For Health Care, Truth Matters

By the time you read this, President Obama will have made his speech to a Joint Session of Congress. The fact that there had to be a joint session at all shows how much trouble Obama is facing. Even his media foot soldiers are reaching the intolerance levels. Several of the networks bulked at his effort several weeks ago for prime time air time, but dutifully fell into line. In that speech, he offered absolutely nothing new, and the networks lost millions upon millions of advertising revenue. A joint session of congress is a gimmick way to get them to carry yet another of his speeches.

One pundit, I forget who, said it best. Obama doesn’t have a communication problem. He has a substance problem. He communicates just fine, and often. Unfortunately, he told some lies and tried to fool us. The disdain the progressive movement has demonstrated for the masses is stunning. Obama and his followers have learned a lesson. Even in Iowa, people can read. They can even read a government bill, which is apparently more that Obama and some in Congress can do.

He lied about the AARP endorsement of the plan. The AARP had to come out and correct him. He lied that it would be revenue neutral. The Congressional Budget Office had to correct him. He lied that it wouldn’t decrease benefits to seniors. They understand cuts in physician reimbursements. He fibbed about keeping your current policy. You can…but only if it doesn’t change in any way whatsoever, or your employer decides to opt out and pay the 8% penalty if it turns out to be cheaper…and it will turn out to be cheaper.! He lied about the death panels. The Army Veterans manual, which Obama reinstated, also offers end of life counseling…and asks wounded veterans if life is really worth living being sick…seriously. He lied about doctors gauging patients. He lied about the number of uncovered Americans which is closer to 15 million rather than 45 million. It does reach 45 million if you include illegal aliens, which he says it does not…unless, of course, it’s his intent to make them legal. Then he lied about that, too!

Mr. President, truth matters. And you have failed to tell the truth, and squandered the goodwill the American public was offering to you. At the end of the day, this is not about health care reform. It is about health care control. It is an ideological attempt to take health care over rooted race, class warfare, and oppressed people’s revenge.

The sad thing is that true health care reform is needed. If you had been honest about what you were proposing, a legitimate and robust health care debate could have been had on the merits. The discussion could have centered on expansion of existing programs like Medicare and Medicaid. It could have centered on insurance regulation and increased private competition. It could have centered on how to handle pre-existing conditions. The individual needs of the uninsured could have been defined, and those needs could have been met.

Finally, and most disturbing of all, can anyone please tell me how Obama could try to sell a bill he didn’t write? I am not sure he even knows what is in the House bill, and there are several House bills…and there is no Senate bill. And in the midst of all of these non-bills, he tried to set a deadline of a few weeks to transform 1/6 of the American economy? That is just plain stupid!

Here is my advice. Mr. Obama, quit giving speeches and do some work. Show some leadership, and for once in your political life, get off your ass and make a bold decision. Legislation written by Nancy Pelosi with an approval rating of 20% doesn’t cut it. It is your presidency. Take some responsibility.

Youngstown City Schools

Youngstown has a lot of things about which we can be proud (notice I didn’t end in a preposition). One issue, however, that has dogged this community is the plethora of political subdivisions surrounding the center city. Most major cities in Ohio annexed territory over the years as city services, such as water and sewer, were provided to the outlying areas for expansion. Not here. Youngstown kept its borders, resulting in most of the prosperous parts of our community being located outside of the city limits. The highest income tax in the state stops people with jobs outside the city from moving into the city. This results in a high number of economically disadvantaged folks making up the bulk of the city population which, in turn, skews statistics. While there has been some decrease in the area’s population over the years, Mahoning County’s population still hovers around 350,000. At one time, 180,000 of that population lived in the city. Now it’s only around 80,000. The rest live in the surrounding townships, tax free.

A Vindicator headline recently screamed that Youngstown City schools are the worst in the state. Of all Ohio school systems, Youngstown City scored the worst on standardized tests. Not a good statistic for any business thinking to locate here. The flip side of the headline is that systems such as Boardman, Canfield, South Range, and Lowellville are among the highest in the state. Of course, that doesn’t make for a good headline.

Notwithstanding, the Youngstown City School System is a study in the fallacy of the approach to education in this country. The system has had money thrown at it for years from the state and the feds, and it has gotten systematically worse. It recently spent a truck load of cash on tearing down relatively new schools, and replacing them with newer schools. The most obvious example was the tearing down and replacing of Volney Rogers Junior High School In the past several years, the system has closed three of five high schools: Rayen, North, and South High Schools, and consolidated them into the two remaining but brand new high schools…Chaney on the west side and East. The effect of this was to marginalize the remaining relatively prosperous west side of Youngstown, causing its already depressed housing market to plummet.

