A Conservative Viewpoint - The ‘Liberal’ Torch Has Passed

Article by Bob Steinburg
- Edenton, North Carolina: Cradle of the Colony

With the death last week of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., the left lost its liberal champion. “The Lion of the Senate,” as he was referred to by his colleagues, served that chamber 47 years. Kennedy was skilled at often brokering bipartisan support for legislative initiatives, such as his collaboration with President George W. Bush on No Child left Behind Act of 2001 and Part D of Medicare which covers prescriptions.

Kennedy’s passion was health care reform. In 1974, he put aside his differences with family adversary President Richard Nixon, partnering with him to try to offer legislation that would mandate all employers provide health insurance for their employees. Nixon’s presidency was embroiled in the Watergate scandal distracting him from pushing through with this initiative. When Gerald Ford assumed the presidency the economy was in a crisis with energy prices soaring. Health care reform was no longer a priority.

The Senator from Massachusetts was responsible for health care legislation, including the Health Insurance Portability Act (HIPAA) and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Kennedy considered health care as a fundamental right.

Kennedy was frequently a lightening rod for conservative anger. Unlike his brothers Bobby and Jack who condemned abortion, Ted supported it. The youngest Kennedy brother, able to show much empathy and compassion for the poor and the helpless, had none for the unborn.

At the 2000 Democratic National Convention Kennedy addressed the delegates reassuring them the Democratic Party would continue to provide women with the right to choose abortion up to the ninth month. The party’s presidential nominee, Sen. Al Gore, D-Tenn., formerly a pro-life advocate pledged his support for partial-birth abortion and opposition to parental notification.

It was Kennedy’s support that helped cement Barack Obama’s nomination for president last year. As a candidate Obama positioned himself as a political moderate (in spite of evidence and common sense to the contrary) during his successful campaign.

Kennedy would never have passed the liberal torch to a moderate. He knew then what many Americans last November wanted to deny. Obama is a liberal to the core. Anyone with doubt needs look no further than to the ambitious liberal agenda that is propelling our nation toward a financial abyss.

In his 1960 inaugural address, President John Kennedy, certainly no liberal, spoke the following words: “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” Today’s liberal version might sound more like this: Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what your country can do for you.

Today our government gives out money to almost everyone with a hand held out. Nationally it’s been trending this way for 40 years. Our national debt has grown from $347 billion in 1968 to $5.6 trillion at the end of the Clinton years to more than $ 9 trillion at the end of `08. Much of our overwhelming debt can be attributed to the expansion of social entitlements championed primarily by those on the left. Displaying empathy and compassion is admirable. Fiscal responsibility is admirable too. There has certainly been little of that.

Many Democrats, particularly liberals including the late Sen. Kennedy, continue to portray President George W. Bush as solely responsible for our staggering debt. There is no argument he played his part and I’m not going to defend Bush for his often economically irresponsible spending. However, blaming our staggering deficits primarily on the Bush tax cuts for the ultra-rich as the left suggests, is more self-serving to their liberal agenda, than any realistic analysis of fact.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office agrees. The Bush tax cuts, which also benefited the middle class, are indeed part of the problem. But so is a faltering economy and continued reckless government spending. Add to that the cost of two wars and the passage of the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and one will have a more realistic picture of spending during the Bush years. In fact the CBO reports that even without the Bush tax cuts, we’d still have had big deficits.

During the last presidential campaign Obama and the Democrats railed against Bush and the Republicans for masquerading as conservatives. They were right. The Democrats rode to victory on a theme of hope and change. If part of that hope and change was reigning in government spending, this bunch must be tone deaf. In spite of every reasonable poll showing that Washington is perceived by voters as more out of control than ever, Democrats continue spending our nation’s future away as easily as if it were Monopoly money.

The Obama administration announced last week that our nation’s projected debt is now $20 trillion! Now Democrats want to add $1.6 trillion more for national health care. Some hope by naming this legislation after the late Sen. Kennedy, they will garner sympathy votes. Wrapping this bill in the gauze of Kennedy’s memory may not be enough to see it through.

Liberals believe there is no reason why we can’t have it all now. And it’s that thinking that has contributed enormously to our current financial morass.

The liberal torch has now passed from Kennedy to Obama and with it, the mindset that every problem can be solved by spending more money. Our path is unsustainable and bleak as long as this deluded thought process in Washington continues. Our politicians may not have the will, guts or common sense to change America’s current course, but the people do. I’m betting on them.

Hoping that the American people have the common sense to avoid socialized medicine is a risky bet. George W. Bush and Karl Rove committed themselves to changing the Republican Party's goals from individual liberty to complicit in the vote for bread and circuses previously championed by the Democrat party. They called it "compassionate conservatism" when it was really nothing but "compassionate communism". Yet more than a third of the Republican Party still embraces the idea. They even have the arrogance to proclaim that if you don't agree with their socialist agenda you are not a conservative!

My belief is that the concept of democracy always destroys freedom because the people cannot resist voting themselves free services. That is what our founders feared. However it has to be done slowly so that the "people" can rationalize that they are not being greedy. The only thing I see Obama doing is going too fast. If he slowed down, he could get enough of the American people to vote for his Marxist program that it would become the law of the land.

If that says that I am not betting on the “people”, it is only because there are many who are on Bob’s side who don't want to believe it can happen here. The problem is that it only takes a couple more who want socialism than want freedom to, over time, destroy what has always made America great. With the socialists in charge of our schools, I think we are very close to the tipping point that leads inevitably to socialist tyranny. Too many have been brainwashed with the Utopian dream to stop it.

Inner Banks Philosophy

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence.
You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.

- Abraham Lincoln

Inner Banks Humor - Politics

Obamanomics

The theory of trickle up Poverty.

Perrytown Volunteer Fire Department - Grand Opening BBQ

The Perrytown Volunteer Fire Department held their Grand Opening BBQ yesterday. It was a special event for this part of Bertie County.

The couple above came all the way from Texas, just North of Austin.









