Part of the reason Democrats are having such a hard time in the House, is that they have proposed a bill that confirms our fears that it is not only an assault on our quality of health care, but on our economic well being and liberty. Here are some details:
Freedom and Choice
The bill creates a government-run plan intended to destroy the existing market for private health insurance.
The bill does not provide mechanisms to encourage more affordable health insurance options; it does not address frivolous lawsuits that drive up the cost of care; it does not address Medicare and Medicaid fraud that rob the system of billions of dollars; and it does not contain provisions that will reduce the cost of health care over the long-term.
Devastating Economic Costs
The bill raises the top income tax rate by 5.4 percent, raises the capital gains tax by the same amount, increases the payroll tax by eight percent on employers that don't offer health care to their workforce, and adds a 2.5 percent tax on income of individuals if they don't buy insurance.
Businesses would be subject to a “pay-or-play” requirement, which the CBO said will cause businesses to lower wages, cut jobs, and outsource workers.
A coalition of prominent business groups including the Chamber, NFIB, and the Business Roundtable warned that the pay-or-play provision could end up killing many jobs.
Quality of Care
The bill creates a Health Benefits Advisory Committee to determine the type of benefits that Americans must have as part of health insurance offered through a new exchange.
The bill includes significant cuts to Medicare, but it does little to improve its sustainability or promote higher-value health care.
The plan would expand Medicaid to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, with the government assuming all costs. Expanding access to a broken system is not the right way to reform health care.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Newsweek is really NewsWeak
Newsweek hired a far-left loon to do a hit piece on Sarah Palin, conservatives and Fox News, and did not inform its readers of the writer and liberal blogger Rick Pearlstien's dedicated point of view. Newsweek editor Jon Meacham basically tried to disguise an ideological attack as news coverage. Pearlstein isn't a newsweek reporter and has written that his mission is conservatives failure. He called Palin a moron and her supportsrs dimwitted conservatives. It appears Newsweek is the dimwit. Perhaps the magazine should change its name to Far Left Opinion Week...better still, NewsWeak! Read more here:
http://townhall.com/columnists/BillOReilly/2009/07/18/marginalizing_sarah_palin
Shame on NewsWeak!!! Americans should not only cancel their subscriptions NewsWeak, but also call every advertiser and let them know they will no longer purchase their products. We can end the boycot when NewsWeak renames the publication so no one is confused that they actually claim to report news.
http://townhall.com/columnists/BillOReilly/2009/07/18/marginalizing_sarah_palin
Shame on NewsWeak!!! Americans should not only cancel their subscriptions NewsWeak, but also call every advertiser and let them know they will no longer purchase their products. We can end the boycot when NewsWeak renames the publication so no one is confused that they actually claim to report news.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Exposing the Fraud: the Globe is Cooling
The U.S. is considering the "cap and trade" global warming energy tax which may double family electricity prices, increase what we pay at the gas pumps, and cost jobs. In these tough economic times, the Obama Administration and Congress should be focused on incentivising the private sector to create jobs. And the real kicker is that the bill would not achieve any discernable environmental improvement. However, the most ironic aspect of the power grab isn't that it will make Al Gore richer (it will) but that the earth isn't heating - it is cooling! Read below:
07-12-2009 15:32
Chills of Global Cooling
By Deroy Murdock
Scripps Howard News Service
As cap-and-trade advocates tie their knickers in knots over so-called ``global warming," Mother Nature refuses to cooperate. Earth's temperatures continue a chill that began 11 years ago. As global cooling accelerates, global-warmists kick, scream, and push their pet theory ― just like little kids who cover their ears and stomp their feet when older children tell them not to bother waiting up for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.
Consider how the globe cooled last month:
― June in Manhattan averaged 67.5 degrees Fahrenheit, 3.7 degrees below normal _ the coldest average since 1958. The National Weather Service stated July 1: ``The last time that Central Park hit 85 in May... but not in June was back in 1903."
― In Phoenix, June's high temperatures were below 100 degrees for 15 days straight, the first such June since 1913. In California's desert, Yucca Valley's June average was 83.5, 8.5 degrees below normal. Downtown Los Angeles averaged 74.5 degrees, five below normal.
