons bunkers buried underground
and shielded by 10,000 pounds of reinforced concrete. (ANNE
GEARAN, AP, AOL News, 13 Oct. 2009).

This is a slap in the face to the Nobel Prize Committee, or is it? Maybe the announcement about the MOP (massive ordnance penetrator) bomb was intentionally delayed until after the Obama became a Nobel Prize Winner.

No Respect for Nobel Prize Winner Barack Hussein Obama

2009-10-10T19:35:00.005-04:00

TEHRAN, Iran (Oct. 10) - Three defendants in Iran's mass trial of opposition figures accused of fueling the country's postelection unrest have been sentenced to death, an Iranian news agency reported Saturday. (Ali Akbar Dareini, AP, on AOL News, 10/10/09).

ZURICH (Oct. 10) - Turkey and Armenia signed an accord Saturday to establish diplomatic relations after a century of enmity, as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton helped the two sides clear a last-minute snag. (Matthew Lee, AP, on AOL News, 10/10/09).

Ahmadinejad obviously has not heard the news that Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. Does he not realize that we have now entered a new era of peace under the leadership of Barack Hussein Obama. After all, Obama has opened dialogue with the Iranians. How dare Ahmadinejad execute 3 protesters. It is a slap in the face to Nobel Prize winner Barack Hussein Obama.

And Hillary! What are you thinking, stealing the limelight from Nobel Prize winner Barack Hussein Obama. The nerve of you, actually accomplishing something within days of his prize and not giving him credit for it.

P.s. This is Hillary's first actual accomplishment, in case anyone is keeping track.

LIke Carter on Chemo

2009-10-02T13:10:00.005-04:00

Previously, Jimmy Carter owned the gold medal for weakness in an American president. His only accomplishment was 4 years of stagflation, and he turned Iran over to the Ayatollahs who have been a thorn in everyone's side for 30 years. Weak, weak, weak. Yes, Jimmy Carter held the Olympic Gold for weakness for 30 years...until now.

I thought, when Obama and Vice President Oprah announced their trips to Copenhagen, that the vote was in the bag. After all, Presidents make sure of these things--they get their underlings, like Rahm "Iago" Emanuel , to do the behind the scenes work--so that they will not put their nation's prestige on the line and have it backfire. However, it appears that Obama was counting on the world's love for him to carry the day. But he was wrong about their love, and he was wrong about the outcome.

President Obama's mission since his inauguration has been to weaken America, financially, militarily, and diplomatically.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

A Simple Change of Address

2009-10-01T08:01:00.015-04:00

By all means, let us reform health care in this country so that the federal government runs the whole enchilada, and not just Medicare. Here is a short story about my recent experience with Medicare that illustrates my point. In essence, this story is about reporting a change of address.

I am an ophthalmologist. I own a small solo practice in Orange County, NY. Recently, I decided to merge with another local practice, and I spent a year or so and about $15,000. in legal fees negotiating the contract (FYI, roughly 50% of those fees had to do with complying with state and federal regulations, and the other party's legal fees were even higher). We signed the contract in the first week of August, and the merger date was set for October 1. This gave us 2 months to get everything in order.

A big part of the preparations was informing Medicare of the merger, so that the new merged practice could be paid for my services. The idea is, Medicare has to know where each doctor sees patients, and where to send payments for services rendered. Currently, I see patients at one office, and payments are sent to the same address. The practice I am joining has 3 locations for examining patients, and one of those is the billing address.

Early in August we submitted, in triplicate, form CMS-855R, a 5 page document that notifies Medicare of a physician's change of status. 3 weeks later we received a 2 page rejection notice (also in triplicate), because a zip code had been left out of one of the addresses. So, I called Medicare, and had a lengthy conversation with a pleasant woman who walked me through the form step by step so that it would be completed correctly, and she assured me that that was all I had to do. Then, I resubmitted CMS-855R in triplicate. That's 36 pages so far, if you are keeping track.

Everything was going along just fine--just peachy--until Thursday, September 24, 2009. On that day, we received another 2 page rejection notice in triplicate, informing us that, although the triplicate CMS-855Rs were completed correctly, we were also required to submit CMS-855I, a 28 page enrollment form, and, by the way, resubmit new CMS-855Rs in triplicate. Page count: 85 total.

So, early Friday morning, I called Medicare again, and another very nice woman walked me through the CMS-855I. This took at least 30 minutes. She was very helpful. When she finished, she added, "do not forget the CMS-855B." "The what?" I said. She replied that the CMS-855B was to inform Medicare that I was merging with the other practice. The CMS-855B also must be submitted in triplicate.

The CMS-855B is 48 pages long and incomprehensible. So...

Friday afternoon, I called Medicare again, and spoke with another polite, but somewhat impatient government employee, and walked me through the 48 page form. I completed it as instructed, and, on Monday added these 144 pages to the stack and sent them by certified mail to Medicare, with a cover letter requesting expedited processing.

Total pages: 229

Total time: 4 or 5 hours of my time, 1.5 hours of Medicare employee time on the phone with me, 1 or 2 hours of staff time. Remember, all this is to change my address, and I do not yet know whether my forms have been accepted.

If I were a liberal, I would be outraged at the colossal waste of paper, the demise of trees, and at the carbon footprint of all this nonsense. But I am not a liberal, and I am outraged that our government wants to take over even more control of the health care system. This drama that I have been through proves to me that Medicare does not know how to process a change of address form, let alone run the nation's health care system.

Medicare was concocted by Congress, who also gave us the tax code. I believe that a change of billing and service addresses should require approximately 1 paper or web page, and should be easy to process by anyone with a middle school education, that is, by anyone who is SMARTER THAN CONGRESS.

For more information, please go to www.cms.hhs.gov.

Mighty Oaks?

2009-09-20T13:05:00.003-04:00

This is from ACORN's home page:

In response to recently released videos of
frontline ACORN staff, ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis made the following announcement Wednesday morning:"As a result of the indefensible action of a handful of our
employees, I am, in consultation with ACORN's Executive Committee1, immediately
ordering a halt to any new intakes into ACORN's service programs until
completion of an independent review. I have also communicated with ACORN's
independent Advisory Council, and they will assist ACORN in naming an
independent auditor and investigator to conduct a thorough review of all of the
organizations relevant systems and processes

I think Ms. Lewis should have said, "...a handful of our employess in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Brooklyn..." I belive what we have here is a tip-of-the-iceberg situation. We can only hope that the brilliant journalism that produced the scandalous videos of ACORN in action, will sink this organization that is a titanic of corruption.

By the way, has anyone heard the President speak out about this?

True Cost of Environmentalism

2009-09-19T18:02:00.007-04:00

According to some, the most serious looming environmental crisis is a shortage of fresh water.

Here is a story about the fresh water crisis and EPA regulations designed to conserve fresh water.

Three years ago, we renovated out kitchen. We bought a new high end Bosch dishwasher. Stainless steel on the inside, matches our cabinets on the outside, quiet as a mouse, but does not clean dishes for beans. Right from the beginning, we have had water spots on our glasses, and over time, it became worse: water spots, soap spots, dirt, etc. We had the repairmen here several times, to no avail. We tried everything: more soap, less soap, more rinse aid, less rinse aid. The store from whom we bought it, Michael's Appliances, and Bosch said that hard water

must be the culprit.

That sounded plausible, except for one minor problem: the previous dishwasher, a 20 (at least) year old rusty Whirlpool that sounded like a lawn mower had given us spotless dishes, and used the same water! So how could it be that hard water was the problem?

After 3 years of bickering (sorry, President Obama, the Constitution guarantees my right to bicker) with Michael's Appliances, they sent someone fairly knowledgable to our house, and he answered my question.

How is it that rusty-old-whirlpool cleans dishes better than shiny-new-Bosch? The old dishwasher used 13 to 15 gallons of water per wash cycle. The new one uses 4 to five gallons.

The new one, to save energy, has a less powerful heater, and the heater is a coil within the pipes of the dishwasher, instead of a big loop below the dish rack. So, it has less water and colder water. Hard water does interfere with the effectiveness of the soap, but if you use enough water, as in the old models, it does not matter. But with the lower water volume, it does matter. Over time, soap and calcium salts are deposited in the heater coil, and this interferes with the water flow and the heating efficiency, so that the machine becomes less and less effective over time.

So, now we have had to have the dishwasher removed, so the pipes could be properly cleaned out. We have to run hot water in the kitchen sink to pre-heat the water for the dishwasher. We have to get a whole-house water softener, a $2000. to $3000. investment. Water softeners (a) remove calcium and magnesium, which are good for you, (b) add sodium, which is bad for you, especially if you have high blood pressure, (c) have to be backwashed every night, which wastes dozens of gallons of water, and costs me more money, and (d) have to have the salt replenished from time to time, which costs me time and labor.

You can have the high-tech Bosch dishwasher; and you can have the EPA, while you are at it.

Give me the 20 year old clunker, and good, old-fashioned, patriotic, hard American water any day.

Obama Answers YES to My Blog

2009-09-02T11:58:00.004-04:00

In "Obama Mulls big Health Care Speech," Charles Babbington of the Associated Press wrote the following:

Some Obama allies feel he gave too much leeway to Congress, where one bill has passed three House committees, another has passed a Senate committee and a third has been bogged down in protracted negotiations in the Senate Finance Committee.

See, even President Obama thinks that He is Smarter Than Congress!

The Perfect Storm?

2009-08-31T13:01:00.006-04:00

A reader, GBK, was kind enough to comment on my blog about Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, PhD.

Ezekiel Emanuel is the brother of Rahm Emanuel, and in an act of apparent nepotism, has been appointed by Obama as a "health care" adviser. Ezekiel is a big proponent of H.R. 3200, the Obama/Pelosi bill. Betsey McCaughey is a political commentator who wrote an article published in the New York Post about Ezekiel Emanuel. GBK issued--along with disparaging remarks about the New York Post and Betsey McCaughey--the following challenge to me:

Here is a JAMA article cited numerous times in [McCaughey's] piece. It's a whole 3 pages, but I think you can handle it. http://www.ipalc.org/Healthcare_Policy/The%20Perfect%20Storm%20of%20Overutilization%20(JAMA%202008).pdf.

The gauntlet having been thus thrown, I took the liberty of reading the JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) article, which is co-authored by none other than the archangel Ezekiel Emanuel himself.

Ezekiel attempts to place the blame for the "perfect storm" of American Healthcare on doctors and--get this--patients. Doctors, because they try to do everything they can for their patients, and patients, because they demand the best that hi-tech medical care has to offer. In making the case against our existing system, Ezekiel managed to convince me more than ever that we are better off with what we have than with what the Congress wants us to have. Consider these comments by Ezekiel, which he offers as proof that our system is a failure compared to socialist models:

[Compared with their European Couterparts]
Hospital rooms in the United States offer more privacy,
comfort, and auxiliary services than do hospital rooms
in most other countries. US physicians’ offices are typically
more conveniently located and have parking nearby and more
attractive waiting rooms.

US patients utilize many more “new drugs”—
those on the market 5 years or fewer—than patients in other
countries.

This one is my favorite:

Peer recognition goes to the most thorough and aggressive physicians.
The prudent physician is not deemed particularly competent,
but rather inadequate. This culture is further reinforced
by a unique understanding of professional obligations,
specifically, the Hippocratic Oath’s admonition to “use
my power to help the sick to the best of my ability and judgment”
as an imperative to do everything for the patient regardless
of cost or effect on others.
[emphasis added]

Although most physicians are not income maximizers, they knowthat it is better to be paid to do something, and the higher the payment the better.