It was a great event. Hope you got to taste the BBQ and partake of the friendship.

Bertie County Board Of Commissioners Oppose Taxes For New High School

August 21, 2009 - For Immediate Release

On behalf of all five Bertie County Commissioners, we feel it necessary to respond to the unexpected action by the Bertie County Board of Education on Monday, August 17, requesting the County apply to borrow $25 million in QSCB (Qualified School Construction Bonds) for a new High School. According to our information, $87 million is available statewide in the current round of QSCB funding and based on our previous share of $1.23 million in the first round of funding, using the same formula our share would be less than $1 million. We believe the action by the Board of Education has raised unrealistic expectations and false hopes that Bertie County will be allocated $25 million, while all the other 95 eligible counties (the four largest counties receive their QSCB allocation directly from the Federal Government) will be left to fight over the other $62 million available.

On the previous Monday, August 10, Bertie County received Bond authority for $4 million in QZAB (Qualified Zone Academic Bonds) funds for high school renovations to be paid back over 15 years, and $1.23 million in QSCB (Qualified School Construction Bonds) funds for high school renovations and new construction to be paid back over 12 years. In July, at the time the commissioners approved the application for the $5.23 million stated above, the County Commissioners asked if we could afford the additional debt. The County Manager indicated that while the County has a strong fund balance in line with the Local Government Commission’s recommendations, and while the County might be able to absorb the additional debt service (3-4 cents on the tax rate) with an improved economy, the debt service on the new $5.23 million could require a small tax increase in FY 2010-11. Since that time, the General Assembly has passed a budget which the County anticipates will cost the County the equivalent of an additional 3 cents on the tax rate next year. While we hope the economy improves and revenues grow more than anticipated, at this time, our honest projections indicate that if the County were to borrow another $25 million to be paid back in 12 years, it would require approximately $2 million per year debt service, or the equivalent of a 20-cent tax increase.

This year, FY 2009-2010, Bertie County adopted an $18 million budget, which is about 7% less than the previous year’s budget. This budget included cutting 9 positions in county government. The budget in nearly every department in the county government was cut. In FY 2008-2009, the County, because of the reduction in revenues, particularly sales taxes, spent about $400,000.00 of our fund balance. In FY 2009-10, we again expect a further reduction in our fund balance. The only additional revenue source the County can generate is through an increase in property taxes.

The Commissioners have consistently shown their strong support for education, as evidenced by the 40% increase in School’s current expense funding over the last 4 years. This year alone, while the majority of counties cut or froze current expense funding, the Commissioners increased funding for the School’s current expense by 5%.

In recent years, the Commissioners have funded the renovations of all the elementary schools ($3.95 million in QZAB Bonds) and the building of a new $19 million middle school. The middle school debt repayment was to be paid in part with the new Lottery proceeds. In addition, just two years ago, the Commissioners borrowed $2 million dollars over 15 years in QZAB Bonds for renovations at Bertie High School, which will be repaid in full in 2022.

In July, the Commissioners agreed to apply for the $5.23 million in QZAB and QSCB funding as requested by the Board of Education to be used for renovations and new construction at Bertie High School. This was represented by the Board of Education as the first phase of a multi-phase project to make the old Bertie High School into a new Bertie High School. The multi-phase project was represented to the Commissioners as a project that eventually would replace or fully renovate all buildings on the entire campus. Despite the current economy and the fact that the Commissioners may need to increase taxes to fund the loan repayment, the Commissioners gave their support to the application for the $5.23 million in QZAB and QSCB loans. Since the QZAB funding will require a 15-year repayment term (until 2024), the commissioners wanted assurances and were told that the renovated Bertie High School, which included some new construction, would meet the needs of the system for the foreseeable future.

Since the Board of Education voted to apply for $25 million on August 17, no fewer than three members of the Board of Education have stated that they do not want to borrow the additional money if it requires a tax increase. Unfortunately, it would be impossible, in our opinion, based on all available information, to fund the debt repayment of $5.23 million, $25 million and the State’s new unfunded mandates without a tax increase of 20 cents or more. We believe that the Local Government Commission would not approve such a Bond issuance without a pledge in the application to raise the tax rate to fund the repayment. As much as the Commissioners support education, and support improvements in our facilities, we feel it would be devastating to our taxpaying citizens and to the future economic well-being of our county to become known as a county with one of the highest, if not the highest tax rate, in North Carolina. It is unrealistic to believe that we can add $2 million a year in expense, the debt service from the $5.23 million QZAB and QSCB bonds and the recent unfunded mandates from the State, without a tax increase of 20 cents or more.

We ask the Board of Education to take another look at the action taken on Monday, given the fiscal impact of its proposal. With the current state of the economy, the County’s borrowing capacity, the additional expense already created by the Commissioner’s commitment last month to borrow $5.23 million, new unfunded mandates recently put on the County by the General Assembly, and the current County shortfalls, the assumption of the additional debt created by borrowing another $25 million would be fiscally irresponsible. The creation of this debt would not be in the best interest of Bertie County citizens, and would require an unacceptable increase in the property taxes of the taxpayers of Bertie County. As we have in the past, we stand ready to work with the Board of Education to improve our school facilities in any fiscally responsible and prudent manner possible. Because of the burden that this additional debt would place on the taxpaying citizens of Bertie County, we have unanimously determined that we cannot support or sign the new QSCB application.

If you have any questions contact:
Norman M. Cherry, Sr. - Chairman
Bertie County Board of Commissioners

Perrytown Firemen Roll Out ‘Red Carpet’

by Calvin Bryant - August 21st, 2009 - Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald

Nearly a half-century after the founding of the Perrytown Volunteer Fire Department, the current band of hard-working and dedicated firefighters have moved into a brand new facility.

To help christen the building, the Perrytown firemen are hosting a fundraising meal tomorrow (Friday, Aug. 21). Pork barbecue/fried chicken plates (complete with potatoes, slaw and hushpuppies) will be served from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. and again from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the Perrytown Community Building. Plates, eat-in or take-out, are available for a $7 donation. Free delivery will be offered in surrounding towns, including Ahoskie, during the lunch hours.

