Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Not a referendum

That's the talking point direct from the White House, why, Gibbsy didn't even stay up to watch. And the media, every one of them, are repeating it right on cue. They know their lines and their role. Actually, I agree. Two governors and a district in NY are hardly a landslide for Republicans/conservatives. Especially since it's hard to get a piece of dental floss between the parties. But if this were 2006 and Bush were in the WH--Oh my, would they be singing spinning a different story.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Flutrina

Tonight we were watching the evening news coverage of the H1N1 vaccine lines here in Columbus. It looked like a miserable day for parents of young children (who stood in line for hours, and probably didn't get to the polls). "Do you remember your small pox vaccination?" I asked. He didn't. I do. We lined up at school and got it from a nurse. Same for the polio vaccine in 1955. In a town of less than 3,000 that probably had 2 doctors and a few RNs. If they could do it in the 40s and 50s, with Truman and Eisenhower in charge, what in the world is wrong with this bunch of clowns who want to take over, not just shots for a disease that may be blown out of proportion by the media, but health care for the whole nation?
    "So here you have it, a dry run for the Obama Administration’s performance on nationalized health care. All vast governmental forces were focused on a single disease rather than the entire gamut of America’s health care problems. There was no greedy, profit–riddled private sector in this fight, only the saintly public option. The program had universal coverage and no pre–existing condition exclusions.

    The result? Missed deadlines, rationing, incompetence, blame–shifting, arbitrary decisions, random displays of authority and don’t forget: long lines.

    There’s a word for this preview of socialized medicine under Obamacare.

    Call it Flutrina."
Story by Michael Shannon at The Absurd Report

How the public option is working in Florida

You've probably read about insurance companies pulling out of Florida, and wondered about that. Well, Florida has a "public option" for property insurance. How's that working? They're waiting for the big one, and other policy owners are paying a surcharge to support the public option. Sound familiar? From the Beacon Blog)
    "After Hurricane Andrew hit Florida in 1992 some Floridians were having difficulty purchasing homeowners’ insurance. (The reason: rates are regulated, and at the regulated rates some properties are too great a risk.) So, the state government formed Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, which is owned and operated by the State of Florida.

    As originally envisioned, Citizens would charge rates above those charged by private insurers, to make Citizens the insurer of last resort. Nevertheless, Citizens found plenty of customers.

    After two bad hurricane seasons in 2004 and 2005 property insurance rates in Florida rose, and in his campaign for the office, current Governor Charlie Crist promised voters that if elected he would see that their property insurance bills “dropped like a rock.”

    One tactic he used was to change Citizens’ rate structure so it was competitive with private insurers. His idea, like President Obama’s idea with health insurance, is that with a public option, private insurers would have to keep their rates in line or risk losing customers to the government insurer.

    That’s what’s happened in Florida. Today about 30% of homeowners’ policies are written by Citizens, which is the largest property insurer in the state. It’s about to get bigger too. The largest private insurer, State Farm, had a rate request rejected last year, and now is pulling out of the state altogether (for property insurance; they’ll still insure your car). As the largest private insurer pulls out over a three-year period (that period negotiated with the state), Citizens will get an even larger share of Florida’s property insurance.

    Everybody in Florida knows Citizens is a fiscal time bomb. Already, every Florida insurance policy (on homes, boats, cars, etc.) pays a surcharge that goes to Citizens, but Citizens still doesn’t have sufficient reserves to weather a major hurricane. When one comes, Florida taxpayers will be on the hook for the bill.

Globe trotting Obama is too busy

"In his first year in office, Barack Obama has visited more foreign countries than any other president. He's touched ground in 16 countries, easily outpacing Bill Clinton (three) and George W. Bush (eleven). It's an itinerary befitting a "citizen of the world."

But there's one stop Obama won't make. He has begged off going to Berlin next week to attend ceremonies commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall. His schedule is reportedly too crowded. John F. Kennedy famously told Berliners, "Ich bin ein Berliner." On the 20th anniversary of the last century's most stirring triumph of freedom, Obama is telling them, "Ich bin beschäftigt" - i.e., I'm busy."

See Rich Lowry at Real Clear Politics

This is a no-brainer for him. It wasn't all about him like the campaign event in Berlin, and 20 years ago was not a good time for Marxists.

