Monthly Archives: March 2012

Economy, Pensacola, Politics, Supreme Court

Obamacare Is Non-Severable, VOID

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Let’s go back 14 months to January 31, 2011 when Pensacola’s own Judge Vinson of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida became the second federal judge to strike down Obamacare’s individual mandate.

But Judge Vinson went further. He dealt with what the Supreme Court is having to decide now, whether or not the legislation is severable. Whether some parts can be stricken and the rest stand?

Judge Vinson’s decision, which was proffered by the government’s attorney, was that “the individual mandate and the remaining provisions are all inextricably bound together in purpose and must stand or fall as a single unit.” Accordingly, Vinson concluded: “Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional and not severable, the entire Act must be declared void.” {emphasis added}

Had the administration followed the legal process, they would have either appealed the decision or requested a stay. They did neither. The reaction of the lawless administration was that because the judge did “not order the government to stop implementing the law, a senior administration source said ‘implementation will proceed at pace.’”

Then in August 2011, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit also ruled that the provision of the law that requires people to buy health insurance or face an annual penalty is unconstitutional. The ruling affirmed an earlier decision by U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson of Pensacola, Florida.

Curiously though, the court also ruled that absent the mandate, the Act can continue. What this means is that three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit pulled a severability clause out of thin air. Because neither the individual mandate or the Act itself contain a severability clause, on purpose.

The future of our country and our relationship with the government rests on whether this bill dies at the Supreme Court. If not, then the 2012 election will be repeal and replace. There is a private-sector alternative.

Links: Obamacare Is Void, Lawless Administration Doesn’t Care  |  11th Circuit Court Of Appeals Affirms Judge Vinson, Sort Of  |  An Alternative To Obamacare Already Exists

2012 Election, Economy, Energy, Media, Politics

Poser-in-Chief

The timeline goes like this.

  1. Gas prices going up.
  2. President Obama nixes the Keystone XL Pipeline from Canada to Texas.
  3. Gas prices still going up.
  4. Public polling suggest that two-thirds of Americans believe gas is too high and are in favor of the XL Pipeline.
  5. President Obama goes to Oklahoma to glam onto what would be the end part of the XL Pipeline to speed up a construction project that has already been approved, and, that did not need Presidential approval in the first place.
  6. The President is a poser, trying to give Americans the illusion that he has changed his tune on the XL Pipeline.
Economy, Media, Politics, Supreme Court

An Alternative To Obamacare Already Exists

On the eve of the Supreme Court taking up the constitutionality of Obamacare, and a week after the CBO said that the cost of Obamacare is now estimated to be almost double what was promised, it is time to check the private-sector solution to reforming health care.

Introduced in the 111th Congress, where it died in the Democrat-controlled Senate, was a bill called H.R.3400, The Empowering Patients First Act.

It’s not that Americans would not like improvements in health delivery and health insurance in this country. It’s just that they did not ask for and do not want THIS solution.

The alternative exists that will deal with those ten percent of Americans that don’t have and for some reason do not want health insurance. It will do it without ruining the health insurance industry and the plans for the other 80 or 90 percent of Americans and their employers that are just fine with their current situation and the plans they have. The alternative is not a budget buster. Nor does it take your choice away or make your health care decisions for you. That alternative is H.R. 3400

The Empowering Patients First Act, or H.R. 3400, would allow:

  • Individuals to choose their health insurance (no mandates)
  • Deductibility of health insurance premiums regardless of who pays
  • Employers to give flexible health-insurance options to employees
  • Health insurance coverage for low-income families (300 percent of the federal poverty level)
  • Health insurance for high-risk individuals (pre-existing conditions)
  • Sale of health insurance across state lines
  • Expansion of Health Savings Accounts, or HSAs
  • Individual membership association health insurance plan
  • Association Health Insurance Plans
  • Medical liability limitations (Tort reform)

Unlike Democrat-care, the Republican alternative would not impose fines on workers or employers, require cuts in Medicare, increase taxes, require a new government bureaucracy, require a “government health insurance” option nor add $1 trillion or more to the national debt.

Pulled this out of the archives . . .

At the beginning of President Obama’s speech to the joint session of Congress on Sept. 9, 2009 a truism was spoken about “comprehensive” (that’s political-speak for government-controlled) health care.

