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For Thee But Not For Me

December 8, 2010 By Joan of Snark

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From the HHS website, here’s the latest list of exemptions from Obamacare’s annual limits requirements.  More paybacks to unions, of course, and the kind of information that won’t make the evening news.

Approved Applications for Waiver of the Annual Limits Requirements of the PHS Act Section 2711 as of December 3, 2010

*All Applicants Listed have had 1 or more plans/policies approved

  Applicant Application
Received
Plan
Effective
Date
Number
of
Enrollees
Application
Completed by
Applicant
Waiver
Approved
1 Advantage Benefits Company, LLC 11/12/2010 12/1/2010 57 11/12/2010 11/23/2010
2 Altisource Portfolio Solutions 10/21/2010 1/1/2011 200 11/15/2010 11/23/2010
3 American Heritage Life Insurance Company 10/15/2010 12/1/10-9/1/11 69,945 11/18/2010 11/23/2010
4 Americare Properties, Inc. 11/12/2010 1/1/2011 547 11/8/2010 11/23/2010
5 AMN Healthcare 10/12/2010 1/1/2011 3,440 11/8/2010 11/23/2010
6 APWU Health Plan Conversion Plan 10/20/2010 1/1/2011 518 11/15/2010 11/23/2010
7 ATCO Rubber Products, Inc 10/21/2010 1/1/2011 185 11/12/2010 11/23/2010
8 Baylor County Hospital District 10/20/2010 10/20/2010 208 11/12/1010 11/23/2010
9 Bricklayers Local 1 of MD, VA and DC 11/6/2010 1/1/2011 1,985 11/17/2010 11/23/2010
10 Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Ogdensburg 10/28/2010 1/1/2011 30 11/17/2010 11/23/2010
11 First Acceptance Corporation 11/9/2010 7/1/2011 864 11/18/2010 11/23/2010
12 Fruhauf Uniform Direct Labor 10/18/2010 1/1/2011 159 11/12/2010 11/23/2010
13 Grower’s Transport LLC 10/26/2010 12/1/2010 25 11/15/2010 11/23/2010
14 Hoosier Stamping and Manufacturing Corp. 10/20/2010 1/1/2011 14 10/20/2010 11/23/2010
15 Ingomar Packing Company, LLC 11/10/2010 1/1/2011 150 11/19/2010 11/23/2010
16 International Brotherhood of Trade Unions Health and Welfare Fund – Local 713 10/28/2010 1/1/2011 861 11/15/2010 11/23/2010
17 Local 1102 Amalgamated Welfare Fund 10/29/2010 1/1/2011 1,384 10/29/2010 11/23/2010
18 Local 1102 Health & Benefit Fund 10/29/2010 1/1/2011 4,642 10/29/2010 11/23/2010
19 Local 1102 Welfare Fund– Lerner Employees 10/29/2010 1/1/2011 245 10/29/2010 11/23/2010
20 Local 338 Affiliated Benefit Funds 11/10/2010 1/1/2011 18,209 11/19/2010 11/23/2010
21 Mission Linen Supply 11/5/2010 1/1/2011 541 11/17/2010 11/23/2010
22 NFI Industries 10/26/2010 1/1/2011 945 11/18/2010 11/23/2010
23 Operating Engineers Local 835 Health and Welfare Fund 10/20/2010 1/1/2011 576 11/16/2010 11/23/2010
24 Opportunity Resources, Inc. Health and Welfare Plan 11/2/2010 12/1/2010 27 11/2/2010 11/23/2010
25 Orscheln Industries 10/19/2010 1/1/2011 547 11/8/2010 11/23/2010
26 Pearson Candy Company 10/27/2010 1/1/2011 204 11/12/2010 11/23/2010
27 Retail, Wholesale & Dept. Store Union Local 1034 Welfare Fund 10/20/2010 1/1/2011 483 11/16/2010 11/23/2010
28 Sensient Technologies Corp. 10/28/2010 1/1/2011 94 11/17/2010 11/23/2010
29 Service Employees International Union Local 1 Cleveland Welfare Fund 10/20/2010 1/1/2011 520 11/15/2010 11/23/2010
30 SFN Group 11/9/2010 5/1/2011 1,420 11/9/2010 11/23/2010
31 Southern CA Pipe Trades
Trust Fund
10/12/2010 1/1/2011 12,700 11/2/2010 11/23/2010
32 Sun Healthcare Group, Inc. 10/21/2010 1/1/2011 2,200 11/15/2010 11/23/2010
33 Teamsters Local 522 Welfare Fund Roofers Division 11/12/2010 1/1/2011 270 11/12/2010 11/23/2010
34 Telesis Management
Corporation
10/28/2010 1/1/2011 148 11/16/2010 11/23/2010
35 Texas Carpenters and Millwrights Health and Welfare Fund 10/28/2010 1/1/2011 4729 10/28/2010 11/23/2010
36 The Mentor Network 10/21/2010 1/1/2011 6,843 11/16/2010 11/23/2010
37 The Wada
Farms, Inc.
11/10/2010 1/1/2011 130 11/19/2010 11/23/2010
38 The Wilks Group, Inc. dba Ashley Furniture Homestore 11/12/2010 12/1/2010 8 11/8/2010 11/23/2010
39 Trans-System, Inc. 10/19/2010 12/1/2010 232 11/8/2010 11/23/2010
40 United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1445 New Hampshire 10/27/2010 1/1/2011 148 11/9/2010 11/23/2010
41 Varsity Contractors, Inc. 11/8/2010 1/1/2011 198 11/8/2010 11/23/2010
42 Waffle House 10/20/2010 6/1/2011 3,947 11/12/2010 11/23/2010
43 Western
Express, Inc.
11/5/2010 1/1/2011 1,287 11/5/2010 11/23/2010
44 Amalgamated National Health Fund 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 24,739 11/9/2010 11/15/2010
45 Cocopah Nurseries, Inc. 10/26/2010 1/1/2011 75 11/15/2010 11/15/2010
46 FirstCarolinaCare Insurance Company on behalf of Longworth Industries 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 36 10/8/2010 11/15/2010
47 Fresh Express 10/18/2010 1/1/2011 2,033 11/7/2010 11/15/2010
48 Greencroft Communities 9/28/2010 1/1/2011 150 11/9/2010 11/15/2010
49 Independent Group Home Living Program, Inc. 10/26/2010 1/1/2011 39 11/9/2010 11/15/2010
50 Meijer Health Benefits Plan/Primary Care Option 10/25/2010 1/1/2011 7,436 10/25/2010 11/15/2010
51 Moore’s Retread & Tire of the Ark-La-Tex, Inc. 10/20/2010 11/1/2010 66 11/5/2010 11/15/2010
52 Payroll Solutions 9/27/2010 1/1/2011 382 11/9/2010 11/15/2010
53 Plumbers and Pipefitters Local No. 630 Welfare Fund 10/18/2010 1/1/2011 1,166 11/8/2010 11/15/2010
54 Seco Packing 10/21/2010 1/1/2011 104 10/21/2010 11/15/2010
55 Transcorr 10/15/2010 1/1/2011 578 11/8/2010 11/15/2010
56 United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1000 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 3,855 11/12/2010 11/15/2010
57 Western Growers Assurance Trust 9/30/2010 7/1/2011 18,858 11/8/2010 11/15/2010
58 1199SEIU Greater New York Benefit Fund 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 4,544 10/8/2010 11/5/2010
59 A. Duda & Sons, Inc. 10/14/2010 1/1/2011 62 11/4/2010 11/5/2010
60 Adecco Group, Inc. 10/12/2010 1/1/2011 5,760 11/2/2010 11/5/2010