“We’re very happy to be in our new building and we want to use the occasion to let others see how proud we are of the building,” said Perrytown VFD Chief Bud Lee. “Please come out and join us on Friday. We’ll serve-up a good meal and plenty of Perrytown hospitality.”

I'll be there. Hope you will too. This is a great way to support our community. Plus you might get your picture taken. I will be doing a large photo spread of everyone who is there which will be posted here on the Chowan River Patriot early tomorrow morning.

Inner Banks Philosophy

Thomas Sowell

The logic of their collectivist thinking -- and the actual practice in some other countries with government-controlled health care -- is that you cannot even pay for some medical treatments with your own money, if the powers that be decide that "society" cannot let its resources be used that way, or that it would not be "social justice" for some people to have medical treatments that others cannot get, just because some people "happen to have money."

The American people are not stupid and they see socialized medicine turning into tyranny, even if Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama and the Democrat Party cannot. That is why they are mad.

Inner Banks Humor - Politics

This is a list of the top ten major cities in America with the largest % of people below the poverty line.

City, State - % Poor
1. Detroit, MI - 32.5%
2. Buffalo, NY - 29.9%
3. Cincinnata, OH - 27.8%
4. Cleveland, OH - 27.0%
5. Miami, FL - 26.9%
5. St. Louis, MO - 26.8%
7. El Paso, TX - 26.4%
8. Milwaukee, WI - 26.2%
9. Philadelphia, PA - 25.1%
10. Newark, NJ - 24.2%

What do these cities all have in common? Democrat Mayors. Every one. Except for a single city that last had a Republican Mayor a little over 20 years ago, the rest have been exclusively Democrat for much longer. The average length of time since the last time these cities had a Republican Mayor? 74 YEARS. Average length of time. That means only the people 75 years old or greater were alive the last time there was a Republican Mayor. Yet every one of these Democrat Mayors complain bitterly about how all the problems in their city are the fault of Republicans. That includes the 4 cities where no one alive today has ever seen a Republican Mayor because they have had more than 100 years of Democrat rule.

It is ALWAYS the Republican's fault dont'cha know?

Inner Banks Humor - Politics

Let me get this straight.

Obama's health care plan will be written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn't read it, signed by a president who smokes, funded by a treasury chief who did not pay his taxes, overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that is nearly broke.

What possibly could go wrong?

A Conservative Viewpoint - God: Our Founding Father

Article by Bob Steinburg
- Edenton, North Carolina: Cradle of the Colony

It was Presidents’ Day 2001. My wife and I had planned a trip to Colonial Williamsburg over the holiday weekend. Instead of a wake up call at the Williamsburg Inn, I was awakened instead by an orderly in a Richmond, Va., hospital prepping me for open-heart surgery. My worst fear was less than 60 minutes away.

In 1976, my 53-year-old Dad was stricken with a fatal heart attack. I lost my best friend.

In 1996 at age 53, my older brother suffered a severe heart attack. He survived. Now, also age 53, I was facing my own serious cardiac issue. Doctors had informed me that my aorta was 90 percent blocked. Without immediate surgery, I would soon be dead.

Following the unexpected loss of my father, I had made a conscious decision to do everything possible to avoid his fate and that of my brother. I began a diet and exercise regimen and strictly adhered to it. The thought of a surgeon breaking open my chest to get at my heart was all the motivation I needed to stay the course. But, as with most things we fear, we’re often called to face them, ready or not.

Like most people of faith, I pray daily. Yet in 2001, I felt I was walking through the “valley of the shadow of death.” I could either “choose” to be terrified by the impending event or accept with peace and comfort His presence, and confidence in any outcome.

A strong faith in God was the primary building block the original colonists brought with them to settle America. These brave souls were uncertain what awaited them when they boarded those small, dank and creaky wooden vessels. All that separated these soon-to-be expatriates from their religious persecution and the freedom to worship as they pleased was a perilous journey fraught with anxiety that could only be tempered by a devout faith in God. He was the fulcrum of their existence and that of the nation that soon would evolve.

America has preserved freedom for over 230 years. We have a mighty army with extraordinary military intelligence-gathering capabilities and a national security infrastructure that is second to none.

However, powerful armies alone cannot keep a country safe or free. History is replete with examples of nations with military might who replaced God as the societal epicenter with a totalitarian government that dictates all aspects of political, economic, social and cultural life. Nazism, communism and fascism are three disastrous examples from the 20th Century. Will America follow a similar path? Some would suggest we’re well on our way.

The secular left seems hell- bent on driving God out of the nation’s public square. When average Americans find themselves having to battle their own government and courts to preserve God in the classroom, our nation’s Pledge of Allegiance and to maintain the words “In God we trust” on our currency, something is dreadfully wrong.

The very documents that bestow upon us our individual freedoms and liberties such as the Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution are looked upon by many of the liberal elite as artifacts from another time, with little relevance to an enlightened society. They feel God is a character in a mostly fictitious book that was used to help hold ignorant societies together in more primitive times. They deny how our nation grew to become the most powerful on earth. To contradict it happened without societal values and norms adopted by a Judeo-Christian culture, is to refute any semblance of rationale while ignoring historical reality.

What makes America different from other countries on earth is her resilience as a nation. We’re often stretched and bent by man-made and natural disasters but possess a remarkable ability to recover. When faced with peril and tumult that goes beyond human understanding, America drops to her knees first; not in submission to any event or adversary, but to pray to God for guidance, assurance and for the fortitude to sustain us.

In spite of God’s sustenance the instant gratification of the secular world is slowly eroding the foundations of our culture. It’s almost as if we’ve been there and done that, so it’s time to move on to bigger and better tomorrows. A society that has no place to turn but inward in times of trial and tribulation is doomed to fall victim to its own “success.”