― Boston saw temperatures 4.7 degrees below normal. ``This is the second coldest average high temp since 1872," veteran meteorologist and Weather Channel alumnus Joseph D'Aleo reports at Icecap.com. ``It has been so cool and so cloudy that trees in northern New England are starting to show colors that normally first appear in September." Looking abroad, D'Aleo noted: ``Southern Brazil had one of the coldest Junes in decades, and New Zealand has had unusual cold and snow again this year."
― New Zealand's National Climate Center issued a June 2 press release headlined, ``TEMPERATURE: LOWEST EVER FOR MAY FOR MANY AREAS, COLDER THAN NORMAL FOR ALL."
― South African officials say cold weather killed two vagrants in the Eastern Cape. Both slept outdoors June 26 and froze to death.
Simmer down, global-warmists retort. These are mere anecdotes, hand-picked to make them look silly.
Well, one would be foolish to challenge space-born satellites that gauge Earth's mean temperatures ― cold, hot, and average. Here again, evidence of global cooling accumulates like snow drifts.
``There has been no significant global warming since 1995, no warming since 1998, and global cooling for the past few years," former U.S. Senate Environment Committee spokesman Marc Morano writes at ClimateDepot.com. Citing metrics gathered by University of Alabama, Huntsville's Dr. Roy Spencer, Morano adds: ``The latest global averaged satellite temperature data for June 2009 reveal yet another drop in Earth's temperature ... Despite his dire warnings, the Earth has cooled 0.74 degrees F since former Vice President Al Gore released 'An Inconvenient Truth' in 2006."
Earth's temperatures fall even as the planet spins within what global-warmists consider a thickening cloud of toxic carbon dioxide.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Earth System Research Laboratory at Mauna Loa, Hawaii consistently and reliably has measured CO2 for the last 50 years. CO2 concentrations have risen steadily for a half-century.
For December 1958, the Laboratory reported an atmospheric CO2 concentration of 314.67 parts per million (PPM). Flash forward to December 1998, about when global cooling reappeared. CO2 already had increased to 366.87 PPM. By December 2008, CO2 had advanced to 385.54 PPM, a significant 5.088 percent growth in one decade.
This capsizes the carbon-phobic global-warmist argument. For Earth's temperatures to sink while CO2 rises contradicts global warming as thoroughly as learning that firefighters can battle blazes by spraying them with gasoline.
So, to defeat so-called ``global warming," there is no need for the $864 billion Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill, the Kyoto Protocols, elaborate new regulations, or United Nations guidelines. Instead, let the cold times roll.
It is one thing to have a national debate about a serious problem, with adults differing over which solution might work best. Reasonable people, for instance, can dispute whether growing federal involvement would heal or inflame our healthcare system's serious maladies.
But as so-called ``global warming" proves fictional, those who would shackle the economy with taxes and regulations to fight mythology increasingly resemble deinstitutionalized derelicts on an urban street corner, wildly swatting at their own imaginary monsters.
Deroy Murdock is a columnist with Scripps Howard News Service and a media fellow with the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University. E-mail him at deroy.Murdock@gmail.com.
07-12-2009 15:32
Chills of Global Cooling
By Deroy Murdock
Scripps Howard News Service
As cap-and-trade advocates tie their knickers in knots over so-called ``global warming," Mother Nature refuses to cooperate. Earth's temperatures continue a chill that began 11 years ago. As global cooling accelerates, global-warmists kick, scream, and push their pet theory ― just like little kids who cover their ears and stomp their feet when older children tell them not to bother waiting up for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.
Consider how the globe cooled last month:
― June in Manhattan averaged 67.5 degrees Fahrenheit, 3.7 degrees below normal _ the coldest average since 1958. The National Weather Service stated July 1: ``The last time that Central Park hit 85 in May... but not in June was back in 1903."
― In Phoenix, June's high temperatures were below 100 degrees for 15 days straight, the first such June since 1913. In California's desert, Yucca Valley's June average was 83.5, 8.5 degrees below normal. Downtown Los Angeles averaged 74.5 degrees, five below normal.
