PelosiCare Passes House in Prep for Senate Battle, Filibuster Threats
Last night, not too long after 10:00pm et, the House passed HR3962, the “Affordable Health Care for America Act,” 220 -- 215, with a lone Republican, Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA), voting for it. There is much at stake for both sides in this debate, and I’ll attempt to flesh the main points out in this posting.
There have been two main issues brought up during the course of debate on the PelosiCare bill: the “public option” (whereby Americans — except for Congress, of course — will be mandated to pay for public health insurance if they don’t already have private insurance, at least for as long as private insurers remain in business) and the abortion issue.
I’ll touch on the public option further down in the posting; on the abortion front, Jeff Schreiber at AmericasRight.com perfectly summed up what might have been the perfect “Shell Game” by the Democrats regarding federal funds for this horrific concept:
Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats just got played. Plain and simple.
The provision providing federal funding of abortion was in there only so it would draw the ire of Republicans and constituents, setting up a situation where its being stricken from the bill in one way or another would assuage Republicans like Louisiana Rep. Joseph Cao and Blue Dog Democrats enough to think that they could vote in favor of the monstrosity. And doing just that, perceiving the bill to be somehow toothless without the abortion provisions, shows that those of us on the beltway just weren’t being listened to.
Don’t you get it, you fools on Capitol Hill? The use of federal funds for abortions is already illegal, thanks to the Hyde Amendment [my added link]. Those of you who expressed misgivings about the bill and voted for it only after the Stupak-Pitts Amendment [my added link] was adopted got played by Democrats who simply were upholding current law by adopting the measure that would prevent federal funding of abortions.
In other words, the Democrats used the amendment as a face-saving maneuver for those in their own caucus to show that, somehow, they were going to limit federal funds for abortions, even though federal funds to this day cannot be directly used for abortions. And now my dear readers now know the truth behind this charade, and as more concerned citizens learn of this truth, its effectiveness will continue to be diminished.
Nevertheless, the Stupak Amendment was important to garner sympathy for the lone GOP Representative who actually voted for the bill, Mr. Cao, who apparently continues to reel from the effects of hurricane Katrina (h/t TheHill):
“If the Stupak amendment hadn’t passed he would have voted ‘no,’ if it did pass it’d serve his main problem with the bill. He did the right thing,” [Arkansas Rep. Don] Young told The Hill.
As soon as the House started the final vote for the day, Cao voted and dashed out the side of the chamber, plugging his ears in jest when reporters approached to find out what happened.
According to a written statement released later that night, Cao explained that Obama had promised to help out the lawmaker’s district still devastated from Hurricane Katrina.
“Today, I obtained a commitment from President Obama that he and I will work together to address the critical health care issues of Louisiana including the FMAP crisis and community disaster loan forgiveness, as well as issues related to Charity and Methodist Hospitals,” Cao wrote.
So, how is all of this going to play out, going forward?
From a parliamentary standpoint, the process has only begun in terms of actually shaping this legislation. It must now go to the Senate, where it will have to meet up with the Senate’s own, distinctly separate version of a healthcare bill (or the House version be offered as a substitute), voted on, and then that version will likely have to be reconciled with a Conference between the House and Senate versions. And then both Houses will have to vote on it at least one more time.
However, politically speaking and, as usual, for most pieces of legislation that are as all-encompassing as this bill is, the path to a presidential signature is going to be long, rough, and completely uphill. As HotAir.com explains:
So what does this 220-215 vote tell us? Capitol Hill Democrats know that this bill is an albatross. It’s true that Pelosi was able at the end to negotiate votes to allow a few at-risk Democrats that supported the bill to oppose it in the final vote, but even that tells a tale of fear and consciousness of unpopularity. The razor-thin vote, as well as a number of earlier, more sincere defections, show that this bill was a radical and expensive approach to fix a 13% problem — and even most of the Democrats know it.
