The rush to dim our lights

Howard M. Brandston, a lighting designer and artist, has a sensible, easy proposal for a test to use before we rush head long into dimming our lights with The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 which will effectively phase out incandescent light bulbs by 2012-2014 in favor of compact fluorescent lamps, or CFLs.

"Here's my modest proposal to determine whether the legislation actually serves people. Satisfy the proposed power limits in all public buildings, from museums, houses of worship and hospitals to the White House and the homes of all elected officials. Of course, this will include replacing all incandescents with CFLs. At the end of 18 months, we would check to be certain that the former lighting had not been reinstalled, and survey all users to determine satisfaction with the resulting lighting.

Based on the data collected, the Energy Independence and Security Act and energy legislation still in Congress would be amended to conform to the results of the test. Or better yet, scrapped in favor of a thoughtful process that could yield a set of recommendations that better serve our nation's needs by maximizing both human satisfaction and energy efficiency." Full article

Ah yes, the old, "let's see if elected officials can comply with their hair-brained ideas" plan. They won't buy this very sensible plan of course, because they are usually exempt from the cost and pain of their own hasty and ill conceived plans--some of which like HR 3200 and the equally bulky cap and trade or TARP, never are even read before voting on them. HR 6 is worth reading in its entirety--your Senator probably didn't.

Here's an acronym you'll definitely need to watch: ESPC, energy savings performance contracts: "CBO estimates that H.R. 6 will increase direct spending by $582 million over the 2008-2012 period and reduce it by $85 million over the 2008-2017 period. Those effects result primarily from provisions that increase mandates related to the use of renewable motor fuels, require federal agencies to meet new goals related to the efficiency of energy and water use, extend and expand federal agencies’ authority to enter into energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs)." That phrase is definitely like giving a credit card to your ex-girlfriend for a shopping spree.

As I was looking through the CBO cost estimates in the agriculture sector, I wondered if these biomass requirements are what caused the starvation and food riots in developing countries in 2008 (see Green Body Count). Even liberal, pro-green editorials noted the problem. Oh well, what's a few million starving brown or black children in less developed countries? It's always "all about us" isn't it? We have no idea what the CFLs will do to the quality of life here or in China where they use dirty coal to produce them or to the environment, but we rush head first into the dark tunnel anyway, thanks to Congress. (Except for his very limited time in the Senate, this one can't be laid at Obama's feet.)

Kennedy's letter to the Pope

He should have been asking God for mercy, but wrote the Pope looking for his prayers.

"I have done my best to champion the rights of the poor and open doors of economic opportunity. I have worked to welcome the immigrant, to fight discrimination, and expand access to health care and education. I have opposed the death penalty, and fought to end war. Those are the issues that have motivated me and been the focus of my work as a United States Senator. . . I have always tried to be a faithful Catholic Your Holiness. And though I have fallen short through human failings, I have never failed to believe and respect the fundamental teachings of my faith. I continue to pray for God's blessings on you and on our Church, and would be most thankful for your prayers for me." CNN

Who is more poor and more in need of protection from the death penalty and needs excellent health care than the unborn? What could show less respect for the teachings of his faith, yet Ted Kennedy approved, campaigned for, supported pro-choice candidates and voted for abortion rights. It would have been far better to keep that letter private and not read it at his burial service--unless the intention was to show the hypocrisy.

Cradle to the grave health care

We already know what Obamacare looks like; the other first famiies have had it for years:

Native Americans have received federally funded health care for decades. A series of treaties, court cases and acts passed by Congress requires that the government provide low-cost and, in many cases, free care to American Indians. The Indian Health Service (IHS) is charged with delivering that care.

The IHS attempts to provide health care to American Indians and Alaska Natives in one of two ways. It runs 48 hospitals and 230 clinics for which it hires doctors, nurses, and staff and decides what services will be provided. Or it contracts with tribes under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act passed in 1975. In this case, the IHS provides funding for the tribe, which delivers health care to tribal members and makes its own decisions about what services to provide.

The IHS spends about $2,100 per Native American each year, which is considerably below the $6,000 spent per capita on health care across the U.S. But IHS spending per capita is about on par with Finland, Japan, Spain and other top 20 industrialized countries—countries that the Obama administration has said demonstrate that we can spend far less on health care and get better outcomes. In addition, IHS spending will go up by about $1 billion over the next year to reach a total of $4.5 billion by 2010. That includes a $454 million increase in its budget and another $500 million earmarked for the agency in the stimulus package.

