Iraq: the Secularist wins

It's not a real Democracy until powers changed hands a few times but Iraqis have sure dispelled the notion Democracy in a Shia land would lead to fundamentalist regime beholden to Iran. With Hakim and the Sadrist firmly in third place, it seems Iraqi's picking moderation. The picture of Allawi and VP Al Hashimi from Al Hashimi's facebook page. No word on Chicagoan Ahim Alsammare who was running on Allawi's list for the City of Sammara. Results via Iraq the Model,

Adding the 7 compensatory seats, the final picture looks like this:

Allawi: 89+2=91
Maliki: 87+2=89
Hakim+Sadr: 68+2=70
PUK+KDP: 42+1=43
Change (Goran): 8
Tawafok (Accord): 6
Iraq Unity (Bolani): 4
Islamic Union (Kurdish): 4
Islamic Group (Kurdish): 2
Minorities: 8
============
Total: 325

Republican Study Committee: Why no Press?

With Friends like these....

Good question from the Republican Study Committee: Why have President Obama's last two meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu at the White House been closed to the press?

Hate Speech: ACLU on Blowing Up the Military Commissions

via Weekly Standard Blog

Footnote: my back-and-forth a few years ago with Chicago area Progressives and their use of a picture of Samuel Fielding inciting the crowd while the bomb goes off at Chicago's Haymarket Square. They use a picture of flowers now instead.

ObamaCare and the Butterballs

UU Mom tells me ObamaCare won't bring the Government in between patient and provider yet the Prez's first act aftere singing was an Executive Order between Patient and Provider on abortion.

Oh yeah, these guys will weasel there way into the exam room. Through a terminal, with a protocol, evidenced-based for sure; but evidence driven by some social-engineer's agenda for sure. Girth become social parasitism. What a brave new world...

via Business & Media Institute,

While the White House is making its last pushes for health care reform to be passed in Congress – a campaign against the so-called obesity epidemic has been ramped up in political circles. The media have played along, of course. First Lady Michelle Obama recently made an unusual appearance on the Fox News Channel about this issue.

But in all the obesity hand wringing some bizarre remarks from an important person were overlooked. Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a White House adviser and the older brother to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, told the New York Times “Freakonomics Radio” recently that this condition has a broader impact on our lives, specifically the economy. (h/t Stuart James)

“I mean, we’re all focused on health care, diabetes and heart disease,” Emanuel said on Feb. 25. “But, there’s all sorts of things like the simple that, you know – heavier people – transportation is more, so there’s more spent on gasoline, more on jet fuel.”

Emanuel, a bioethicist at the American National Institutes of Health, explained that it’s not just energy costs, but also infrastructure.

“People have had to change, ah you know, the size of doorways, the size of chairs on airplanes and at sports stadiums,” Emanuel said. “So there’s a lot of hidden costs as well to the increasing girth of Americans.

Bill Kristol goes for it.

Frankly, I can't wait. Kristol from today's Weekly Standard blog,

In Iowa City today, President Obama mocked Republicans' efforts to repeal his new health care law. He dared them to "Go for it," and asserted, "I welcome that fight. Because I don't believe the American people are going to put the insurance industry back in the driver's seat."

The insurance industry is a diverting talking point, but it’s not going to work. Republicans simply have to say: Barack Obama’s legislation would put the government in the driver’s seat of a giant, poorly-constructed bus in which we’re simply helpless passengers. Republican reforms would put American families in the driver’s seat of cars of their choice. Which do you prefer?

Republicans should take up the president on his dare. They should say, "Thank you Mr. President, we are going for it. And we're going to win."

As a mechanic on the bus, I can say it's creaky bus indeed.

Roskam presser on Health Care takeover and John Deere / Caterpillar tax hit

via Illinois Review... Obama's whack on an Illinois with double digit unemployment....

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Peter Roskam released the following statement today following the John Deere company’s announcement that the new healthcare legislation signed by President Obama this week will increase their taxes by $150 million in the first year, after Caterpillar announced it would cost them $100 million in their first year:

“It’s been 48 hours since the Democrats’ partisan health bill was signed into law, and the American public, which overwhelmingly opposed it, is already hearing news that confirms what they knew would happen all along: the legislation will increase costs and taxes for businesses and individuals. When two pillars of the Illinois business community, Caterpillar and John Deere, are forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in new costs for next year alone thanks to the health bill, it sends an ominous message about Illinois’ economic future.

"My home state already suffers from 11% unemployment, and the state can ill afford more job loss, much less the increased burden of complicated regulation and new taxes on its businesses. Unfortunately, and despite consistent and massive public opposition to it, this bill is now law. John Deere will not be the last company to announce crushing new costs as a result of this health care takeover.”

