Health Insurance is Not a Right

Today on The Five, Bob Beckel driveled about healthcare being a civil right. His specious argument consisted of his contention that it was  guaranteed by the Constitution under the "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" clause I guess. I chuckled at the idea that he's turning twisting himself up like a pretzel trying to make the case it's in the Constitution but denies that the Founding Fathers expressly considered gun ownership a right even though it says it clear as day...but I digress.

This is not a new tack by the left who are pro-Obamacare. they make this argument but generally in comfortable settings where they will never be called on it; places such as CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, etc. There's absolutely nothing in the constitution about healthcare and was it was never intended to be.

You have a right in my opinion to stabilizing treatment and basic care but nothing gives one the right to have all healthcare costs covered. Health care came about as a perk for companies to offer employees when hiring and for unions to bargain for. Then the lawyers entered the picture and drove up costs for medical professional by suing over every supposed instance of malpractice thus causing doctors to get insurance for malpractice and raising their fees and it became a downward spiral.

But we haven't seen anything until O-care kicks in. The lawyers--major backers of Obama and the Democrats--will have a field day because they just got 30-million new potential clients.

So back to the argument about health care being a right. If someone refuses to take care of themselves--say they are obese--is it a right for them to get treatment for a condition wholly caused by them? No. What a bout a sick child, is it a right for their parents to have insurance to pay for the child? No again. There are options currently out there but they require one to get and hold a job. In other words, a perk offered by their employer that is part of the benefit package. And enough of the argument about people being without insurance, Medicaid was the last great healthcare debacle and it ended up being a mess that forced Obamacare on us. But Medicaid is out there and is an option.

This is nothing but a step towards universal healthcare along the Canadian model. The days of seeing a doctor the day you need one, getting a knee replacement without prior consent and charging the best pharmaceuticals to your insurance are over. Sarah Palin was belittled by saying we'd see "death panels' but indeed we will someday and that day gets a lo closer when O-care kicks in.

Labor Day Links

What you should be reading when the thunder storms hit today:

-John Kerry was for Bashar Assad before he recently turned against him. I understand that diplomacy is two nations fucking each other but Kerry was really pro Assad. BTW, the nation Kerry dissed earlier this week intercepted some intel indicating that the Assad regime did indeed order the attacks.

-Syria asked the UN for cover. Imagine if this goes to a vote and Obama loses, that would be an embarrassment of epic proportions. Then if he attacks, he's going to literally be a unilateralist. For the record, there were 17 resolutions passed by the UN against Iraq before Bush authorized attack.

-Ace puts the wood to Buzzfeed's Ben Smith and NBC's Chuck Todd.

-The Border Patrol named a boat after Agent Brian Terry. Terry was killed by guns that the Obama administration allowed to be "walked" into Mexico and then were lost. They've tuned up at numerous shootings including the one in which Terry was killed. The questions surrounding his death have not been adequately answered.

-NY Post: Why are major media outlets ignoring best-selling author Mark Levin? Because Levin writes about freedom, prosperity and patriotism--all things anathema to what liberals believe. Next question.

-Happy labor day: Citing Obamacare, 40,000 longshoremen leave the AFL-CIO.

-We knew the anti-war protesters were not protesting the act of war per se but were instead political shills for the Democrats. They hated Bush more than our sworn enemies. How many protests have we seen for Syria, Yemen, Libya and so on?

-Another Republican-led state ends up in the black. Govs. Haley, Walker, Perry and Pence show what can happen when conservative principles are applied and adhered to.

-College recap: So what did we learn?

+Teddy Bridgewater was 23-28 for 355 and 5 TD's. This dude is the real deal.
+Georgia is on the ropes early and the Gamecocks are pretty darn good.
+Temple was game against ND but the Owls still have a way to go.
+Johnny Manziel is an a-hole but he sure can play.
+PSU may be rebounding. It would be nice to see the Lions beat a ranked opponent or two this year.

Dems Win one and Lose One

Obamacare lives, at least for now. Chief Justice John Roberts was the tie-breaker in giving the Obama administration a few breaths of life for his biggest accomplishment and highest tax increase on the middle class in history. He should be so proud. But Roberts said the law was constitutional because it was a tax giving the GOP a lifeline if they can oust The One in November and take back both sides of Congress.

I won't deny that this is a win for Democrats but one wishes they would act like professionals who've been there before not like what we've come to expect they are. I can't fault the Chief Justice either, he voted what he thought was constitutional and that's what we expect from a judge (damn, I hope that's the case). He played both sides but he did it pretty damn brilliantly. Here's to hoping he wasn't trying to cement a legacy.

