The Smoke Break

You want some brie with that whine?

The Founding Fathers On Health Care

By

There is much rumbling about the constitutionality of what Congress is now doing to legislate health care “reform”.  Those who think the Constitution is a “living document”, subject to the whims of whoever manages to buy the most votes, and therefore argue that health care in this country is a “right” are, however, sadly off the mark.  In fact, my not-so-humble opinion is that they can be described as traitors for their subversion of the Constitution and the perpetuating of such a myth is itself treason, but that is a discussion for another day.

Right now, what concerns me is the intention of the Founding Fathers and nowhere are they stated more clearly than in the Declaration of Independence.  It is the single most critical document to be considered for it is the very reason that United States exists.

The Declaration states:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

There is great hypocrisy in liberal arguments that focus on the literal in the health care debate yet deliberately ignore the literal in these two simple statements.  It is quite clear that equality was considered crucial and key by the Founders.  By definition (all courtesy of Merriam-Webster), equality means of the same measure, quantity, amount, or number as another; it means identical in mathematical value or logical denotation.  It does not mean, by modern Democratic parlance translated into legislation, that some are more equal than others.  Yet Congress and the federal government consistently hold themselves apart from the people and earmarks, particularly those handed out by Senator Reid to get his 60 votes for the Senate bill, are a blatant disregard of the definition, for by giving more to some they then give less to others (in itself a violation of Article 1, Sections 8 and 9 of the Constitution but that will be addressed further down).

So if you can understand and accept the fact that by simple definition we all stand as equals, then what follows is that every equal one of us has certain “inalienable Rights”.  An “inalienable Right” is one that is incapable of being withdrawn or diverted, surrendered, or transferred.  Meaning, it’s yours; you own it without having to buy it, and no can force you to sell it.  It is something that no one may ever take away from you, now and forever, amen.

These inalienable Rights are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.  We have discussed them here before but in terms of the health care debate, they translate thusly:

1.)  Life:  The inalienable Right to Life means that no one is allowed to take yours away from you.  Not now, and not even before you are born (except by specific and narrow definition that we will adress when we get to Happiness).  The bottom line is that you – the individual – by the very grace of God (or Buddha or the Great Pumpkin or whatever have you since all religious beliefs or the lack thereof are also equal) have the right to be alive.  Period.

2.)  Liberty:  The inalienable Right to Liberty means that when you exist, you are free.  But what exactly is “free”?  It means that you not subject to the control or domination of another, you are not determined by anything beyond your own nature or being; you are capable of choosing for yourself,  not hampered or restricted or confined.  You may decide how and what you think and say, how you wish to live, where you wish to live while you think and speak, how you care for yourself and/or for others.  The examples go on and on but this one small word is the centerpoint upon which everything in this country is balanced.  Liberty is, by definition, dependent upon freedom.  It is  the power to do as one pleases, the freedom from physical restraint, the freedom from arbitrary or despotic control, the positive enjoyment of various social, political, or economic rights and privileges; liberty is the power of choice.

Let’s look at that last definition a little more closely.  You have the power of choice.  You have the inalienable RIGHT TO CHOOSE.  It is your right to look at the options available to you and to choose what makes the most sense to you based on your own individual circumstances.  But in the matter of abortion, doesn’t this conflict with the Right to Life?  Glad you asked.  The inalienable Right to life and the inalienable Right to liberty are equal rights, neither one takes precedence over the other but they are also equal to the third inalienable right and it is there that the balance point for this and other matters may be found.

3.)  Pursuit of Happiness:  This is the inalienable right to follow your heart, to go after those things that for you, the individual, bring a state of well-being and contentment.  If it makes you happy to dye your hair blue or cover every inch of your body with swastika tattoos, if it makes you happy to invent the next best thing after sliced bread and thereby make a fortune, if it makes you happy to spend that fortune on stuff or to give it all away, you have the inalienable right to do these things.  In terms of health care, if drinking yourself into a stupor every night makes you happy or smoking or eating nothing but McDonald’s french fries or any other thing that medicine tells us may have a negative impact on health, it is still your inalienable right to do them.  I know it may be hard to believe this since the federal government has decided it is in your best interests to legislate your ability to pursue your choices of what science deems as “unhealthy” but the reality of the Republic of these United States of America is that such legislation was never and is not now really within their powers.  I would argue that to “provide for the general Welfare” means simply insuring that science is allowed to operate freely and its results then made available to everyone; it is the States, made up of the people in each of them who then decide what, if anything, should be done based on whether they choose to believe those results or not.

May it be noted for the record that the inalienable Right to pursue your own individual happiness does not mean that you are guaranteed to get it.  This Right is only about opportunity, it is the inalienable Right to life and liberty with a hefty sprinkle of fate that affects results.  In the health care debate over abortion, the balance between the inalienable Right to life, liberty, and happiness is found in the ruling in Roe v. Wade and in the Hyde amendment.  These two things allow the individual to make the decision and the freedom to pursue it yet prevent individual choice from negatively impacting any individual who would choose differently.

And that is exactly the sort of balance that is meant by the saying, “Your rights end where mine begin”.  You may have the inalienable Right to choose but because everyone is equal and therefore has exactly that same Right, you may not make a choice for which your consequences (intended or not) become the consequences of someone else who did not make your same choice.

Surely, all of this balancing ’tis a delicate act to accomplish, yet by granting limited powers to the federal government, the Founding Fathers were very clear that individual freedom is paramount.  James Madison addressed the “general welfare” argument long before the Democrats decided that it means they can force Americans to do whatever it is they think best by making regulations and laws and using the IRS as their means to enforce compliance.  In Federalist Paper 41, he explains the enumerated powers of the Constitution (highlights mine):

It has been urged and echoed, that the power “to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts, and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States,” amounts to an unlimited commission to exercise every power which may be alleged to be necessary for the common defense or general welfare. No stronger proof could be given of the distress under which these writers labor for objections, than their stooping to such a misconstruction.

Had no other enumeration or definition of the powers of the Congress been found in the Constitution, than the general expressions just cited, the authors of the objection might have had some color for it; though it would have been difficult to find a reason for so awkward a form of describing an authority to legislate in all possible cases. A power to destroy the freedom of the press, the trial by jury, or even to regulate the course of descents, or the forms of conveyances, must be very singularly expressed by the terms “to raise money for the general welfare.

