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I have an old Army pal who is an extreme left thinker.  However, his love of himself and what he ecshews is a marvel!! We have been at odds with our political thinking probably forever. But our youth precluded us from having some of the discourse we have now.

He has his own blog and makes no apologies for what he says or thinks. I am the lone conservative commenter at his blog. His friends drool all over what he has to say, while I hold his feet to the fire.

There have been many times that I have tried to have a debate with him or others, there by commenting and he either claims my comments get deleted or auto-dumped into the spam folder. Well, as we know, many left minded thinkers do not want sensible debate and if they don’t like what is said, they flush it. Save for those who would swoon and idolize the words of he, the master of the Journal of Doubt.

He wrote something the other day and I saw red. Normally, I walk away from commenting because it does no good. He linked to it on Facebook where he has his own rule to never talk politics, because that forum is supposed to be for family and friends to connect. However, people do and it is a passion of mine and I do engage if I choose. He had the chutzpah to message me and tell me how he would hide me in his feed if I continued having such discussions. You know what the actual offense was? I answered a FB poll about whom I voted for!! Ah, yes. I did not vote for the Pied Piper.

He used the term “rightwingers”!! He therefore broke his own rule. I told him in no uncertain terms this time I would not let it slide. I commence.

Clearly, like many extreme left thinkers, he is suffering from some class envy, even though he himself claims a six-figure salary. I find it hard to believe as the company he works for is worth 3 million and has more than 20 employees.

However, my problem is that the pal believes if one has empathy, compassion, or sympathy for someone in a lower socio-economic or educative state (his working class poor) then it must automatically exempt him from the labels he so willingly puts upon, say, me, a conservative (er, right-winger).

And there is where I hold him down. He said this: “It’s got to be tough to be a kid today, especially if kids aren’t jacked into the meritocratic elite culture of posh suburban enclaves, elite schools, and familial connections in the working world. If you’re a fringe kid from the poor working classes, you’re pretty much fu**ed unless you’re the next Picasso or Kurt Cobain. Or you can hit a curveball like Joe Maurer.”

And this: “if you’re some poor or working class kid with very few prospects for the future; no matter how hard you work, it’s impossible, especially in America to compete with the elite when the playing field is totally in their favor by virtue of a vast inequity of wealth, privilege and opportunity.”

And to wit, his friends were drooling over that imagery and telling him how awesome and spot on he was! Me? Not so much. “meritocratic elite?”  The word “merit” implies that one has earned something with talent and ability. Elite, of course is what one might become with enough blood, sweat and tears. I find nothing wrong with that. But the implication i see here is that is must surely be someone else’s fault if these working class poor must be a Kurt Cobain in order to rise above!! And to me, what my pal has done is given these kids a pass because they have no connection, no brains and nothing will get them out of their sad states. WOW!! Why not just take them to the nearest welfare office and sign them up for life?

Holy cow! Since when does having less money, or privilege preclude you from going out there and getting an education or the job or life you dream of for God’s sake? Oh…the pal has swallowed the stupid envy pill which allows him to lambaste those who started out with more money and a better education. He completely undermines the ambitions and the brains of these “poor, working class” and he makes them a victim. Forgive me, if I say isn’t that how the left operates- by using the victim card, the race card? Pick a card, any card!! Perhaps he should just tell them all to slit their wrists?

Here’s an idea! How about instead of finger pointing DO SOMETHING!! Liberals love to whine about it, but never get up off their collective “for the greater good” a**es. Look up Chicago Hope Academy, where I have been privy to meet some of the most amazing kids on the planet. They were some of the most respectful, courteous, and engaging kids I have had the pleasure to know. Last year, CHA graduated and placed all 107 seniors in the first graduating class. You’ll never meet a finer bunch of kids. Then take the cue and go to a place in Philly and do the same thing that Bob and Tina have done.

I digress. He goes on about American culture being horrible and how it’s fueling the dispassionate attitude in kids! I ask, is it the kids or the adults who have been distancing themselves from their responsibilities as parents? No, couldn’t be that. It’s all because they aren’t “jacked” into suburbia, private schools and money, isn’t it? It’s because they are poor! For shame.

Apparently, my pal does not remember that being one of 9, with a widowed mother, he was not plugged into such things and yet, all the members of his family have success in their own right. He is one of the meritocratic elite he claims is dooming the less fortunate!

He opines that those elite (“weasels who read Ayn Rand”) don’t give an eff about shared sacrifice, egalitarian ways or civic duty. And every single time he brings this up, I ask him what has he done to sacrifice for the good of others? How does he think legislating equality is going to work, if he himself must be forced to pay more taxes by law if only in the form of health care and the mandate that maternity and well baby care are included in his premium?

We don’t all have the same brains or the capacity to produce, do we? And punishing those who can to favor those who do not or will not is unacceptable to me!! How indeed does he define civic virtue? For if he were to really affect change, he himself would not be nearly as self-serving as he is. Civic virtue is about being neighborly and kind, thinking of others. He does no such thing unless he benefits and the minute he doesn’t, out the door with you. By the way, he reads Paul Krugman. Can I call him a weasel?