In other news, for the first time, an Attorney general and sitting member of a presidential cabinet was held in contempt by the full House...twice. Plastic Face Pelosi acted roughly how she did when she held the gavel, like a little baby who cries when she doesn't get what she wants. She's an utter embarrassment to the US.

Here's the story on the second vote that was to hold Holder in contempt in a civil manner:

The vote was 255 to 67. Seventeen Democrats joined the majority of Republicans in voting yes. GOP Rep. Dan Lipinski voted not present, and 65 Democrats left the floor before the vote.

Congratulations Dems (even though you sure didn't get everything you wanted), this now sets up a true battle in November and one in which Obama's already way behind when it comes to the only issue that matters, the economy.

So even though the libs are gloating, the GOP wasn't the real loser, CNN was.

Why Do The Democrats Hate College Students?

The GOP-led House passed a bill yesterday that would allow interest rates on student loans to remain at the current 3.4% fore another year. The rates are scheduled to go up in July and would add a significant amount onto each student loan.

Democrats overwhelmingly voted against the bill and Obama has threatened to veto it if it came to him because the GOP wants spending cuts to pay for while the Donks want tax increases (is there any option to them but to raise taxes). The spending cuts the GOP wants are to a program Obama himself has tried to cut to cover parts of Obama care:

Republicans noted that many Democrats had voted earlier this year to take money from the preventive health fund to help pay to keep doctors' Medicare reimbursements from dropping. Obama's own budget in February proposed cutting $4 billion from the same fund to pay for some of his priorities.

So it's nothing but politics by the White House and congressional Democrats. This is the norm but it is surprising that the AP actually reported this pretty straight. The Inquirer even put this article on the front page but it is a Saturday and a slow news day. 

Unfortunately, the Inqy couldn't resist opining on this very topic in today's editorial:

In an obvious slap at President Obama, the Republican-controlled House voted Friday to extend the lower rate by slashing $6 billion from a fund created by the health-care-reform law for breast and cervical cancer screenings, child immunizations, and prenatal tests for birth defects.

I guess the editorial writers don't read the news section of the paper because no where in the editorial does it mention that Obama sought to cut this or that it is set to be cut in the sham budget he presented. That's either really lazy by the editorial folks or it's an intentional attempt to skew the facts. I'm betting on the latter.
 Update: The Inquirer printed my letter to the editor on Wednesday:

In the front-page story “House acts to curb loan rates” (Saturday), readers were informed that House Republicans passed a bill that would keep student loan rates at 3.4 percent for another year. The GOP wants to pay for the cost with spending cuts on a medical-screening program. According to the story, this exact program was targeted for cuts by President Obama in his budget proposal and by congressional Democrats to help ensure that Medicare reimbursements were not allowed to drop. 

Yet, a few pages later in the newspaper, the Editorial Board skewered the GOP for insisting on cuts to the very same program that the Democrats and Obama had tried to trim. Nowhere in the editorial does it mention the Democrats’ proposed cuts. I guess the claim that “GOP Aims to Cut Cervical Cancer Screening Program” has more punch than “President Obama and Congressional Democrats Aim to Cut Cervical Cancer Screening Program.”

I received three emails expressing thanks for pointing out the Inqy's bias. 

Did Obamacare Die Today?

Probably not but the individual mandate--a crucial part of the bill--sure sounds like it did:



Hat tip: AP @ Hot Air

Justice Kennedy is the key vote as Roberts, Alito, Scalia and Thomas will probably strike it down.

This is the single-most important issue SCOTUS will hear in the last 25-years and one that will reverberate for decades. The only thing that could surpass this would be re-hearing Roe v. Wade.

I'm no lawyer but when one of the most liberal legal media members today says it was a bad day for Obamacare, I tend to listen.

Obama Pisses on the Military Again

There's no other way to frame this but a deep disdain for the military and deference to his big government ideology:

The Obama administration’s proposed defense budget calls for military families and retirees to pay sharply more for their healthcare, while leaving unionized civilian defense workers’ benefits untouched. The proposal is causing a major rift within the Pentagon, according to U.S. officials. Several congressional aides suggested the move is designed to increase the enrollment in Obamacare’s state-run insurance exchanges.

The disparity in treatment between civilian and uniformed personnel is causing a backlash within the military that could undermine recruitment and retention.

The proposed increases in health care payments by service members, which must be approved by Congress, are part of the Pentagon’s $487 billion cut in spending. It seeks to save $1.8 billion from the Tricare medical system in the fiscal 2013 budget, and $12.9 billion by 2017.

Many in Congress are opposing the proposed changes, which would require the passage of new legislation before being put in place.

