Nancy Pelosi: The Queen of Denial

When San Francisco’s Nancy Pelosi became the Speaker of the House in January of 2007, her ratings were 2-to-1 positive, 44% to 22%. However, as America got to know her, those ratings became just about even by March of that year and remained that way in November 2008.  Americans began to grow even more tired of her in the first half of 2009, due to her Liberal ideological stance against the CIA’s use of “enhanced interrogation” of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay prison, and her silly dispute with the CIA over whether she had been briefed on the matter. During the time that these issues were in the news, her favorable rating fell from 42% to 32%. Pelosi’s favorable rating recovered slightly in the first half of 2010 to 36%, because her base, the Far Left, was happy with her.

Since then, Independents in particular have gotten to know Nancy better, as evidenced by her favorability dropping nine points among this group since May, to 21%. Nearly 6 in 10 independents (58%) now view her unfavorably, compared with 86% of Republicans and 22% of Democrats.

This led to a favorability rating of 29%, per gallup.com, as of 10/20/2010.

Her  words and actions, as Speaker of the house of Representative, made her a point of focus in the minds and hearts of Americans as they headed to vote in the Midterm Elections. 

This Congressional version of Captain Queeg gave an interview within the friendly confines of National Public Radio yesterday, where she said:

We didn’t lose the election because of me. Our members do not accept that.

Pelosi, in a trip through denial not seen since the Egyptian Pharaohs, blames the Midterm Massacre on high unemployment and “$100million of outside, unidentified funding.”

No word on whether she knows who ate the strawberries yet – obscure movie reference.

The NPR interview is one of the first San Fran Nan has given to fight back against Democrats who have began complaining to anyone who will listen about her decision to seek the position of House Minority Leader. That list even includes some congresscritters who previously carried the water for her, such as Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan.

Republicans are loving this,even to the point of hanging a Hire Pelosi sign from their headquarters. They’re looking forward to the easy campaign strategy of tying Democratic incumbents around the country to the liberal from San Francisco.

And, pray tell, what was the Congressional Queen of Denial’s reply?

The reason they had to take me down is because I’ve been effective in fighting special interests in Washington, D.C. I’m effective. They had to take me out. I’m also the most significant attractor to support for the Democrats.

So, I’m not looking back on this. They asked me to run, I’m running. We don’t let the Republicans choose our leaders, and again, our members understand, they made me a target because I’m effective, politically and policy-wise.

The sad thing is, (If you’re a Democrat, that is.  I say:  Give ’em more rope.) her stupid Democratic supporters are paving the way for her.

In a Congressional Soap Opera, that I think I’ll title As the Sycophants Turn, Democrats came to a backroom deal, enabling Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer to become second in command of their new minority without a challenge from South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn.

The Dems said Friday night that Clyburn would instead receive a new position,created just for him, explicitly labeled the third-ranking post in leadership. The title and duties are not known.  Maybe Rush is right.  Maybe Clyburn will be Driving Miss Nancy.

This revelation was reported by Democratic officials after Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., issued a vaguely worded (is there any other kind from these guys?) statement saying she intends to nominate Clyburn to a new No. 3 post. The statement did not mention Hoyer, and officials who filled in the details did so on condition of anonymity, saying they were not permitted to speak publicly about the matter.

San Fran Nan is going to stay on as Democratic party leader when the new Congress convenes in January under a Republican majority. There is no official opposition for the post even though a bunch of the rank and file have said that she should step aside after November 2nd’s shellacking. The GOP gained at least 60 seats in midterm elections,due to the tone-deaf arrogance and incompetence of the Democrats.

As America moves forward, through the Lame Duck Congress with Pelosi as Speaker and into the next 2 years, with her as House Minority Leader, remember these gems of wisdom that she has already given us…and try not to laugh out loud:

Bipartisanship is nice, but it cannot be a substitute for action, not having it cannot prevent us from going forward.

Every month that we do not have an economic recovery package 500 million Americans lose their jobs.

But we have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy.

If the Democratic Party is so ignorant as to keep in power one of the main leaders responsible for one of the worst Political Massacres in American history, so be it.

Just don’t expect Americans to put you back in charge of Congress anytime soon.

Pakistan and the Religion of Peace

Asia Bibi, a mother of two in her thirties, has lived a simple life, working as a field laborer in Pakistan.  However, now, she has gained unwanted notoriety by becoming the first woman in Pakistan to be sentenced to death for blasphemy.  The sentence  was decreed by a court of sessions in Punjab province on Sunday evening.

Her crime?  Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The charge stems from her actions in the village of Ittanwali during a heated discussion about religion in June last year.

Some of the women workers had been trying to get Bibi to renounce her Christian faith and accept Islam. During the discussion, Bibi responded by telling the Muslim women how Jesus had died on the cross for the sins of mankind and asking them what Muhammad had done for them.

The Muslim women got ticked off by Asia’s witnessing to them and beat her.  She was then locked in a room by some men.  Then, according to partners of Release International, a mob reportedly formed and “violently abused” her and her children.

Release International, a charity which supports persecuted Christians, said that blasphemy charges had been brought against Bibi as a result of pressure from local Muslim leaders.

Release International’s chief executive, Andy Dipper, was shocked at Sunday’s ruling.

He said:

Pakistan has crossed a line in passing the death sentence on a woman for blasphemy.

In addition to the death sentence, The representatives of the religion of peace also fined Bibi more than £700. That is approximately two and a half years’ wages for an unskilled worker.

The charity’s partners in Pakistan say the sentence has dealt a crushing blow to Bibi, who had been hoping to be acquitted and return to her husband and children:

Although Asia has great courage, her dreams of release have vanished now. Please pray for her encouragement, strength and protection.

They are planning to visit Bibi in prison as soon as they are permitted to.

Release has launched a petition against Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. It fears that the passing of the death sentence against Bibi could set a harmful precedent in other blasphemy cases.

Another Christian woman, Martha Bibi , no relation to Asia Bibi, is presently on trial in Lahore for blasphemy. She was accused of committing blasphemy after a dispute with builders in Kasur who refused to return equipment belonging to her.