“But what color can the objection have, when a specification of the objects alluded to by these general terms immediately follows, and is not even separated by a longer pause than a semicolon? If the different parts of the same instrument ought to be so expounded, as to give meaning to every part which will bear it, shall one part of the same sentence be excluded altogether from a share in the meaning; and shall the more doubtful and indefinite terms be retained in their full extent, and the clear and precise expressions be denied any signification whatsoever? For what purpose could the enumeration of particular powers be inserted, if these and all others were meant to be included in the preceding general power? Nothing is more natural nor common than first to use a general phrase, and then to explain and qualify it by a recital of particulars. But the idea of an enumeration of particulars which neither explain nor qualify the general meaning, and can have no other effect than to confound and mislead, is an absurdity, which, as we are reduced to the dilemma of charging either on the authors of the objection or on the authors of the Constitution, we must take the liberty of supposing, had not its origin with the latter.

Let me translate this into contemporary English.  Madison says that those who argue that the federal government can do anything, in this case health care, because it affects the “general welfare of the United States” are idiots.  He says they are making up their facts by deliberately misunderstanding what is in the Constitution and how it is written.

He explains that the first sentence in Article 1, Section 8 is not a stand-alone statement.  The sentence was not written as:  “The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.”  It was written as:  The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;” and herein lies the meat of his explanation.  The difference in the two sentences I have just typed is that the first one ends in a period and the second one ends in a semicolon.  And, as in all proper writing, which should be well-understood by all those “best and brightest” Ivy League types scuttling around Washington, punctuation matters.  Madison then calls out those who deliberately ignore the meaning of the Article’s punctuation.  He explains that the opening sentence of Article 1, Section 8 is a general phrase that is explained in full – qualified – by what then follows after that all-important little semicolon.  To suppose that the Founders meant anything more or less than what they put down in writing in that section is “an absurdity”.  For the sake of those who may not have ever read them, according to the Constitution then, these and these alone are the powers that the Founding Fathers saw as belonging to the federal government:

To borrow money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

And just in case Madison had not fully and successfully won the argument that the laundry list contained in Article 1, Section 8  is the sum total of the power granted by the Constitution to the federal government, the Founding Fathers included Amendment 9 in the Bill of Rights:

Amendment 9 – Construction of Constitution. Ratified 12/15/1791.

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

I don’t know about you, Sunshine, but I don’t see health care included in this list.  And it wasn’t because there wasn’t any medical care in the 18th century, either, because even though doctors actually killed more people than they saved, medicine was already a long-recognized profession. One of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Dr. Benjamin Rush, put forth this argument at the Constitutional Convention: 

“The Constitution of this Republic should make special provision for medical freedom. To restrict the art of healing to one class will constitute the Bastille of medical science. All such laws are un-American and despotic.” 

“Unless we put medical freedom into the constitution the time will come when medicine will organize into an undercover dictatorship and force people who wish doctors and treatment of their own choice to submit to only what the dictating outfit offers.”

That is as close to a mention of health care as you’ll find, though the good doctor addresses only the individual freedom of his fellow doctors to practice their art.  That we find no such special interests included in the final version of the Constitution is because the Founding Fathers understood that things like health care are the sole purview of the individual and that our inalienable Rights already covered matters like choice of profession.  His words are prophetically ironic, though, and Dr. Rush is quite likely spinning in his grave over the contents of the House and Senate health care legislation since both create exactly the situation he feared would happen to the American people.  I can only imagine his angst, as one willing to die for our inalienable rights, that it comes directly from the hands of the federal government.

Bribes Beat Facts

By

He who controls the purse strings makes the rules.  At least that’s how the Senate has handled their version of American health care “reform”.  In the end, it was billions of dollars of taxpayer money handed out as early Christmas presents behind closed doors in the middle of a snowstorm in the middle of the night by Majority Leader Harry Reid that bought the crucial 60 votes the Demons…errr…the Democrats needed for the Senate to pass the bloody bastard.

‘Tis truly a sad, sad day for America.  Those words can’t even begin to do justice to the wrenching ache deep in my gut as it is demonstrated yet again and with such blatant obviousness that this administration will do anything to turn what was once a beautiful beacon of light for the world into just another banana republic where freedom is but a dream and business is conducted through bribes in dark alleyways.

At this moment, I can naught but allow myself to be human and feel absolute loathing towards every Democrat in the Senate.  While truly I wish no one harm, if I could have my way every single one of them would be run out of town on a rail and the only job they would ever again hold would be prefaced with “You want fries with that?”  For such an entry level, real world job is barely all for which they have proven themselves qualified.  They have shown once again that they don’t have a clue about how things work in the real world, the real world that is the source of the wealth they accumulate and toy with like so many cat turds in their little phantom sandbox in Washington.

This morning, they break their arms patting themselves on the back, proudly telling America it’s raining when they’re still just peeing on our leg.  It is all beyond disgraceful, it is all beyond shameful.  Reid said afterwards that “facts beat fears” but the reality this Christmas Eve is that bribes beat facts.

It has been noted that despite all the campaign promises, Obama’s legacy will be seen as that of the great divider.  Senate Democrats have now struck a solid blow to really break this country in half, pitting honest, tax-paying, jobs-creating Americans against those standing in line for their Obama-promised handout.  Rock The Vote’s latest stupidity that passses for advertising telling young people to withhold sex from those who are against the Democrat version of health care reform is but a prelude to the prejudice this farce of a Senate has just set in motion.  At least as I write this piece Americans still have choices and I expect the more savvy will be voting with their dollars against businesses run by Democrats.  I know that I will.

And therein lies America’s last hope.  That this morning’s vote will be historic only by its fatal shattering of the Democratic party.  That it will be a wake-up call to the GOP about the beliefs of the majority of Americans and our expectations of those we send to Washington to represent us; that it will allow true, constitutional conservatives a greater voice and thereby educate the immature in this society that it our Constitutional freedoms that have allowed them to stand here today with their hands out instead of shouldering their fair share.  That our Constitutional freedoms are the only thing that will allow themselves to better their lot in life; for unlike the foundation of freedom given to us by the Founding Fathers, in a progressive, liberal Democratic regime, it is handouts, not opportunity, that are guaranteed to be rationed.