SB2494: the Illinois School Choice Program - A sponser photo badly needed please

This passed the Illinois State Senate today: 33 to 20

Amends the School Code. Creates the Illinois School Choice Program, which shall be administered by the State Board of Education. Provides that any State-certified, non-public school wishing to enroll eligible students and be reimbursed for vouchers available under specified provisions shall notify the State Board of Education in writing of its intent. Specifies the eligibility for reimbursement of vouchers. Specifies reporting requirements for non-public schools that are participating in the Program. Contains provisions concerning the calculation of vouchers and how they may be used by parents. Contains provisions concerning the verification of the household income of participating parents. Provides that the State Board of Education may adopt rules for administration of the Program. Amends the State Finance Act to create the School Choice Fund as a special fund in the State treasury and provides that permitted fees collected by the State Board of Education shall be deposited into the Fund and shall be used by the State Board of Education to cover the administrative costs of the Program. Effective immediately.

Senate Sponsors are Sen. James T. Meeks - Dan Cronin - Rickey R. Hendon, Chris Lauzen, Matt Murphy and Dan Duffy Geez, Illinois needs a picture of this team, smiling, all-together, as proof sensible people can move sensible laws for the common good of Illinois.

Please gentlemen...do this.

Sen. Scott Brown moves to repeal medical device tax

Via Mass Device,

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) is apparently heeding the call of his medical device constituents, who are none too pleased about a new tax on the industry signed into law yesterday by President Barack Obama.

Brown is co-sponsoring an amendment with Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) to immediately repeal the medical device excise tax.

The levy, a 2.3 percent excise tax on sales of everything from bed pans to stents, was part of the landmark healthcare reform act passed by the U.S. House of Representatives March 21 and signed into law by Obama March 23.

Brown, in a statement condemning the bill, called it a "jobs-killing" tax that will only be passed on to consumers.

"With unemployment in my state near 10 percent, placing a tax on medical devices is the absolute last thing we should be doing right now," Brown said. "This tax will burden employers and cost jobs at a time we cannot afford one more job being lost. We should be adopting policies that put people back to work — not policies that will cause Americans, and hard-working families in my state, to lose good-paying jobs."

Brown owes at least some of his meteoric rise to the support of the medical device industry. In a widely publicized January tour of Zoll Medical Corp. (NSDQ:ZOLL) that attracted a throng of national reporters, he told MassDevice that he would "stop the healthcare bill" if elected. It was a promise that the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council has tried to hold him to, issuing an open letter immediately after the election calling for him to stick to his guns.

According to a MassDevice poll, the healthcare reform bill is desperately unpopular in medical technology circles, with more than 50 percent of respondents saying they "hate the bill."

An analysis of the tax's impact on 58 medical device firms also shows that the 10 largest medical device makers would have generated 86 percent of the $1.87 billion in excise taxes last year, had the healthcare reform law been in effect, with many smaller firms suffering substantial hits to their bottom lines and three pushed from black to red ink.

Alexi Giannoulias and Dan Lipinski

Giannoulias's facebook page focusing on Kirk's opposition to Obama Care with things like this,

A divide over the nation's health care overhaul is heating up the race for President Barack Obama's old Senate seat.

Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias (jeh-NOO'-lee-ehs) is criticizing his Republican opponent for opposing the national health care overhaul.

The Illinois treasurer made a stop Wednesday in Congressman Mark Kirk's district.

So since it was a bipartisan vote against the Health Care Takeover, is Giannoulias going to support Rep. Lipinski's oppenent Laural Lambert Schmidt? Giannoulias has drawn a line. Will he stand on the right side when it comes to Lipinski and Schmidt, or will he flipsides when he crosses over to the southwest side? Changing principles as Giannoulias finds the electorate.

SEIU's Thanks to Bill Foster

SEIU has a site here where you can sign off on,

Thank You, Representative Bill Foster

While Republicans in Washington stand with insurance companies and Wall Street profiteers, Bill Foster is on our side. Bill Foster just stood up to the powerful health insurance companies and their billions in profit. So now, you can’t be denied or lose coverage because your sick, and families and small businesses will be able afford the health insurance they need.

Thank Bill Foster – he’s standing with us, not the powerful special interests.

Let Foster know who he's working for...

...or maybe,

Do you want to know what our new health care system means? All you need to know is that the price of Tenet Healthcare Corporation’s stock, one of the largest for-profit hospital systems, was up 9 percent two days ago. So much for bending the cost curve.

via Stanley Goldfarb

Heritage health care implementation timeline

Handy sheet...it's a pdf file

So why to those two insurers in Nebraska and one in Michigan get exempted from the Annual Tax?

The devil (and deals) are in the details... maybe plan members in Nebraska and Michigan more deserving on a tax that will almost certainly hit others in their premiums.

