Tropical Storm Henri
Looks like Dominica and Haiti are in Henri's sights.....
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Teaching Math
Last week I purchased a burger at Burger King for $1.58. The counter girl took my $2 and I was digging for my change when I pulled 8 cents from my pocket and gave it to her. She stood there , holding the nickel and 3 pennies , while looking at the screen on her register.
I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters , but she hailed the manager for help. While he tried to explain the transaction to her , she stood there and cried. Why do I tell you this? Because of the evolution in teaching math since the 1950s:
1. Teaching Math In 1950s A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit ?
2. Teaching Math In 1960s A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?
3. Teaching Math In 1970s A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?
4. Teaching Math In 1980s A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.
5. Teaching Math In 1990s A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers, and if you feel like crying , it's ok.)
6. Teaching Math In 2009 Un hachero vende una carretada de maderapara $100. El costo de la producciones es $80. Cuanto dinero ha hecho?
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
By David Limbaugh
September 15, 2009
Memo to the Democratic leadership threatening to censure Rep. Joe Wilson if he doesn't publicly apologize on the House floor for calling President Barack Obama a liar on that floor: You don't have the moral authority to be demanding apologies.
Not only has their own decorum in that very chamber been abysmal at times, such as when they booed President George W. Bush during his 2005 State of the Union address; they do much worse damage every week to this nation and its institutions than Joe Wilson conceivably could have done with his temporary breach of decorum.
While Democratic leaders are wagging their fingers at the Republican Party's alleged descent into incivility over Joe Wilson's unplanned, indignant outburst, they have a very short memory about their own partywide monopoly on incivility, as they savaged President Bush throughout his presidency. I researched and wrote a 400-plus-page book documenting the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of these hypocritical scolds in 2006, in case you need a refresher course.
Unlike Rep. Wilson, these offending Democrats have never apologized for their outrages. Did Rep. John Murtha apologize for prejudging and slandering our battlefield Marines who were later vindicated? Did Sen. Harry Reid ever apologize for calling President Bush a liar? Al Gore? John Kerry? Has suspected tax evader Rep. Charles Rangel apologized for his conduct while devising new ways to confiscate even higher taxes from honest, hardworking Americans who actually pay their taxes?
Did Sen. Dick Durbin retract the substance of his remarks in comparing Gitmo to the gulag? Did House leader Nancy Pelosi repent for defaming the CIA?
While we're at it, is anyone calling Obama and his colleagues on their opportunistic attacks on the Bush administration for not capturing Osama bin Laden, just as bin Laden has reportedly issued another taped lecture against the United States from some undisclosed cave somewhere?
On a related matter, Democrats, in order to bolster their credibility to attack President Bush on Iraq, pretended for years to be war hawks on Afghanistan. Iraq, they said, was an ill-conceived Bush-Cheney diversion from the war on terror. The real war, they said, was Afghanistan, where al-Qaida trained for its 9/11 attacks. But I could have sworn I just read this past week that Nancy Pelosi said, "I don't think there's a great deal of support for sending more troops to Afghanistan, in the country or in the Congress." I guess Dems were just kidding, then, when they bludgeoned President Bush for soft-pedaling "the good war," huh?
Then there's the little matter of Social Security, the subject that gave rise to Democrats' unceremoniously booing President Bush on the House floor. Though Democrats were so concerned about a looming Social Security crisis in 2000 that Bill Clinton and Al Gore demanded Social Security funds be placed in a "lockbox," they caught partisan amnesia when President Bush tried to reform it five years later.
The Chicago Tribune reported Feb. 3, 2005, that Democrats "plan to stand in the cold and excoriate the president, accusing him of dismantling a 70-year-old promise to senior citizens." The beloved Sen. Harry Reid went so far as to say: "Social Security is not in crisis. It's a crisis the president's created, period." Do you suppose an apology will be forthcoming from Reid, though, now that government-revised estimates project the insolvency of Social Security to occur even sooner than expected?
How about the Democratic leaders who urged President Bush in January 2007 to reverse his "reckless" fiscal policies, a move that would include "difficult choices and shared sacrifices"? Where are these latter-day fiscal hawks now that President Obama is deliberately bleeding the national treasury and mortgaging our future earnings in pursuit of a fiscal recklessness so egregious that it represents a difference in kind, rather than degree, from President Bush's budgetary infractions?