To many, our nation appears in danger of losing its soul. I am one of them. Turning our backs on the very source of our existence by relying on man over God will not work. Fear will ultimately consume us as we move further and further away from the only true source of our sustenance.

As the operating room doors pushed open on the day of my surgery, I remember my sister-in-law telling me I had nothing to fear. One way or the other I would wake up; in the recovery room or in the arms of God. It’s that unconditional faith that has sustained me to this day; the same faith that has sustained our nation for 233 years. God has richly blessed America. May we never turn our back on Him.

I am always more comfortable around people who are Christians. And I believe with all my soul there is a God.

However organized religion has driven me out of a church. Until last year during the election campaign, I attended a church regularly that was the least sanctimonious I could find. Yet even there I had people come up to me and tell me how Mormons were evil and not fit to live. Even our pastor once preached a sermon explaining why Mormons were not Christians. I attended the Mormon Church for a while and my best friend is a Mormon, but telling anyone in the church I was attending why I thought this a sound basis for having some right to an opinion, did not get them to listen when I tried to politely disagree with them. I was simply reviled for being too stupid to understand why God had banned these Mormons from his grace. Even after they provided much of the funding to stop same sex marriage in California. Attacks against them were ignored by the same people who counted on them during the campaign. That is unfortunately typical of those who attend organized churches. They don't want to hear anything that conflicts with their self righteous opinions though they will pretend to when it suits them.

I sometimes try to understand what difference there is between the Atheist’s assumption that he knows better than I and that I have to adhere to his rules for when I can express my feelings about God, and the Christian's assumption that is essentially the same. Bob is not like that. He is a good man who will listen with an open mind. I can see his concern for rejecting God from our lives and agree that the people who want to do that hate much else about our nation that is good. I cannot accept their views. I believe with all my soul that there is a God and that our Constitution requires that everyone’s right to religious freedom, and that includes the right to publicly express that freedom, MUST be protected.

So why am I, like so many Independents who have left the Republican Party over this issue, as scared of Christian arrogance as I am scared of Atheist arrogance? Are we just idiots? Or have Christians earned our distrust?

Letter Read On Glen Beck Show

Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:

One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This isn't to be confused with legal immigration.

Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.

Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.

Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.

Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!

Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there.

Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.

Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why -- what do you have against shareholders making a profit?

Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.

Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band-Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.

Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try -- please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.

Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business s of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.

I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance.

With the willingness of Obama and his hate mongers on the left to use intimidation, it requires that this woman's identity not be shared. Why does the left think it is okay to intimidate average Americans who disagree with their totalitarian desire to change America?

College-Entrance Test Scores Flagging

by Robert Tomsho - August 19th, 2009 - Wall Street Jouornal

Only about a quarter of the 2009 high school graduates taking the ACT admissions test have the skills to succeed in college, according to a report on the exam that shows little improvement over results from the 2008 graduating class. The Iowa City, Iowa-based ACT said 23% of this year's high school graduates had scores that indicated they were ready for college in all four ACT subject areas, or had at least a 75% chance of earning a grade of C or better in entry-level courses.

[Snip]

Recent studies have shown that while younger students have made some progress in recent years, boosting results at the high school level has been difficult. A Department of Education report in April on the results from the National Assessment of Education Progress -- a key federal test -- found that U.S. high school students haven't made any significant progress in reading or math for nearly four decades.

Isn't it ironic that our ability to educate our youth collapsed just about the time that education was taken over by the liberal extremists who wanted to "reinvent" education with all their new ideas, each of which has failed. The truth is that improving education was never the goal. Brain washing students in left wing ideology was always the goal. That has succeeded. In the process our children were cheated of a decent education and denied the tools to think.

New Chrysler "Barackmobile 500"To Be Built In Mexico

Please look at this ugly little thing and explain to me again why Barack Obama is OUR President! Derived from the Fiat 500 this is the new car that Barack has determined will be the salvation of Chrysler.

Click here to see this new vehicle that will be built in Mexico to satisfy the dreams and aspirations of American consumers.

Is this really what the UAW had in mind when they got Barack Obama do give them our tax money to refinance their company?


ROTFL

Inner Banks Philosophy

Is Democracy a good thing? It has its detractors.

Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee 1747-1813 was a Scottish born British lawyer and writer. He wrote:

A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:

From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage.

This is the reason that Benjamin Franklin responded to a question upon leaving the Constitutional Convention, "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" Franklin replied, "A Republic, if you can keep it." Why is it that the election of Barack Obama fills me with the dread that Franklin knew we could not keep it. Our days of bondage are fast approaching.

Barack Obama On Our Military's Oligations

Bad press, including major mockery of the plan by comedian Jon Stewart, led to President Obama abandoning his proposal to require veterans carry private health insurance to cover the estimated $540 million annual cost to the federal government of treatment for injuries to military personnel received during their tours on active duty. The President admitted that he was puzzled by the magnitude of the Opposition to his proposal.

"Look, it's an all volunteer force," Obama supposedly complained. "Nobody made these guys go to war. They had to have known and accepted the Risks. Now they whine about bearing the costs of their choice?" "I thought these were people who were proud to sacrifice for their country, "Obama continued. "I wasn't asking for blood, just money. With the country facing the worst financial crisis in Its history, I'd have thought that the patriotic thing to do would be to try to help reduce the nation's deficit."


The question is whether Obama really said these things. They came out as quotes from military personnel who had meetings with Obama, but it would be career suicide and they would be subject to dishonorable discharge for them to authenticate the quotes. The Obama White House denies he said them. When I read this it made me think about the bumper sticker I saw last week. "How is that hopey changey thingey working out for you?"

The Gathering Storm

Barack Obama is, against much rhetoric proclaiming he supported the right to bear arms, dedicated to the tight control of guns. He is not concerned with the Second Amendment, because as he says, the Constitution should not be viewed as too rigid. Actually, you can't believe anything that he says because he will say the opposite later the same day.