[What about members of Congress? Do they know this?]

Then there is the patient side. US patients prefer high technology
over high touch.

In normal markets, demand is modulated by cost. But
third-party payment for patients attenuates this control. Although
patients experience deductibles, co-payments, and
other out-of-pocket expenses, health insurance and gov-
ernment programs significantly shield patients’ decisions from
the true costs of health care.

So, by all means, says Ezekiel, lets expand the insurance system; lets let the government get more and more involved; lets take away financial pressures from patients and doctors entirely and let Congress decide who gets treatment and who does not. That will surely help keep costs under control.

Like I said: I read Ezekiel's own words, and I oppose HR 3200 more than ever.

To see an example of a sensible, understandable plan that the government can undertake to improve health care in this country, see my blog 4 Steps and 3 Sentences to Health Care Reform, 2009 Aug. 23.

Ezekiel 25:17

2009-08-30T11:20:00.004-04:00

"I will execute terrible vengeance against them to rebuke them for what they have done. And when I have inflicted my revenge, then they will know that I am the Lord."

And it appears the Lord (Obama) has sent the archangel Ezekiel (Emanuel) to exact vengeance upon those who have (a) spent health care dollars, (b) lived too long, (c) had the audacity to think that they could make deeply personal decisions for themselves, without the help of a government employee or program. Don't believe me? Then read about Ezekiel in Deadly Doctors, by Betsey McCaughey, New York Post, 2009 Aug. 17.

Four Steps and Three Sentences to Health Care Reform

2009-08-23T23:35:00.007-04:00

Congress has produced a 2000 page mish-mosh that is supposed to be a plan for health care--pardon me, health insurance--reform. It is an incomprehensible monstrosity. Incomprehensible to me; incomprehensible to Ms. Pelosi; incomprehensible to every member of the House of Representatives; incomprehensible to Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer; incomprehensible to the President. I maintain that there is no one, but no one, who comprehends it. There is no group or committee, or even the Congress as a whole, that comprehends it. They are like "All the King's horses and all the King's men" trying to reassemble Humpty Dumpty when it comes to explaining this legislation. Is it any wonder that most Americans have turned against them?

I, on the other hand, can improve our health care system and save money in four simple steps that would require three sentences of legislation.

Step 1: Tort Reform.

Sentence 1: In malpractice cases, non-economic (aka punitive) damages are capped at $250,000.

Step 2: Equalize tax treatment of health insurance premiums.

Sentence 2: All health insurance premiums (not just for employer sponsored plans) are deductible for federal income tax purposes.

Step 3: National health insurance market.

Sentence 3: Health insurance may be purchased across state lines.

Step 4: Close our borders to illegal immigration.

Sentence 4: None required. This is already an obligation of our government. Indeed, protection of borders in an inherent obligation of any nation, and does not require legislation.

All it requires is for the Congress and the President to man up, to step up to the plate, to grow a pair, if you get my drift.

The rationale for each of these steps is obvious, and does not require explanation for most Americans. If you are a member of Congress and do not understand, please email me with your questions, and I will have my staff, or a student from the local middle school, send you an explanation.

A Failed Health Care System?

2009-08-21T07:22:00.004-04:00

The August 19 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, reported on mortality from heart attack ( acute myocardial infarction, or AMI). The article compared statistics from 2006 with those from 1995. In a span of only eleven years, there has been a 17% reduction in the death rate within 30 days of AMI. These are nationwide figures. Furthermore, there has been a reduction in hospital-to-hospital mortality, as one can see in the above graph: the bell curve on the left, representing 2006 data, is narrower than on the right. This means that the benefits are across the board, trickling down to both genders and all races and ethnicities.

To be sure, the federal government deserves some of the credit, since (a) the data came from Medicare, and (b) Medicare and the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH) were responsible, in part, for imposing certain standards on the hospital and medical community. Nevertheless, these findings do not represent a health care system in distress; and, although health care in this country is expensive, it appears that we are getting what we pay for.

Plain English, a la H.R. 3200

2009-08-07T06:43:00.003-04:00

SEC. 133. REQUIRING INFORMATION TRANSPARENCY AND PLAN DISCLOSURE.

(a) Accurate and Timely Disclosure-
(1) IN GENERAL- A qualified health benefits plan shall comply with standards established by the Commissioner for the accurate and timely disclosure of plan documents, plan terms and conditions, claims payment policies and practices, periodic financial disclosure, data on enrollment, data on disenrollment, data on the number of claims denials, data on rating practices, information on cost-sharing and payments with respect to any out-of-network coverage, and other information as determined appropriate by the Commissioner. The Commissioner shall require that such disclosure be provided in plain language.
(2) PLAIN LANGUAGE- In this subsection, the term `plain language' means language that the intended audience, including individuals with limited English proficiency, can readily understand and use because that language is clean, concise, well-organized, and follows other best practices of plain language writing.
(3) GUIDANCE- The Commissioner shall develop and issue guidance on best practices of plain language writing.

I wonder if the liars--uh, I mean, lawyers--who wrote H.R. 3200 could follow their own requirement:

From section 122:

(3) MINIMUM ACTUARIAL VALUE-

(A) IN GENERAL- The cost-sharing under the essential benefits package shall be designed to provide a level of coverage that is designed to provide benefits that are actuarially equivalent to approximately 70 percent of the full actuarial value of the benefits provided under the reference benefits package described in subparagraph (B).

Thankfully, the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, provides a section by section explanation of the bill. Here is the translation of 122 (3) (A):

Defines the initial essential benefit package as being actuarially

equivalent to 70% of the package if there were no cost-sharing imposed.

OK. Now I get it.

Here are some more examples:

SEC. 135. TIMELY PAYMENT OF CLAIMS.
A QHBP offering entity shall comply with the requirements of section 1857(f) of the Social Security Act with respect to a qualified health benefits plan it offers in the same manner an Medicare Advantage organization is required to comply with such requirements with respect to a Medicare Advantage plan it offers under part C of Medicare.

And Pelosi's translation:

Sec. 135. Timely payment of claims. Applies Medicare’s timely payment of claims standards to the plans offering coverage through the Exchange.

SEC. 242. AFFORDABLE CREDIT ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.

...

(2) TREATMENT OF FAMILY- Except as the Commissioner may otherwise provide, members of the same family who are affordable credit eligible individuals shall be treated as a single affordable credit individual eligible for the applicable credit for such a family under this subtitle.

Pelosi's translation:

None provided

SEC. 301. INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY.
For an individual's responsibility to obtain acceptable coverage, see section 59B of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by section 401 of this Act).

Pelosi's translation:

Sec. 301. Individual responsibility. Cross-references the shared responsibility provision in the Internal Revenue Code where an individual has the choice of maintaining acceptable coverage or paying a tax.

SEC. 244. AFFORDABILITY COST-SHARING CREDIT.
(a) In General- The affordability cost-sharing credit under this section for an affordable credit eligible individual enrolled in an Exchange-participating health benefits plan is in the form of the cost-sharing reduction described in subsection (b) provided under this section for the income tier in which the individual is classified based on the individual's family income.

Pelosi's translation:

Sec. 244. Affordability cost-sharing credit. The affordability cost-sharing credit reduces cost-sharing for individuals and families at or below 133% of poverty up to 400% of the federal poverty limit as specified in the act.

SEC. 245. INCOME DETERMINATIONS.

...

(c) Special Rules-
(1) CHANGES IN INCOME AS A PERCENT OF FPL- In the case that an individual's income (expressed as a percentage of the Federal poverty level for a family of the size involved) for a plan year is expected (in a manner specified by the Commissioner) to be significantly different from the income (as so expressed) used under subsection (a), the Commissioner shall establish rules requiring an individual to report, consistent with the mechanism established under paragraph (2), significant changes in such income (including a significant change in family composition) to the Commissioner and requiring the substitution of such income for the income otherwise applicable.

Pelosi's translation:

Sec. 245. Income determinations. To determine income, the Health Choices Commissioner uses income data from the individual’s most recent tax return. The federal poverty level applied is the level in effect as of the date of the application. The Commissioner takes such steps as are appropriate to ensure accuracy of determinations and redeterminations to protect program integrity. Processes are established for individuals with significant changes in income to inform the Commissioner of such change. There are penalties for misrepresentation of income. The Commissioner is required to conduct a study examining the feasibility and implication of adjusting the application of the federal poverty level for different geographic areas so as to reflect the variations in the cost-of-living among various areas in the country.

Had enough? There are 1018 pages in this bill; the last section is number 2531. I find what I have read so far to be incomprehensible for the most part, even with Nancy Pelosi's help in understanding it. This is despite the requirement, cited above, for plain language. It is typical of Congress to apply different standards to the rest of us than they apply to themselves.

Can you imagine the challenge for our dauntless congressmen--not the brightest stars in the firmament, for the most part--to try to understand this thing? Unfortunately, their failure to understand it will not stop them from voting for it.

Uncle, SAM

2009-07-31T12:16:00.006-04:00

The Obama Justice Department just cried uncle to Richard Reid, the shoe bomber. He went on a hunger strike because he was being denied the "right" to pray in a group with his terroist comrades. According to Newsmax:

The Obama Justice Department has withdrawn
the "special administrative measures" imposed at the federal
prison in Colorado against "Shoe Bomber" Richard Reid, the
jihadist who tried to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight in 2001.
Special administrative measures (SAMs) are security
directives, renewable yearly, issued by the attorney general
when "there is a substantial risk that a prisoner’s
communications,correspondence or contacts with persons
could result in death or serious bodily injury" to others."

So, no more SAMs for Dick Reid. I hope he experiences spiritual growth from his daily prayers. I hope next year he has another hunger strike so he can make hajj to Mecca. Actually, he probably does not need to do the hunger strike. He should just ask Obama or Eric Holder, esq. I am sure they will say yes. And, by the way, when he gets on the plane for Saudi Arabia, do not check his shoes; that would be racial profiling.

P.s. Don't muslims fast for a month during Ramadan anyway?

Are you Smarter than the Vice President?

2009-07-05T15:58:00.005-04:00

Today, Joe Biden was interviewed on ABC's "This Week". Here are some excerpts, as reported by AP (Biden Says Bad Economy Was `Misread'):

Vice President Joe Biden said the Obama administration "misread how bad the economy was" but stands by its stimulus package and believes the plan will create more jobs as the pace of its spending picks up.

Makes sense. They misread how bad the economy was, so we should trust them to predict what will fix it. Makes perfect sense, to a partisan political hack like Joe Biden.

The figures we worked off of in January were the consensus figures...

Consensus. That is the basis for the global warming scare and the demonization of CO2. The "consensus" was wrong about the economy. How do we know the "consensus" is right about the climate? By the way, Joe, the climate is orders of magnitude more difficult to predict than the economy.

Major programs will take effect in September, including $7.5 billion for broadband Internet service, plus new money for high-speed rail and the nation's electrical grid, he said.

I can not wait. I fully expect upstate New York, economically stagnant for the past 30 years or so, to bounce back in September, when Obama and Biden start working on the electrical grid, and reinventing the internet.