In the meantime, could we please not lose sight of the fact that Wilson's claim was substantively true? President Obama has dissembled on many of his health care claims. Adding insult to injury, in that very speech before Congress, Obama was falsely accusing Republicans of lying -- an accusatory art Democrats perfected during the Bush years.
Indeed, if Democrats were to issue public apologies every time accepted moral standards demanded it, they wouldn't have time for governance, which would be a wonderful development. This latest witch hunt -- against Rep. Wilson, who has already apologized to the White House -- is strategically designed, along with their infernal playing of the race card against Obama's critics, to divert attention from and marginalize the spontaneous grass-roots tidal wave of opposition to Obama's socialist agenda.
So please, Democratic high officials, spare us the phony sanctimony in your transparent attempt to mask your own policy outrages, about which the public has been awakened and duly mobilized.
Monday, October 05, 2009
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Pictures from Washington
The media reported (as stated below) that this wasn't well attended. I won't pretend to say I can count the number of people at the rally, but considering that one picture says that Pennsylvania Avenue was totally blocked by protesters, so much so that (I don't know how many) were unable to make it to the Capitol.
Look, the media doesn't want to report how many were there for one simple reason: it doesn't fall into what they want to report. They want to report that the protestors are just crazy a lunatic fringe. If they report anything else, like real numbers, the house of cards falls apart. They won't interview the average, middle American at these rallies or townhall meetings. They look for the outrageous behavior and report it, or the people who are "prove" what they want to report.
Polls are reporting that only 41% of those polled are in favor of Obamacare. If this is such a great idea, why hasn't anyone been able to read the bill until recently? Why is it being constantly challenged with other bills? And to me, most importantly, why is it being rammed through Congress?
Americans aren't stupid, nor are we uncompassionate toward our fellow Americans who don't have health care. We already have one health care system in place; why not expand Medicare to include those who don't have health care? If that's not good enough, then let's sit down and have a reasonable study on what would work.
I have to look twice, and maybe even three times or more at something that just has to be done right now! My question is why? why right now? I want the uninsured to be covered, but I want it to be done right and not have Congress make improvements and corrections at every turn of the calendar - like they've done with the Tax Code.
Think of this about health care: if government health care is so great, why do Canadians come to the US for tests and treatment?
Of course, this rally wasn't only about health care. It was about the rights of the American citizen being trampled on. It was about the Federal Government spending money it doesn't have. It was about people being tired of being patronized and told that Government knows best.
It was about Americans saying we've had enough. We're smart enough to know this isn't about healthcare or making life better for all Americans. This is about power and votes, getting elected and staying elected.
This is a government of the people, for the people, and BY the people. Not just for certain segments of society, by Congress and this Administration.
And now for the email:
Some are “reporting 75,000. Others who were there say 1.8 million! Looks more like the layer to me, how about you?
I think this gathering should be appreciated as the extremely important historical event that it is. This is the first great conservative anti-statist manifestation in American history. The conservative movement, which developed in the post-WWII, Cold War environment has now fully matured into the most significant political movement of the 21st century. I believe that this day could be referred to in the not too distant future as the day that changed America. This was the day the great silent conservative majority finally found its voice.
Many of the attendees were quite meek and timid and were unsure of exactly what to expect, this being the first time in their lives they’d been involved in a protest movement. Their fears evaporated early in the day and I saw people reveling in the camaraderie , the joy and sheer civility that was exhibited at the entire event. Chants of “Freedom, freedom, freedom”, “No more czars! No more czars!” carried through the air without the slightest hint of rancor or incivility which is the norm at the leftist rallies I have photographed over the years.
The two photos above show a tiny fraction of the two million ABC estimates attended. I saw signs and heard lots of comments comparing this event to Woodstock . At the time this photo was taken, around 1:00 p.m., Pennsylvania Avenue was still jammed completely, and the mall was packed from the Capitol Building past the Washington Monument. See aerial photos here.
Protesters came from every state in the union. This man came from San Antonio , TX . He said that he was really sorry he hadn’t brought his family. He stated that being a black conservative he was afraid to expose his children to what he expected would be a lot of liberal abuse. He was thrilled with the tenor of the event and the fact that no liberals were present to harass him. He spoke about how incredibly intolerant the left is to black individuals who don’t bow to the party line.