A Conservative Viewpoint - Support For Health Bill Shrinking

Article by Bob Steinburg
- Edenton, North Carolina: Cradle of the Colony

The most important question about health care that American’s should be asking Congress is: what’s the dang hurry?

President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., wanted House members to vote on their health care reform bill before recessing in August. Now we know why. The more we learn, the less we like.

Polls show support for the House version of health care reform tanking. In a Quinnipiac University study last week, 57 percent wanted to see the entire idea of health care reform dropped if the cost added significantly to the nation’s deficit.

In a Rasmussen poll, 44 percent strongly opposed the health care reform plan, with 26 percent favoring it. Particularly troubling to Democrats should be the 62 percent of unaffiliated voters adverse to this plan and big government.

National Public Radio found likely voters disapproving of Obamacare 47-42 percent with 39 percent strongly opposed.

In spite of shrinking support, the Democratic National Committee remains in denial, irrationally claiming that vocal protestors showing up at town hall meetings, seeking answers and getting few, are nothing more than angry mobs incited by the conservative right. They say these “mobs” are being bused in by well organized groups whose only interest is in preserving the status quo.

National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Ken Spain said: “What Democrats call ‘mob rule’ the average American calls democracy.” Spain went on to say, “These kinds of despicable characterizations of middle class Americans, who oppose trillions in mounting government debt, as elements of a partisan ‘fringe,’ smacks of elitism.”


So what’s bringing these “angry mobs” out in such large numbers? Is it that folks are losing faith in many of their elected representatives? Do they resent the arrogance being exhibited by a government wanting to jam legislation down our throats in spite of elected representatives neither reading nor fully understanding the specifics?

Last week Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., told a packed town hall meeting in Pennsylvania that he and others … “have to make judgments really fast…we split the bill up in order to read it.” If Specter sought to reassure voters about health care reform, he failed.

In New Hampshire, Obama tried to make the case that a public option would not harm or eliminate private insurance. So he decided to contrast the success of UPS and FedEx with the U. S. Postal Service. Obama said the two private carriers are doing fine. “It’s the Post Office that’s always having problems.” It’s our taxpayer money that subsidizes the troubled mail handler. No wonder most are opposed to government playing a larger role in health care; it’s never efficient. Remember, government doesn’t have to turn a profit to stay in business; they just raise taxes.

Democrats tell us we need to act now because there are 45 million uninsured. Who are they?

The U.S. Census Bureau reports 14 million or nearly one third of the “uninsured” are currently eligible for programs like Medicaid and S-Chip but have chosen not to enroll.

They report 17 million live in households with annual incomes of at least $50,000. Nine million of those make over $75,000 annually. It’s reasonable to assume most could purchase some sort of health insurance if they chose to.

The government figures also include 12 million illegal aliens who do not purchase health insurance. They do however have access to medical care through hospital emergency rooms or county health facilities. Medical personnel are prohibited by law from asking them about their citizenship status.
The government says if illegal aliens knew they would be asked, they’d be afraid to seek medical attention. That’s a great humanitarian argument, but what does it say about the seriousness of government controlling our borders?

This leaves about eight million or just under three percent of our nation’s total population of 307 million without the apparent means to secure health insurance coverage.

It’s also estimated that 16 million may be underinsured. These folks often struggle to make premium payments and their coverage can be limited.

So what do we do to bring down the cost of health care for all without surrendering to a government takeover? First and foremost, we need to slow down.

Any reform should start with making insurance more affordable. One way to do that is to increase competition among insurance companies across state lines; open it up to everybody.

Another way to bring down costs is to have individual states stop mandating specific coverage, adding on benefits for this, that and the other thing that aren’t applicable for everyone or everywhere. This practice drives up the cost of insurance for all of us. Consumers need to be able to contrast and compare many different products, from a multitude of companies, choosing the product that’s just right for them. One size never fits all, and that includes insurance.

We need tort reform. Democrats, in bed with trial lawyers, are reluctant. They’d rather throw us to the curb with a health care plan that will do little to contain runaway costs, rather than anger those that fill their troughs with campaign money. Without tort reform, lawyers will continue playing the “Mega-millions liability lottery,” further escalating the cost of insurance-public or private.

Another issue is the looming physician shortage. Where will we get the doctors for tens of millions of new patients? You may have an insurance paper from the government, but you won’t be able to get an appointment or get into a hospital and get a doctor to care for you.

Restructuring our health care system is too important to rush it. Everyone needs to be involved in the process. Anything less is unacceptable.

Everything Bob suggested will help. Bob got most of the issues addressed accurately. However he did not confront the one real problem with health care that needs to be dealt with honestly, but isn't. The key problem is the issue of how money is spent because of the concentration of health problems among a very small percentage of the population. True a large percentage of us get sick on occasion. However the reality is over the long haul 5% of the population consumes 50% of the health care dollars. They are the chronically ill with serious health conditions, or people in their last year of life. They truly are composed of two different groups but they have a high overlap. Those who have always been chronically ill have a tendency to consume most of the health dollars in the last year too. You cannot change the fact that this 5% is really the problem which we are all paying for.

“That can’t be right” you might say. But it is true. And we know who that 5% are. Right now we are, through “redistribution of wealth” using both government programs and insurance, spreading their costs so everyone pays primarily for the 5%. It is difficult to resolve this issue when so many healthy people, especially the young, don’t see why they should have their wealth redistributed to this small group. Because most people will at some point have some health problems - we ignore the concentration of dollars on this small group and pretend the money is being proportioned equally. It isn't but no one is allowed to ask "Is this fair?" That thought is politically incorrect.

Inner Banks Humor - He's The One

This is a great song about the leader who wants a single payer health care system.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ_tAe87ELo

Click and enjoy.

Democrat Hypocrit Of The Year

Honest to God there are times when hypocrits just cannot see how stupid they look. Congressman Eugene Green, Democrat from Texas, is adamantly opposed to requiring photo IDs for people to vote in our elections. However he has just implemented a new rule to get in to his own town hall meetings.