Read more about IHS health care, "At Native Americans and the Public Option"

Lakeside Cottage Architecture, pt. 12

Garages--the extreme makeover
Garages pt. 2, attached

Some garages were attached, then incorporated into the house; others became another cottage. These are what I call "extreme make-over" garages.







This used to be a four bay fire station, built in 1954, then was converted to a laundromat in 1970, with the last bay on the right becoming the drop off and staffing area, which a few years ago then became a very nice deli called Summer Stock. I've heard that this is its final year as a laundromat. Many now have machines in their cottages, but there's nothing like a commercial laundromat for mattress covers and bedspreads.

Where's the "national" in NPR?

It could be the DPR, at least as long as I've been listening. Like all liberal entities, they see the splinter and miss the plank. At least they are blind to that plank in Obama's campaign rhetoric, which continues on and on and on. His health care advisor, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, Rahm's brother, would have had Ted Kennedy removed from the surgeon's schedule, if he'd had his way (see his JAMA article on rationed care and the expense of treating elders last year). Anyway, back to hypocrisy and the frittering of our tax dollars on NPR from James Taranto, Aug. 28:

"Julie Rovner of National Public Radio offers what we guess is supposed to be a defense of ObamaCare. She asserts that "recent claims" against the health-nationalization scheme, despite having been "all thoroughly debunked," have nonetheless been effective because "opponents used fear as a key weapon in their arsenal."

Of course, so have supporters. "What is truly scary, what is truly risky, is to do nothing," President Obama said earlier this month. And in reality, there is an element of fear in almost all political appeals. Opponents of just about any action will warn of its dire consequences, while proponents will make similar claims about the results of inaction. As it is perfectly rational to avoid dire consequences, fear often leads to highly sensible behavior.

That isn't quite how Rovner sees it, though. She ignores the scare tactics on the pro-ObamaCare side and portrays the other side's fears as something less than human.

I haven't seen any "debunking" that sounded truthful or non-partisan, have you? And comparing the opposition, the people who pay her salary, to rats, seems a bit over the top. It's all the same-old, same-old--The sky is falling. The Democrats can take care of everything, including grandma and your privacy. The right is wrong. Trust me I'm from the government.

Final look at week 10

Last night's program (end of week 10) was a surprise for me--I really hadn't read the publicity. A huge storm blew in about 6:30, and I almost stayed home! Others knew the quality of the performers and there was an excellent, warm and welcoming audience for Jay Ungar and Molly Mason. If you've never heard of them, you certainly know what they are most famous for--"Ashokan Farewell," which was the Grammy award soundtrack for Ken Burns' PBS The Civil War. They perform Appalachian, Cajun, Celtic tunes, and since it was Civil War week at Lakeside, we heard tunes popular on both sides of the conflict with an invitation to sing along. I had not attended the morning seminar, and it seems they also filled in for that speaker who was unavailable at the last minute.

However, we also were treated to Mike and Ruthy, Jay's daughter and son-in-law. They have been performing together for a decade, sometimes with Pete Seeger's grandson as The Mammals, and Ruthy has the most fabulous voice (and I know I say that a lot, but she really does) I've ever heard at Hoover in this genre. You can go to their website and take a listen. At the end, Ruth brought out their young toddler, Will, who charmed the audience with his ability to keep time and say Hi and Bye in the microphone.

I mentioned earlier what a pleasure it was to hear Craig Symonds of the U.S. Naval Academy lecture about Civil War naval battles. But just as thrilling was Father Robert J. Miller, a Catholic priest from Chicago, who lectured Wednesday and Thursday on religion and faith in the Civil War (his book is Both prayed to the same God) and the role of the Jesuit chaplains on both sides which I think will be his next book. If he writes as well as he speaks (he was a member of the Redemptorists, the traveling mission preachers, sometimes preaching 5 times a week in missions work) I look forward to reading it. He is also a founder of Genesis Housing Development Corporation, as a way to stabilize neighborhoods. He is pastor of St. Dorothy Parish, an African American congregation in Chicago.