― Boston saw temperatures 4.7 degrees below normal. ``This is the second coldest average high temp since 1872," veteran meteorologist and Weather Channel alumnus Joseph D'Aleo reports at Icecap.com. ``It has been so cool and so cloudy that trees in northern New England are starting to show colors that normally first appear in September." Looking abroad, D'Aleo noted: ``Southern Brazil had one of the coldest Junes in decades, and New Zealand has had unusual cold and snow again this year."
― New Zealand's National Climate Center issued a June 2 press release headlined, ``TEMPERATURE: LOWEST EVER FOR MAY FOR MANY AREAS, COLDER THAN NORMAL FOR ALL."
― South African officials say cold weather killed two vagrants in the Eastern Cape. Both slept outdoors June 26 and froze to death.
Simmer down, global-warmists retort. These are mere anecdotes, hand-picked to make them look silly.
Well, one would be foolish to challenge space-born satellites that gauge Earth's mean temperatures ― cold, hot, and average. Here again, evidence of global cooling accumulates like snow drifts.
``There has been no significant global warming since 1995, no warming since 1998, and global cooling for the past few years," former U.S. Senate Environment Committee spokesman Marc Morano writes at ClimateDepot.com. Citing metrics gathered by University of Alabama, Huntsville's Dr. Roy Spencer, Morano adds: ``The latest global averaged satellite temperature data for June 2009 reveal yet another drop in Earth's temperature ... Despite his dire warnings, the Earth has cooled 0.74 degrees F since former Vice President Al Gore released 'An Inconvenient Truth' in 2006."
Earth's temperatures fall even as the planet spins within what global-warmists consider a thickening cloud of toxic carbon dioxide.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Earth System Research Laboratory at Mauna Loa, Hawaii consistently and reliably has measured CO2 for the last 50 years. CO2 concentrations have risen steadily for a half-century.
For December 1958, the Laboratory reported an atmospheric CO2 concentration of 314.67 parts per million (PPM). Flash forward to December 1998, about when global cooling reappeared. CO2 already had increased to 366.87 PPM. By December 2008, CO2 had advanced to 385.54 PPM, a significant 5.088 percent growth in one decade.
This capsizes the carbon-phobic global-warmist argument. For Earth's temperatures to sink while CO2 rises contradicts global warming as thoroughly as learning that firefighters can battle blazes by spraying them with gasoline.
So, to defeat so-called ``global warming," there is no need for the $864 billion Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill, the Kyoto Protocols, elaborate new regulations, or United Nations guidelines. Instead, let the cold times roll.
It is one thing to have a national debate about a serious problem, with adults differing over which solution might work best. Reasonable people, for instance, can dispute whether growing federal involvement would heal or inflame our healthcare system's serious maladies.
But as so-called ``global warming" proves fictional, those who would shackle the economy with taxes and regulations to fight mythology increasingly resemble deinstitutionalized derelicts on an urban street corner, wildly swatting at their own imaginary monsters.
Deroy Murdock is a columnist with Scripps Howard News Service and a media fellow with the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University. E-mail him at deroy.Murdock@gmail.com.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Friendswood Five Fight City Hall
Five brave Friendswood, Texas, citizens are fighting City Hall...literally!
The City of Friendswood (Mayor Smith and the entire City Council) asked the citizens to approve a $9 million bond in a May election. Citizens said "no". So the City leaders decided to issue $11 million in bonds.
One tiny point -- the Friendswood City Charter clearly states that the City can't issue debt without citizen approval, unless it is an emergency. Friendswood elected officials think a ball park is an emergency. So the mayor signed a contract for the land (there are multiple issues with that), and has traveled over 170 miles to Austin to ask a Travis County judge if the City can issue the debt in the form of certificates of obligation.
Five citizens stepped up and traveled the over 350 miles round trip to Austin to protest. Another hearing date was set to allow them to get legal counsel. Then on Monday, they traveled back to Austin, having gotten legal representation and filing court papers only to hear that the hearing would be held another day because the City attorneys failed to take a procedural measure which would have put the case earlier on the docket. (Americans for Prosperity Foundation in Texas filed a friend of the court -- an amicus brief -- in support of the citizens.)
