Funny money

On Monday, Yumi and I took Robin to her regular appointment with a child psychologist in Taylorsville. When the appointment was nearly over, the topic of health insurance came up. Our doctor, whom I surmised to be a California liberal based on our past visits, was roused out of his lethargic boredom from a string of what I supposed were boring appointments. Here is the gist of our conversation.

Doctor: Many of the nation's health care problems would be solved by a national health insurance program.
Alan: I am not against such a program as long as we can pay for it.
Doctor: It's all funny money in Washingtion anyway, so why not do it?
Alan: Our national debt is already at astronomical heights and ...
Doctor: Well, it was the Republicans who got us into this mess and we have to work through it.
(Alan thinks: It's always the other guys fault. No matter that the Democrats ran congress and added to the debt for 40 straight years, then two years before the current situation, and currently continue that legacy.)
Doctor: Just cut spending across the board by 50%, and let everyone get by on less, just like we do with our personal finances.
Alan: I can see the advantage of that.
Doctor: Yeah, right, well anyway, Next!

The doctor, seeing the contradiction of these two astounding statements, ended the appointment. What I derived from this conversation is what I have always thought about far left liberals. It's always pie-in-the-sky stuff without a lick of reality. Funny money, indeed. If it were that easy we would have been running the money printing presses 24/7 for centuries now. And as for the government getting by on 50% less, do I really need to delve into the possibility of that?

First rate health care for the elite, second rate for the masses

Congress and Obama are rushing through a health insurance bill that will force everyone into the same plan. Well, not everyone, since public employees and those on public pensions may not be required to participate in the public option (what a misnomer that is!). Congress, Obama, and government worker unions have no intention of relying on second rate socialized medicine, which is being designed for those who are without influence in the Democratic Party. Last night, Barack Obama, during the ABC News infomercial, refused to commit to treating his own family under the "public option," insisting that he "always wants them to get the very best care." That statement tells me everything I need to know about the health care bill. Since Barack is special, he gets to write his own exception into law along with Democrats in Congress.

Update:
Another suggestion by President Obama was also revealing. He suggested at a town hall event Wednesday night that one way to shave medical costs is to stop expensive and ultimately futile procedures performed on people who are about to die and don't stand to gain from the extra care. Obama said families need better information so they don't unthinkingly approve "additional tests or additional drugs that the evidence shows is not necessarily going to improve care." He also added: "Maybe you're better off not having the surgery, but taking the painkiller." So who is going to decide that? Government, of course! A bureaucrat will be sitting in his/her office and see the request for a procedure. This bureaucrat will then open a big thick tome of rules and regulations and make a decision based on criteria set for in the big thick volume. Nope! That patient does not qualify. He/she is one year past the highest allowable age for such procedures. Request denied!
One may ask, "how is that different that current circumstances?"
The answer is "none," of course, so why do we need to speed bazillions for no improvement?
The exception is that the bureaucrat is currently an insurance company that can be sued, whereas the bureaucrat probably cannot be sued.

Obama does not understand Iranian protests

It is becoming apparent to me that Obama and his advisers don't understand what is really happening in Iran. The protests are not just about the election, they are about liberty and getting out from under the heavy foot of the Mullahs. Iran is a mere distraction to Obama who is focused on transforming America into who knows what. Obama should make a strong statement in support of the protesters who are looking for freedom and valid elections. Obama's faith in words and dialogue is greatly misplaced in this case. The Mullahs will not be talked out of power or talked out of nuclear arms. The best chance for solving the situation in favor of freedom may be slowly slipping away.

The Walpin Firing

The controversy concerning the firing of Inspector General Walpin is beginning to pick up some steam. Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill authored legislation in 2008 requiring a President to give Congress 30 days' notice of a proposed firing of an Inspector General, and the cause for such a firing. Barack Obama co-sponsored the bill, but amazingly (or not) he has now broken the very law he co-sponsored by firing Inspector General Gerald Walpin. The law was original intended to keep the Bush administration from firing people who were acting in a manner inconvenient for the administration, but now B. Obama has put is own foot in the very trap set for the Bush Administration. Neverthess, I think he will not suffer much from this episode. The media is not interested in harming Obama and will consequently sweep the matter under the rug.
Overall, Obama continues to disappoint group after group who supported him. He has a several more to go, but he still has plenty of time for that. One group he has coddled is the UAW, on whom he bestowed 55% ownership of GM.

Czarist USA

The practice of naming a powerful White House aide a "czar" has been around since President Reagan named a drug czar in 1982 to help stop illegal drug trafficking. I don't know exactly which presidents have named which czars, but I am fairly certain no president has named as many as Barack Obama. Somehow, it gives me a very uneasy feeling to have so many mini-dictators governing this and that in our democracy.

Here is a list of czar named by Pres. Obama.
Regulation Czar: Cass Sunstein
Weapons Czar: Ashton Carter
Green Czar: Van Jones
Climate Czar: Carol Browner
Autoworker Czar: Ed Montgomery
Border Czar - Former Federal Prosecutor: Alan Bersin
Car Czar: Steven Ratner
Energy and Environment Czar: Carol Browner
Health Czar: Nancy-Ann DeParle
Urban Affairs Czar: Adolfo Carrion Jr.
Economic Czar: Paul A. Volcker
Government Performance Czar: unnamed
Great Lakes Czar: Cameron Davis
Executive Pay Czar: Kenneth Feinberg
Cyber Security Czar: Rod A. Beckstrom
Federal Technology Czar: yet to be named but very likely coming soon.

We Missed The Second Coming!

We Christians must have missed the Second Coming. Newsweek report Evan Thomas reports on Hardball that He is already here.

THOMAS: ... Obama is 'we are above that now.' We're not just parochial, we're not just chauvinistic, we're not just provincial. We stand for something - I mean in a way Obama's standing above the country, above - above the world, he's sort of God. He's-

MATTHEWS: Yeah.

THOMAS: He's going to bring all different sides together.

As Grandma Haacke used to say, "Good Lordy!"
When one is wandering around in left field looking up at Obama in the sky, one is bound to get beaned on the head with a fly ball. Maybe then Thomas will wake from his trance.

Kudos to Obama for

slapping Brokaw up the side of the head.

Brokaw: What can the Israelis learn from your visit to Buchenwald? And what should they be thinking about their treatment of Palestinians?

Obama: Well, look, there's no equivalency here.

Finally, a politician who does not automatically accept the premise of the question.

King Abdullah grows 12 inches

King Abdullah amazingly grew 12 inches in just a few short months.
Short people around the world are wondering how he achieved such a feat at his age.
When Pres. Obama bowed to King Abdullah at their previous meeting, the White House explained that Obama was attempting to accommodate the King's short stature. In yesterday's meeting, Obama did not bow because the King is now of sufficient stature to obviate bowing.

I do believe that Obama tries too hard...

I do believe that President Obama tries too hard to find common ground and to be liked by everyone. This leads him to make silly statements.

President Obama stated that the U.S. could be considered one of the largest Muslim countries in the world, but our Muslim population is actually quite low. For example, Noah Pollak lists dozens of countries with higher Muslim population than the U.S.

At least he doesn't invent new words like President Bush did, he just invents new 'facts.'