Judy Woodruff and the Betrayal of America by the Main Stream and Liberal Media

A brief five second statement, really almost an side comment in the midst of a larger discussion, illustrated the nearly complete bankruptcy of our Main Stream Media and our beloved Liberal Media in the face of major scandal in the Obama Administration.

The side comment was made by Judy Woodruff, the co-anchor of Public Broadcasting's PBS Newshour.  She is one of the leading luminaries at PBS and a highly respected journalist.  Her candid comment tells us everything that is going wrong in main stream Journalism today.

The discussion took place today on Chris Wallace's Fox News Sunday.  The complete transcript of the hour long program is available here: Kevin McCarthy talks Iraq, future of the GOP; latest on IRS scandal.  

As Wallace's panel on pundits discussed the stunning disappearance of two years of Lois Lerner's emails and the highly improbable instantaneous failure of not just one but six individual computer hard drives (on six different computers) all happening exactly ten days after Congress began questioning the IRS about the targeting of Conservative Groups.  Any (and I do mean ANY) computer expert or engineer will tell you this is simply impossible.

Worse, the hard drives were not repaired of reclaimed, but destroyed.  Destroyed, ten days after Congress began asking questions.  Stunning, in fact it's frightening.

This scandal is much worse than Watergate in both the facts and implications.  Now I doubt the President is involved, but this is a conspiracy of huge proportions. We need a Special Prosecutor.

But what was upsetting this morning was not any of that.  What's upsetting was Woodruff's candid admission:   Well, what I can say, Chris, is I haven't reported this story. I haven't -- I don't know what happened inside the IRS.

What's tragic here is that PBS has willfully ignored the story and has spent not one second investigating or even exploring the implications of a massive, coordinated government cover-up.

Had this exact same situation occurred with a Republican President, Nixon, Reagan, Bush I or Bush II, PBS would be tearing the very walls of the IRS down the ground.  And they should be doing it now.  We only survive as a free democracy with the aid and protection of a vibrant, active press.

FOX NEWS has few resources and limited access.  They cannot carry the ball alone.  Plus they might distort the story.  We need ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS on the case.

We cannot survive as a free nation if the main stream media only does it's job when a Republican is President. The press is either going to have to start doing their damned job or we can simply never elect a Democrat President again.

The Stunning Stupidity of The (Totally Unaffordable) Affordable Care Act

This is my promised follow-up to my April 28th essay, The Unfolding Nightmare of The (Totally Unaffordable) Affordable Care Act.

Capitalism is the most amazing engine of innovation the world has ever known. Capitalism finds the tinest nook of a need and leaps in, unfettered, to fill this miniscule of a void.

For example, did you realize there over ONE MILLION different vehicle combinations for sale in America today! There are hundreds of brands and models of cars, and even more models of trucks, and hundreds more motorcycles. Then you add the choices of commercial vehicles, ambulances, heavy duty haulers, delivery trucks, oil tankers, grain trucks, trash and refuse trucks.... Well, you get the idea and I'm not including airplanes and railroad vehicles.

Need a vehicle? You have over one million choices.  There is one just perfect for you.

Need health insurance? You have exactly one choice.  Just one. Only one. Period.  There is no innovation. There is no variety. There are no options. There is no competition.  One size fits all.

To make matters one hell of a lot worse, the one single, solitary Health Insurance Plan was written by a committee. A committee of politicians and special interest lobbyists.  The politicians included many things that are totally unnecessary, designed only to garner votes.  They included little gifts (worth hundreds of millions of dollars) to their friends.  They actually did not care if the damned plan worked.  

They purposely kept out any little remnants of capitalism.  They expressly forbid competition across state lines.  And they forbid any innovation.  Every aspect of the exact nature of the Health Care Insurance was spelled out to the tiniest detail in the 2,000 page bill and the tens of thousands of pages of regulations.

Although Insurance companies are required to provide the product and administer its implementation, they were forbidden to sell it.  Advertising was run only by the government and sales were accomplished by untrained, unqualified "Navigators."

The stunning power of capitalism that gives you hundreds of versions of the Ford F-150 Truck, and gives you brilliant "Madison Avenue" advertising to explain all the features and benefits of the truck was forbidden by the legislation.  Nope, government knows best.

When I purchased my Ford I had the benefit of dozens of competing dealerships with well trained salesmen and full service garage mechanics from which to chose.  And the dealers all fought for my business and competed to offer me the lowest price.  Of course the government outlawed such competition for my Health Care dollars. 

Thanks to the complicated Affordable Care Act, I am allowed to buy ONE complicated, unworkable, nightmare of an insurance product, from an untrained "navigator" or, worse yet, for a non-working "Internet Website." 

