Showing posts with label Reid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reid. Show all posts

Monday, May 10, 2010

Obamanomics: Jobless are turning down work so they can surf the web, watch WWE RAW and collect unemployment

In Michigan, the state with the highest unemployment rate in the U.S., people are turning down job offers so they can continue collecting unemployment checks. With the recent federal extensions, those unemployment checks can run as long as 99 weeks (for you liberals, that's nearly two years). At which point it's not unemployment, it's yet another failed welfare-slash-redistribution scheme.

Members of the Michigan Nursery and Landscape Association "have told me that they have a lot of people applying but that when they actually talk to them, it turns out that they're on unemployment and not looking for work," said Amy Frankmann, the group's executive director. "It is starting to make things difficult."

Chris Pompeo, vice president of operations for Landscape America in Warren, said he has had about a dozen offers declined. One applicant, who had eight weeks to go until his state unemployment benefits ran out, asked for a deferred start date.

It's illegal to collect unemployment benefits after receiving a suitable job offer, but that hasn't stopped plenty of workers from doing so. Furthermore, fully 15% of Michigan's economy has been driven underground, with barter and cash transactions escaping government scrutiny. Boy, that Governor Granholm's doing a bang-up job!

The current federal jobless benefits extension "reduces the incentive to find work", according to David Littman, an economist at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. One unemployed landscaper confirms that assertion; he says he'll start searching for work when his benefits expire. He estimates that he only loses about $50 a week staying unemployed.

Gee, these Democrats are just phenomenal at central planning. They remind me of the guys running East Germany in the sixties.


Hat tip: Drudge.

Saturday, May 08, 2010

Internal AT&T presentation: we'll save $4.1 billion a year if we drop all employee health care benefits

You know how President Obama relentlessly marketed his health care takeover with the slogan 'If you like your current health care plan, you'll be able to keep it™'?

Here's a news flash that you won't see in the legacy media: he lied.

Someone inside AT&T leaked an internal Powerpoint presentation that measured the financial impact of DemCare.





AT&T estimates that it can save upwards of $4 billion annually by dropping health care coverage and paying the penalty tax instead.

They'd be foolish to keep their health care benefits and, in fact, shareholders should demand the company capture that income and return it in the form of increased dividends and R&D.

Like the Soviet central planners of a bygone era, today's Democrats are marching us into an abyss of unintended consequences for our entire health care system. They're pushing us, shoving us, against our will, over a cliff of fiscal irresponsibility. They're killing a legacy of prosperity that we could otherwise bequeath to subsequent generations.

The modern, hard left Democrat Party leadership is intentionally trying to destroy the Republic: open borders, votes for felons, statehood for Puerto Rico -- using any and all means to gain the votes necessary to stay in power, no matter how catastrophic the effects are on the country.

As someone told me a while back: it's November or never.


Hat tip: William Teach.

Friday, May 07, 2010

Welcome to Athens, New Jersey: State Public Sector Unions Claim That Having to Pay 1.5% for their Health Care is 'Unconstitutional'

If Europe's economic meltdown hasn't convinced you that massive public sector unions lead to fiscal catastrophe, may I present Exhibit B? In New Jersey, the public employee unions are outraged that having to pay 1.5% of their salaries towards their health care benefits is 'unconstitutional'. On a salary of $80,000, that comes to $46 (pre-tax) per two-week pay period. And they refuse to pay it.

Governor Christie has vowed to press ahead with additional pension and health benefits changes for public workers despite two lawsuits challenging reforms he recently signed into law... Despite blowback from the unions, the new Republican governor promised to push for other reforms. They include a proposed 2.5 percent cap on local spending and property tax increases modeled on a Massachusetts law.

...Christie was swept into office on a wave of voter discontent over soaring property taxes, which average $7,300 per homeowner per year, the highest in the country.

...Christie has promised to stabilize — then reduce — New Jerseyans' tax burden. But to do it, he says he needs labor concessions and cost-cutting reforms that his Democratic predecessor, Jon Corzine, was unable to achieve... New Jersey's pension system is underfunded by about $46 billion and could one day be insolvent unless fixes are made.

The state's largest teachers union, the New Jersey Education Association, filed a lawsuit Wednesday to halt the reforms Christie signed last month. The state's police and firefighters unions filed a similar suit last week.

The unions claim the law requiring them to contribute 1.5 percent of their salaries towards health care benefits "interferes" with collective bargaining and is unconstitutional. NJEA's suit charges that the mandatory contribution amounts to an illegal salary reduction.

America's public sector unions and the Democrat Party -- but I repeat myself -- are propelling the country into an economic abyss.

Has any "journalist" asked President Obama why Greece is melting down?

Could one of our legacy media "reporters" look into the reason the bankrupt European Utopias, with their socialized medicine, their open immigration policies, and outrageous public sector unions, are the exact models for this President and this Congress?