Fighting City Hall isn't easy, but the Friendswood Five (Janis Lowe, Kathy Rogers, Deborah Winters Chaney, Mel Austin and Leslie Rocque) have among them a former city council member, and long-time city leaders. Janis Lowe's father, Ralph Lowe, was Mayor for 16 years between 1966 and 1988 and was city councilman in 1965. Her Mom's lived there for 51 years. These citizens have some deep roots in Friendswood.
The court hearing finally took place Tuesday, July 14. After over 2 1/2 hours of oral arguments, he judge indicated he would issue his decision this week, likely Friday.
It is an enormous case for taxpayers -- it will determine if cities (or counties) can claim that because the state allows local governments to issue debt, and provides for a 5% petition-gathering requirement to hold an election, that trumps city charters even if citizens voted in the charter to limit the growth of government or to prohibit issuing debt without taxpayer approval. That is the central issue.
Interestingly, the City of Friendswood claims that state code trumps the city charter there, but that on the issue of their ability to purchase land outside the counties it straddles (Harris and Galveston), that they can purchase land in Brazoria. Though the AG's letter states they cannot unless the city charter allows it (the Friendswood City Charter is silent on that), the City is claiming that they can.
This case could determine if state law trumps city charter, and does government closest to the people actually provide any power to the people?
Peggy Venable
The City of Friendswood (Mayor Smith and the entire City Council) asked the citizens to approve a $9 million bond in a May election. Citizens said "no". So the City leaders decided to issue $11 million in bonds.
One tiny point -- the Friendswood City Charter clearly states that the City can't issue debt without citizen approval, unless it is an emergency. Friendswood elected officials think a ball park is an emergency. So the mayor signed a contract for the land (there are multiple issues with that), and has traveled over 170 miles to Austin to ask a Travis County judge if the City can issue the debt in the form of certificates of obligation.
Five citizens stepped up and traveled the over 350 miles round trip to Austin to protest. Another hearing date was set to allow them to get legal counsel. Then on Monday, they traveled back to Austin, having gotten legal representation and filing court papers only to hear that the hearing would be held another day because the City attorneys failed to take a procedural measure which would have put the case earlier on the docket. (Americans for Prosperity Foundation in Texas filed a friend of the court -- an amicus brief -- in support of the citizens.)
Fighting City Hall isn't easy, but the Friendswood Five (Janis Lowe, Kathy Rogers, Deborah Winters Chaney, Mel Austin and Leslie Rocque) have among them a former city council member, and long-time city leaders. Janis Lowe's father, Ralph Lowe, was Mayor for 16 years between 1966 and 1988 and was city councilman in 1965. Her Mom's lived there for 51 years. These citizens have some deep roots in Friendswood.
The court hearing finally took place Tuesday, July 14. After over 2 1/2 hours of oral arguments, he judge indicated he would issue his decision this week, likely Friday.
It is an enormous case for taxpayers -- it will determine if cities (or counties) can claim that because the state allows local governments to issue debt, and provides for a 5% petition-gathering requirement to hold an election, that trumps city charters even if citizens voted in the charter to limit the growth of government or to prohibit issuing debt without taxpayer approval. That is the central issue.
Interestingly, the City of Friendswood claims that state code trumps the city charter there, but that on the issue of their ability to purchase land outside the counties it straddles (Harris and Galveston), that they can purchase land in Brazoria. Though the AG's letter states they cannot unless the city charter allows it (the Friendswood City Charter is silent on that), the City is claiming that they can.
This case could determine if state law trumps city charter, and does government closest to the people actually provide any power to the people?
Peggy Venable
Friday, July 3, 2009
Austin American-Statesman columnist John Kelso wrote a column defending AISD former superintendent getting paid $215,278.72 for unused vacation time.