He gets one thing right by saying that media has a role: ” The media is run by a few powerful moguls who pervert the national dialogue with every sort of self-serving bullsh** sophistry imaginable, all with the intent of keeping people scared, stupid, and apathetic about their role in a democratic nation. Nothing defeats egalitarianism quite like feeling frightened, unworthy, powerless, and insignificant.”

It’s unfortunate that although he is aware of the power, he doesn’t question the likes of Olberman, Maddow, Schultz, Matthews nor what the moguls like Soros, Buffet, do. Nope. He is aware that peddling these fears may also get him what he wants, so don’t test him!! What he wants is that we should all be grateful to the government for saving us from ourselves!!

I think he forgets something I thought he learned when visiting East Berlin 2 years prior to the wall falling. Does he not remember big brother spying at every turn? Does he not remember the empty shelves in the stores or better yet the emptiness in the eyes of the people waiting on him? The government was practicing all the things he loves…shared sacrifice, equality for all!! But when the wall fell, those people had forgotten how to live, to think because all they had was an existence.

The meritocratic elite – er, read right wingers– are “scum worse than Nazis”. Yes. He said it. And he said:

“Since they were in diapers they’ve been told how wonderful and special they are, and they treat every aspect of life like a competition where, not only do they have to win, but they have to skull fu** everyone they vanquish. Remember the story of Pericles weeping after he defeated the Persians? Our elite would rape the dead Persians.”

That sounds like some serious envy there. Hmm. So, by that logic forget competition- everyone gets a trophy and if they don’t like it, will it make them “skull fu**ed?” Competition drives our economy and winning is part of that. Should his beloved Philly sports teams just give up the W so the other team can pretend they didn’t get an arse whooping? It’s a stretch to say that because a person grows up with more privilege or money that they have no concern for the “vanquished.” It sounds like a personal problem to me.

He whined about the gulf that exists between the rich and the poor and says we have returned to the Gilded Age! Ha. If he’s wussing about that, then surely he doesn’t realize that with his income he rides the top 5% tax bracket! I wonder if he should go to his boss and ask for less money because he wants to do something to narrow that gap!! Nooooo. That’s for those cheaters making eight-figure incomes!! Again, ha. The Gilded Age was about rapid economic growth…and sadly, we are headed toward the Bread and Circuses mode are we not? Wherein the Pied Piper has promised everything is coming up roses, while plundering continues with the other hand!!

And the pal? Why he blames all of this on Ronald Reagan!! Quote: “Go visit places like Camden, North Philly, West Baltimore, or Washington, DC just a few blocks from our Capitol; what you’ll see are American citizens who are way beyond being merely skull fu**ed. No, they were skull fuc**d back when Ronald Reagan took over…”

Yes, indeed. It was Ronald Reagan.

And, oh, his beloved Europe!! I have been there in the last 7 of 10 and yes, they have it, too in Zurich, London, Germany…yep. Poverty, crime, homelessness are not extinct because a socialist government is in place. The crime rates there are higher in some Countries per capita than the US. Does he ask why or how? Of course not. Does he offer any feasible solution that does not involve taking other people’s money? Something basic is missing, but I daresay that Reagan’s policies alone or the rich have a lot to do with it.

He ponders what are we handing our kids today? He has no children, no wife. And he is a hypocrite of the finest order. You see he neglects to mention that he voted for Obama. This was after he said he would not, because Obama voted for the TARP. He holds no other administration accountable for what is happening in our world today that are of the leftist persuasion. No. He neglects to note that as an Obama supporter he agrees with TARP, raising the Debt ceiling, etc…

He says nobody want to pay higher taxes and because Republicans want a limited gov’t that soon the rest of the country will look like Camden, Philly, et al. His friend calls this year three of “crisis”! Uh, gee. Unless someone turned me into Johnny Appleseed and I have been sleeping, who is responsible for the crisis? C’mon, you *know* it’s the teabaggers and Bush. No matter that the Pied Piper has voted on more bailouts since the first one, and he ballooned the deficit, and broken many campaign promises and even kept up with some Bush policies.

RI, CA, NY, NJ, IL, MI are all in big trouble. Yet, I believe these states have been democratically (Uh-oh) governed for quite some time, have they not? Who is to blame for that? Conservatives? Reagan? Oh, I know. Bush!

As a conservative thinker I would ask this: As an employee, your job is to service a client, professionally, with fiduciary responsibility. If as an employee, you did not, or you were not raising the revenue expected of you, would your employer keep you? No. Therefore, why would I ever want the government to have more of my money when they spend with reckless abandon and have not shown any fiduciary responsibility? Would you pay money for a car that will be four years old before you get to drive it?

As a conservative I would ask: Do you spend money to get out of debt? Because last I checked in my house, I cut my spending. Is the government doing that? Uh. Nope. They have grown much faster than the private sector, you see, and um, THEY PRODUCE NOTHING!! How does that fix the staggering real unemployment rate or the hyperinflation that will soon follow?

And lastly, as my pal is so full of compassion and empathy for the poor, would he lead by example and just tell the government to increase his tax rate to 50%? I am dead sure all of his friends who think alike will follow suit, because they care about giving hope and affecting change. It’s for the greater good, after all!