61 Biomedic Corporation 10/12/2010 12/1/2010 202 11/2/2010 11/5/2010
62 Buffets, Inc. 10/14/2010 1/1/2011 2,483 11/4/2010 11/5/2010
63 Carington Health System 10/18/2010 1/1/2011 3,327 11/4/2010 11/5/2010
64 Cleveland Bakers Teamsters 9/27/2010 1/1/2011 1,000 10/29/2010 11/5/2010
65 Club Chef LLC 9/30/2010 1/1/2011 282 10/26/2010 11/5/2010
66 Columbia Sussex Mgmt, LLC 10/7/2010 1/1/2011 629 11/1/2010 11/5/2010
67 CRST International Inc. 10/19/2010 1/1/2011 1,600 11/4/2010 11/5/2010
68 Darr Equipment, Co. 10/5/2010 1/1/2011 105 10/26/2010 11/5/2010
69 DC Cement Masons Welfare Fund 10/22/2010 11/1/2010 225 11/3/2010 11/5/2010
70 Deaconess Long Term Care 10/14/2010 1/1/2011 194 11/3/2010 11/5/2010
71 Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 37 11/2/2010 11/5/2010
72 ECOM Atlantic, Inc. 10/1/2010 1/1/2011 81 10/1/2010 11/5/2010
73 FW Walton, Inc. 10/15/2010 12/1/2010 38 11/2/2010 11/5/2010
74 G4S Secure Solutions 10/11/2010 11/1/2010 7602 11/3/2010 11/5/2010
75 GC Services, L.P. & First Community Bancshares, Inc. 10/15/2010 1/1/2011 1936 10/15/2010 11/5/2010
76 Guardsmark, LLC 10/4/2010 2/1/2011 8,086 10/29/2010 11/5/2010
77 Indiana Teamsters Health Benefits Fund 9/29/2010 1/1/2010 500 11/1/2010 11/5/2010
78 Knox County Association for Retarded Citizens 10/6/2010 1/1/2011 96 10/25/2010 11/5/2010
79 Laundry and Dry Cleaning Workers Local No. 52 10/6/2010 No contractual Policies in effect for medical benefits 1,547 10/21/2010 11/5/2010
80 Mars Super Markets, Inc. 10/8/2010 7/1/2011 174 10/29/2010 11/5/2010
81 MPS Group, Inc. 10/12/2010 1/1/2011 2,253 11/2/2010 11/5/2010
82 Nexion Health 10/21/2010 11/1/2011 1449 11/3/2010 11/5/2010
83 Noodles & Company 10/1/2010 1/1/2011 159 10/29/2010 11/5/2010
84 Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy 10/15/2010 1/1/2011 50 11/4/2010 11/5/2010
85 Quality Integrated Services, Inc. 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 354 11/3/2010 11/5/2010
86 RE Rabalais Constructors, LTD 10/13/2010 12/1/2010 70 11/1/2010 11/5/2010
87 RREMC LLC 10/12/2010 1/1/2011 62 11/4/2010 11/5/2010
88 Security Forces Inc. 10/12/2010 1/1/2010 225 11/1/2010 11/5/2010
89 Shirkey Nursing 9/30/2010 1/1/2011 205 10/26/2010 11/5/2010
90 Social Service Employees Union Local 371 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 34,000 10/29/2010 11/5/2010
91 Spindle, Cooling, & Warehouse 10/5/2010 11/1/2010 89 10/27/2010 11/5/2010
92 Strauss Discount Auto 10/14/2010 1/1/2011 401 11/4/2010 11/5/2010
93 Sunburst Hospitality 9/30/2010 1/1/2010 197 11/5/2010 11/5/2010
94 Susser Holding Corp 10/6/2010 1/1/2011 4,245 10/6/2010 11/5/2010
95 Telescope Casual Furniture 9/27/2010 10/1/2010 32 11/1/2010 11/5/2010
96 Teletech Holdings, Inc. 10/15/2010 1/1/2011 1,083 11/4/2010 11/5/2010
97 The Brinkman Corporation 9/29/2010 1/1/2011 163 9/29/2010 11/5/2010
98 The LDF Companies 10/7/2010 1/1/2011 210 10/30/210 11/5/2010
99 United Food and Commercial Workers Union (Mount Laurel, NJ) 10/21/2010 11/1/2010 4100 10/25/2010 11/5/2010
100 United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1459 10/14/2010 1/1/2011 1,400 10/14/2010 11/5/2010
101 Universal Orlando 10/15/2010 4/1/2011 668 11/3/2010 11/5/2010
102 Valley Services, Inc. 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 927 10/29/2010 11/5/2010
103 United Food and Commercial Workers and Participating Employers Interstate Health and Welfare Fund 10/15/2010 5/1/2011 9,780 10/28/2010 11/4/2010
104 Protocol Marketing Group 10/4/2010 1/1/2011 454 10/25/2010 11/1/2010
105 Sasnak 9/29/2010 1/1/2011 813 9/29/2010 11/1/2010
106 Star Tek 10/1/2010 1/1/2011 1,423 10/26/2010 11/1/2010
107 Adventist Care Centers 10/1/2010 1/1/2011 725 10/26/2010 10/29/2010
108 B.E.S.T of NY 10/7/2010 1/1/2011 1,200 10/27/2010 10/29/2010
109 Boskovich Farms, Inc 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 165 10/28/2010 10/29/2010
110 Café Enterprises, Inc. 10/7/2010 2/1/2011 306 10/7/2010 10/29/2010
111 Capital District Physicians 9/22/2010 Varies 23,314 10/20/2010 10/29/2010
112 FleetPride, Inc. 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 263 10/8/2010 10/29/2010
113 Gallegos Corp 9/29/2010 1/1/2011 86 10/28/2010 10/29/2010
114 Hensley Industries, Inc. 10/5/2010 1/1/2011 357 10/28/2010 10/29/2010
115 Jeffords Steel and Engineering 10/4/2010 1/1/2011 112 10/28/2010 10/29/2010
116 Laborers’ International Union of North America Local Union No. 616 Health and Welfare Plan 10/19/2010 11/1/2010 188 10/19/2010 10/29/2010
117 O.K. Industries 10/4/2010 1/1/2011 1,238 10/28/2010 10/29/2010
118 Service Employees Benefit Fund 10/12/2010 11/1/2010 1,297 10/29/2010 10/29/2010
119 Sun Pacific Farming Coop 10/6/2010 12/1/2010 1,109 10/6/2010 10/29/2010
120 SunWorld International, LLC 10/5/2010 1/1/2011 686 10/25/2010 10/29/2010
121 UFCW Allied Trade Health & Welfare Trust 10/5/2010 1-Dec 68 10/25/2010 10/29/2010
122 United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1995 10/12/2010 11/1/2010 2,779 10/27/2010 10/29/2010
123 HCR Manor Care 10/5/2010 1/1/2011 2,666 10/26/2010 10/28/2010
124 IBEW No.915 9/28/2010 1/1/2011 930 10/15/2010 10/28/2010
125 Integra BMS for Culp, Inc. 10/4/2010 1/1/2011 34 10/25/2010 10/28/2010
126 New England Health Care 9/27/2010 1/1/2011 7,454 10/26/2010 10/28/2010
127 Wiliamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company 10/5/2010 1/1/2011 100 10/5/2010 10/28/2010
128 Aegis Insurance 10/6/2010 11/1/2010 67 10/25/2010 10/26/2010
129 Alliance One Tobacco 9/30/2010 1/1/2011 138 10/21/2010 10/26/2010
130 Asbestos Workers Local 53 Welfare Fund 9/29/2010 1/1/2011 2 10/21/2010 10/26/2010
131 Assurant Health (2nd Application) 9/29/2010 1/1/2011 19,024 10/21/2010 10/26/2010
132 Captain Elliot’s Party Boats 10/12/2010 11/1/2010 10 10/25/2010 10/26/2010
133 Carlson Restaurants 9/22/2010 1/1/2011 3,381 10/21/2010 10/26/2010
134 CH Guenther & Son 9/24/2010 1/1/2011 300 10/21/2010 10/26/2010