You guessed it! He is requiring photo IDs that show your home address or you will be denied entry.

Don't you just love it when hypocrits actually volunteer to look stupid?

Thank you Congressman Green! ROTFL

Inner Banks Humor - Politics

Warning From Pakistan

This morning, from a cave somewhere in Pakistan, Taliban Minister of Migration Mohammed Omar warned the United States that if military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan continue, Taliban authorities intend to cut off America's supply of Convenience Store Managers and possibly Motel 6 Managers.

And if this action does not yield sufficient results, Cab Drivers will be next, followed by DELL and AOL Customer Service Reps.

Finally, if all else fails, they have threatened to send us no more candidates for President of the United States!

Inner Banks Humor - Health Care

Tabacco Smoke Enema
(Honest - this truly was a medical instrument in earlier days!)

The tobacco enema was sold as a miracle cure by what are normally described as snake oil salesmen. The device would infuse tobacco smoke into a patient's rectum for various exaggerated medical claims, including resuscitation of drowning victims. It never worked and soon became known as a useless exercise, leading to the popular expression "he's blowing smoke up your ass".

Doesn't this remind you of Obama-care?

A Conservative Viewpoint - Butterfield Exits Early From Health Forum

Article by Bob Steinburg
- Edenton, North Carolina: Cradle of the Colony

U.S. Rep. G. K. Butterfield, D-N.C. was in Williamston last week. The Martin County Chamber of Commerce had invited the congressman to lead a round table forum on how the Democrats’ proposed health care bill would impact small business owners and their employees. The event was scheduled to last two hours.

I was among the standing room only audience. Upon registering, attendees were asked to write down questions we’d like the congressman to try and answer. We soon learned only questions Butterfield’s staff approved, had any chance of being addressed.

President Barack Obama and most of the elected and appointed Democrats in Washington today often appear to be mere thespians on a political stage, reading lines from Teleprompters or cue-cards and answering only those questions they choose. An all-too-often compliant mainstream media, some of whom are in residence at the Obama White House, adoringly comply, often losing any sense of objectivity.

The August recess from Congress was to create opportunities for representatives communicate with the people in their districts about two hugely controversial issues: the Climate Change bill (Cap and Trade) and the current proposed sweeping Health Care Reform bill. All this has managed to awaken an electorate trying to enjoy remnants of a summer vacation.

In North Carolina, as elsewhere, many Republicans have understandably been reticent to hold town hall meetings on either issue. Most opposed the climate bill and all Republicans oppose the Democrat’s prescription for altering the fundamentals of health care in America. Republicans agree the system needs reform, but not the frontal lobotomy Democrats have scheduled after congress reconvenes.

Congressional Democrats shouldn’t have the luxury of a relaxing holiday. Health care and the climate bill are, after all, their legislative initiatives, and the folks would like to learn more. What they’ve heard so far is making many angry. If these representatives were expecting a warm homecoming this August, they’re getting anything but.

Butterfield is a pleasant man, who comes across as somewhat shy and unassuming. I’d met him before. He is short, has a warm smile and a firm handshake.

Once the congressman arrived, I commented to a writer covering this event that Butterfield appeared unusually nervous as he turned his head to scan the packed room. He had good reason. When introduced he was greeted by deafening silence. Things only slid down hill from there.

In his opening remarks, Butterfield admitted that his congressional district is the fourth poorest in the nation, with the highest unemployment in the state and a poverty level approaching 25 percent.

He blamed former President George W. Bush for most of the nation’s current woes, taking a page right out of the Obama playbook. It would seem that sooner or later this administration and the Democrats in Congress better start taking responsibility for their own actions. Health care and the climate bill are two examples.

The blame-Bush gig was a great campaign tactic, but if polls are any indication, this jargon is wearing thin. Voters want results- not a continuation of the blame game. According to a recent Rasmussen Poll, Republicans are now favored by 5 points on the generic ballot, and are favored over Democrats on eight of 10 of the nation’s most important issues confronting voters, including the economy.

Butterfield attempted to explain the intricacies of the health care bill, no easy task, picking up a bound copy in his left hand. Someone yelled out, “Have you read it all?” He smiled and said he had not but that he was familiar with most of the 1,018 pages. He said his aides have combed through it and can provide many of the details when called upon to do so. The audience reacted negatively. In the first five minutes of his talk, Butterfield was booed twice.

Several times a member from the chamber had to rise and remind the audience to be respectful. Rather than disrespect, what I observed was an abundance of frustration with Washington that needed to be vented.

Even though the question period had not officially opened, the audience, growing weary of spin, began blurting them out. Perhaps they feared time would run out. Their fears were soon realized.

About 40 minutes into Butterfield’s remarks, a Martin County businessman rose and said out loud he’d heard enough and was leaving. He was followed minutes later by two women who appeared equally frustrated.

Suddenly two Martin County Deputies entered the room and stood at the front. Perhaps the chamber or Butterfield felt threatened by what I viewed as a vigorous exercise in freedom of speech. Interestingly, I asked one of the deputies afterwards why he was asked to enter and stand at the front. He replied, “I really don’t know. All I saw and heard were people exercising their first amendment rights to free speech and assembly. I just did what I was told.”

Did what I was told. It seems that’s what our government wants--just do what we are told. Well a free government is one that values and encourages dissent and debate. There was little of that on this day.

Shortly after an hour of this scheduled two hour event, it was announced that Butterfield had to leave because something had just come up. Yet 20 minutes later Butterfield was still in the room talking to the press and a few supporters. So much for addressing constituents’ questions and providing the answers they so desperately sought and deserve. If this was democracy in action, this country is in bigger trouble than I thought.

I agree. See my further thoughts on this same meeting (pictures included) at the article below, Butterfield Spoke ...