Who is the best advocate for your health care? Is it you, the individual, in combination with the physician you choose?  Or, are you willing to take what the government is giving out? Is it your choice, your money, your voice, or, your money, no choice, no voice? (I think that would make a great t-shirt, incidentally!)

*The US is 37th in the world for healthcare, but why?
*Canada’s NHS is thriving, isn’t it?
*European countries are ahead of US in innovation, technology, etc…but
*People are denied health care because they cannot pay? True or False?

Government efficient? Can you say Amtrak, USPS, Medicare, SS, VA? Oy.

*Let’s see. The World Health Organization puts the U.S. 37th when it comes to health care. Does anyone question that? Yes, the U.S. does spend more money on health care than any other nation. But the WHO is not comparing like systems, number one. It compares free market or privatized systems to socialistic ones. While it is not a deal breaker, consider that we are ranked 37th because of health care distribution and cost, not quality of care!!  They are judging what they deem too be fair “distribution” of health care! At the very least, it’s subjective.  Population deviances are not considered.  We have 308 million people to serve in the United States. The population of Canada is 33.2 million, Germany, 82.3 million, UK is 60 million and let’s not forget Sweden, Norway respectively at 9 and 4.7 million. All of those populations are considerably smaller and apparently have trouble with quality of care and access.

*Those that believe the Canadian system or even the UK’s National health care are a boon, have not been paying attention. In both places, access is pitiful, as is quality of care. Ask yourself why people come here for surgeries or treatments if where they live has such a wunderbar system?  Canada made it impossible for private practice outside of the social system. It drove docs to other countries, but of late it has changed. Now, the best doctors practice privately making them accessible to those who can afford the cost, the rich. The government care is left with the remainder and by it’s own emission on the brink of failure. Daniel Castonguay, the original architect of Canada’s system has himself said, ” “We thought we could resolve the system’s problems by RATIONING SERVICES or INJECTING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF MONEY into it. We are proposing to give a greater role to the private sector so that people can exercise freedom of choice.”

*What drives developments in technology, medicine, or research? It’s true that Europe is on the forefront of many new surgical techniques and drug innovation, and vaccines. But so is the U.S., right? What drives it? Capitalism? YES!! Primarily, U.S. capitalism. Without our capitalistic market, the risk for investing in these items would be too high (i.e. not enough potential profit to incur the risk associated with the investment of the needed capital).  In essence, the world’s investors make choices with their capital.  If the potential profit is not in medicine they will shift their investment capital elsewhere, say food, energy, construction, transportation, etc.

If the profit motive is taken out of the medical sector, due to its socialization by the government, the ability to make a profit in the medical sector will be determined by the government.  Even if the government decided to leave in a profit margin equal to that currently in place, future profit margins would respond to government forces as opposed to free market forces.

This factor alone would increase the risk of capital investment in the medical sector.  In fact, investors would demand higher initial profit margins to make the same investment that they make today because of this added government risk. What happens? Prices would essentially go up in the sector and not down.  If government reduced the profit in the medical sector through caps and payment regulation, the risk to investors would also go up.  Again, what happens? In this case, the investors would leave the sector and move their capital to another more profitable one.  The result would be reduced innovation in medical technology, vaccines and drugs.

Furthermore, the intellectual capital held by physicians, scientists, etc. would choose sectors more profitable than that offered in the medical one.  It is even more possible that this intellectual capital would move to another more favorable country.
And what would happen in an even bigger picture? Try to insure all 308 million people and compromise that intellectual capital and voila, get reduced access. With the flight of physicians and no potential replacements, who would study that long, and work for less than what they are worth? Then, of course, the quality of care would also decline.

*EMTALA is the law enacted in 1985 that says no person regardless of ability to pay or legal status will be denied medical care in U.S. emergency rooms. It is nothing more than a safety net for the uninsured and illegal immigrants to receive routine medical care in ER’s. This was the fix because an illegal immigrant crossed the border and sought to deliver her baby in an American ER. They refused to treat her and she died.  It was a tragedy that has led us to where we are now.  Why?

This law created a safety net for the illegals and Americans who are uninsured to be able to get routine care in the ER’s across the country. In turn, the unpaid bills began to drive up the prices of services. Private insurance companies were forced to raise rates which the fell to the taxpayers that HAVE insurance.  As a result of this law, and  20 years, 84 hospitals in Commie, er California have closed. And more are pending. Illegals are getting kidney dialysis for God’s sake on the backs of US taxpayers!! What, I ask you, is right about that?

*The government is not efficient in many of its endeavors.  The subsidies afforded to Amtrak to keep it running are staggering. And it’s still running a deficit even with gov’t cash dumps. The USPS revenues keep dropping and according to the GAO, 80% of the costs are because of compensation and benefits.  Yeah, there were some years of profit, if only sporadic. The USPS is currently asking for 25 billion in financial relief over 8 years!!

And, finally, we get to Social security, and medicare. How is it funded? Uh, it’s that thing called FICA that you pay and see annotated on your pay stub. SS has a budget that is independent from the Federal Government. By law, any “surplus” collected must be loaned to the Gov’t!! This means that the gov’t backs the loans with interest and will pay it back. Excuse me, while I LMAO. If assets equal liabilities and equity, how will the government pay back that money? It borrows from itself for crying out loud. Those IOU’s are going to be worthless. Maybe you need a picture. If I say I am going to save money each month for a car, but one month, I’m short and I give myself an IOU, and eventually that ‘s all I have are IOU’s, what car dealership will take those IOU’s and give me a car? I’m still laughing. The Social Security site coats it pretty and talks about the “options” being discussed to save the fund BEFORE it goes bankrupt!!