The Youngstown City School System has the highest per pupil expenditure in the area at about $9666.00/pupil. This compares to Boardman: $8861.00; Canfield $8105.00; Poland: $8401.00; and Lowellville: $7336.00. Lowellville, by the way, is among the lowest per pupil expenditure systems, and consistently scores the highest among the area schools in test scores. Even more interesting is that while Lowellville is not particularly a poor community, it is far from rich consisting mainly of blue collar working class folks. This is hard working mid America personified.

So, what does this show? It shows what every teacher knows deep in his/her heart. Money isn’t the answer. You could be spending $20,000.00/pupil in the city school system, and although it might nudge the scores a bit, it wouldn’t be by much. The indicator of the success or failure of a school system is not based on how much money it spends, but how it is able to deal with a socio-economic structure which presents insolvable problems. These are societal problem, and schools simply aren’t equipped to handle them, nor should they be expected to. The schools' job is to educate and teach. Yet we continaully ask them to find solutions that our society in general can't find.

Sure, there will be some anecdotal success stories, mostly individual in nature. But I fear the most we can hope for is that highly trained teachers can spot those showing promise, and can concentrate on helping them break the cycle. A culture of violence, drugs, broken homes, hip hop music, gangsta rap, and poverty are overwhelming our school systems.

I am not sure what works. I only know that throwing money at this problem doesn’t work, or minimally reaches a point of diminishing returns. Maybe the answer lies in churches or community self help groups or organizations like the YMCA or Boys Clubs or Big Brother/Sister clubs. Inspiring people to learn starts in a strong family that can overcome peer pressure and guide young people into the proper path.

In this time of tight money and massive budget deficits, schools need to tighten their belts and spend money smarter. The same goes for the governments that are funding them. If spending more dollars isn’t the answer, maybe a hand out to help someone up is the answer. And that doesn’t cost a dime.

Demonize...Politicize...Nationalize

I really want to understand this. Scotland is releasing terrorist prisoners. We are racing forward to close Guantanamo. Obama is quietly releasing terrorist prisoners back to their native countries. If a terrorist is detained in a military action in Afghanistan, the military is required to read them their “Miranda Rights.” Obama now requires the Red Cross be notified within 14 days of any terrorist detention in Afghanistan. And Eric Holder, the Attorney General of the United States, with the approval of the President no matter what Obama says, has decided to investigate those who interrogated the terrorists. In the meantime, we have an ex-felon, an avowed communist who openly advocated the overturn of the United States government, serving as Green Czar in the White House.

In the meantime, the government has run up such massive amounts of debt we are in danger of losing dollar currency supremacy in the world, and possibly our triple AAA credit rating. Cap and Trade will in effect stymie any future growth in the country that would generate tax revenue to pay for what we owe. The government has nationalized the car industry. It has nationalized the banking industry. It is attempting to nationalize the health care industry. It is demanding information from private businesses with no legal basis or probable cause for doing so. We now have a “pay czar” whose job is to look at who is getting paid what in America…not only for TARP beneficiaries, but all business. And the White House is asking Americans to spy on other Americans and report to the White House any “fishy” information. He has neutered Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. The rapid buildup of troops in Afghanistan isn’t even on the media radar. Finally, he has moved the census from the Department of Interior, where it can be controlled by Congress, to the White House, where it is now in the control of political operatives.

The question I have is “why?” I can’t think of any possible reason for this other than Obama is setting up a structure for the destruction of the United States. From its collapse, he can then build his utopian, socialist America. He is a creature of extreme left wing politics, and it has taken 6 months for the nation to begin to experience a sense of unease about what they are seeing. The anger at the town hall meetings may have been sparked by the health care debate, but it is being fed by the queasy feeling being felt in an electorate which can’t process what it is seeing because it is so foreign to it. We have NEVER seen anything like this in the history of the nation.

What is that smiling, easy going manner hiding? He is either an extremely smart leftist, or a puppet of a group of leftists who are pulling his strings. I haven’t figured out which is the truth. But these folks have a disdain for Democracy. They have a superiority complex which demeans the electorate. They don’t care what the electorate thinks as long as they can fool the electorate.