Mr. Dipper said Pakistan’s blasphemy laws were “wide open to abuse” and that Christians and other minorities were often accused of committing blasphemy by Muslims as a “vengeful way of settling scores”.

Dipper warned:

In effect Asia has been sentenced to death for sharing her Christian faith. In previous cases, the death sentence has not been carried out. But this could well mean a life sentence for Asia in appalling conditions on death row.

Release’s online petition can be found at:  www.releaseinternational.org/current

There is a history of violence in pakistan by Muslims against Christians.  In June of 2009, A Christian man was beaten to death in Pakistan’s Punjab province for drinking from a tea-cup “designated for Muslims”.

August 1, 2009, the following story ran on christianpost.com:

Hundreds of Muslim extremists continued to burn Christian homes after some members of the Sipah-e-Sahaba group accused Christians of desecrating the Quran on Thursday. Among the six Christians killed were four women.

Pakistan Christian Post reported that the Muslim mob pulled the Christian woman out of their homes and killed them execution style.

The sectarian riot began Thursday when thousands of Muslims raided a Christian village called Korian in Punjab province in eastern Pakistan and destroyed about 60 homes and two churches.

From jihadwatch.org 12/17/2009:

A Christian sanitation worker was struggling for his life Wednesday, December 16, in a hospital of Pakistan’s Punjab province after two Christian co-workers already died because Muslim employers apparently poisoned them, police and family confirmed.

The father of the three workers, Yousaf Masih, said the incident happened Monday, December 14, in a banquet and wedding hall where his sons demanded wages owed to them.

Masih said the Muslim managers of the facility were angry that Christians dared to ask for payment.

“My sons were apparently forced to consume some kind of poisoned drink, or a drug…They were left there to die,” he said, adding that their bosses also made abusive remarks about Christianity.

These are only a few stories.  There are many more.  Like, for instance, Faisal, the Times Square Bomber,who grew up and trained to be a Terrorist in Pakistan.

On November 8th, United States President Barack Hussein Obama, while attempting to answer a student’s question at St. Xavier College in Mumbai, India, said that our approach toward Pakistan on the issue of terrorism has been

…to be honest and forthright … to say we are your friend, this is a problem and we will help you with, but the problem has to be addressed.

That’s wonderful speechifying there, Scooter.  But when Muslims in Pakistan are killing their own citizenry for the crime of being a Christian, how to you expect any help from that country in finding Bin Laden or with any other aspect of the Global War on Terror?  You may as well take a Cobra home as a pet and expect it not to bite you.

Obama, his administration, CAIR, and so-called Moderate Islamic representatives keep telling the American people about how the majority of Muslims are a peace-loving people.  I truly want to believe that.  However, they need to step up their efforts in speaking out about the murderers that share their faith.  For a faith with millions of members, the relative silence is deafening.

A Global Robin Hood Tax?

While President Barack Hussein Obama (peace be upon him) confers with world leaders for the G-20 summit in South Korea to consider proposals that are supposed to stabilize the global economy, a brilliant idea being bandied about is an aptly named “Robin Hood tax.”  This Marxist measure would collect money from rich nations to give to the poor.

The Robin Hood tax is actually a global financial transaction fee that could raise hundreds of billions of dollars to pay the cost of the global financial crisis and support developing nations struggling to recover.

So far, it’s not exactly receiving rave reviews.

Britain, France and Germany have been pushing a bank tax for all G-20 nations.  However,  financial gurus from the industrialized nations shot down the idea at a previous summit held in Toronto last summer.

Still, the tax’s supporters, the usual suspects, including unions, environmental groups, Comic Relief (remember Whoopi, Robin, and Billy?), UNICEF and others in a coalition made up of several countries, claim that the tax could go to canceling debt from poor nations. They also say that it could be used for social programs to fight hunger, diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria or other causes. The thing is, these are all programs to which America and other nations already donate billions.

The socialist advocates make up a coalition of 183 organizations from 42 countries.  They issued a plea this week urging leaders at the G-20 summit in South Korea to adopt the measure. No specifics have been given (of course), but the idea would be to charge a small transaction fee, anywhere from 0.05 percent to 1 percent, on each stock transaction made.

In other words, penalize capitalism.

The coalition wrote a letter to G-20 leaders, including Obama, claiming that the tax would help meet the costs

…of the global financial and economic crisis, including reducing the unacceptably high rate of job loss, and achieve key development, health, education and climate change objectives in developing countries.

Those that have actually thought about the consequences of this proposal say that it would kill businesses and job growth in the U.S.  They also make the point that Obama doesn’t even have the authority to tax U.S. businesses to pay for a global fund.

Scott Talbott, a lobbyist with the Financial Services Roundtable, which advocates for large financial firms, said:

We support the goal of helping distressed nations, but feel that the tax would harm the economic recovery of the other countries.

The proposal misses the mark and will do more harm than good. It will raise the price of financial products for the average investor, retirees, pension plans and parents saving for college tuition.

According to an e-mail sent by David C. John , a senior research fellow in retirement security and financial markets at The Heritage Foundation, to Fox News, the proposal has been tried before and failed miserably:

Decades ago, responsible economists showed that the so-called ‘Robin Hood’ tax on financial institutions has no purpose other than to punish banks and provide money for certain pet projects. Given that several governments have already rejected the tax, governments that do impose it will find that thousands of jobs leave their shores for more competitive countries with better fiscal policies.

When this idiotic proposal came before the G-20 summit last summer, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wrote to Treasury Secretary  Turbo Tax Tim Geithner, saying that the financial transaction tax

…would raise trading costs and reduce the liquidity that benefits all investors and businesses while a bank tax could reduce the lending capacity of financial institutions, harming the ability of businesses to grow.

R. Bruce Josten, executive vice president of government affairs for the chamber, warned that the severe negative impact from the Robin Hood Tax could damage the U.S.’ ability to recover from recession or create jobs.  A spokesman for the chamber told FoxNews.com that the business lobby stands by that position.

That hasn’t stopped the Progressives back home from floating the idea of a transaction tax from gaining attention at home as a potential moneymaking source.  Last December, Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., tried to introduce a bill to impose a tax on financial transactions aimed at letting taxpayers off the hook for future bailouts. The bill never even made it out of committee.