The Treasury Department has reported that America faces a $43 trillion unfunded obligation in Social Security and Medicare benefits with 77 million retiring baby boomers and rising health care costs.
According to the CBO, paying for the promised benefits will eventually force Congress to impose a 63% income tax on the middle class and an 88% tax on the “wealthy.”
Yet, even as we try to figure out how to meet our current obligations, the President wants to create an additional health care entitlement and further increase spending elsewhere in the budget.
The Social Security trust fund will be exhausted by 2037, and the Medicare hospital trust fund will become insolvent by 2017 according to a report by the trustees of the two programs.  In fact, next year – 2010 – Social Security’s costs will exceed it’s income.
Medicare has an unfunded liability of $36 trillion over the next 75 years, or about $317,000 per U.S. household, and in just the next 5 years, by 2013, Medicare’s unfunded liability is projected to grow by 33 percent, to $48 trillion – or about $412,402 per household.
When Social Security and Medicare are taken together, the total unfunded liability is $40 trillion, or about $353,000 per household. By 2013, that total will grow to $54 trillion, or $474,077 per household.

Meanwhile, we are bailing out other countries on borrowed money. There have been zero spending cuts as it seems the way to get out debt is to spend more, print more. The ship is sinking and we are all going down with it! Weimar is on the horizon, just watch.

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We fought the good fight. It’s unfortunate that we must now deal with the repercussions of our representatives and their complete disregard for the people they serve, to include the most arrogant President of our time. He truly believes is is up on the stage all by himself performing magic.

My AAR about the events of Saturday are moot. I met wonderful people as far away as AK, MO, even IA. Some people drove 24 hours to get here. Buses arrived up until 3pm…There were great speakers and the evening proved particularly satisfying as we stood on steps where only Republicans showed their faces. The dirtbag dems used the underground tunnels to exit the grounds. Their  aides came out smirking and served to enrage me. I got very loud. We taunted….”Nan-cy, Nan-cy!!” And we could be heard from the inside out. It was exhausting and so worth it. It’s just a shame that the leaders only care about power, not people.

What I am also tired of is the attitude of people “that something is better than nothing because we are going to pay anyway” bull. They have not educated themselves but followed their reps blindly into the fire. More disconcerting to me is that people that are my friends are calling me extreme, non-compliant because I am so against this. And it isn’t for lack of compassion, nor that I lack the knowledge that people need care. It isn’t.

I am having a hard time understanding that people that I believed to be smart, and thoughtful and logical have totally bought into this. For example: my friend in Germany is the beneficiary of a social system of medical care. She is also an alcoholic but needed treatment for a bacterial ulcer. It took seven months for her to be diagnosed. In the meantime, she lost weight, had blood in her stools. As my medical background helps, I worried that she might have colon cancer. (There is a family history, too) I told her to call her sister and come to the US to be seen. She did not. My friend of 24 years said that she didn’t believe me, and that no offense, but my german friend was an alcoholic!!

Was that even the point? No, of course not. How does that justify that the system she wants was not giving access and quality of care to someone who was sick? She does not believe her choice and voice will be lost. I am stunned to be perfectly honest. I put emotion in the next statement- I feel as if this friend is tired of having to fight for security in her life, be it monetarily or otherwise, and is now bitter that her life is what it is, and not what she wanted. I get a serious sense of chest pounding and entitlement from her, under the guise of wanting it for others and again, I am stunned. When I had more money, I gave her whatever I could when she needed it. It was the benefit of my hard work and my husband’s.

I will fight this to our Republic’s revolution should it come to that. And, should I weather this political storm in the friendship, I will definitely say I told you so.

Below are some of the health care gems interpreted, but not by me.

The sections described below are taken from HR 3590 as agreed to by the Senate and from the reconciliation bill as displayed by the Rules Committee.

1. You are young and don’t want health insurance? You are starting up a small business and need to minimize expenses, and one way to do that is to forego health insurance? Tough. You have to pay $750 annually for the “privilege.” (Section 1501)

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

3. You would like to pay less in premiums by buying insurance with lifetime or annual limits on coverage? Tough. Health insurers will no longer be able to offer such policies, even if that is what customers prefer. (Section 2711).

4. Think you’d like a policy that is cheaper because it doesn’t cover preventive care or requires cost-sharing for such care? Tough. Health insurers will no longer be able to offer policies that do not cover preventive services or offer them with cost-sharing, even if that’s what the customer wants. (Section 2712).

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

6. You must buy a policy that covers ambulatory patient services, emergency services, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment; prescription drugs; rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices; laboratory services; preventive and wellness services; chronic disease management; and pediatric services, including oral and vision care.

You’re a single guy without children? Tough, your policy must cover pediatric services. You’re a woman who can’t have children? Tough, your policy must cover maternity services. You’re a teetotaler? Tough, your policy must cover substance abuse treatment. (Add your own violation of personal freedom here.) (Section 1302).