I think what is going to happen next is a reality check with the polls by Obama and Congress. If Obama is sinking, Congressional approval ratings are non-existent. But the left wing ideologues are still in charge, and I believe they will continue this breaking down of America as fast as they can, to achieve as many of their goals as they can, until the 2010 election tells them to stop.

Look for them to try to ram through a government insurance plan for health care. But also look for them to try to nationalize one, maybe two, more industries. Look for them to attack the oil industry, and possibly the broadcast industry, trying to shut down dissent. That is what socialist governments do.

As you watch this travesty unfold, look for the socialist modus operandi: Demonize…Politicize…Nationalize.

Time to Get to Work and Fix Health Care

One of the advantages of health care being run by private insurance companies is that government can regulate it. That is a much better option than the government itself running health care because who would regulate the government? You can always sue the insurance company. If the government screws up, you’re stuck. There are no options when the government is the ultimate decision maker.

President Obama may be coming to his senses and may or may not be considering the so called public option. Reality is meeting his ideology, and they don’t mix. Maybe now there can be some serious based effort to fix our health care system based on what is needed rather than what ideological beliefs dictate. Here is what they have to do:

1) Define the people who are uninsured so you can get a truthful idea of what reforms are actually needed, how many people are involved, and the cost of fixing the problems. He will discover that this is not a one size fits all problem.

2) Allow insurance companies to sell nationally based products as opposed to state based products to equalize the pool and the costs.

3) As a condition of being allowed to sell health insurance, the insurance companies shall contribute to a cooperative non-profit venture whose sole purpose will be to insure folks who can’t buy regular policies at affordable rates because of pre-existing conditions.

4) Require all citizens to purchase health insurance. No insurance, no driver’s license. The government can set standards for a basic, high deductible policy with health savings accounts and require the insurance companies to offer such a policy to those under the age of 30.

5) Allow the formation of insurance cooperatives with basic care standards for those who feel straight insurance policies are too expensive.

6) Make sure that all citizens who currently meet the qualifications for existing government programs get signed up.

7) For those who fall through the cracks, expand the existing Medicare program (perhaps to those over 55 who lose their jobs either through layoffs or plant closings) and Medicaid for those who simply can’t afford it. This should be paid for by increased Medicare contributions from those working…such is the price of keeping out of a single payer, government system.

We, as Americans, have indicated these past few weeks that we believe our health care system is the best in the world. We want to keep our choices and the government out of our medical decisions. By the same token, we must realize that nothing is free. We may have to bite the bullet of increased Medicare/Medicaid taxes in order to achieve the above. I think it is worth the price…to stay away from single payer, rationed care.

I Read the Health Care Bill

Midst the shouting and the accusations over the proposed change in health care, one thing has been conspicuously absent: what does the House bill do? The bulk of the problem lies in the undisputed fact that the Democrats have attempted to rush a bill the Congress that no one has read. Not only haven’t they read the bill, those out selling the thing are clueless as to what is in it. That includes Barack Obama who hocking ideology rather than hard details.

Of course, there are those who contend that Obama and his cronies know exactly what is in the bill, and they also know if the public knew what they know, it would be dead in the water. Better to keep the folks back home focused on the evil insurance companies.

So, I decided to read the bill to see for myself who is telling the truth. It is long, but it is not insurmountable. Minimally, you can read through the Section titles and first paragraphs and clearly understand what this thing does. You can also reference directly, through a little homework online, the various sections of the bill that are under fire.

I can tell you that this bill is as Draconian a piece of legislation as I ever seen. It does exactly what the critics say it does. It is voluminous. The process is detailed to the point of incoherence. I think it is patently unconstitutional, and the many of the key provisions would be overthrown if challenged in court. Obama said today that this is not the Canadian plan. Well, it is minimally a cousin. The Canadian Supreme Court came close to throwing out the entire Canadian system in 2005, saying the right to health care does not mean the right to stand in line. Here is what I found out relating to the most offensive parts of the bill.

1) I have written for the past two weeks that if you have private insurance, you can keep it. BUT, if it changes in any way, or you are fired, or your company cancels insurance for all employees, private insurance companies will not be able to sell you a plan directly. You will have to go to the government insurance clearinghouse, and buy plans that have been crafted by the government and approved by the government…it is one size fits all. It may be through a private company, but it would be like Ford, GM, and Toyota all selling the identical car. THIS IS THE AMERICAN EQUIVILENT TO WHAT THE CANADIAN SUPREME COURT THROUGH OUT, RULING THAT GOVERNMENT CANNOT LIMIT PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS FROM ACCESSING INSURANCE OFFERED BY PRIVATE COMPANIES.

