Showing posts with label Pelosi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pelosi. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Moody's: Debt 'Contagion' Could Infect U.S. In as Little as 3 Years

They're calling it a 'contagion' in Europe: the fear that weaker governments are poised to default on their debt instruments. It started with Greece a few months ago as it became clear that the Mediterranean country would be unable to make its multi-billion Euro bond payments, which are due later this month. But the uncertainty around sovereign debt extends to all of the "PIIGS" -- Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain.

Today the panic continued to ripple through the European financial system as investors assessed the exposure of banks, insurers and other private entities to sovereign default.

The euro fell to a 14-month low on the dollar and one-year low on the yen, raising concerns over the currency’s reserve status... The pressure on the euro came as investors continued to fret over the fiscal position of Greece and other countries on the periphery of the eurozone and as protests in Athens against austerity measures designed to rein in the country’s deficit turned violent.

Yield on 10-year Greek debt reached a new high, and the price of insurance on Portuguese and Spanish debts also set records. Ratings agency Moody’s warned Lisbon’s credit rating could be cut further.

The 'contagion' is reflected in the increasing prices for credit default swaps (CDS), which serve as 'insurance policies' against defaults. If you want to buy 'insurance' that pays off if Greece defaults on its bond payments, you'll pay more today for CDS than you paid yesterday.

Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy -- in that order -- are the next highest default risks if CDS prices are to be believed.

And what of the U.S.? Could the 'contagion' spread to our shores?

According to the rating agency Moody's, our own debt shock may hit as soon as 2013.

...In the wake of the financial crisis and recession, Moody's Investors Service has brought new transparency to its sovereign ratings analysis — so much so that 2018 lights up as the year the U.S. could be in line for a downgrade if Congressional Budget Office projections hold.

The key data point in Moody's view is the size of federal interest payments on the public debt as a percentage of tax revenue. For the U.S., debt service of 18%-20% of federal revenue is the outer limit of AAA-territory, Moody's managing director Pierre Cailleteau confirmed in an e-mail.

Under the Obama budget, interest would top 18% of revenue in 2018 and 20% in 2020, CBO projects... But under more adverse scenarios than the CBO considered, including higher interest rates, Moody's projects that debt service could hit 22.4% of revenue by 2013.

...a financial market shock from higher interest rates could precede the threat of a downgrade. In other words, investors might be less forgiving of U.S. fiscal policy than Moody's.

For instance, markets began pricing in a Greek default as a real possibility well before Standard & Poor's downgraded that nation's debt rating to junk last week.

...The [CBO's] outlook assumes discretionary spending restraint, broad-based tax hikes and well-behaved interest rates. Nevertheless, it sees debt reaching 90% of GDP in 2020, up from 53% at the end of 2009.

Some observers describe the CBO's projections as 'wildly optimistic'.

Just as the housing meltdown caught many 'experts' unaware, so too could a sovereign debt crisis. As investors demand higher premiums (interest payments) to offset higher risks, the U.S. would suffer catastrophic financial damage in the form of unacceptably high interest payments on existing debt.

Put simply, President Obama and Democrats in Congress have set the country on a course for fiscal disaster. They've spent trillions on bogus "Stimulus", "Omnibus Spending" and 99-week Unemployment programs. The result is that there's no breathing room in the current federal budget. A single unexpected event -- a financial meltdown in Europe, a massive terrorist attack, a huge natural disaster -- any one of a number of scenarios could lead to a financial calamity.

Vote accordingly in November.


Related: Photos: War on the streets of Greece as public sector unions and Communists rebel against austerity measures.

Friday, April 30, 2010

'Is It Time to Re-institute Slavery?'

By Kelcy Allen

In the midst of the recent haranguing cries by liberals of 'racism' each time a conservative disagrees with one of President Obama’s policies, I'm hearing backroom rumblings that a small, entrenched political cabal may actually be discussing the re-institution of slavery. One wonders, is this insanity, or has the country destabilized to the point where this could actually be possible?

When you consider the hard-fought moral and spiritual battles Americans have waged to secure freedom and you measure the sacrificial carnage strewn along the way, we must be predisposed to disbelief. But we Americans take freedom for granted. Our newest generations have grown up in a society basically free from onerous human constraints and have no first-hand knowledge of repression or bondage. But saying what you want, dressing any way you desire, going anyplace you please, pursuing any job or interest, or worshiping any God, has never been accepted anywhere on Earth as a societal norm until recent times.

If we follow the thread of history backwards we find people have never really been free. A leisurely camp-out wasn’t advisable in the time of Genghis Khan. Wearing a thong during The Middle Ages was more than a little dicey. Demonstrating for non-violence in the era of Aztecan human sacrifice could jeopardize your health. And, selling assorted religious idols in downtown 10th-century Mecca wasn't a recipe for longevity.

So, why would any group in the first decade of the 21st century advocate for the abrogation of established liberties or for the segregation of powerfully entrenched segments of society? How could the subjugation of multitudes into a slave-and-master relationship be possible in today’s world? What unspeakable criteria would have to be present for it to occur?

Is the reinstatement of slavery plausible? The answer is unequivocally, yes! That is, because the backroom murmurs aren’t about 19th century black-American plantation slavery, they concern 'political' slavery and, in particular, Marxism. Marxism has been the most toxic, horrific and deadly slavery on the face of the planet. Under the banner of Marxism in the 1900’s, Chinese leader Mao Tse-tung and Russian leader Josef Stalin killed tens of millions of people collectively, dwarfing the number of exterminations by Hitler.

Marxism is socialism on steroids. Socialism exists when government controls the so-called equal redistribution of money or goods and services across society. Marxism exists when a centralized authoritarian government, fueled by class envy and fulfilled by force, determines who, what, when, how, and why anyone gets that money or goods and services. Marxism is the mortal enemy of free-market capitalism, of freedom of individual thought and of... Liberty.