Social Justice, or Chicago-Way where's mine? justice?

For all this talk of fear, why sign the Exec Order on Abortion in private?

So who's the Prez afraid of that he has to sign this order almost clandstinely?

Unlike yesterday's bill-signing celebrations in the East Room and the Department of the Interior, the president signed this executive action behind closed doors, with nary a camera present and no reporters allowed.

Obama pledged to sign it in exchange for the votes of anti-abortion Democrats, led by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who will be present at the signing today.

...that he foolishly wove the most divisive issue in America in a generation into his "reform" of health care? We'll face another generation of culture clash over this. Liberalism will not fair well either unless it can get itself right with HHH's old definition,

It was once said that the moral test of Government is how that Government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped," which is sometimes described as the "liberals' mantra."

Those expert panels ever get off the ground using their evidence-based clinical algorithims to deny care to the elderly in the name of effectiveness, and those gov clinics start offering abortions, we'll be in for a heck of a clash over care at the dawn and shadows of life.

A tough one to hide from... it will take a profile in courage, or the good sense to have crafted reform that doesn't get government entangled in these clinical decisions between patient and provider.

Execs of big-Gov or little prefer to hide if they can when it comes to moral stuff --with rare exceptions and Obama not one-- while the dialectic of ever improving Health Care technology will just hammer them harder regardless. Bioethical choices will only become harder and more complex

Unless the Panels and Commission succeed in strangling innovation too...

Rep. Dingell Says ObamaCare Will Eventually ‘Control the People’

Control the people and I'd add control the patronage e.g. Illinois's Health Facilities Planning Board shaking down Edward's Hospitals CEO Pam Davis.



CEO Pam Davis in the Daily Herald a while back,

"It's absolutely astounding that the governor and his cronies allegedly continued unrepentantly to shakedown hospitals more than four years after Stuart Levine and others attempted to extort me and Edward Hospital," she said in a statement. "It's equally appalling that public and regulatory officials entrusted with overseeing the regulation of important issues, such as health care, have abused that trust."

The man accused of shaking down Davis, Stuart Levine, is in prison, convicted of mail fraud and money laundering.

A royal shake down's what America's in for to come. Will make Blagojevich look a piker.

David Brooks starts the Value Added Tax talk and his Royal "We"

Brooks yesterday,

Nobody knows how this bill will work out. It is an undertaking exponentially more complex than the Iraq war, for example. But to me, it feels like the end of something, not the beginning of something. It feels like the noble completion of the great liberal project to build a comprehensive welfare system.

The task ahead is to save this country from stagnation and fiscal ruin. We know what it will take. We will have to raise a consumption tax. We will have to preserve benefits for the poor and cut them for the middle and upper classes. We will have to invest more in innovation and human capital.

Expect a whole lot more on the coming consumption tax to solve the fiscal problems and empower the "We" to make all those investment decisions with the proceeds to save the poor, and innovate.

So who exactly is Brooks's "We" and what wondrous algorithm will "We" use to allocate the billions?

Remember these guys are from Illinois and they tend to make decisions with things like Arne Duncan's lists.

When U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan ran the Chicago Public Schools for the boss of Chicago, he kept a secret list of those who hoped to clout children into the city's top-tier public schools.

"We didn't want to advertise what we were doing because we didn't want a bunch of people calling," CPS official David Pickens admitted to Tribune reporters Azam Ahmed and Stephanie Banchero, who broke the story.

So the schools kept a clout list. But they didn't want nobody nobody sent hassling them with calls.

And once again, the bright road that is the Chicago Way is paved with shiny bricks for all to see.

Chicago Daily Observer: From the People Who Brought You Tony Rezko and Stuart Levine: 111 New Federal Boards and Commissions

Ya gotta be from Chicago to apprecicate how Fricking Golden Boards and Commissions can be for doling out patronage. CDO lists 'em all with ObamaCare... resumes ready? Start kicking points to the party heavy hitters first! Then get your shot at setting reimbursement policy.

