But FIRST, you just have to hear this interview with Rep. Kucinich (D-OH) as he explains why he sold his soul, Dennis Kucinich, D-OH, explains why he completely reneged on his commitment to NOT vote for the Healthcare Bill:
I don't know about you, but that sounded like a whole bunch of nothing. He essentially admitted he caved after meeting with Obama and being told there would not be a public option. So, Kucinich apparently threw up his hands, said, "Oh, well!" and threw away his integrity. What a "man of his word," standing by the power of his convictions - NOT. What a piece of work he is. Not only do I have zero respect for Kucinich now, a man I actually liked, but now my opinion of him is WAY in the red.
You are not going to believe the jobs created in this bill, though. Seriously - my mouth dropped open when I heard this from Rep. Boehner (R-OH), the Minority Leader. Admittedly, it is "job creation," but at what cost to our democracy? Here is Rep. Boehner on the bill:
That's right, this bill will create *SIXTEEN THOUSAND new IRS positions to hunt down employers make sure they are doing right by this bill, and fining them if the agents don't like what they find.
WHAT THE HELL???
And then there is the shell game the CBO and the House Democrats are playing with this bill. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-WI, the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, exposes the game and the double dipping the bill uses to "cut" the budget and deficit:
So, they are basically using the same pool of money for certain programs and just moving it around? Um, that sounds like Enron accounting to me.
But wait, there's more - wanna guess where some of the money "saved" is going to go? You're just going to love this:
The new package also promises new aid for colleges serving minority students, using money the government is supposed to save by no longer paying banks to make student loans. Included are annual payments of $100 million for schools with large numbers of Hispanic students, the same amount for colleges with many black students, and millions more for schools with large numbers of native Americans and other minorities.
I have no qualms about money being budgeted for certain groups when it is discussed during BUDGET decisions in the light of the day. But what the HELL is it doing being buried into the HEALTHCARE Bill? It is just these kinds of shenanigans, along with the NUMEROUS kickbacks still in this bill, that are the cause of so much opposition from the people. Here are some examples:
-Retains $300 million in extra Medicaid aid for Louisiana, which had helped win support for the Senate health bill from Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. The state is still struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina.
-Keeps $100 million included in the Senate bill that is expected to go for a public hospital in Connecticut sought by Dodd, who is retiring.
-Preserves language won by Baucus permitting many of the 2,900 residents of Libby, Mont., to qualify for Medicare benefits. Some of them have asbestos-related diseases from a now-shuttered mine.
-Provides an additional $8.5 billion over the next decade for 11 states and the District of Columbia to help them pay for the more generous Medicaid assistance they have been providing low-income residents. These states are Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
Holy smokes. But, hey - the Democrats are doing it to save Obama's presidency, so there's that. Yes, by all means, spend 1/6th of our economy to keep this sham of a president in power. All I can hope is that IF this passes the House, if there are enough mealy mouthed, cowardly lions like Kucinich in there to get this thing passed, it will mean a one term presidency for Obama. That would be the ONE bright light of this obscene bill. That and Nancy Pelosi losing her job as Speaker of the House. And Harry Reid losing his job as Senate Majority Leader. Still, this bill will be a mighty hefty weight to accomplish those three changes. It's not worth it.
I can only hope and pray that the Nays will stand strong, and not allow this horrible bill to become law. That and for my state to join VA and Idaho in allowing us to be exempt from it (SC has already crafted legislation to that end). How sad that it may come to that. Still, there is a little hope that the Democrats will fail in their attempt to change the face of our nation. And it is to that hope I will cling...
* I have now heard two different numbers - fifteen thousand and sixteen thousand. Either way, to add in IRS agents to go to our businesses is a scary damn thought.
9 comments:
The more we know, Rev, the worse it gets. And there's the lapdog of the Toddler In Chief - the MSM - who are spinning the spin to perfection. One would never know, reading the S.F. Chronicle, that this monstrosity was anything but great. All I hear is how 30 million more people will get health insurance! Does anyone stop to realize that the reason those 30 million will now have health insurance is because THE GOVERNMENT IS FORCING THEM TO BUY IT???