Rocco Landesman's suit

Recently I saw a color photo of Rocco Landesman, Obama's appointee to head the National Endowment of the Arts, wearing a shiny, glow in the dark, cream colored suit. It gave me hope for the 3 piece outfit I recently bought at the Cancer Discovery Shop for three dollars which is sort of shiny and the color of baby formula spit up. Apparently "matchy matchy" is out for women, but not for men in government who've come up through the entertainment industry (he was the producer of Angels in America about aids, homosexuals, closets and religion). There's an article about him in today's WSJ by Lee Rosenbaum with easily arranged descriptive sentences.
  • veteran Broadway producer
  • free wheeling
  • brashly candid
  • provocative
  • St. Louis native who demeans Peoria, Illinois
  • ridicules past NEA efforts
  • partisan agenda
  • Obama operative
  • baited congressional critics
  • [not] politically savvy
  • father owned Crystal Palace caberet
  • abrasive, combative
  • vendetta against some arts non-profits
I can hardly wait. Sounds like we're in for more crucifixes in urine art.

It's not about health, energy or the environment

All Obama's policies reflect a core liberal mindset that spans policies and endures decades, according to Heritage Blog (and mine too if you've been following it).

And that is, "the willingness to forego jobs and wages for American workers to achieve other goals liberal policymakers deem more worthy. In the case of tax rates, [Laurence] Summers admits growth will be sacrificed at the altar of a soak-the-rich mentality married to the need to fund Obama’s spending surge.

Health care reform has become an excuse to expand the reach of government and levy even higher taxes. The new House health care bill has yet higher rates than Summers was talking about: another blow to jobs and wages.

Cap and trade, a.k.a. pack and move for what it would do to the nation’s manufacturing sector, is an explicit, enormous trade off of lower economic growth for environmental goals. Recognizing the damage this policy would do to the economy, proponents anxiously argue that a few “green jobs” building subsidized windmills can compensate for the millions of real jobs destroyed if this legislation reaches the president." Read the entire piece here.

New shoes and voting advice

This morning I went to Kohl's (15% off for seniors) to buy a replacement for my Nikes. This would be my third pair in 2009--having discovered that the way to combat hip pain in the middle of the night is to make sure I'm wearing sturdy shoes when exercising or walking during the day. So I did find an exact match for what I bought in the summer, Nike Steady VI, "Nike Steady VI Leather Women's Training Shoe, with textile upper and satin webbing detail." What attracted me to this shoe is its simplicity. It doesn't blink or bling, is plain white and relatively trim. Why women wear ugly fat purple and black shoes, I have no idea. If I do run an errand after exercise class I'm not embarrassed to walk into the grocery store. In fact, until I saw the photo, I didn't even realize the Nike logo was in grey--I guess I can't see it when I'm wearning them.

When I got to the check-out, the beautiful, young cashier noticed my "I voted today," sticker and asked me about the issues, because she was going to vote later--her first election. I told her there were 3 constitutional changes on the ballot, all unneccesary, and I specifically told her about Issue 2, because that's the one that has everyone confused by the conflicting ads. Is it pro-agribusiness or pro-animal rights? Or neither. I advised her (since that's what librarian types do) to vote no on all 3 because regardless of their merits or faults, it wasn't necessary to change the constitution to do what laws or regulations could do. The people in line behind me chimed in and agreed. They were in Columbus from a confluence of two other states that do have casinos (issue 3) and were vigorous in their condemnation of what happens, regardless of what money it brought to the state. Gambling always gets a foot in the door by pleading a good cause--like the lottery was going to solve all our education funding problems--but it's like opening the door to let out a fly, and bats, bees, and burglars come in.

I took a different route home because of the road construction in front of our house and you don't want to have to turn left going or coming. I passed a shopping center I used to frequent in my working days and was amazed by the changes, including a restaurant that is now under another name where my colleagues and I went many times.

Obama makes Bush his Blame Czar

"The Senior Adviser [Valerie Jarrett] seems to have forgotten that she is the power [fretting about the tea parties and town halls]. Admittedly, this is a recurring lapse on the part of the administration. There was Barack Obama only the other day, blaming everything on the president – no, no, silly, not him, the other fellow, the Designated Fall Guy who stepped down as head of state in January to accept the new constitutional position of Blame Czar. Musing on problems in Afghanistan, Obama blamed the "long years of drift" under his predecessor. The new president – OK, newish president – has been Drifter-in-Chief for almost a year but he's too busy speaking truth to the former power to get on top of the situation. It could be a while yet. In his more self-regarding moments, such as his speech to the United Nations, he gives the strong impression that the "long years of drift" began in 1776. Mark Steyn

Monday, November 02, 2009

Dear Mary Jo Kilroy

What are you people doing? HR3926 is even worse than the last one. And do you really believe that people your age with a serious illness like MS will be better served with Medicaid-lite? You are destroying one of the best health care systems in the world. Are you planning to give up your insurance and take the public option?

You have the worst e-mail template I've ever used. You don't use the extra 4 digits on your website--why do you want us to?

H.R. 3926

You can track it, or any legislation, here. Here is the pretty, but distorted and bloated, title: "To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care..."