Ohioans took a day off their rodeo bullriding schedule. They said they’ll be back at it tomorrow.
Mike Pence (R-Indiana) was one of the speakers who addressed the crowd: “After years of fighting runaway government on this hill, you people look like the cavalry to me. I believe we are on the verge of a great American awakening.”
San Diego radio host Mason Weaver said from the podium: “I came here because I thought you might want to hear a black man speak without a teleprompter…This government is trying to make a nation of dependent people. Americans have always been independent people…This is not a Republican thing, it’s not a Democrat thing. It’s not a black thing or a white thing. It’s an American thing…We the people are telling them ‘No more! We’ve had enough!”
In the very center of the photo, above the Silence is Consent – Can You Hear Us Now sign, you can see Pennsylvania Ave. , which at this time is totally blocked with protesters who cannot move forward to the Capitol area. Sorry, full up.
There were notable differences though, in the behavior of these attendees. Although the legend of Woodstock is that there was a friendly atmosphere of camaraderie, the truth is that most people were there for the drugs, sex and rock and roll. Today in D.C. there was a true kinship amongst these people based on shared values and intellectual understanding of what America is and how its future is imperiled by big radical government.
No one was having sex in the Reflecting Pool let alone the mud, and I saw no one projectile vomiting on the steps of the Capitol. There were no warnings to avoid the bad acid which would send you on a trip to the hospital. Not just a different era, but a different level of civilized behavior and thought. Oh, and by the way, these people didn’t leave tons of garbage behind when they left. Actually they left no trash behind at all.
Obama Lied, Capitalism Died
We are the mob!
Support Class Envy! Redistribute Wealth.
Speaker: Kiss Our Astroturf!
The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Obama Himself – - – Compassion is Voluntary, Not Compulsory!
WALNUT – Workers Against Lazy Non-Producers United Together — the conservative answer to ACORN. Didn’t have to ask them if they were receiving any taxpayer money like radical left-wing ACORN. Different DNA!
Proud members of the “Angry Mob” and they’re armed with their votes.
Your wallet…the only place Democrats are willing to drill! – Don’t share my wealth – share my work ethic!
Right-wing extremist armed with the Constitution.
Who are the commie czars?
Marxism – the opiate of the asses – Posters from the Peoples Cube are proliferating amongst protesters
Stop Making Profit! — Report all Capitalist Activities to flag@whitehouse.gov
World’s #1 Crypto-Marxist. Endorsed by Fidel Castro: The most powerful progressive candidate to the U.S. presidency.” – GRANMA, Havana , May 26, 2008
Nancy Pelosi has accused patriotic tea-partyers of “carrying swastikas” implying that they are Nazi sympathizers. This event was wall to wall hammers and sickles and words like “socialist” “communist” and “Marxist” etc. It continues to fascinate me how long the Democrats will tolerate this without ever commenting on it. Either they like it, or there’s something to it.
Ever present at Tea Parties are Sons of Liberty reenactors. The couple on the left is from Tennessee and the young lady on the right is not but she joined in the photo. The clothing for the couple was hand stitched by the lady on the left. And boy do they love America.
Hymn to Hitler
By: Lori Kalner
In Germany, when Hitler came to power, it was a time of terrible financial depression. Money was worth nothing. In Germany people lost homes and jobs, just like in the American Depression in the 1930s, which we have read about in Thoene's Shiloh books. In those days, in my homeland, Adolph Hitler was elected to power by promising 'Change.' He blamed the 'Zionists' around the world for all our problems. He told everyone it was greedy Zionist Bankers who had caused every problem we had. He promised when he was leader, the greedy Zionist bankers would be punished. The Zionists, he promised, would be wiped off the face of the earth.