7. Do you want a plan with lots of cost-sharing and low premiums? Well, the best you can do is a “Bronze plan,” which has benefits that provide benefits that are actuarially equivalent to 60% of the full actuarial value of the benefits provided under the plan. Anything lower than that, tough. (Section 1302 (d) (1) (A))

8. You are an employer in the small-group insurance market and you’d like to offer policies with deductibles higher than $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for families? Tough. (Section 1302 (c) (2) (A).

9. If you are a large employer (defined as at least 101 employees) and you do not want to provide health insurance to your employee, then you will pay a $750 fine per employee (It could be $2,000 to $3,000 under the reconciliation changes). Think you know how to better spend that money? Tough. (Section 1513).

10. You are an employer who offers health flexible spending arrangements and your employees want to deduct more than $2,500 from their salaries for it? Sorry, can’t do that. (Section 9005 (i)).

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

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

13. If you are a physician owner and you want to expand your hospital? Well, you can’t (Section 6001 (i) (1) (B). Unless, it is located in a country where, over the last five years, population growth has been 150% of what it has been in the state (Section 6601 (i) (3) ( E)). And then you cannot increase your capacity by more than 200% (Section 6001 (i) (3) (C)).

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

15. The government will extract a fee of $2.3 billion annually from the pharmaceutical industry. If you are a pharmaceutical company what you will pay depends on the ratio of the number of brand-name drugs you sell to the total number of brand-name drugs sold in the U.S. So, if you sell 10% of the brand-name drugs in the U.S., what you pay will be 10% multiplied by $2.3 billion, or $230,000,000. (Under reconciliation, it starts at $2.55 billion, jumps to $3 billion in 2012, then to $3.5 billion in 2017 and $4.2 billion in 2018, before settling at $2.8 billion in 2019 (Section 1404)). Think you, as a pharmaceutical executive, know how to better use that money, say for research and development? Tough. (Section 9008 (b)).

16. The government will extract a fee of $2 billion annually from medical device makers. If you are a medical device maker what you will pay depends on your share of medical device sales in the U.S. So, if you sell 10% of the medical devices in the U.S., what you pay will be 10% multiplied by $2 billion, or $200,000,000. Think you, as a medical device maker, know how to better use that money, say for R&D? Tough. (Section 9009 (b)).

The reconciliation package turns that into a 2.9% excise tax for medical device makers. Think you, as a medical device maker, know how to better use that money, say for research and development? Tough. (Section 1405).

17. The government will extract a fee of $6.7 billion annually from insurance companies. If you are an insurer, what you will pay depends on your share of net premiums plus 200% of your administrative costs. So, if your net premiums and administrative costs are equal to 10% of the total, you will pay 10% of $6.7 billion, or $670,000,000. In the reconciliation bill, the fee will start at $8 billion in 2014, $11.3 billion in 2015, $1.9 billion in 2017, and $14.3 billion in 2018 (Section 1406).Think you, as an insurance executive, know how to better spend that money? Tough.(Section 9010 (b) (1) (A and B).)

18. If an insurance company board or its stockholders think the CEO is worth more than $500,000 in deferred compensation? Tough.(Section 9014).

19. You will have to pay an additional 0.5% payroll tax on any dollar you make over $250,000 if you file a joint return and $200,000 if you file an individual return. What? You think you know how to spend the money you earned better than the government? Tough. (Section 9015).

That amount will rise to a 3.8% tax if reconciliation passes. It will also apply to investment income, estates, and trusts. You think you know how to spend the money you earned better than the government? Like you need to ask. (Section 1402).

20. If you go for cosmetic surgery, you will pay an additional 5% tax on the cost of the procedure. Think you know how to spend that money you earned better than the government? Tough. (Section 9017).

You see, I am affected and it’s wrong. Number 3, 6. I currently hold a policy with a lifetime limit. And insurance companies are now forbidden to offer it. Hence, because of the health czars, oops, the IRS,(Ach! what’s  another 10 billion?) I will end up being dropped from that and forced to buy what the government says I need.

Why do I need to pay for maternity, pediatrics and well baby care? i am fixed, I will have no more babies. This is stealing from me to pay for someone else. I challenge anyone who believes that it is okay to steal, to just give your money to me, now. After all, (cue the Kum-freaking baya) we’re all going to pay– but some of us would actually do it of our own free will. Others must be forced because they would never do it to begin with even if they say they are for those who cannot seem to fend for themselves.That would be my best friend.

I resent the redistribution of my hard earned money. Period. What does this mean? I am subject then to what the government deems acceptable. I have lost my choice and my voice and the government gets to steal it from me.

Where is right about a law that mandates taking my money to pay for something I am not using? I just cannot believe the lack of logic I am seeing in all of this.

For all of those whom I have discussed this with, and those who simply believed the government had their best interests in mind…Well, I finally have something that I can give Billy Jeff Credit for besides the welfare issue. And that is, that he did have some integrity not to bribe those serving him. And, yes, as much as GWB spent, I believe we would not be here, today with national heath care if he were in office. No bribing and thuggery to be had by the person the left called a Nazi. Somewhere in Chicago, Nevada and California, their villages are missing the most blatantly corrupt idiots of our time.