Now the focus swings to the Senate, where Harry Reid will have to gain supermajorities at least twice to allow the bill to proceed to a final vote. That seems unlikely, although not impossible. The process will slow down considerably from the jam-down Pelosi conducted in the lower chamber, perhaps even to a crawl if Tom Coburn makes good on his threat to have the bill read in its entirety on the Senate floor. That will leave plenty of time for ObamaCare opponents to find all of the taxes, mandates, and government intrusions that will make it even less popular as it sits in the Senate. Even before Coburn’s threat, Democrats had pushed expectations for the bill out to late January — which makes the politics of the bill even more fraught for Democrats, at the start of an election year.
Democrats have another problem, even in the House. The Senate is not considering the Pelosi plan, but one they wrote themselves. Unless Reid pulls his own bill out of consideration and substitutes Pelosi’s — which is a possibility — that sets up a conference committee and second vote in each chamber, assuming that the Senate passes anything at all. If that happens, a conference committee will have to meet to produce another bill that would then go for a full floor vote in each chamber. If abortion funding makes its way back into the bill, or if mandates or taxes increase, or if conscience protections get stripped, then all of the hurdles that Pelosi barely cleared the first time return, and without the ability to amend the bill (conference reports get straight up-or-down votes without amendments in order to have both chambers pass identical legislation for the President to sign.) That means another shot at a filibuster and a lengthy bill reading in the Senate, and at least a chance to hold Bart Stupak’s pro-life coalition in the House under the spotlight to find out whether they will vote their conscience or bow to Pelosi.
In fact, not only is Sen. Coburn on the warpath, but so is Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT; h/t GatewayPundit), going to the point of promising a filibuster of a bill containing a public option:
The takeaway moment:
Wallace: So, at this point, I take it you’re a “no” vote in the Senate?
Lieberman: If the public option plan is in there, as a matter of conscience, I will not allow this bill to come to a final vote because I believe the debt can break America and send us into a recession that’s worse than the one we’re fighting our way out of today. I don’t want to do that to our children and grandchildren.
Further, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) also promises to fight for a filibuster alongside Sen. Lieberman against a public option bill (CBSNews):
“Just look at how it passed; it passed 220 to 215. It passed by two votes. You had [39] Democrats vote against the bill,” Graham told “Face the Nation” host Bob Schieffer Sunday.
He also admitted that if it were to come down to it, he would join his independent colleague Senator Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., in filibustering a bill including the so-called public option should it come to the Senate floor.
“The House bill is a non-starter in the Senate,” he added. “I just think the construct out of the House and what exists in the Senate is not going to pass, and I hope and pray it doesn’t because it would be a disaster for the economy and health care,” Graham concluded.
Graham believed a public option would “destroy” private health care, saying that insurance companies could not compete against the lower premiums of a government-backed plan. “It will be a death blow to private choice,” he said.
In the same article, Mr. Schieffer asked Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) about his views from the majority’s perspective:
“I believe we are going to pass health care reform,” Reed responded. “I believe we must do this because it’s essential to not just the quality of life here but our economic success in the future.
“Senator Reid, Harry Reid has introduced the public option and there is strong support there. but we are far from the end of the debate in the Senate. It will take time. It will be careful, thorough and deliberate.
“I hope that a public option is in the final bill,” he added.
Notice the continued non-committal to a public option by the Democrats? I, too, found the silence to be deafening, and I think that’s part of the reason why this debate is truly only now getting underway.
Everyone needs to be aware that, in America, there is a difference between “healthcare” and “health insurance.” Everyone already has access to healthcare in this country; yes, that is the proverbial elephant in the room. By law, if you cannot be seen for whatever reason in a private doctor’s office, any hospital — any hospital — in America is required to see you. Therefore, is it simply a lie to say that not everyone has access to healthcare.
On the other hand, health insurance isn’t presently available to everyone, because either (1) it’s too expensive, (2) an employer doesn’t offer it, or (3) some individuals simply do not want it. However, let’s not put the proverbial cart before the horse on this concept, either. The key question for point number one (which would subsequently take care of point number two) is: why is insurance “too” expensive?