Biden, asked whether the United States would put the lives of U.S. troops on the line should violence flare up again in Iraq, said "no." The U.S. still plans to withdraw all troops by 2011, Biden said. "That is the intention," he said. "We believe the Iraqis will be fully capable of maintaining their own security."

Why will the Iraqi's be fully capable of maintaining their own security. Could it be that the USA has given them their country back, and trained them, and gave them a few years of relative peace so that they could start governing themselves. This is incontrovertible: President Bush was right about Iraq, and our mission there has been nothing short of miraculous.

Biden said if the Iranian government seeks to engage in a dialogue with the United States, the U.S. will engage. "If the Iranians respond to the offer of engagement, we will engage," Biden said. "The offer's on the table."

I hope Der Fuhrer Khamenei and his toady Ahmadinejad treat Biden and Obama better than they treat their own citizens.

Are you smarter than the Vice President? Anybody is smarter than the Vice President.

Letter to Schumer*

2009-06-24T23:24:00.006-04:00

Dear Senator Schumer:

If John McCain were President--or George W. Bush, George H. W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, or JFK--there would be no doubt about America's position on the events in Iran, and we would be foursquare behind the people who are fighting for liberty against their tyrannical Islamo-fascist government.

But the position taken by President Jimmy Carter, Jr. (aka Barack Obama) can best be described as wishy-washy. Is the President afraid to offend the Persian Fuhrer Khamenei or his lackey Ahmadinejad?

I am particularly concerned by the President's behavior toward Iran because I am a Jew, and care deeply about the security of Israel. His wishy-washy appeasement of the Iranian tyrant has already emboldened said tyrant, and does not bode well for Israel.

I would like you, Senator Schumer, as a leader of your party, as a fellow Jew, and as someone with influence in the White House, to encourage the President to take a more courageous stand: WITH the forces of good and AGAINST the forces of evil in Iran.

Sincerely yours,

The staff of "Are You Smarter Than Congress"

*Photo of Chuck conserving CO2

Lessons Learned from Liners*

2009-06-22T21:42:00.006-04:00

My swimming pool is a font of knowledge. Just from taking care of this financial sink-hole in my back yard I am achieving greater and greater understanding of envirnonmentalism and what it is doing to us. Perhaps you have read my blog "The True Cost of Global Warming," which explains the impact of the CO2 scare on our every day lives through the story of one small ingredient of pool water, namely, lithium hypochlorite.

In this essay, I reveal the sheer stupidity of envirofascist involvement in the vinyl liner industry.

This morning, I had a pool guy over to fix my filter, and fix it he did. As he was leaving, I asked him for a quote on a new liner. The existing liner is at least 20 years old, and is ready for hospice care. He told me a standard liner would be around $3600.00, and an extra thick liner around $4600. "What's the benefit of the thicker liner?" I asked naively.

He replied, sagely, "When your liner was installed, the expected life span was around 20 years. But since then, new regulations have outlawed used of certain anti-algae chemicals in the liner, because the chemicals can get into the environment when the liner is discarded; and there are all kinds of rules and regulations and red tape regarding removal and recycling of used liners. The problem is," he continued, "that removing the chemicals reduces the life span to about 10 years. So, you might want to consider getting the thicker [more expensive] liner."

What does this mean for me, and what does it mean for the environment? For me, it means an extra thousand bucks. Mucho dineros. 'Scarole. 10 Benjamins. Cha-ching! For the environment: it means less algaecide, BUT TWICE AS MANY LINERS HAVE TO BE MANUFACTURED AND DISCARDED! Do the math, environmentalists.

*Apologies for the title to Athol Fugard, author of "Lessons Learned from Aloes."

Photo credit:www.mellowmonk.com/ labels/sights%20to%20see%2...

President Moses

2009-06-08T05:56:00.009-04:00

It appears that Obama is going to be more aggressive about pushing for his version of health care reform. According to the New York Times (Stolberg 1), "With Congress beginning a burst of work on [health care legislation], top advisers say, the president is determined to make certain the final bill bears his stamp."

Stamp? I do not think so. Based on his first five months in office, President Obama is clearly not one for mere stamps of approval. Buried deep in the Times article is the Biblical truth:

Aides say he will not dictate the fine print. "It was never is intent to come to Congress with stone tablets," said his senior adviser, David Axelrod. But he will increasingly make his preferences known. (Stolberg 20)

Previously, Obama has been compared to JFK, FDR, Teddy Roosevelt, Lincoln, Warren Harding, Jefferson, Martin Luther King, and the Messiah, among others. This is the first instance, to my knowledge, where he has been compared to Moses.

I wonder how the President's new muslim friends will react to this revelation.

Stolberg, Sheryl Gay. Obama to Forge a Greater Role on Health Care. New York Times, 7 June 2009, 1, 20.

Obama to Press: Get Lost

2009-05-29T15:21:00.004-04:00

The Press has been in Obama's camp since day one. They must think that he is their friend. I beg to differ, and so does Brenda Lee, a black female reporter who has the audacity to oppose so-called gay marriage, whatever that is. I guess she gets the Clarence Thomas treatment, i.e., it does not matter what your skin color is, what your profession is, what your walk of life is; if you do not tow the statist--formerly known as liberal--party line, you are to be ousted from the fraternity. That, apparently, is the President's stand. Brenda Lee learned that hard way that Barack Obama is no friend of hers.

Photo credit: Nick Ut/AP

True Cost of Global Warming

2009-05-20T12:34:00.003-04:00

Last week I opened my pool. (The water is extremely cold, since you ask). I went to the local pool supply to buy some shock, which is a chemical that is used to chlorinate the water. I use lithium shock, and the chemical name is lithium hypochlorite. The price for 25 pounds of the stuff was $140.00. Two years ago, it cost around $75-80. I asked the clerk why the price went up. He said the supply of lithium is shrinking, because they are using more and more of it for car batteries. These car batteries to store power for hybrid cars; hybrid cars are becoming popular because of last year's spike in gasoline prices, and because of hysteria about global warming, so the lithium shortage is only going to get worse. Eventually, it will affect more that just swimming pool shock. Eventually, it will drive up the price of hybrid cars. Also, is there an ecologically sound way of disposing of those batteries?

Bottom line for me: soon I will not be able to afford to keep my freezing cold pool clear, and all because of global warming.

True Man-made Climate Change

2009-05-13T23:34:00.001-04:00

Don't believe climate change is man-made? That the recession is man-made? Just watch this video. It takes less than 5 minutes.

Obama Lite

2009-05-11T08:02:00.006-04:00

It appears Colin Powell may be running for President again. I thought he was retired, but he keeps putting his $.02 into the Republican debate, and, if you ask me thats what his opinion is worth. According to Michael J. Sniffen (AOL News, 11 May 2009),

Powell has argued the Republican Party needs to move toward the center and reach out to growing black, Hispanic and Asian communities, but instead has been shrinking because it hasn't changed as the country changed in the face of economic distress. "Americans are looking for more government in their life, not less," Powell said last week.

If this is not Obama-politik, I will eat my hat. I, for one, do not want more government in my life, and I know a lot of people, some of them liberal, who do not want more government in their lives. There was a time when Powell came across as a pretty good conservative, but that persona is gone now. Clearly, he sees Obama as a brother, a soul-mate, and the philosophical bond between the two outweighs Powell's allegiance to Constitutional limitations on government power.

I would paraphrase Powell's arguement as follows: the Republican Party needs to stay on the right and reach out to growing black, Hispanic and Asian communities.

Senator Grassley Takes on Evil Doctors

2009-04-29T17:20:00.009-04:00

The Wall Street Journal (4/28, Rockoff) reported:

The Institute of Medicine recommended Tuesday that
doctors, medical schools,professional groups and drug makers
make far-reaching changes to prevent industry gifts and payments
from influencing patient care and research.The IOM, part of the
National Academy of Sciences, proposed the elimination of many
now-common practices. It said doctors, for example, shouldn't
accept meals,trips or other gifts from companies. Nor should
physicians participate in clinical trials if they have a financial
interest in the outcome, or sign on to ghost-written articles.
The IOM also said professional societies shouldn't accept direct
industry funding for the development of guidelines on treating
patients. And it recommended that companies disclose payments
publicly, and in a central place.
The recommendations, contained in a 353-page report,come amid
heightened concern and investigations -- often led by Iowa
Republican Sen. Charles Grassley -- about the impact that industry
gifts and payments have on doctors, medical schools, professional
groups and journals

.

I would like to re-write this little tidbit, to aim it, if you will, where it should really be aimed:

The American
Taxpayer recommended Tuesday that senators, congressmen, lobbyists, and other industry representatives, and make far-reaching changes to prevent industry gifts and payments from influencing the legislative process. The American Taxpayer, who elects funds and tolerates members of
Congress, proposed the elimination of many now-common
practices. It said legislators, for example,shouldn't accept meals, trips or other gifts from companies or lobbyists. Nor should legislators participate in junkets or golf outings if they have a financial interest in the outcome. The IOM also said legislators shouldn't accept direct industry funding for the development of guidelines having to do with the same industry. And it recommended that companies and legislators disclose payments publicly, and in a central place.
The recommendations, contained in a 353-page report, come amid
heightened concern and investigations -- often led by the American Taxpayer-- about the impact that industry gifts and payments have on Senators, Congressman, their aides, and family members as well.

See also, "Reforming Medical Ethics," my blog published on 7 March 2009

Matt Taibbi's True/Color

2009-04-20T16:23:00.008-04:00

Matt Taibbi's True Color is blue, as in blue state. And he needs to brush up on his econo-terminology. In his post today on True/Slant he asks the following questions of "tea-baggers":

1. If you’re so horrified by debt and spending, where
were your tea parties when George Bush was adding $4 trillion
to the federal deficit?

2. If you’re so outraged by the bailouts, where were your tea
parties when the bailouts werefirst instituted by Henry Paulson
and George Bush last fall?

3. If you’re so troubled by pork, where were your tea parties
when the number and cost of congressional earmarks rose
spectacularly in each year of Republican congressional rule between
1996 and the end of the Republican majority in 2006?

First of all, "tea-baggers" is a sophomoric epithet, not worthy of a writer who is supposed to be a legitimate journalist. Second, why don't you learn the difference between the deficit and national debt. Even under the great borrower Obama, the deficit is not $4 trillion. Under Bush, the maximum deficit was around $450 billion, so even if the deficit were that large all 8 years, and it was not, the national debt would have been increased by less than $4 trillion. Obama is already way past the $4 trillion mark, and he has been president for less than 100 days. Third, we were outraged by the Bush/Paulson bailouts; you can ask Sen. Charles U. Schumer and Cong. John Hall about the emails I sent to them back then if you do not believe me. Fourth, we were and are outraged by republican pork. Why do you think they lost the Congress in 2006 and the Presidency in 2008?

However, Matt, when it comes to deficits and pork (and power grabs and prostration before petty potentates), the republicans are pikers. Put that in your pipe and puff it, Matt.

P.s. The tea parties were not just about bailouts, pork and taxes, although that is about as much as I can expect a liberal to understand. The tea perties, and the movement they represent, are about massive expansion of the federal government, and erosion of individual freedom that used to be guaranteed by the Constitution.

The first words of the Constitution are "We, the People of the United States of America," not "We, the Congress," or "We, the President."