2) The government has to be granted access to your bank accounts.

3) The government will establish an extensive and intrusive end of life “counseling” plan that even I can't even figure out. You and your family will spend the last days dealing with a government bureaucracy.

4) Comparative effectiveness, that theory which will limit your access to the best drugs available, is specifically written into the bill. It has a whole section dedicated to it. It will “effectively” remove any incentive to drug companies to develop new drugs. If they can’t sell them, what’s the point?

This is a scary bill. You should be afraid. You should be outraged. EVERYONE SHOULD TAKE THE TIME TO READ THROUGH THE BILL.

A Dangerous, Imperial Presidency

When President Obama was elected President, I was skeptical. He seemed like a nice guy. Although his history was one of interesting associations out of the mainstream re: Bill Ayers and Rev. Wright to name just a fes, maybe it was just politics. His initial appointees, the ones who had to be approved by Congress, seemed to be centrist. I thought maybe he would surprise folks. I was wrong.

After six months in office, I have concluded that Barack Obama is a leftist radical, hell bent on shaping America to fit his view of “social justice”. He is a socialist. Slowly, but surely, his true beliefs are emerging. Previous statements now coming to light highlight his lies and contempt for the American electorate. His appointees (“czars” appointed outside of the Congressional confirmation process) are extremists. We should be outraged and concerned at the fraud he has perpetrated on the American public wrapped in his smiling veneer. No other President, including Richard Nixon, has done more to move almost dictatorial power to the White House. His is THE imperial presidency. His sole goal is to right his perception of 400 years of oppression, the Constitution be damned. There is a reason he is a Constitutional expert…that is how he learned to get around it, manipulate, and ignore it.

Item 1: His ties to Acorn are strong and alive. He is attempting to move the census out of the oversight of the Department of the Interior into the White House. He is hiring Acorn to do the counting. He believes in census computer models. If he doesn’t like what the actual count shows, he will not hesitate to attempt to use the computer model instead. He can manipulate computer models to fit his vision of reality. That is dangerous. That is how the Communists work.

Item 2: Eric Holder, Obama’s Attorney General, is a committed black leftist. How committed? He recently dismissed Federal charges against the new Black Panther Party for voter intimidation at Philadelphia polling places in the last election. For God’s sake, they have the intimidation on tape. The Black Panthers failed to answer a Federal suit against them thereby admitting the charges. If you aren’t familiar with the new Black Panther movement, you ought to be. These are weapon wielding thugs, and you should be afraid of them. Barack Obama should go after them. He won’t. He approves.

Item 3: Obama’s “Green Jobs” Czar is an admitted communist and felon. Van Jones is also a committed black activist who has stated numerous times he is a communist and black nationalist. He is about as radical as one can get. He has done jail time. His views are beyond “out of the mainstream” bordering on treasonous. And this is who Obama appointed? This guy should be in jail. We should be running from people like this. And yet Obama has chosen to make him an unconfirmed White House “czar”.

Item 4: Obama is outright lying to the public about his health care reform to solve the health care “crisis”. What crisis? He stated overtly, numerous times, and on tape in 2003, that it is his clear goal to establish a single payer, government run, health care system, and to eliminate private health insurance companies. You can watch him say it on my web page this week. Barney Frank has said that the current bill will pave the path to a single payer system. Former Senator Tom Daschle, one of the chief architects of Obama’s health care has written numerous times seniors need to learn to live with their infirmities and accept the reality of the “end of life.” Is this what you want to hear when you are over 75?

Item 5: As his lies become more evident, he has demonized health care professionals, accusing doctors of ROUTINELY over treating people, and prescribing unnecessary medications or more expensive medications. This has come out since the violent reaction by the public against his health care policies. What is his reaction to these health care plan protests? On the White House website, he has asked people to inform him of those that disagree.

Item 6: His attack on the Cambridge police department in an unscripted comment shows a chip on his shoulder. That chip is the dominant factor in all of his decisions. He can drink all the beer he wants. Those comments were wrong. They were uncalled for, and were made in defense of his Harvard professor buddy. The pattern continues.

Item 7: While loudly proclaiming he is not anti-business, he is slowly but surely nationalizing every aspect of our society. He is inserting government into every aspect of your life. He is big brother personified. If you doubt what he wants to do, read the now removed disclaimer from Cars.gov relating to your computer and what is on it. This is scary stuff.