I've never been a Civil War buff, but after attending the programs at Lakeside in the summer, I see you never run out of topics if that's your interest. Last year I inspected the latrines at the prisoner of war camp on Johnson's Island a few miles from here on one of the hottest and buggiest days of the summer.

Lakeside cottage architecture, pt. 11

The early attached garages
Early on, Lakesiders must have started attaching the garage to the house, especially if they didn't have large lots on which to build one. Here's an example of a classic, 19th century, cross gable house which used to have a garage attached to the house. The added garage has since been incorporated into the house with yet another addition behind it.


Between the two side walls, built into the corner, a slopping shed roof garage was created. The blue lines show the original house, the green lines the location of the former garage. (Please excuse the primitive drawing--it's my primitive, no upgrade Paint Program.) What's interesting about this garage, is that the original doors are still there, cut in half, to form windows that swing in. It was that way when the current owners bought it, and the garage probably wasn't as large as I've shown it, but no one really knows.


This one, a gable to the side shed dormer to the street, on the same street, had a garage added to the back, then that garage was incorporated as a room, and another garage was added to that. Because this is one of the older neighborhoods, space for a garage was limited.


Here's another house on the same street that was able to fit a garage on the lot, attached to the house. It still has the original doors.

This attached garage has 4 lights over three 2 panel doors, and I haven't seen very many of those. Also looks like the roof was raised after it was built.



Part one of garages, 6 lights over 3 panel doors

Will Teddycare replace Obamacare?

1) He was good to his mother and it was never reported that he tried to throw her under the bus even though she lived to 104. To my knowledge, no one officially from the government was included in her final moments or decisions.

2) He got the very best and the most advanced treatment for his brain tumor even though he was over 75, obese, and had led a debauched, dissolute life during which he didn't cultivate a "healthy lifestyle." At the end, no one from the government suggested he should just stop trying to get back to the Senate, take pain killers and give up sopping up health dollars. You go, Ted! That should be your legacy.

Leaving for college 1957 style

1951 four door PackardThis morning I heard a story on TV about parents leaving their children off at college, and how long it would be before they checked in (the parents, not the kids). That caused me to ask myself, "Did Mom and Dad wave good-bye as Carol and I in the packed-up-Packard pulled away from the house on Hannah?"

At least I think we drove the 1951 Packard, with Carol dropping me off at Manchester College in North Manchester, Indiana, and then driving on to Goshen College to park it until we needed it to drive home at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I suppose it's possible Dad drove us, left the car with Carol, and then took the bus back to Mt. Morris. I remember driving it back to Manchester after Christmas break loaded with about 4 or 5 other MC students and all their luggage and presents and having a flat tire.

Of course, we weren't the first to leave the nest, is my excuse for their casual behavior (compared to today's parents). It must get easier with the second and third. My oldest sister was married, Carol, the next oldest, left for Brethren Volunteer Service in Maryland in the late summer of 1955 for a year before starting a nursing program, and in June 1957 I hopped the Greyhound Bus and went all the way to Fresno, California by myself for a summer volunteer term.

Considering that I keep my cars 8-10 years, a 6 year old car looks pretty darn good in hind-sight, but my Dad loved snappy cars and didn't keep them long. I don't know where he found this one--it was gun metal gray green and we were a little embarrassed to be driving a "tank."

Wonder what it is worth today if it's still on all fours?

Now the lefties love Wal-Mart

So Huff and Puff and Color of Change are now singing the praises of America's corporate giants. Hmmm. Smells fishy, doesn't it. A Leftist Government controlling and threatening businesses' bottom line; I wonder what that's called--certainly not capitalism, a representative system of government, or the USA we had before January 20, 2009? Color of Change alumni are now in the administration. To use a favorite administration phrase, they are about to wee-wee in their pants, they are so worked up. Obama is called a racist, which is what someone is who makes snap judgements based on race (as in the policegate incident) something 80% of the citizens are called every day, and all of a sudden free speech is out the window. You can't possibly notice Obama's leftist politics--it just has to be his genetic make-up--not that he's turning the USA into a banana republic.

Time to write those lily livered corporate CEOs and assure them that investors and shoppers watch Glenn Beck, too, not just left wing non-profits and Media-Muck-up. Don't try e-mailing them; you'll just waste time being shuffled around their websites.