And those of us who started out against those non-read stimulus and health care bills that are killing the Republic one at a time…we’ve got what it takes to keep up the fight.

Duty, Honor, Country.           (Can I get a Hoo-ah for motivation’s sake?)

First, last, and always.

The Individual or The Collective

“This is a duel between two very formidable adversaries: an extremely powerful, formidable and ruthless state and an insignificant, unknown private individual. The duel does not take place in what is commonly known as the sphere of politics; the individual is by no means a politician, still less a conspirator or an enemy of the state. Throughout, he finds himself very much on the defensive. He only wishes to preserve what he considers his integrity, his private life, and his personal honor. These are under constant attack by the government of the country he lives in.

With fearful menace the state demands that the individual give up his friends, abandon his lovers, renounce his beliefs and assume new prescribed ones. He must use a new form of greeting, eat and drink in ways he does not fancy, employ his leisure in occupations he abhors, make himself available for activities he despises, and deny his past and his individuality. For all this he must express extreme enthusiasm and gratitude.

The individual is opposed to all of that, but he is ill prepared for the onslaught.

…He is nevertheless stubbornly antagonistic. So he enters into the duel—without enthusiasm, shrugging his shoulders, but with a quiet determination not to yield.

He is, of course, much weaker than his opponent, but rather more agile. You will see him duck and weave, dodge his foe and dart back, evading crushing blows by a whisker.  You will have to admit that, for someone who is neither a hero nor a martyr, he manages to put up a good fight. Finally, however, you will see him compelled to abandon the struggle or, if you will, transfer it to another plane.”

Does this sound as if the individual might be a conservative thinker, a tea party person or someone who would prefer to keep his government smaller? Does it seem like this person does not want to lose liberties and freedoms?

I am reading a book called Defying Hitler by Sebastian Haffner. It was written in the 1930’s.

I have not gotten very far. I was simply astounded at the first pages and what was obviously coming for Germany. Haffner makes a statement that Germany might not have been so hopeless if the outside world had intervened and knew that a war would not be avoided. Even more gut wrenching is he notes that the Germans who fight to defend their private peace and their private liberty were fighting not just for themselves but for the peace and liberty of the world.

Those of us standing and fighting this Presidency and his congress for accountability must continue to educate those who have no clue, because we are, in effect, fighting for the rest of the world and it’s continued survival as we know it. We are the shining city on a hill, the beacon of light and we should continue our fight to hand the future generations something to be proud of.

Lead, do not follow. Remember who we are, and what we stand for.

SNBC has got some of the most out-of-touch show hosts on the planet. Chris Matthews, Keith Olberman, Rachel Maddow…these people think nothing at all, and what comes from their mouths is certainly not the reality we know, nor is it fact based. Or, is it? Because we know that the democrats of the world like to twist and turn things to fit their picture. Well, let’s add another freak to the list, shall we? Ed Schultz said this in reference to the race in Massachusetts:

“I tell you what, if I lived in Massachusetts I’d try to vote 10 times. I don’t know if they’d let me or not, but I’d try to. Yeah, that’s right. I’d cheat to keep these bastards out. I would. ‘Cause that’s exactly what they are.”

Nice, hey? These days I find that there is a reflex present to want to say,” What would have happened if Glenn Beck, Rush, Bush et al had said that?” It is pointless to go there, but I’d be a liar if I didn’t say what others are surely thinking.

So, I as a conservative could really spin this one, couldn’t I? I mean, who here believes that the left and it’s crony organizations like ACORN have never cheated when it comes to those dead registered voters? Or perhaps you might be thinking about the ballots in VA from the soldiers in Iraq that were not counted? No!! Don’t e-ven think that MN miscounted the votes for Franken.

And, oh d-d-d-deary-dear, we’ve got the Pied Piper in chief looking to stump for the losing candidate up they-ah in MA where Scott Brown is leading and incidentally raking in the money, grassroots style over “I’m calling in the favah’s” Coakley. It must suck to be her and soon it will suck even more for the Pied Piper to have another L in the wins and losses column. They’re racking it up on the L side.

The dems are running scared. As well they should be, finally. I mean, logic tells us that if they cannot pass things with the control of votes that they have, something isn’t sitting well. But, rather than take that with all the seriousness and reflection they can to serve their constituents and make things right, they will do what they have always done. Force their will. When democrats cannot win fair and square, they have to change the rules.

And I read somewhere, can’t remember where- that Schumer and Rangel were going to introduce legislation that would mandate that all people residing in this Country, regardless of status would have to vote! My gut says that this is unequivocally unconstitutional, but what do I know?

And, we know that if this should come to pass, there would be no absolute transparency and that the bill would not be read because those serving us believe it’s their duty  to snub to their constituents, right?

No, dems Rangel, Dodd, Reid, Feinstein, Frank, Jefferson, Burger, Rahm, Geithner, Holder don’t cheat. Evah.

It has come to my attention that a friend of mine needs some help. There is a Victory-Iraq celebration being planned. Some of you may know this friend. A selfless guy, he devotes much of his free time to supporting the troops. He has given countless hours of his time and with all the driving I know he does, gas, mileage, money.

