Looking Through My Rear View Mirror

2009 will live forever as the year that our great nation was dooped! The promises made by the president of Hope, Change, Transparency, Bipartisanship were just catch phrases sold to and bought by the American people in what could possibly be described as the greatest marketing scheme in history.

The level of integrity of the present administration has never been lower, bar none. It took just weeks for the American people to realize what a huge mistake was made. Approval ratings for Congress have never been lower, approval ratings for the president have never dropped faster. However, action is being taken - and people are peacefully revolting - to correct the wrong, unfortunately a lot of damage is being done in the mean time.

This great nation has never been angrier. Everywhere you turn, folks from every walk of life express their disgust for the daily antics of Obama and his followers, unless of course by those who continue to defend the wrong doers.

Will 2010 be the year when the problems of the world, including those brought on by the Obama - Reid - Pelosi team be shouldered by those responsible, or will the blame continue to be placed on GWB? I wouldn't hold my breath for any change. With the help of the media, the focus of any upcoming issues will be deviated to irrelevant matters.

I cant help but feel that as of December 25th the feeling of safety that we enjoyed after 9-11 is gone. I cant help but feel that politics brought us back to where we were pre-2001. All we have been told of the events that day is that "the system worked." Excuse me, but if it wasn't for a Dutch passenger aboard that plane, the disaster would have taken place. Nothing our government or the DHS did prevented this. Nothing.

And the last headline news out of Washington for 2009 was the accusations of the Democrats stating that the Republicans were using the attempted attack for political gain. Once again... Excuse me for saying this, but... duh!

AMERICA: "An Angry Nation"

For quiet a while now I have been very concerned about the state of mind of our country. It takes just a few minutes of surfing through the various social sites on the Internet to realize that America is an angry...and bitter, nation.

From my personal observations I see that our country in more divided today than it has ever been, but the one characteristic we have in common, sad to say, is that we are all angry.

Some folks feel that we have been deceived by those we trust. Others feel that we have been misled down a path we never thought we would ever travel. The one group is trying to keep America... America. The other group is fighting to protect those they chose to lead regardless of the consequences. Either way, America is an angry nation.

Add to this terrible dilemma the fact that the silent majority is silent no more. This has the vocal minority in a pickle.

What happened to hope? Where did it go?

At this time, our country needs a leader. We have none! Any takers?

I want my America back!

"A Government Big Enough...

...To Give You Everything You Want Is Big Enough To Take Everything You Have" Thomas Jefferson.

Here's a copy of an email sent by US Congressman Marsha Blackburn, (R) TN-7, it speaks for itself:

Friends,

As I said yesterday, the public concern about H.R. 3962 is growing. So much so that many Americans are on their way to Washington to participate in a "House Call" on Thursday afternoon. From all over the country, people are coming to let Speaker Pelosi know that they are opposed to her massive new health care bureaucracy. If you can make it to Washington, you should. If you are already coming to Washington, please let me know. The event will begin at Noon on the Capitol steps.

Since this bill is more tax bill than health care bill, I thought we could take a page from the Tennessee Income Tax debate. If you can't make it to Washington for the House Call, lets join together in expressing our opposition to this bill by honking our horns at 11:00 AM Central Time. If you are willing to take this action, reply to this e-mail and let me know that as well.

In the meantime, we have pulled together a list of all of the new Federal boards, bureaucracies, commissions, and programs created in H.R. 3962. It is staggering.

My Best,

Marsha


Boards, bureaucracies, commissions, and programs created in H.R. 3962, Speaker Pelosi’s government takeover of health care:

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. Program for technical assistance to employees of small businesses buying Exchange coverage (Section 305(h), p. 191)

10. Mechanism for 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. Telehealth Advisory Committee (Section 1191 (b), p. 589)

18. Demonstration program providing reimbursement for “culturally and linguistically appropriate services” (Section 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. Quality assurance and performance improvement program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 1412(b)(1), p. 784)

28. Quality assurance 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. National independent monitor pilot program for skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities (Section 1422, p. 859)

32. Demonstration program for approved teaching health centers with respect to 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 coverage to stabilize emergency medical conditions in institutions for mental diseases (Section 1787, p. 1149)

39. Comparative Effectiveness Research Trust Fund (Section 1802, p. 1162)

40. “Identifiable office or program” within CMS to “provide for improved coordination between Medicare and Medicaid in the case of dual eligibles” (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 related to 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 individuals with 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 careers in health professions (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 in primary and secondary schools (Section 2536, p. 1462)