Nato Outmaneuvered by Somali Teenagers

2009-04-19T07:19:00.007-04:00

This excerpt is from "Nato Forces Thwart Somali Pirate Attack," by Katherine Houreld, AP, posted on AOL News 4/19/09

The pirates' release underscores the difficulties
navies have in fighting rampant piracy off the coast of lawless
Somalia. Most of the time foreign navies simply disarm and
release the pirates they catch due to legal complications and
logistical difficulties in transporting pirates and witnesses to
court.

Sounds like it's NATO that is lawless. Piracy with impunity is the new Law of the Sea. In Somalia, they have Sharia law. Does anyone think an Islamic court would just let them go, or would they amputate their hands or their heads? I am sure Roxana Saberi, who is a victim of Sharia law in Iran, longs for the treatment these pirates are getting.

Photo credit: BBC News online, 19 April 2009

Boo Hoo, No More Global Warming :(

2009-04-18T19:09:00.006-04:00

The following is from an article written by Greg Roberts for The Australian, April 18, 2009:

A paper to be published soon by the British
Antarctic Survey in the journal Geophysical Research Letters
is expected to confirm that over the past 30 years,the area
of sea ice around the continent has expanded.

Roberts reports that the recent publicity about loss of ice from the Wilkins Ice Shelf, which is in western Antarctica, is misleading. Eastern Antarctica, which is much larger than western, has had an increase in ice mass over the last 10 years or more. Nevertheless, says Roberts, the Australian Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, continues to maintain that Antarctica is losing ice rapidly, and continues to make exaggerated predictions about the effect on world sea levels. Garrett is certainly aware of the findings to be pulished in Geophysical Research Letters, since the study originated in Australia. Q: Why would he say something so contrary to compelling scientific evidence? A: Peter Garrett is the Australian equivalent of Stephen L. Johnson and Christine Whitman, the current and former heads of the EPA; i.e., Garrett is a political appointee, his words are politically motivated, and therefore he is not to be trusted.

Additional evidence is easily seen in the above NASA photos of the Amery ice shelf: between 2001 and 2002 there was growth, not shrinkage of this eastern Antarctica ice. This is hardly indicative of warming.

I wish to state for the record my own scientific observation that the sea level is not rising. I have made this observation in Delray Beach, Florida, where my in-laws live. I have been visiting them from time to time over the past 15 years, and the beach is exactly the same size now as it was in the 1990s, when the Clintons were warning about warming. Rush Limbaugh, as you know, owns a compound in Palm Beach, a stone's throw from the Kennedy compound, and slightly up the coast from Delray. I will start worrying about global warming when Rush and the Kennedys build levees around their properties, and not before.

Anyway, I am in favor of global warming, because it would mean a longer golf season in New York.

Photo credit: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, arrows added.

How Much is a Captain Worth?

2009-04-10T21:15:00.006-04:00

The Somali pirates--Rush Limbaugh has dubbed them maritime organizers--are asking for $2000000. and safe passage in exchange for hostage Richard Phillips, captain of the Maersk Alabama. So, the pirates are now kidnappers as well. How do we deal with the pirates? That used to be an easy question, butnow, it turns out, it is a thorny one. Consider these excerpts from recent news:

The Royal Navy, once the scourge of brigands on the high seas, has been told by the Foreign Office not to detain pirates because doing so may breach their human rights. (Marie Woolf, TimesOnline 13 Apr., 2008)

The U.S. Navy says it is holding 16 suspected pirates it captured off the coast of Somalia aboard a warship while awaiting orders to move the suspects to Kenya for prosecution. The agreement to hand over suspected pirates to Kenya was reached last month between the U.S. and Kenyan governments. But, the agreement has raised questions and concern from a leading human rights group. (Alisha Ryu, VOANews.com 13 Feb., 2009)

In 1815, when the United States led the world in crushing the pirates off the Barbary Coast, retribution was swift and final. They either went down with their ships, were executed on the spot or they were taken back to England or Jamaica for trial where they were usually hanged and left dangling on posts along piers as a deterrent to others. (Thomas Rose, CBCNews.ca, 5 Feb., 2009)

If, somehow, we capture these individuals, how will the Obama Justice Department and Attorney General Eric Holder, handle them? We know it will become a Justice Department matter, because they have already sent the FBI to negotiate with the pirates. By all means, President Obama, make sure that the rights of the pirates are protected. We can not send them to Somalia, where they might have their hands or heads cut off (Sharia law); we can not send them to Kenya, because it might anger Prime Minister Gordon Brown; we can not send them to Gitmo, where they would get 3 Halal meals a day and a copy of the Quran, because we are shutting Gitmo down; so it looks like they will have to go to Rikers Island, so they can make a plea bargain and be out on the street in a couple of years.

My solution is the 1815 solution: rescue the captain, kill the pirates. Don't you long for the good old days?

Photo credit: Talbot/AP

Obama Passes the Test

2009-04-07T22:11:00.006-04:00

During the presidential campaign, Senator Biden predicted that the new president would be tested early in his reign. The test has now occurred, and I am pleased to report that President Obama has passed with flying colors.

The clever test, the launch of an ICBM by North Korea, was developed by former members of the axis of evil (I say former members, because the axis of evil does not exist any more, by presidential edict). These include North Korea, of course, China, and Iran. Perhaps the Russians had some input as well. They launched this non-satellite-bearing missile over one of our closest allies, Japan; this was an intentionally provocative act.

And how did our tall, dark and handsome President respond? He turfed the problem to the Security Council of the United Nations, so that the "global regime" could address the situation.

We all know what the UN will do: nothing. Even if a resolution with teeth were concocted in the Security Council, China would veto it.

The reason the test was so clever is that now the axis members know what to expect from Obama: words. They now know that they are free to test ICBMs, produce and test nuclear weapons, and threaten American allies, like Japan, Taiwan, Israel, Iraq, India, etc. The are free because our response will be words. America, formerly a beacon of freedom for the downtrodden of the world, is now working to bring freedom to brutal tyrants, communists, and islamofascists the world over.

So, why do I say he passed the test? Because the test was administered by our enemies, and as far as they are concerned, he passed with flying colors. Also, he passed in the eyes of his political supporters, because anything that smacks of appeasement, that weakens America, that makes us seem less arrogant and more like the Europeans, that increases the threat to Israel and our other allies in the region--anything he does that works toward these goals is AOK with the democrats and their axis--I mean, allies--at home.

"Global regime" source: Jonathan Martin and David S. Cloud, "Obama Calls for World 'Without Nukes' " Politico.com, 4/5/09

Obama-Geithner Bailout = Disaster

2009-04-06T08:57:00.004-04:00

I am not a financial expert, so I do not expect anyone to take my word for it that the Obama/Geithner/Congress bailout plans--aka the stimulus bill--are bad new for the American taxpayer. Perhaps you will believe Peyton Young, who is James Meade Professor of Economics at Oxford and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Also, he is British, not Republican, so he can be trusted. Please read his linked article from the Financial Times. While you are at it, read "Don't Eat Wall Street's Big Fudge," by Francesco Guerrera.

Don't You Feel Sorry for Smokers?

2009-04-03T11:38:00.009-04:00

ABC World News reported this little tobacco update on April 2, and it was printed in the "AMA Morning Rounds" on April 3:

...the House passed a landmark bill [Thursday] that
would for the first time give the federal government sweeping
authority over tobacco. Under the measure, the Food and Drug
Administration would have the power to limit the nicotine in
cigarettes, to regulate ads and to require warnings to appear
in larger print. The Senate now takes up its version...

So it has finally come to this. Cigarettes will come with a patient insert. Dosage and Administration. Warnings. Drug Interactions. Tobacco junkies will be showing up in the E.R. to try to sweet-talk some drowsy ER doc into writing a prescription. Child-proof caps on packs of cigarettes. Here's a smart business move for non-smokers: buy a stockpile of cigarettes now, because after the FDA gets hold of them the price will skyrocket and you can make a fortune selling yours on the street. Put three Marlboros in a ziplock bag and charge $20.00.

Say Phillip Morris wants to come out with a new brand. They will have to go through a 5 or 6 year FDA approval process costing at least tens of millions of dollars to get permission to market it. Sales reps will barge into doctor's offices trying to convince them to prescribe this or that brand by giving the office staff post-its and pens. Wait, I forgot: they are not allowed to give out post-its and pens any more (see my blog "Reforming Medical Ethics" posted March 7, 2009), because doctors are too morally weak, and might prescribe medications just because somebody left them a pen.

You know what the problem with Congress is? They have no cojones (Spanish for "backbone").
If tobacco use is so bad--and it is--outlaw it. They will not outlaw it because: (a) they get too much money from the tobacco lobby, (b) tobacco company employees represent too many votes, and (c) by putting a government agency in charge, it gives Congress more power. Those, unfortunately, are the bottom lines for them.

American History SAT Question.

2009-03-28T21:54:00.014-04:00

Barack Obama is the worst president since:

(a) Jimmy Carter
(b) Warren G. Harding
(c) LBJ
(d) Jefferson Davis

The correct answer is (b) Warren Harding. It is tempting to answer Jeff Davis, if only for the sheer irony of it. After all, Davis wanted to keep men like Obama enslaved. And Davis's idea of dividing the country geographically is analogous to the modern statist's idea of dividing the country by socioeconomic and ethnic groups, aka balkanization. Davis wanted to balkanize the U.S. into 2 parts; Obama and his followers want to balkanize the U.S. into black, white, latino, wealthy, poor, gay, straight, Muslim, infidel, etc. This is all very logical and compelling, but unfortuntely, (d) Jefferson Davis is the WRONG ANSWER.

Warren G. Harding is the correct answer, because Harding and Obama were elected for the same reason. Many people think that Obama was elected because he is part black, and there may be some truth to that assertion (and it is a good thing that we have finally elected a "person of color" to the White House, because now that that is out of the way; we have proven that we can do it, and we do not have to worry about it any more). However, the main reason Obama was elected is that he is good looking; secondary reasons are that he is a good public speaker with a teleprompter, and he makes you feel like you are his best buddy. Malcolm Gladwell, in Blink, gives essentially the same reasons for Harding's election (73 ff.). In fact, chapter three of Blink is entitled "The Warren Harding Error: Why We Fall for Tall, Dark and Handsome Men" (73). Also, according to Gladwell, "...[Harding] was not a particularly intelligent man," and "He was...one of the worst presidents in American history" (74,75). If this is true, then it was fortunate for our country that Harding died of a stroke 2 years into his presidency.
We now have another tall, dark and hansome president; whose intellectual powers have been exaggerated; and who has started his reign with the worst first 50 days of any American president. In reality, it is too soon to say that Obama is a worse president than Harding, but if he keeps it up, he will easily earn the title of worst president of all time.

Also, Harding and Obama both have catchy, middle eastern sounding middle names.

Sources:
Gladwell, Malcolm. Blink. 2005. Back Bay Books/Little, Brown. New York.

More Man-made Pollution, Tongan Style

2009-03-20T14:09:00.011-04:00

The following is an excerpt from an article written by Stefan Anitei, entitled "Antarctic Ice Depicts How Volcanic Eruptions Could Influence Global Warming," and published on Softpedia, January 8, 2007:

Volcanic eruptions are more than a light show for
us or a disaster for people living nearby.