In a letter to G-20 leaders, Obama didn’t bring up the Robin Hood tax per se.

But,  he did encourage the G20 to pursue policies that will help poorer nations:

Finally, we should advance our cooperation to address common global challenges.

The Korean presidency has highlighted the key role growth has played in lifting so many out of poverty, especially in emerging Asia, and drawn attention to what we all can do to increase the potential for inclusive growth in low-income countries.

Turbo Tax Tim  Geithner wrote an opinion article published Wednesday in the Asian version of The Wall Street Journal that also alluded to consideration of the financial transaction tax:

We need to strike a balance on the pattern of growth across countries.  Balance matters not for its own sake, but because it is critical to strong and sustained growth globally and to future financial stability. Ultimately, we are trying to lift global growth, not just shift it — so as to deliver strong, sustainable and balanced growth.

This is nothing new for Obama.  In 2001, he spoke about redistribution of wealth in an interview with a Chicago Public Radio Station.  Here’s the audio:

During 1948’s Presidential Campaign, Norman Thomas, a 6 time Presidential Candidate for the American Socialist Party, said:

The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of ‘liberalism’ they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.

Sound familiar?  Thank God, Thomas  had no clue as to the wonderful advances in the area of communications that America has seen since he made that statement.  Thanks to the advent of Conservative Talk Radio, Conservative websites, and Fox News, Americans are informed and fighting back, as evidenced on November 2nd.  However, that was just the opening round in the fight to maintain our liberty.  We must stay vigilant for the next two years and beyond.

If It Walks Like a Lame Duck…

A week ago yesterday, Americans changed the balance of power in the Legislative Branch of our government.  However, the Representatives and Senators that we elected do not take over until January 2011.  Of course, that means that we’re stuck with the comedy team of Pelosi and Reid for one last session:  affectionately known as a “Lame Duck” Congress.

With any luck, this final act of desperation may turn out to be short and sweet for the American people.

Even though the Dems have a list the size of the Magna Carta of proposed legislation that they want to cram down our throats, ala the Stimulus Bill and Obamacare, after the shellacking we just handed them, they don’t appear to be in any mood to participate in a no holds barred cage match over their wish list.

The Republicans, for their part, know that the folks back home are watching,to see if they learned anything from the rebuke of  Beltway Elite politicians in the Midterms.

The session, which begins Nov. 15, will be mostly about tax-and-spending issues.  But there also are legislative battles waiting to be fought ranging from giving seniors $250 Social Security special payments to repealing the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy against gays serving openly.

They’ll have at it for a week and then break for Thanksgiving.  These turkeys will return after the holiday, but on Dec. 1, the bums that America kicked out have to vacate their offices. If Congress is still in session, they will be moved to the basement where they will only have cubicles.  Sweet! 

This drop in prestige makes it very unlikely that lawmakers will still be around by Christmas Eve, as they were last year when they were shoving Obamacare down our throats.

A spokesman for one of the dearly departing said that his boss will be around no matter where his office is located.

Josh Taylor, a spokesman for outgoing Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Texas, said:

We’re here to finish business.  That’s our commitment to our district.

Everyone on Capitol Hill is saying that the House will only be in session for two weeks, but nobody can tell you why.

According to a senior Republican House aide:

I think it’s one recognizing the reality that what the House passes has to get through the Senate, which is still bollixed up.

This aide thinks that  Congress will probably find a way to avoid a government shutdown when a stopgap spending bill expires Dec. 3 and to address the looming expiration of the Bush tax cuts on Dec. 31. Taxes on income, investments and large estates are set to go up, while the $1,000 per-child tax credit would be cut in half and couples would lose relief from the so-called marriage penalty.

The GOP aide said it’s possible Congress won’t reach a consensus in time to extend the tax cuts. Republicans want to extend them for all Americans while President Obama wants to cap them at $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for families.

A senior House Democratic aide told FoxNews.com that Democrats plan to consider bills on food safety, child nutrition, appropriations, emergency Social Security payments and taxes.

A spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader “Dinghy” Harry Reid said there is no list yet of what items will be considered. Of course, Reid promised Hispanics that he would bring up the DREAM Act for a vote in the lame duck session before his re-election victory.  The DREAM Act would grant conditional legal status to some illegal immigrant students under certain conditions.

Reid also told labor officials that he would repay their mobilizing the voters by bringing up the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act, a bill that would set minimum standards for state collective bargaining laws for firefighters and police officers.

Reid’s lackey said that Reid, before the election, began the procedural process on three bills: the natural gas and electric vehicle bill, the paycheck fairness act and one on food safety. But the spokeswoman said the other items, like the Bush tax cuts, and unemployment benefit, still need to be discussed among the White House and leaders in both parties.

Uh huh.  I would love to be a fly on the wall during those discussions.

Reid’s spokeswoman said getting the items passed depends on Republicans.

These are all items important to Harry Reid.  We’ll need Republican support.

I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting on it.

Especially after San Fran Nan throws her little party today celebrating her accomplishments as the leader of the most unethical, tone-deaf, Elitist bunch of Jackwagons ever to slink about Capitol Hill.

The soon-to-be Former Speaker of the House (Thank you, Lord) has problems of her own.  Defeated Democrats have sent a letter asking her to step aside in her quest to be Minority Leader of the House.  Health Schuler and other “Blue Dogs” also want her to step aside.  They know that as long as she’s leading them, House Democrats will never return to power.

The Republicans are loving this.  It’s their job now to allow the Dems to implode.  They also have to block, by any means necessary, any legislation that might actually have a chance to be pushed through in this short Lame Duck Session.  Their time will come in January.  Just hold the line until then.

And pass the popcorn.

Obama: Back Home Again in Jakarta

As I write today’s blog, President Barack Hussein Obama (peace be upon him) and Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono are appearing in a joint press conference in Jakarta.  Obama is scheduled to be in the country possessing the highest Muslim population in the world through tomorrow.  However, his trip may be cut short due to the danger of volcanic ash from multiple eruptions of Mount Merapi, the world’s most active volcano.  And,  just now, according to Fox News,  a 5.1 earthquake has been reported in Indonesia, close to where the president is speaking.  Hmmmm.