While I don’t claim to be an expert on this issue, I do know some closely-associated individuals who work in the medical industry, close enough to insurance companies to know what happens on a day-to-day basis. From what I gather, here are some currently outstanding issues that really ought to be addressed in any reasonable health insurance legislation:
- Make the insurance plan portable and individual. Don’t restrict plans on a State-to-State basis. If the interested individual wishes to participate in a plan offered by another State, why not allow that individual to so participate? Furthermore, why restrict insurance coverage to that person while at a particular company? Why not allow the individual to take advantage of a favorable tax situation that would come from maintaining their own plan, thereby being able to “port” it from employer to employer?
- Form a co-op that would mitigate “pre-existing conditions.” Realistically, insurance companies don’t like dealing with individuals who carry a higher chance of requiring massive amounts of monies to cover their health issues than the “average” insured individual; face it — the company is there to make money, and a higher degree of risk potentially puts the company at higher risk for bigger payouts. How to deal? Simply put, the States and the People ought to have a “high-risk” pool that would help to offset these costs.
- Diminish malpractice lawsuits. This one’s a toughy, but I think it must be dealt with as a part of an overall health insurance package. In my view, we ought to leave it up to the States to deal with punitive damage caps to jury awards (while nobody likes a bad doctor who permanently alters your body over a botched procedure, it’s also not good that every doctor must operate under the auspices that their practice, too, could be summarily shut down over a sue-happy patient population).
Naturally, the biggest issue I have with this entire federal concept of mandated insurance coverage is just that — I have to be covered whether I choose to be covered or not. Unfortunately, it should not be too surprising — especially with what I typically cover on my blog and congressional responses thereto — that Speaker Pelosi appears to not care less whether or not such a mandate is constitutional (CNSNews.com):
CNSNews.com has asked a number of lawmakers as well as White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs about this issue in recent days, receiving varying answers, including statements expressing the belief that it is not a serious question. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.), for example, said to CNSNews.com, “Are you serious? Are you serious?,” when she was asked where specifically the Constitution authorizes Congress to force Americans to buy health insurance. In response to the same question, Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D.-Vt.), said, “I mean, there’s no question there’s authority. Nobody questions that.”
…nor does the White House:
When White House Spokesman Gibbs was asked about critics who are questioning the constitutionality of forcing Americans to buy health insurance, he said, “I won’t be confused as a constitutional scholar, but I don’t believe there’s a lot of--I don’t believe there’s a lot of case law that would demonstrate the veracity of what they’re commentating on.” Later, Gibbs said he did not know if the White House had done any legal analysis to determine if there was a constitutional basis for mandating that Americans buy insurance.
…not even Mr. Obama’s replacement in the Senate could get it right:
Sen. Roland Burris (D.-Ill.) cited the part of the Constitution that he said tells Congress ”to provide for the health, welfare and the defense of the country” as justification for forcing Americans to buy health insurance. The word “health” appears nowhere in the Constitution, however, and Burris’s spokesman later told CNSNews.com that what Burris meant is that the Preamble to the Constitution authorizes Congress to mandate that individuals buy health care. The preamble says: “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
Bottom line: If you think that healthcare is a right, while you are certainly entitled to your opinion, it’s not a constitutional one and is better left up to the States or the People. If you think that healthcare is a service that is rendered unto you by professionals who honestly care about helping you to provide yourself with better well-being, then you’re probably closer to the truth on this issue.
Nobody is saying that the healthcare industry in America is perfect or not in need of reform; in fact, as I’ve just outlined, I do believe it does. I simply don’t think it’s the federal government’s responsibility to provide a resultant nanny state for that coverage. Much could be done that would cost next to nothing to implement.
What’s next? Never stop contacting your House Members and Senators regarding this bill. The Majority knows this issue is a close one, and it is only by grassroots pressure that the Minority is going to get anything accomplished at this point.
So, let’s start with the obvious — the listing of the Blue Dogs who voted for the bill (h/t JumpingInPools):
Congressman Arcuri -- New York’s 24th congressional district -- R+2.
Congressman Baca -- California’s 43rd congressional district -- D+13.
Congressman Berry -- Arkansas 1st congressional district -- R+8.
Congressman Bishop -- Georgia’s 2nd congressional district -- D+1.
Congressman Boswell -- Iowa’s 3rd congressional district -- D+1.