When volcanic gases only reach the lower atmosphere,
the effectsare local and for a short term, because
the material is wiped out by the rain. But eruptions
that reach higher, up to the stratosphere, can
have a global impact. "In the stratosphere,
sulfur dioxide that was originally in the magma
gets oxidized and forms droplets of sulfuric acid,"
said Joel Savarino, a researcher at the University
of California, San Diego, theNational Center for
Scientific Research (CNRS) and the University of
Grenoble.

The satellite photo shown above is of the Tongan region of the Pacific Ocean from 2006. Looks like Tonga is putting out a lot of soot. Now, there has been another volcanic explosion there.

The output from the recent explosion looks to be equivalent to the exhaust from 3 or 4 SUVs. So, I was wondering, do they have Cap and Trade in Tonga to protect Americans from Tongan carbon pollution? If, on the other hand, the volcanic cloud results in global cooling, the Tongans should get a credit, should they not?

Photo credit: NASA, http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_696.html

Do you feel safer now? Or, WE Elected These Geniuses

2009-03-19T13:31:00.009-04:00

This from today's Wall Street Journal:

WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Eric Holder said some
detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, may end up
being released in the U.S. as the Obama administration
works with foreign allies to resettle some of the
prisoners.

Released where? Do we have to install public foot baths for them?
Do they qualify for welfare? Medicaid? Maybe if we give them enough
freebees they will stop hating us. That's as good a strategy as
anything else Obama has come up with.

Reforming Medical Ethics

2009-03-07T14:39:00.010-05:00

I just received an email from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, of which I am a member. The email was about new ethical standards to be observed by pharmaceutical company representatives in their dealings with physicians. The idea is that if a sales rep gives me a pen or a pad of post-its with the name of a drug on it, I might thereby be induced to prescribe that drug to patients even when they do not need it, and the patient would have to spend his hard-earned money on that company's product. I am, after all, human, and,therefore, weak. And our government, our country, our Congress, can not take the chance that doctors like me, in our weakness, might yield to the temptation to prescribe drugs simply because sales reps give us pens. Here is what the email said, in part:

Companies and their representatives cannot provide or pay for any entertainment
or recreational activities for you or your staff, even if business or education
is conducted as part of the event.
Companies and their representatives cannot distribute any branded non-educational items, such as notepads, mugs, pens or other “reminder” objects that typically have a company or product logo.
Only occasional modest meals may be provided to health care professionals, and only
in settings conducive to informational presentations. Meals for spouses and
guests are not permitted. [emphasis added]

I am OK with this. The pens were lousy. But I have one question: do lobbyists follow the same rules when they are asking members of Congress to spend my hard-earned tax dollars?

No Tax Hike for People Earning Less Than $250,000?

2009-03-01T13:21:00.011-05:00

I was shocked to read yesterday (Feb. 28, 2009)in the Times Herald Record, Middletown, NY that Senator Chuck Schumer supports Obama's budget proposal. This is what the author, Chris McKenna, quoting Schumer, said, in part:

"My view is that the very highest end should pay more taxes, and that's because
the median incomes are shrinking," he said. "The average, middle-class person,
in the last seven or eight years, has treaded water, at best."
Schumer declined to specify an income threshold for raising taxes.

"Declined to specify an income threshold."

You know what this means: hold on to your wallet!

Photo credit: Times Herald-Record/DOMINICK FIORILLE

Earmarks, or Don't You Just Trust These Guys Implicitly?

2009-02-26T21:52:00.006-05:00

[the 2009 omnibus spending bill] also includes $208,000 to control a weed known as cogongrass in Mississippi; $1.2 million to control cormorants in Michigan, Mississippi, New York and Vermont; $1 million to control Mormon crickets in Utah; and $162,000 to control rodents in Hawaii.

The above is in addition to nearly 9000 other earmarks, worth nearly $8,000,000,000. This according to the New York Times, February 25 ,2009 (House Passes Spending Bill, and Critics Are Quick to Point Out Pork, by Robert Pear). If the Times published it, the article probably underestimates the amount of pork. I guess this is what the attendees at Obama's fiscal responsibility summit had in mind: Take taxpayer money and use it to buy votes.

CHANGE HAS COME TO AMERICA. HALLELUJAH.

The photo of Iago and Othello is from the New York Times also.

F for Congress

2009-02-22T22:47:00.004-05:00

The following article appeared in The Warwick Advertiser, a local newspaper in Orange County, New York, on Friday, February 20, 2009. I am going to grade the stimulus plan, much as a high school teacher might grade a homework assignment. The New York delegation, in particular, think they are very smart. Lets see how they did on this little project. For each answer, the grade will be “E” if it is something that is likely to stimulate the Economic growth by creation of jobs, or “G” if it likely to stimulate Government growth via expansion or creation of liberal social engineering programs. If there are more E’s than G’s, Congress gets an “A,” but if there are more G’s than E’s, Congress gets an “F.”

Early details for NY in stimulus package
By The Associated Press

According to U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, the economic stimulus package, subject to final congressional approval, contains roughly $20 billion for New Yorkers over 27 months, including:

$8.6 billion of additional Medicaid money for the state, $2.8 billion for New York City, $929 million for upstate counties and $262 million for Long Island. G

$2.7 billion in stabilization funds for education G

$800 million for special education funding G

$1 billion Title 1 education funding G

$87.5 million for drinking water projects E

$439 million for sewage projects E

$1 billion for highway funding E

$1.3 billion for mass transit E

$403 million for weatherization E

$96 million for hiring extra police G

$390 million for the public housing capital fund in New York City G

$98 million for community development block grants for the state G

$142 million for homelessness prevention G

$251 million for governments and community groups to offer affordable housing and rental assistance to the poor G

College tuition tax benefit up to $2,500 per student for middle-class taxpayers G

Totals: 10 G’s, 5 E’s

Looks like Congress fails again. So its back to middle school for all of them, including Chuck Schumer. I think I was pretty generous with the E’s, too. Mass transit? An economic stimulus? Give me a break. It certainly will not help us in upstate New York. But I have to confess something: I am no Bobby Jindal. If they offer me a $2500. Tax break for my daughter’s college tuition, I am not going to refuse it.

Countrywidespread

2009-02-14T08:01:00.006-05:00

According to David Espo, AP, President Obama said the following:

This historic step won't be the end of what we do to turn our economy
around, but rather the beginning. The problems that
led us into this crisis are deep and widespread, and our
response must be equal to the task.
[emphasis added]

Deep and widespread? I would say the problems that led us into the recession spread from Barney Frank's senate desk to Christopher Dodd's. Maybe with a via point at Senator Barack Obama's. Does the Obama forget how these democrats pushed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to guarantee bad mortgages? Does he forget the hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions he received from Fannie and Freddie? Does he forget the sweetheart mortgage rates Dodd was granted by Countrywide, and that Countrywide has already received big bailout bucks that all three of these phonies voted for?

The new era of openness, honesty, and transparency has begun. How come I feel like I am looking through frosted glass?

Porky and Harry

2009-02-13T18:04:00.007-05:00

Photo: http://flickr.com/photos/7789604@N05/473808810/

In another bit of liberal condescension, my senator, Charles E. Schumer, referred to those who object to the economic bailout bill as the "chattering class." Then he went on to say that the American People do not care about the "porky amendments" in the bailout bill. Few things irk me more than a politician--especially a self-serving liar like Chuck Schumer--saying what the American people want, or care about, or think; or what we expect from our fearless leaders in Washington. But I am proud to be included in the "chattering class." We chatterers are American citizens exercising our First Amendment rights. Chuck would just LOVE it if we could be shut up. That is why this boondoggle of a bailout bill, this blatant purchase of political power, has been kept secret right up to the eleventh hour, when it is too late to do anything about it. That is why, on a daily basis, democrat after democrat demagogues the so-called fairness doctrine. That is why Obama is misappropriating the Census Bureau to the executive branch, where Rahmbo will have control of it.

Chuck Schumer is one of those democrats who objected to the rush to war after 9/11. It was a year and a half after 9/11 before President Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq. The Obama has been president for what, three weeks, and we must pass this bill now! Even 48 hours of delay is too much. Why? Because the chattering classes and work-a-day Americans might actually learn what is in it if they wait too long. Thus we begin the new era of openness, honesty, and transparency in our federal government.

Japan, Role Model for the U.S.?

2009-02-07T20:16:00.009-05:00

Yesterday, the New York Times front page contained this article: "Japan’s Stimulus Push Holds Lessons for U.S.," by Martin Fackler. The gist of the article is that, in the 1990s, when Japan’s economy went down the tubes, the Japanese government spent over $6 trillion on public works projects, mostly construction-related, to spur the economy back to life. After 10 years of this, the Japanese were still in a recession. The most telling paragraph in the article is this(P. A10):

Among ordinary Japanese, the spending is widely disparaged for having turned the nation into a public-works-based welfare state and making regional economies dependent on Tokyo for jobs. Much of the blame has fallen
on the Liberal Democratic Party, which has long used government spending to grease rural vote-buying machines that help keep the party in power. [emphasis added]

Sound familiar? Suppose we paraphrase Fackler(changes in italics):

Among ordinary Americans, the spending is widely
disparaged for havingturned the nation into a public-works-basedwelfare state and making regional economies dependent on Washington for jobs. Much of the blame has fallen on the liberal Democrat Party,which has long used governmentspending to grease rural, city, and
suburban vote-buying machines--such as unions,
Acorn, the ACLU,the NAACP, La Raza, etc.--that help keep
the party in power.

Will ordinary Americans (or, as Dan Rather used to call us, “work-a-day Americans”) be as smart as “ordinary Japanese”, and realize what a colossal power-grab this so-called stimulus package is? I am not optimistic.

BORA: Barack Obama Rex Americanae*

2009-01-20T17:27:00.010-05:00

Script for a trailer for the new blockbuster, "Obama Rex" (spoken in a deep, sinister voice):

The coronation is over. The curtain has risen. With Rahm Emanuel as his Iago, the Moor has taken the reins. See the conniving Shylock, his hands in everybody's pockets, played by Timothy Geithner. Hear Polonius, played by Joe Biden, utter the famous "to thine own self be true, and thou canst still be false to any man." Thrill to the sight of Lady Macbeth (Michelle Obama) after the infernal-obama-rescue-dog pees in the Lincoln bedroom, as she exclaims: "Out, damned Spot. Out I Say!" Tremble as the three witches(Nancy, Hillary, and Bill), their ambitions thwarted, brew their scheme to bring about his demise. Will the crafty Iago and the unwitting Obama out-maneuver the three, or will THEY prevail? Limited engagement opens January 20, 2009.

But, seriously, I heard the new president say that economic collapse was a "collective" failure.

So, it follows that we will to have a "collective" response. Collective--that is something like a commune, is it not? When he talks about a more mature tone in Washington, what he means is that Republicans and Conservatives better be mature. What about the 1.4 million clods on the Washington mall who booed the outgoing President Bush? They are Obama's constituents; will he implore them to be mature?

Finally, a word about the cute, charming, Rev. Joseph Lowery. Did I hear him Wright?

Did he say, "the brown man will stay around; the red man will get ahead, man; and the white man will do right?" So, white people do not do right? Strange thing to say, considering that, according to the new President, all of us, black, white, red, etc., are supposed to get along now. Strange thing to say, considering that the first black president was elected because of the votes of white people. Mr President, I have one word for you: Maturity.