At least seven conditions would be necessary for Marxist political slavery to prevail in America today:

1. Dismantle our capitalist system and replace it with socialism
2. Enlarge and centralize government for 'nationalization'
3. Create class envy
4. Develop a dependency culture
5. Eradicate the family
6. (Strictly) Enforce government policies
7. Depend on a complacent populace

Prior to the 2008 presidential election, many Americans were warning that candidate Obama had a socialist ideology, a history of socialist ties, and a socialist voting record. They were chastised and denigrated for their opinions. However, within the magical 100-day presidential window, in February 2009, the cover of Newsweek excitedly proclaimed, 'We are all socialists now!' Obama‘s particular disinterest in job creation bespeaks his insouciant view of capitalism and is one reason why the only 'shovel-ready job' we’ve seen is his attempted burial of free enterprise.

Obama is an admitted social progressive. Ideological cousins, Marxists and Progressives want larger government, greater involvement, increased oversight, tighter control, suppressed religion, and both will use force to accomplish their goal. The name Saul Alinsky should finally take on heightened importance. Obama studied and revered this mid-century fellow Chicago community organizer who was arguably America’s most destructive Marxist. Alinsky wrote a book, a political bible of sorts, for young violent radical Marxist protesters who wanted to overthrow free enterprise. Those protesters have grown up, and many have retained their radical views and have joined the Obama administration as advisers or 'Czars'.

In progressive-speak, Obama’s 'Transformation of America' means the nationalization of America. This translates to takeovers (not bailouts) of the banks, the auto industry, insurance companies, health-care, student loans, and higher education. What's next? Oil companies, communications, the airlines... perhaps even Hooters and espresso stands, the latter to regulate caffeine intake along with salt.

Do you wonder why Obama has been called the Great Divider and America is so politically polarized? Without fail, each time he gives a speech he pits one segment of society against the other: Main Street against Wall Street, haves against have-nots, Grandma against the chiropractor, and fat-cats against anyone who breathes. Whatever happened to 'United We Stand?'

Now his blatant, divisive rhetoric pitting the health industry, banks, and ‘special interests’ against ‘whomever is listening’ -- as well as his tacit separation of young-people, African-Americans, Latinos and women from white Americans -- is not only beneath the dignity of the President, it engenders animosity and creates hostility. Thank Alinsky-the-Marxist for this polished technique: divided we fall.

Social assistance and a dependency culture eventually destroy self-sufficiency, a sense of responsibility, and personal dignity —- a Marxist must. Don’t tell me Obama doesn’t understand Marxism 101. He absorbed this propaganda, by choice, at uber-liberal Occidental College and later at Columbia University. He understands these concepts better than he understands a jump shot. It's unfortunate that the general public doesn't -- yet.

Marxism thrives only at the expense of traditional values. Very little of Obama’s stimulus money went to manufacturing, construction, the trades, or small private businesses, and it has negatively impacted the family. Most of the money went to the service industries and there’s a reason. In 1969, two young Marxist bombers formed a violent radical group called the Weathermen. They declared war on the United States and bombed upwards of 25 buildings, police facilities, and government installations. You know one of the two radicals as Bill Ayers, 'the unrepentant bomber'.

The other one helped write Obama’s Stimulus Bill! If you wonder why rabid Marxist Jeffrey Jones, Director of the New York Chapter of the Apollo Alliance, was permitted to help craft legislation intended to directly influence capitalism and our economy, you’ll have to ask Obama. It certainly looks intentional. And, considering the Midwest Academy trained SEIU President Andy Stern, who is head of the 'service industries' largest union (and Obama’s most frequent White House guest), you can understand why the bulk of the $787 billion stimulus money went Stern's direction and not to job creation.

Obama was a virtual unknown prior to his presidency, but his year in office has been all the time needed to research, scrutinize, and expose his opprobrious political past. Hundreds of pages (The Obama Files 1-101) which accurately document scores of his radical affiliations with socialists, Communists, and Marxists, place Obama’s words and deeds in his first fourteen months in office into an extremely troubling context.

Further, Obama’s seemingly benign hiring of 16,500 new IRS Healthcare agents offers an ominous portent considering his remarks during a 2008 campaign speech regarding a powerful civilian security force. When these IRS enforcers visit your home to insure you’ve flossed or avoided trans-fats, or to interrogate you because you haven’t paid the fine for the insurance you can’t afford because Obama gave the stimulus money to the service industries, will they be wearing uniforms and carrying side arms?

It’s obvious the small cabal of which I speak is Obama, Emanuel, Axelrod, Pelosi, Reid, et.al. Since they have shown an arrogant disdain for the desires of the electorate by putting our future —- our freedom —- in peril, it would be wise to err on the side of caution and not simply dismiss the worst-case scenario agenda. The sleeping giant of Liberty must awaken soon. It would be naïve and irresponsible to assume that this administration's intentions are benign.

Is it time to re-institute slavery? In November, we must mobilize and vote to ensure that any form of slavery -- economic or otherwise -- is destined for the dustbin of history.


Kelcy Allen is a freelance writer. He resides in the Pacific Northwest.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

I'm floored: under DemCare, whistleblower lawsuits set to explode as lifetime employment act for ambulance-chasing, slip-and-fall lawyers enacted

Writing at Maggie's Farm, Bruce Kesler observes that the new health care takeover is poised to create an explosion in lawsuits. Put simply, the new law promotes whistle-blower suits -- especially of the unprovable, frivolous malpractice variety -- that drive good doctors out of business.

As if the US didn’t already have enough lawsuits, and as if excess litigation isn’t one of the prime drivers of medical costs, and as if the Democrats didn’t garner 90% of tort lawyers’ contributions, ObamaCare will create a new boom in lawsuits.

A Qui Tam action is brought by a private citizen against a company for fraudulent claims on a federal agency in violation of the False Claims Act. If triumphant, the claimant gets part of the court award.

Qui tam (Black's Law Dictionary pronunciation: kwày tæm) "is a writ whereby a private individual who assists a prosecution can receive all or part of any penalty imposed."