Why did this happen?

Well Democrats, and many of my fellow liberals and progressives, hate capitalism.  To them, Capitalism is public enemy number one.   They believe, as they sip on their Starbuck's Latte and text on their iPhone, that Capitalism is a nightmare of oppression. Capitalism is not to be trusted. Capitalism must be controlled, regulated, managed and, ultimately, neutered.

The Democrats, who designed the Affordable Care Act without input from a single Republican, decided patient choice would no longer be available to Americans. You can chose your car, your coffee, your chicken sandwich, but not your health insurance.  Your 85 year old Aunt Mary, your two year old nephew Phillip and the high wire acrobat in the circus all get the same plan.  And all pay the same basic rate

In the place of choice you get mandatory services provided to each and every customer whether they’re wanted or needed or not.  

This is what has led to the insane price increases combined with massive deductible increases virtually all American's are now encountering.  And this one size fits all policy is also the cause of the elimination of many doctors and hospitals from most people's plans.  ObamaCare actually forces narrower networks and fewer doctors to care for (potentially) more patients.

ObamaCare doesn't work because it basically cannot work.

I like my Ford F-150 Truck.  I like the color blue.  I like the gas milage.  I like the long bed for hauling my four-wheeler.  And I like that fact that, unlike my ObamaCare Insurance Plan, my Ford will NOT cost me $10,000.00 every year in deductibles and premiums.

The government does regulate some aspects of my truck.  The EPA sets gas milage targets that Ford must meet.  And there are safety standards, air bags, seatbelts and more.  Had government taken the same approach to health insurance, I would be choosing from dozens of plans, with competitors from all around the nation.

We Liberals must learn to embrace what works and discard what doesn't.  Government can do a good job of regulation.  They should then have let the marketplace develop the products, advertise and sell them.  Liberals must learn to harness the horsepower of capitalism, not lock it away in the barn.

The Gun Control Debate is Stunningly Stupid

Although the Senate is deep into negotiations about much needed Immigration Reform, there are behind the scene maneuverings to attempt another effort to pass reasonable Gun Control legislation.  Of course Conservatives immediately see these maneuvers and are already working to block these efforts.

While I find no fault in the proposed gun control legislation, I personally hate to see Democrats, Liberals and Progressives waste much needed time, effort and money trying to pass a bill that will not reduce gun violence by even a single death.  Emotions will run high, passions will be inflamed, the nation will be even more deeply divided (if that's possible), and people will still die in genocidal numbers.

Our problem here as Democrats, Progressives and Liberals is that our Conservative opponents are 100% correct: Guns Don't Kill People, People Kill People!  If we genuinely want to reduce gun violence and needless deaths we have got to start attacking the real problems and guns aren't one of them.

I write often about murders and gun violence in Chicago.  It's easy to focus on Chicago because reporting is so good, statistics so readily available and the violence is so pervasive.  If you were only to read my blog you would think Chicago is the most dangerous place on earth.

The reality is that most of Chicago is just about the safest place in America!!  In fact in the parts of Chicago where most of the "known" guns are located (that would be legally purchased, licensed, registered and/or documented guns or rifles) there is little or no gun violence!  Curiously guns don't kill people in the North side of Chicago.  The guns are there, they people are there, but there is no violence.  In half of Chicago's 23 police districts there are virtually no murders.

But on Chicago's South and West sides, in fact in just a small part of Chicago geographically, virtually all the murders and shooting occur.  Almost all the guns are illegal, unreported and illegally obtained.  The police classify this as "gang violence."

If, as Liberals, we are bound and determined to blame inanimate objects for society's problems, then we must point out that guns are strangely prejudiced against the poor and against blacks, because that's who they shoot, wound and kill.  Damn those racist guns!.

The real factors in gun violence are poverty, lack of education and lack of opportunity.  In an incredibly controversial speech this week Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis decried the lack of funding for schools on Chicago's south and west sides.  She also condemned the lack of effort on the part of city leaders and "white" businessmen in investing in these communities.  Unfortunately she blamed "racism" and the resulting controversy obscured the real wisdom in her observations.

We must find ways to invest in children in the poverty stricken portions of Chicago.  We must improve education.  And we must change the cycle of violence, drugs, gangs and poverty that go on generation after generation.

Curiously, if we do that, the guns will become as silent on the South Side of Chicago as they are on the North side.

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Resources: ABC News: Chicago Teachers Union president calls for tax changes to fund schools

The New York Times: In a Soaring Homicide Rate, a Divide in Chicago

And the very powerful, interactive website that tracks Homicides on Chicago: Redeye Tracking homicides in Chicago

A Cautionary Tale: Detroit on the Verge of Bankruptcy

If you've got 5 minutes and 41 seconds I'll scare the heck out of you.