*cf. INRI: Iesus Nazareni, Rex Iudaiorum

Princess Caroline's Career

2009-01-11T19:49:00.005-05:00

Today, AOL news reported that “[Caroline]Kennedy, a lawyer and author, has spent much of her career maintaining the family legacy and working on civic efforts in New York, such as fundraising for public schools. She has written several books, including ‘The Right to Privacy,’ and ‘The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.’ “

One thing is for sure: the blogosphere and talk-radio are going to love her. She is a treasure-trove of material. Just look at all the neat stuff in these two sentences.

“…maintaining the family legacy…” What exactly does that mean? Marrying money?
Bootlegging? Getting a ghost-writer to write your book? Getting drunk and seducing young men? Getting drunk, seducing a young man, driving to a deserted beach in the middle of the night? Getting drunk and blubbering er, uh, er uh, er uh….? Getting drunk and committing rape or murder? Paying off people such as lawmakers and DAs? Wire-tapping civil rights leaders? Using her family name to advance her career? Earning approximately $0.0 of her personal wealth? Has any one else ever had the career of maintaining the family legacy? When I was a kid, no one ever told me that was a career option. Does maintaining the family legacy prepare one for the U.S. Senate? Come to think of it, it does.

“…fundraising for public schools…” Does that mean she is a property tax collector? In New York, her home state, public schools are funded by property taxes. In New York City, the cost per student is $14,119.00, the highest in the nation. Do they really need Caroline Kennedy to raise more funds? If she raises a lot of money for the schools, will they lower NYC property taxes ?

“…’The Right to Privacy’ “ I guess this book is a treatise on the Constitutional basis for the right to privacy. She had a co-author--surprise, surprise--named Ellen Alderman. The first chapter is about a case involving a strip search. There’s that family legacy again.

“…’The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.’ “ It must have been tough Xeroxing all those poems and sending them to her agent.

She does have one very positive and true qualification for being the junior senator from
New York: she is not Hillary Rodham Clinton.

$1.2 Trillion by any other name...

2009-01-09T19:10:00.015-05:00

On January 7, Forbes reported the following:

"According to a report released Wednesday by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the U.S. federal deficit will reach $1.2 trillion in 2009."

How do YOU spell 1.2 trillion?

(a) 1,200,000,000,000
(b) One Trillion Two Hundred Billion
(c) One Point Two Trillion
(d) 10001011101100101100100101110000000000000 - binary
(e) 1176592E000 - hexadecimal
(f ) FB9T0LXC - base 36
(g) Roman numerals? They do not go that high.
(h) I tried scientific notation, but the blog service does not do superscripts.

Another way of looking at it that may be easier to understand for tree huggers, the mathematically challenged, and members of Congress, is to consider how much forest it would take to have 1.2 trillion leaves.
According to Wisconsin County Forests, "It depends on the tree's species and age, but a mature, healthy tree can have 200,000 leaves."

1,200,000,000,000/200,000 = 6,000,000 trees. That is, 6 million trees would contain approximately 1.2 trillion leaves.

And, according to Wilderness and Waterslides:

"...on average, a typical hectare of this Adirondack forest has 638 trees of various sizes. "

Now, a hectare is about 2.5 acres, so an Adirondack acre would have about 255 trees. 6,000,000/255 = 23,529 acres of forest would have about 1.2 trillion leaves.

Imagine if all of those leaves were dollar bills! Anybody wanna go for a hike?

The New Face of the Democrat Party:

2009-01-06T18:32:00.002-05:00

The President-elect Has an Art Linkletter Moment

2009-01-05T00:13:00.003-05:00

Letter from Washington

2009-01-02T21:40:00.008-05:00

I received a Happy New Year newsletter from my Congressman(pictured above with his defunct rock band, Orleans), John Hall, (D-NY),. I have reproduced the entire newsletter below, with my highlights (yellow) and commentary (blue). Please feel free to add your own. Have fun!

Dear Friends,

As we wrap up the old year, we have no shortage of challenges ahead in the new one. Topping the list is the economy, which provides us with our hardest problems and our greatest opportunities for positive change. My goals for the 19th District, and for the nation, are to create jobs and prevent home foreclosures, to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure and where possible incorporate green technologies, to continue improving the care of our returning veterans, and work toward a more cooperative foreign policy based on building up our diplomatic strengths.

Dear John:

The efforts of Congressmen like you to “fix” the economy are puny at best, and, in the long run, will make things worse. To the simple minded, it sounds good: spend a lot of money to make jobs to put all those unemployed Americans back to work. Problem is, you have to take money from working Americans to do it. The net infusion of capital into the economy is Zero, Zilch, Zip, Nada, the big Goose Egg. That is, unless you want to borrow a trillion dollars to do it. And this idea comes from the same people who railed against President Bush for increasing the annual deficit.

These things are all related. Experts tell us that renewable energy creates three to five times as many jobs as would be created by the same dollars invested in traditional power sources. And the energy they produce costs 3 to 5 times as much. Several solar panel manufacturers are exploring the Hudson Valley as a site for new manufacturing plants. But they will not actually locate in the Hudson Valley because the taxes and regulations are too onerous.City Halls, schools, big box stores, post offices and homeowners are asking about solar or geothermal energy, which are available now and could be funded in part by President-elect Obama's recovery plan. I.e., funded by you and me. Watch your wallets.

Also fitting within the outline of that plan is traditional infrastructure, like the roads, bridges, and rail lines we use every day to get to work or school.Thirteen bridges in the 19th District are on the deficient list compiled by the federal government after the Minnesota bridge collapse last year. Fixing them will make us safer and create jobs that cannot be outsourced.

Dear John:

How can this be? New York collects billions of dollars every year in bridge and highway tolls. Where does it all go? Why are all the collected tolls not enough to maintain our roads and bridges?

The new Secretary of the Veterans Administration (VA), General Shinseki, is a principled leader who himself wears two Purple Hearts, ( sorry, not impressed; John Kerry wears four! ) someone capable of taking on the well-meaning but problematic bureaucracy at the VA. As Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, I look forward to working with him and his staff to oversee the changes Congress passed last year in the veterans’ claims process, the implementation of education benefits under the new GI Bill, and a broad, generous program to help veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. All of these goals will be much more achievable if we stop spending $10 billion per month in Iraq and start using that money to fix problems here at home.

Dear John:

Do you read the papers? Under the leadership of President Bush, we are already drawing down the troops. The Iraqis control the Green Zone. Christmas is an official holiday in Iraq. But if you had had your way, we would have pulled out several years ago, and left chaos behind; or, we would not have gone in at all, and left in power the murderer, thief (of UN oil-for-food money), abuser of women, thumber-of-nose at UN resolutions, and enemy of Israel Saddam Hussein.

Oh, by the way, did you hear what Senator Obama said? He is going to re-deploy the Iraqi troops to Afghanistan. So you can kiss the $10 billion per month savings good-bye.

Our military has done everything we have asked of them, and their families have borne a heavy burden. Although Afghanistan still needs more attention, we should wind down our presence in Iraq and try a surge of diplomacy to defuse the tensions between India and Pakistan. Our traditional and new allies all have a stake in stability in the Middle East and the subcontinent, and should commit resources to help us attain that. One emerging example of such multinational cooperation is the fleet of different navies helping to fight piracy off the Somali coast. Please re-write; it makes no sense. Here at home, many families will be facing a different threat: job losses, rising health care costs, shrinking investments, declining property values and increasing taxes. We should vow a new vigilance against the greed that let billions of dollars be pocketed by individuals while regulators looked the other way. Greed? Oh, you must be talking about Congress, ever greedy for campaign contributions from their democrat cronies at Fannie, Freddie, Citigroup (i.e.,Clintonista Robert Rubin). We need relief for homeowners faced with foreclosure due to predatory lending and for all taxpayers struggling with high taxes at a time of shrinking incomes. So tell me, John, how much of the $700 billion in bailout money already approved has actually gone to“homeowners faced with foreclosure?” I know a family faced with foreclosure, and here is how much bailout money they have gotten: Zero, Zip, Zilch, Nada, the Big Goose Egg.

We need to decide if we want certain key industries to remain in our country, like steel, aircraft and automobile manufacturing, and take steps to preserve them. You wanna preserve these industries? Here’s a hint: leave them alone. And we must not forget the oil prices of last summer and be lulled into another decade or more of dependence on foreign sources of energy. Drill, baby, Drill! We, the country who put a man on the moon, should lead the way into a clean, renewable, home-grown energy revolution. ANWR, off-shore, oil shale, clean coal, NUCLEAR (like the French), and then Windmills Along the Hudson. Our prosperity, sovereignty, and national security depend on it.

Dear John:

Our sovereignty depends on securing our borders, and abiding by the Constitution, which limits, limits, limits the power of Congress.

I look forward to working with President-elect Obama, the new Congress, and you, to achieve these goals in the coming years.

Dear John:

You wanna work with me? Then take seriously my humble opinions, and keep your grubby little paws out of my pockets.

Sincerely,

John Hall

Member of Congress

Sincerely,

Smarterthancongress

Citizen of the United States of America

2 Birds With One Stone

2008-12-24T01:10:00.006-05:00

Q: What do you get when you kill 2 chickens with 1 stone?

A: Food for thought.

Here's a way to solve 2 socioeconomic problems with 1 stone. Problem Number One: thanks to the recession--some have called it the worst economic crisis since the FDR's Great Depression, but I think the Carter stagflation era was worse than the 2008 recession--we have higher than normal unemployment. Problem Number Two: thanks to our government's unwillingness to protect our borders, we continue to have illegal immigration.

Well, here is something that would solve both problems: all those unemployed Americans should go to work on farms, in restaurants, and for landscaping companies. Unemployment would plummet, and since there would be no jobs for them, the illegals would stop coming here!

Food for thought.

Uncle Chuck Wants You ['re Money]

2008-12-19T10:07:00.009-05:00

I recently received the following email from Senator Schumer. The letter is reproduced here in its entirety, for your enjoyment. I have changed the addressee (that's me), as indicated by italics, to protect my anonymity, in case the democrat storm troopers want to come after me.

"Dear smarterthancongress:

Thank you for writing and sharing your thoughts about America’s financial crisis. I agree with you that giving the Secretary of the Treasury authority over a $700 billion dollar fund to stabilize the financial system, without any checks on his authority, or oversight of his actions, would have been a grave mistake. However, the severity of this economic crisis forced the Congress to act in order to save Main Street from further financial pain. If we had not acted when we did, small businesses trying to fill orders and meet payroll, students looking to pay for college, consumers looking to buy cars and so many others would have faced even greater economic hardships, which would have been disastrous for household wealth and jobs in our country. That is why I made the difficult decision to support the administration’s rescue plan after insisting on changes to the program to ensure that taxpayers will share in the rewards of recovery, that executives of these mismanaged financial institutions would not be enriched with taxpayer money, and that there would be effective oversight of the program. When the economy recovers, taxpayers should be able to recoup most, or all, of this money because the federal government will earn a return from any investments it makes in banks needing assistance. To hold the banks’ executives accountable, the bill requires that all companies that benefit from government assistance limit how much they pay their top employees and, in many cases, eliminate golden parachutes entirely. And to guarantee effective oversight of the rescue program, major oversight mechanisms were written into the legislation, including the creation of a new Inspector General and Congressional oversight panel. Finally, we forced the Administration to add protections for homeowners into the bill that address the eye of the financial storm – the foreclosure crisis. Of course, this is only one part of a comprehensive solution needed to get our economy back on the right track. Congress stands ready to deliver a broad-based economic stimulus package to invest in Main Street, create new high-paying jobs, and keep the engine of our economy going. Again, thank you for contacting me on this important issue. Please do not hesitate to contact me again if I can be of further assistance on this, or any other matter.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer

United States Senator

Please do not respond to this email. To send another message please visit my website at http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/contact/webform.cfm . Thank you."