135 CKM Industries dba Miller Environmental 10/5/2010 11/1/2010 34 10/25/2010 10/26/2010
136 CWVEBA 10/14/2010 10/1/2010 4,500 10/18/2010 10/26/2010
137 Darden Restaurants 9/30/2010 1/1/2011 34,000 10/21/2010 10/26/2010
138 Duarte Nursery 9/23/2010 1/1/2011 283 10/19/2010 10/26/2010
139 Employees Security Fund 9/29/2010 1/1/2011 22 9/29/2010 10/26/2010
140 Florida Trowel Trades 9/27/2010 1/1/2011 297 10/21/2010 10/26/2010
141 Ingles Markets 9/30/2010 1/1/2011 917 10/25/2010 10/26/2010
142 Meijer 10/1/2010 1/1/2011 4,873 10/1/2010 10/26/2010
143 O’Reilly Auto Parts 9/23/2010 1/1/2011 9,722 9/23/2010 10/26/2010
144 Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 123 Welfare Fund 9/30/2010 1/1/2011 534 10/21/2010 10/26/2010
145 Sun Belt 9/28/2010 10/1/2010 114 10/20/2010 10/26/2010
146 UFCW Local 227 10/12/2010 11/1/2010 1,125 10/12/2010 10/26/2010
147 Uncle Julio’s 9/30/2010 11/1/2010 115 10/25/2010 10/26/2010
148 United Group 9/24/2010 1/1/2011 177 10/19/2010 10/26/2010
149 US Imaging 10/11/2010 11/1/2010 148 10/25/2010 10/26/2010
150 Vino Farms 10/8/2010 11/1/2010 152 10/21/2010 10/26/2010
151 Advanta 9/20/2010 9/1/2011 52 9/20/2010 10/21/2010
152 Agricare 9/23/2010 11/1/2010 437 9/23/2010 10/21/2010
153 Alaska Seafood 9/23/2010 1/1/2010 262 10/15/2010 10/21/2010
154 American Fidelity 9/22/2010 10/23/2010 9,358 10/14/2010 10/21/2010
155 Convergys 9/20/2010 1/1/2011 1,400 9/20/2010 10/21/2010
156 Darensberries 9/28/2010 10/1/2010 1,450 9/28/2010 10/21/2010
157 Gowan Company 9/23/2010 1/1/2011 225 9/27/2010 10/21/2010
158 Greystar 9/23/2010 1/1/2011 1,747 10/13/2010 10/21/2010
159 Macayo Restaurants 9/22/2010 12/1/2010 46 10/18/2010 10/21/2010
160 Periodical Services 9/27/2010 1/1/2011 464 9/27/2010 10/21/2010
161 UniFirst 9/23/2010 9/1/2011 2,659 10/14/2010 10/21/2010
162 Universal Forest Products 9/23/2011 5/1/2010 1,738 10/19/2010 10/21/2010
163 UFCW Maximus Local 455 10/4/2010 1/1/2011 59 10/18/2010 10/18/2010
164 AHS 9/22/2010 1/1/2011 400 10/12/2010 10/14/2010
165 GuideStone Financial Resources 9/21/2010 1/1/2011 354 9/21/2010 10/14/2010
166 Local 25 SEIU 9/29/2010 10/1/2010 31,000 10/7/2010 10/14/2010
167 MAUSER Corp. 9/21/2010 1/1/2011 47 9/24/2010 10/14/2010
168 Preferred Care, Inc. 9/15/2010 1/1/2011 918 9/15/2010 10/14/2010
169 Ruby Tuesday 10/8/2010 1/1/2011 3,219 10/8/2010 10/14/2010
170 The Dixie Group, Inc. 8/27/2010 6/19/2010 269 10/12/2010 10/14/2010
171 UFCW Local 1262 9/20/2010 10/1/2010 5,390 9/20/2010 10/14/2010
172 Whelan Security Company 9/23/2010 1/1/2011 287 10/12/2010 10/14/2010
173 AMF Bowling Worldwide 9/14/2010 1/1/2011 295 10/7/2010 10/12/2010
174 Assisted Living Concepts 9/17/2010 1/1/2011 1,174 9/17/2010 10/12/2010
175 Case & Associates 9/17/2010 1/1/2011 87 9/17/2010 10/12/2010
176 GPM Investments 9/17/2010 1/1/2011 275 9/17/2010 10/12/2010
177 Grace Living Centers 9/14/2010 10/1/2010 534 9/14/2010 10/12/2010
178 Mountaire 9/17/2010 1/1/2011 2,074 9/17/2010 10/12/2010
179 Swift Spinning 9/16/2010 1/1/2011 240 9/16/2010 10/12/2010
180 Belmont Village 9/10/2010 1/1/2011 785 10/4/2010 10/8/2010
181 Caliber Services 9/13/2010 1/1/2011 606 9/13/2010 10/8/2010
182 Cracker Barrel 9/9/2010 1/1/2011 16,823 9/17/2010 10/8/2010
183 DISH Network 9/13/2010 3/1/2011 3,597 9/23/2010 10/8/2010
184 Groendyke Transport,  Inc 9/2/2010 1/1/2011 1,322 9/2/2010 10/8/2010
185 Pocono Medical Center 9/24/2010 1/1/2011 3,298 9/24/2010 10/8/2010
186 Regis Corporation 9/10/2010 3/1/2011 3,617 10/1/2010 10/8/2010
187 The Pictsweet Co. 9/13/2010 1/1/2010 694 9/13/2010 10/8/2010
188 Diversified Interiors 9/28/2010 10/1/2010 300 9/28/2010 10/1/2010
189 Local 802 Musicians Health Fund 9/29/2010 10/1/2010 1,801 9/29/2010 10/1/2010
190 Medical Card System 9/20/2010 10/1/2010 6,635 9/23/2010 10/1/2010
191 The Buccaneer 9/22/2010 10/1/2010 125 9/28/2010 10/1/2010
192 CIGNA 9/17/2010 9/26/2010 265,000 9/30/2010 9/30/2010
193 Greater Metropolitan Hotel 9/16/2010 10/1/2010 1,200 9/24/2010 9/30/2010
194 Local 17 Hospitality Benefit Fund 9/16/2010 10/1/2010 881 9/24/2010 9/30/2010
195 GS-ILA 9/15/2010 10/1/2010 298 9/15/2010 9/28/2010
196 Allied 9/13/2010 10/1/2010 127 9/13/2010 9/27/2010
197 Harden Healthcare 9/9/2010 1/1/2011 874 9/29/2010 9/27/2010
198 Health and Welfare Benefit System 9/16/2010 10/1/2010 41 9/16/2010 9/27/2010
199 Health Connector 9/20/2010 10/1/2010 3,544 9/24/2010 9/27/2010
200 I.U.P.A.T 9/16/2010 10/1/2010 875 9/23/2010 9/27/2010
201 Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc. 9/22/2010 10/1/2010 326 9/22/2010 9/27/2010
202 Transport Workers 9/20/2010 10/1/2010 107 9/23/2010 9/27/2010
203 UFT Welfare Fund 9/16/2010 10/1/2010 351,000 9/27/2010 9/27/2010
204 Aegis 9/16/2010 10/1/2010 162 9/21/2010 9/24/2010
205 Aetna 9/16/2010 10/1/2010 209,423 9/16/2010 9/24/2010
206 Allflex 9/20/2010 10/1/2010 34 9/22/2010 9/24/2010
207 Baptist Retirement 9/10/2010 10/1/2010 127 9/17/2010 9/24/2010
208 BCS Insurance 9/13/2010 9/24/2010 115,000 9/22/2010 9/24/2010
209 Cryogenic 9/20/2010 10/1/2010 19 9/20/2010 9/24/2010
210 Fowler Packing Co. 9/8/2010 10/1/2010 39 9/17/2010 9/24/2010
211 Guy C. Lee Mfg. 9/15/2010 10/1/2010 312 9/15/2010 9/24/2010
212 HealthPort 9/17/2010 10/1/2010 608 9/17/2010 9/24/2010
213 Jack in the Box 9/17/2010 10/1/2010 1,130 9/21/2010 9/24/2010
214 Maritime Association 9/17/2010 10/1/2010 500 9/21/2010 9/24/2010
215 Maverick County 9/21/2010 10/1/2010 1 9/23/2010 9/24/2010
216 Metro Paving Fund 9/20/2010 10/1/2010 550 9/20/2010 9/24/2010
217 PMPS-ILA 9/19/2010 10/1/2010 15 9/23/2010 9/24/2010
218 PS-ILA 9/19/2010 10/1/2010 8 9/23/2010 9/24/2010
219 QK/DRD (Denny’s) 9/16/2010 10/1/2010 65 9/22/2010 9/24/2010
220 Reliance Standard 9/14/2010 10/1/2010 varies 9/14/2010 9/24/2010
221 Tri-Pak 9/20/2010 10/1/2010 26 9/20/2010 9/24/2010
222 UABT 9/17/2010 10/1/2010 17,347 9/17/2010 9/24/2010
  Total Enrollees     1,507,418    