[Until] now, it was necessary for the claimant to be the provider or original source of otherwise unknown information. If not, the claim was denied court jurisdiction.

Now, the failure to be the provider or original source will not deny jurisdiction, and should there be such dismissal the government can oppose the dismissal and allow the court case to proceed.

Consider this the Who Wants to be a Billionaire? act for the trial bar -- a nice, juicy reward for the tens of millions that the slip-and-fall attorneys have donated to Democrats.

The equation is simple: more money for lawyers and Democrats; fewer doctors; more misery for patients and the American taxpayer.

But, remember, they're doing it for the children.


Monday, April 26, 2010

America on Fiscal Suicide Watch

The Chicago Tribune offers some stunning illustrations that depict just how dire the country's financial situation is. I've modified the images a bit to indicate when the Democrats took over Congress (and the nation's wallet).

Click any of the images to see the full-sized graph at the Trib site.




If those charts don't getcha, consider this:

No country has ever survived the levels of debt that we're about to incur on the Obama plan for 2020. The interest alone on the debt is projected to be over $1 trillion -- and that's if interest rates don't go up significantly, which they will.

The only reason countries like Greece haven't yet imploded is the promise of a backstop by big brother, AKA the International Monetary Fund, AKA the U.S. But when the U.S. hits these levels, there won't be anyone to backstop us.

Welcome to Caracas, my friends!


Sunday, April 25, 2010

Your handy guide to navigating DemCare's 159 new agencies, offices, boards, commissions, programs, committees, task forces, councils and bureaus

Mike M.:

1. Grant program for consumer assistance offices (Section 1002, p. 37)
2. Grant program for states to monitor premium increases (Section 1003, p. 42)
3. Committee to review administrative simplification standards (Section 1104, p. 71)
4. Demonstration program for state wellness programs (Section 1201, p. 93)
5. Grant program to establish state Exchanges (Section 1311(a), p. 130)
6. State American Health Benefit Exchanges (Section 1311(b), p. 131)
7. Exchange grants to establish consumer navigator programs (Section 1311(i), p. 150)
8. Grant program for state cooperatives (Section 1322, p. 169)
9. Advisory board for state cooperatives (Section 1322(b)(3), p. 173)
10. Private purchasing council for state cooperatives (Section 1322(d), p. 177)
11. State basic health plan programs (Section 1331, p. 201)
12. State-based reinsurance program (Section 1341, p. 226)
13. Program of risk corridors for individual and small group markets (Section 1342, p. 233)
14. Program to determine eligibility for Exchange participation (Section 1411, p. 267)
15. Program for advance determination of tax credit eligibility (Section 1412, p. 288)
16. Grant program to implement health IT enrollment standards (Section 1561, p. 370)
17. Federal Coordinated Health Care Office for dual eligible beneficiaries (Section 2602, p. 512)
18. Medicaid quality measurement program (Section 2701, p. 518)
19. Medicaid health home program for people with chronic conditions, and grants for planning same (Section 2703, p. 524)
20. Medicaid demonstration project to evaluate bundled payments (Section 2704, p. 532)
21. Medicaid demonstration project for global payment system (Section 2705, p. 536)
22. Medicaid demonstration project for accountable care organizations (Section 2706, p. 538)
23. Medicaid demonstration project for emergency psychiatric care (Section 2707, p. 540)
24. Grant program for delivery of services to individuals with postpartum depression (Section 2952(b), p. 591)
25. State allotments for grants to promote personal responsibility education programs (Section 2953, p. 596)
26. Medicare value-based purchasing program (Section 3001(a), p. 613)
27. Medicare value-based purchasing demonstration program for critical access hospitals (Section 3001(b), p. 637)
28. Medicare value-based purchasing program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 3006(a), p. 666)
29. Medicare value-based purchasing program for home health agencies (Section 3006(b), p. 668)
30. Interagency Working Group on Health Care Quality (Section 3012, p. 688)
31. Grant program to develop health care quality measures (Section 3013, p. 693)
32. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Section 3021, p. 712)
33. Medicare shared savings program (Section 3022, p. 728)
34. Medicare pilot program on payment bundling (Section 3023, p. 739)
35. Independence at home medical practice demonstration program (Section 3024, p. 752)
36. Program for use of patient safety organizations to reduce hospital readmission rates (Section 3025(b), p. 775)
37. Community-based care transitions program (Section 3026, p. 776)
38. Demonstration project for payment of complex diagnostic laboratory tests (Section 3113, p. 800)
39. Medicare hospice concurrent care demonstration project (Section 3140, p. 850)
40. Independent Payment Advisory Board (Section 3403, p. 982)
41. Consumer Advisory Council for Independent Payment Advisory Board (Section 3403, p. 1027)
42. Grant program for technical assistance to providers implementing health quality practices (Section 3501, p. 1043)
43. Grant program to establish interdisciplinary health teams (Section 3502, p. 1048)
44. Grant program to implement medication therapy management (Section 3503, p. 1055)
45. Grant program to support emergency care pilot programs (Section 3504, p. 1061)
46. Grant program to promote universal access to trauma services (Section 3505(b), p. 1081)
47. Grant program to develop and promote shared decision-making aids (Section 3506, p. 1088)
48. Grant program to support implementation of shared decision-making (Section 3506, p. 1091)
49. Grant program to integrate quality improvement in clinical education (Section 3508, p. 1095)
50. Health and Human Services Coordinating Committee on Women’s Health (Section 3509(a), p. 1098)
51. Centers for Disease Control Office of Women’s Health (Section 3509(b), p. 1102)
52. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Office of Women’s Health (Section 3509(e), p. 1105)
53. Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Women’s Health (Section 3509(f), p. 1106)
54. Food and Drug Administration Office of Women’s Health (Section 3509(g), p. 1109)
55. National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council (Section 4001, p. 1114)
56. Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health (Section 4001(f), p. 1117)
57. Prevention and Public Health Fund (Section 4002, p. 1121)
58. Community Preventive Services Task Force (Section 4003(b), p. 1126)
59. Grant program to support school-based health centers (Section 4101, p. 1135)
60. Grant program to promote research-based dental caries disease management (Section 4102, p. 1147)
61. Grant program for States to prevent chronic disease in Medicaid beneficiaries (Section 4108, p. 1174)
62. Community transformation grants (Section 4201, p. 1182)
63. Grant program to provide public health interventions (Section 4202, p. 1188)
64. Demonstration program of grants to improve child immunization rates (Section 4204(b), p. 1200)
65. Pilot program for risk-factor assessments provided through community health centers (Section 4206, p. 1215)
66. Grant program to increase epidemiology and laboratory capacity (Section 4304, p. 1233)
67. Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (Section 4305, p. 1238)
68. National Health Care Workforce Commission (Section 5101, p. 1256)
69. Grant program to plan health care workforce development activities (Section 5102(c), p. 1275)
70. Grant program to implement health care workforce development activities (Section 5102(d), p. 1279)
71. Pediatric specialty loan repayment program (Section 5203, p. 1295)
72. Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program (Section 5204, p. 1300)
73. Allied Health Loan Forgiveness Program (Section 5205, p. 1305)
74. Grant program to provide mid-career training for health professionals (Section 5206, p. 1307)
75. Grant program to fund nurse-managed health clinics (Section 5208, p. 1310)
76. Grant program to support primary care training programs (Section 5301, p. 1315)
77. Grant program to fund training for direct care workers (Section 5302, p. 1322)
78. Grant program to develop dental training programs (Section 5303, p. 1325)
79. Demonstration program to increase access to dental health care in underserved communities (Section 5304, p. 1331)
80. Grant program to promote geriatric education centers (Section 5305, p. 1334)
81. Grant program to promote health professionals entering geriatrics (Section 5305, p. 1339)
82. Grant program to promote training in mental and behavioral health (Section 5306, p. 1344)
83. Grant program to promote nurse retention programs (Section 5309, p. 1354)
84. Student loan forgiveness for nursing school faculty (Section 5311(b), p. 1360)
85. Grant program to promote positive health behaviors and outcomes (Section 5313, p. 1364)
86. Public Health Sciences Track for medical students (Section 5315, p. 1372)
87. Primary Care Extension Program to educate providers (Section 5405, p. 1404)
88. Grant program for demonstration projects to address health workforce shortage needs (Section 5507, p. 1442)
89. Grant program for demonstration projects to develop training programs for home health aides (Section 5507, p. 1447)
90. Grant program to establish new primary care residency programs (Section 5508(a), p. 1458)
91. Program of payments to teaching health centers that sponsor medical residency training (Section 5508(c), p. 1462)
92. Graduate nurse education demonstration program (Section 5509, p. 1472)
93. Grant program to establish demonstration projects for community-based mental health settings (Section 5604, p. 1486)
94. Commission on Key National Indicators (Section 5605, p. 1489)
95. Quality assurance and performance improvement program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 6102, p. 1554)
96. Special focus facility program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 6103(a)(3), p. 1561)
97. Special focus facility program for nursing facilities (Section 6103(b)(3), p. 1568)
98. National independent monitor pilot program for skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities (Section 6112, p. 1589)
99. Demonstration projects for nursing facilities involved in the culture change movement (Section 6114, p. 1597)
100. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Section 6301, p. 1619)
101. Standing methodology committee for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Section 6301, p. 1629)
102. Board of Governors for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Section 6301, p. 1638)
103. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund (Section 6301(e), p. 1656)
104. Elder Justice Coordinating Council (Section 6703, p. 1773)
105. Advisory Board on Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation (Section 6703, p. 1776)
106. Grant program to create elder abuse forensic centers (Section 6703, p. 1783)
107. Grant program to promote continuing education for long-term care staffers (Section 6703, p. 1787)
108. Grant program to improve management practices and training (Section 6703, p. 1788)
109. Grant program to subsidize costs of electronic health records (Section 6703, p. 1791)
110. Grant program to promote adult protective services (Section 6703, p. 1796)
111. Grant program to conduct elder abuse detection and prevention (Section 6703, p. 1798)
112. Grant program to support long-term care ombudsmen (Section 6703, p. 1800)
113. National Training Institute for long-term care surveyors (Section 6703, p. 1806)
114. Grant program to fund State surveys of long-term care residences (Section 6703, p. 1809)
115. CLASS Independence Fund (Section 8002, p. 1926)
116. CLASS Independence Fund Board of Trustees (Section 8002, p. 1927)
117. CLASS Independence Advisory Council (Section 8002, p. 1931)
118. Personal Care Attendants Workforce Advisory Panel (Section 8002(c), p. 1938)
119. Multi-state health plans offered by Office of Personnel Management (Section 10104(p), p. 2086)
120. Advisory board for multi-state health plans (Section 10104(p), p. 2094)
121. Pregnancy Assistance Fund (Section 10212, p. 2164)
122. Value-based purchasing program for ambulatory surgical centers (Section 10301, p. 2176)
123. Demonstration project for payment adjustments to home health services (Section 10315, p. 2200)
124. Pilot program for care of individuals in environmental emergency declaration areas (Section 10323, p. 2223)
125. Grant program to screen at-risk individuals for environmental health conditions (Section 10323(b), p. 2231)
126. Pilot programs to implement value-based purchasing (Section 10326, p. 2242)
127. Grant program to support community-based collaborative care networks (Section 10333, p. 2265)
128. Centers for Disease Control Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
129. Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
130. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
131. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
132. Food and Drug Administration Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
133. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
134. Grant program to promote small business wellness programs (Section 10408, p. 2285)
135. Cures Acceleration Network (Section 10409, p. 2289)
136. Cures Acceleration Network Review Board (Section 10409, p. 2291)
137. Grant program for Cures Acceleration Network (Section 10409, p. 2297)
138. Grant program to promote centers of excellence for depression (Section 10410, p. 2304)
139. Advisory committee for young women’s breast health awareness education campaign (Section 10413, p. 2322)
140. Grant program to provide assistance to provide information to young women with breast cancer (Section 10413, p. 2326)
141. Interagency Access to Health Care in Alaska Task Force (Section 10501, p. 2329)
142. Grant program to train nurse practitioners as primary care providers (Section 10501(e), p. 2332)
143. Grant program for community-based diabetes prevention (Section 10501(g), p. 2337)
144. Grant program for providers who treat a high percentage of medically underserved populations (Section 10501(k), p. 2343)
145. Grant program to recruit students to practice in underserved communities (Section 10501(l), p. 2344)
146. Community Health Center Fund (Section 10503, p. 2355)
147. Demonstration project to provide access to health care for the uninsured at reduced fees (Section 10504, p. 2357)
148. Demonstration program to explore alternatives to tort litigation (Section 10607, p. 2369)
149. Indian Health demonstration program for chronic shortages of health professionals (S. 1790, Section 112, p. 24)*
150. Office of Indian Men’s Health (S. 1790, Section 136, p. 71)*
151. Indian Country modular component facilities demonstration program (S. 1790, Section 146, p. 108)*
152. Indian mobile health stations demonstration program (S. 1790, Section 147, p. 111)*
153. Office of Direct Service Tribes (S. 1790, Section 172, p. 151)*
154. Indian Health Service mental health technician training program (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 173)*
155. Indian Health Service program for treatment of child sexual abuse victims (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 192)*
156. Indian Health Service program for treatment of domestic violence and sexual abuse (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 194)*
157. Indian youth telemental health demonstration project (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 204)*
158. Indian youth life skills demonstration project (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 220)*
159. Indian Health Service Director of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment (S. 1790, Section 199B, p. 258)*