I can only hope and pray that enough Dems wake up and vote No. And, if this POS is the price we have to pay to rid ourselves of Obama, Pelosi, and Reid forever, then I guess we'll have to. Hopefully, once that axis of evil is eliminated from the political arena, we can get some people with common sense to either repeal it or fix it.
Before all this, I'd never heard of Paul Ryan. I'm liking the guy. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw him make a presidential run one of these fine days.
Kucinich has proven himself to be nothing more than a spineless lackey. His reasons for changing his vote are as pathetic as a 2-year-old caught with a cookie in his hand making believe there is no cookie. Only, a 2-year-old caught in such a blatant lie can be cute. Kucinich is just pathetic.
I hope all 50 states follow VA and Idaho. Wouldn't that be fitting if every state in the union pass laws making their state exempt from this unconstitutional attempt to take over our health care?
I'm so disgusted and fed up with this crap. And I find it harder and harder to remain civil with people who are so blind they just go along with the Dems because...well, Dems are perfect and Repubs are evil. And Obama is The One. We'll see how they feel when it's THEIR wealth being redistributed. If they have any wealth left after the T-I-C finishes with them.
Montserrat in 2012!
Hey, SF -
Isn't that the truth abt the more we know? The thing is, the information is OUT there, if people want to read it. Like the article I referenced is from the Charlotte Observer, a regular ol' newspaper.
But it is disturbing that other media outlets, allegedly reputable ones, are participating in selling this disastrous bill.
And Kucinich - you NAILED it - his excuse this morning was complete and utter BS, from start to finish.
I swear, I honestly do not understand how these people look themselves in the mirror. I think they layer up the defenses so much, that they never really get down to their core, that voice to tell them when they have crossed the line.
Paul Ryan - it seems everyone who sees/hears him has the EXACT same reaction to him. He is very well spoken, intelligent, even keeled, and nice looking (we all know THAT goes far in our "American Idol" society). But yes, I can sure see him running for higher office in the future.
I am disgusted by all of this crap, too. I saw another Dem cave today. He paraded one person after another who had health issues. Sorry for them, but there IS care available now, and if there was single payer healthcare like Hillary proposed (i.e., what Congress people get), fine. But this particular bill is so laden with payoffs, bribes, kickbacks, and completely unrelated issues (like giving money to universities/colleges that have minorities), it is just obscene.
I tell you, SF, I dream of Montserrat every day. 2012 cannot come soon enough!
You know, I just don't know what to think of this healthcare debacle, and unfortunately I don't believe a word any of them say, Republican or Democrat. Although I did listen to Senator Landrieu explain the "Louisiana purchase" the other evening on Greta. Her explanation of it sounded plausible enough for me to go her website and get further information. Governor Jindal was working with her to correct a flawed government calculation regarding the state's "42% increase in income". There was no 42% increase in income for Louisiana ~ the feds were including recovery money as personal income. It seems to be an honest attempt to right a wrong.
Here is the link for further reading ~ http://landrieu.senate.gov/priorities/medicaidfactcheck.cfm
I believe that both sides are too interested in talking points and finger-pointing. I don't believe a word they say because they are more interested in making the opposition look as bad as possible in order to win the war of words. Both sides are putting out misinformation and misrepresenting and using scare tactics. I don't think the Republicans want any kind of reform. And I don't have any faith or trust in Obama, Reid, and Pelosi. I find myself wondering what they have on Dennis Kucinich that he did a total turnabout. No integrity.
Paul Ryan represents the district next to mine here in Wisconsin and as a life-long Democrat until May 2008, I didn't think too much of him until these past several years. I have met him and he is very earnest and forthright. He has made it very clear on a number of occasions that he has no interest in any higher office, and I do believe him.
I just don't know what to believe about the healthcare bill though. I don't want to think it is as bad as the opposition is saying and I most certainly don't believe it is anywhere near as "good" as the threesome are claiming. It all gives me a very bad feeling. I wish Hillary were President.