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Filed Under: Truth In Reporting Tagged With: health care reform, Hypocritical Politicians, Obamacare, unions vs. private sector

Serfdom, USA

March 27, 2010 By Joan of Snark

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If you would be a king, you must have subjects.  But as it is no longer possible to command an army and go off to invade and conquer some unsuspecting country, how do you subdue your own countrymen, particularly if they are a truly free and independent people?  For the progressives, this has been their primary question and the answer has been 100 years in the making.  Aided and abetted by the evil of despotic progressivism in Europe that resulted in both World Wars, the self-perceived intellectual elites have slowly and carefully twisted the inherent goodness and morals upon which the Founding Fathers created this great nation.  Asking over and over that those who would work hard and achieve be “thy brother’s keeper” they forged the chains of modern slavery in the form of federal taxes, Social Security taxes, and Medicare taxes.  Insidiously, they have born down upon the Declaration of Independence’s statement that “all men are created equal” to craft class after class of “victims”, whole groups upon whom they could impress the idea that they were somehow not truly “equal”; conveniently forgetting that the Constitution promises us only equality in the freedom to choose, not equality in the inherent consequences of our choices.

This is not to say that America’s evolution of the definition of equality has not had some merit.  To be sure, to insist that women and all people of color and ethnic origin may have equal opportunity to the inalienable Right to pursue their own, individual Happiness is a good thing, for Liberty is, in Her own way, as blind as Lady Justice and therefore anyone may take their hand.  The problem has come from removing the Great Blindfolds and forcing someone else’s vision of equality of outcome because this can only be accomplished at the expense of others.

That so many Americans have fallen victim (sorry!) to these distortions was seen in the election of Barack Hussein Obama.  On the surface, for America to elect its first black president (even though he is only half black, which makes all the hoopla over it rather half-assed, in my not-so-humble opinion) was, indeed, a vindication of our Constitution.  Yet, as has been proven in the year since, his election was also a most wicked and reeling blow to it.  All his teleprompted rhetoric spoke not to the basic, fundamental and Constitutional values of America, but to the twisted distortions of those values so long and patiently pandered by progressives.  And so America elected a man who would be king, not a president. 