They OWN This Now

By

The Senate’s Demon-crats continued to steamroll their plans to enslave the American people via their pork-filled “health care reform” bill today.  Three key scenes played out on the Senate floor and they are extremely telling.

First, every single Democrats voted AGAINST examining the constitutionality of the individual mandate.  It is their learned opinion that requiring every American to purchase a product is not an infringement of their freedom to choose and therefore debate is not necessary.

They then refused to consider whether their legislation infringes upon the states’ rights with regard to regulation of insurance companies.

Just as a reminder, here is the list of those who are putting the chains on you:

Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Begich (D-AK)
Bennet (D-CO)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Burris (D-IL)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Conrad (D-ND)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)		 Franken (D-MN)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Hagan (D-NC)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kaufman (D-DE)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kirk (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Merkley (D-OR)		 Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Specter (D-PA)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Udall (D-CO)
Udall (D-NM)
Warner (D-VA)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)

 And, at the last, they voted to INCLUDE ALL THE BILL’S EARMARKS.  Though in this vote, the Republicans found themselves joined by a handful of Democrats who apparently felt it was ok to vote for the bill until someone else had the cajones to publicly bring up the fact it contains billions of dollars of pork.

YEAs —53
Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Begich (D-AK)
Bennet (D-CO)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Burris (D-IL)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Conrad (D-ND)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feinstein (D-CA)		 Franken (D-MN)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Hagan (D-NC)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kaufman (D-DE)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kirk (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Menendez (D-NJ)		 Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Specter (D-PA)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Udall (D-CO)
Udall (D-NM)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)
NAYs —46
Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Collins (R-ME)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)		 Enzi (R-WY)
Feingold (D-WI)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
LeMieux (R-FL)
Lugar (R-IN)
McCain (R-AZ)
McCaskill (D-MO)
McConnell (R-KY)		 Merkley (D-OR)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Nelson (D-NE)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Snowe (R-ME)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (D-VA)
Webb (D-VA)
Wicker (R-MS)
Not Voting – 1
Bunning (R-KY)

The final vote to move this bastard bill out of the Senate is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. EST.  By all rights, every Democratic Senator who voted to remove the pork from the bill should now vote against its final passage since they have gone on record as saying the bill, as is, is wrong.  We won’t even go into the fact that the CBO has now gone on record as saying the Democrats have been arguing financial “benefits” of the bill by double-counting Medicare “savings” and the truth is that is really IS a budget-buster:

The key point is that the savings to the HI (Medicare Hospital Insurance) trust fund under the PPACA (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) would be received by the government only once, so they cannot be set aside to pay for future Medicare spending and, at the same time, pay for current spending on other parts of the legislation or on other programs. Trust fund accounting shows the magnitude of the savings within the trust fund, and those savings indeed improve the solvency of that fund; however, that accounting ignores the burden that would be faced by the rest of the government later in redeeming the bonds held by the trust fund. Unified budget accounting shows that the majority of the HI trust fund savings would be used to pay for other spending under the PPACA and would not enhance the ability of the government to redeem the bonds credited to the trust fund to pay for future Medicare benefits. To describe the full amount of HI trust fund savings as both improving the government’s ability to pay future Medicare benefits and financing new spending outside of Medicare would essentially double-count a large share of those savings and thus overstate the improvement in the government’s fiscal position.

But I doubt they have enough conscience left inside of them to avoid the temptation of the billions of dollars of taxpayer money that will eventually be dangled in front of them by Harry (the Grinch Who Stole Christmas) Reid; that seems to be worth more to them than the thought their constituents are planning to figurately roast their nuts over an open fire for selling generations of Americans into slavery.  Perhaps because their nuts are too small to be of any concern?

On C-SPAN Tomorrow: Another Episode Of “As The Worms Squirm”

By

Finally! Someone, two of them in the Senate, in fact, found their Big Boy Panties and their cajones at the same time.

Tomorrow, Senators DeMint (R-SC) and Ensign (R-NV) will force the Senate to vote on the question that has most bothered Americans about the Obama administration and its minions’ attempt to usurp 1/6 of the American economy: IS THE BILL CONSTITUTIONAL?

 “I am incredibly concerned that the Democrats’ proposed individual mandate provision takes away too much freedom and choice from Americans across the country,” said Senator Ensign. “As an American, I felt the obligation to stand up for the individual freedom of every citizen to make their own decision on this issue. I don’t believe Congress has the legal authority to force this mandate on its citizens.”

“Forcing every American to purchase a product is absolutely inconsistent with our Constitution and the freedoms our Founding Fathers hoped to protect,” said Senator DeMint. “This is not at all like car insurance, you can choose not to drive but Americans will have no choice whether to buy government-approved insurance. This is nothing more than a bailout and takeover of insurance companies. We’re forcing Americans to buy insurance under penalty of law and then Washington bureaucrats will then dictate what these companies can sell to Americans. This is not liberty, it is tyranny of good intentions by elites in Washington who think they can plan our lives better than we can.”

The response to this will, of course, be telling. It will be worth almost any price of admission to hear a Demon…errrr…Democrat respond to this, as well as their justifications if they vote that the proposed legislation is constitutional.  I am quite certain that if the Democratic majority rules that there is no violation of Constitutional freedoms and the inevitable Supreme Court battle over it falls on the side of the people (which needs to happen before the Supreme Court becomes majority-fouled with progressives), they will come to rue their choice.

As well they should.  While drying up on a hot sidewalk somewhere, just like any proper worm.

Quote Of The Day

By

“…Mr. Nelson won the concession that Congress will pay for 100% of Nebraska Medicaid expansions into perpetuity. His capitulation ought to cost him his political career, but more to the point, what about the other states that don’t have a Senator who’s the 60th vote for ObamaCare?”
(Wall Street Journal, 12/21/09)

An Open Letter To The Senate

By

Dear Senators,

You may think that because you somehow managed to pull the wool over a majority of eyes and were therefore elected to represent a segment of the American citizenry in Washington that somehow makes you “special”.  But let me put it to you in no uncertain terms:  YOU WORK FOR US.  All of us.  And the majority of Americans are hard-working, fair-minded and, when all is said and done, rather conservative in their beliefs.