So Hitler was elected to power by only 1/3 the popular vote. A coalition of other political parties in parliament made him supreme leader. Then, when he was leader, he disgraced and expelled everyone in parliament who did not go along with him. Yes. Change came to my homeland as the new leader promised it would. The teachers in German schools began to teach the children to sing songs in praise of Hitler. This was the beginning of the Hitler Youth movement. It began with praise of the Fuhrer's programs on the lips of innocent children. Hymns in praise of Hitler and his programs were being sung in the schoolrooms and in the playyard. Little girls and boys joined hands and sang these songs as they walked home from school. My brother came home and told Papa what was happening at school. The political hymns of children proclaimed Change was coming to our homeland and the Fuhrer was a leader we could trust. I will never forget my father's face: Grief and fear. He knew that the best propaganda of the Nazis was song on the lips of little children. That evening before he said grace at the dinner table, he placed his hands upon the heads of my brothers and me and prayed the Living Word upon us from Jeremiah 1:4-5.
'Now the Word of the Lord came to me, saying,'Before I formed you in the Womb I knew you, And before you were born I Consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to The nations.'
Soon the children's songs praising the Fuhrer were heard everywhere on the streets and over the radio. 'With our Fuhrer to lead us, we can do it! We can change the world!' Soon after that Papa, a pastor, was turned away from visiting elderly parishioners in hospitals. The people he had come to bring comfort of God's Word, were 'no longer there.' Where had they vanished to while under nationalized health care? It became an open secret. The elderly and sick began to disappear from hospitals, feet first as 'mercy killing' became the policy. Children with disabilities and those who had Down's syndrome were euthanized. People whispered, 'Maybe it is better for them now-Put them out of misery. They are no longer suffering?And, of course, their death is better for the treasury of our nation. Our taxes no longer must be spent to care for such a burden.' And so murder was called mercy.
The government took over private business. Industry and health care were 'nationalized.' (NA-ZI means National Socialist Party) The businesses of all Jews were seized. (Perhaps you remember our story in Berlin on Krystalnacht in the book Munich Signature)
The world and God's word were turned upside down. Hitler promised the people economic Change? Not change. It was, rather, Lucifer's very ancient Delusion leading to Destruction. What began with the propaganda of children singing a catchy tune ended in the deaths of millions of children. The reality of what came upon us is so horrible that you in this present generation cannot imagine it. Our suffering is too great to ever tell in a book or show in a black and white newsreel. When I spoke to Bodie about some of these things, she wept and said she could not bear to write them. Perhaps one day she will, but I asked her, 'who could bear to read our suffering?' Yet with my last breaths I warn every Christian and Jew now in the name of the Lord, Unless your course of the church in America is spiritually changed now and returns to the Lord, there are new horrors yet to come. I trembled last night when I heard the voices of American children raised in song, praising the name of Obama, the charismatic fellow who is claimed to be the American Messiah!
Yet I have heard what this man Obama says about abortion and the 'mercy killing' of tiny babies who are not wanted.
There are so few of us left to warn you.. I have heard that there are 69 million Catholics in America and 70 million Evangelical Christians. Where are your voices? Where is your outrage? Where is passion and your vote? Do you vote based on an abortionist's empty promises and economics? Or do you vote according to the Bible? Thus says the Lord about every living child still in the womb?
'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you?'
I have experienced the signs of the politics of Death in my youth. I see them again now. Christians! Unless you stand up now, you will lose your freedom of religion. In America priests and preachers have already lost their freedom to speak openly from their pulpits of moral danger in political candidates. They cannot legally instruct you as to which candidate holds fast to the precepts of scripture! American law forbids this freedom of speech to conservative pastors or they will lose their 'tax exempt' status. And yet I have heard the words of Obama's pastor Damning America! I have heard the words of Obama damning and mocking all of you in small towns because you 'Cling to your religion?' But I am a woman whose name is unknown. My life is recorded as a work of fiction.. I have no fear of reprisal when I speak truth to you from the pages of a book. (Though the Zion Covenant books are mocked and condemned by the Left in America.) I am an old woman and will soon go to be with my Lord. I have no fear for myself, but for all of you and for your children, I tremble. I tremble at the hymns to a political leader which your children will sing at school. (Though even now a hymn or a prayer to God and our Lord Jesus is against the law in public school!)
I pray you will personally heed this warning for the sake of your children and your grandchildren. Do not be deceived. The Lord in Jeremiah 1:7-8 commands every believer to speak up!
'Do not say, 'I am only a youth,' for to all whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them for I am with you, declares the Lord!'