There wasn’t a moment of hesitation before he began his inside job of enslaving his fellow countrymen and, whether they understood why it was happening or not, Americans have watched in worried concern as:

The feds deliberately crashed Wall Street and thereby deliberately trashed the housing market.

The feds took over 2/3 of the American automotive industry.

Unemployment reached double-digits nationwide.

The feds continue to take down the banks.

Unemployment benefits were extended because businesses cannot or refuse to hire under current circumstances.

Congress voted to allow the federal government to take over the health care industry.

Congress voted to allow the federal government to take over the business of student loans.

The feds are now forcing banks to modify loans for the unemployed or underwater or overspent.

Social Security has officially run out of money.

And it is slowly starting to dawn on Americans that all of these activities are being paid for by them.  I recently came across a 2008 article about taxes.  In it, Matt Towery noted:

“…there’s a huge segment of the American population that believes they pay no taxes at all!

You read right. We polled full-time employed Americans and asked them, “Last year, did you pay taxes to the federal government, get a refund or both?”

An amazing 40 percent of respondents said they received a refund only. They didn’t say they paid taxes and then received a refund. They only said that they received a refund.

Nearly half the country believes that they don’t pay taxes to the federal government. They probably know they pay sales and other taxes, such as tolls. But because of our system of payroll withholdings, these folks never notice that on their pay stubs, it says clearly that they are taking home a lot less money than they are being paid by their employers.

So is it any wonder that when this vast portion of the American public is asked whether they believe we should all pay more taxes, in order to bankroll certain popular causes, that they’re often all for it? “

It’s almost laughable.  And while I know that in most of the circles I travel regularly there isn’t anyone who isn’t aware of their federal tax payments, there are some, and dare I say too many, who are really that stupid.  Perhaps most infamously exemplified by this exchange that was broadcast on WJR radio in Detroit, Michigan during the 2008 presidential campaigns:

ROGULSKI: Why are you here?
 
WOMAN #1: To get some money.
 
ROGULSKI: What kind of money?
 
WOMAN #1: Obama money.
 
ROGULSKI: Where’s it coming from?
 
WOMAN #1: Obama.
 
ROGULSKI: And where did Obama get it?
 
WOMAN #1: I don’t know, his stash. I don’t know. (laughter) I don’t know where he got it from, but he givin’ it to us, to help us.
 
WOMAN #2: And we love him.
 
WOMAN #1: We love him. That’s why we voted for him!
 
WOMEN: (chanting) Obama! Obama! Obama! (laughing)

 And another one:

ROGULSKI:  Did you get an application to fill out yet?
 
WOMAN:  I sure did.  And I filled it out, and I am waiting to see what the results are going to be.
 
ROGULSKI:  Will you know today how much money you’re getting?
 
WOMAN:  No, I won’t, but I’m waiting for a phone call.
 
ROGULSKI:  Where’s the money coming from?
 
WOMAN:  I believe it’s coming from the City of Detroit or the state.
 
ROGULSKI:  Where did they get it from?
 
WOMAN:  Some funds that was forgiven (sic) by Obama.
 
ROGULSKI:  And where did Obama get the funds?
 
WOMAN:  Obama getting the funds from… Ummm, I have no idea, to tell you the truth.  He’s the president.
 
ROGULSKI:  In downtown Detroit, Ken Rogulski, WJR News.

All this from Lydon Johnson’s poster child “Model City”, of course.   A place that remains a staunch Democrat outpost, represented by the likes of long-past-expiration-dates John Conyers and the Levin brothers.  A place that has become a veritable melting pot of progressive labeled “victims”:  blacks, Muslims, Hispanics, and union workers, just to name a few. 

Sadly, these people were raised to think this way.  Raised by the progressive ideology that because they are some sort of “victim” they are entitled to the fruits of another’s labor.  And in other, similarly progressive strongholds like California, I can’t help but feel concern as I watch them decide to put the legalization of marijuana on their ballot.  It strikes me as just the thing a modern would-be king and his potential court would do in order to continue to dumb down and subdue a population they wished to conquer.  Oh, sure, the state government is thinking there is money to be made that could help their billions of dollars of debt, and were we governed as intended by the Founding Fathers I personally don’t think I’d have a problem with all drugs being legal and taxed and with appropriate consequences when consumption of them causes harm to another person, however, we don’t live in our Founding Fathers’ world any more, Toto.  No, we live in a land where freedom and responsibility have been disconnected and the consequences of actions are beholden upon the class of “victim” to which you belong, defined by the whims of the federal government.

To whit:

After the Senate passed a “fix-it” bill Thursday to make changes to the new health care law, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the influential Finance Committee, said the overhaul was an “income shift” to help the poor.

“Too often, much of late, the last couple three years, the mal-distribution of income in American is gone up way too much, the wealthy are getting way, way too wealthy and the middle income class is left behind,” he said. “Wages have not kept up with increased income of the highest income in America. This legislation will have the effect of addressing that mal-distribution of income in America.”

Never mind that the so-called “wealthy” have been progressively and arbitrarily redefined to be anyone making over $250,000 a year, the vast majority of them very hard-working small business owners who, after paying their employees and all other business expenses, realistically find themselves living on far, far less than that.  No, sir, they are now a pesky problem, the selfish oafs, and must be forced to share with those who have been taught from their welfare-funded birth ’tis better to receive than to give.

All of this, then, leads to the thought of serfdom.  That place where one is born, one lives, and then one dies for no other purpose except that of being an object, a tool.  Needs are provided solely to the extent they allow you to be productive in the manner the overseer requires to benefit the elite.  There is irony in the fact that America’s first black president is hell-bent on enslaving Americans to that same measure as was once so prevalent in Europe during the Middle Ages; though in some dark, unexamined cranny in the back of his blind and narrow little mind it is perhaps perceived more as some sort of poetic justice, a seed-thought planted there by the likes of left-wing terrorists, communists, and radicals, Ayers, Davis, and Wright.

It is hard to imagine that the descendents, both physical and spiritual, of those who took their freedom from King George and later stormed the beach at Normandy in but one in a long series of defenses of liberty would allow themselves to be placed into the servitude of those who have never performed an honest day’s work in their lives.  And yet that is exactly the unintended consequence Americans now face in electing as president a man who would be king.

Serfdom, USA.

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Filed Under: Eroding Freedoms Tagged With: health care reform, obama hypocrisy, redistribution of wealth, Serfdom USA, USSA

Dividing With Flexible Definitions

March 25, 2010 By Joan of Snark

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It would be funny if it were not so dangerous to realize that according to the progressive liberal Democrats, under Obamacare someone up to the age of 26 is considered a child but some honest-to-god children with pre-existing conditions won’t be allowed coverage until 2014.  Yet a 15-year old girl, who is unable to drive, drink, vote, or sign a legal contract can give her consent for an abortion without her parents’ knowledge. 