I realize it's Easter and Passover, not Halloween, but NPR put this horror story on the air Thursday anyway. Click it if you dare.

>>>> Bad Bets, Costly Promises Put Detroit On The Brink Of Bankruptcy <<<<

Of course this story is a tragedy.  A great city has fallen onto despair and large portions of the city are in ruin.  

But what's really frightening how many times the city leaders, mayor, city council and city fathers were warned of this apocalypse and how they always turned a deaf ear.  They steadfastly ignored the crisis and did absolutely nothing to prevent it.

FROM THE TRANSCRIPT:

HULETT: ...Joe Harris spent a decade as Detroit's auditor general. Shortly before he quit in 2005, he asked an outside consultant to look at the city's pension and retiree costs. 

 JOE HARRIS: This is his presentation to the council. 

 HULETT: The consultant's report was a shocker. It said the city was looking at more than $7 billion in retiree health care and fringe benefit costs it had not projected, let alone budgeted for. Seven billion dollars, seven times the city's annual operating budget. So, what was the response to this bombshell of a report? 

HARRIS: There was no response. There was no follow-up. There was no concern. There was no - not only by the council, there was no response by the administration either.

That's the trouble with government.  They always put off the tough decisions.  They don't listen. They never react. They deny there is a disaster and always proclaim that even IF a disaster is coming it's always dozens of years away.  They'll be plenty of time to fix the problem..... tomorrow.

This is, of course, what President Obama and the Democrats are doing today in Washington.  President Obama is kinda, sorta, maybe confident that the oncoming debt disaster won't happen until after he is out of office.  So he's ginning up the denial machine of loyal party legislators and pundits to echo his "do absolutely nothing" position. 

His position is all the more curious because only a few short years ago (before he was President) he and his fellow Democrats saw the disaster clearly and DEMANDED President Bush take instantaneous action!  In fact, Senator Obama and every single Democrat VOTED AGAINST RAISING THE DEBT CEILING.  

Of course Republicans all voted to raise the debt ceiling when George Bush was President but now that Barack Obama is President, they're all against it.

Politics rule, reality takes a back seat.  But the downfall is coming and all America is about to face a crisis that makes the current Detroit disaster look like.... an old fashioned Halloween horror story.

The Difference Between Republicans and Democrats

I've written this before.  Probably a lot.  It is one of the greatest oddities of our democracy.


The difference between Republicans and Democrats:


Democrats LOVE laws, they love to write and pass them at the drop of a hat, but they HATE enforcing them.


Republicans HATE laws and want as few on the books as possible but, once they are passed, DEMAND that the be enforced to the letter of the law.


This classic dilemma is being played out today with President Obama's new "guidelines" to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  He has basically done what most Democrats always do, ask law enforcement officers or the courts to ignore and not enforce the law.


First it's important to point out that I like and support the DREAM ACT and feel we need a reasonable way to deal with immigration in this country.  Certainly we should not punish children who were forced to come to the United States by their parents when they were children or even infants.


President Obama feels it would be impossible to pass such a law through Congress, so his answer is..... just don't enforce existing laws.


This is a double dilemma because the President is charged with the enforcement of this law.  At a different time there might be calls for his Impeachment over this gross failure to fulfill his duties,  However, the election is just days away and the public will get the ultimate decision on Obama's actions.


But the second of the double dilemma's is more serious.  His directives are so lax and so unclear it is causing a major, extremely negative, reaction among ICE agents.  They are being forbidden from doing their job, even when their lives are in danger.  


Basically, all illegals who are not wanted for serious crimes as simply being set free, regardless of age or situation.  ICE agents are being fined, suspended ofr doing what was, until a few weeks ago, their jobs.


Here is a snippet from a longer report from Todd Starnes: ICE Agents: Morale is in the Toilet

Morale among Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents is at an all-time low more than a month after the Obama administration announced major changes to the nation’s immigration enforcement policy, according to the head of a national agency representing thousands of agents. 

“Morale is in the toilet right now,” said Chris Crane, president of the National ICE Council. “Most of the guys out in the field are just in an uproar.” President Obama’s policy allows the federal government to use “prosecutorial discretion” to allow younger illegal immigrants to stay in the country and get work permits. 

Critics called it backdoor amnesty, but the administration said it stops short of granting illegals citizenship. 

“They call it discretion but it’s not our discretion,” Crane told Fox News. “We have no discretion.” Crane said a case involving a veteran ICE agent is a perfect illustration. The agent arrested an illegal who was not a “primary target.” The agent’s superior officers ordered the illegal released – even though he did not meet the criteria listed by the Dept. of Homeland Security. The officer refused to follow orders and is now facing a three day suspension. 