1. Retiree Reserve Trust Fund (Section 111(d), p. 61)
2. Grant program for wellness programs to small employers (Section 112, p. 62)
3. Grant program for State health access programs (Section 114, p. 72)
4. Program of administrative simplification (Section 115, p. 76)
5. Health Benefits Advisory Committee (Section 223, p. 111)
6. Health Choices Administration (Section 241, p. 131)
7. Qualified Health Benefits Plan Ombudsman (Section 244, p. 138)
8. Health Insurance Exchange (Section 201, p. 155)
9. Technical assistance to employees of small businesses buying Exchange coverage (Section 305(h), p. 191)
10. Insurance risk pooling to be established by Health Choices Commissioner (Section 306(b), p. 194)
11. Health Insurance Exchange Trust Fund (Section 307, p. 195)
12. State-based Health Insurance Exchanges (Section 308, p. 197)
13. Grant program for health insurance cooperatives (Section 310, p. 206)
14. Public Health Insurance Option (Section 321, p. 211)
15. Ombudsman for Public Health Insurance Option (Section 321(d), p. 213)
16. Account for receipts and disbursements for Public Health Insurance Option (Section 322(b), p. 215)
17. Tele health Advisory Committee (Section 1191 (b), p. 589)
18. Demonstration program providing for culturally and linguistically appropriate services (Sec 1222, p. 617)
19. Demonstration program for shared decision making using patient decision aids (Section 1236, p. 648)
20. Accountable Care Organization pilot program under Medicare (Section 1301, p. 653)
21. Independent patient-centered medical home pilot program under Medicare (Section 1302, p. 672)
22. Community-based medical home pilot program under Medicare (Section 1302(d), p. 681)
23. Independence at home demonstration program (Section 1312, p. 718)
24. Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research (Section 1401(a), p. 734)
25. Comparative Effectiveness Research Commission (Section 1401(a), p. 738)
26. Patient ombudsman for comparative effectiveness research (Section 1401(a), p. 753)
27. Q/A and performance improvement program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 1412 (b)(1), p. 784)
28. Q/A and performance improvement program for nursing facilities (Section 1412 (b)(2), p. 786)
29. Special focus facility program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 1413(a)(3), p. 796)
30. Special focus facility program for nursing facilities (Section 1413(b)(3), p. 804)
31. Independent monitor pilot program for skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities (Section 1422, p. 859)
32. Demonstration program for approved teaching health centers for Medicare GME (Section 1502(d), p. 933)
33. Pilot program to develop anti-fraud compliance systems for Medicare providers (Section 1635, p. 978)
34. Special Inspector General for the Health Insurance Exchange (Section 1647, p. 1000)
35. Medical home pilot program under Medicaid (Section 1722, p. 1058)
36. Accountable Care Organization pilot program under Medicaid (Section 1730A, p. 1073)
37. Nursing facility supplemental payment program (Section 1745, p. 1106)
38. Demonstration program for Medicaid medical conditions for mental diseases (Sec 1787, p. 1149)
39. Comparative Effectiveness Research Trust Fund (Section 1802, p. 1162)
40. Identifiable office or program for coordination between Medicare and Medicaid (Section 1905, p. 1191)
41. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Section 1907, p. 1198)
42. Public Health Investment Fund (Section 2002, p. 1214)
43. Scholarships for service in health professional needs areas (Section 2211, p. 1224)
44. Program for training medical residents in community-based settings (Section 2214, p. 1236)
45. Grant program for training in dentistry programs (Section 2215, p. 1240)
46. Public Health Workforce Corps (Section 2231, p. 1253)
47. Public health workforce scholarship program (Section 2231, p. 1254)
48. Public health workforce loan forgiveness program (Section 2231, p. 1258)
49. Grant program for innovations in interdisciplinary care (Section 2252, p. 1272)
50. Advisory Committee on Health Workforce Evaluation and Assessment (Section 2261, p. 1275)
51. Prevention and Wellness Trust (Section 2301, p. 1286)
52. Clinical Prevention Stakeholders Board (Section 2301, p. 1295)
53. Community Prevention Stakeholders Board (Section 2301, p. 1301)
54. Grant program for community prevention and wellness research (Section 2301, p. 1305)
55. Grant program for research and demonstration projects for wellness incentives (Section 2301, p. 1305)
56. Grant program for community prevention and wellness services (Section 2301, p. 1308)
57. Grant program for public health infrastructure (Section 2301, p. 1313)
58. Center for Quality Improvement (Section 2401, p. 1322)
59. Assistant Secretary for Health Information (Section 2402, p. 1330)
60. Grant program to support the operation of school-based health clinics (Section 2511, p. 1352)
61. Grant program for nurse-managed health centers (Section 2512, p. 1361)
62. Grants for labor-management programs for nursing training (Section 2521, p. 1372)
63. Grant program for interdisciplinary mental and behavioral health training (Section 2522, p. 1382)
64. No Child Left Unimmunized Against Influenza demonstration grant program (Section 2524, p. 1391)
65. Healthy Teen Initiative grant program regarding teen pregnancy (Section 2526, p. 1398)
66. Grant program for interdisciplinary training, education, and services for autism (Section 2527(a), p. 1402)
67. University centers for excellence in developmental disabilities education (Section 2527(b), p. 1410)
68. Grant program to implement medication therapy management services (Section 2528, p. 1412)
69. Grant program to promote positive health behaviors in underserved communities (Section 2530, p. 1422)
70. Grant program for State alternative medical liability laws (Section 2531, p. 1431)
71. Grant program to develop infant mortality programs (Section 2532, p. 1433)
72. Grant program to prepare secondary school students for health care training (Section 2533, p. 1437)
73. Grant program for community-based collaborative care (Section 2534, p. 1440)
74. Grant program for community-based overweight and obesity prevention (Section 2535, p. 1457)
75. Grant program for reducing the student-to-school nurse ratio (Section 2536, p. 1462)
76. Demonstration project of grants to medical-legal partnerships (Section 2537, p. 1464)
77. Center for Emergency Care (Section 2552, p. 1478)
78. Council for Emergency Care (Section 2552, p 1479)
79. Grant program to support demonstration programs for regionalized emergency care (Section 2553, p. 1480)
80. Grant program to assist veterans who wish to become EMTs (Section 2554, p. 1487)
81. Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (Section 2562, p. 1494)
82. National Medical Device Registry (Section 2571, p. 1501)
83. CLASS Independence Fund (Section 2581, p. 1597)
84. CLASS Independence Fund Board of Trustees (Section 2581, p. 1598)
85. CLASS Independence Advisory Council (Section 2581, p. 1602)
86. Health and Human Services Coordinating Committee on Womens Health (Section 2588, p. 1610)
87. National Womens Health Information Center (Section 2588, p. 1611)
88. Centers for Disease Control Office of Womens Health (Section 2588, p. 1614)
89. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Office of Womens Health Research (Section 2588, p. 1617)
90. Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Womens Health (Section 2588, p. 1618)
91. Food and Drug Administration Office of Womens Health (Section 2588, p. 1621)
92. Personal Care Attendant Workforce Advisory Panel (Section 2589(a)(2), p. 1624)
93. Grant program for national health workforce online training (Section 2591, p. 1629)
94. Grant program to disseminate best practices on implementing health workforce (Section 2591, p. 1632)
95. Demonstration program for chronic shortages of health professionals (Section 3101, p. 1717)
96. Demonstration program for substance abuse counselor educational curricula (Section 3101, p. 1719)
97. Program of Indian community education on mental illness (Section 3101, p. 1722)
98. Intergovernmental Task Force on Indian environmental and nuclear hazards (Section 3101, p. 1754)
99. Office of Indian Mens Health (Section 3101, p. 1765)
100. Indian Health facilities appropriation advisory board (Section 3101, p. 1774)
101. Indian Health facilities needs assessment workgroup (Section 3101, p. 1775)
102. Indian Health Service tribal facilities joint venture demonstration projects (Section 3101, p. 1809)
103. Urban youth treatment center demonstration project (Section 3101, p. 1873)
104. Grants to Urban Indian Organizations for diabetes prevention (Section 3101, p. 1874)
105. Grants to Urban Indian Organizations for health IT adoption (Section 3101, p. 1877)
106. Mental health technician training program (Section 3101, p. 1898)
107. Indian youth telemental health demonstration project (Section 3101, p. 1909)
108. Program for treatment of child sexual abuse victims and perpetrators (Section 3101, p. 1925)
109. Program for treatment of domestic violence and sexual abuse (Section 3101, p. 1927)
110. Native American Health and Wellness Foundation (Section 3103, p. 1966)
111. Committee for the Native American Health and Wellness Foundation (Section 3103, p. 1968)