Many people in the military would be considered the working poor if they weren't in uniform but Obama doesn't give a damn about them.

Words kind of fail me at this point but I will say that we will see good men and women leave the military because Obama is sticking to his beliefs on Obamacare. This is a a political ad waiting to be played over and over.

Obama Awakens Sleeping Giant?

When the Japanese planes that bombed Pearl Harbor returned to their carriers, the architect of that raid, Admiral Yamamoto famously noted that he feared Japan "awaken(ed) a sleeping giant". Indeed they did as a country still reeling from the Depression and arguing amongst ourselves whether or not to get into the great war sweeping the world was forced into it by the attack. We became united and focused on one cause and that was defeating the enemy.

I believe Obama may have done the same thing by not only taking on the Catholic church but giving them the finger as he did so.

For years, Catholics ranked only behind Jews in their absolute support of the Democratic party. Even in cases where it went completely against their morals such as abortion, they rationalized it and voted D anyway. The Catholic lay person is generally pretty liberal on a great many issues and many do not live by the strict teachings of the church. Many Catholics have gone against the church on the use birth control yet still consider themselves a part of the church. Yet, it was never blatant and the government, for the most part, didn't antagonize the Pope and his flock.

Until now. Obama may have read the tea leaves wrong with respect to his recent decision to force Catholic institutions such as hospitals and colleges to include birth control and other dubiously described "women reproductive health" prescriptions and procedures. The so-called morning after pill would fall into the category of things that these institutions would be forced by law to cover in their healthcare plans. This, of course, goes against every teaching of the church and they've said they can't and won't comply.

The liberal-minded side of the church as well as some conservative members supported Obamacare in spite of the warnings issued by many of us opponents of the legislation who saw exactly where it was headed. We said it would be used as a mechanism to get abortions funded and we were called liars. That's coming and the church is now waking up to that fact. In fact, to many Catholics, the morning after pill is indeed abortion.

I can see the church rallying its members and if only 20% decide to vote against Obama in the coming election it could sway things to the GOP. 16-million votes switching from Obama to the GOP would have wide-reaching affect and could change the entire dynamic. For a bloc that has been reliably Democrat to split even that small amount would spell disaster for The One.

It seems that his own people are starting to understand just this point:

“What are we doing here?” asked Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, stepping outside his wheelhouse to ask about a rising storm involving the Obama administration and the Catholic Church. “What’s the point?”
It was the Fall of 2011 and Panetta had read about a proposed Obama administration rule that would require employers – excluding houses of worship but including religious organizations such as charities, hospitals, and schools – to offer health insurance that fully covered contraception.

Panetta — a Catholic, former U.S. Representative, and White House chief of staff — didn’t quite understand why the Obama administration would be stepping into this conflict.

Panetta’s fears have to a degree been realized as White House officials now find themselves taking heat on a policy debate about conscience and religious liberty; the Obama administration is working to find a way to allow religious organizations to not pay for services they find morally objectionable, while also ensuring that, say, the women nurses and doctors who work at Catholic hospitals have full access to birth control. Some officials are discussing a way to introduce something like the law in Hawaii, where religious organizations don’t have to pay for employee insurance that covers contraception, but they do have to inform employees how they can get it on their own.

I'm guessing that will eventually be the policy and they will go full-bore with the proposal if he wins another term. Yet he'll have another problem and that will be placating his base who are ecstatic that he's taking what in their minds is the theocracy. If he caves, they will go apeshit. They are flush with elation at beating back the Susan Komen Foundation juggernaut who dared threaten Planned Parenthood and to give in to the church would really piss them off. Don't think he's not hearing it loud and clear and is going to be very careful about upsetting the raging feminist horde.

It remains to be seen whether or not the Catholics will come together and forgive Obama, unite against him or have a minor schism whereby some vote their conscience. I'm guessing the latter will be the case but only time will tell.

Sane People Win One in Healthcare Fight

It's a small but hopefully first victory against the bill that will simultaneously destroy the economy and the best healthcare system in the world:

This just in: Virginia federal judge Henry Hudson on Monday ruled that he’ll let the state of Virginia’s challenge to the landmark health care law passed in March go forward, at least for the time being. Click here for the early Reuters story; here for the 32-page opinion.

The Department of Health and Human Services had moved to dismiss the lawsuit, which was filed in March (click here for the complaint), shortly after the passage of the law. But Judge Hudson on Monday denied the motion.

The ruling represents a setback that will force the Obama administration to mount a lengthy legal defense of the law. The suit, filed by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (pictured), alleges that the law’s requirement that its residents have health insurance violates the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.