Congressman Cardoza -- California’s 18th congressional district -- D+4.
Congressman Carney -- Pennsylvania’s 10th congressional district -- R+8.
Congressman Cooper -- Tennessee’s 5th congressional district -- D+3.
Congressman Costa -- California’s 20th congressional district -- D+5.
Congressman Cuellar -- Texas’ 28th congressional district. -- EVEN.
Congresswoman Dahlkemper -- Pennsylvania’s 3rd congressional district -- R+3.
Congressman Donnelly -- Indiana’s 2nd congressional district -- R+2.
Congressman Ellsworth -- Indiana’s 8th congressional district -- R+8.
Congresswoman Giffords -- Arizona’s 8th congressional district -- R+4.
Congresswoman Harman -- California’s 36th congressional district -- D+12.
Congressman Hill -- Indiana’s 9th congressional district -- R+6.
Congressman Mechaud -- Maine’s 2nd congressional district -- D+3.
Congressman Mitchell -- Arizona’s 5th congressional district -- R+5.
Congressman Moore -- Kansas 3rd congressional district -- R+3.
Congressman Murphy -- Pennsylvania’s 8th congressional district -- D+2.
Congressman Pomeroy -- North Dakota’s at-large congressional district -- R+10.
Congressman Salazar -- Colorado’s 3rd congressional district -- R+5.
Congresswoman Sanchez -- California’s 47th congressional district -- D+4.
Congressman Schiff -- California’s 29th congressional district -- D+14.
Congressman Scott -- Georgia’s 13th congressional district -- D+15.
Congressman Space -- Ohio’s 18th congressional district -- R+7.
Congressman Thompson -- California’s 1st congressional district -- D+13.
Congressman Wilson -- Ohio’s 6th congressional district -- R+2.
Along with this listing, much yeoman’s work is being performed by TaxDayTeaParty.com; Eric Odom and the team there have been accomplishing incredible things on the grassroots front. The organization is presently in the process of putting together some very big things. If you’re interested in what’s going on, and to help out, click on the link and go from there.
While the bill has a long way to go before it hits the President’s desk, concerned citizens have been and will continue to speak up now about their interests in this debate. Remember: the President already thinks you’re an extremist if you side against this bill. That’s OK. Per the Constitution, he only has certain powers and authority; we, the People, retain all rights. Also remember that nobody has the Constitutional right to be offended, either.
So, go ahead and be an “extremist;” it’s your right and privilege. If the opposition gets offended by that, then simply remind them that if this government takeover of healthcare passes anywhere close to its present form, their personal insurance coverage will ultimately be decided by Republicans in Congress as well!
Update:
Duane Lester at AllAmericanBlogger has posted even more links on this story here.
-Phil
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bystander, what you do is give a shove and run before one can snatch you. You “don’t like my ideas but won’t talk about them”.
Well, shove it if you refuse to talk !
Geir – first of all I’m not a man. Second – you are so deluded it is impossible to engage with you. I am guessing you are some kind of social outcast, who doesn’t get to talk to real people very often. I am an athiest and I could not care less about your religious kookery. I am only interested in debating right wingers on the eligibility issue – religion doesn’t remotely interest me.
Still not answered, bystander ?
What do you say ?
About the Antisemite cousin of Obama ?
He could go to prison for that.
Answer.
Coward.
bystander, I’ll spare you everything that would cramp your style whatever that would be.
But honestly answer me one question, you’re dodging all and everything, all the time:
“What do you, bystander, say about the fake-Jew, so-called rabbi, black racist, Antisemite, Capers Funnye, Obama’s very own private cousin.”
If you answer that I’ll go with everything you say includng the madness and whatever.
Stand up, be a man, coward.
Just Answer.
Geir – everyone is ignoring you because your rants are idiotic, and are not worth responding to. If you think for one second that you have shut up anybody with the power of your reasoning, then you have given me the biggest laugh of the year. Seriously dude – lay off the stimulants, and take a nice long walk to calm down. You are offering nothing to this board, other than unintentional hilarity.
obama is jewish
something u can’t get ur head around ?
one brother and one cousin.