This is the second leg of the president’s 9 day trip, which is turning out to be another Muslim outreach mission.  Imagine that.

Tomorrow, Scooter is supposed to visit the Istiqlal Mosque, the national mosque of Indonesia and the largest mosque in Southeast Asia.  He will then deliver a speech at the University of Indonesia.  Following that he will lay a wreath at Heroes Cemetary.  Wednesday is an Indonesian holiday named National Heroes Day.

Funny, the last two years he hasn’t gone to Arlington to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider on America’s Veterans Day.  He’s had VP Biden do it.  But I digress…

While Obama was in India, a couple of interesting stories  hit the wires.  The president was a St. Xavier’s College on Sunday morning, answering questions from the yutes.

Answering a student’s question about his feelings concerning jihad, he said that he regretted that the “great religion” of Islam has been distorted by a few extremists to justify violence towards innocent people and called for isolating these elements.

Scooter also said that people will have to fundamentally reject the notion that violence is the way to mediate differences among them:

I think all of us have to fundamentally reject the notion that violence is the way to mediate our differences.

I think all of us recognise that this great religion (Islam) in the hands of a few extremists has been distorted to justify violence towards innocent people that is never justified.

So, one of the challenges the world faces is how to “isolate” those who have these distorted notions of religious war…and reaffirm those who see faces of all sorts whether you are a Hindu or a Muslim or a Christian and a Jew or any other religion that we can all treat each other with respect and mutual dignity.

Why does Obama always dance around questions concerning Muslim Terrorism? Why did he originally have his minions begin referring to acts of  jihad as “man-caused disasters”?  

Perhaps it all goes back to his time in Jakarta. From ages six to 10, Barack Obama, Jr., attended a private school for well-off families in Jakarta. While there, Obama attended Muslim prayer sessions with his classmates against the wishes of his mother.

Scooter’s former third grade teacher said that “Barry”, who attended the Menteng One school in Jakarta, studied the Koran and went to classes on Islam, despite the objections of Ann Dunham, a Catholic and “professional” activist.

His teacher, Effendi, taught at Menteng One for 29 years. She remembers Barry as a “fat, curly-haired, curious boy”. The school served an international mix of pupils, including Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims.

Our present POTUS attended classes on Islam while the Christians attended classes on Christianity, said Effendi. Barry, he said, was alone among the pupils in that he insisted on attending both.

According to Effendi:

His mother did not like him learning Islam, although his father was a Muslim. Sometimes she came to the school; she was angry with the religious teacher and said ‘Why did you teach him the Koran?’

 But he kept going to the classes because he was interested in Islam. He would also join the other pupils for Muslim prayers.

That would explain this reaction that CBS got from Muslims in Great Britain shortly about Obama’s Election:

But, why were Muslims happy, if Obama was raised in a Christian home, as he said to Larry King in July of 2008?

Presently, the number of Americans who believe that Obama is a Muslim has risen to one out of five.

As a Christian man, I would never even consider participating in a Muslim prayer service.  I would be respectful, but I would not participate.  Muhammad is not my Lord and Savior.  Nor, would I have sat for over 20 years under the teachings of a racist theologian teaching that Jesus Christ was a revolutionary like Che’ and singing the praises of collective salvation and social justice.

Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010 was not just an overwhelming smackdown of Obama’s failed economic policies, it also clearly demonstrated a dissatisfaction with his foreign initiatives as well.  The clear fact is, after 2 years of this nightmare of a presidency, Americans still do not exactly who this guy is.  But, we’re getting more clues every day.

Obama on 60 Minutes: Why Doesn’t Everybody Love Obamacare?

President Barack Hussein Obama (mm mmm mmmm) appeared on CBS’ 60 Minutes last night. During an interview with Steve Kroft, Scooter said that the political cost of overhauling the health care system turned out to be higher than he had expected.

Did he expect Americans to just shut up and take it?

He went on to say that the health care system itself is huge and complicated and that changing it eluded previous presidents because it was so difficult.

But he plowed right on through with it…because he’s special…and a socialist ideologue:

I made the decision to go ahead and do it, and it proved as costly politically as we expected — probably actually a little more costly than we expected, politically.

Obama went on to say, probably sarcastically, that he thought that he would find common ground with Republicans by advancing health care proposals that had been introduced by Republican administrations as well as potential presidential candidate Mitt Romney when he was governor of Massachusetts:

I bet ol’ Mittens was squirming in his recliner at the house when Scooter said that.

Obama said:

I couldn’t get the kind of cooperation from Republicans that I had hoped for. And that was costly, partly because it created the kind of partisanship and bickering that really turn people off.

So, what it is that everyone has been bickering about?  Here is a brief overview of the timeline for the implementation of Obamacare, from a pdf prepared by the House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees on April 2, 2010.