Small, medium, big

I have no problem telling a Chihuahua from a Jack Russell from a Dachshund, or an Arabian from a Thoroughbred from a Percheron, or a Jersey from a Guernsey from a Holstein, but once I get beyond robins and blue jays, I'm not much good identifying birds. I've been going on these bird watch/walks this summer, and you should hear these people rattle off the names! I see a bunch of gulls, or I think they are gulls. "There goes an adolescent boney," or "look at that herring gull, see the head on that ring bill?" One lady from Akron told us about thousands of purple martins "staging" in Akron before they fly off to Brazil. Then there are the terns, cormorants, ospreys and herons. I just didn't grow up around shore birds. Some of the early a.m. watchers have been doing this 20-30 years! They've identified hundreds--it's like a game with them. And like any hobby, they all say they meet the nicest people.

Boneparte gull (small)

Ring bill gull (medium)

Herring gull (big)

Lakeside Cottage Architecture, pt. 10

Early 20th century garages

It’s rare that I can’t find a topic on the internet by googling a few sets of words, but I think I’ve found one: the architectural history of the American garage. The garage as a piece of America's towns and cities is now about 100 years old--and the earliest are disappearing--except here, where time occasionally stands still or slows down. American Garage Magazine (online) reports the Robie House (Frank Lloyd Wright) was one of the earliest to have a garage in 1906.

Lakeside is a good petri dish for this research. As Midwestern towns go, Lakeside isn’t very old, having been founded in 1873 as a summer campground then growing into a resort with a few permanent residents. For about the first 50 years of its existence, visitors to the Christian campground arrived either by boat, or by rail from Sandusky or Toledo. When a bridge was made across the bay, people began coming by automobile in the 1920s. Rail passenger service ended in 1930 due to drastic losses in passenger ticket sales.

I lived in two small Illinois towns in the 1940s and 1950s and many garages had previously been small carriage houses or barns. Lakesiders didn’t arrive by carriage and left their horses at home so few needed a stable, although some of the local permanent residents probably had horses. Lakeside also didn't have alleys, like the cities and small towns of Ohio where garages for houses were accessible.

Although I'm not sure why summer residents wanted garages, I'm guessing the automobile in the 20s wasn't as durable as today. In the 1920s, garages were first located some distance from the house there being some fear of the gasoline engine. I'm calling the first group six lights over three panels for the door style.


These little cuties with different roof styles both have six panes over three panels in doors that swing forward. The one on the left seems to have the original siding. Both are quite a distance from the street.






This is an early "attached" garage--same door style, but added to the kitchen lean to which had been added to the basic cottage. Early cottages didn't have kitchens or bathrooms.


Same door style, but much bigger building. Also, no visible drive-way which is the case for many garages in Lakeside which haven't seen a car in years.



It's hard to find original siding in Lakeside--it's been wrapped in vinyl siding, but here's a home and garage, 6 over 3, both with original siding.

No lobbyist left behind

"The Waxman-Markey climate change bill, a 1,427-page special-interest wish list, was put together in such a rush that the allowance permit numbers don’t add up. If you add the percentage of emissions allowances to various special interests in the years 2016 and 2017 and you get a value greater than one hundred percent. That’s right—the bill allocates nearly a billion dollars worth of allowances over and above the emissions “cap” set for those respective years.

Thousands of lobbyists worked on this bill to secure a piece of the allowance pie. These special interests range from the natural gas industry to the auto industry. Even tropical rainforests made the list. Electric utilities were the big winners, receiving 43.75 percent of the allowances in 2012 and 2013. Petroleum refiners didn’t fare as well, receiving only 2.25 percent of the emissions allowances from 2014-2026. Lobbyists brought their A-game to shape this bill and Members caved into their demands, all but guaranteeing this bill will do nothing for the environment. And it comes at the expense of the ratepayer and the taxpayer.

With over 12,500 registered lobbyists in Washington, it’s no surprise that this bill turned into a feeding frenzy that was rushed through in the middle of the night and promises more than it can actually hand out. Waxman-Markey is nothing more than a huge energy tax and a handout for special interests." The Foundry

Sword of the Spirit, John and Mary Brown

At Hoover Auditorium last night we were treated to an excellent two person play based on the life and letters of John and Mary Brown by Greg Artzner and Terry Leonino (6th Annual Civil War Week at Lakeside). The Browns lived in Hudson, Ohio, as well as North Elba, NY, site of the Brown family cemetery, where Mary said it's winter 6 months and cold the rest of the year. She is buried in Saratoga, California where she went to live after John's death. There were also family ties to Put-in-Bay and Decorah, Iowa, as well as other sites because John Brown was a passionate abolitionist, fanatical Christian and a not-so-great provider who moved frequently, uprooting his family when they weren't burying their children.