He’s deep-jewish
but his cousin insults Judaism and israel
sisedue ur problem is u’re an ugly mind and stupid
Geir (Gerhardt) Smith says:
November 10, 2009 at 12:34 pm
*i told u phil u owe me one on this. obots and the others have all clammed up just LOOK AT IT !
*
Clammed up? No one can understand your disjointed rants. It appears you have lost your mind.
all forums go dead with the news that obama’s jewish twice by a real jewish full-jew black brother, born to to a real jewish lithunaian mom and secondly by a racist fake-so-called rabbi cousin.
and has betrayed israel and the jews like the antichrist prophecied-to-come.
why is this ? are u all superstitious or overly sectarian ?
I don’t give a rat’s ass about the jews, special interests or being muzzled by a racist press, but the fact is obama betrays israel by a racist cousin capers funnye who’s racist rhetoric is (was) on his website
want to see it ?
(i for one don’t think the jews or anyone on earth is the chosen people i think that’s the worst hogwash and just like india’s horrid Brahmanism and the higher-caste-thinking)
i checked his website and the antisemite talk about blacks being the only real jews has been removed. Capers Funnye openly wrote that white jews were not real jews.
it’s easy to find on the old snap-shots although I’m sure the obama-team can close them down at google. get with this story it’s maybe bigger than all the rest.
i told u phil u owe me one on this. obots and the others have all clammed up just LOOK AT IT !
All working citizens are all required to pay taxes into the “Medicare Fund.” Are these payments constitutional? Would these required payments be precedent for “national health care?”
Larry,
Thanks much for the reference. Very duly noted.
-Phil
Ohh ! obots out and active tonight.
They seem to think repeating something enough times makes it true.
No the Marks of the Beast drawn for Obama, were still done so ten hours after his election announcement. Annoying eh ! for Obama to be the Antichrist ?
LIVE WITH IT NOW…
Funny how making up stories seems to be a natural urge for Obats. You guys are so eager about this letter from Nathan Deal, why don’t you write him and write it FOR HIM ? hahaha !
He said it would be WITH OTHERS
SEVERAL others.
I imagine
1. this is not something to do off-hand and quick, because it’s overly-important and it can topple Obama in a matter of hours.
2. they’ll want to do this in a very special way, craft it right, skillfully and with “maximum power and overwhelming resolve” like Colin Powell said for invading Iraq. This thing will probably be primed to flood the news when it hits.
3. I imagine that the co-writers of the letter will want to take a few hours to say some prayers seeing this will topple the Antichrist and prolly also write home to their children and family before the final moment comes. They’ll want to put their work in order, before all hell breaks loose and the s**t hits the fan. Say good-bye to their old parents as prolly their lives will be so totally changed they’ll maybe never get time to see them seriously again. Busting the Antichrist is a full-time life-job.
I think you Obots have serious mental issues and should consult.
How could you follow the Antichrist and never a. doubt, b. suspect it and c. renege upon him ?
Why did you embrace Satan and is this a pattern for your life ? Did you like Charles Manson; Jim Jones; David Koresh too ? No ? Then it’s strange that you like Obama.
He’s like them… but in the A-Class of evil. Birds of a feather flock together. You should like all evil, right ?
Yawn,
Obama could cure cancer, and you would find something despicable about it. With the single exception of Neil Young’s guitar solo in “Cinnamon Girl,” one note wonders like you are simply boring.
Ich bin ein (optional) Berliner!