I am in Prayer for you, and for the Church! Spoken to you in the authority of Jesus the Christ, the Name Above All Names.
Lori Kalner
Wash your hands and say your prayers...
Because germs and Jesus are everywhere!
In all seriousness, washing your hands is one of the most important things you can do to avoid colds and flu.
Wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. Sing "Happy Birthday to You" to time it. It works!
Sneeze into a Kleenex and dispose of immediately or sneeze into your sleeve.
And more of the obvious: plenty of sleep (6-8 hours), drink plenty of fluids (water is best; alcohol is not considered a fluid in this case!), vitamin D is now considered a must, more so than vitamin C.
If you are sick, don't go to work. It will take you longer to get better and you could spread it among your co-workers. They will NOT thank you for your dedication to your job if you make everyone sick!
Another if you are sick: your physician's office is the only place you should be going. Last winter I had what I thought was probably a sinus infection (meaning it wasn't contagious), but cancelled a dentist appointment just in case. The receptionist thanked me for changing the appointment. Had it been contagious, I could have spread my cold, flu, or whatever to the dentist, staff, other patients and to their families. It could have spread beyond them to co-workers, schools, and other families.
Chicken soup is still good for whatever ails you. There is some debate about whether it's really good for your illness, but you know what? At the very least, it's a comfort food and makes you feel better just to eat it.
Be careful, be safe, and be courteous to your community.
I GOT YOUR MAMA
Little Carol came into the kitchen where her mother was making dinner. Her birthday was coming up and she thought this was a good time to tell her mother what she wanted. 'Mom, I want a bike for my birthday.'
Now, Little Carol was a bit of a troublemaker. She had gotten into trouble at school and at home... Carol's mother asked her if she thought she deserved to get a bike for her birthday. Little Carol, of course, thought she did.
Carol's mother, being a Christian woman, wanted her to reflect on her behavior over the last year, and write a letter to God and tell him why she deserved a bike for her birthday. Little Carol stomped up the steps to her room and sat down to write God a letter.
_____
LETTER 1:
Dear God:
I have been a very good girl this year and I would like a bike for my birthday. I want a red one.
Your friend, Carol
Carol knew this wasn't true. She had not been a very good girl this year, so she tore up the letter and started over.
_____
LETTER 2:
Dear God:
This is your friend Carol. I have been a pretty good girl this year, and I would like a red bike for my birthday.
Thank you, Carol
Carol knew this wasn't true either. She tore up the letter and started again.
_____
LETTER 3:
Dear God:
I know I haven't been a good girl this year. I am very sorry. I will be a good girl if you just send me a red bike for my birthday.
Thank you, Carol
Carol knew, even if it was true, this letter was not going to get her a bike. By now, she was very upset. She went downstairs and told her mother she wanted to go to church. Carol's mother thought her plan had worked because Carol looked very sad.
'Just be home in time for dinner,' her mother said. Carol walked down the street to the church and up to the altar. She looked around to see if anyone was there. She picked up a statue of the Virgin Mary , slipped it under her jacket and ran out of the church, down the street, into her house, and up to her room. She shut the door and sat down and wrote her letter to God.
_____
LETTER 4:
I GOT YOUR MAMA.
IF YOU WANT TO SEE HER AGAIN, SEND THE BIKE.
Signed, YOU KNOW WHO
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Posted by Rachel Alexander
September 14, 2009 at 8:35 am
“Grassroots activists are the new reporters”
FACEBOOK
Everyone is on facebook now, which has become the new blogs, so if you're not, you're missing out on half the political dialogue and the best place to politically organize. Conservatives are adding as many friends as possible; although it may seem overwhelming, it will become a powerful forum for you to promote activism and recruit others - it's like suddenly having your own nationally trafficked website. Once you've added a couple hundred people as friends, other conservatives will automatically start sending you friend requests. Set up groups on facebook to promote your causes.
There are also conservative social networking sites similar to facebook, like rootshq.com, run by a partner of American Liberty Alliance, and republicanville.com, run by Arizona's Politics on the Rocks. Ping.fm lets you update multiple social networking sites simultaneously.
TWITTER
Download the free tweetdeck.com to make twitter more user-friendly. It lets you set up permanent searches in separate columns for words you choose, and permanent columns for groups you follow.