Mary Brown sounded a bit familiar to me, so when I got home I browsed my little shelf of cottage books, many of which are about northern Ohio or the lake, and found "Ohio scenes and citizens" by Grace Goulder, a very popular Cleveland writer who died in 1984 at 91. Mine is an orange paperback in excellent condition, Landfall Press, 1973, reprinted from the 1950 World Publishing Co. The chapter on John Brown's wives is probably the only one I'd read in this collection of articles that originally appeared in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Her work on Dianthe and Mary Brown is just a masterpiece of research, with material taken from letters diaries, interviews with relatives, and trips to archives, cemeteries and libraries. I didn't see anything that was in conflict with last night's presentation, although Mr. Artzner commented after the play that within the past decade there have been many new books on John Brown. Maybe so, but if you want to know anything about his wives, check out Grace Goulder. Really terrific.

The Slacker Mandate

When my children were 18, they launched themselves into the everyday blue and pink collar work world, anxious to prove themselves and get away from Mom and Dad. And health insurance coverage, as I discovered. I don't know what the rules are today, but in 1987 unless your child was being supported by you and attending college, they were no longer on the family dole for insurance. I think college students could stay on a policy until age 23. No amount of cajoling or bribery could get them to enroll at any of our wonderful colleges or state university. So we did what any intelligent, frugal parent would do, we eventually purchased "temporary" catastrophic health insurance for them in their own names.

One of the reasons young adults don't sign on for company health benefits is they have immature brains--it's called the "nothing can happen to me" syndrome. And actuarially, they are among the healthiest segment of the population. The huge risk, in my mind, was auto accidents (young adults are also big risk takers), and they both had one before age 20. Obama wants you to assume that risk for everyone's primarily healthy young adult--it's called the "Slacker Mandate." This raises the cost for everyone to insure a very tiny group--the irresponsible, but healthy young adults who won't pony up the cost of a pizza and beer for their company co-pay. SCHIP, the government insurance plan for families earning less than $83,000 for a family of 4*, already considers a 28 year old of lower income parents a "child."

CAHI: "As one of his "Health Insurance Consumer Protections," President Obama intends to extend a family-policy's coverage to young adults up to 26 years old.

He's following a state trend. The Council for Affordable Health Insurance tracks all state health insurance mandates -- there are currently 2,133 state mandates nationwide -- and more and more states are mandating health insurers cover young adults. Some states are even pushing the age limit up to 30. It's often called the "slacker mandate" because these adults are still on their family's policy."

So you see, we have Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, and all these mandates from the various levels of government requiring coverage of the oddies and endies and non-disease diseases and conditions. If you can't get the elephant into the living room through the front door, dismantle the entire back of the house and push him in that way. But you better have a big pooper scooper on hand.

*Figure varies by state. It can be as high as $120,000 for a family of 8, not poverty in my book. Congress created the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in 1997 to provide public health insurance for families who could not afford private coverage yet earned too much to qualify for Medicaid. SCHIP gave states flexibility to set income eligibility. Some states exceed 250% Federal Poverty Level while others have proposed limits up to 400%.

Watching you watching me

The feral calico that hangs around here catching small rodents and squashing the lilies, eats at all the neighbors, but she knows a cat when she sees one. Ours does not. Tuesday evening near dusk I found her sitting in our yard watching our very puzzled and concerned kitty whose eyes are glowing in the flash from safety inside the porch.


Then on Wednesday morning when I was out and about researching and photographing my next architectural project (early 20th century garages), I came across these kitties congregating for breakfast at another neighbors. This is a different group than I usually see nearer the lake.

Does HR 3200 cover abortion?