Barack’s Congress Nice Adventure Ruined By Foreign Affairs Storm, Conspiracy! (More later – be sure of that)
If anyone still needs a proof that what make dba Obama tick is nothing but a wretched mixture of (three of many others traits):
a) deep, instinctive and active antipathy for America, its legitimate interests, its history and honor,
b) a pathologically hypertrophied sense of self-importance which makes him to avoid any public event where he is not the object of mass adoration,
c) and of a collection of parochial instincts which preclude him to discern the true significance, rhythms & paassions of the world, thus forbidding him to neutralize (a) and (b) and take (occassionally) a correct decision…
… then Obama’s skillful absence at the Berlin Wall celebration (act that touchingly complements his equally astute Olympic flight to Danemark) should confirm any suspicion that Obama’s presence in the White House is a sinister joke -
Bellow, a couple of (early & merciful) pieces about Obama’s superb manifestations of gross inanity in foreign affairs matters:
* “Barack Obama’s shameful absence from Berlin”/Nile Gardiner/ Daily Telegraph –
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100016197/barack-obama%E2%80%99s-
* “Berlin and the Case of the Missing President”/ Pejman Yousefzadeh/New Ledger
http://newledger.com/2009/11/berlin-and-the-case-of-the-missing-president/
————-
PS. Obama’s Danemark Olympic flight – that curious enterprise reminded me Rudolf Hess’ keen reading of the British minds in 1940, before parachuting in Scotland to arrange things with Churchill -
PPS. Looking forward for the Obamatons’ explanation that Obama was to busy to travel to Berlin because his camp David vacation was overdue -
Did you actually read the article you cited?
Oh and good job repeating the lie once again about the lottery numbers on election day.
These are the results for election day: http://www.illinoislottery.com/subsections/History/Win2008.htm
Election day was November 4, 2008.
What you’re referring to happened the next day:
If you said “within 24 hours of the election” instead of “Election Day,” nobody would have a problem with that, because that is factually accurate. Election Day ended at the end of 11/4/08. On 11/4/08, there was no 6-6-6 result. Frankly, at this point you are again sticking to a lie and apparently seeing the presentation of facts as liberal misdirection. But it’s not, it’s presentation of factual information.
Stop lying.
Geir -
You shouldn’t be holding your breath either waiting for Rep. Deal to actually sing and send this purported letter (it has been days – how long does it take to get a simple letter written?) or waiting for the White House to let Deal “look at what he wants, when and where he wants…”
Those things are not going to happen.
BTW, I think I read somewhere that Ms. Tickly has disappeared without a trace – why do YOU think that is?
http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/freshloaf/2009/11/09/whats-nathans-deal-with-birther-probe/
Rep. Deal is described as “the most level-headed Congressman”.
Tough to paint him as a loonie.
What are smear-artists to do when they can’t do it ?
Roll over and croak ?
The smear-fest they did on Orly Taitz and Lou Dobbs is over now.
It’s their turn now. Obama’s next in line. A level-headed nine-term Congressman is asking for his ID.
Is that possible to refuse ? Obama’s end of his time has come.
When normal people come forth the loonies must run. It’s now.
jvn
>Geir -
If Rep. Deal does send that letter (a very big IF) the White House will simply offer to let him look at the COLB – end of story.
Besides, this thread is about health care and “moving on…”>
Health care is all about the birth certificate
Nathan Deal is pushing the birth issue to do two things
1. threaten Obama to oust him if he goes on with Obamascare
2. oust him even if he does.
You let Obama offer Deal a deal to look at what he wants, when and where he wants – OK ?
They’re big boys now and can figure it out without YOU. The COLB will do just fine because Deal is no fool.
You know what his speciality is ?
It’s hunting for false undocumented immigrants. Hunting out false documents: fakes. Obama can give him a COLB. Deal is a specialist. Obama is toast.
Moving on ? Why ?
We’re happy with NOT MOVING ON !
And about Deal, he’ll not *maybe* send the letter, he announced it once publically on the media, and repeated it on the next day.
There’s no mistake: this is part of a plan. This is not something that will go away, and where you can roll back over to go back to sleep again.
You’ve finished sleeping.
This is the time we’re awaiting. Reveal also that Obama got 666 777 9 revealed on election day in the Illinois Lottery. The Antichrist’s numbers.
Obama will fall and make a tsunami worldwide. It’s now fast.
I just got back from the UK where the papers were full of irate letters to the editor over the pitiful state of the NHS (National Healthcare System). Complaints of corruption, safety issues, long waits, lack of patient choice, etc. Here is an excerpt from one article in the paper:
From “The Independent on Sunday” 1Nov2009
“NHS Is Paying Millions To Gag Whistleblowers” (the following is an excerpt of a much longer article)
“NHS whistleblowers are routinely gagged in order to cover up dangerous and even dishonest practices that could attract bad publicity and damage a hospital’s reputation.