Thanks RRR Amy for all the information you have provided here. It is very helpful.
I have no doubt that the process was one of the ugliest, most disgusting examples of abuse of power since the Iraq war. And that is what I mean about the political parties in this country. They are both so stinking corrupt that it is inconceivable that my opinion on this will be changing in the near future. I'm nervous about this bill, which I haven't read. I really don't want it to pass, but I still have a tiny bit of hope that it really isn't that bad, and perhaps people are simply panicked and opposed to change. Denial.
Hey, Becky -
Thank you for your comments - I really appreciate them.
Abt Ryan - I have never heard HIM say anything that would lead me to believe he wants to run for higher office. But when people see him, they see him, they think he would be a good person for the RNC to run for the reasons you mentioned ("forthright and earnest"). It doesn't hurt that he actually has a degree in Economics and PoliSci, either. Just to be clear in case I was misleading...
Oh, Becky - I hear you. If this was Hillary, we would know EXACTLY what plan we would be getting. I seriousl doubt there would be all of the kickbacks (hospitals, bank in one state to handle the private student loans - it's in there - the Medicare kickbacks to FL, NB, and on it goes). She was very clear - the same healthcare Congress gets is what we should be getting.
And what we are getting is a far cry from that. That Obama made a deal with Big Pharma right off the bat is very telling abt this bill, I think.
You know - this is the problem with having the guy who cheated off of the smart girl's paper in office. When it comes to implementation, he hasn't a CLUE how to go abt it because he doesn't even know what's in it by his OWN admission! WTH is wrong with THAT picture?
I would love for them to scrap this plan, and start over the RIGHT way - with doctors and nurses involved in this process, not a bunch of bureaucrats. How in the world is KATHLEEN SEBELIUS supposed to know what WE need? Is she a doctor? No. A nurse? No. So, what is her experience to lead this entire program??
Sigh. It is going to cost many of us an arm and a leg. Plus we are going to have to pay for the IRS to become, dare I say it, like the Gestapo, going into business after business, demanding to see their books on insurance, slamming them with fines, and looking over their shoulders. That ISN'T their job. And it is going to cost a pretty penny.
How did it even COME to this??
I'm with you in the disgust factor, that's for sure, for both sides.
Thanks, Becky!
Becky and All -
My buddy, Logistics Monster, has a post at her site abt Caterpillar, but also a clip/transcript of the Treasurer of MA saying this bill will bankrupt the nation in 4 years: http://logisticsmonster.com/2010/03/19/a-peek-at-obamacares-true-cost-caterpillar-cahill/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+logisticsmonster%2FJwGO+%28Logistics+Monster+%29
You may recall that the Dems keep saying the bill is similar to MA - and MA has the highest ins. costs per person in the nation.
Yikes.
Oh, wait - the NB kickback got booted out of the House bill.
Remember, y'all, when Obama claimed during the Primaries that HILLARY was going to push fines on people who didn't buy into this? It was a blatant lie abt her. Now, look at HIS policy - all along, I guess he was the one who planned on it. He did his usual smoke and mirrors thing.
ok, I stayed up really late last night reading, or attempting to comprehend, the bill. On page 1820, line 19 ~ my initial assessment of this is that it's an adoption of The US Preventive Services Task Force mammogram screening recommendations presented last year which were so controversial. Remember that? I may be incorrect in my assessment, but at the time I suspected that those findings by the task force would be a slippery slope to deny mammogram coverage as we now know it and if line 19 on page 1820 means what I currently think it does, well, there you have it. The damn bill is so long and complicated, it is like wading through my college chemistry textbook.
Becky, I am in AWE of you! Wow! Thanks for wading through the bill. That is amazing. Please keep letting me know what you find out, even if it is complete and utter CRAP like this mammogram thing.
Didn't we just know that was going to end up in this bill? You are so right, they will use it to deny women under 50 mammograms, which means more women will die from breast cancer. They really do not give a damn abt us, do they? (Assuming your reading is correct, and I have no reason to doubt it isn't given the OTHER things that have found their way in there...)
Thank you for this, I think...
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