That you fail to recognize this and have used closed doors and the cover of night to bully forward some progressive, banana-republic idea of “health care reform” for this country shows only one of two things.  You are incredibly stupid or you are egotistical beyond belief.  Either way, you are not worth what we pay you.  You weren’t sent to Washington to heap further destruction on an already tenuously-balanced economy (a teetering that is entirely your own fault, I might add); you weren’t sent to Washington to burden our children, our grandchildren and their children with crushing debt.  You were sent to provide a semblance of oversight to protect this country and, according to the United States Constitution, your ability to do so is extremely limited.  Yet like an untrained dog on a malfunctioning retractable leash, you ignore your master’s wishes and race forward to chase short-term re-election gains at the expense of the long-term welfare of the country.

Many of us watched Saturday’s gyrations in the Senate and listened to the reading of the “manager’s amendment” to the health care “reform” bill.  Unlike you, Senators, many of us actually read both bill and amendments as well, and the evil it contains is crystal clear.  At the tip of the iceberg stand unprecedented numbers of unelected bureaucrats waiting to be sent forth like hounds from the bowels of Hell itself to dictate when, where, and how Americans will receive their health care and in what beancounter-driven measure.  You intend to deliberately create criminals out of Americans who will not or cannot pay the tax penalties for not going along with your little freedom-stealing games and purchase health insurance, using the IRS as a means to jail them.  You intend to force every American who is pro-life to subsidize the abortions of those who would use it as a form of birth control. 

You asked the Congressional Budget Office to give you an accounting and you crow over its response, yet you conveniently ignore their wise caveats that unless your nefarious legislation is implemented exactly as stated (like the hundreds of billions in cuts from Medicare that have never yet happened), there will be no cost savings but instead a significant increase in our national debt.  And based on your reckless history of spending money you have not earned, including this inherently unconstitutional bill’s enormous pork payoffs in direct violation of Article 4, Section 2 of the United States Constitution simply to secure the votes of your hypocritical brothers and sisters, anyone who still believes a government that refuses to operate in broad daylight, let alone one who has bankrupted Medicare, Social Security, and even screwed up Cash for Clunkers is welcome to make an offer on a bridge I have for sale.  And speaking of those never-ending pork bribes so despised by Americans, it is time for it to become common knowledge that your overall day-to-day modus operandi of granting them continually violates Title 18, Part I, Chapter 11, Section 201 of the United States Code.

Listen carefully, Senators.  What you are proposing as a Christmas gift to the American people is a gift we can do without.  Like the Pentagon, we are not asking you for something we don’t need and we are extremely angry that you refuse to heed our wishes.  In fact, we see your behavior as bordering on treason.  You took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution.  We, the people, pledge our allegiance to the Republic of these United States – not to you or any other person – and if you continue to refuse to do your job and don’t put a bullet in the brain of this bastard of a bill, then rest assured we will do ours.  You are by no means indispensible and we will find a replacement for you in short enough order.  (And when – not if – that happens, you might want to bless the compassionate wisdom of our Founding Fathers for the fact you won’t find yourself hanging at the end of a piece of piano wire on the Mall like your much-admired Il Duce found his own progressive self hanging in a square in Milan.)

Trust me.  We don’t need you.  And let me remind you that the latest polls show only 9% of Americans even want you.

The choice is simple.  The bill or your alleged career.

Regards,

A Responsible American

Saturday Night Live (Blogging)

By

As the Senate continues their tired, long-winded debate over health care reform, yours truly has reached a Twitter tweet limit so will continue the observations here.  Enjoy.

1:17 a.m.   58 Democrats and 2 Independents vote “yes”; 40 Republicans vote “no”.  May God have mercy on America.

1:15 a.m.  Reading tweets.  From TheBlogshevik “If someone had duct taped Harry Reid to a shopping cart and pushed him down a hill years ago, we wouldn’t be having any of this shit…”  Touche.

1:08 a.m. Vote for cloture begins.

1:07 a.m. Reid invokes rule S480 to have Senators vote from their desks.

103 a.m.  Reid shares stories of people with health problems, problems with insurance.  Claims these heartbreaking stories will be solved by his legislation. 

1:54 a.m. Reid gets the final word and starts out by claiming it’s a lack of health insurance that is causing people to die.  He makes the claim that “this landmark legislation” will fix all kinds of problems, including keeping Medicare solvent for another 10 years.  He points out his numbers are from the CBO, but like the rest ignores the caveats and the realities.  “We are reshaping the nation.”  Gets in a dig about being in the Senate at this hour, blaming GOP (for wanting to follow process). 

12:47 a.m.  McConnell reiterates Obama’s promises about health care costs and transparency and bi-partisanship on the campaign trail.  Well, that was then.  And this is now.  But reality is premiums will go up, taxes will go up on 10s of millions of Americans and plunders Medicare by 1/2 million.  Allows the federal government to use taxpayer funds for abortions.  So President voted in on a promise of change – all his promises changed.  Twelve months and $2.3 trillion later, Dems are ready to vote for something that won’t bend down the cost curve and will be even harder to fix down the road.  The impact of this vote will long outlive this one long, snowy weekend in Washington.  This legislation will reshape our nation and Americans have already issued their verdict:  they don’t want it.  They don’t like this bill.  And they don’t like lawmakers playing with their health care to get votes for it.  But the bill’s writers won’t let the 300 million affected time to read the details of the bill.  When we woke up yesterday morning we still hadn’t seen the details of the bill we’re going to vote on tonight.  How can this be justified in the face of such widespread opposition by the American people?  All it takes is just one (Dem) to stop it or everyone will own it.  It is not too late.  (Bravo, Senator.  Bravo.)

12:44 a.m.  McConnell states GOP wanted to tackle health care by going at costs incrementally but the other side went in the opposite direction and we ended up with this mess.  Any challenge of this size and scope has always been dealt with on a bi-partisan basis.  Previous, large-scale bills had very few dissenting Senators; Americans believe that with something this size, one party should not force their views on the country.  What Dems have done was so bad it required convincing the Democrats; it was a “blind call to make history, even it if was a mistake, which is exactly what this bill will be if it is passed.”  This bill isn’t about 2 parties, it’s about a 2,000+ page bill that makes the price of health care go up. 