And there's a word of caution at the site: "This bill is very large, and loading it may cause your web browser to perform sluggishly, or even freeze. This is especially true for old and/or bad browsers. As an alternative you can download the PDF of the bill or read the text on THOMAS." And they were right. I clicked. It spun a bit, then sputtered.

If you can get to Washington by Thursday there is a protest being planned. They are ignoring our letters, phone calls and e-mail. Congress just doesn't get it. They should have cleaned up the mess in the government plans we already have wasting millions a year. But no. They wanted something even bigger and messier.

I don't know anyone who has had their health insurance cancelled for going beyond the limits of the policy, or for not disclosing a prior condition. I'm sure it happens. However, I do know several who have waited months or years through numerous appeals, and piles of documentation, waiting for some level of government to act on their case. We also know, that this bill will cut the benefits for seniors, and that will immediately put a burden on the "sandwich" generation who will then need to be doing more hands on care--along with that garden the President wants you to plant in the back yard, and the clothes line you'll need as we become energy starved. Oh, hope and change.

Third Party Power

All the talking heads and political hacks are painting the congressional race in NY-23rd as a rift in the Republican ranks. It is not. It is a third party candidate proving that the Republicans and Democrats can be made irrelevant in the face of tea party power. It is proving this in the full glare of the national spotlight. And the only way that the entrenched politicians can save their own bacon is by spinning the story to distract the public from the obvious truth. All the king-makers’ horses and all the king-makers’men cannot defeat an honest tea party patriot once ordinary Americans wake up.

Read about it at American Daughter.

Vote NO on Issue 2 Ohio

What is Issue 2?

Issue 2 is a ballot issue that Ohio voters will decide tomorrow, in the November 3, 2009 general election. The issue proposes an amendment to the Ohio Constitution that addresses the care of livestock in Ohio.

The ads are even more confusing than issue 3, sometimes making the same argument for and against. But having worked in the agriculture library for three and a half years and the veterinary medicine library for fourteen (yes, I know that's strange for a Russian major, Spanish/History minor), I'm very, very familiar with the animal rights organizations and agribusiness. Either way, I smell a rat. There is absolutely no need for this. All areas of agriculture and animal health are extremely regulated both for safety and health of humans and animals. No one needs to amend the Constitution for this any more than they need to amend the Constitution to fix sidewalks, repair sewers, or build wind mills.

It's important to remember--there is no definition for "family farm." Not in the dictionary, not in the state constitution. It's just a useful tool for advertising and can mean anything you want it to mean.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture already has the authority to do all the things this newly created board is supposed to do.

Ohio is well covered by animal cruelty laws.

No other state in the nation has anything like this, not even wacko California.

See "Legal Questions and Answers about Issue 2,
The Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board Ballot Issue
"

Business Reply University of Illinois Foundation



Faculty Profile

Sunday, November 01, 2009

The best and the brightest? Who?

"I don’t actually remember anyone accusing Obama’s team of being the best and brightest. I do remember one calling himself a Communist, another saying in public that Mao was her favorite philosopher, and another being Joe Biden. They were last seen picking a fight with Fox News that everyone agrees was idiotic, and getting in another public fight with their own handpicked general over the strategy they announced earlier this year." Dave Price at The blog formerly known as. . . commenting on Ted Sorenson's article

If you lived in the 60s, I guess all wars are Vietnam. Does anyone remember we abandoned our allies and sent millions to their deaths?

Isn't this how we got this mess?

Putting people into mortgages who couldn't afford them? And have you seen the fraud in the first period?

Administration Calls on Congress to Approve Key Housing Measures

"WASHINGTON, DC – Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan called on Congress to approve three important measures to improve housing and the housing market for Americans: extension of the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit for a limited period, extension of higher loan limits for home mortgages, and secure funding for the Housing Trust Fund.

"We welcome efforts taken by Congress to extend the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit for a limited period. This credit has brought new families into the housing market and contributed to three consecutive months of rising home prices nationwide," said Secretaries Geithner and Donovan. "In extending the credit, we urge Congress to include strict measures to combat tax fraud and protect responsible homeowners. We also urge Congress to act swiftly to extend the loan limits that currently apply to most mortgages, helping make rates more affordable for middle-class families. Finally, we will work with Congress to identify a financing source for the Housing Trust Fund, which will help provide decent housing for families hardest hit by the current economic downturn."

"These three measures will help support our efforts to stabilize the housing market by providing support for the recovery in housing prices, keeping mortgage rates low, and helping people who can afford their homes to avoid foreclosure," said Secretary Geithner.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said, "These three measures provide comprehensive support to our recovering housing market and continued access to affordable housing. While extending the tax credit and higher loan limits will help promote homeownership, funding the Housing Trust Fund will provide assistance to renter households impacted by the economic crisis." " from U.S. Department of the Treasury, October, 29, 2009

It feels good to be a victim



AlfonZo has another one. Rapping about victicrats.