Inner Banks Humor - Politics

Know Your Town Hall Mob Agitators!

by Iowahawk

By Linda Douglass
Deputy Assistant Under-Minister of Truth
White House Health Care Task Force

Greetings citizen! By now you may have heard scattered rumors of state and party officials encountering reactionary resistors at local health care reform information programs. Do not be alarmed, for our 5-year plan for citizen health proceeds without delay. Remain stalwart! The truth can be told at last, that these so-called “protests” are merely the desperate rear flank mob actions of dead-end bandits and saboteurs in the pay of enemy insurance agents.

This is my kind of humor. Iowahawk has written some of the best satire of the year!

Inner Banks Humor - Politics

"I don't want the folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking. I want them to get out of the way..." - Barack Obama

"...we will punch back twice as hard." - White House deputy chief of staff Jim Messina

With these comments fresh in the news, Obama created a special web site so that Democrats could turn in Republicans who dare to disagree, and SEIU thugs beat up a black conservative in St. Louis to make sure the intimidation stuck.

Barack Obama, though billed as a uniter, is actually the most intollerant, partisan and divisive President in the history of America.

Sergeant First Class John C. Beale

This video is simply awesome.

Killed in action the week before, the body of Sergeant First Class John C. Beale was returned to Falcon Field in Peachtree City, Georgia, just south of Atlanta, on June 11, 2009. The Henry County Police Department escorted the procession to the funeral home in McDonough, Georgia . A simple notice in local papers indicated the road route to be taken and the approximate time. The link below is a short travelogue of that day's remarkable and painful journey.

Watch this if you wish to have your faith in America restored.

http://blip.tv/play/AYGJ5h6YgmE
Click on link for an incredible feeling. It is long but I recommend you watch it all. It is a Hero's salute.

Click here for a picture of Sergeant First Class John C. Beale posted on Honor the Fallen.


Personal Comments: Though born in North Carolina, sometime after I left Aulander we moved to a farm in Henry County. I attended Fairview Elementary School where we competed in football against the McDonough Elementary School in the community Sgt. Beale is from. I remember that Stockbridge Elementary was the best team in the Henry County league back then. My younger brother was the quarterback and my older brother was the center and a linebacker for Fairview.

Falcon Field was one of the local airports that my father, a flight instructor, gave lessons at.

My parents decided after a couple of years to put us in DeKalb County Schools for one year to see if they were better. The road we drove on every day to school was the two lane road that shows up for a while in this video, where it says "Entering Henry County".

That is not why this video brought me to tears though. It is remembering the great number of Americans who are willing to risk everything to keep us a free nation. God bless Sergeant First Class John C. Beale and all our volunteeer soldiers.

G.K. Butterfield Spoke To Small Business Owners At Williamston Chamber

Today's meeting in Williamston was supposed to be a round table discussion, yet it came much closer to the Town Hall type meeting that Representative Butterfield has been avoiding. The crowd that showed up was more than the sponsoring Chamber had expected. By the time Butterfield started to speak, every chair was filled and the overflow lined the back of the room two and three people deep. Even though they collected questions in writing so Butterfield could select which ones to answer, the crowd did not keep quiet.


Registration desk and question collection stations were in the hallway.

Amazingly, the first thing our Representative Butterfield said was how much we should appreciate him being there, since "it is difficult to have a tough six month session in congress and keep working when you come home".


Almost full and the crowd kept coming.

The next point he made was to emphasize the Democrat contention that Iraq is not a part of the war on terror. He did concede that Afghanistan is a part of that war, but he seemed disinterested in winning either the war in Iraq or the war in Afghanistan, but merely getting out of both as soon as possible.

He accomplished a couple of things in his early comments that I doubt he planned. Those two things were to be booed twice within the first five minutes. It sort of set the mood for the event.


Democrat Whip G.K. Butterfield before he cut the meeting short.

During his comments Butterfield claimed that there were 3 things that the Democrat congress felt were priorities. Fix education in America. He never said how. Fix the energy problem. Again he never said how or even gave specifics of what he saw the energy problem as being. And finally Health Care Reform. As he explained the Democrat goals in regards to Health Care Reform he was booed again when he insisted that the 47 million uninsured in America "did not include any illegal aliens". Most recognize that is standard Democrat spin and false.

Butterfield however was adamant that the Democrats would "never fund health care for illegal aliens", though from the reaction I don't think he ever got the majority of the crowd to believe him.

He was equally adamant that the only reason we had a Health Care problem was due to the two scapegoats which he mentioned constantly, the rich and the insurance companies. It was all their fault. The rich by the way include anyone who grosses more than $250,000 a year. A farmer who grosses that much will be lucky to make $50,000 net to support his family after he pays his expenses. That is rich?

He also got his first big laugh of ridicule when he insisted that the Democrats would never allow Health Care Reform to increase the deficit. From that point on the crowd reaction was mostly one of ridicule and they did not bother to boo any longer, just laugh. They were not laughing with Butterfield.

My biggest frustration was in response to Butterfield's out dated claim that "CO2 is bad stuff" and a greenhouse gas. He repeated the old lie about "90% of scientists agree". When confronted he was totally ignorant of the 33,000 Scientists-PHd's who have signed a petition denying this. CO2 is NOT a greenhouse gas. That reality makes the entire Cap-and-Tax scheme a fraud.

The meeting was repeatedly interrupted by a representative from the Williamston Chamber that was sponsoring the event with a request to please be more respectful to Representative Butterfield. And then half way through the event, the Chamber representative announced that the event was being terminated. It had been planned to last from 2:00 PM until 4:00 PM. It was exactly 3:00 PM when they started shutting down and asking people to leave.

The excuse given for the early termination was that Representative Butterfield had another event he had to attend, yet 30 minutes later he was still hob nobbing with local Democrats and had not started to leave. He did not seem to be in near as much of a hurry to leave as he had been to stop answering questions from the hostile crowd.

Inner Banks Humor - Politics

Too Poor to Pay

Recently, high-profile visitors to the White House, including senior corporate executives, have found themselves paying for their own meals when sitting down with President Barack Obama, something unheard of in previous White Houses, according to former aides to President George W. Bush and President Bill Clinton.