12:41 a.m. McConnell takes the podium.  Tonight will help determine if our children can afford the nation they will inherit.  If the people who wrote this bill were proud of it, they wouldn’t be forcing this vote in the dead of night.  $100 million for an unnamed health care at an unnamed university somewhere in the United States.  No one will even step forward to claim it.  One state out of 50 gets to expand Medicaid at no cost to itself while taxpayers in the other 49 pick up the tab.  That same Senator swung a deal for a single insurance company in his state.  Do (my colleagues) think that’s fair?  What about the rest of the country?  Few people would have imagined a year ago it would end with a couple of cheap deals and a rush vote at 1 o’clock in the morning.  Americans are wondering, how did this happen?

12:40 a.m.  Dodd thinks history will judge the Dems well based on tonight.

 12:35 a.m.  Dodd now speakinjg about FDR and fear; claims Dems want to address the fears of the loss of health care, regardless what’s really in it.

12:33 a.m. Cornyn brings up Rule 44 again and asks if earmark list is available as required.  Chair cannot answer.

12:30 a.m. Harkin calls health care a “moral imperative”.  (But what if no one wanted to be a doctor any more?  What would happen?  A doctor draft?  The Constitution provides only the freedom to choose.)

12:29 a.m. Harkin berates the U.S. for not being like the EU on health care.  (The same socialists that are turning away from it.  Good job, Tom.)

12:22 a.m.  Harkin now at the podium saying “All we’ve heard from the other side is ‘attack, attack, attack’.  ‘No, no, no’.”  Coburn amendment only has 7 sponsors; they have no “comprehensive bill like we’ve come up with”.  Sorry the GOP is all split up, haven’t done their homework to present something positive so come together to oppose.  Claims numerous bipartisan meetings, then GOP voted against everything.  Claims GOP in “total disarray” but Dems have their supermajority. 

12:20 a.m. McCain vows to not commit “generational theft”; “we will stand up for the American people.  We have just begun to fight.”

12:14 a.m. McCain takes the podium to explain how it all started – back during the campaign.  Restates candidate Obama’s promises for transparency.  There were never serious negotiations between Republicans and Democrats; only with special interests.  Pharma got a sweetheart deal by eliminating importing prescription drugs; AMA signed up for promise of a doctor fix.  Should have set up a tent out front and sold Persian rugs.  New words in the lexicon:  Louisiana Purchase, Cornhusker Kickback, Florida Flimflam; compromise is treating a number of states differently according to the Dems.  That is in direct contradiction to candidate Obama’s words.  McConnell couldn’t even tell anyone what was in the bill before yesterday.  Bill doesn’t represent 61% of the American people; 61% want it stopped.  You go against the American people and you will pay a heavy price, and you should.  We will not give up after this vote; for the first time in history there will be a major reform passed on a single party vote.

12:08 a.m. Alexander quotes Dem letter requesting the bill be on the internet for 72 hours before it’s brought to a vote in the Senate.  “It’s our duty to listen and respond to proposals that will impact their lives.”  But it’s being rushed, during a snowstorm, in the middle of the night, despite not going into full effect for 4 years because $587 billion in new taxes can’t be explained during high unemployment.  Chief Actuary for Medicare says the bill will cause national health care to increase faster.  Dems don’t want to explain why they will now use federal money to fund abortions.  They don’t want to explain the CLASS Act and it’s negative effects.  Obvious why the majority has cooked up this amendment in secret, scheduled a vote for 1:00 a.m. and want to pass it before Christmas.  Political kamikaze mission for Dems, worse for the country.

12:05 a.m. Alexander explains why the Senate is in session.   Because of Reid’s spending the last 6 weeks behind closed doors writing his manager’s amendment and throwing it on the table only yesterday.  Governor of Tennessee calls it “the mother of all mandates” but Dems insist it must be done in the middle of a snowstorm in the middle of the night before the American people find out what’s in it.

12:04 a.m. Senate recites the Pledge of Allegiance.  Would be funny if it weren’t such a pathetic travesty.

12:01 a.m. Monday:  The chaplain asks God to give the Senators wisdom and courage to do the right thing.  Personally, I would put my money on their continued failing the American people.

midnight:  C-SPAN caller from Canada says, “I just want to tell you that you have no idea how terrible your health care will be if you pass this bill.”

11:31 p.m.  Senate now stands in recess for 30 minutes.  Thank goodness.  It’s really hard listening to lies for hours on end.

11:09 p.m. Ok, I lied.  Nelson takes the podium and claims he wouldn’t recognize one side of the floor tonight based on “everything” that occurred last summer.  “It is a typical tactic…to go after a specific item in order to obfuscate, which then misses the whole point of the piece of legislation.”  Point of it is to make health care affordable, efficient, and available.  Now I can take a break.

11:07 p.m. Cardin thinks this is the right decision.  Thinks otherwise we’ll be dealing with a “worse crisis” in 10 years.  Then Harkin takes the floor.  Good time for a break.

11:05 p.m. Cardin touts his including education loans, including 77 for Alaska (is it wise to flaunt your pork in public?)

11:04 p.m. Cardin says Medicare Advantage isn’t used by 99% of Alaskans but Alaska pays $90 each (huh?) 

10:59 p.m. Cardin states the immediate benefits: no dropping, high-risk pools; new program for early retirees to reduce their premiums, insurance companies posting their overhead on the internet; dependents covered up to age of 26 (but we can send them off to war, they are legal adults and can drink…wtf?)  No denial of pre-existing conditions for children, preventative services for seniors.  Claims this bill “adds 10 more years to Medicare” (what, it can rise from the dead?)  Reviews the benefits to his Alaskan constituents. 

10:54 p.m. Cardin reviews the strangulation on private insurance companies, including exclusion from the Exchange (like that’s really a bad thing?), forcing them to return profits to policy holders, etc.  Mentions there are 4 million federal employees (getting their own special plans, of course).

10:51 p.m. Begich takes the podium and promptly talks about not seeing a blizzard like the one of “disinformation about this bill”.  Calls the bill “not perfect but a significant step in the right direction”.  Does another review of CBO’s numbers without their caveat; ignoring the Medicare cuts that won’t ever happen.

10:47 p.m. Cardin reviews a litany of “minority health” issues, such as longevity, and claims justification expansion of another government bureaucracy.  Discusses need for community centers then launches into a rant about evil insurance companies.

10:44 p.m. Cardin reviews his patients bill of rights and its further limitations on the private sector.  (Though a few of the protections are actually sensible, however, IMNSHO simply allowing cross-state purchase of plans would take care of many of them.)