Attention Illinois Social Conservatives

via Stupak’s Painful Lesson for Abortion Foes by Adam Graham,

Democrats had to choose between their pro-life principles and their desire to pass comprehensive health care. They opted for the expansion of big government, and this is just the latest in a series of sell-outs of the pro-life community that go back decades.

Before Stupak, Senators Ben Nelson (D-Ne.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) sold out the pro-life movement by pushing through the Senate health care bill.

Some other disappointments include:

Democrats for Life of America had to dismiss Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH), a former board member elected with endorsements from National Right to Life, after Ryan introduced an abortion reduction bill that included funds for the world’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood.

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) switched from pro-life to pro-choice before the 2004 presidential election so he could run a credible campaign.

Al Gore has morphed from a pro-life congressman from Tennessee who voted for legislation that would define the unborn as persons under the Fourteenth Amendment to a keynote speaker for NARAL.

This is hardly an exhaustive list. The number of Democrats who at one time were “pro-life” is staggering, and includes Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Ted Kennedy, Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), and Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ).

Pro-life voters often take the view that a pro-life candidate is always better than a pro-choice candidate. In reality, a moderately pro-choice Republican is probably a better pick for the abortion issue than a pro-life Democrat.

My emphasis on that last sentences. Keep that thought in mind please Social Conservatives next time you label a GOP candidate RINO.

McCotter: “So this is what change looks like.”

Via McCotter's Office,

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Thaddeus G. McCotter, who chairs the Republican House Policy Committee, delivered the following remarks on the House Floor last night.

