Health Insurance, Democrats, & Illegal Immigrants

Addressing a joint session of Congress on September 9, 2009, President Obama said, "There are also those who claim that our reform effort will insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false – the reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally." And, in fact, the House version of the proposed bill states in Section 246, "Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States." (Uh, what does that mean, exactly?)

Maybe President Obama is not lying on this point (for an interesting analysis on the President's accuracy on this and other issues, see "Obama's Health Care Speech" at FactCheck.org.), but Congressional members of his party (ie, Democrat Party) have signed a letter to Speaker Pelosi and other Democrat leadership saying that illegal immigrants should be allowed to buy into a government health insurance program. Greta Van Susteren went "On the Record" with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D - Tex) concerning health insurance for illegals.

So even if we are to believe President Obama's promise that his reform will not apply to those who are here illegally, what are we supposed to make of the push by key members of his part (ie, Democrat Party) to include coverage for illegal immigrants?

(And what are "affordability credits," anyway?)

Preemptive Bailout

Must be the day for big government news. Congratulations, everybody! You get to provide a loan to yet another automaker...

"Former Vice President Al Gore's campaign to save the planet from global warming has netted him a Nobel Peace Prize, an Academy Award and now $529 million in taxpayer money.
The federal government has loaned $529 million to Fisker Automotive Inc., a small car company backed by Gore to help build a hybrid sports car in Finland that will sell for about $89,000, the Wall Street Journal reported." (FOXNews, 9/26/09)

Our tax dollars at work. Must be nice to be America's con man.


(photo: Fisker Karma)

More From the Command Healthcare Front

"But the legislation includes an individual mandate penalty that could go as high as $1,900. Thomas Barthold, chief of staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, told senators that the IRS could take legal action against those who fail to pay the mandate penalty. In a handwritten note to Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., Barthold said violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and could face up to a year in jail or a $25,000 penalty." (FOX News, 9/26/09)

If nothing else, Americans might want to be concerned that the IRS is going to have parts to play in the command healthcare system. Wow, makes we want to sign up!

(photo: see Death By a 1,000 Papercuts for even more info)

A Tale of Two Protests

There has been a fuss over determining the attendance at the Washington DC TEA Party protest. Our good friends living in the land of left-believe want to ensure that low estimates are reported so that they can take solace in their belief that this is not a meaningful movement. With all the hoopla over the size of the crowd at the DC TEA party, though, I want to point out that the preparation for the protests did not include much of a beefed up security. It's not too hard to figure out why... the demographic of the participants - mainly conservatives I'm guessing - indicated that there would be virtually no trouble. And there wasn't.

Fast forward now to Pittsburgh & the G20 conference. Last night, I watched the report on how many thousands of law enforcement & National Guard troops have been activated for crowd control. And they're not there to control the everyday citizens. They are there to control the protestors. There have already been acts of vandalism. Where are all the calls from those living in the land of left-believe for civilized behavior and debate? This graphic from a radical activism website will give a clue that there will be no civilized behavior (warning: vulgar language content). Night & day difference between the two types of protests, yet who do the Democrats fear the most? This is speaking volumes, folks.

photos: TEA party protest, Washington DC, 9/12/09 (left) & G20 protest, Pittsburgh, PA, 9/24/09 (right)

Great Championship

This year's U.S. Tennis Open was great. Unexpected winners in both the men's & women's singles. Juan Martin del Potro upset Roger Federer - never an easy task. Plus, he defeated Rafael Nadal to advance to the final in the first place. Returning to the women's side following time off to have a daughter and begin motherhood, Kim Clijsters took the championship as an unranked participant. Tremendous tennis!

I have two complaints,though. One is recurring. I'll catch a few minutes to watch some and find out that, even though there are games being played, we are stuck with commentators in the studio for fifteen minutes or more. No matter which station is broadcasting, they all act as if the tennis tournaments are for the announcers to demonstrate their self-congratulatory knowldge instead of for the players and fans.

My second complaint emerged with the confrontation between Serena Williams and a ine judge in the semi-final match with Clijsters. Called for the relatively rare foot fault, Williams went off on the line judge to the extent that the tournament officials were called out. Having been given a warning for an infraction earlier, Williams was given another warning which incurred a point awarded to Clijsters. This was particularly significant, since it was match point. Of course, this became a focal point for our beloved announcers from that point to the present. Surprisingly to me, because of the comentator's infatuation with the William's sisters, the calls are for a stiffer penalty to be levied against Serena. They just ave gone on and on about how this incident "ruined" the championship. Well, it didn't even come close to ruining the championship except in their narrow minds. So, they can put the lid on it anytime. Serena has been given the maximum fine allowable under current rules. Unfortunately, this will be revisited over and over and over and over. After all, the tennis tournaments exist to showcase the commentators.

Slow Posting

I'm a bit slow in my postings... it's U.S. Open Tennis time! And I'm watching way too much tennis. At least I did this weekend. It has just been too easy to get hooked on the matches. There have been some great ones with some surprising results. Among the amazing matches has been American 17 year old Melanie Oudin. She has defeated three seeded players (all Russians so far) to advance to the quarterfinal! Anyhow, that's my reason for being a bit quieter. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Giving Up Freedom

In a discussion over at Peter Heck's website (go to the article "Jesus the Socialist?"), participants are reflecting on the purpose of the proposed healthcare changes. It has occurred to me that if the goal of all these proposals are truly matters of compassion, then why do so many seem so willing to fall prey to one of the greatest sources of uncompassionate behavior known to mankind: consolidated power? History is littered with the sad refuse of humanity who have been trodden beneath the feet of uncontrolled power. In every instance that I know of, the source of unbridled, immoral power emanates from a government's control. Does anyone really need me to provide the specific examples? Now, the most free people in the history of mankind are seriously debating whether or not to voluntarily surrender significant liberties for more government control. There is something seriously wrong with this picture. Have we really become this insane?

Bye Bye Flyover

No flyover at the "God and Country" rally in Idaho because... according to the Pentagon, it was too Christian. But this was the first time in 42 years that the request for a flyover was denied. As asked in the report, what has changed?

National Geographic Takes on 9/11 Conspiracies

A National Geographic documentary tackles the 9/11 conspiracy theories. An overview of the program, along with airing times, is found at this link.

If there really are questions remaining from what is known of the attacks in New York and Washington, DC, then one should consider the implausible questions raised when imposing any of the conspiracy "theories" upon the event.