Posts from — July 2009

A new TV ad sponsored by an anti-abortion group shows a white-haired man fretting that under a federal health plan, “They won’t pay for my surgery, but we’re forced to pay for abortions.”

“Will this be our future?” the ad asks, merging the fears of seniors worried about their health care with those of anti-abortion advocates. “Our greatest generation, denied care. Our future generation, denied life.”

In fact, the bills pending in Congress – at least those that have made it through the committee level – don’t mention abortion at all. Furthermore, none of the bills call explicitly for cuts in Medicare coverage, or rationing under a public plan. [FactCheck] [Read more →]

Republican Senatorial Candidate Bill Parson

Senatorial candidate, Republican Bill Parson, was in Pahrump, Nevada July 24 and held a “town hall meeting” at the Pahrump Community Library.

No more than 30 persons were present, reported the Pahrump Mirror. A strange place to hold a town hall meeting, even in Pahrump.

According to the Mirror Parson quit his job at the Nevada Test Site so he could “focus on what he feels are the needs of Nevada concerning governmental influence.”

He is quoted as saying “I’m a strict constitutionalist. The federal government has slowly taken our freedoms.” Methinks Mr. Parsons may be running a bit late. Our freedoms were being taken, and not too slowly, under the George Bush – Dick Cheney regime and the Republican controlled Congress.

He, like all Republicans, wants a smaller federal government, which he sees as conforming with his “strict interpretation” of the Constitution. He is a “strong supporter” of the Second Amendment not believing a license should be required to carry a gun. He considers that an infringement of his civil rights. He said he intends to “ask someone when I get to Washington why they are infringing on my rights.” [Read more →]

Senators,

Some of your colleagues, such as Ben Nelson, are delaying action on President Obama’s public health insurance option — which would force private insurers to compete and lower health care costs for your constituents.

This is the latest tactic from an insurance industry that fears competition: Stop reform by stalling it. Kill momentum at all costs.

While 76% of Americans support the public option, sitting Democratic Senators have received $80 million from the health and insurance interests that oppose it.

Senators, which side will you choose? If you side with your constituents, don’t delay reform. Keep working until the public option is passed.

We can’t afford to wait.

Sincerely,

Your name goes here

The question is asked by Desert Beacon and deserves an answer. Why? Because of Senator Ensign’s “C” Street connection and apparent belief that he is one of the elite New Chosen of God, above mere politics, superior to us mere mortals.

I’ve read a viewpoint I hadn’t considered before about the dilemma the Republican Senators have in voting for or against Sonia Sotomayor’s elevation to the United States Supreme Court.

I wrote an earlier post about it in which I’ve received some flack when I wrote Republicans dislike Blacks and Hispanics.

My newly discovered viewpoint comes from reading a blog post on Down With Tyranny. Tyranny wrote:

Some felt it was remarkable that conservative Lindsey Graham (R-SC) voted to confirm Sonia Sotomayor on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

I was one of those who didn’t expect Graham to vote for Sotomayor.

The Judiciary Committee rule says that at least one Republican has to vote “yes” on a nominee in order for the committee to send a recommendation to the full Senate. (This may have something to do with why not one single judge nominated by Obama has been confirmed so far.)

That is the first I’ve heard about any Judiciary Committee rule that at least one Republican has to vote “yes” before the committee could send a recommendation to the full Senate. Neither was I aware that “not one single judge nominated by Obama has been confirmed.” I don’t know where Tyranny got those facts, no source was cited.

Tyranny goes on:

Anyway, the Republicans secretly agreed internally that they had to put on a big anti-Sotomayor show for the drooling racist savages in their base but that they couldn’t afford to actually block the nomination without risking sustained, perhaps even fatal damage at the polls.

[Read more →]

The New York Times reports today that “The latest government report shows the economy contracted at a 1 percent annual pace in the second quarter, a better-than-expected showing and the strongest signal to date that the recession, the longest since World War II, is finally winding down.”

“The Commerce Department said the slippage in gross domestic product for the April to June period came after the economy was in a free fall, tumbling at a 6.4 percent pace in the first three months of the year, worse than the earlier estimate of 5.5 percent. That made the first quarter the worst for the economy in nearly three decades.”

The economy’s long, churning decline leveled off significantly in the second quarter, as stock markets started to recover from their worst levels in a dozen years, some housing markets stabilized and the rampant pace of job losses tapered off.

Now, even with jobs still vanishing and wages flat, many forecasters expect the economy to touch bottom sometime in the next few months. Economists say that businesses from small manufacturers to big automakers are poised to rebuild their depleted inventories, which would spur modest economic growth later this year.

Mr. Paul Reeves

Interview of Paul Reeves

Before you read this post I recommend you first go to ABC News and watch the video.

The lady, Mary, called in from North Carolina and  informed President Obama she had been told there is a clause in the healthcare reform bill that provided the government would send someone to talk with “everyone of Medicare age to decide how they wish to die.” President Obama told her no, but seemed to miss what Mary was getting at, and began explaining about Living Wills. [Read more →]

Jon Ralston of the Las Vegas Sun is persisting in seeking answers to questions we should all know. [Las Vegas Sun] He asks:

Below is a list of questions that Sen. John Ensign has refused to answer about his scandal. These are questions that Ensign has an obligation to answer, regardless of his fig leaf of “on the advice of counsel” he is using to advance his cover up. I will continue to add to these questions as time goes on — suggestions are welcome.

—–

1. Can the senator, who says his family paid this money as gifts, prove what he says? Will he produce evidence? Canceled checks? A document stipulating the intent?

2. On June 17, The New York Times wrote: “A person close to Mr. Ensign’s family, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said the senator had confessed the affair to his wife many months ago and, upon reconciling with her and attending counseling, dismissed Ms. Hampton from his political team with a severance that he paid from his own pocket.” [Read more →]

Here is the post on Red State, a conservative Republican blog:

Head’s up: there is a rumor circulating in the House of Representatives that enough Blue Dogs have caved on health care for Nancy Pelosi to get the bill to the floor this week. The memo to Republicans assuring them there’d be no vote could have been a ruse to turn down constituent heat enough.

Democrats are growing fearful that August recess will turn the Blue Dogs cold and want something out by Friday.

It appears they may have the votes to do that.

CALL YOUR CONGRESSMAN RIGHT NOW.

Go here and get the number. Call now.

OK, you progressives out there. You want healthcare? Then get off your buns and battle with the opposition. If you want it you have to fight for it.