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/07/03/0703kelso.html
Really? You think the AISD retiring Superintendent deserved the "pay-ola" for just lasting that long? Has student performance improved? Has the dropout rate improved? Doesn't appear to have. And since when have you known of a school superintendent who, when fired, doesn't get hired at another school district? They take care of one another when either the Texas Association of School Boards or a former superinetndent (like former State Rep. Bob Griggs) does the headhunting for school districts. Superintendents are managers and should be paid on performance, not longevity. And let's remember that each education dollar spent comes out of taxpayers' pockets.
Let's look at AISD: the dropout rate is 25%, of the 80% tested for college admission only 37% tested at or above criteria; the District has more non-teaching staff than teachers; teachers make $15,000 less than other professional staff at their schools; while total annual revenue per student is over $10,000 less than half -- $4,547 -- is spent on instruction; and AISD is rated only Academically Acceptable, second from the bottom?
Now explain how the superintendent deserves $215,278.72 for vacation time when the average teacher would work for five years to earn that much.
It is laughable, but not funny.
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/07/03/0703kelso.html
Really? You think the AISD retiring Superintendent deserved the "pay-ola" for just lasting that long? Has student performance improved? Has the dropout rate improved? Doesn't appear to have. And since when have you known of a school superintendent who, when fired, doesn't get hired at another school district? They take care of one another when either the Texas Association of School Boards or a former superinetndent (like former State Rep. Bob Griggs) does the headhunting for school districts. Superintendents are managers and should be paid on performance, not longevity. And let's remember that each education dollar spent comes out of taxpayers' pockets.
Let's look at AISD: the dropout rate is 25%, of the 80% tested for college admission only 37% tested at or above criteria; the District has more non-teaching staff than teachers; teachers make $15,000 less than other professional staff at their schools; while total annual revenue per student is over $10,000 less than half -- $4,547 -- is spent on instruction; and AISD is rated only Academically Acceptable, second from the bottom?
Now explain how the superintendent deserves $215,278.72 for vacation time when the average teacher would work for five years to earn that much.
It is laughable, but not funny.
Gov. Perry joins Austin July 4th Tea Party
Gov. Rick Perry joins list of speakers for
July 4 “Take Back America” Tea Party
AUSTIN – Americans for Prosperity-Texas announced today that Gov. Rick Perry will join the lineup of conservative leaders speaking at the “Take Back America” Tea Party on July 4 at the state capitol in Austin.
It is the second time Gov. Perry will speak at an Austin Tea Party. The first one, held April 15 at Austin City Hall, drew roughly 2,500 people. A line in the governor’s speech that day became the central message for the July 4 Tea Party: “Cut spending, cut taxes, shrink the size of government and re-read the Constitution!”
The theme of the rally is “Take Back America,” and will encourage the “silent” majority to voice that message to elected officials in Washington, D.C.
“Washington D.C., should look to Texas as a model,” said Peggy Venable, AFP-Texas director. “Under the conservative leadership in this state, Texas has become the top state in the country for job creation, we have the most Fortune 500 companies, more government transparency, are the largest exporting state, and still were able to balance our budget and leave $9 billion in the rainy day fund.”
Texas is the only large state in the country to have a balanced budget.
“The leaders in Washington, D.C. appear to be following the California plan,” said Venable, “and that is a recipe for disaster. Texas is the beacon of fiscal sanity and national leaders could learn from the Texas model.”
The Tea Party is a family event and – along with inspiring speeches – will provide information for citizens who want to learn how to help Take Back America. The Tea Party is part of a nationwide grassroots movement made up of individuals who are fed up with the unprecedented spending and expansion of the federal government.
For more information, including a full list of speakers, visit www.austinreteaparty.com.
What: “Take Back America” Tea Party
When: July 4th 2009, 2-4 p.m.
Where: South Steps of Texas State Capitol
July 4 “Take Back America” Tea Party
AUSTIN – Americans for Prosperity-Texas announced today that Gov. Rick Perry will join the lineup of conservative leaders speaking at the “Take Back America” Tea Party on July 4 at the state capitol in Austin.
It is the second time Gov. Perry will speak at an Austin Tea Party. The first one, held April 15 at Austin City Hall, drew roughly 2,500 people. A line in the governor’s speech that day became the central message for the July 4 Tea Party: “Cut spending, cut taxes, shrink the size of government and re-read the Constitution!”