Join the group #tcot (Top Conservatives on Twitter), and send your twitter updates to #tcot. The #tcot website is tcotreport.com and is updated regularly with the latest news on conservatives using the new media.
Set up tweetlater.com to automatically follow others who follow you. This will save you a lot of time finding friends.
BLOGS
Start your own blog using blogger.com, which is the easiest blog program out there, plus it's free, easy, no ads, and can do almost anything. Put facebook, twitter, and youtube icons up front on the top of your blog,and include your twitter feed on the sidebar. Or, contribute to an existing local blog in like SonoranAlliance.com in Arizona, which is always accepting new writers, named or anonymous. Check out blognetnews.com regularly to keep updated on your state's political blogs.
The left has a coordinated effort in place to control the blogosphere by lurking on conservative blogs and posting negative comments, in order to demoralize them. Help our conservative blogs like SonoranAlliance.com by refuting these troublemakers in the comments.
Set up multiple and anonymous email accounts at gmail.com to use for various activism.
YOUTUBE
Most cameras and phones come with video recording ability. When at an event, especially if something controversial is happening involving the left, take a short video clip of it and upload it to YouTube. Pictures are compelling and almost everyone watches TV.
“The new internet is Web 2.0 – 99% listening and 1% talking”
-Ralph Benko,The Websters'Dictionary
These tips were taken from a talk I gave to the American Liberty Alliance on September 3, 2009
Ever wonder...why is it that if you cross the North Korean border illegally, you get thrown into prison and get 12 years of hard labor...or if you cross the Iranian border while out supposedly leisurely hiking in the woods, you get arrested and imprisoned...
but....
if you cross the US border illegally you get a Social Security card and free health care?
Friday, October 02, 2009
FairTax on Twitter
It's FairTax Friday - look at your paystub!
No need for tracking earned interests on savings for the purpose of tax compliance. #FairTax
FairTax.org
FairTax.org
Thursday, October 01, 2009
By Doug Patton
September 14, 2009
"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - Jesus of Nazareth, John 8:32, KJV
"Congress shall make no law respecting..." Do those words sound familiar? They are, of course, familiar to any and all of us who have received even a cursory education in the founding documents of this nation. The Constitution of the United States of America is a document of enumerated rights and restrictions -- rights of the people and restrictions on government. It clearly spells out the rights of individuals, such as freedom of speech, religion, assembly, the right to keep and bear arms, etc.
It also clearly spells out, in no uncertain terms, the restrictions on the federal government, including the 10th Amendment, which states that any authority not expressly granted to the federal government is reserved to the states and to the people. Hence, the phrase "Congress shall make no law regarding..."
Barack Obama's health care "plan" does not exist anywhere outside his ideologically driven cranium and his vague, hopey-changey campaign rhetoric. The only "plan" on the table at the moment is a thousand-plus page monstrosity known as House Resolution 3200. Yet, in his latest address to a joint session of Congress, the president lied through his pearly whites -- again -- to the American people and their elected representatives when he said that the "plan" would not cover illegal aliens.
At which point U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-SC, called him on it in very direct language: "You lie!"
"That's not true," Obama shot back from the podium. Setting aside the decorum of the congressman's remark for a moment, let's examine which of them, Wilson or the president, told the truth.
The Founders understood clearly that government will always take as much authority as it is allowed to have, which explains the restrictive language of the Constitution. In HR3200, covering illegal aliens was not mentioned. Neither was abortion funding. Congressional Republicans rightly feared that if the bill's language remained neutral on those two issues, it could be assumed that they are permitted. So they proposed specific amendments to prohibit coverage of illegal aliens and funding for abortion. Democrats overwhelmingly voted both amendments down, thus showing us their true colors yet again.
After the speech, Rep. Wilson called the White House to apologize to the president, who has wisely accepted the apology, knowing that dragging the issue out will only serve to emphasize the veracity of Wilson's point that Obama was, in fact, lying.
No such wisdom resides in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who wants to pillory Wilson in front of his House colleagues. She is insisting that he apologize again, this time on the floor of the House of Representatives, a humiliating act of forced contrition with which Wilson is refusing to cooperate. Good for him.