There is no need for me to nitpick this letter. You can do that yourself, since you are

smarter than congress. However, please notice that there is no (zero, zip, zilch, nada) acknowlegement of Congress's share of responsibility for the recession. You know what I mean:

democrat cronies like Frank Raines running Fannie and Freddie into the ground with the encouragement of Christopher Dodd and Barney Frank; democrat/environmentalist policies blocking American oil production; CAFE standards, etc. And Schumer is up to his neck in this, and shows not one scintilla of introspection, apology, or responsibility.

Letter from D.C., or Why is this Woman Smiling?

2008-12-18T10:24:00.005-05:00

What, me worry?

The following is an email that I received from the junior Senator from New York. That's right, she is still the Senator, even though she has been pretty scarce the past 3 years, and is abandoning us in the very near future(boo hoo!) to advance her own career . The email is shown here in its entirety. Changes are in italics.

"Dear smarterthancongress.com:

Thank you for sharing your views on the state of the auto industry. I appreciate your concern and I welcome the opportunity to respond.

The auto manufacturing sector has been devastated by the recent economic crisis. Frozen consumer and commercial credit and sharply declining sales have pushed U.S. automakers to the edge of bankruptcy. According to one estimate, almost three million American jobs are tied to the Big Three automakers. The collapse of the domestic auto industry would have a ripple effect that would be immediately felt by New York's nearly 98,000 auto manufacturing-related workers and the many suppliers and dealers throughout the state and the entire nation. Moreover, a collapse would have a destructive impact on our economy.

It is profoundly disappointing that the measure on the floor of the Senate last week was blocked. It would have provided critical assistance for American automakers and the millions of workers whose jobs are directly and indirectly in jeopardy. Millions of Americans, whose livelihoods are in jeopardy, are left to wait over the holidays to see whether their jobs will be saved.

This is a difficult time for America and for American families. Our economy has been buffeted by turmoil in the financial markets and the growing mortgage crisis, resulting in - and compounded by - severe job losses and a deepening sense of anxiety across this country. Inaction is not an acceptable option. I have called for the current administration to use the tools at its disposal to keep our automakers afloat, including using the authority given to the Treasury Secretary to stabilize our markets and troubled companies. In the long term, we must pursue economic policies that will not only create jobs but create the incentives for these companies and many others to lead our nation and the world in developing innovative technologies that will shape our future and ensure our prosperity.

Again, thank you for your letter regarding the auto industry and our economic challenges ahead. For updates, please check my website at http://clinton.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton"

So thats it. I will not nitpick the Senator's letter; I will leave that to you. After all, you are SMARTER THAN CONGRESS.

73 - 44 = ? OR, WHY ARE THESE MEN LAUGHING?

2008-12-12T22:10:00.006-05:00

Do you think the geniuses in Congress can do the math? Lets see. 73. That would be the average hourly labor costs paid to UAW workers by the not-so-big three Detroit automakers. 44, on the other hand, is the average hourly labor costs of the other car manufacturers in the U.S., i.e., Toyota.

So, what's the answer? 73 - 44 = an untenable business model. The geniuses in Congress, mostly democrats, who are beholden to the unions and the environmental wackos, have pressured the auto makers to accept ridiculous UAW contracts, and have imposed CAFE standards upon them. Add to the cauldron the big-bonus nincompoop auto execs that came up with the Hummer and the Scion, and you come up with a poisonous potion worthy of the Wierd Sisters of Macbeth.

Now the same geniuses, plus Bush and King Henry (Paulsen), want to use my money, my hard-earned money, to bail Detroit out. Not to worry, you say, its a loan to Detroit, and they have to pay it back to the taxpayers. Remember the last time Congress said the loans would be paid back? Its called the sub-prime mortgage crisis.

NO MORE BAILOUTS!

Kudos to Kongress

2008-12-12T21:51:00.009-05:00

The price of petrol in suburban New York has finally dipped below $2.00/gallon. Time to go buy me another Hummer. But seriously, all praise is due to the geniuses in Congress who rescued us from $4.00 a gallon gas; and thanks to President Bush and King Henry (Paulson) for their part in this process. I knew that bailing out AIG, and buying up all those risky subprime mortgages would do the trick. Those evil oil barons must have been shaking in their boots when they stared into the steely eyes of Charles "Chuck" Schumer, and "Dirty" Harry Reid. Now, whenever I fill up, I think fondly of our fearless leaders on Capitol Hill (see list on the right side of this page) and in the White House. They have shown that they have the power to take care of us in these troubled times. Thank God they did not leave us in the hands of market forces.

But wait, I just thought of something. The price of gas really started to plummet after the election. Maybe its the messiah--I mean, the Obama--who is responsible for our fuel savings.

Lets all say a prayer of thanks to Him, also.

Barack atah adonai....

Obama Hitches a Ride*

2008-11-26T15:49:00.004-05:00

Referring to his economic team, and his plans for socializing---er, dealing with the current economic situation--in America,the president-elect said:

"But understand where the vision for change comes from. First and foremost, it comes from me. That's my job, is to provide a vision in terms of where we are going and to make sure then that my team is implementing."

Then why does in look like he is hitching a ride on the Clinton bandwagon?

*photo by Charles Dharapak, AP

Obama Jeopardy

2008-11-22T23:08:00.005-05:00

Category: American history for $1000.

Answer: He is the former American leader who has the most in common with Barack Obama.

Question: Who is __________?

a. Lincoln

b. FDR

c. George III

Post your answers in Comments. Watch future blogs for the correct answer.

How do you spell KGB?

2008-11-11T13:03:00.003-05:00

This from Ben Evans of the Obama-Associated Press:

"We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set," Obama said in July. "We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."

Civilian national security force? Do we not have enough over-zealous police already?

And you thought the Patriot Act was bad!

Political SAT Question

2008-11-08T15:46:00.005-05:00

IAGO : OTHELLO

RAHM EMANUEL : ____________?

Two Americas

2008-11-06T23:39:00.005-05:00

The term "Two Americas" was coined by the great slip-and-fall Senator from North Carolina, John Edwards. We can now see graphic proof of his idea in this county-by-county electoral map from the recent presidential election. The map is the work of Mark Newman. Notice how the blue is mostly limited to urban areas of high population density: the northeast, the west coast, the tip of Florida, the upper midwest (Chicago, etc.) This is one America, comprised of upper middle class and upper class white liberal elites, service union members, city dwellers who do not depend on cars, the entertainment industry, the pornography industry, etc. The second America, the Red America, is the rest of us. We are also know as bitter clingers, or, in the olden days, the silent majority.

(Please also notice the correct use of the word comprised.)

A Date That Will Live in History

2008-11-05T07:50:00.011-05:00

BHRA*

Congratulations to Barack Obama. Congratulations to the United States of America. Yesterday was a date that will live in history. Now it is time to turn our eyes to the future. How will the new president and his party handle their long-sought power?

On January 20, 2009, everybody turn on your TVs, and then tell me what you see: is it an inauguration or a coronation? The democrats and their friends from Hollywood love to stage grand spectacles, and the Obama convention speech and acceptance speech were mere rehearsals for the Big One when he takes the oath of office.

McCain, Bush I and II, and Reagan all approached the presidency with a sense of humility, meaning they realized that the office was larger than them. They were mere occupants for 4 or 8 years, servants of the people and guardians of the Constitution. Clinton viewed the presidency as something for him to use, as a tool to advance his own cause, or his wife’s, or his party’s. It is only a slight exaggeration to say it was a toy for him to play with.

What about Obama? Will he view himself as a servant of The People, or their King?

What about us? Will we view him as a fallible servant of the The People, or as our King?

Barack Honolulus, Rex Americanae. BHRA*

*cf. the Catholic motto, INRI, for Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudæorum, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. John 19:19

Obamalation, Obamanation

2008-11-04T23:43:00.003-05:00

Congratulations, President-Elect Obama, and sympathy for the loss of your grandmother.

Why Jews will vote for Obama, a Sermon

2008-11-03T08:04:00.003-05:00

Stop me if I get too preachy.

On second thought, do not stop me. Some of you out there, especially the Ninevites in Congress and Palm Beach County, could use a good sermon.

I have been reading "What God Can Do for You Now," by Robert Levine (Sourcebooks, Inc., 2008). Levine quotes Rabbi Harold Schulweis: "Jewish holiness is in relatonship with the broken vessels of society: the poor, the stranger, the fatherless, the widow...It takes place in the marketplace, the prison, the hospital, the convalescent home." [page 178] This refers to Leviticus, chapter 19, known as the holiness code, which explains in detail our responsibilities to our fellow men, especially those less fortunate than ourselves.

Democrat politicians, Obama in particular, preach about helping the poor, the homeless, the illegal alien, the sick, the minority, the sexually alternative, etc. This message appeals to Jews, who have been inculcated with the holiness code their whole lives, and liberals, who are laden with guilt, and others, who hope to be on the receiving end of government's largess. The popularity of the democrat message is understandable. Unfortunately, those who buy into it are "...persons who cannot discern between their right and their left hand..." (Jonah 4:11).

Why is it wrong for Jews, in particular, to support the democrat-liberal social welfare agenda?

What is wrong is that it is an abrogation of their responsibility under their covenant with God.

The holiness code, and, arguably, much of the old testament, is about personal responsibility.

Nowhere in the Bible are we instructed to set up governments to do our holiness for us. Leviticus is about our individual obligations to our fellow man. "You wanna be Holy, you do these things," it says. It does not say, "You wanna be Holy, you pay your taxes and let your government do the dirty work." It is not for Barack Obama to take the gleanings of your harvest and transfer them to others, it is for you to do so. And the measure of your Holiness is not by how much you pay in taxes, but by how much you voluntarily do for you neighbor and your community.

Global Warming SAT

2008-10-26T14:23:00.004-04:00

Inspired by "The Deep Sleep," by David Craig, Columbia magazine, Fall 2008.

Here is a short quiz on climate change, aka "global warming." If you can answer any of these questions, then you are Smarter than Congress. You may open your test booklets now and begin. There is no time limit. Good luck.

(1)What is the ideal temperature for the earth?

(2) If you can not identify a specific temperature, then is the ideal temperature higher, lower or the same as the present temperature?

(3) What is the present temperature of the earth?

(4) What was the temperature of the earth during the Cambrian explosion?

(5) Is atmospheric CO2 pollution?

(6) What is the ideal atmospheric CO2 level? If you can not be specific, then state whether the ideal level is higher, lower or the same as the present level? The present level is about 387 ppm.

(7) Recently, the price of gasoline skyrocketed. Why did Democrat politicians, most of whom claim to oppose the use of fossil fuels, try so hard to find a way to control the prices? One would think they would have been jumping for joy, no?

(8) The rise in gasoline prices has been attributed to evil oil companies, speculators, and OPEC, among others. Yet American and world-wide gasoline consumption has dropped since the price went up. How is that evil?