2010

  • Immediate Access to Insurance for Uninsured Individuals with a Pre-Existing Condition.
  • Eliminating Pre-Existing Condition Exclusions for Children.
  • Prohibiting Rescissions. Prohibits abusive practices whereby health plans rescind existing health insurance policies when a person gets sick as a way of avoiding covering the costs of enrollees’ health care needs.
  • Covering Preventive Health Services. All new group health plans and plans in the individual market must provide first dollar coverage for preventive services.
  • Extending Dependent Coverage. Requires all plans in the individual market and new employer plans that provide dependent coverage for children to continue to make that coverage available up to age 26
  • Reducing the Cost of Covering Early Retirees. Creates a new temporary reinsurance program for health benefits for retirees age 55-64.
  • New, Independent Appeals Process.
  • Improving Consumer Assistance.
  • Improving Consumer Information through the Web. Requires the Secretary of HHS to establish an Internet website through which residents of any State may identify affordable health insurance coverage options in that State.
  • Cracking Down on Health Care Fraud. Requires enhanced screening procedures for health care providers to eliminate fraud and waste in the health care system.
  • Rebates for the Part D “Donut Hole”. Provides a $250 rebate for all Part D enrollees who enter the donut hole.
  • Improving Public Health Prevention Efforts. Creates an interagency council to promote healthy policies at the federal level.
  • Strengthening the Quality Infrastructure.
  • Extending Payment Protections for Rural Providers.
  • Establishing a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. Establishes a private, non-profit institute.
  • Ensuring Medicaid Flexibility for States.
  • Non-Profit Hospitals. Establishes new requirements applicable to nonprofit hospitals beginning in 2010, including periodic community needs assessments.
  • Encouraging Investment in New Therapies.
  • Tax Relief for Health Professionals with State Loan Repayment.
  • Excluding from Income Health Benefits Provided by Indian Tribal Governments.
  • Establishing a National Health Care Workforce Commission. Establishes an independent National Commission to provide comprehensive, nonbiased information and recommendations to Congress and the Administration for aligning federal health care workforce resources with national needs.
  • Strengthening the Health Care Workforce. Expands and improves low-interest student loan programs, scholarships, and loan repayments for health students and professionals to increase and enhance the capacity of the workforce to meet patients’ health care needs.
  • Special Deduction for Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS).
  • Indoor Tanning Services Tax.  There are a lot of torqued-off women out there.
  • Holding Insurance Companies Accountable for Unreasonable Rate Hikes.

2011

  • Bringing Down the Cost of Health Care Coverage.
  • Strengthening Community Health Centers and the Primary Care Workforce.
  • Increasing Reimbursement for Primary Care.
  • Increasing Training Support for Primary Care.
  • Improving Health Care Quality and Efficiency. Establishes a new Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation to test innovative payment and service delivery models to reduce health care costs and enhance the quality of care provided to individuals.
  • Improving Preventive Health Coverage.
  • Improving Transitional Care for Medicare Beneficiaries.
  • Expanding Primary Care, Nursing, and Public Health Workforce.
  • Increasing Access to Home and Community Based Services.
  • Reporting Health Coverage Costs on Form W-2: Requires employers to disclose the value of the benefit provided by the employer for each employee’s health insurance coverage on the employee’s annual Form W-2.
  • Standardizing the Definition of Qualified Medical Expenses. Conforms the definition of qualified medical expenses for HSAs, FSAs, and HRAs to the definition used for the itemized deduction. An exception to this rule is included so that amounts paid for over-the-counter medicine with a prescription still qualify as medical expenses.
  • Increased Additional Tax for Withdrawals from Health Savings Accounts and Archer Medical Savings Account Funds for Non-Qualified Medical Expenses.
  • Cafeteria Plan Changes.

2012

  • Encouraging Integrated Health Systems.
  • Linking Payment to Quality Outcomes.
  • Reducing Avoidable Hospital Readmissions. Directs CMS to track hospital readmission rates for certain high-volume or high-cost conditions and uses new financial incentives to encourage hospitals to undertake reforms needed to reduce preventable readmissions, which will improve care for beneficiaries and rein in unnecessary health care spending.  Can you say “here come the Death Panels”?

2013

  • Payments to Primary Care Physicians. Requires that Medicaid payment rates to primary care physicians for furnishing primary care services be no less than 100% of Medicare payment rates in 2013 and 2014.
  • Administrative Simplification. Health plans must adopt and implement uniform standards and business rules for the electronic exchange of health information to reduce paperwork and administrative burdens and costs.
  • Encouraging Provider Collaboration. Establishes a national pilot program on payment bundling
  • Limiting Health Flexible Savings Account Contributions.
  • Increased Threshold for Claiming Itemized Deduction for Medical Expenses.
  • Medical device excise tax. Establishes a 2.3 percent excise tax on the sale of a medical device by a manufacturer or importer.
  • Limiting Executive Compensation.
  • Fee for patient-centered outcomes research.

2014

  • Reforming Health Insurance Regulations.
  • Eliminating Annual Limits.
  • Ensuring Coverage for Individuals Participating in Clinical Trials.
  • Establishing Health Insurance Exchanges. Opens health insurance Exchanges in each State to individuals and small employers. This new venue will enable people to comparison shop for standardized health packages.   Local hack politicians are lining up for jobs right now.
  • Providing Health Care Tax Credits. E
  • Ensuring Choice through Free Choice Vouchers.
  • Promoting Individual Responsibility.
  • Small Business Tax Credit.
  • Quality Reporting for Certain Providers.
  • Health Insurance Provider Fee. Imposes an annual, non-deductible fee on the health insurance sector allocated across the industry according to market share.

2015

  • Continuing Innovation and Lower Health Costs. Establishes an Independent Payment Advisory Board to develop and submit proposals to Congress and the private sector aimed at extending the solvency of Medicare, lowering health care costs, improving health outcomes for patients, promoting quality and efficiency, and expanding access to evidence-based care.
  • Paying Physicians Based on Value Not Volume. Creates a physician value-based payment program to promote increased quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries.

2018

  • Excise tax on high cost employer-provided health plans becomes effective. Tax is on the cost of coverage in excess of $27,500 (family coverage) and $10,200 (single coverage), increased to $30,950 (family) and $11,850 (single) for retirees and employees in high risk professions.

Gosh, Mr. President, I can see why you can’t understand why the never-ending spider’s web of new government bureaucracies and excessive taxation that you and your Democrat minions in Congress rammed down our throats and gloated about has been met with such resistance.  After all, you did it for our own good, didn’t you?…Regardless of the fact that Government-run Healthcare has been a miserable failure wherever it has been tried.

Is Obama sorry that he stuffed this turkey of a bill down Americans’ throats at the cost of the 2010 Midterms?  I doubt it.  He said last night:

But I think that in terms of how I operated on a day-to-day basis, when you’ve got a series of choices to make — I think that there are times where we said let’s just get it done instead of worrying about how we’re getting it done. And I think that’s a problem. I’m paying a political price for that.

Gosh, Scooter.  Ya think?

Nero Fiddled. Obama Danced.

President Barack Hussein Obama, First Lady Michelle, and an entourage the size of a small nation arrived in India’s commercial hub of Mumbai on Saturday, getting the heck out of Dodge after Americans issued a Midterm referendum on his failed leadership and socialist policies.