*Section 10221, page 2173 of H.R. 3590 deems that S. 1790 shall be deemed as passed with certain amendments.

Yes, it's just that simple. You can't find an elegant organizational design like this one outside another centralized, authoritarian, Politburo-style national government.


Good News: effective April 22nd, the EPA will fine you $35,000 if you replace 10 windows in your own home 'incorrectly'

Now that the salt wars have died down a bit -- and you begin to think the federal government couldn't become any more intrusive -- the EPA shows up to happily disabuse you of your quaint notions. In that context, please consider the "major new EPA rules" that go into effect on 22 April, which dramatically increase the cost, complexity and penalties associated with construction projects. As for you home handymen? You're specifically targeted.

If your home or commercial property was built before 1978, the EPA will fine you $3,500 for each 'incorrect' sanding, cutting and rehab project. Which means if Joe Homeowner replaces 10 windows in a home incorrectly, he will face a $35,000 fine.

According to the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), construction activities performed in homes and child-occupied facilities built before 1978 which can create hazardous lead dust and chips that are harmful to children and adults must be conducted by RRP-certified renovation firms, using renovators with EPA RRP- accredited training, and following the work practice requirements of the rule.

The EPA said 'lead paint is in most pre-1978 homes. We estimate about 38 million homes and apartment units, or 40 percent of the housing stock, contains lead paint.' The Agency’s new law will require all contractors be certified to remove lead paint. Previously, no certification was required and homeowners could ''opt-out'' of lead-safe practices if no children under six years old or pregnant women lived in the house.

The EPA says the new law will only increase average jobs about $100. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) estimates the new law will increase home repair costs by between $500 and $1,500 per job.

Sean Lintow Sr., owner of SLS Construction, has already spent the money to become certified. He estimates one third of his jobs will be affected by the rule changes. He says he "will need to buy new equipment to comply with the rules, and I will always need someone certified on site."

Lintow said he also expects cleanup will longer. For example, instead of throwing drywall into a dumpster, his workers will have to first remove any hardware (like nails and screws), wrap the drywall in plastic, and take it out of the house in trash bags. Then he'll have to wait at least an hour after cleaning to determine if any lead dust is present.

Unelected bureaucrats at the EPA, like the old Soviet Politburo, are dreaming up regulation after regulation, dictate after dictate; they are inventing new rules to steal more and more of your freedom.

When the federal government can tell you how much water can flow through your shower head, how many gallons your toilet tank can hold, how much salt you can put in your soup, what kind of toilet paper you can use, what kind of light bulbs you must buy -- when they can do all of those things, there are no limits to their power. They are no longer a federal government but have become instead a national government.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but as it pertains to government encroaching on our bathrooms, the modern Democrat Party is using the Constitution as toilet paper.


Friday, April 23, 2010

Counter Revolution

These are the contractors who were laid off on Thursday as new EPA regulations went into effect. The agency's rules double the costs of residential and commercial rehab projects for any structure built before 1978. Any project that impacts more than six square feet of wall or floor space will be affected.

These are some of the 2,500 Sallie Mae employees who were laid off this month after the federal government took over the student loan industry. Tens of thousands of private sector employees will lose their jobs as the industry is nationalized.

These are the doctors who quit their profession after the federal government prohibited them from building clinics, MRI imaging centers or hospitals in the "comprehensive health care reform" bill. The nationalized health care bill controls one-sixth of the American economy.

These are the auto dealers who were forced to close their dealerships after the federal government nationalized two auto companies using funds authorized only for bank bailouts. Abrogating bankruptcy law, the White House awarded $60 billion of taxpayer funds to the auto unions, an apparent reward to their political supporters.

These are the laid-off construction workers at 25,000 non-unionized small businesses which were prohibited from bidding for Stimulus dollars by President Obama. The Association of Building Contractors says that this unprecedented step increases "construction costs between 10 percent and 20 percent and discriminate[s] against minorities, women and qualified construction workers who have traditionally been excluded from union membership."

These are a few of the millions of unemployed workers who initially supported the $840 billion Stimulus program because President Obama and Congressional Democrats promised unemployment would not reach 8% if it were passed. Instead, official unemployment quickly hit -- and remains -- around 10%. The number of persons who were unemployed for more than six months hit an all-time high of 6.5 million last month.