(9) What were the reasons that Republicans opposed Kyoto? Hint: it was not because they hated Clinton.

(10) Why is there no wind farm off the coast of Chappaquiddick?

(11) If global warming is the most serious problem facing mankind, or even if it is merely a serious problem, why has Congress not facilitated or encouraged the building of nuclear power plants to replace coal?

(12) What happens to the ocean level when the arctic ice cap melts? Hint: "It rises" is not the correct answer.

(13) What are the benefits of global warming? Hint: there are some.

Thank you for participating in this quiz. You will receive your scores in the mail in 6 months. Rush service is available for one easy payment of $29.95.

The Three Wise Men

2008-10-21T22:48:00.005-04:00

Here is the answer to yesterday's riddle.

Q: What's the difference between Teddy Kennedy, O.J., and Bill Ayers?

A: Not much. There are definitely similarities, however. (1) Each of them, through intent or negligence, cause the unlawful death of an innocent victim. Notice, I am being careful not to call Teddy Kennedy and O.J. murderers. The courts have ruled on that question. (2) Each of them got away with mur--oops, there's that word again. Each of them got away with his crime, got away scott free. Teddy Kennedy bought his way out of an indictment. O.J. bought his way out of a conviction. Bill Ayers bought himself prosecutorial misconduct.

The only differences I can think of are: (1) Teddy killed one person (Mary Jo Kopechne); O.J. killed two (Ron and Nicole); Ayers killed several, including 2 police officers and his own girlfriend, among others. (2) Ayers was a coward. He had his flunkies make the bombs, plant them, and set them off. At least O.J. had the cojones to do his own dirty work. (3) O.J. and Teddy Kennedy caused very little property damage. Ayers cause hundreds of thousands of dollars worth, at least, and has never paid back one red cent.

One last difference. O.J. has led a life of shame since his crime, and finally is going to jail.

The other two, because they are big democrat/liberals, have lived cushy, outwardly respectable lives. But I wonder if the money, prestige and power can ever erase their shame.

The 3 Wise Men

2008-10-20T23:21:00.001-04:00

Riddle: What is the difference between Teddy Kennedy, O.J., and Bill Ayers?

Answer will be posted tomorrow.

Biden Slidin'

2008-10-20T23:04:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, Bafflegabbed posted a blog titled "Palin Failin'." He took issue with her use of the phrase "pro-American areas of the country." Apparently, she said she was referring to patriotic small towns. It turns out that Joe ("Joe the Politician") Biden has an unusual concept of patriotism as well. Sarah Palin thinks patriotism resides in small towns . Joe thinks that patriotism means paying taxes. And Barack (Baruch?) Obama thinks patriotism means spreading the wealth. I think they are all wrong. I do not know the exact definition of patriotism, but I know a patriot when I see one. John McCain is a patriot.

The Three Stooges

2008-10-17T07:30:00.005-04:00

Recently, I posed this riddle to my son: What is the difference between V.I. Lenin, Osama bin Laden, and Bill Ayers?

He answered: Only Bin Laden poses a national security risk to the US. I suppose this is true. After all, Lenin is dead, and Ayers is a loser (I think, see below), but I am not particularly worried about bin Laden either, cowering in his hut or cave or spider hole.

I think the correct answer is: not much.

Consider their life stories. Each of the three was a spoiled rich kid who got tired of spending his daddy's money and struggling in an oedipal effort to out-do, or at least gain the respect of, daddy. Failing in that quest, each turned to revolution, an attempt to denigrate and eliminate daddy's society. Lenin, of course, was successful for a time, and what a price the people of Russia and their neighbors paid. Bin Laden? Last time I checked, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia still exists. And Ayers?

What of Bill Ayers, the cowardly murderer and destroyer of public and private property?

His girlfriend died in a bomb-making accident, his wife did jail time, but he escaped without punishment because of a technicality, and now enjoys life and fame as a member of the Chicago intelligentsia. What would his daddy, the energy tsar, think of him now? Is Barack Obama, brainwashed when he was a political neophyte, his Manchurian candidate, programmed to bring about revolution from within the system? Or is Ayers just a burnt-out hippie, trying to cover his guilt and shame with his liberalism, his posturing, and his professorial robes?

Saving McCain On Healthcare

2008-10-16T07:51:00.002-04:00

John McCain may have gained some ground in the debate last night, but he certainly did not deliver a knockout blow. Among other things, he failed to adequately explain the benefits of his healthcare proposal. Indeed, he has never adequately explained the benefits, so I will have to do it for him.

It is the conventional wisdom, or at least the congressional wisdom (oxymoron?), that health insurance* should be provided by employers. I contend that this is a poor way of providing health insurance, in that it denies health insurance to millions of people, raises premiums, ties employees to their employers almost like indentured to servants, is unfair to lower income employees, and results in higher taxes for businesses and individuals.

First, let's look at the dollars and cents. When you pay premiums to an employer based insurance plan, you get a tax deduction. This means that the amount of savings is determined by your tax bracket. For example, let's say your annual insurance premium is $10,000. If you are in a low income tax bracket, say 15%, your tax savings will be $1500. However, if you are in a higher tax bracket, say 33%, your tax savings will be $3300. It is plain as day that the higher your annual income, the greater your benefit under the current system. And don't forget, any one who does not get health insurance from his employer gets ZERO tax savings. Is this the result that liberal Congressmen wanted for constituents when they came up with the tax code? Are they to dumb to figure this out?

Now, lets look at the McCain plan. McCain would give a $5,000 tax credit (per couple filing a joint return) to any one purchasing health insurance. Since it is a tax credit, and not a deduction, is means $5,000 to every taxpaying family, even low income families who owe zero in taxes. This would be a greater benefit on a percentage basis to those with lower income, and a smaller benefit on a percentage basis to those with higher income. Under the current system, for someone in a 15% tax bracket to save $5,000 in taxes , his insurance premium would have to be $33,333.33. I have never heard of an insurance premium that high, even for plans with frills. So tell me, which plan states the insured more money, McCain's or the status quo?

Next, let's consider Freedom. This is simple. With employer based health insurance, the employee is limited to whatever insurance plans the employer offers. With McCain's plan, which disengages health insurance from employment, the insured can purchase any health insurance plan that is available in his state. Every one would have the exact same choices available to him as everyone else, including members of Congress.

I believe that premiums would be lower under McCain's plan also. Under the current system, insurance premiums are negotiated between insurance companies, large businesses, and labor unions (small companies and individual customers have no negiotiating power whatsoever). These entities have only their own interest at heart, not yours and mine. Furthermore, the pool of negotiating parties is limited, and the pool of potential customers is reduced by tens of millions of citizens (the 47 million uninsured). Keep in mind, many of these 47 million are healthy, and inclusion of healthy people in insurance plan helps spread out healthcare costs, and therefore helps keep premiums down. Finally, because we would be able to choose any health insurance plan that is on the market, insurance plans would be forced to compete for our business, not for IBM's business, or the AFL-CIO's business. They would have to come up with insurance plans to satisfy us.

Also, wages and salaries and jobs would go up if employers did not have to provide health insurance. I should not have to explain this, but the conventional wisdom is so ingrained that I think it is necessary. If a business does not have to pay health insurance premiums, guess what, its overhead is lower! A lot lower. That means: higher pay for employees; or higher contributions to retirement plans; or, hiring more employees; or, investing in equipment, plant, advertising, or other revenue increasing items, and hence the possibility of even more jobs, higher pay and better benefits. Now, would that be good for the economy, or bad?

Finally, did I mention FREEDOM? If I had a dollar for every time someone has said to me, "the only reason I stay at my job is for the health insurance," I would be a wealthy man. People are tied to their jobs; they do not feel free to leave their jobs because of the fear that they will lose their insurance. It is time to end the idiocy of employer-provided health insurance.

Elect McCain, take your tax credit, and go out and buy your own insurance. Embrace freedom, and you will be healthier, wealthier, and smarter than Congress.

*You know what bugs me? When polticians say "health care" insteadof "health insurance." Doctors, nurses, and hospitals, among others, provide health care. Insurance companies are financial middlemen. They transfer money from one party to another for a fee. That is not "health care."

For an alternate point of view, go to bafflegabbed.typepad.com.

Debate Headache

2008-10-15T23:59:00.002-04:00

I watched the debate in HD. Obama's ears, and McCains complexion were distracting. It was hard to focus on the issues when the camera was focussed on their cosmectic defects.

Here's another headache: McCain says Obama will raise taxes. Obama says McCain will raise insurance costs. Either way, guess who loses. That's right, Joe the plumber.

Are YOU Smarter than Congress?

Contraceptive Coverage and Obamaism

New York Times to Obama: YOU LIED!

McChrystal for...VP?

More inconvenient truth

Antarctic glacier melt maybe 'not due to climate change, by Lewis Page, June 21,2010 It says that, although there may be some melting of the Pine Island Glacier, it is not because of a change in the earth's temperature. In a way, it is earth-shattering evidence, but you will not find it on NBC.

The Big Hug

What CEOs Make

Romney for President?

When in Vegas do Like the Vegans

Environmental Update

Copenhagen: Failure is Not an Option!

Just Words

The Swiss Move the Muslim Cheese, and the Muslims are Not Pleased

Crash?

Sweeping Away in England

Dithering? No, Blithering.

Dithering

MOP

No Respect for Nobel Prize Winner Barack Hussein Obama

LIke Carter on Chemo

A Simple Change of Address

Mighty Oaks?

True Cost of Environmentalism

Obama Answers YES to My Blog

The Perfect Storm?

Ezekiel 25:17

Four Steps and Three Sentences to Health Care Reform

A Failed Health Care System?

Plain English, a la H.R. 3200

Uncle, SAM

Are you Smarter than the Vice President?

Letter to Schumer*

Lessons Learned from Liners*

President Moses

Obama to Press: Get Lost

True Cost of Global Warming

True Man-made Climate Change

Obama Lite

Suggested Reading for Barack

Senator Grassley Takes on Evil Doctors

Matt Taibbi's True/Color

Nato Outmaneuvered by Somali Teenagers

Boo Hoo, No More Global Warming :(

How Much is a Captain Worth?

Obama Passes the Test

Obama-Geithner Bailout = Disaster

Don't You Feel Sorry for Smokers?

American History SAT Question.

More Man-made Pollution, Tongan Style

Do you feel safer now? Or, WE Elected These Geniuses

Reforming Medical Ethics

No Tax Hike for People Earning Less Than $250,000?

Earmarks, or Don't You Just Trust These Guys Implicitly?

F for Congress

Countrywidespread

Porky and Harry

Japan, Role Model for the U.S.?

BORA: Barack Obama Rex Americanae*

Princess Caroline's Career

$1.2 Trillion by any other name...

The New Face of the Democrat Party:

The President-elect Has an Art Linkletter Moment

Letter from Washington

2 Birds With One Stone

Uncle Chuck Wants You ['re Money]

Letter from D.C., or Why is this Woman Smiling?

73 - 44 = ? OR, WHY ARE THESE MEN LAUGHING?

Kudos to Kongress

Obama Hitches a Ride*

Obama Jeopardy

How do you spell KGB?

Political SAT Question

Two Americas

A Date That Will Live in History

Obamalation, Obamanation

Why Jews will vote for Obama, a Sermon

Global Warming SAT

The Three Wise Men

The 3 Wise Men