It turns out that the fiscally incompetent Obama regime has wasted so much money feeding the press and providing parties for their supporters they have already exhausted their food budget. Yep. Six months in and they are so far over budget they have had to make the White House kitchen a profit center and start charging guests for their food to make it through the year. If you get an invitation to the White House just remember... as a U.S. Citizen and not a government bureaucrat or member of the press, you have to pay for your own meal. For the first time in history! Obama promised his would be an historical Presidency. Is this what he meant?

Inner Banks Humor - Politics

Obama is the joker.


Who done it? Obama is the real "agent of chaos"!

This poster is showing up in numerous places, starting in Los Angeles... yet no one knows who is behind the campaign. It seems to be going "viral" (as they call it on the Internet) as I have received two emails with the picture already.

Inner Banks Humor - Politics

This is a perfect metaphor for Obama Health Care and its supporters. Obama in his arrogance strides ahead leaving his friend to be cared for by the man both have reviled as a racist.

A Conservative Viewpoint - Bad Medicine For Seniors

Article by Bob Steinburg
- Edenton, North Carolina: Cradle of the Colony

On a rainy day last week I read the entire 1018 pages detailing the House Democrat’s Health Care Reform Bill. Any House member who supports this bill should be “rode out of town on a rail.” It’s an unmitigated disaster, especially for seniors and the disabled.

The best snake oil salesman in the world would have a rough time selling this “Witch’s Brew.” But the master orator himself, President Barack Obama, is on the hustings trying to do just that. Singing, “Just a spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down,” won’t be enough to save this bill once folks learn what’s in it.

Last September Obama told Americans, “You’ll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves.” It’s a lie. The U. S. Office of Personnel Management has said Congress enjoys the broadest selection of health care benefits in the country. The government’s version of insurance for the rest of us is a penny-pinching plan with rigid controls and strict oversight.

I’m for saving money, but not at the expense of me or my loved ones being denied health care we need. I don’t want every trip to the doctor to be the equivalent of standing in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles and then wait for a government bureaucrat to authorize what my doctor prescribes for me. No thanks.

The new heath care plan will cost taxpayers up to an estimated $1.6 trillion and will be paid for in part by cutting Medicare benefits to the elderly and disabled by $500 billion. Democrats point to spiraling Medicare costs and the need to contain them. They’re right. But victimizing the oldest, weakest and feeblest among us is not the answer.

Medicare has been assisting seniors and the disabled since 1965. They’ve helped them remain independent rather than sent off to die in what, as kids, we called the “Old folks home.” Apparently the elites running our government today feel it is high time to return to those good old pre-Medicare days.

Last week Betsy McCaughey, chairperson of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths and a former lieutenant governor of New York wrote an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal, “Government Care’s Assault on Seniors.” She cites parts of the Democrat’s $825 billion stimulus package that passed earlier this year as the precursor for what’s buried in this massive bad health care legislation.

The stimulus bill contained language that revealed government was embarking on its own version of “elder eugenics” by providing significant funding for “comparative effectiveness research;” a term used to describe a study of ways to limit care based on a patient’s age. McCaughey said this formula was used in Britain to deny treatments for older patients who have fewer years to benefit from care than younger patients.

Rep. Charles Boustany Jr., (R., La.), a heart surgeon, cried out that this research would lead to “denying seniors and the disabled lifesaving care!” Along with Sen. Jon Kyl, (R., Ariz.), they proposed amendments to bar the federal government from using this research as a basis for eliminating treatments for the elderly, or denying care based on age. A majority of Democrats said no. The amendments failed.

Froma Harrop, a liberal scribe, refers to McCaughey as the Sara Palin of health care. In a recent column she chided Palin along with Republicans like Boustany and Kyl for scaring the elderly (a tactic she and the Democrats should be familiar with) into believing they will be forced to end their lives prematurely. Under the new bill, she suggests patients will at least be given a choice.

Let’s face it. This bill isn’t about choice. It’s about money. Harrop’s comments made that exceedingly clear when she wrote, “Is it in your interests to kill reform that would control some of the programs enormous waste and would guarantee health care security for younger workers?” My answer to her would be in the form of another question: “At the expense of who?”

If this health bill is passed, physicians may soon be forced to look beyond the needs of their patients. Instead they will be compelled to comply with the left’s vision of social justice; sacrificing one segment of society for another - all for the good of the state. To me that sounds eerily reminiscent of a period in world history where the Nazi Party of Germany judged individual groups as worthy or not.

Everyone recognizes health care spending needs to be reined in. But this bill is not the way to do it. Tort reform that would reduce excessive jury awards for medical law suits is one option Republicans embrace, but catches no traction with Democrats. Tort reform also lowers the crippling costs of malpractice insurance physicians pass on to their patients.

The goal of any health care reform is creating access for the uninsured. Dr. Ada Fisher, a physician and National Republican Committeewoman from North Carolina suggests the federal government give each of the 3077 U. S. counties up to $10 million to establish or supplement the respective county health departments, basing the specific amount allocated on population. If each received the full amount, the government would spend just over $30.7 billion. That’s a far cry from the $1.6 trillion they are getting ready to spend… and millions of uninsured would have immediate entrée to health care.

These and other options need to be explored further before Congress commits us to a health care system most will come to regret. This issue is too important for “We the people” to allow Congress screw it up.

Excellent article. The reality is Obama does not care about the elderly or any other group in our nation. He only cares about their votes. He, and the Democrats, will say anything they have to say to get this government power over our lives. For that is what this is about. Power for bureaucrats. If you doubt that all you need to note is that the only jobs created since the Obama regime took over are bureaucrat jobs. Giving them this power will destroy the greatest health care system on earth.

Americans For Posperity Rally Against Obamacare

There used to be a certainty that if you got several hundred people together to rally over an issue it would be covered by the press. Of course that was before the press had become a fifth column for the Magic Marxist Messiah. When the people rally against the press and their favorite Marxist, you get no coverage at all... or you are reviled as an "angry mob."