You may have seen him at GOE events, Freeps at Walter Reed and even some events welcoming troops home.  He needs a 10O grand. If there is one thing we can say, it’s that we know what is important and we know that it takes work and effort to get there. Help make this day happen. Our troops deserve this! Go to Bob’s site and donate. I am unemployed at the moment and I have given 50 bucks. Can we do it? I believe we NEED to. It’s not about us, it’s about what the troops continually give willingly. The protection of our way of life, our freedoms, and our safety. Ante up! 

http://unitedconservatives.blogspot.com/2009/04/this-will-be-my-last-appeal-for-help.html

And then read this from a troop named Sarah. (Emphasis mine)

“A few nights ago, I walked a quiet mile with hundreds of other service members. It was a clear night in Bagram, Afghanistan. Although it was late, the birds were singing, perhaps roused by the unusual occurrence of people walking under their trees at the late hour. Soft voices broke the solemnity, but no words were discernible. Suddenly, as if on cue, soldiers, airmen, seamen, marines, broke off the sidewalk and lined the road, spacing themselves regularly and assuming a position of silent watchfulness. The honor cordon had formed.

Heads began to turn right as flashing blue lights appeared far down the road. As the vehicles neared, one by one, service members assumed the position of attention and rendered the hand salute. In the back of an open truck sat eight military members, and between them, at their feet, was a flag draped casket.

As I rendered my salute, I thought about the fallen soldier. I did not know his name, his unit or his home. I never saw his face or spoke to his family. I did not know why he volunteered for the Army or what he was doing when he was killed. But there was much I did know. I knew he had fought and died in an honorable cause, a cause that had little to do with our policy on Afghanistan. This soldier had volunteered to put his very life on the line in service to his nation and his brothers-in-arms. I see no more honorable cause that that.

In a column, Mr. Putney has again raised the debate about the sacrifice of America’s “sons and daughters” in uniform. Some have argued that we must continue the fight to honor their memory “so that they have not died in vain.” Others argue we must stop the wars to save soldiers from this fate. I think an essential understanding of what motivates those of us in uniform is missing in this debate.

We are not your sons and daughters, whom you must protect and defend. We are your sword and your shield. We are men and women who volunteer to place our lives on the line so you do not have to. We do not decide when or where we will be sent. We go. You are our advocates, not our parents.

We trust you to care for our families, to hold our jobs, pay for our equipment, salary and medical care and yes, to honor our sacrifice. We trust you to vote for good political leadership, to speak out against bad policy decisions and to demand public accountability. However, we do not count on you to explain the honorable character of our service. We are ennobled by the very fact we serve.

Our “high moral cause” is one of service to a nation whose principles we believe in. We miss the point of political debate when we distill it down to numbers of service member deaths. Debate should be about the policy that leads us in or pulls us out of war. I, as a soldier, am personally insulted when debate about war becomes not about policy, but about deaths, because it implies that my service is at best uninformed or ill-conceived, and at worst valueless.

I know my life is in the hands of others because I choose for it to be that way. I am not your daughter, a child who must be guided. I have made my choice and pledge my honor to it. I will thank you to remember that because we serve our nation, none of us dies in vain, regardless of the cause; end of debate.

Every day a new Marine enlists or an airman puts on her uniform is a reminder that our defenders come from people who still believe in our nation and the values it aspires to, as flawed as we sometimes are. War does not make our sacrifice honorable, death does not make our service honorable; service itself is our honor.

We, your American service members, do not see the cause for which we may give our last full measure of devotion, as our nation’s goals in Iraq or Afghanistan, and perhaps that is the difference. Our cause is our nation, in all her beautiful, imperfect glory.

So on a dark night in Afghanistan we stood under a velvet sky of a million stars to honor one man who lay under 50. We never doubted what he died for. Pfc. Patrick A. Devoe II died for you, the United States of America. That, Mr. Putney, is no goof.

Sarah Albrycht is a Bennington native serving in the Army in Afghanistan.

Is there anything more assinine than the demoRats whining because Rush spoke about Obama and failure in the same sentence? Well, if you thought you hadn’t seen it all with the Sheisse sandwich being served up(see post below) in the NON- STIMULUS package, now’s your chance!! The Demo Rats are afraid of Rush and they are serving up a petition for you to sign to show your outrage. I left my comment:

The Anti-PEBO Lovefest

Climate guy warns Obama has 4 years to save the world??? WTF? Is that guy walking on water? This is winter and global warming is the biggest farce, yet. Besides more government help…

Or how about this one…COW Team eyes “government bank” to ease crisis??? Again WTF??? What part about more government, printing money and creating more bureaucracy will help us get out of the current crisis? NOT THE FUKKING GOVERNMENT!!!

Warren Buffet says we are an economic Pearl Harbor? Let’s make it true and bomb all the cronies in Washington to clean house then, okay? How does December 7th, 2009 sound?

And the newest gem? A Dayton HS is now telling the student body that they must not say anything inappropriate about The COW on Inauguration Day that would make other students and faculty uncomfortable. HFS, Batman!! This is just getting so ridiculous I can’t stand it. 

I’m just astounded at the lovefest for the COW. Yes, he will be the President, but all the starry-eyed reporting is truly enough to make me sick. 