76. Demonstration project of grants to medical-legal partnerships (Section 2537, p. 1464)

77. Center for Emergency Care under the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (Section 2552, p. 1478)

78. Council for Emergency Care (Section 2552, p 1479)

79. Grant program to support demonstration programs that design and implement regionalized emergency care systems (Section 2553, p. 1480)

80. Grant program to assist veterans who wish to become emergency medical technicians upon discharge (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 Women’s Health (Section 2588, p. 1610)

87. National Women’s Health Information Center (Section 2588, p. 1611)

88. Centers for Disease Control Office of Women’s Health (Section 2588, p. 1614)

89. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Office of Women’s Health and Gender-Based Research (Section 2588, p. 1617)

90. Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Women’s Health (Section 2588, p. 1618)

91. Food and Drug Administration Office of Women’s 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 investment programs (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 Men’s 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 Establishment of the Native American Health and Wellness Foundation (Section 3103, p. 1968)

Are you sure America...that this IS what you want?

P.S. Where's my Congressman, Bart Gordon? How come he hasn't pointed this out to his constituents?

Cash For Clunkers - My Two Cents Worth

On the surface, it looks nice. After just one week the government went through $1B our taxpayer's money to subsidize those affluent enough to purchase a car, and as of this writing congress is debating and will probably vote on printing another $2B to inject more money into this project.

I received an email from my Congressman, Bart Gordon earlier this week on how proud he was to have been one of the sponsors of the PAYGO bill, which was voted on and passed the House a few days prior.

In it he states that Congress will have to come up with the cash to pay for any money spent from here on out. So my question is: Where's these extra $2B coming from? and how will Bart Gordon vote?

I would hope that the banks acted responsibly this time around and only approved funds to those qualified to pay it back. I would hope that this time around we're not going to get stuck with this bill as well. Only time will tell.

If you're affluent enough to have been able to purchase a car without government help, I just helped make your down payment... shame on you! If you're not affluent enough to be purchasing a new car today, and you did... shame on you.

"Beer Summit" - My Two Cents Worth

With all the hoopla surrounding the White House Beer Summit is it proper to ask: "What have we learned?"

Well, I tell you what I have learned.

I have learned that we have a Yahoo for President! Well, actually I didn't just learn this, this is something I have suspected for some time, but with each passing day, I am more convinced that this is a fact.

Never mind for a moment the hope he has brought to our country, the unity he has created, the transparency he's working under, just never mind all that if just for a moment. Focus on his ability to speak "off the cuff". An ability that demonstrated to the world just what type of person he is.

I'm not so sure the remark about the "police acting stupidly" was written on his teleprompter. This had to be an impromptu remark, a remark that overshadowed the entire content of the purpose of the news conference.

Oh, wait a minute. Was this his intention? Was the news conference going so badly that he had to create a distraction so that the news would focus on this one comment instead of the entire subject at hand? Clever!

We all know by now that he did not have all the facts. We all know now that had he had the facts he would have thought twice about making such remark. Or did he have the facts? An opportunist he is, I tell you.

The White House Beer Summit is nothing more and nothing less than a great photo op. Nothing will come out of this. This will get a couple of more days of headlines and will be forgotten, that is at least until re-election time when the media and the dems will bring this out as proof that Øbama kept his promise to work on race relations.

Bart Gordon and "PAYGO" - My Two Cents Worth

I have just received an e-mail from the offices of Rep. Bart Gordon (D) TN-06 explaining to me why he is supporting HR-2920 aka "PAYGO" or the Pay-as-you-go bill.

You can view said email by clicking here.

I was overwhelmed and flabbergasted by my congressman's arrogance. Does he really pretend to believe that we cannot see right through him?

Sir, with you support and votes you have run up the deficit to levels never seen before. Additionally you say that "in 1998, the federal government saw its first budget surplus since 1969."

Had we spent responsibly, during the glory years of budget surplus, as we should have in programs that would have protected our country from terrorism, the events of September 11, 2001 would never had happened and therefore the spending that you Democrats so willingly point to as often as you can, would have never had happened and life would have been great.

There's plenty of blame to go around... both sides should take their hits. To continue to point to the spending between 2002 - 2008 as the culprit of our present day woes is useless and serves no purpose other than self promotion.