Might Katie Couric or Brian Williams devote a 180-second background segment to the ties between Europe's strain of Socialism and its current economic condition?

I know, I know. I'm a dreamer. Real journalism has been delegated to true reporters like Malkin, Breitbart, Tapscott, Reynolds, Riehl, Hoft, York, Hanson, Morrissey, and the like.


It's the Obama Recovery! Removing Census Jobs and Other Chaff From Employment Numbers Reveals That Only 36K Jobs Were Added Last Month

The New York Times breathlessly reports the new 9.9% unemployment number as wonderful news, proclaiming that the "Economy Gains Impetus as U.S. Employers Add 290,000 Jobs!"

The world's dumbest blogger, in lockstep with the Times, joins the chorus, stating that "today’s numbers are actually good in the sense of 'consistent with the unemployment rate falling.'"

The Glute-master parrots the Times' spin with "today's jobs report [is] excellent."

Back in the little land we like to call reality, the numbers remain grim, while the Democrat-led malaise in California, Illinois, Michigan and New York is literally devastating entire communities. Tyler Durden's headline reads, "Fake +290K Payrolls "Added", Real Number Is 36K After Census And Birth-Death, Unemployment Goes Back To 9.9%, Underemployment At 17.1%"

Of the 290,000 jobs "added", census workers totaled 66,000 while the "Birth-Death Model" (the mathematical method by which the Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates eligible workers) added 188,000 "jobs".

Unemployment is at 9.9% and the underemployment rate is 17.1%. Feeling stimulated yet?


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.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Citizen Reid

Harry Reid has a long, proud history of public service. Nevadans should cast a cold, hard look back at his many accomplishments before voting in 2010.

From 2002 to 2005, Senator Reid was extremely generous with Christmas gifts for service workers at his luxury condo. He gave away $3,000 in gifts and gratuities for elevator and cleaning personnel. Unfortunately, the money came from campaign contributions and not his own bank account. It was only after the Associated Press' John Solomon discovered the sleaze that Reid claimed it was a clerical issue and a Republican smear campaign.

In 2004, for example, after Reid made a profit of $1.1 million on a real estate deal, he failed to fully disclose the details as required by the Senate. His partner (left) was reported to have some odd ties to the casino business and his name surfaced in investigations into organized crime and bribery.

In 2005, Sen. Reid sponsored an $18 million earmark to build a bridge over the Colorado River. Coincidentally, a few miles from the bridge's location is a 160-acre parcel of land owned by one Senator Harry Reid. So, yes, Reid's own earmark greatly increases the value of his huge swath of land.

Curiously, Reid had received 60 of the acres from an oil magnate friend -- the owner of Haycock Petroleum -- for a total of $10,000 in 2002, though its assessed value was $120,000. And Reid continues to underreport the value of the land, though nearby sales put its real value at nearly half a million.

Harry Reid's three sons and his son-in-law are also concerned with serving the people. All have served as lobbyists and have blurred the line between family connections and special interests. In fact, his son-in-law helped increase lobbying fees at DC's Holland & Hart from $100K to $2 million in only one year. A series of LA Times investigative reports suggested that Reid had introduced legislation and pressured regulators to unblock a huge real estate deal fronted a heavy Reid contributor who also happened to be the employer of Reid's son Leif.

At the same time, Reid was vice-chair of the Senate Ethics Committee. When asked specifically about conflicts of interest involving family member-slash-lobbyists, he insisted there were none. Yet the Senate's rules have since changed to prohibit lobbying by family members, but I'm sure that's just a coincidence.

The Times' story found that mining companies paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to lobbying firms, and the payments just happened to follow around Reid's son-in-law from firm to firm. Rory Reid's services were also sought out by mining firm Placer Dome, according to the Times.

Reid's son-in-law was also engaged by the American Gaming Association, a helicopter tour company fighting restrictions near the Grand Canyon, chemical companies seeking deals in Nevada and the Hughes Corporation as it looked for land near Vegas. Sen. Reid helpfully advanced all of their agendas -- purely for altruistic reasons -- and even helped a partner in the law firm that employed all of Reid's sons get a right-of-way moved off his property.

"Reid never told his Senate colleagues or the public that the provisions he authored, some of which were technically and not apparently beneficial to anyone, were, in fact, introduced on behalf of clients who paid his sons and son-in-law over $2 million."

But Harry Reid's public service wasn't yet complete. In running the Senate, Harry's "spread the wealth" -- using the taxpayers' money to jam through socialized medicine with various bribes, payoffs and "incentives".

When Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana was undecided about DemCare, Reid ensured she received a $300 million "bonus" for her state. Chris Dodd received a $100 million medical facility in Connecticut (any guess as to what it might be called?).

In short, Harry Reid has selflessly served the people of Nevada and, indeed, the entire country. Please consider his exceptional track record when voting in 2010.


Based upon: ELECTION YEAR: Defeating Harry Reid, an excerpt of the new book 2010: Take Back America: A Battle Plan