There are times in history when the truth trumps decorum and tradition. Jesus of Nazareth was furious when He encountered liars and thieves cheating people who had simply come to worship and to offer a sacrifice to their Lord. "My Father's house is a house of prayer," he roared as he flipped over the tables of the money changers and drove them out of the temple. "You have turned it into a den of thieves!"
Similarly, Joe Wilson's righteous indignation rises up from the depths of his soul as he listens to his president commit one mendacity after another. Wilson loves the institution of the Congress, the body of the House of Representatives and the people he serves. He has watched as his constituents have been disrespected by their president and his supporters at town hall meetings throughout the summer recess.
Joe Wilson sits on one of the House committees dealing with this issue, so he knows the truth is not in Barack Obama as he speaks to the Congress that night. As he sits and listens to lie after lie from the president, Wilson's righteous anger rises up against the liars and thieves who are trying to cheat the American people out of their birthright to freedom.
Dishonesty, Intimidation, Hypocrisy and Medicare Advantage
by Newt Gingrich (more by this author)
Posted 09/30/2009 ET
The editorial writers at the New York Times thought they were getting the White House’s back when they defended cuts to Medicare Advantage last week. In fact, they were validating the blatant dishonesty of administration and congressional officials pushing for the cuts.
In their editorial last Sunday, the Times writers revealed in stunning fashion the lies that have been used to convince increasingly skeptical seniors that their Medicare Advantage benefits won’t be sacrificed to pay for government-run health care.
Dishonesty: Cuts Won’t Affect Medicare Advantage Participants
In one breath, the Times claimed the effect of Medicare Advantage cuts will be “modest”:
“Although Republican rhetoric has triggered fears that Medicare Advantage enrollees might lose their coverage entirely if private plans drop out of the system, the real effect of the bill would likely be modest on average.”
Then, literally on the next line, the Times contradicts itself, and stumbles inadvertently on to the truth:
“The value of an enrollee’s added benefits would shrink by more than half from current levels but would not disappear; they would still be worth about $500 a year in 2019 (emphasis added).”
Intimidation: Free Speech Rights of Insurance Companies Denied
Medicare Advantage was created to do what the Center for Health Transformation (CHT) has long fought for: To give all seniors more private choices of higher quality health care. It currently provides almost 11 million Americans coverage through private insurance plans. Recent data shows that these seniors have better health outcomes than those in traditional Medicare.
Current legislation in Washington will gut the program. H.R. 3200 in the House will cut Medicare Advantage by $172 billion. The bill sponsored by Sen. Max Baucus in the Senate will cut the popular program by $123 billion.
If you’re just hearing about this now, here’s the reason: When Humana (with whom we’ve worked with in the past at CHT) tried to inform its Medicare Advantage members that Democratic health care reform could lower their benefits, the government ordered them to cease and desist and opened an investigation of the company.
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) subsequently introduced legislation in the Senate Finance Committee to protect the 1st Amendment rights of private insurance companies to criticize health care reform proposals.
Democrats on the committee unanimously defeated the bill.
Hypocrisy: The AARP Sells Out Seniors
But while Humana was censored by the government from talking to its Medicare Advantage enrollees about proposed Democratic cuts, another Medicare Advantage provider -- the AARP -- has been left free to lobby its members.
Of course the Washington leadership of the AARP is working closely with Democrats on health care reform. Incredibly, the self-appointed voice of America’s seniors supports “reforms” that will cut the benefits -- if not the entire Medicare Advantage coverage -- of millions of seniors.
How can this be? It’s simple. The AARP is a liberal interest group like any other, and it cut a deal with the party in charge in Washington. In exchange for selling out the seniors it claims to represent, the AARP will get potentially millions in lucrative insurance contracts, and quite possibly something more.
Tell Your Friends We’re Not Going to Take It Anymore
No plan that has to be advanced through dishonesty, intimidation and hypocrisy has the support of the American people.
But all that is required for these tactics to prevail in Washington is for good people to sit back and do nothing.
As debate in Congress continues, here’s what you can do: Send this newsletter to a friend, a co-worker, or a relative who isn’t yet aware of what Washington is doing.
Send this newsletter to your senators and representatives. Let them know that, despite the dishonesty, the intimidation and the hypocrisy, we know what they’re doing.
And we’re not going to take it anymore.
Your friend,
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