The theme of the rally is “Take Back America,” and will encourage the “silent” majority to voice that message to elected officials in Washington, D.C.
“Washington D.C., should look to Texas as a model,” said Peggy Venable, AFP-Texas director. “Under the conservative leadership in this state, Texas has become the top state in the country for job creation, we have the most Fortune 500 companies, more government transparency, are the largest exporting state, and still were able to balance our budget and leave $9 billion in the rainy day fund.”
Texas is the only large state in the country to have a balanced budget.
“The leaders in Washington, D.C. appear to be following the California plan,” said Venable, “and that is a recipe for disaster. Texas is the beacon of fiscal sanity and national leaders could learn from the Texas model.”
The Tea Party is a family event and – along with inspiring speeches – will provide information for citizens who want to learn how to help Take Back America. The Tea Party is part of a nationwide grassroots movement made up of individuals who are fed up with the unprecedented spending and expansion of the federal government.
For more information, including a full list of speakers, visit www.austinreteaparty.com.
What: “Take Back America” Tea Party
When: July 4th 2009, 2-4 p.m.
Where: South Steps of Texas State Capitol
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Students are the victims of the bribery and money laundering
DISD is the poster child for school choice:
Students are the victims of the bribery and money laundering in DISD
The Dallas school district must pay $750,000 and drop more than $150 million in requests for federal technology funds to settle claims that district officials abused a program aimed at providing technology for needy schools and libraries.
The settlement is the final chapter of a scandal involving the district's former technology chief, Ruben Bohuchot, who was sentenced last year to 11 years in prison for a bribery and money-laundering scheme involving computer contracts paid for by the program.
Since 2005, Dallas schools have been frozen out of participating in the Federal Communications Commission's E-Rate program during the lengthy investigation.
http://ednews.org/articles/dallas-isd-to-pay-750k-drop-tech-funding-requests.html
Before any of this was made public, I had met with citizens who were aware of the computer fraud taking place at DISD. There were some very astute taxpayers who knew what was going on at DISD and blew the whistle. Good for them!
Here’s the rub, though. While the educrats were feathering their own nests, and one got caught and will be feathering his prison cell for 11 years, the students are the ones who were – and are – paying for it. The students are the ultimate victims of a system with few checks and balances, and which often puts the interests of educrats before those of the students.
Isn’t it time we provide some competition? Isn’t it time we allow parents the opportunity to take the education dollars which are allocated for their child and take them to the school where their child has the greatest opportunity to learn and to succeed?
DISD is the poster child for school choice.
-- Peggy Venable, Americans for Prosperity-Texas; pvenable@afptx.ort
Students are the victims of the bribery and money laundering in DISD
The Dallas school district must pay $750,000 and drop more than $150 million in requests for federal technology funds to settle claims that district officials abused a program aimed at providing technology for needy schools and libraries.
The settlement is the final chapter of a scandal involving the district's former technology chief, Ruben Bohuchot, who was sentenced last year to 11 years in prison for a bribery and money-laundering scheme involving computer contracts paid for by the program.
Since 2005, Dallas schools have been frozen out of participating in the Federal Communications Commission's E-Rate program during the lengthy investigation.
http://ednews.org/articles/dallas-isd-to-pay-750k-drop-tech-funding-requests.html
Before any of this was made public, I had met with citizens who were aware of the computer fraud taking place at DISD. There were some very astute taxpayers who knew what was going on at DISD and blew the whistle. Good for them!
Here’s the rub, though. While the educrats were feathering their own nests, and one got caught and will be feathering his prison cell for 11 years, the students are the ones who were – and are – paying for it. The students are the ultimate victims of a system with few checks and balances, and which often puts the interests of educrats before those of the students.
Isn’t it time we provide some competition? Isn’t it time we allow parents the opportunity to take the education dollars which are allocated for their child and take them to the school where their child has the greatest opportunity to learn and to succeed?
DISD is the poster child for school choice.
-- Peggy Venable, Americans for Prosperity-Texas; pvenable@afptx.ort
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