These are the "Black Panthers" who waved batons at voters during the 2008 election, "the most blatant form of voter intimidation" some civil rights experts had ever seen. Despite this, the Attorney General declined to -- or was ordered not to -- prosecute the case, raising the potential for similar incidents in successive elections.

These are the leaders of two of America's staunchest historical allies -- the United Kingdom and Israel -- who have been shunned by this administration in an unprecedented series of diplomatic maneuevers. Several days ago, London's Daily Mail reported that, "Britain's special relationship with the U.S. is over." And the BBC recently reported that "Ties between Israel and the US are the 'worst in 35 years'."

These are the masterminds behind the attacks of September 11, 2001. They are known terrorists who've been granted the rights of American citizens in order for the Obama administration to hold trials near Ground Zero in Manhattan.

These are the "millions of 'green jobs'" President Obama pledged to create. More of these 'green jobs' will be created should "Cap-and-Trade" and other energy taxes pass, which the President and Congressional Democrats have strongly endorsed.

These are the illegal immigrants empowered by President Obama's promise of "comprehensive immigration reform". Their unchecked flow into the U.S. is intended to ensure a permanent Democrat majority. And their presence promises to bankrupt a welfare state already teetering on the brink of economic calamity.

* * * * * * * * *

No federal government has damaged the American free market more than this one. No federal government has stolen more employment, more freedom, more private property -- from this and future generations -- than this one. No government has created more regulations, more unconstitutional dictates, more -- dare I say it -- slavery than this one.

Now, given all of these facts: can there be any doubt what Barack Obama meant when he twice proposed, "a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded" as our military?

The Obama-Democrat Left has mounted the first successful counter-revolution -- against the American Revolution -- in our history. Using an incessant series of attacks by a fifth column, the intent of the counter-revolution is to eradicate the effects of the American Revolution. The most magnificent society ever created hangs in the balance.


The midterm elections in November represent our last chance to salvage the American experiment.

Marshal your parents, your children, your siblings, your neighbors, your coworkers -- marshal everyone you know, because the stakes could not be higher.


Wednesday, April 21, 2010

'Here Is How Your New, Soon To Be Worthless Money, Will Look Like'

Tyler Durden:

Judging by Ben Bernanke's recent abnormal behavior, we are quite confident the Fed forgot to add at least three zeroes to the latest version of the Benjamins.

Here is how the government is spending money to recreate old money, just so it can print even more money.

Maybe we can call 'em Weimar Bucks. Better get your wheelbarrows ready.


The Obama Budget for 2011: A Deficit Volcano is About to Blow

The Heritage Foundation examined the President's 2011 budget proposal and, in a nutshell, what they found is truly shocking (PDF).

While legacy media publishes administration press releases and scapegoats Goldman Sachs, there can be no doubt that Barack Obama's agenda is the destruction of the American economy, which will be facilitated by a default on the public debt.

No president has proposed more reckless spending in the history of this country:

President Obama’s Budget


• Would permanently expand the federal government by 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) [Ed: app. $500 billion in 2011] over 2007 pre-recession levels;

• Would raise taxes on all Americans by nearly $3 trillion over the next decade;

• Would raise taxes for 3.2 million small businesses and upper-income taxpayers by an average of $300,000 over the next decade;

• Would borrow 42 cents for each dollar spent in 2010;

• Would run a $1.6 trillion deficit in 2010 — $143 billion higher than the recession-driven 2009 deficit;

• Would leave permanent deficits that top $1 trillion as late as 2020;

• Would dump an additional $74,000 per household of debt into the laps of our children and grandchildren;

• Would double the publicly held national debt to over $18 trillion.

Source: Heritage Foundation calculations based on U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2011 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2010), pp. 146–179, Tables S-1 through S-14. Also includes the cost of House-passed cap-and-trade bill, which President Obama endorsed yet excluded from his budget tables.

These projected deficits reach a level that simply cannot be repaid, especially when combined with unfunded entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare and an imminent tidal wave of retiring baby boomers.

Goldman Sachs isn't destroying the full faith and credit of the dollar. The bankers aren't destroying the economy.

The health insurers aren't to blame.

The Democrats' next target -- the oil, gas, coal and refinery companies -- aren't the culprits.

All of those industries produce real jobs, pay their taxes, are regulated by every level of government, and generate the revenue that allows government to exist.

Yet they are vilified by the National Socialist Democrat Party. And no matter how much damage they do, they can never equal this administration and the radical Leftists in Congress. November is our last chance, folks. We must crush these Democrats politically or I'm afraid it's going to be too late.


Hat tip: Mark Levin.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Another screw-up heard from: DemCare Bill forgot to include a religious exemption clause

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as DemCare, has all sorts of hidden secrets. The immense and hastily drafted law, passed through the Senate on Christmas Eve with bribes aplenty, has hundreds of new mandates and some accidental omissions.

• Businesses with over 50 employees are required to construct dedicated "breastfeeding rooms" (which cannot be bathrooms).

• Congress forgot to exempt themselves and their staff members from the bill's effects, which means they "will not be able to keep the insurance they like, and may lose it even before there are any alternatives for them."

• Millions of seniors will lose their Medicare Advantage coverage, while millions more with Health Savings Accounts will be fined or have to buy new policies. There are 19 new taxes including penalties for individuals and families who do not buy "government-approved" policies; and businesses with 50 or more employees must pay a $2,000-a-head fine if they don't offer approved coverage.

• There is a huge new tax on investment income, which is not indexed for inflation. It will therefore hit more and more people every year -- just like the AMT.

• There is a new tax on home sales of 3.8%. This will hit middle-income people who are "'rich' for only one day" as they sell a house and buy a new one.

• There are $15.2 billion in new taxes on the middle class as DemCare severely restricts the medical expense deduction, which is widely used by families who have a serious illness or are elderly.