True story:

The girl attends Ballard High School in Seattle which has a teen health clinic inside. The clinic is run by Swedish Medical Center and administered by the King County Health Department.

According to the girl’s mother, who did not want to give her name, her daughter was given a pregnancy test at the school clinic which was positive. She was then told by the nurse that she could have an abortion at a nearby Planned Parenthood clinic without her parents’ knowledge.

The girl then called a taxi, which picked her up at the school and drove her by herself to Planned Parenthood. The mother says once at the clinic a Planned Parenthood worker discouraged her daughter from informing her parents. She claims the worker told her that if she kept quiet the procedure would be free, but if she told her parents they would have to pay for the abortion.

The mother acknowledges she signed a consent form at the beginning of the school year giving the school permission to administer health care off campus. She assumed that meant in cases of emergency. Nowhere on the form is abortion mentioned.

A King County Health official would not speak about any of the details surrounding the case, but did say that no laws were broken. In Washington State a girl of any age can get an abortion without her parent’s being notified. It’s one of 15 states without either parental consent or parental notification laws.

And some wonder why entitlement mentality derangement syndrome is so pervasive in our society.  We let children believe they are mature and experienced enough to make their own, personal decisions like get pregant and abort an unborn baby, yet allow them to demand we continue to take care of them when they become adults and should be taking care of themselves.  I see this as a “divide and conquer” strategy of progressives, designed only to destroy the family and I can only imagine the anger and hurt that has occurred within the family in the above story because of this ideology.

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Filed Under: Truth In Reporting Tagged With: abortion, health care reform, teen abortion

In The Aftermath

March 23, 2010 By Joan of Snark

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President Walking Eagle is going to sign the Senate version of health care “reform” into law today.  And there will be great rejoicing among the progressive liberals who have managed by both hook and by crook to force another monstrous and unsustainable entitlement program onto the backs of the average American.  Not out of some noble and heartfelt sense of fairness, mind you, but from an egotistical and cynical belief that only government – a small, select group of intellectual “elite” – can do for people what people should be doing for themselves.

It is the 180-degree opposite of the intentions of our Founding Fathers, no matter what they say.  Or, in the case of the Speaker of the Nuthouse on Sunday night, try to say as she failed to pronounce the words of the Declaration of Independence properly, let alone state them in the right order.  Which only goes to show how little attention such people pay to the documents that created what was arguably the greatest nation in the history of man.

But I digress.

In the aftermath of the progressive liberal arm-twisting, threats, and taxpayer-funded bribes that pushed socialized medicine into American reality, it is interesting to note that lawsuits have already been prepared to challenge its legality.  How far they will go when the Senate bill creates a whole new army of IRS agents with neither the billions in funding required nor any legal power to enforce the individual mandate remains to be seen, but the very fact the individual mandate exists, that inactivity in the marketplace has become a crime is, indeed, unconstitutional.  (But, hey, those 16,500 new IRS agents are new jobs!)

Adding to what will be the circus is Senator Chuck Grassley’s announcement yesterday that during the Senate consideration of the House’s “reconciliation” legislation he intends to (again) introduce an amendment that would apply the health care “reforms” to the President, Vice-President, cabinet members and top White House staff .

“It’s pretty unbelieveable that the President and his closest advisors remain untouched by the reforms they pushed for the rest of the country.  In other words, President Obama’s health care reform won’t apply to President Obama,” Grassley said.  “Last December, the effort to apply any new law to administration political leaders was rejected by the Senate Majority Leader.  But there’s no justification for the double standard, and I’ll continue to work to establish fairness.”

The Senate legislation passed last night by the House of Representatives includes an amendment Grassley sponsored and got adopted by the Finance Committee last fall to have members of Congress and their staffs get their health insurance through the same health insurance exchanges where health plans for the general public would be available.  During the closed-door negotiations on the bill late last year, the Senate Majority Leader carved out Senate committee and leadership staff from this requirement.

Subsequently, Grassley and Senator Tom Coburn attempted to offer another amendment to restore the requirement during Senate debate on the health care bill, but the Senate Majority Leader would not let their amendment to fix this loophole even come up for a vote.  In addition to Senate committee and leadership staff, the amendment Grassley and Coburn filed during the Senate debate would have made the President, the Vice President, top White House staff and cabinet members all get their health insurance through the newly created exchanges.  It would not have applied to federal employees in the civil service.

Grassley said, “It’s only fair and logical that top administration officials, who fought so hard for passage of this overhaul of America’s health care system, experience it themselves.  If it’s as good as promised, they’ll know it first-hand.  If there are problems, they’ll be able to really understand them, as they should.”

Grassley said the motivation for his amendments is simple:  public officials who make the laws or lead efforts to have laws changed should live under those laws.

Americans have been griping for years about the perks and benefits Congress has voted themselves at the taxpayer’s expense and how the Senate responds to yet another clarion call for personal accountability – in public, we hope – will serve to put big targets on the backs of those who vote against it.

 

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Filed Under: Eroding Freedoms Tagged With: Grassley amendment, health care reform, obama hypocrisy

A Fatal Blow To The Republic

March 22, 2010 By Joan of Snark

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I’m not sure where we are this evening, dear readers, but we’re certainly not in the Republic of the United States any more.  At 1045 p.m., the House of Representatives voted to change this great nation into a banana republic by passing the Senate’s version of health care “reform”.  They then voted to send their even more restrictive and more debt-containing “reconciliation” bill over to the Senate.  A Senate that has absolutely no obligation to even consider it, mind you, let alone actually pass it into law. 

Michigan Representative Bart Stupak and most of his pro-life Democratic delegation voted “yes” for this blatant reversal of the Hyde amendment prohibiting the use of taxpayer funding of abortions, based only on a worthless piece of paper that His Transparency agreed at the last hour to sign as an Executive Order.  An order that in first draft merely reiterates bits and pieces of the Senate bill and has absolutely NO weight behind it since an Executive Order can’t trump law.

As a lawyer, Stupak knows all this, which makes him a traitor of the worst sort.  But, as is said, once a Democrat, always a Democrat and so it is that Americans, if they still believe in the inalienable Rights given to them by the literal blood and sweat of the Founding Fathers, now have a long, hard road ahead.  Life as we know it is going to be messy for a good long while since there will be immediate court challenges filed against the unconstitutional aspects of the Senate bill, including the individual mandate that NOT doing something now becomes a crime.  In 38 states, attorney generals are readying lawsuits to exempt their states from the legislation.  And the true conservative part of the GOP has begun the effort to gather support for an outright appeal of it.