The 35-year-old illegal immigrant with ten traffic violations was released.

The problem is that we have a President who is legislatively incompetent and lacks basic leadership skills.  The back door is always the President's favorite door. He can't work with Congress.  He has no idea how our Government works, even after four rather horrific years.


I'm concerned his second term will not be any better.


We need fair laws and clear, strong, impartial enforcement.  We need the best of both Republicans and Democrats.


UPDATE 8/4/2012: John Nolte is married to a legal immigrant from Mexico and supports The Dream Act and also supports an improved and streamlined path to legal immigration.  


But John joins me in condemning President Obama for his failure to enforce the law and Obama's failure to seek  a legislative solution to this problem, in spite of overwhelming public support.  Read his passionate essay here: $465 FOR AMNESTY: OBAMA TO MAKE ILLEGALS LEGAL BEFORE ELECTION DAY 

No News IS NOT Good News

Just because you didn't see or hear this headline this morning doesn't mean it didn't happen. The big networks simply chose to ignore it.


3 People Murdered and another 18 injured in Gun Violence on Saturday in Chicago

If you watch network news, ABC, CBS or NBC or if you watch cable news, FOX, CNN or MSNBC or if you listen to NPR you didn't know that.  They were all too busy rehashing the 12 murdered and 58 injured in Aurora, Colorado on Thursday morning to bother to mention that murders continue unabated across the country.


As I write this President Obama is flying over Chicago to visited the families of the victims in Aurora to give them comfort, according to the White House Press Secretary.


He will never mention the nearly 300 murdered in Chicago so far this year.  He will not be stopping to give comfort to the grieving families of Gerry Woods, Akil Partee or Pablo Hernandez, all murdered Friday night and Saturday morning.


How I wish George W. Bush were still President.  Not because I want him back in office, but because if he pulled the stunt of flying over the families of 300 black and Latino victims to give aid and comfort to 12 white victims, my fellow Democrats would condemn him for racism, insensitivity and incompetence.  Instead we have President Obama and the silence of the Democratic lambs.


I don't blame President Obama.  It's not racism, it's politics.  Colorado is a swing state.  He needs their votes.  Chicago will vote for Obama regardless of how much he ignores or even abuses its citizens.


And, lets be honest, the Chicago problem is one of unemployment, poverty and failed social engineering.  It's going to be tough to fix.  And President Obama is not up to the task.  He is way to small, way to weak to take on a mission this large.


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On a related note, my friend Steve is launching a series on the need for Gun Control and ways to successfully implement it over on his blog The Peripatetic Blogger Steve and I might not always agree on this issue, but I urge you to read his blog and consider his opinions and solutions carefully.  We need everyone's ideas.  We need all hands on deck.

Wag the Dog

As I say at the top of every page of this blog, stick to your principles and NOT political parties which manipulate facts in order to increase their vote count, and ultimately, their power.


One of the biggest , most used, tricks of political parties is to create a false story to detract from a real one.  Right now Gas Prices and a still faltering economy are not good for Democrats or President Obama.


So what to do?


Well, thanks to a very minor amount of blabber mouth slut-shouting help from Rush Limbaugh, Democrats have created an entire non-existent "War on Women."   Curiously, Republicans, most women and virtually all independents haven't fallen for the ruse.  I'm slightly surprised.  The public is so often easily misled.


Ahhhh.... but Progressives? They've fallen for the ploy hook, line and sinker.  They've fired up their virtual presses and launched their vast army of followers into the Twittersphere.


To keep the progressive armies fully motivated, Senator Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats have set up a Kabuki Theater around another completely false meme: Republicans are now supposedly against the very "Violence Against Women Act" they originally passed and have overwhelmingly supported for two renewals.


Here's how Harry is manipulating a false story:

The Democrats quietly and secretly included four new “poison pill” provisions into this years proposed renewal.  These odd "poison pills" were never in the act before. These provisions have nothing to do with violence against women or the Act itself, but instead deal with Immigration and an massive increase in Visa’s, Budget Office Accounting (loosens rules in a time of budget deficits???) and funding of third party providers.


ONCE AGAIN LET ME EMPHASIZE NOT ONE OF THESE WEIRD PROVISIONS HAS EVER BEEN IN THE BILL BEFORE. But they're there now, ugly and festering.


Next Harry Reid sets up a demand for a very quick quick vote with limited debate and absolutely no amendments – no chance to remove or modify the poison pills. WHY? Reid knows that the very deliberative  Senate, with its 60 vote threshold, will NEVER pass any bill under these circumstances.