• According to Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA), there is a huge new loophole in the bill as nothing prevents health care companies from raising rates by any amount.

• The bill will lead to a dramatic shortage of doctors -- around 150,000 doctors almost immediately -- because the pool of newly insured welfare DemCare recipients has expanded so dramatically.

Now it appears the bill contains another surprise: the "religious exemption" that allows individuals to conscientiously object to joining DemCare was screwed up as the bill is written. Based upon the letter of the law as it was written and passed, there is no religious exemption.

‘(A) RELIGIOUS CONSCIENCE EXEMPTION- Such term shall not include any individual for any month if such individual has in effect an exemption under section 1311(d)(4)(H) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which certifies that such individual is a member of a recognized religious sect or division thereof described in section 1402(g)(1) and an adherent of established tenets or teachings of such sect or division as described in such section.

Problem is, there's no section 1402(g)(1) in the bill. That goes for the certified copy of the bill, not just the one online.

The U.S. Report also noticed the screw-up.

Another apparent omission relates to a section about exemptions for “a recognized religious sect or division thereof...” That section in HR 4872 references descriptions of such a sect in “section 1402(g)(1),” but the section appears to either be missing or to be part of an extraneous document. That section could not be located in HR 3590 either. We utilized a document search and we also combed through both bills. If it’s there, we could not locate it. What religions are exempted?

We must point out this religious exemption is unconstitutional, in our opinion. Attorney Marci Hamilton, writing for FindLaw, agrees with me and she does a fine job explaining why. Hamilton also believes this is a danger to children, “The sad truth is that members of Congress either do not know this religious-exemption provision exists within the mammoth health care bill, or else they are willing to pander to a small religious group at the expense of children's well-being.”

Now, what the staffers who wrote the bill probably meant to say is Section 1402(g)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code, which deals with Members of certain religious faiths and exemption from the code.

Any individual may file an application (in such form and manner, and with such official, as may be prescribed by regulations under this chapter) for an exemption from the tax imposed by this chapter if he is a member of a recognized religious sect or division thereof and is an adherent of established tenets or teachings of such sect or division by reason of which he is conscientiously opposed to acceptance of the benefits of any private or public insurance which makes payments in the event of death, disability, old-age, or retirement or makes payments toward the cost of, or provides services for, medical care (including the benefits of any insurance system established by the Social Security Act).

But, as the law is written, there are no religious exemptions.

No one gets to opt out: not the Amish, not the Muslims, not the Atheists.

How many other mistakes have the master planners made? How many omissions have the geniuses, who think they can proscribe the operation of one-sixth of the economy, made?

The horrors associated with this disastrous bill won't become fully evident for years, but it's safe this "law" marks the end of the United States as a Constitutional Republic.


Saturday, April 17, 2010

Mark Levin brutalizes Bill Clinton, Pelosi, Reid and Obama, asking: which philosophers inspire the modern Democrats?

Last night, Mark Levin shredded the modern Democrat Party (MP3) with a stunningly frank question: while the conservatives stand on the shoulder of the founders, which philosophers inspire the likes of Clinton, Pelosi, Reid and Obama?

Bill Clinton said the other day that this isn't the Boston Tea Party. This isn't the Boston Tea Party -- we actually have legitimate representatives. Yes, we do -- [but they're] doing illegitimate things.

The individual mandate under the health care bill is worse than what the [British] Crown did to the Colonists with The Stamp Act. It's worse! The Stamp Act was a tax! The individual mandate is an effort to undermine the Constitution, to change the relationship between the citizen and his government, and to destroy individual liberty.

God knows we have enough Stamp Acts around here. We have taxes on everything we do! Everything we buy... all our services. This government has gone too far. It's gone way too far. I don't think the Founding Fathers would sit silently. Matter of fact, I know they wouldn't.

So you are operating, organizing, speaking out in the grandest traditions of this nation. You stand on the shoulders... of the people who established this society.

So I ask you: who does Clinton and Obama and Pelosi and Reid... whose shoulders do they stand on? Not one of the Founding Fathers, not one. They stand on the shoulders of... well, certain philosophers and ideologues from foreign lands. The Fabians, the Fascists, the Marxists, some mix of that -- whatever. Those are not the Founding Fathers. Those are not the people who wrote and adopted the Declaration of Independence and, later, the Constitution.

You see, what Obama and Clinton and Pelosi and Reid and the rest of them are advancing is an alien ideology. Alien to this nation. You have to reject the Declaration of Independence and you have to reject the Constitution to embrace it, because they cannot coexist.

They reject natural law and the laws of God, as the Declaration of Independence asserts. What they embrace is man-made law and man-made brute force. That's why you hear them mocking us, intimidating us, defaming us.

What really does Obama stand for? Or Clinton? Or Pelosi? Or Reid? How do they define what they stand for? What are limits of what they stand for?

Who are their great philosophical heroes? Well, it's none of the ones we embrace, is it? You keep your voices up... you keep up your organizing... find the conservative candidates running for local, state and federal office in the Republican primaries and back them. They're putting their necks on the line for us. Back them. And then we shall succeed. Then we shall overcome.

Listen for yourself.


Via: Mark Levin Show.

Friday, April 16, 2010

DemCare's Secret $1.62 Trillion Immigration Time-Bomb

Nancy Pelosi wasn't kidding when she said, "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it."

Buried deep within the the Democrat health care bill is a secret payoff to immigrants that defies American traditions and was heretofore undisclosed.

Hidden within the 2,400-page DemCare legislation is a bullet to the head of the longstanding "public charge" doctrine. The doctrine states that "no alien can be allowed into the United States if he is going to become a burden on the US taxpayer upon entry -- a public charge."

Congress and Bill Clinton strengthened the doctrine in 1996. They levied a five-year threshold on public benefits for aliens: put simply, new immigrants were unable to take advantage of the public dole until they'd supported themselves for at least five years. Reasonable enough?

Using every surreptitious means possible -- and discovered only recently -- the DemCare bill eradicates the "public charge" requirement. Why?