And how did the Nobama administration respond? By comparing the bill and the court challenge in historical terms right up with the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. Note Ms. Cutter doesn't say that it wasn't Republicans who challenged those two pieces of legislation but Democrats led by Al Gore, Sr. and Clinton mentor William Fulbright...but I digress.

The healthcare bill was rammed through using sleazy tactics, bribes, hidden costs we are no where near counting up and all while giving the majority of Americans the finger. We don't want it but according to the "intellectuals" in power, we aren't smart enough to know just how great this is for us.

The GOP has to make this topic 1, 1A and 1B the entire fall. Make the Dems wallow in their choices and squirm at every opportunity just like last year. Make Steny Hoyer eat his words about the Tea Party having "run its course".

Hopefully it comes down to Justices Alito, Thomas, Roberts, Scalia and Stevens shutting the door on this monstrosity once and for all.

Obama to American People: Go to hell

In spite of every single poll showing dwindling support for The one and the bloodbath the Dem's suffered in NJ, VA and MA, Obama is plunging ahead with healthcare reform and telling the American people that they either are too stupid to know what is best for them or just plain telling us to go screw ourselves. Either way, we're going to be paying one hell of a bill:

This morning, President Obama released his latest health care blueprint, which he hopes will breathe life into his moribund effort to overhaul one-sixth of the U.S. economy. The new blueprint is almost exactly the same as the House and Senate health care bills that the public have opposed since July. It mostly just splits the difference between the two.

One new element, however, is the president’s proposal to impose a new type of government price control on health insurance premiums. I explain here how those price controls are a veiled form of government rationing that helped sink the Clinton health plan.

If anything, those price controls make the president’s new plan even more bureaucratic and government-heavy. The Senate bill would take an ill-advised stab at cost-control by imposing a tax on the highest-cost health plans. That president proposes to pare back that excise tax and instead have a panel of federal bureaucrats cap the growth in health insurance premiums for all health plans. Those new government powers could make it even harder for people to obtain the coverage and care that they need.

How bad is it? The CBO can't even score it and tell us the actual costs, which even the Dems say will be over a trillion in the next decade.

I heard Gingrich on Hannity today say that he believes the American people would go ballistic if they rammed this down our throats. That may be the case but the Republican's have got to distance themselves from everything in this bill. they can't go to the healthcare summit with OBama on Thursday and show any weakness. They must be stout and require that any bill include major tort reform, no new taxes and a pay go status. They must also tell Reid that no way will they be a part of any sweetheart deals like the one given Mary Landrieu and unions. If Obama doesn't play ball on all of these issues, they need to make a statement and walk out in front of the entire nation.

The American people want nothing to do with healthcare reform and the only ones who can represent us and defend the idea of an America governed by the people and for the people are the GOP. I'm not hopeful as they've shown they are experts at losing every advantage afforded them but one can be hopeful.

Evan Bayh Bails on the Dems

Senator Evan Bayh realized that casting an affirmative vote for Obamacare was just too much of an anchor when it comes to reelection:

Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh will not seek re-election this year, a decision that hands Republicans a prime pickup opportunity in the middle of the country.

"After all these years, my passion for service to my fellow citizens is undiminished, but my desire to do so by serving in Congress has waned," Bayh will say, according to prepared remarks obtained by the Fix. He will make the decision formal at a press conference later today.

In his statement, Bayh cited the lack of bipartisan comity as one of the main reasons for the decision. "There is too much partisanship and not enough progress -- too much narrow ideology and not enough practical problem-solving," Bayh will say. "Even at a time of enormous challenge, the peoples' business is not being done." He specifically cited the recent vote that killed the creation of a debt commission as evidence of the partisan gridlock.

Bayh says that he believes he would have won another term but there's no way he leaves the Dems in the lurch with only one day to get a replacement without going through the caucus process. Obamacare is the focal point of the great anger this nation is feeling right now. If Obama had put one on-hundredth of energy into creating jobs and fixing the economy as he did Obamacare, we'd be in better shape than we are now. Instead, the administration pushed for any deal despite the fact that America despises the very idea and the Democrats worked behind closed doors while making shady deals with individual senators and unions while leaving the rest of us to fend for ourselves.

Bayh's vote for Obamacare is the most prevalent reason he's not seeking another term regardless if he admits it or not. He would most-likely have lost as it's shaping up to be a year in which the GOP can take back the Senate and make huge gains in the House. What an incredible development considering where they were in November 2008.

More Great Moments in Socialized Medicine

A look at what America will be under Obamacare?

The British health care system is, as depicted by the Obama administration, excellent and would be a great goal for an American system.