10:40 p.m. Cardin launches into the financial implications from the Dem’s perspective.  Claims the CBO says it will reduce the deficit in the first 1o years but the following 10 years will be even more, while reducing the growth rate.  Claims CBO can’t account for preventive services results but they are going to be huge.  Then he talks about strangling private insurance companies by dictating how they can run their business.

10:34 p.m. Cardin states CBO says 31 million more people will have coverage with the Dem bill.  (Or is that “damn bill”?)  Calls this a “giant step forward” towards universal coverage.  Claims reduction in costs of premiums and a better insurance plan for everyone.  Claims this will be because of preventive and screening services and requirements for children’s health.  Uses colon cancer screening as an example (hundreds of dollars vs. thousands for surgery); claims disease management will be more effective.  Reducing number of insured by keeping them out of the emergency rooms.  Claims bill will increase competition because of the Exchanges. 

10:30 p.m.  Cardin takes the podium and states that  shortly “we’ll be able to clear the way for the U.S. to join at last every other industrial nation and declare that health care is a right.”  Reminds us he’s been in Congress for 23 years (and therefore past his expiration date).  Then begins the stereotypical litany about people making decisions about their health care.

10:27 p.m.  Brownback:  all of this seems so odd to me.  Final days of Advent season, we should be home with our families; missing celebrations of Christmas, the birth of a child; this is the season we are in and how sad we might see the end of lives of children in this bill.  It shouldn’t have to be this way, but it is the central issue.  The House will not support this bill.  Asks Dems to take it out; harmful, hurtful to the country.

 10:25 p.m. Brownback notes 300,000 abortions were funded by the taxpayers before the Hyde amendment from 1973-1976.

10:18 p.m.  Brownback notes for 30 years there has been no discussion about federal funding of abortion.  Now that has changed; “no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions and federal conscience laws will remain in place” (Obama) but the manager’s amendment does fund abortions.  Quotes Bart Stupak, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (who want a health reform bill), National Right to Life Committee, all against the current legislation.  Quotes Ben Nelson, “Taxpayers shouldn’t be required to pay for abortions.”  Abortion isn’t even health care, why is it in the bill at all?

10:17 p.m.  Brownback now on the floor, discusses effect on his constituents in Kansas.  All of them just to start a new entitlement program and raise taxes; like writing a big fat check on an overdrawn bank account.

 10:15 p.m.  Thune:  the American people know better, know it will add to the deficit.  These bills as they stand are budget busters.  Bill needs to be voted down tonight and hopes there’s a courageous Democrat or two.

10:10 p.m.  Thune reviews Obama’s promise that nothing will change in your plan and if you like it you can keep it, but the Reid amendment will cut Medicare Advantage and therefore all those people (11 million) won’t be keeping what they have.  Another 10 million will lose their employer-provided plan, too.  Review of numerous Medicare cuts that will affect people’s plans, all based on independent reviews.

Arguments will be televised on C-SPAN, said Obama.  But almost the entire bill has been written behind closed doors.  The near-400 page amendment was dropped on their desks yesterday, even Dem leaders were in the dark.  Then the under cover deal with Nebraska to have all their Medicaid expansion paid for by all other states.

Won’t add a dime to the deficit but the included Medicare cuts to physicians for payments won’t hold.  CBO calls the CLASS Act a “huge and growing” financial burden and a gimmick to look like health care is paid for.

 10:04 p.m. Thune reviews list of Obama’s broken promises:  no tax increase on those making less than $250,000.  But actuaries show 42 million will see a tax increase.  Bill will control costs and be paid for, premiums will go down and everyone will be covered.  But bill leaves 23 million without coverage.  Typical family that pays $13,300 today (employer-type plan) will see their cost go over $20,000.  Bill doesn’t pass the truth test according to the CBO.

Dems should attack CBO and actuaries because they all show the cost curve bends up, not down, as Obama promised.  Cost of doing nothing would be less than if Reid bill passes, even though costs will increase.  With amendment, the gap becomes even larger.

 10:00 p.m. Thune does some weight-lifting by presenting a print out of the Senate bill and Reid’s amendment.  “Recurring pattern” in the Senate is GOP coming down and talking about the impact the bill would have on the economy, the CBO report describing cost of the bill, costs to the people, the CMS actuary report.  But the Dems aren’t offering “full-throated defense” of their bill, just talking about how bad the system is and how they’ll fix it and accusing GOP of telling lies.

9:57 p.m. Cornyn reviews reasons why Americans want Washington to start over.  Calls out Nebraska’s sweetheart deal and the lame abortion wording.  “Sheer irresponsibility of the way this is being done”, “closed doors, special interests” and “jammed down the throats of the American people”.

9:33 p.m. Enzi quotes Foster that bill will cost “234 billion more than if we did nothing.”  Calls the budget gimmicks used by Dems “inconvenient truths”.  Asks if Dems believe Congress will really cut Medicare payments by 21% in 2 months.  Truth is that Congress has never allowed that.  Bill requires over 40% in Medicare payment cuts in 10 years.  Latest CBO had a $600 billion error (and not in the Dems favor).

9:19 p.m. Harkin again toddles up to the podium to rehash the Dems small business credits and their congenital heart disease program.  Expresses gratefulness to Durbin for including the heart disease program.  Personally thanks Durbin for all his hard work.  Calls the the upcoming vote, “THE defining vote”.  (Defining next year’s clearing out of Congress by the American people, methinks.)

9:18 p.m. Durbin speaks of 7 previous presidents and cajoles the Senate to do their “historic duty”.   After conjuring up the ghost of Dead Kennedy.  He’s calling it “Kennedy Car

You Call That Bipartisan?

By

I spent yesterday watching the wankers in Washington, specifically the House of unrepresenting Representatives, debate and then vote on HR 3962, the health care “reform” bill.  A nauseating experience, really; it left me feeling almost shameful, the way one feels after gawking at a trainwreck.  It was clear most hadn’t taken the time to read all of the legislation; few stances or rebuttals were based on facts versus the MSM campaign talking points so every chair’s gavel got a workout as the unrepresenting representatives squabbled like little schoolchildren.

In the end, despite the announcement of 10.2% unemployment and a $1.2 trillion price tag, the Speaker of the Nuthouse got what she wanted.  The bill passed 220 to 215.  It was aided by the defection of Republican Louisana Representative Cao.  True to form, he again fell for the lies of the likes of Rahm Emmanuel and Nancy-Ann Deparle and President Walking Eagle.  Closed-door “promises” of future financial and campaign support were the 30 pieces of silver by which they secured his vote, thereby allowing great crowing about “bipartisan support” for the takeover of the entire field of medicine in America.