And yet most of us have to get up tomorrow morning and go about our regular business of making a living and living our regular lives.  It’s a surreal feeling tonight and I weep with both Lady Liberty and Justice.  I weep because the America I so dearly love does not deserve this usurpation of her liberties, this castration of those things that have made Her the most powerful nation on earth, even though a majority of her citizens were stupid enough to believe that “hope and change” meant something a little less tyrannical.

Immigration reform is next, you know.  The Democrats are hoping that an infusion of millions of grateful new citizens via amnesty, though they are today all criminals, will help them next November.  No matter there is then the risk of these criminals legally displacing more American workers at a time when America’s unemployment rate still hovers near 10%.  No matter that hard-working Americans will have even more health insurance (and abortions) to subsidize with their tax dollars.

The road ahead is, indeed, going to be long and hard.  And bloodier than previously anticipated.

May God have mercy on us.

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Filed Under: Eroding Freedoms Tagged With: amnesty, Bart Stupak, federal abortion funding, health care reform, Hyde Amendment, illegal immigration

Quote Of The Day

March 21, 2010 By Joan of Snark

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“I feel rude trying to inject some fact into this kabuki theater.”

(House Representative John Linder during floor debate on the Senate health care “reform” bill)

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Filed Under: Eroding Freedoms Tagged With: health care reform, Representative John Linder

By The Dawn’s Early Light

March 21, 2010 By Joan of Snark

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Will today be another day that lives on in infamy?  This morning, I wonder.  After much bluster and nonsense yesterday, while thousands of red-blooded American taxpayers gathered at the Capitol Building and the Capital switchboard and computer systems nearly went belly-up from the millions of calls and emails in protest of both health care “reform” and the process by which such ursupation of American liberty was being done, House Democrats backed down on “deem and pass”, that ridiculous parlimentary procedure that would have had them voting to agree that they voted to agree the Senate bill was passed as is.

This is a good thing.  It is one less piece of fabric in Nancy Pelosi’s skirt under which House Democrats can try and hide.  Today will be a straight vote in the House on the contents of the Senate’s version of health care “reform”.  Complete with its taxpayer funding for abortion.

The House will then vote on their demands to the Senate that are intended to amend the Senate bill.  But with the Senate bill passed as is in both Senate and House, His Transparency can sign it into law and the Senate is under no obligation to even consider the House amendment bill.

Which leaves Democrats in both houses of Congress in a bit of a fix.  House Democrats will sign the death warrant of their political career by voting for the Senate bill, even if they vote again in favor of their own amendment legislation.  The Senate Democrats believe they have already caved to the wishes of the same constituents with their version so will sign their own political career’s death warrant if they later pass the House’s amendment legislation, which puts even greater penalties and taxes in place on Americans than what they passed in great haste last Christmas Eve.  And the entire process by which today has been reached has left a bad taste in  the mouths of even those who are in favor of these tyrannical violations of Constitutional freedoms.

Let’s not forget that a rally for amnesty for illegal immigrants is scheduled to take place in D.C. today.  A whole clammering crowd of those who wish only to take advantage of the labors of those who have followed the laws of this great land and, if the Senate bill passes in the House, will end up having their health insurance premiums subsidized by honest, hard-working American taxpayers.  Rather ironic, don’t you think?

Unless the Senate bill fails to pass in the House today the November 2010 midterm elections are certain to be a not just a bloodbath, but a total rout.  Not only of Democrats in Washington but of the Democratic party itself.  For the progressive liberal path upon which Americans have been led by Democrats, lo these last 100 years, is now at long last being seen clearly for what it is:  the death of the Republic.  And though generations of Americans have sat back and allowed the inch-by-inch encroachment on their inalienable Rights and their freedoms, the day has dawned when that line that must never be crossed is right in front of them.

One might almost feel a certain pity for those in Congress today.  They are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.  But this did not become the most powerful nation on Earth without reason.  And that reason is the sane minds of the Founding Fathers, who with preternatural wisdom and foresight created a system through which the best of what is Man could flourish.  It was birthed by the literal blood of patriots then, and will be defended and protected with the figurative blood of patriots today.

One nation. 

Under God. 

Indivisible.

With liberty and justice for all.

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Filed Under: Eroding Freedoms Tagged With: health care reform, obama hypocrisy, patriotism

House Will Cave If Senate Swallows

March 20, 2010 By Joan of Snark

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The  changes that the Nuthouse wants to see put in place if they agree to pass the Senate’s version of health care “reform” are now available for our weekend’s reading pleasure.  Frankly, as I begin the task, it again becomes clear that no matter how the poor CBO attempts to score any of this nonsense, it’s going to cost every working American one hell of a lot more than the unholy Trinity of Obama, Pelosi, and Reid would like us to believe.

For example, the $750/employee penalty to be levied against employers who don’t provide health insurance will almost triple to $2,000/employee.

All income, whether taxable or not, will now count towards calculating how much you will have to pay out to help subsidize premiums for other people.  This gets a new name for IRS purposes, “modified adjusted gross income”.

Even though by the time they are 27, the vast majority of normal children are out living on their own and for a few years have been able to sign legal contracts, vote, drink, and be sent to war, the federal government will consider them as helpless and let them remain health care “dependents”.

We, the taxpayers, get to foot the bill of a billion dollars just so the feds can “administer” all the nails in this coffin.  Paid for, in part, by taxing investment income starting in 2012.

All 50 states will have their new Medicaid enrollees paid for by the federal government.  Translation:  you and me are going to pay for all the “newly insured”, as the Democrats like to call them.  Through 2016.  Then the percentage paid by us…I mean, paid by the federal government will drop to 95% and then slide down until it bottoms out at 90% after 2020.  And we…I mean, the federal government is going to pay 100% of the going rate for the services of Medicaid primary care physicians.  But “disproportionate share hospitals” will see their Medicaid funding cut starting in 2014.  At the Secretary’s discretion, of course.

And we can’t forget to subsidize those uninsured in U.S. territories like Puerto Rico. 

There’s one great joke hidden in Section 1304:  $250,000,000 allocated to fight Medicare “waste and fraud”. 

And why the concern about the Social Security Trust Fund, eh?  A whole section is devoted to making sure this “act” has no impact on something that was always supposed to have been held separate.  As if Congress is suddenly afraid they’re going to raid that empty cookie jar?

Then there’s the $2 billion set aside for training.  And a whole section devoted to the “SAFRA Act”, which includes funding for federal Pell Grants, an additional $13.5 billion for student loans through 2012, a nod to the race card with monies allocated for “historically black colleges”, and a whole reworking of how loans are paid back (and not paid back).  Exactly how this will help health care in the United States requires tenuous reasoning at best.