Does it matter? Do you think we'd have millions more of dead fetuses if the tax payer covered it, or fewer if we didn't? Even though the life expectancy of women is reduced by abortion, even though every modern society that has gone this route now has a birth rate below replacement recovery (aided by oppressive taxes) foretelling the death of that culture or ethnic group or race, it is the law of the land, and legal. I think bringing up this issue is a red flag for the pro-lifers, to get their support to defeat his socialization of the health care system. Although the point at which people approve of aborting a live baby is a moving target (first trimester, second trimester, "viability" whatever that is, or anytime, and I've even seen one of the Obama supporter/advisers who says up to two years old after birth--forgotten which one). The "death panel" issue gets the attention; those people have made it through the birth canal, finished school and careers and can vote. Life for the weak, disabled, ill or expensive means little in the range of moral values of the liberal, even though it is their demands that a child who cannot think, speak or lift his head be brought to public school with a tax paid attendant. Why did so many voters not see this coming? Lack of reverence for life is no respecter of size or age or IQ. Obama's take over of this huge segment of the economy should not be defeated because of its various pieces/parts, but because it's a disaster and completely unnecessary. That's why he wanted it rushed through before anyone could read it or discuss it. From the increase of government bureaucracy, to the national computerization of our health records costing billions and promoting snooping, to the rationing of care, to the destruction of private insurance, to the punishment of doctors, there's just nothing worth saving. In the building industry we have mold, radon, gassing out, corrupt builders, crazy home-buyers, mortgage fraud, etc., but what President has told us our homes are so expensive and dangerous that he needs to control every aspect from the White House? Oh wait. . . Maybe that's not the best example.

Barack Obama has always supported all the euphemisms for abortion--"reproductive health," "reproductive freedom," "medical services for women," and all the goals of Planned Parenthood, whose support he sought during the campaign. If anything, it's the one issue about which he's been absolutely clear and honest--the unborn American has no inherent right to live. If abortion is not in HR 3200, just wait for 2.0. or the upgrade.

Thank you, President Obama

I heard on the news tonight that Toledo's unemployment is now 15.4%. If Obama cared one bit about Americans, if he had any real American political or economic savvy at all, he would have made the economy his top priority on January 21. Instead, he put his social programs, the take over of the economy by the government, in first place.

Not Lincoln with a BlackBerry

Ah, some people say it so well. FOUAD AJAMI on the Summer of Obama’s Discontent. The magic has worn off; people are seeing the real Barack Obama, the man many of us saw from the beginning. A Chicago community organizer with no experience doing anything, a friend and buddy of radicals and Marxists who used him, handsome and glib (when the teleprompter was on), to get control of the White House.

The Obama devotees were the victims of their own belief in political magic. The devotees could not make up their minds. In a newly minted U.S. senator from Illinois, they saw the embodiment of Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. Like Lincoln, Mr. Obama was tall and thin and from Illinois, and the historic campaign was launched out of Springfield. The oath of office was taken on the Lincoln Bible. Like FDR, he had a huge economic challenge, and he better get it done, repair and streamline the economy in his "first hundred days." Like JFK, he was young and stylish, with a young family.

All this hero-worship before Mr. Obama met his first test of leadership. In reality, he was who he was, a Chicago politician who had done well by his opposition to the Iraq war. He had run a skillful campaign, and had met a Clinton machine that had run out of tricks and a McCain campaign that never understood the nature of the contest of 2008.

He was no FDR, and besides the history of the depression—the real history—bears little resemblance to the received narrative of the nation instantly rescued, in the course of 100 days or 200 days, by an interventionist state. The economic distress had been so deep and relentless that FDR began his second term, in 1937, with the economy still in the grip of recession.

Nor was JFK about style. He had known military service and combat, and familial loss; he had run in 1960 as a hawk committed to the nation's victory in the Cold War. He and his rival, Richard Nixon, shared a fundamental outlook on American power and its burdens.

Now that realism about Mr. Obama has begun to sink in, these iconic figures of history had best be left alone. They can't rescue the Obama presidency. Their magic can't be his. Mr. Obama isn't Lincoln with a BlackBerry. Those great personages are made by history, in the course of history, and not by the spinners or the smitten talking heads.”

And now with his administration and programs in complete disarray, his health care plan overhaul exposed for what it is, he’s decided to placate his leftist supporters by selling out the very people who protected us from the terrorists. Anything to destroy the country.

Keeping track of Obama's czars

Considering what happened to Russia's last Czar and his family, I hope these guys are looking over their shoulders at the next wave he's going to appoint.