Seriously. I cannot stand the thoughts that people do not get where we are going. keep in mind people, that the COW has been give the golden key with this crisis. He will be able to make good on campaign promises and nobody will ask for accountability. There is 1 trillion dollars of our money being promised so that can happen. Has anyone bothered to see it? Let me give you a taste…My retorts are in parentheses.

-$6 billion to weatherize “modest income homes.” (You have got to be kidding me!! I am modest income. Will he buy me 36 new double-paned e-gas windows?) 

 -$6 billion to provide internet in “underserved” areas. ( Does under served mean more internet or more for those who can’t afford it? Stop screwing with progress, it will get there!!)-

$6 billion for “higher education modernization.” (Um, why waste money when the same old, same old is what you will get? Dumbing things down hardly calls for more modernization!)

-$20 billion in health information technology to “prevent medial mistakes.”(No amount of money will create anything that is foolproof behind the hands of humans- We are not GOD!!) To err is human.)

-$20 billion to increase food stamp funding…(Clinton cuts the welfare rolls and Jimmuh 2 recreates them!! More taxes for people who make the money)

-$87 billion to provide a “temporary” increase in Medicaid funding(when the government passes anything temporary, it becomes permanent. More taxes, yet again)

-$300 million to provide rebates for people who purchase Energy Star products (Every freaking thing has an energy star rating, how absurd. More taxes for another entitlement)

-$600 million for the federal government to buy brand new energy efficient cars. (Uncle hasn’t been paying attention. The hybrid cars do no better than The Gunny’s VW Golf powered by pure gas. 

-$400 million for state and local governments to buy brand new energy efficient cars. ( IS THIS NOT TOTALLY LUDICROUS???? Spend that much on public transport infrastructure instead, butthats!!

-$2.4 billion for carbon capture demonstration programs (Waste not, want not, hey? Algore is still making money with his carbon credits. Anybody wnat to make money? Get in the energy business now!!!)

-$350 million to research using energy efficient technology on military bases (HELLLLLOOOO!!!! We are already doing this!!!)

-$300 million for grants and loans to state and local governments for projects that reduce diesel emissions, “benefiting public health and reducing global warming” (That has never worked. It’s just codefor  wasting more money.)

-$500 million for energy efficient manufacturing demonstration projects.(WTF? Again, anyone already researching is demonstrating, give me a freaking break!)

-$400 million to build major research facilities “that perform cutting edge science” (Correct me if I am wrong, but are there not plenty buildings and such to “re-purpose?” R&D facilities of closed pharma companies is one example…These facilities ALREADY. EXIST. Why not invest in the programs with the most successes? I just get sick reading  this crap.)

-$1.5 billion for expanding “good jobs in biomedical research” (Again, not needed. You want to expand it, consider some scholarships based on Academic merits and tie it to some form of Government Research. There is plenty of that to be had)

-$400 million “to put more scientists to work doing climate change research”(No fukking way!! All we need is more fear and conspiracy theories!! In winter it gets cold, butt-biting cold!!! In summer, why, by golly, it gets HOT!!! That’s what seasons do. They change!)

-$600 million for satellite development and acquisitions, including climate sensors and climate modeling. ( again, we have this stuff and it is always being upgraded)

-$250 million “to address long-term economic distress in urban industrial cores and rural areas distributed based on need and ability to create jobs and attract private investment.” (I don’t know what I can say about this, except it is more sheistering.)

-$650 million to continue the coupon program to enable American households to convert from analog television transmission to digital transmission. (Nope, sorry. Anyone that owns a cell phone or a computer should have been paying attention. You don’t give something to people who don’t have it in the first place. Another tax for another entitlement and TV is not a right, it’s a privilege.)

-$300 million for the National Wildlife Refuges and National Fish Hatcheries(Why?????)

-$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts (The only place that money should go is to the public school systems so music is a full time program.)

-$400 million for “ready-to-go habitat restoration projects” (More taxes for more shitt programs. You see how that worked in Obama-land? The housing there wasn’t fit for rats.)

-$2 billion to provide child care services for an additional 300,000 children in low-income families while their parents go to work. (I’m not cold, but this is more entitlements and more taxes on the rest of us who had no breaks. Give me a rebate and I’ll consider it.)

-$120 million to provide subsidized community service jobs to an additional 24,000 low-income older Americans. (Um, not on my watch.)

-$1.5 billion to help local communities build and rehabilitate low-income housing using green technologies. (Green costs more than what is already available. Get a freaking clue!!)

-$500 million to rehabilitate and improve energy efficiency at some of the over 42,000 housing units maintained by Native American housing programs.(Again, I am not a minority, but another hand-out to people equals more taxes.)

Just a few of the earmarking being done. And all because people are starry-eyed waitng for the ice cream man.

Well, we voted here in the Chicago suburbs. Beautiful day. Imagine my surprise that Starbuck’s was offering free cups of Joe if you wore your “I voted!” sticker. We have a Starbuck’s close by. I guess they are so confident of an Obama win, they decided to share the wealth, early. Ha. Turns out that is akin to vote-buying, so now they have to give everyone who asks a free cup of Joe. It will always come back to bite you in the ass, won’t it? Why lie, cheat or steal. It never pays.