Item 8: His cap and trade bill will control every aspect of your life, more than you can possibly imagine. Couple that with his health “reform”, he will control every single thing you do, from how far you can drive to how much light is allowed in your house to how much natural gas you will be allowed to treat yourself to computers monitoring you home’s energy useage to how much food you will be allowed to eat.

Item 9: He strong armed his buddies in the press into carrying yet another news conference last week…the health care one… in which he said absolutely nothing new. By the way, while the health care debate rages everywhere else, the lead stories on the mainstream media aren’t about health care, they are about Michael Jackson. Folks…that is how it is done in Russia! The state controlled media simply doesn’t report the news of consequence. Why churn the pot and cause fear?

This is not a new story. History shows time and again this is how socialists move into power. Banks are evil. Corporations are evil. Rich people are evil. They are the tools of racism and oppression, and must be eliminated or destroyed. He can say what he wants, reading platitudes of democracy from his teleprompter; but look at what he does, not what he says. You won’t like what you see. Wait a minute. Take the time to go back beyond 2008, and you can read what he says. His views are perfectly clear.

End of the Magnificent Obsession

While the American obsession with Barack Obama may not be over, it may finally be descending from the stratosphere. How can I tell? Just watch the mainstream press. The man who was raised to Messiah status over the past 12 months, the man who could do no wrong, the one who was going to save us all…has been dropped like a hot potato. Or maybe the press is following my number one rule of life: when you are in trouble…lay low!!

Last week, Obama had a fiasco news conference about his government health care takeover, offering little new in the face of a Congressional Budget Office report which has blown the plan out of the water. He even declined to be covered by the same policy he hopes to foist on you. He finished with a flourish calling the Cambridge Police Department stupid vis-à-vis his friend, Harvard professor Dr. Henry Gates who decided to right 400 years of racial oppression on his front porch while surrounded by police sent there to protect his property.

So with racism abounding, and his legislative agenda limping around in circles, and his poll numbers plummeting, the mainstream press decided to lead off the news with a flurry of Michael Jackson stories and a bride and groom doing a dance down the aisle to get married (actually, it was pretty good!!) I guess the rule is “out of sight, out of mind.”

Barack Obama is learning a political lesson. If you are going to tax and spend, sooner or later you are going to run out of people to tax. In the case of health care, it is the suburban, middle to upper class independents in the northeastern part of the country that are experiencing buyer’s remorse now that he is going after them. It’s really not a good idea to raise the specter of government health care when 85% of Americans rate their health insurance as good to excellent, and the health care crisis is at bottom of the list of country concerns; especially after spending the country into oblivion his first 12 weeks in office.

More importantly, I think the country is beginning to see him for what he is. He is a radical tax and spend liberal/socialist with a chip on his shoulder. He gives a good speech with the tele-prompter. Take it away, and his true beliefs come out. Consider the following;

1) He was elected to be a post partisan president, who could bring people together. He has been the most partisan president I can remember in my lifetime. Even “W” could find common ground with Ted Kennedy. Obama’s entire legislative agenda has been so radical, it could not garner more than a few Republicans votes, and now the Blue Dog Democrats have come to their senses and are running towards the door. You won’t get re-elected in West Virginia supporting a San Francisco agenda. The Democratic tent just isn’t that big.

2) He was supposed to be a post racial president. But his off the teleprompter comment about the police and Dr. Gates show his true beliefs. You can judge a man by the company he keeps. President Obama had a penchant for racists and radicals, Dr. Wright, Dr. Gates…and Bill Ayers. He is certainly the president of black America, and to a degree Hispanic America, but when will be President of the people in the America who are pulling the freight?

3) He has failed to lead. Who is running the country? Obama is busy partying in France, in Hawaii, in Martha’s Vineyard while Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod are calling the shots. Obama is the black guy in the White House being told what to do by the radical left. His purpose is clear, cheerlead and sign what is put in front of him.

4) His foreign policy is a fiasco. The President of the World has lost the respect of the Europeans who have shifted to the right. The Russians ignore him. The Chinese lecture him. The Iranians, the Venezuelans, and the North Koreans laugh at him. God knows what the Arabs think. He bowed down to the King of Saudi Arabia. And the same press, who criticized Bush for military action in Iraq and the surge, is barely covering the rapid build of troops in Afghanistan, the graveyard of empires. Where are the peaceniks now?

This guy had better shift to the center and shift fast, or his presidency will implode and then we will have a problem. Of course, ideologues don’t care. Notwithstanding, the old Silent Majority is still there. It will destroy him.