So this is what change looks like. If he were here, Mr. Speaker, in this time of momentous national distress, I would remind the President of the United States that he is not the leader of a party or an ideology; he is the leader of our country—one founded, not to emulate others, but to inspire the world.

As families lose their jobs, their homes, and their dreams for their children; as our troops fight and sacrifice in foreign fields for our liberty and security, President Obama's obsessive-compulsive pursuit of an abominable government takeover of health care has defied the public's objections, despoiled this, “The People's House,” and further alienated Americans from their representative government.

As President Obama's campaign mantra of ``hope and change'' has degenerated into “tax and hate,” reputable surveys prior to this vote report: the public overwhelmingly thinks that the U.S. Government is broken. Only 21 percent of the public thinks it is being governed with its consent. Only 26 percent of the public trusts the Federal Government most of the time or always; 56 percent of Americans think the Federal Government has become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedom of ordinary citizens; 70 percent believe the government and big business typically work together in ways that hurt consumers and investors; and 71 percent of Americans think the Federal Government is a special interest.

In the wake of this health care debate’s despicable, dysfunctional process and product, it is clear: The most dangerous special interest is Big Government and President Obama is its lobbyist.

In contrast to Americans' faith in themselves, every major piece of legislation proffered by the President and his Democratic Congress expands and empowers Big Government at the expense of the people. Possessed of a smug, cynical, patronizing view of Americans as dependents desiring State benefits, this arrogant administration and its enablers have defied the American people and bi-partisan opposition in Congress to unilaterally jam through a trillion-dollar government takeover of health care.

Why? For so many Americans, the answer is that this President and his Democratic Congress think they are smarter than you; want to run your life; and want to make government your ruler, not your servant.

Such hubris threatens not only our health care system but it tears the social fabric and political contract of our Nation. Instead of working for a more perfect Union, the President’s ideological obstinacy exacerbated the disorder and divisions within our Nation, and wrought a crisis of consent—one that puts America’s exceptional experiment in human freedom and self-government on the precipice of implosion.

To do so the President has the power, but not the right. Thus he has merely scored a Pyrrhic victory over the American people. Ultimately, his government-run medicine scheme will be repealed and replaced with free- market, patient-centered wellness, because America's strength and salvation remains her free people, not a person.

And this November, America's sovereign citizens will remind the President and his Democratic Congress that We the People do not work for government; the government works for us.

No, the President and his Democratic Congress will not break us beneath Big Government. Devoted to our freedom and a more perfect Union, we will keep the faith, trust the public, calm the times, and heal our country.

Reform Congress

Thanks Bones!

Paul Ryan on the steep climb to reclaim the American Idea

As the guy who used to audit the Medicaid budgets for Wisconsin and Michigan, I can confirm rights --like a right to Health Care paid by another-- granted by the Government aren't rights at all. What the Gov givith, the Gov's bean-counters can taketh, and much much of this law will be adjudicated by meek looking auditors; spreadsheets in hand.

The Best of Health Care Floor Debates

The best of the debates from the House GOP. Click on the buttons for video of the Rep from that region.


View The Best of Health Care Floor Debates in a larger map

Lemon Socialism: AIG Exec Salaries

Why in the world aren't we capping these guys at a the top of the Federal Executive scale: $180k or there abouts instead of $500k? Read AIG: Increases Pay for Most Top Managers Who Remained

Exceptions to the $500,000 cap were made for those deemed critical to AIG’s success, including Benmosche, whose compensation was unchanged from last year’s $7 million salary and $3.5 million in long-term incentives. Five other AIG executives had base cash salaries of $500,000 or more in 2010, according to the Treasury document. AIG is majority-owned by the U.S. after a rescue that has swelled to $182.3 billion.

And why aren't we distributing the Fed's share of AIG stock to every American's 401k plan? There was a bill in the house to do that last year I think.

Bobby Schilling's "Kill the Bill" Fundraiser

A Bobby Schilling email. Watchout Phil Hare,

Schilling "Kill the Bill" Money-bomb Drive Brings in Over $25,000

More than doubles original goal of $10,000

March 22, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information please contact Terry Schilling at 309-230-3909
Schilling "Kill the Bill" Money-bomb Drive Brings in Over $25,000
More than doubles original goal of $10,000
EAST MOLINE, IL--Bobby Schilling, Republican candidate for Congress in the IL-17 District, held a "Kill the Bill" money-bomb fundraising drive that pulled in $25,215.67. The fundraising drive was announced about two weeks ago and ended on Sunday, March 21, at midnight. Schilling said that the success of this fundraising drive shows that voters are ready for a new direction in Illinois politics.

"I was only expecting to raise around $5,000 for this money-bomb," said Schilling. "I am humbled and honored that grassroot supporters came together and helped us crush our original goal. It shows that supporters are fired-up and ready to go."