Here's the fun part!  Harry Reid DOES NOT WANT THIS RUBE GOLDBERG OF A BILL TO PASS. But he does want to force the Republicans to be the bad guys and vote against the bill just so he can CLAIM (completely falsely) that Republicans are against VAWA.


Later, after all the stupid political posturing is over, Reid will allow the real bill to come before the Senate and it will pass with the overwhelming support from Republicans it has ALWAYS enjoyed.


This is not an anti-Democratic Party rant. Historically, Republicans have played the same game. It's often called Legislative sausage making.


What bothers me is that so many folks believe the false meme and repeat it, never once bothering to learn the facts.

Not One Ounce of Moral Courage

The bashing of the Tea Party by angry and frustrated Democrats continued this afternoon as the House prepared to vote on raising the nation’s debt limit combined with a smidgen of possible future spending cutbacks. It's all theater for a gullible audience. And it's all pure bullshit.

I am an unabashed liberal and Democrat, but I have no sympathy for the Congresspersons or Vice President Biden who remain incapable of telling the truth. As I stated in my last entry, any 2nd grader who has learned to add and subtract can quickly figure out that 375 is greater than 60.

Today's classroom Dunce Award must be shared by Representative Mike Doyle and Vice President Joe Biden who can't figure out this simple math. Both are screaming at the top of their lungs to any passing television or radio reporter that "The Tea Partiers are Terrorists".

If there even are 60 of the so-called Tea Party Terrorists, it would only take about 40 Democrats with a single ounce of moral courage to walk across the aisle and negate their power. The small, yet courageous, Tea Party Caucus has only the power to provide cover for the very large, yet very cowardly, Democrat Party.

You see the Democrats blame the Tea Party for being unwilling to do EXACTLY what the entire Democrat Party was unwilling to do: bend their principles to negotiate in good faith an end to this crisis. What Vice President Biden and Mike Doyle wanted was for the Republicans to pass a balanced and moderate bill, all by themselves, without a single Democrat vote. The bill was always there, within Democrats grasp, if they came to the table and compromised. Dems could have frozen the tea party out. But they didn't.

Now, to be certain, the Tea Party did win emerge victorious. At least a little. But it was always a David versus Goliath battle. The Dems were Goliath, afraid to ever use their size and strength. The Tea Party never even had to unholster their slingshot. Goliath was hiding under the table and never entered the field of battle.

Maybe next year, in the few districts we still control, we Democrats can vote with people with the same level of courage as the Tea Partiers.

The Myth of the Tea Party

I like and I admire Thomas Friedman. And I certainly like and greatly admire former President George H.W. Bush. But Friedman's Op-Ed in today's New York Times, "Bring Back Poppy," may be the most stunningly stupid article I've ever read.

Friedman's error certainly wasn't his praise for former President H.W. Bush. His comments about Bush were spot on correct. Instead his fatal lapse into stupefying moronic idiocy was to somehow give total credit to about 60 neophyte Congresspersons for blocking common sense Tax and Spending reform. Somehow, amazingly, Friedman forgot there are 200 Democrat Congresspersons, not to mention 150 or so mainstream Republican Congresspersons, that could have stopped this madness at any time.

It's convenient and maybe even fun to blame the 60ish Tea Party Republicans for events they had absolutely ZERO control over. But you have to pretend that the entire Democrat caucus and their leader, Nancy Pelosi, don't exist or have forgotten how to vote. In reality it is the Democrats and the huge majority of Republicans that Speaker John Boehner DOES CONTROL, that have forgotten how to compromise. One tiny drop of real bipartisanship by the supposedly reasonable 365 members of the House and this all ends.

If Boehner and Pelosi were actually willing to do their jobs the Tea Party would be the irrelevant minority caucus that they really are.

What's happening here is that the Democrats have cleverly used the Tea Party as cover for their own failure. And Thomas Friedman and most of the mainstream media have fallen for the ruse.

The Bill Absolutely No One Likes

I've poured over the blogs this past weekend, reading literally hundreds of posts. And I watched every Network News show on Sunday from Meet the Press to Fox News Sunday. And I've searched and read analysis and editorials from dozens of newspapers.

And I've been nearly continuously on Twitter and followed the arguments from some of Twitter's finest 140 character pundits.

After all this reading of all the passionate posts I've made a startling discovery. ABSOLUTELY NO ONE LIKES THE HEALTH CARE INSURANCE RESTRUCTURING BILL EMERGING FROM CONGRESS THIS WEEK.

Really, NO ONE. Its Democrat supporters least of all.

You can read dozens of well written, well researched, well documented articles about just how really terrible this bill has become. The damage this bill will do to Health Care and to our economy is well documented. Opponents, both conservatives and Wall Street analysts, can give you extremely specific arguments detailing the problems with this bill. No generalities, no hyperbole. Just the facts.