So that I understand Mr. Gordon his email tells us that, "PAYGO" means that "for every dollar we spend on a new program, we must find a U.S. dollar to pay for it." Why is he not telling us where we're going to find this dollar? Is it in a reduction of spending somewhere else? Is it in new taxes? Will this include the Healthcare program? Will they make this retroactive to the auto-bailout and stimulus fiasco?

Mr. Gordon, at first glance your email looks nice and responsible, but upon further review your finger pointing is what we here on main street are sick and tired of, and lack of further explanations and specifics leaves us wondering: How will your next junket to Europe be paid for?

Let Me Rant For A Bit

On Monday, two California based journalists Euna Lee, 26, and Laura Ling, 32, were sentenced by North Korea to 12 years of hard labor. Immediately the Ø administration struggles to respond took front page. First it was mentioned that Al Gore would be sent to help negotiate their release, after all they work for him. Apparently not very pleased with response from Al, the admin immediately turned to Gov Bill Richardson for help. Later in the week it was back to Al.

My question is very simple: "Is this not what we pay Hillary to do"?

It was my understanding from reports I was able to decipher that Chrysler stock holders, share holder, bond holders (not really sure which), tried to get help from the Supreme Court to stop the sale of the company to Italian Fiat. From what I gather, it was due to the fact that the arrangement presented favored the unions and not to the owners, as it should be. The SC allowed the sale to go through by not listening to arguments (correct me if I'm wrong).

And speaking of the union, if Ø's universal health care plan ever becomes a reality, the unions will see windfall earning due to the fact that now the government will subsidise workers' health plans so they won't have to. Pretty sweet, huh?

So much to say about health care, so little time...

This plan is being shoved down our throats with the argument that "every American has the basic right and/or need for affordable health care". According to Maslow's hierarchy's of human needs, health care is no where to be found.

So, let's suppose for a micro instant that this is true, that this package of bologna will pass. Will the government then focus on providing water, food, sex, etc to all. After all, these are basic needs as well. And if this is so, why are there so many hungry people in our land? Shouldn't the government address this first? Just a thought!

I also went back and read the constitution (not really, I already know it doesn't) to look for the place where it spells the "right to health care" and couldn't find it.

Also, what's with the argument of a "Public Option"? Wouldn't a "Public Option" put the legit insurance companies out of business? Who makes the rules? The Government. Wouldn't they make the rules to favor their state sponsored "Public Option".

Not sure about you, but I don't want my health care plan to be managed by the same people that manage the USPS, The Veterans Administration, Amtrak, Social Security... Am I forgetting others?

Two horrible, inexplicable acts of violence in the past few days, two different ways they were reported.

First was the shooting at the Army Recruitment office in West Little Rock by Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, 23 and the second the shooting at the Holocaust Museum by James von Brunn, 88.

Both of these are tragic, despicable acts of violence that no sane person would condone. So why is it that the media has found it necessary to treat them different. I explain... In the case of von Brunn there was not enough ink, not enough air waves, not enough megabytes to describe the hatred of the white supremacist. "It was the hatred and extremism that drove him to this".

I have searched high and low and cannot find the same description of the act performed by Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad. So I ask... why the different treatment? Was the shooting of the two recruiters, one fatally not the act of "hatred and extremism"?

"Pay as you go" declared Øbama midweek. We cannot spend another dollar without first reducing a dollar of spending to cover for this. Damn, wish we would have thought of that!

The left has to be scared and scrambling because they know the train is coming and is coming fast, so fast that it's going to hit them so hard, they will be knocked out silly! Let me explain...

On Wednesday, USA Today thought it necessary to spend half of their front page to ask the question: "Who speaks for the Republican Party". They know something is going on, they know there's a movement taking place, they just don't know how, who or where it's coming from. They are scrambling to figure out who to blast next and how to take them down. My answer to their question is: "who gives a darn, most of us don't need someone to speak for us. We speak for ourselves and somehow our message has been united and is loud." Could this fear come from the fact that the latest poll show public opinion favoring the Republicans? And this only five months into the new administration.

Two more issues that deserve mention but little attention. One is the comparison of Øbama to God by Newsweek's Evan Thomas. Mr. Thomas, sir... the only and I mean only similarity between Øbama and God is that neither has a birth certificate.

And I close my weekly rant by asking David Letterman. Are you serious? Could you stoop any lower? Oh, I'm sorry I forgot, you can't get lower than where you are. Good news here is that Mr. Letterman continues to show the classless character of the left leaning entertainment industry.