Mike Moehlenhof, a grassroot supporter of Mr. Schilling, was responsible for organizing and advertising for the money-bomb drive. Mr. Moehlenhof said that financial support started coming in as soon as they began advertising for the drive.

"People were very eager to donate to Bobby's campaign," said Moehlenhof. "In fact we reached the original goal of $10,000, six days early. Then, when we announced that we had to adjust the goal, the flood gates opened. I was very happy when we found out the total amount raised was over $25,000. I can't wait to do another one closer to the election."

Mr. Moehlenhof said that the fundraising drive attracted a lot of new donors and that supporters were extremely engaged for this event.

Moehlenhof continued, "People really connect with Bobby's fresh face and uplifting message. They are sick of the tax and spend, regulate more, status-quo politicians in Washington. His campaign has a message that Republicans, Independents and even a lot of Democrats can embrace."

Schilling, a native of Rock Island. graduated from Alleman High School and attended Black Hawk College. Schilling, a local business owner and father of ten children, is the Republican candidate for the 17th Congressional District in Illinois. Bobby is running on a platform of bring jobs and real representation back to the 17th District. Earlier this year, Schilling conducted a 34-city "Bob's for Jobs" tour, where he met with voters and employers all across the 17th District.

For more information about Bobby Schilling please visit his website at http://www.bobby2010.com

Maybe something too that We Ask America poll. Via Sean Trende,

Finally, in something of a surprise, two-term Democrat Phil Hare leads Republican Bobby Schilling, whom Politics1.com describes as a “Pizza Restaurant Owner and Ex-Factory Worker” by a small margin of 39%-32%. The labyrinthine district takes in the more heavily Democratic areas of northwest and central Illinois, though it is still fairly marginal (D+3). This district is one that many thought would be competitive when Lane Evans retired in 2006, but went heavily for the Democrat in successive Democratic waves.

Alexi Giannoulias on Kirk's "Repeal it" Pledge

From Giannoulias over on Kos,

"I'm Mark Kirk, and I can't wait to vote against health care reform next week."

That was Republican Congressman Mark Kirk last week, caught on tape barely able to contain his exuberance at voting against health care for millions. And it's not enough for him to vote against the bill:

If elected, U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk is promising he will "lead the effort" to repeal the health care reform package Democrats are working furiously to pass. The North Shore Republican made the statement at a New Trier GOP Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner last Friday.

With Laura Washington's column today: Time to foreclose on Giannoulias, Giannoulias best advised to worry Democrats don't repeal him.

Alexi Giannoulias, Illinois' beleaguered Democratic U.S. Senate nominee, has probably crossed a black cat, walked under a ladder or cracked a mirror in the last 6 months -- or maybe all of the above.

Can his candidacy elude a death by 1,000 cuts?

The latest malady to hit the hyper-ambitious Illinois treasurer is the impending failure of his family's Broadway Bank. The mantle of a successful community banker was his main claim to fame, catapulting the young political novice into office in 2006. If the feds shut down the bank (and even the cocky Giannoulias admits that's likely), it will put a fatal hurt on the G-Man's electoral prospects.

No candidate ever wants to pack it in, especially one with an oversized noggin. Still, the abundance of junk in Giannoulias' political trunk begs for a reappraisal of his Senate candidacy. Bright Start, Boston Blackies, bank foreclosure -- and we're not even through the "B's."

Read it all as LW presses the reset button with vengeance.

SEIU's Andy Stern on who owns Bill Foster

A Randy Hultgren email on Andy Stern boasting who Bill Foster works for.

Bill Foster's Vote Betrays the Trust of the 14th District

Dear Friend:

Tonight, Bill Foster dealt the 14th Congressional District a devastating blow!

Foster's vote to takeover health care doesn't only run contrary to the wishes of his constituents, it delivers on the commitment he made to HIS real boss, Andy Stern, head of the Service Employees International Union.

In the Washington Post this week, Stern boasted of the debt owed to SEIU by Foster saying that "Foster, who we ran a significant independent expenditure for, we're telling him what it is our workers thought they were working for him for" in reference to the Pelosi/Reid health care bill.

It is clear, by the admission of SEIU to the Washington Post of access and influence, that Foster is bought and paid for by special interests at the expense of the residents of the 14th Congressional District!

Not only did Foster commit this heinous act of multi-generational theft, harming residents of Illinois by taking away Medicare benefits to seniors and shifting unknown costs to our children and grandchildren, he also committed another heinous act against the unborn.

In a later vote, Foster voted to uphold Nancy Pelosi's commitment to government-funded abortion!

I am fighting to serve in Congress so that we STOP the special interest buying spree of Congress, STOP the government from paying for abortions and STOP the abuse of the taxpayer's money!