Simple: to build a permanent Democrat constituency dependent upon "free" health care. It means 10.8 million new immigrants on the public dole.

The "public charge" time-bomb was intentionally buried in the new legislation -- so deeply that it took weeks to discover it. As they unveil "immigration reform", President Obama and his drones in Congress will claim it costs Americans nothing. That immigrants will do "the jobs Americans won't". And other lies.

What will the bill cost taxpayers? The ObamaCare bill assumes a toll of $15,000 a year for middle class families.

By granting amnesty for at least 10.8 million illegal immigrants, the Democrat health care bill will cost $162 billion a year -- or $1.62 trillion, which the CBO never took into account.

Unless we fire the Democrat Party in November, I fear the magnificent American experiment may be at an end.

 

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Welcome to the Obama recovery!

Don't you feel like celebrating?

'09 Profits Soar to Historic Highs, While Sales Plummet...

New jobless claims 'unexpectedly' soar...

Rise for second straight week...

Soros warns on market crash...

Foreclosure rates surge, biggest jump in 5 years...

Homeless 'Tent City' Settlers In Get Reprieve...

All of these headlines are from today. After the $840 billion "Stimulus" program, the $410 billion Omnibus spending deal, the $60 billion auto bailout, "Cash-for-Clunkers", HAMP, and trillions in unfunded liabilities, the economy is still flat on its back.

The CBO is warning that budget deficits are going to be far worse than earlier predicted. And this is before the economy is further strangled by DemCare, the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, and the ominous, economy-killing VAT tax.

Democrats have the Midas Touch: everything they touch turns into a rusty muffler*.


* Hat tip: Henny Youngman

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Study: Federal regulations cost Americans $1.2 trillion annually

The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) will release a study tomorrow -- on Tax Day, fittingly -- that calculates just how out of control our authoritarian, centralized federal government has become. CEI calls the "10,000 Commandments of Federal Regulation" a crushing, hidden tax.

Worse still, under the current Democrat leadership, the federal government is poised to become even bigger, more unionized, less accountable and tougher to fire when it fails to deliver. Which is often.

Federal regulations cost a whopping $1.187 trillion last year in compliance burdens on Americans. That’s the finding of a new report, Ten Thousand Commandments: An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State, from the Competitive Enterprise Institute that examines the costs imposed by federal regulations.

...The costs of federal regulations often exceed the benefits, yet receive little official scrutiny from Congress. The report urges Congress to step up and take responsibility as lawmakers to review and roll back economically harmful regulations. “Rolling back regulations would constitute the deregulatory stimulus that the U.S. economy needs,” said Crews... Among the report’s findings:

3,503 new regulations took effect last year. The burden of government is heavier than ever.
• How much does government cost? Government is spending $3.518 trillion of our money and imposing another $1.187 trillion dollars in the form of regulatory compliance costs.
• How much of our economic output should be eaten by regulatory costs? Regulatory costs now absorb 8.3 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product.
• What's the federal government's total share of the economy? Regulations + spending combined puts the federal government's share of the economy at over 30 percent.
• Which do you think costs us more: individual income tax or regulations? Regulations cost more than the income tax!
• New rules that cost at least $100 million increased by 13 percent between 2007 and 2008.

The report urges reforms to make the regulatory costs more transparent and accountable to the people, including annual “report cards” on regulatory costs and benefits, and congressional votes on significant agency rules before they become binding.

Not to mention implementation of The Fair Tax, a pro-growth national sales tax that would supercharge the economy and liberate private enterprise.

Which is why Democrats oppose it.

Consider: regulations cost the real economy -- the private sector -- $1.2 trillion that would otherwise be spent on hiring, innovation, research, investment, capital equipment, and the like.

But please don't tell Paul "Nikita" Krugman. He's not aware that there's an entire country west of Battery Park.


Hat tip: W

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

For all of his talk about reducing the spread of nuclear weapons, the President's doing a bang-up job of neutron-bombing the economy

The new health care bill has already resulted in the cancellation of the construction of at least 60 new hospitals and thousands of beds. That's because doctor-owned facilities are effectively banned by DemCare. And the President's awesome stewardship of the economy continues to pay dividends, as the thousands of private sector jobs that would have resulted from these hospitals have been vaporized, kinda like they were hit with a neutron-bomb.

The jobs are gone -- and only the people remain.

Evidence for the non-stop eradication of the private economy continues to roll in, most recently in terms of our bankrupt Treasury Department, which is experiencing -- uhm -- unusual outflows this tax season.

Through the 14th week of the calendar year (not fiscal), cumulative tax withholdings in 2010 are $477.9 billion, $13.5 billion less than the $491.4 billion in 2009. Yet regardless of what the only organic source of revenue for the Treasury looks like, the Treasury (and IRS) are issuing ever increasing tax refunds with the abandon of a drunken sailor. The chart below compares how many more refunds on a cumulative basis have been issued in 2010 compared to 2009. Oddly, it is also $13 billion, however in the wrong direction.

Net out refunds from gross withholdings, shows just how blatant the lies is that the Treasury is collecting more money than previously. On a cumulative basis 2010 compared to 2009 has seen a net $26.5 billion less withheld by the Treasury. We fail to see how this number is in any way an indication of efficient money management. Coupled with record unemployment benefit outlays, surging discretionary spending, and record net bond issuance, and the US Treasury is rapidly realizing that should it be unable to fund itself using its Bernanke-Jiabao Tungsten credit card, it is all over.

The following graph illustrates just how bad this Democrat Congress and administration have mismanaged the economy. Despite trillions in 'Stimulus', Omnibus spending bills, limitless unemployment checks, and every other manner of Orwellian central planning program, the government continues to hemorrhage cash this year compared to last.

Things aren't getting better. Net tax withholdings are $26.5 billion worse this year than last.

But I blame Bush. Or Cheney. Or Halliburton. Or anyone but Obama, Pelosi and Reid.

Because that would be racist. Or so the Democrats tell me.