In a display of grandeur not seen since Julius Caesar, the first couple arrived with the following:

  • A cadre of 9 accompanying warships off the coast of India
  • 45 limousines, including “the Beast”, the nickname for the heavily-armoured limousine that the president will travel in.
  • 250 businessmen, who have been instrumental in the announced trade deal with India.
  • 600 Secret Service agents, who formed a ring around the president as he entered the Taj Mahal Hotel.

Three very interesting accommodations were made for this 9 day trips.  The first accommodation made was to remove all the coconuts from the trees.  The second was to build a kilometer long above-ground  tunnel in order for the Obamas to visit the Mani Bhvan Museum in Mumbai.  The tunnel will measure 12′ X 12′ , with air conditioning, closed-circuit television cameras, and numerous guards at each point.  It will be constructed so that the president’s motorcade can drive right on through it.

The third accommodation made for  Obama was the installation of TOTUS (the teleprompter of the United States) in the Indian Parliament.  This is the first time a teleprompter has ever been used by a statesman there.  He will be speaking to 780 Ministers of Parliament on Monday.

A official, who did not wish to be identified because of security restrictions, said:

We thought Obama is a trained orator and skilled in the art of mass address with his continuous eye contact.

Imagine how Americans felt after this guy got elected.

Last week, an Indian government source told the NDTV channel of Delhi:

The huge amount of around $200 million would be spent on security, stay and other aspects of the Presidential visit.

 Since then, the White House has denied the accuracy of that figure, saying the cost was wildly inflated.

Yeah, right.

Yesterday, Obama spoke to a meeting of Indian officials and the 250 U.S> businessmen he brought along on his trip.  He announced that Trade agreements had already been struck between the two nations.  He stated that the deals – including the sale of military transport aircraft, civilian airplanes, mining equipment and jet engines – are worth $10 billion and support 54,000 jobs in the United States.  Among the businessmen that Scooter brought along were the CEO of Honeywell, David M. Cote and Obama’s personal advisor, Jeffery Immelt, the CEO of General Electric.

I’m shocked. Aren’t the majority of jobs in those industries that will benefit Union jobs?  Hmmm.

Oh, Scooter also brought along 6 University Presidents, so he would have somebody to talk to.

Later, Scooter and Michelle (ma belle) cut a rug with the children of Holy Name High School in South Mumbai. They also lit ‘diyas’ (earthen lamps), swayed to the traditional Koli folk music and attentively listened to their presentations on environment and global warming.

The Obamas mingled freely with the children signing autographs, posing for pictures with them and their parents.

A student, obviously excited by the first couple being there, said:

This was a golden opportunity for us and the school.

I’m surprised that he didn’t bring Chubby Checker along with him for this photo op.  Heck, he brought everybody else.

This morning, Obama on Sunday spoke to students of St. Xavier’s College. Answering a student’s question about his feelings concerning jihad, he said that he regretted that the “great religion” of Islam has been distorted by a few extremists to justify violence towards innocent people and called for isolating these elements.

Scooter also said that people will have to fundamentally reject the notion that violence is the way to mediate differences among them:

I think all of us have to fundamentally reject the notion that violence is the way to mediate our differences.

I think all of us recognise that this great religion (Islam) in the hands of a few extremists has been distorted to justify violence towards innocent people that is never justified.

So, one of the challenges the world faces is how to “isolate” those who have these distorted notions of religious war…and reaffirm those who see faces of all sorts whether you are a Hindu or a Muslim or a Christian and a Jew or any other religion that we can all treat each other with respect and mutual dignity.

Well, gosh. Why don’t Moderate Muslims start speaking against jihad?  If these extremists are as isolated as you say, Scooter.  After all, all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to stand by and do nothing.

Meanwhile, back in the country that Obama is supposed to serve and protect, over 1/6th of American citizens remain on food stamps.  Our monthly unemployment numbers remain at 9.6 %, and that’s not even counting those who don’t receive unemployment compensation any more and those who have just flat given up trying to look for a job.

Nero fiddled.  Obama danced.

A Turkey Shoot In Geneva

 

Yesterday, the United Nations Council on Human Rights held a glorified turkey shoot in Geneva, Switzerland.  The United States of America was the Turkey.  What’s worse, our president, State Department, and the Department of Justice agreed to it!

This first-ever review of the US human rights record was supposedly part of a gradual examination of the performance of all 192 UN members over a four-year period.

A collection of thug, rogue, and downright spineless nations lined up to be a part of the inquisition.

Iran’s delegation accused us of violating human rights though covert CIA operations “carried out on pretext of combating terrorism”.

Russia  recommended “a careful investigation of the facts in the use of torture especially in Guantanamo and Bagram” air force base in Afghanistan.

The Cuban ambassador, Rodolfo Reyes Rodriguez, called on  America to end its embargo against the oppressive regime (my words) of his country.

European countries, quickly being consumed by Sharia Law, said America should do away with the death penalty.

Mexico wants us to halt racial profiling and the use of lethal force in controlling illegal migration over its border.

So that Mexican drug dealers and other assorted punks can murder more American citizens like Arizona rancher Robert Krentz?  Forget it!

Indonesia, where Scooter grew up, which also happens to be the world’s most populous Muslim nation, called on America to better promote religious tolerance.

Treasonous Progressive Human Rights Organizations were positively gleeful over yesterday’s proceedings.

Antonio Ginatta of the New York-based group Human Rights Watch said:

US officials were often reduced to restating current practices that grossly violate human rights, like the death penalty, poor prison conditions and sentencing youth offenders to life without parole.

According to a statement released by Amnesty International, the US must also hold accountable those responsible for torture:

These recommendations must be at the heart of rebuilding the United States’ human rights record.

Harold Koh, an US state department legal adviser, did his best to defend the administration, while at the same time, sucking up to the UN council:

Let there be no doubt, the United States does not torture and it will not torture.

Between Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo we have conducted hundreds of investigations regarding detainee abuse allegations and those have led to hundreds of disciplinary actions.

Earlier, Koh had whined to the council, saying:

…the president cannot close Guantanamo alone.