PS The link to WaPo's Ezra Klein's interview with Stern.

Bill Foster, Brandeis, and the Blue Eagle

The Supreme Court's invalidation of FDR's NRA been on my mind the last few days and Justice Brandeis famours words about enough centralization, go back home... googling around I found I wasn't alone. From Commentary,

It was a breathtaking expansion of federal power and, for a while, the NRA’s symbol — a blue eagle with a gear wheel in one claw and lightning bolts in the other — and its slogan, “We Do Our Part,” were everywhere. But two years later, the Supreme Court ruled in a famous case, Schechter Poultry Corp v. United States, that the bill violated both the separation of powers doctrine by delegating legislative authority to the president and the commerce clause.

While the court at that point had a majority of conservative justices (two years later FDR would try to pack the court to get rid of it), the decision was unanimous. Justice Louis Brandeis, no conservative, told aides of the president, “This is the end of this business of centralization, and I want you to go back and tell the president that we’re not going to let this government centralize everything.”

Where is Justice Brandeis now that we really need him?

Give us to Nov Justice Brandeis, and we voters'll bring 'em all home....

Hayder Al-Khoei: Just another day in Baghdad

Hayder Al-Khoek, the son of martyred Ayatollah Al-Khoei, is back blogging over at Eye Raki, and writes Now you see?

It is 9am on December 8th 1998 in the city of Nasiriya in Southern Iraq. An order is given to Fedayeen Saddam – ‘Saddam’s Men of Sacrifice’ - to behead Abdul-Hassan Misbah, Ehsan Hussain and Mohammed Subhi. Their hands are tied behind their backs, their feet tied together and they are blindfolded. They are carried to a concrete block with their heads hanging over the road like sheep to the slaughter.

Fedayeen, over a dozen of them all dressed in black with masks covering their faces, crowd the condemned. They hold them in place and shift their bodies accordingly to get the ideal position. Before the victims are executed a member of the Fedayeen uses a set of tools to pull out their tongues and then proceeds to cut them. The three men seem resigned to their fate and do not put up any resistance. They do not shake, jolt or even twitch. It is almost as if they died before they died. Whilst one is having his tongue cut off the other is already being hacked to death by a sword-wielding Fedaye who starts from behind the neck until the head is decapitated.

Once they conclude with the heads the Fedayeen hold onto them as trophies and start dancing around them with the enjoyment, excitement and amusement you would expect in a wedding. Their bodies were not even returned to their families. When the mother went to the Fedayeen centre asking for her son she was told he was a traitor to his country and that his body should not just have been thrown to the dogs, but also burnt. The mother finally found her son’s body after Saddam was toppled. Head buried beside body.

This was just another day in Nasiriya.

The video can be found on YouTube and Eye Raki has a few stills from it. It was shown at recent de-Baathification trials and proved too much for one of the defendants. Ahh so, Now you See... just another Day in Baghdad's trial.

Bill Foster ought listen to Zack Space

Via Cleveland.com

After hearing out everyone everyone from President Obama to tea party activists, Dover Democratic Rep. Zack Space announced today that he'll oppose the health care reform bill that's up for a vote on Sunday in the House of Representatives.

Space, who represents a sprawling southeast Ohio congressional district with a high concentration of Republicans, said he doesn't like the bill, and his constituents don't like it, either.

"Probably the most significant concern is the pay-fors in the bill," said Space. "They are opening the door to taxing employee benefits as income, which is going to create, I don’t care how you slice it, a hardship for middle class families that they can’t afford to endure right now."

Not to mention $500 billion in Medicare cuts... this will be a devastating bill on working people and the retired.

Key House Democrat: "There Are No Rules Here ... We Make Them Up As We Go Along"

Man, how Democrats got themselves to making statements like this amazing...at least he's honest!

Illinois Review: Early Congressional Polls

IR links some.

Right now, We Ask America shows GOP challenger Adam Kinzinger leading by 12 points over Debbie Halvorson and GOP challenger State Senate Randy Hultgren slightly over Bill Foster. Tea Party favorite Joe Walsh is within striking range of Melissa Bean and yet-unknown downstate Bobby Schilling is within 8 points of Phil Hare.

Somehow I think the ObamaCare backlash will be strong in Hare's district. No easy ride for him. I'm betting he's gone in the tide if the bill passes.

Jane Hamsher's Fact Sheet on the Health Care Bill

A progressive's take on why it's a very very bad bill.

Real health care reform is the thing we’ve fought for from the start. It is desperately needed. But this bill falls short on many levels, and hurts many people more than it helps.

Democrats will never recover if they deem-and-pass this mess. Never....

Today's Kill the Bill Rallys

Ann at Backyard Conservative has the list.