HT Michelle Malkin

Geithner and Rangel combating tax evasion?

I think this message from tax cheat Geithner about tax cheat Rangel would be amusing if we can laugh and gag all at the same time.
    "The legislation introduced today by Chairman Rangel and Chairman Baucus follows through on the Administration's commitment to combating offshore tax evasion and ensuring a level playing field. For too long, individuals have taken advantage of the system by hiding money in accounts overseas, while millions of families and small businesses here at home pay the price. This legislation will reduce the amount of taxes lost through the illegal use of hidden accounts and is the next step in making sure that everyone pays their fair share.

    "This legislation fits well into the Administration's dual-track strategy of improving our domestic tax laws while increasing global cooperation on tax information exchange to help narrow the tax gap and create the fairer tax system we need. We have had great success recently in working with countries around the world to increase tax information exchange as part of the global effort to end offshore tax evasion.

    "In addition to the leadership of Chairman Rangel and Chairman Baucus, I want to acknowledge the work of Senators Kerry and Levin and Representatives Neal and Doggett in support of a strong international tax enforcement agenda."
Rangel has out of the country real estate that rents for over $1000 a night but he claims just a mild oversight for 20 years. You try that. Geithner misreported his overseas income until he was caught, and then continued.

And these are the non-Marxists in the administration! Yikes.

ObamaCare and your insurance premiums. There’s no free lunch.

Despite indignant Democratic denials, the near-certainty is that their plan will cause costs to rise across the board. The latest data on this score come from a series of state-level studies from the insurance company WellPoint Inc. Using their own data it modeled ObamaCare in 14 states. Democrats who can‘t read their own bills or return calls and e-mails of worried voters, were lightning fast on trashing WellPoints data:
    In all of the 14 states WellPoint scrutinized, ObamaCare would drive up premiums for the small businesses and individuals who are most of WellPoint's customers. (Other big insurers, like Aetna, focus on the market among large businesses.) Young and healthy consumers will see the largest increases—their premiums would more than triple in some states—though average middle-class buyers will pay more too.

    Not even two hours after Wellpoint had presented its materials on the Hill, Democrats were already trashing it—which, considering that it runs to some 238 pages and took weeks to prepare, must have required remarkable powers of digestion and analysis. Link
HT Pauli

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Sensibly green

I would call it just good stewardship and being frugal, but these days, green is a marketing term too. This Bed and Breakfast, The Artist's Inn and Gallery, in Pennsylvania has an interesting list suitable for most people.

Green PAJAMAS

Go to Michelle Malkin’s blog and read her “small list of “Peace and Justice” shakedown organizations connected to SEIU” (ACORN‘s evil twin).

There are thousands of these groups, gobbling up money from foundations, churches, private corporations, individual donors, membership drives, United Way/community chest apportionments, state and local governments and the federal government. Not all are connected to ACORN like SEIU, of course and many do a lot of good. But they speak a common language and can easily be manipulated by the party in power through their financing. I call them PAJAMA Organizations--Peace and Justice and More Aid Organizations. There is every manner of non-profit set up to drain off even more tax and private money with special programs to “help the poor.” Much of this provides employment for a huge clutch of people from administrators to janitors. I sometimes think that if families earning less than $35,000 disappeared tomorrow, half the remaining citizens would be without jobs--and so would fill in the gap to keep the cycle going. At an earlier blog I wrote about the Ohio Housing Trust Fund (Ohio Dept. of Development), that resulted from an effort in 1990 to help the homeless and has managed to grow into a $56 million item in the state budget focusing on “moderate income housing.” Now they’re disbursing ARRA money, passing out $17 million for the homeless, putting on conferences at nice resorts and giving millions to organizations to recruit unpaid volunteers to help people winterize their homes. Not to worry--the national NHTF was signed into law by George W. Bush in 2008, and its budget is in the billions. I'm sure your state has one too.

The Peace and Justice movement is propped up by think tanks and academics, as well as the government--the government, universities and the non-profits are a co-dependent revolving door. Think John Podesta. Clinton retread, Obama's transition team, now taking in Obama's rejects into his $25 million a year think tank. I’ve done it myself, although not in the PAJAMA game. As a researcher in the early 80s I moved from university department to non-profit to state government to university all on federal money filtered through grants to the state and foundations as a self-employed contractor (that way they don’t have to pay benefits).

Many Peace and Justice organizations have been reengineered in the last decade to assure a steady income stream by bringing in “green” issues--very big in poverty programs now--just the way many marketed products are. I think a number are simply black “reparations” spray painted green. I just looked through the web-site of the library non-profit I worked for in the early 80s and the first item on the page was on “greening.” That should be worth a few bucks on the next grant.