But I think “bipartisan” is more clearly shown by the sensible 39 Democrats who refused to vote for this abomination.  Of course, President Walking Eagle’s campaign arm, MoveOn.org, is now loudly raising money and threatening those Democrats in their reelection bids.  My suspicion is,  however, they will fare better than their fair-weather counterparts who voted in favor of HR 3962 after passage of the “Stupak amendment”, which rightly locked down the language preventing the use of taxpayer monies to pay for abortions.  While passage of the amendment allowed some Democrats to vote yes for the containing bill, it is almost a given that the amendment will quietly disappear in committee since allowing it a vote on the floor was only a reluctant appeasement move on the part of Pelosi to get those yes votes.

Dick Morris provides a further peek into the machinations behind the curtain:

  • The American Medical Association (AMA) was facing a 21 percent cut in physicians’ reimbursements under the current law. Obama promised to kill the cut if they backed his bill. The cuts are the fruit of a law requiring annual 5-6 percent reductions in doctor reimbursements for treating Medicare patients. Bravely, each year Congress has rolled the cuts over, suspending them but not repealing them. So each year, the accumulated cuts threaten doctors. By now, they have risen to 21 percent. With this blackmail leverage, Obama compelled the AMA to support his bill…or else!  [ My note:  this endorsement may be repealed, after it was revealed that the AMA did not follow its own procedure for providing endorsements and thereby rightly raised the ire of both members and non-members. ]
  • The AARP got a financial windfall in return for its support of the healthcare bill. Over the past decade, the AARP has morphed from an advocacy group to an insurance company (through its subsidiary company). It is one of the main suppliers of Medi-gap insurance, a high-cost, privately purchased coverage that picks up where Medicare leaves off. But President Bush-43 passed the Medicare Advantage program, which offered a subsidized, lower-cost alternative to Medi-gap. Under Medicare Advantage, the elderly get all the extra coverage they need plus coordinated, well-managed care, usually by the same physician. So more than 10 million seniors went with Medicare Advantage, cutting into AARP Medi-gap revenues.

Presto! Obama solved their problem. He eliminates subsidies for Medicare Advantage. The elderly will have to pay more for coverage under Medigap, but the AARP — which supposedly represents them — will make more money. (If this galls you, join the American Seniors Association, the alternative group; contact sbarton@americanseniors.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .)

  • The drug industry backed ObamaCare and, in return, got a 10-year limit of $80 billion on cuts in prescription drug costs. (A drop in the bucket of their almost $3 trillion projected cost over the next decade.) They also got administration assurances that it will continue to bar lower-cost Canadian drugs from coming into the U.S. All it had to do was put its formidable advertising budget at the disposal of the administration.
  • Insurance companies got access to 40 million potential new customers. But when the Senate Finance Committee lowered the fine that would be imposed on those who don’t buy insurance from $3,500 to $1,500, the insurance companies jumped ship and now oppose the bill, albeit for the worst of motives.

The only industry that refused to knuckle under was the medical device makers. They stood for principle and wouldn’t go along with Obama’s blackmail. So the Senate Finance Committee retaliated by imposing a tax on medical devices such as automated wheelchairs, pacemakers, arterial stents, prosthetic limbs, artificial knees and hips and other necessary accoutrements of healthcare.

There is still a long road ahead of this insane, tyrannical Democratic endeavor and while many feel the Senate is a more sensible group and some have assured me it doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of passing there, where money and control are concerned, I’ve no more personal faith in the Senate than I do in those inhabiting the Nuthouse.  To be honest, Harry Reid is just as scary as Nancy Pelosi; they are two peas in a mean and withered old pod, and it will take every bit of Conservative strength to put them soundly in their place.

Scrambling To A Weekend Vote On HR 3962

By

Have YOU read all 1,900-plus pages of HR 3962 yet?  Introduced not quite one week ago, it’s doubtful that all of the unrepresenting representatives in the House have, either.  But nonetheless, debate and a vote is being scheduled for Saturday.

I’ve been reading the bill and analyses of it, and as stated earlier, it’s a disaster.  And I’m being very, very kind.  The devil is, of course, in the details, and common sense tells us that when key details remain unresolved it’s pure insanity to force a vote.  But Washington today is purely contrived insanity, designed to baffle Americans into submission so, personally, I’m not the least bit surprised.

But let’s consider a couple of those critical details; the ones the Democrats want to gloss over since they are well aware the majority of tax-paying Americans want nothing to do with them.

Abortion funding:  there is still no language specifically excluding federal funding for abortions.  There is talk about denying it but including language saying women could pay for an abortion themselves, but that doesn’t exclude the woman’s insurance plan from receiving federal funds.  Adding a “third party” to handle the financial transactions is just needlesslly padding someone’s wallet without addressing the issue.  Bottom line:  a gimmick does not an exclusion make and tax-payer money may be sent around twisting corners to pay for abortions.

Illegal immigrants:  House leaders with an eye on 2010 elections desperately want illegal immigrants to be able to buy health insurance from their government option.  Bottom line:  what part of “illegal” do they still not understand?  Enforce the immigrations laws on the books; don’t force American taxpayers to subsidize the health care of criminals.  To even suggest that criminals paying their own premiums is somehow ok is a most blatant blowing of smoke in the faces of real Americans.  It proves only that those in Washington, Democrats espcially, really and truly believe the American people are stupid.  Health insurance premiums do not now and will never cover the entire cost of anyone’s medical care.  No matter how you try to spin it, this leaves the rest of us picking up the tab to give criminals a benefit of citizenship.

Bottom line of the bottom line:  exactly where in the United States Constitution does it mandate this kind of legislation anyway?  That this isn’t even being question or debated is a sign that everyone in Washington needs to go.  Now.