You can also read political posts from Republican leaders and famous pundits giving passionate, but rather generalized arguments against the bill. From "Death Panels" to Medicare's demise, the hyperbole never ends. These folks are possessed.

I swear I've read a hundred posts titled something like "Ten Reasons to Defeat Health Care Reform'."

But you know what you can't find? Not one single similar post titled "Ten Reasons To Pass Health Care Reform."

Instead all the so-called supporters are really just apologists. They wax poetic about what might have been or what should have been or what, someday, might emerge from the fatally flawed bill that may or may not pass.

And the Democrats virtually NEVER MENTION A SINGLE FEATURE OF THE BILL! Their arguments generally revolve around just how mean spirited and evil the Republicans are. The number one argument on the blogs and on Twitter is "Republicans just want Grandma to Die!!!"

This debate alone quickly illustrates just how very bad this bill has become.

The question is will a single Democrat in Congress have the courage to stand up and tell President Obama, "Sir, this bill is bad for America."

The Town Hall Meetings of No

I've been researching the House versions of the proposed Health Care Reform and I can only say I'm appalled. In fact, I'm sickened. I need health care.

It is clear that compromise is dead. It is clear that bipartisanship is dead. It is clear that honesty, honor, and candor are on their respective death beds.

I had hoped for Universal Health Care this year. We need it and we deserve it and we can afford to do it. Alas, it's my own party, the Democrats, that has killed it. Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama have performed an abortion that was unnecessary.

When you set out to lie to the American people, to pull the wool over their eyes, you can only succeed for so long. President Obama wanted quick approval of a bill he hoped would be hidden from the light of day. Thank the gods he has failed.

The American people are not stupid. We are trusting and we are slow to learn. We want to believe. But the bill in the House of Representatives is a Trojan horse, convoluted, complex and duplicitous. It doesn't do any of the things Democrats and President Obama promised. It will destroy the current American Health Care System. It's sad.

You can only lie to the American People so many times before you get caught. And now the Dems have been caught red handed. And they are paying the price. Below are just two of dozens of examples, with more to come.





The tragedy is that this horrific lie will likely kill all chances of Universal Health Care.

I lay 100% of the blame at President Obama's feet. If he had told the truth, if he had genuinely allowed a bipartisan bill to emerge, Universal Health Care could have become a reality.

Now we can only hope the bipartisan efforts in the Senate can save the bill. It's a slim chance. If you don't believe me, replay the above video and the dozens like it from all across America.

How to Make Universal Health Care an Overwhelming Success

If ever a national program deserves to succeed, it is Universal Health Care. It is a great goal, worthy of a great nation. Americans, and, indeed, all people deserve Universal Health Care. Even the weakest and poorest among us deserve health care with respect, caring and quality.

A catastrophic health crisis should not drive anyone into bankruptcy. There should never be a choice between a loved one and a mortgage. As a nation we can afford Universal Health Care and now is the time we should gather our brightest and our very best and design a plan that protects and shelters our people and strengthens our nation.

We should gather our best and brightest, our experts in each area of wellness, care and management and we should craft a program that combines our greatest strengths with our capacity for caring for our poor and those currently uninsured, for what ever reason.

We should bring our very best and brightest to the table. But we're not. Instead we've gathered a bunch of politicians and bureaucrats and partisan hacks who have virtually no real world experience and no health care expertise. What they do know how to do is raise money for their re-election. They do know how to demonize their opposition. The do know how to pad the wallets of their patrons. They do know how to fill reams and reams of paper with bizarre and convoluted legal jargon.

The one thing that is emerging from their efforts at Universal Health Care is the virtual destruction of our current system which works so very well for the vast majority of Americans to be replaced by a bureaucratic nightmare of forms, quotas, rationing and, well, more bureaucracy.

Both the House and Senate have now got drafts of programs that exceed 2,000 pages each! And the Congressional Budget Office has reviewed these plan and certified that they will not work. Taxes and health care costs will skyrocket to the point they will bankrupt our nation in just a few short years.

What doctors and health care experts are pointing out is that these few short years will be miserable. Delays in service. Loss of your personal physician. And doctors who will be unable to use their best judgement in treating your ailments.

How did this happen? Nancy Pelosi, the most incompetent, partisan hack to ever fill the seat of Speaker of the House, has DEMANDED that only far left liberal members even be allowed to work on the House proposal. Absolutely NO REPUBLICANS and no MODERATE DEMOCRATS were allowed to raise a single objection and add a single idea to the bloated give-away to party loyalists. As a result, great ideas that would have reduced red tape, lowered costs, increased competition and improve care were left out.