US Assistant Secretary of State Esther Brimmer, head of the delegation, said she was honored to present the first US Universal Periodic Review (UPR). 

She told the packed meeting room in Geneva: 

We take our place in the UPR process with pride in our accomplishments, honesty in facing continued challenges, and a commitment to using the international system to elevate and advance the protection of human rights at home and abroad.

Michael Posner, the US assistant secretary of state for democracy and human rights, claimed after the council debate that the US got “a fair hearing”:”

This is part of an ongoing process to engage with the Council and the UN.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Republican who is set to chair the House Foreign Affairs Committee when a new US Congress convenes in January, had a different view.

She said that the 47-member Human Rights Council was:

…dominated by rogue regimes.

Serial human rights abusers like Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela all hijacked the platform to attack the US for imaginary violations.

The US should walk out of this rogues’ gallery and seek to build alternative forums that will actually focus on abuses and deny membership to abusers. 

Preach, sister, preach!

The council will issue its recommendations on Tuesday and the US delegation will indicate which of them are acceptable before reporting back in March when a final report is adopted.

This administration is bound and determined to destroy American sovereignty and America’s legacy of exceptionalism.

In April 2009, President Barack Hussein Obama (mm mmm mmmm) attended a G20 summit of European countries.  When asked if he believed in American exceptionalism, he said:

I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism.

What a far cry from the greatest American President of our generation, Ronald Wilson Reagan, who said:
 
I, in my own mind, have always thought of America as a place in the divine scheme of things that was set aside as a promised land. It was set here and the price of admission was very simple: the means of selection was very simple as to how this land should be populated. Any place in the world and any person from those places; any person with the courage, with the desire to tear up their roots, to strive for freedom, to attempt and dare to live in a strange and foreign place, to travel halfway across the world was welcome here.
Hopefully, after last Tuesday’s referendum by the American people against Obama and his Far Left agenda, things like this dog and pony show in front of the UN, can be stopped before they happen, or at least slowed down.    If Obama does not begin to act like an American President, instead of an anti-American President, he faces the longest two years of his life, followed by a unceremonial firing by the people of the country that he swore an oath to serve and protect from enemies foreign and domestic.

A Tale of Three Women

Just when Americans thought they had seen the last of the Wicked Witch of the West, a.k.a. “San Fran Nan” Pelosi, she spreads the word that she’s considering running for House Minority Leader.

Of course,  her political cronies want her to stay and to lead the Democratic effort to win back their majority. Those encouraging her believe that she can unify the progressives in the caucus, and more importantly, that nobody in the House can raise money for the next campaign better than Pelosi.

Others, like Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC), a member of the conservative Democratic Blue Dog coalition, are threatening to challenge her if she does. Another member of the Blue Dog coalition, Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT), told Politico that Pelosi should not stay on.

He said:

We just got whupped.

Their problem is, the Blue Dog coalition was pretty well wiped out on Tuesday.  More than half of its members, 29, lost.  Only 28 remain.  Those Democrats who survived Tuesday’s Political Massacre are the more liberal members, including Pelosi’s strongest supporters.

The biggest threat that San Fran Nan faces could come from Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), currently the number two Democrat in the House.  But Hoyer has told Pelosi that he will not run against her. Pelosi and Hoyer had a private meeting late Tuesday that lasted more than 90 minutes. They remain tight-lipped about what was discussed.

Pelosi’s popularity among Americans stands at 22%.  I’m surprised that it is that high, considering the idiotic remarks she has made, like this classic about her concerns about violence coming from the Tea Party Movement:

With the Democrats relying on an idiot like this for leadership, the Republicans should have a leg up on them, huh?  Maybe not.  Considering the reaction I saw from establishment Republicans yesterday toward those that made Tuesday’s glorious refudiation possible, Elitist Republicans may ruin this deal for all of us.

Michelle Bachmann, a Tea Party favorite, and dynamic Conservative leader has received a less than enthusiastic reception from Beltway Republicans, including John Boehner, in her attempt to become GOP conference chairman.  Boehner, the future Speaker of the House,  is officially endorsing no one, but Eric Cantor, Mike Pence, and others are endorsing Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas. (who?)  Hensarling is said to have lined up dozens of endorsements.  The good ol’ boy network lives!

Nobody can dispute Bachmann’s contributions to Tuesday night’s GOP victory.  Her fundraising prowess is unparalleled.  The Minnesota Republican is the House’s top earner, bringing in $11 million in the two-year election cycle for her own campaign and giving out $130,000 to other GOP candidates in the campaign’s closing months, according to election records.

Heck, the Old Guard in the GOP should give it to her just on the basis of Tuesday night’s epic smackdown of little Chrissie Matthews, live on MSNBC:

Former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin got in a dig at the Liberal-leaning website politico.com’s treatment of this story.  She issued a tweet over the picture of Bachmann they used for their take on the story which showed Michelle getting make up applied.  Gov. Palin wrote:

Press: why use this Bachmann pic in LEADERSHIP story?Ur 2 transparent “@politico: Bachmann leadership bid adds drama http://politi.co/d46HwR

Politico soon replaced that picture.

In an e-mail, Palin would not give her opinion on the GOP chairmanship struggle.  After all, first things first:

I’m taking a position on who gets to sit in the big boy highchair this morning for breakfast… Trig or Tripp?

Leadership in the US Congress this morning? Nah … not ’till after the Cheerios.

Yesterday, nationalreview.com published an article by Sarah Palin.  In it, she reviews and gives an explanation for  the unprecedented Conservative victory on the night November 2, 2010 and also charts a course for a Conservative future:

…Whether Republicans will do as well as they did in this cycle depends on whether they learn the lessons from the 2010 election.  

…The 2012 story should be about conservatives in Congress cutting government down to size and rolling back the spending, and the Left doing everything in its power to prevent these necessary reforms from happening. In the next two years, if all we end up doing is adopting some tax hikes here, some Obama-agenda compromises there, and a thousand little measures that do nothing to get us out of the economic mess we’re in, the same voters that put the GOP in office will vote them out in the next election. If that happens, the story of 2012 may well be that of the GOP going the way of the Whigs. No, the American people are expecting us to be bold and big in our economic reform to allow the private sector to create jobs and soar!