HR 3962: Frankenstein’s Monster

By

While this column has been quiet due to other priorities (like working so that the mortgage is paid, and volunteering so that others may improve their lot in life), it doesn’t mean we haven’t been watching the wankers in Washington as they continue their dangerous attempts to complete the progressive’s long-planned enslavement of the citizens of these United States.  Indeed, our silence is due, in part, to head-shaking amazement that writing fresh material for this column becomes harder and harder because every day has become Groundhog Day.  President “I Won” continues to use our hard-earned tax monies to hump his campaign stump; appearing on television almost every day in order to jolly Americans into thinking he’s just a normal guy via some talk show or to actively campaign for Democrat candidates in upcoming elections around the country.  Speaker of the Nuthouse, Nancy Pelosi, hasn’t stopped her deer-in-the-headlights, utterly non-sensical evasion of legitimate questions; like, for example, exactly where in the Constitution does it give Congress the power to, among other oversteps, mandate health care be purchased by every American? 

And true to their lying form, “the most transparent administration in history”, this legend-in-their-own-minds gang of thugs and thieves, scuttled off like the rats they are and locked themselves into an obviously airless room in order to poke and prod and breathe some semblance of life back into deadly, massive HR 3200, their first blatant, sweeping attempt at the usurpation of the private-sector, free market-driven business of American health care.  What came out of that headlong rush into madness is HR 3962.  A veritable Frankenstein’s monster at 1,990 pages and about 400,000 words, this latest incarnation of mandated submission to government welfare is designed to take over and, as is the case with anything run by the government, annihilate a full ONE-FIFTH of the nation’s economy.

It is a monster only progressives and idiots could love.  Like its predecessor, HR 3962 sets up a financial shell game by front-loading revenue and postponing serious spending to later years (years when those who would otherwise be called on the carpet for such reckless misuse of hard-earned taxpayer monies will be far away, enjoying their taxpayer-funded retirements).  It contains 13 tax hikes that will hit everyone one way or another:

Employer Mandate Excise Tax (Page 275): If an employer does not pay 72.5 percent of a single employee’s health premium (65 percent of a family employee), the employer must pay an excise tax equal to 8 percent of average wages. Small employers (measured by payroll size) have smaller payroll tax rates of 0 percent (<$500,000), 2 percent ($500,000-$585,000), 4 percent ($585,000-$670,000), and 6 percent ($670,000-$750,000).

Individual Mandate Surtax (Page 296): If an individual fails to obtain qualifying coverage, he must pay an income surtax equal to the lesser of 2.5 percent of modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) or the average premium. MAGI adds back in the foreign earned income exclusion and municipal bond interest.

Medicine Cabinet Tax (Page 324): Non-prescription medications would no longer be able to be purchased from health savings accounts (HSAs), flexible spending accounts (FSAs), or health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). Insulin excepted.

Cap on FSAs (Page 325): FSAs would face an annual cap of $2500 (currently uncapped).

Increased Additional Tax on Non-Qualified HSA Distributions (Page 326): Non-qualified distributions from HSAs would face an additional tax of 20 percent (current law is 10 percent). This disadvantages HSAs relative to other tax-free accounts (e.g. IRAs, 401(k)s, 529 plans, etc.)

Denial of Tax Deduction for Employer Health Plans Coordinating with Medicare Part D (Page 327): This would further erode private sector participation in delivery of Medicare services.

Surtax on Individuals and Small Businesses (Page 336): Imposes an income surtax of 5.4 percent on MAGI over $500,000 ($1 million married filing jointly). MAGI adds back in the itemized deduction for margin loan interest. This would raise the top marginal tax rate in 2011 from 39.6 percent under current law to 45 percent—a new effective top rate.

Excise Tax on Medical Devices (Page 339): Imposes a new excise tax on medical device manufacturers equal to 2.5 percent of the wholesale price. It excludes retail sales and unspecified medical devices sold to the general public.

Corporate 1099-MISC Information Reporting (Page 344): Requires that 1099-MISC forms be issued to corporations as well as persons for trade or business payments. Current law limits to just persons for small business compliance complexity reasons. Also expands reporting to exchanges of property.

Delay in Worldwide Allocation of Interest (Page 345): Delays for nine years the worldwide allocation of interest, a corporate tax relief provision from the American Jobs Creation Act

Limitation on Tax Treaty Benefits for Certain Payments (Page 346): Increases taxes on U.S. employers with overseas operations looking to avoid double taxation of earnings.

Codification of the “Economic Substance Doctrine” (Page 349): Empowers the IRS to disallow a perfectly legal tax deduction or other tax relief merely because the IRS deems that the motive of the taxpayer was not primarily business-related.

Application of “More Likely Than Not” Rule (Page 357): Publicly-traded partnerships and corporations with annual gross receipts in excess of $100 million have raised standards on penalties. If there is a tax underpayment by these taxpayers, they must be able to prove that the estimated tax paid would have more likely than not been sufficient to cover final tax liability.

Note for the record that those individuals paying the “individual mandate” tax don’t get anything for their money.  It is a penalty, cleverly set up to be enforced (as a criminal liability) by the IRS.  Those folks still have to buy health insurance, and the government’s option contains higher premiums that low- and moderate-income individuals and families would have to pay for health coverage to avoid the tax.

Like its predecessor, HR 3962 includes yet another uncontrolled and unaccountable czar who will determine the requirements for health insurance policies.  For ALL health insurance policies; which means, as before, if your employer’s plan doesn’t meet the czar’s requirements, it will be determined to be illegal and you will be forced to make another “choice”.  Read:  take the government’s plan.

Of course, mandating requirements that are unsustainable, such as no exclusions for pre-existing conditions and specific items and services than must be covered as well as the minimum frequency or duration of a required covered service and the maximum allowable patient cost sharing, sets the stage for failure of the free market.  The government will simply regulate the free market for health insurance out of existence.  Leaving you with no choice but what the government wants to give you. 

And with that lack of choice must, by definition, come rationing.  The same rationing that exists in the free market and with welfare programs like Medicare and Medicaid today, though the former driven (and therefore avoidable) by consumer choice and the latter driven by its inherent purpose of pulling the unsuspecting under the control of the government for the gains of a few who consider themselves above those they see as the stupid, great unwashed masses (citizens of these United States whom they are, by oath, supposed to represent). 

There’s nothing new in this warmed-over, dung-filled bowl of swamp water soup.  Those who work hard and play by the rules are going to continue to pay for those who buy into the progressive mindset that they are entitled to something for nothing for the price of their freedom.

HR 3200 was wrong.  Its latest incarnation as HR 3962 does nothing to fix any problems and, indeed, only serves to make them worse.