Some local NHS bodies are spending millions of taxpayers’ money to pay off and silence whistleblowers with “super gags” to stop them going public with patient safety incidents. Experts warn that patients’ lives are being endangered by the use of intimidatory tactics to force out whistleblowers and deter other professionals from coming forward.
For example, the IoS has learnt of children Stoke-on-Trent needlessly losing organs after safety issues highlighted by a senior surgeon-who was suspended after coming forward to voice concerns- were ignored. In one of more than 20 serious incidents, a newborn baby girl needed an overy removed after a standard procedure to remove a cyst was delayed because of staff shortages.”
As I read this article and others, including many letters to the editor, I felt like I was looking into a crystal ball at the future of an America that has been forced into European mediocrity by our radically leftist government. We have to stop this, people. GET ACTIVE in 2010!!!!
Sharon 2 — In response to your post copied below, you have it wrong. The state of Florida does not provide insurance. All they do is run a clearinghouse where you put out your info and see if there are any private companies who will insure you–very different from the public option in the healthcare bill. We went through that process for my mother’s house when she died and there are no companies who will insure the house, at any price. We are keeping the house until the real estate market improves and it is sitting uninsured. Many major insurance companies have pulled out of Florida due to the high hurricane risk. I’m not sure where you heard about government insurance–do you have a link?
Sharon 2 said
“I heard an interesting explanation on a radio program about what has occurred with property insurance in Florida. After several devastating hurricanes hit, property owners were having difficulty obtaining insurance. A public option was created which at first, was very expensive. Now the price is down, 35% of the market has been eaten up by the government sponsored insurance, and State Farm was driven out. The shocking part is that the government run program is not solvent enough to handle a catastrophe so Floridians will be footing the bill to cover the cost.
I didn’t catch any more, but it was enough to give me further concern about what may happen with health care.
The Mystifyingly Mysterious Mister dba Obama, Part “N+”
Our Canadian Fellows Equally Kept In Fog Regarding Obama’s True Identity (National Post):
“Obama’s bio a state secret in Canada”/Andrew Mayeda, Canwest News Service –
OTTAWA — He’s the most high-profile politician in recent history, the winner of a bruising election campaign in which every aspect of his life — from his smoking habit to anti-American comments made by his pastor — came under relentless scrutiny.
But according to Canadian government officials, a biography of U.S. President Barack Obama provided to Prime Minister Stephen Harper shortly after Mr. Obama’s inauguration last January qualifies as a state secret.
Under the Access to Information Act, Canwest News Service requested all briefing materials provided to the prime minister ahead of Mr. Obama’s visit to Canada in February.
[...]
The 77 pages of heavily censored documents released to Canwest include [...]
More @ http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?
I like the fact that Rep. Cao actually admits to what essentially amounts to political bribery. He voted for a bill because Obama promised to send aid for hurricane Katrina problems? This tells us two things:
1. Joseph Cao’s vote can be “bought.”
2. Over four years after Katrina, the government at all levels has continued to fail.
If this does not demonstrate the complete lack of ethics and the ineptitude of our various forms of government today, then I’m not sure what will. And what are many Americans still doing? They’re begging the people who have run these governments into the ground in so many ways to assume more control over their lives.
That is the epitome of stupidity.
Geir -
If Rep. Deal does send that letter (a very big IF) the White House will simply offer to let him look at the COLB – end of story.
Besides, this thread is about health care and “moving on…”
jvn,
Rep. Nathan Deal is going to send a letter to Obama asking for his birth certificate.
Something you can’t get your head around ?
Sending a letter along with “several others”. At this date, we don’t know who the other Congressmen are.
Obamacare is on a weeks’ or even months’ agenda, while Rep. Deal is on a days, hours or minutes-agenda to send a letter by mail to the White House which is about three miles away.
Is there something you can’t grasp between minutes and months ? Time is a strange concept most people don’t grasp.
Obama is toast and history (get death for frauding nukes’ ID-access) because months and minutes don’t jell.