President Obama said “A bill for comprehensive health reform was first introduced by John Dingell Sr. in 1943. Sixty-five years later, his son continues to introduce that same bill at the beginning of each session.”

The truism that seems to escape Democrats is that for 65 years, they continue to ignore the will of the people. That socialized medicine is one thing that Americans do not want, and it’s time to move on. If the president really believes what he is saying, then he ought to be confident enough to also say that if his plan does not increase the availability and quality of care and the debt, and does not decrease the cost, then he will scrap his version of health care reform before his term ends and enact H.R. 3400, the Republican alternative.

Regarding President Obama, you have a decision to make. Is he lying about their not being a Republican alternative, or is he that far out of touch that he doesn’t even know it exists? Which one works for you?

Besides, if you take the president at his word, it should be President Obama calling for its repeal. He said he would not sign a health care reform bill if it did not bring down costs or if it increased the debt. By any account, Obamacare has not lived up to what he promised. Do you still trust what President Obama says? It’s a rhetorical question.

The American people already answered that one. And it’s time for a change. H.R. 3400, or a reasonable facsimile thereof, ought to be the course of action to take where actual health care reform (as opposed to deform) is concerned. Whatever comes out of it, it ought to be something that the American people want, not what a bunch of idealogues high on government-run health care want. An idea that has been rejected routinely for 65 years.

 

Politics, War On Terror

Obama Pays Afghan Families

According to a ‘Afghan official,’ the United States paid $50,000 and $11,000 respectively for each death and injury from the shooting spree that left 17 dead and some number wounded in Kandahar province. That’s up from the usual $2,000 and $1,000 in ‘compensation payments’ for what is called civilian casualties. This dramatic increase is because of ‘the devastating nature of the incident.’

The families of the dead, who received the money Saturday at the governor’s office, were told that the money came from U.S. President Barack Obama, said Kandahar provincial council member Agha Lalai. He and community elder Jan Agha confirmed the payout amounts.

So what’s this about the money coming from President Obama instead of the American people?

 

Economy, Politics

What Snake-Oil Looks Like

Do you happen to remember when, back in September 2009, President Obama spoke before a joint session of Congress to sell his Government controlled health care plan, known now as the Affordable Health Care Act?

There was all kinds of opposition to Obamacare then, for the same reasons as exist today. Paramount among the opposition is the debt picture, it is going to cost more money that we don’t have.

In response to the no-more-debt objection, Barack Obama brings out the snake oil and says this . . . (29:15 in video)

I will not sign it if it adds one dime to the deficit, now or in the future, period. And to prove that I’m serious, there will be a provision in this plan that requires us to come forward with more spending cuts if the savings we promised don’t materialize.

“And to prove that I’m serious, there will be a provision . . .” If he was serious, that provision would have already been written.Which begs the question, now that we know that Obamacare will cost more, way more. What happened to that cost saving “provision?” Was that a lie too?

The first two minutes of this video is worth the price of admission. That’s why it’s here.

At 12:45 in the video is the Big Lie about keeping your doctor and your plan if you want to.

At 31:00 is where President Obama says “not a dollar” of Obamacare will come from Medicare. He says “I will protect Medicare.” (well, except for that $500* Billion cut) And all the other gems of promises made.

I know this video is from September 9, 2009. But when you see this performance today, you have the advantage of seeing the same smooth talker today as three years ago. And what’s good about that is that the American people can see that after three years of Obama’s economic policies, the economy is treading water at best.

*Update 9/3/2012: The total removed from Medicare now stands at $716 Billion. That’s up from $500 Billion.

Economy, Politics

Obamacare Lies Coming Home To Roost

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Anyone remember President Obama say in 2009, when he was pushing for the passage of his Affordable Health Care Act, that he would NOT sign a bill that would raise health care costs, premiums, and/or the national debt?  It was the same time he claimed to have “pulled this economy back from the brink.”

And here’s what you need to know.  First, I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits — either now or in the future.  (Applause.)  I will not sign it if it adds one dime to the deficit, now or in the future, period.  And to prove that I’m serious, there will be a provision in this plan that requires us to come forward with more spending cuts if the savings we promised don’t materialize. {emphasis added}

The pitch was that Obamacare was going to cost $940 billion over ten years.  The CBO this week revised the number to $1.4 trillion over nine years.  And when they factor a full ten years of spending in Obamacare, then the total cost will be over $2 trillion.