Harry Reid has done essentially the same thing in the Senate, although rules there will eventually demand more thoughtful input.

But, for reasons no one will ever understand, President Obama is attempting to rush the program through the Congress without review, input, ideas, study or analysis. It is impossible for anyone to guess why. It is, most assuredly, a betrayal of the American people.

Can this be fixed. Of course it can. Everyone and I mean EVERYONE has signed on to the goal of Universal Health Care! Doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, virtually all Republicans and all Democrats. The team is here and ready to work.

It can be fixed. But it won't be unless Barack Obama wakes up and realizes that the Democratically controlled Congress is the problem. It won't be fixed unless Obama uses this recess to gather a true bi-partisan team at the White House and works them day and night to really compromise and to build the best possible plan. Republicans, Blue Dog Democrats and Liberals, all at one table, all with their eyes focused on the ball.

Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana has submitted an excellent compromise plan. It's a hell of a good place to start. You can all read it here: How to Make Health-Care Reform Bipartisan

It's The End of the World as We Know It

Well, faithful readers, it is time for the very lengthy third part of my trilogy. Parts one and two below were necessary to provide context for this third and most important discussion. Below is my analysis of the current economic crisis in the United States and, ultimately, the world. As my title above suggests, it is not a pleasant prognostication.

Long time readers know that I have been sounding the alarm siren for the last six months. As soon as it became obvious that our Congress and President were on the wrong track in handling the economic downturn, I've done my best to bring the keys issues to the forefront. This link here will take you to a dozen or more past blog entries where I've outlined the coming problems and condemned in no uncertain terms the horrific Economic Stimulus Package.

Sadly, a quick review of comments from many readers proved two tragic facts. First, most people simply want to "play politics" and never, under any circumstances, read legislation or consider alternative solutions. If our fellow Democrats did it, it must be good. If Republicans proposed it, it's stupid, lame, old school and wrong.

Second, all too many people are just here for the free lunch. As long as some other "rich guys" pay the bills and they believe they'll eat for free, then they'll line up at the trough. Every day is a holiday and every meal is a banquet.

So just how bad is it? It's very, very bad. And you're going to feel the pain as early as tomorrow.

Borrow and Spend Democrats

I am a rather proud "tax and spend" Democrat. There are many things I genuinely believe the government can do better than the private sector and many others that the government must do because the majority of people simply will not do them. The beauty of being a "tax and spend" Democrat is there was a natural barrier that prevented us from going overboard: TAXES. If taxes got too high, the electorate would reign us in. And, as long as we worked with a nearly balanced budget, this system was nearly prefect.

Plus, by answering to the actual tax payers, we were forced to be honest, efficient and logical. We were forced to prioritize.

Today, under the vacuum of leadership from Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid and the naivete of President Obama, none of that is happening. Instead of tax and spend, the new priority is borrow and spend without restraint. There are literally no priorities. There is no restraint. Pork barrel spending abounds, in fact it has become the coin of the realm. Payoffs are common place, corruption is rampant and institutionalized.

Barack Obama was and is totally unprepared for his job as President. He is no more than the band leader on the Titanic. The ship is sinking and it will take him down.

Where We Stand

About 500,000 new people apply for unemployment each week. Over 9 million new unemployed have been added to the dole since the pathetic non-Stimulus Bill passed. Unemployment has reached a 30 year high at 9.5% and virtually every economist predicts is will be over 10% by August.

Because the non-Stimulus Bill was nothing more that a massive pork barrel spending give-away three horrible things have happened. First, only about 7% of the money has actually been spent. Only 11% will be spent by year's end. Did Barack Obama lie? No, I don't think so. He simply had no idea what Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid were doing. Again, Barack Obama was (and still is) woefully unprepared to play at this level.

Second, the stimulus money turns out to be primarily rewards for contributors and patrons. I know this comes as a total surprise to everyone, but the vast majority of the money seems to be headed to states that supported and voted for Democrats! WOW! Who knew?

Third, and perhaps most tragic, the paltry sums of money that are flowing out as being pirated away for bankrupt states and used to pay bills or lower debt, not for any stimulus at all. The report issued today by the General Accounting Office paints a tragic picture of misuse of funds.

But the surprises hardly end there. It turns out there actually were (and are) shovel ready projects needing funding and ready to hire people. Are they getting the money? Nope. Not according to an analysis by The New York Times.

In short, not one single job has been created and only a handful of jobs have been saved. This could have all been avoided. A stimulus package costing 1/3rd less was proposed and on the table from Republicans. Every single penny would have been spent to hire people for permanent, full time, high paying jobs. But, of course, none of it would have gone to pay off contributors. None would have been wasted. And it would be working hard today, not on hold until 2010 and 2011.