Obama is grasping at straws of months while Deal is grasping at minutes.
Let’s reveal that Obama is actually shown by heaven as designated in numbers in 6s – 7s – and a nine.
Given your interest, you might want to check out the http://www.lastingliberty.com/ piece on the healthcare debate : Bigger Than Healthcare
I think that the Senate will pass a bill that includes a “trigger” for the public option. This will gain two or three Republican votes. The “trigger” will be in the final bill that the House Dems will have to accept in order to pass the bill, but the “trigger” will be one that will be relatively certain to be met, thus simply delaying the public option.
Y’all are crazy if you think that 60 Dems in the Senate won’t find an acceptable deal…
Also, what happened to”miss Tickly” her site has been taken down?
Obamacare will not make it through the Senate.
Congressman Nathan Deal is acting like a bucket over the door there.
He can break the letter he wrote to the president, asking for a birth certificate, to the press if Obama doesn’t let his Obamacare project go.
It’s a dead-end for Obama, because now Rep. Deal’s gone too far to back down.
As many have said again and again, “Obama could have stopped this all long ago…”
Does anyone know what’s going on with the confiscated voting machines from the last election? Where did this occur? Who grabbed the machines?
I wonder if votes were preloaded into the machines before the election like they were in Honduras, for Obama’s buddy Zelaya.
Sharon, That is typical of government, insist you pay the taxes (insurance premiums) and receive very little in return, or the system goes broke, do to government overhead, fraud, and waste. Not to mention the raiding of Social Security trust fund, highway trust fund medicare, and every other fund and source of income to the government. They are spending money we don’t have and yet they want to spend more. These millionaire lawmakers have no “clue” when it comes to what makes the backbone of this country.
These congressmen need an education in book keeping. What are they thinking? Who advises these idiots? They are not qualified to be spending these vast sums of money and the blood of our military.
Yes, Phil great site. This is the only site where you can argue the eligibility issue with Obama’s obots, and always win, while trying to convince them they are beating a dead horse trying to legitimize a British citizen as a natural born citizen, eligible to be President of the US.
Maybe Obama should run for President of Kenya, since he obviously qualifies as a citizen there. He can get his cousin Odinga to run with him, and if they don’t win they can go on a killing spree together and kill the rest of the Christians in Kenya.
I heard an interesting explanation on a radio program about what has occurred with property insurance in Florida. After several devastating hurricanes hit, property owners were having difficulty obtaining insurance. A public option was created which at first, was very expensive. Now the price is down, 35% of the market has been eaten up by the government sponsored insurance, and State Farm was driven out. The shocking part is that the government run program is not solvent enough to handle a catastrophe so Floridians will be footing the bill to cover the cost.
I didn’t catch any more, but it was enough to give me further concern about what may happen with health care.
America’s ACORNISATION – episode n+:
Since the liberals put such a fight for a bill that is clearly regarded with suspicion by a majority of Americans, there got to be a greater pay-off for them in this than the (hypothetical) public benefit -
And yes, there is something much grander behind this manoevre which has coalesced around Obama’s appetite for tyranny all the bolshevicks spread around the country -
The bill is ostensibly aiming to democratize and help everybody have a minimal health care insurance – yet actually the purpose of the bill is to push this nation in an even greater subservience to the government, by cynically consolidating all parties involved in the health care arrangement in the USA in ONLY TWO VAST GROUPS, “assistees” and “assisters” , the well-being of both being in the hands of the government – thus generating a pro-government/ pro one-party class of voters.
This trick was successfully used by the communists in Eastern Europe to control, via “free medical assistance” the local populations –
While Obama refused to travel to Berlin to assist at the ceremonies marking the fall of the Berlin Wall, event that put an end to communism in Europe (devastating as that was for him, Ayres, Sunstein & Cie here in the USA), he steadfastly inflicts the communist revolution on in America on the path shown by Lenin, Marx, Honnecker, Ceaucescu and Jivkov – conditioning of the population to a one party/government in the greatest extent possible -
Expect much uglier forms of condittioning than this in the future -
Thanks for covering this, Phil. I appreciate you being here!