Er, probably not:

Latest figures show that over the past two years there were at least:

63 births in ambulances and 608 in transit to hospitals;

117 births in A&E departments, four in minor injury units and two in medical assessment areas;

115 births on other hospital wards and 36 in other unspecified areas including corridors;

399 in parts of maternity units other than labour beds, including postnatal and antenatal wards and reception areas.

Additionally, overstretched maternity units shut their doors to any more women in labour on 553 occasions last year.

Babies were born in offices, lifts, toilets and a caravan, according to the Freedom of Information data for 2007 and 2008 from 117 out of 147 trusts which provide maternity services.

Let's see, when my kids were born, my wife had her own room that was essentially a five-star hotel room with space for me to rest and the best care imaginable. The atmosphere was as relaxing as one could ever have while experiencing the miracle of birth and the aftercare was top notch. Now granted, you can't compare that to giving birth in an office, elevator or even a bathroom but we Americans are just not as sophisticated as Europeans are; or at least that's what liberals keep telling us.

Semper Fi, Brother

"I kept my oath, do you intend to keep yours?"

Tuesday Night News and Notes

Posting very light due to work constraints and, to be honest, I needed a break from the grind.

Here's what's news:

-Howard Dean makes Joe Biden seem quick on his feet and downright smart.

-RIP Robert Novak.

-RIP Rose Friedman. A sad day for free market conservatives to be sure.

-Why The One is not so messianic anymore.

-AARP loses 60,000 members. Remember that this uprising against Obamacare is purely a staged event by the GOP and the health care lobby.

-Giving away American money has proved to be a boon for Japanese and Brazilian companies (and George Soros).

Great Moments in Socialized Medicine

In what is probably a good example of what Obamacare will be like and why many patriotic Americans are protesting, we have an a great example right here:

A young mother gave birth on a pavement outside a hospital after she was told to make her own way there.

Mother-of-three Carmen Blake called her midwife to ask for an ambulance when she went into labour unexpectedly with her fourth child.

But the 27-year-old claims she was refused an ambulance and told to walk the 100m from her house in Leicester to the city's nearby Royal Infirmary.

The country is against it in every circumstance and they still push and push because it's what is best for us whether we smart enough to know it or not.

Obama's train wreck continues on.

Epic Fail: Obama's Numbers Worse Than Bush's

How can a man who had tons of good will, a massively compliant media, majorities in both the House and Senate and a huge organization pushing his agenda on a daily basis fail so suddenly and so definitively?

Epic fail:

A rather surprising finding from the newly released CNN poll. Question three on the national survey of 1,136 adults (which includes an oversample of African-Americans) asks, "Do you consider the first six months of the Obama administration to be a success or a failure?"

Thirty-seven percent (37%) said they believe the Obama administration is a "failure," while 51% consider it a "success" and 11% say it's still "too soon to tell."

An identical question was asked of the Bush administration in an August 2001 CNN/Gallup/USA Today survey. At the time, 56% said the Bush administration was a "success" while only 32% considered it a "failure."

I, of course, blame Bush as should you (not sure how but it's the default setting).

More to the point, I see this as a collective fuck you to socialism and socialist polcies by the American people. When you have nearly 10% nationally without jobs and without health insurance, one would think that it would be fertile ground to sow the seeds of socialized medicine and Obama and the Dems are struggling mightily getting any bill passed.

I can't wait for the mid-terms.

More Great Moments in Socialized Medicine

I was talking with a guy this morning and something came on the news about health care and the Obamacare plan. He said it would be a good idea to have "free" health care. "Free" I said, "it's definitely not going to be free". It occurred to me that a good sized amount of people in this nation are not even remotely tuned into what Obamacare would entail, how it would reduce the standard of care and how much it will actually cost them. It got me thinking that Obama may be able to pull this off with a compliant media abetting him.

We have to make sure that the average citizen understand what he or she would be in store for with socialized medicine. Here's another example of why we have to beat this thing down, burn the bill, piss on the ashes and flush them down the toilet:

Thousands of rheumatoid arthritis sufferers face a lifetime of agony because they are not being treated quickly enough, a report says.

Guidelines state that patients should receive treatment within three months of the first symptoms appearing.

But the average wait is nine months - and GPs are not trained well enough to know what help to offer.

The average wait is three times longer than is recommended. The three month number is insane and with shock Americans who have grown accustomed to calling a doctor and getting in the same day.

Just another preview of Obamacare.

As an aside, the GOP is finally starting to explain just what Obama plans on doing and it ain't pretty.

Update: Here's some of the side effects Obamacare would bring about.