All of which means that you could expect President Obama to call for the repeal of Obamacare himself. That is, if he is not a lying Marxist.

Links: ‘Obamacare’ foes on way to capital | President Obama to Joint Session of Congress

Economy, Energy, Politics

What’s Pelosi’s Excuse Now?

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The last time gas prices were this high, then Speaker Pelosi put the blame on the “two oil men in The White House.” It is instructive to see how nothing on her part, or on the part of her political party has changed with respect to increasing our oil supply and capacity.

Pelosi said she would continue to oppose two policy changes that President Bush and congressional Republicans have been advocating: lifting the ban on offshore drilling and opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil exploration. Video Watch Pelosi argue against more drilling »

Pelosi said she had no plans to allow votes to lift a ban on offshore drilling despite widespread support for the move.

You know we haven’t seen the peak of high gas prices yet, and they’re already at or above the 2008 levels. If you want a laugh at how ignorant this woman is on this subject, look at the video.

Every time you fill up your gas tank(s) at a record high price, remember all that Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi are doing to bring prices down. Nothing.

Link: ‘Two oil men’ to blame for high gas prices, Pelosi says

2012 Election, Economy, Politics, Race Relations

The Poor Tax – Energy, Food, Transportation

The tax hammer has long been the tool of the politician to micro-manage behavior. In order to insulate them of any real accountability, the bean counters in Washington institutionalized the big deception when they took energy and food out of the mix in measuring the cost of living in America. After all, who needs to eat or get anywhere? And while the Obama administration is fine with promoting class warfare, wealth envy, race divisiveness, and Obama’s latest distraction, gender warfare, the people he supposedly champions the most are the ones getting screwed by his no-energy ‘energy policy.’

As a percentage of income, Obama’s economy hits the poor, and poor working people the hardest. The increase ‘taxes’ that the poor must pay to put food on the table, gas in the car, and clothes on their back is way more damaging and sinister than the $40 street money Congress ‘gave’ them by cutting funds from Social Security and senior citizens. It doesn’t make up for their rising heating and electric bills. It does nothing to those homeowners poised to lose their home due to falling home values. No, Obama is just fine with letting the poor squirm before, during, and after his fundamental changing of America.

Food cost has gone up, not only here but everywhere in the world. And the cause has nothing to do with capitalism. It has everything to do with the environmental movement and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.

Beginning with monetary policy. This is where the ‘hidden tax’ comes in, and it is always first. As the Federal Reserve increases money supply, QE 1 & 2, all that, the value of the dollar decreases. Increasing of our national debt to the point of losing a AAA credit rating (for the first time in history) also puts negative pressure on the value of the dollar. So what cost you a dollar before Quantitative Easing, now cost you $1.20. Suddenly, $100/barrel turns in to $120/barrel because the dollar is worth less. Then comes the push to use foodstuffs in our gas tank, bio-fuels, and killing new drilling and exploration and the Keystone Pipeline. All of these events cause the price of gasoline to rise. None of it puts negative pressure on the price of oil.

Food price spikes due to droughts in grain-producing nations are one thing. And usually temporary. But the permanent variable in food prices is the price of oil. Oil price increases cause a general escalation in the costs of fertilizers, food for the farmer’s livestock, food transportation, fuel for tractors and industrial agriculture.

The root causes are political, not scientific. The deflation of the dollar, the increasing use of biofuels in developed countries, and an equally jaundiced outlook for increasing our domestic oil supply and capacity. These are all pieces in the food cost puzzle.

Everything that is wrong with the economy now is a result of the tried and failed policies of this administration. Whatever miniscule increase in economic activity does happen, happens in spite of Obama’s policies, dictates, and Czars. Not because of them.

We could have a much brighter economic outlook if the Senate would stop sitting on the dozens of bills submitted by the Republican House designed to do just that. Not the least of which is the FairTax. But remember, it is the President that wants to run on a ‘do-nothing’ congress.

That’s what elections are for. Getting the White House doesn’t get you much without also getting control of the Senate and keeping a majority in the House.

Maybe voting for the same guy again and expecting a different result is not a good strategy?