…In 2012, we need to renew our optimistic, pioneering spirit, revive our free-market system, and restore constitutional limits and our standing in the world as the abiding beacon of freedom.

Till then, I hope that commonsense patriots will join me in applauding the real heroes of this election year: the Tea Party Americans. In 2008, we were told that we had to “move beyond Reagan.” Well, some of us refused to believe that America chose big-government European-style socialism. American voters elected a politician who cloaked his agenda in the language of moderation. Once the mask was removed, Americans rejected his “fundamental transformation.” The Tea Party reminded us that Reaganism is still our foundation. I think the Gipper is smiling down on us today waving the Gadsden Flag.

Republicans need to give heed to advice like Gov. Palin’s.  The American people did not cast their votes on Tuesday night to voice their approval of the same ol’, same ol’.   Tuesday night was a mandate for real change.  63 House seats, 6 – 7 Senate seats, and 680 State seats changed hands.

The Beltway Elite on BOTH sides of the aisle had better be minding their Ps and Qs, or, come 2012, America will wish them well in their future endeavors.  And, the Republican good ol’ boy network needs to be very aware of how important our country’s great Conservative women were to Tuesday night’s victory.  Business as usual just won’t cut it with the American people anymore.  As this video, released yesterday by Sarah Palin’s Political Action Committee shows, the American people are TOGETHER: 

UPDATE:  San Fran Nan just announced that she will run for House Minority Leader.  Let the games begin.  Pass the popcorn.

Obama: Two Days Later, He’s Still More Deaf Than Beethoven

Yesterday, in a Noon Central Press Conference, President Barack Hussein Obama (mm mmm mmmm) appeared as if he wished that he was already in the Jakarta mosque he’s about to visit in his 10 day, $200,000,000 a day Asian trip.

Answering a barrage of surprisingly hard-nosed questions from the normally sycophantic media, a less-than-contrite, and at times, lecturing Obama, proclaimed that he knew exactly why his political party had been politically massacred the night before:  Americans were economically frustrated and impatient because his wonderful policies and programs were taking too long to kick in.

Yes, boys and girls, Scooter is still tone-deaf.  I’m shocked.

Obama went on to say that his decisions so far in his term as president had been tough but right, and that he must take direct responsibility for our economic frustration.  At the same time, in the strident tones of a collegiate guest lecturer, he pledged to do more to reach a consensus with Republicans:

No party has a monopoly on wisdom.  I want to engage both Democrats and Republicans. … I do believe there is hope for civility. I do believe there’s hope for progress. 

When he was asked for details on his plans, Scooter said that he would not be opposed to joining Republicans for a suspension of earmarks and taking a second look at the ignorant provision in Obamacare that would make small businesses file a 1099 for every purchase over $600.  (My words, not his.)

Speaking of Obamacare, the potential incoming Speaker of the House John Boehner said:

I believe that the healthcare bill that was enacted by the current Congress will kill jobs in America, ruin the best healthcare system in the world, and bankrupt our country.  That means we have to do everything we can to try to repeal this bill and replace it with common sense reforms to bring down the cost of health care.

Now, that’s what I’m talkin’ about!

Obama also spent a great deal of time during the Presser talking about Clean Energy and electric cars. This makes one wonder if the Lame Duck Congress is going to try to pass some version of Cap-and-Trade, even though Obama said that it was off the table for now.  And, if his Lame Duck minions don’t get an energy bill passed, will he just issue an Executive Order and have the EPA initiate it?

Probably.  A lot of his clean energy push has to do with political chicanery.  From my post Psst Bud.  You Want to Buy Some Air?

The Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) is proud to let everyone know that it is “North America’s only cap-and-trade system for all six greenhouse gases, with global affiliates and projects worldwide.” Barack Obama served on the board of the Joyce Foundation from 1994 to 2002 . What a coincidence, that, as president, pushing cap-and-trade is one of his highest priorities, huh?

Currently, CCX members are legally bound together by a  voluntary agreement to regulate greenhouse gases.

The CCX provides the vehicle by which to trade the very pollution permits and carbon offsets that would be  imposed by government mandate through the administration’s cap-and-trade proposals .

But, hey, right now, our boy Scooter is getting the heck out of Dodge.  His longest foreign tour so far starts in India, then brings him home to Indonesia where he spent part of his childhood, moves to a Group of 20 summit in South Korea, and ends with an Asian-Pacific economic forum in Japan.  First Lady Michelle (ma belle) will accompany him.  The girls will stay at home.

By the way, when Obama lands in Mumbai, India on Saturday, he’ll be protected  during his stay by a fleet of 34 warships, including an aircraft carrier.  This is because the attack on Mumbai in 2008 came from the sea.

Scooter will fly from Mumbai Airport to an Indian Navy Base on Marine One.  Two jets will accompany him, rigged with the latest in communication technology, and he will travel India’s roads in a fleet of 40 cars.

Around 800 rooms in the Taj Mahal and Hyatt Hotels have been reserved for Obama and those accompanying him during his 2 day visit there.  Arrangements just like this have been secured for New Delhi, where the president will be from Sunday afternoon to Tuesday morning.

I heard Glenn Beck say this morning that Obama’s Asian Trip will cost American taxpayers TWO BILLION DOLLARS. (said in a Dr. Evil from Austin Powers voice)

Perhaps I’m insane, (which, according to my Preacher and my beloved bride, is a distinct possibility), but does this extravagant trip, just like his Press Conference yesterday, seem just a wee bit tone-deaf?

With unemployment in our nation at a record high, with over 1/6th of the country on food stamps (SNAP), and the Democratic Party reeling from their worst electoral defeat since 1932, by his own words and actions, Barack Hussein Obama (peace be unto him) comes off as imperious in nature and more tone-deaf that Ludwig von Beethoven.  If this man-child cannot overcome his own self-aggrandizing and didactic nature, his defensiveness due to his false perception that Americans do not like him because he has a weird name, and his distrust of capitalism and the nation he is supposed to be leading, Obama is in for a long two years.  And so are we.