It is said there is nothing new under the sun, and in the case of these Democrat demands for modifications to the Senate health care “reform” bill, it’s still true.  Funny that with abortion funding being a big red flag in the House, there’s absolutely no mention of rewording the Senate bill.  Which, of course and as it has always meant, we, the taxpayer will be funding abortion.

It is being reported that the phones of those unrepresenting representatives in the Nuthouse are either busy or going unanswered, and tens of thousands of emails continue to be ignored.  Yet the unholy Trinity continues to look into the camera and say, with a straight face, that this usurpation of 1/5 of the private sector is what Americans want.

On the day when the Real Clear Politics poll shows Obama’s job approval rating is now lower than his disapproval rating.

Cue the flying pigs.

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Filed Under: Eroding Freedoms Tagged With: federal funding for abortion, health care reform, obama hypocrisy

Tyranny Stands Before Us

March 19, 2010 By Joan of Snark

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I read the latest news about the Democrats’ strategy to pass so-called health care “reform” and hear the soft sounds of the Founding Fathers weeping.  Now dawns the day I feared when Americans decided to blindly cast a majority vote for “hope and change” that was designed as nothing more than to cloak taxation without representation.  

Tyranny now stands before us.

I’ve never seen such insanity emanating from Washington, D.C. and I fear for my beloved country.  Looking at the larger picture, I’m aghast at the sheer laziness of so many generations of Americans that has allowed the progressive liberals to lead them by the nose down this wicked path to enslavement.  A laziness that thinks it’s perfectly fine for the government to keep stealing more and more hard-earned taxpayer money in order to spend it on what is, in the end, not really help but instead simply entitlements for a never-ending cast of know-it-all progressive liberal “intellectually-elite”-defined “victims”.  Actions have consequences, intended or not, and outside of some Ivy League fantasy they are the individual’s responsibility.  Whether from having borrowed or spent more money than can possibly repaid and therefore losing your house or failing to use birth control and getting pregnant, stupidity doesn’t make you a “victim”, it just makes you…stupid.  And no one else should be forced to bail you out.

Still, there are times when people honestly need help, but such charitable endeavors rightly belong to the private sector.  Neighbor is the one to help their neighbor, not the federal government.  The job of the federal government is by Constitutional design little more than to keep the country secure, to maintain interstate infrastructure, and to help keep relations between the states smooth.  But Americans have continued to take the easy way out, handing over bigger and bigger chunks of their paychecks to old Uncle Sam instead of writing a check to charity themselves or, heaven forbid, actually volunteering their time and getting their hands dirty.  They hand over their personal responsibility to help their neighbor through ever-increasing payroll deductions and then lay claim to virtuous deeds performed on their behalf after a hefty skim off the top to pay bureaucrats double the going price in the private sector.

It’s hogwash.

It didn’t used to be that way in America.  And when the federal government wasn’t running the private sector and doing for the individual what is the individual’s responsibility to do for themselves that was when this country was great and it was what made this country so powerful.  People directly helping other people, not sitting around and selfishly waiting on the federal government to “spread the wealth”.

To the nuns and the Catholic Health Association, and anyone else who now suddenly, conveniently thinks the Senate health care “reform” bill is “good enough” in its abortion language because the House is willing to circumvent Constitutional checks and balances to pass it on partisan party lines based solely on some flim-flam sham of a promise to “fix it all later”, I say this:  you have no right to demand that any American involuntarily donate to your cause.  Willing or not, who do you think supports your efforts now?  All charities are given tax breaks that come at the expense of the general population, regardless whether those within the general population agree with their work or not.  Don’t demand that we now be forced to subsidize abortions with our tax dollars because you, personally, want to “help” more people.  Wanting to help is all fine and noble, but it belongs to the individuals within private sector to fund at their discretion, not the federal government.

To members of Congress, particularly those in the Nuthouse, listen and listen good.  A majority of Americans think your ideas about health care “reform” are flat-out wrong and a full 3/4 of Americans think Congress is doing a  piss-poor job and taking this great nation in entirely the wrong direction.  And, though it may surprise you, a majority of Americans DO care about process and slaughtering Constitutional checks and balances in order to violate the Constitution’s declared inalienable Rights of Americans is seen clearly for what it is.  WRONG.  We understand what is at stake here, we see the dangers to liberty that now have faces and names, most with a “D” after them.  Unlike you, we balance our personal budgets and we know that saying you’re going to cut something where there is no realistic chance of that happening but instead spending those “savings” elsewhere is a double-dip.  We know that giving someone money for their health insurance is just a backdoor subsidy that simply frees up their own money to be spent on a policy that covers abortions and in the real world we call it enabling.

Bottom line:  the majority of Americans aren’t stupid.  And so today we weep.

But tomorrow we vote.

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Filed Under: Eroding Freedoms Tagged With: health care reform, obama hypocrisy, Slaughter rule, taxpayer funded abortions

“Better Than Nothing” Is A Dangerous Game

March 14, 2010 By Joan of Snark

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His Transparency makes a great show of what his version of so-called “bipartisan” legislation might look like, but where’s the bill, eh?

Kathleen Sebelius says, “…the American people are desperate.”

Tom Daschle says, “Every time we do [try healthcare reform], the same predictions and the same dire consequences are announced.”

David Axelrod says, “Make my day.” 

The truth is that the American people are, indeed, desperate.  Desperate for proper, Constitutional authority-based leadership in Washington.  Leadership that does not confuse health CARE with the explosion of the business of health care INSURANCE.  Leadership that strives to protect individual, inalienable rights and the inherent responsibilities that go along with them.

The majority of Americans are more familiar with the alleged health care “reform” bills in both the House and the Senate than are most of their unrepresenting representatives.  And the majority of Americans do NOT want anything to do with either one.  The majority of Americans understand the dangers of the federal government usurping control over their access to medical care and control over the kind of care they may or may not be allowed.  The majority of Americans are now wondering just why student loans need to be a part of the “health care reform” package.

And in ways that go beyond simply the horrible matter of the Senate bill allowing federal taxpayer funds to be used to pay for abortions, the majority of Americans do NOT want to be forced to pay for other people’s choices.

This one should have been tossed into the trash a long time ago.  But the Democrats are twisting arms, cutting both deals and throats in a last-ditch attempt to salvage the chance to satisfy their insatiable appetite for control over the lives of others with what amounts to a nothing more than a rotting, stinking heap of unsustainable, unconstitutionally-mandated entitlements.  Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) calls the Democrat’s latest push for overwhelming government control “a political kamikaze mission”.  And to be sure, next November, those in Washington who fail to heed the voice of the American people will find themselves in that long, long, progressive liberal-created unemployment line.

It’s too bad they can’t be ridden out of town on a rail instead.

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Filed Under: Eroding Freedoms Tagged With: Democrat suicide, health care reform, obama hypocrisy, political kamikaze mission

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