Where Are We Headed?

By borrowing insane amounts of money and not taxing anyone for anything yet, Democrats have appealed successfully to both the party partisans and the pigs down at the trough. But that's all about to end.

Interest rates are about to skyrocket. I know of no economist who predicts less than a doubling of interest rates in the next few months. While that assures there will be absolutely no recovery in the economy, it is actually much worse. As interest rates eclipse 7% the government will be totally unable to service the huge deficits. One hundred million dollars a day in interest!

Because of the inevitable collapse of the US economy, tax increases will move from counterproductive to impossible. My essay back on March 7th was tragically accurate, we are on the same economic policy path that led to The French Revolution. Let them eat cake!

President Obama's current drive for universal health care, a laudable goal, is moot. No matter what bill passes, the program will collapse, along with Social Security and the current Medicare/Medicaid in the next few years. We cannot borrow ourselves out of debt. We cannot service the debt. We cannot tax our way out of debt. Like a chess player who has been out maneuvered, we have no moves remaining. Checkmate.

Is there a way out? Like the immortal line from the movie War Games, the only way to win is not to play. Because of the non-Stimulus Bill and the pork filled Budget recently passed, it may already be too late. Inflation is coming. And the deficit is unsustainable. And Democrats are sadly still playing politics.

The public is about to explode. They are already feeling the pain. Even after siphoning off stimulus money, states are making critical cuts in goods and services. California, Illinois and New York are about to undertake massive layoffs that will further balloon stressed out welfare rolls. California is issuing virtually worthless IOU's to taxpayers and creditors as their bonds are being lowered to near junk status. Illinois is about to release 10,000 prisoners because they simply cannot pay the guards.

You are about to feel serious pain and it's just the beginning. We are entering The Greatest Depression.

It is likely Obama will end his single term as a badly failed President in spite of his many great talents. While Republicans are unprepared to regain control of both houses next election, they will make serious gains. And real, thinking Democrats will quickly break with Pelosi and Reid and Obama, if necessary, to demand repeal of most spending plans and reduced borrowing.

I'm not at all certain that is will be anywhere enough.

Disorganized, Dispondent Republicans Are Not Ready for Victory

I really regret that I haven't had the time to address many of the important issues swirling around our nation over these last few weeks. I appreciate all of you who stop by here daily only to find the nest empty. I am humbled by your loyalty.

There are three points that deserve to be discussed and I've decided to cover them in three separate blog entries over the next three days.

First, in what will be the shortest entry, I'm going to take just a couple of paragraphs to discuss the sorry state of the Republican Party. This ought to be really short.

Al Gore wrote to me today (along with about ten million other Democrats and liberal leaning folks). What former Vice President Gore wanted, of course, was money for the Democrat Party. But he did make a really important observation.

Dear Robert, (Good old Al always calls me Robert) I've seen it happen. In 1992, Democrats had finally regained the White House and had control of Congress. Everything was in place to bring about historic change. But in 1994 - just two years later - the Republicans surged back, capturing the Senate and the House. As a result, every bit of progress was a struggle, and Republicans blocked many important initiatives entirely. We can't let it happen again, but history is not on our side. In all but three midterm elections since the Civil War, the president's party has lost seats.

Good old Al is right. If one party controls both Houses of Congress and the Presidency it is likely the opposing party will take some of that power back. It happens for a variety of reasons: buyer's remorse, desire for a balance of power, and a re-energized opposition.

This year, for reasons I will discuss thoroughly in my third blog entry, Republicans should really gain ground. The mistakes President Obama and the Democrats are making are huge and potentially devastating to the country. But the Republicans may not be able to pick up the pieces.

In 1994 Republicans had a secret weapon: Newt Gingrich. Gingrich was probably the brightest and most able member of the House of Representatives in our generation. And he was organized and had a superb marketing plan. He capitalized on Clinton's mistakes and energized the party and, ultimately, the nation.

Today there is no Newt Gingrich, not even the badly tarnished and out of power Gingrich himself.

Although we Democrats are wasting our time, energy, intelligence and credibility attacking Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin, neither of these people, nor any of the other talking heads are leading the Republican party or speaking for the Republican party. And potential leaders like Governor Mark Sanford are self destructing.

In the House and Senate there is literally no leadership with even marginal credibility. A few are captive of far right Christian groups bent on repealing the laws of Evolution, others lack the charisma to capture the imagination of the populace.

So while my close personal buddy Al is right, history favors the Republicans, there is no cohesive group able to capitalize on this historic opportunity.

That is a shame and I'll explain why in part three.