MaxRedline

65 Years Since Last Doctor Visit

Very understandable, since Yitzhak Ganon's last experience with modern medicine involved visits with Dr. Josef Mengele.  Chilling.

For The Times, They Are A-Changin'

38% of voters now favor the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. Nearly 20% more than that oppose it, and BO's numbers are keeping up with the free-fall.  That whole Hope'n'Change thing sure had a short shelf-life.

Things are dire when even left-oriented folks like those over at Saturday Night Live start kicking BO around.  Unimagineable a year ago.

YES! We're #10!

Clean, Green, Sustainable Portland is ranked in the number 10 slot on Forbes' list of the most toxic cities in America.  Go by streetcar!

BO's Ears Must Be Ringing

With thousands of folks shouting "Kill The Bill" (and no, they weren't talking about former President Clinton) - the area must have been pretty loud.  Of course, this isn't about BO: he can't propose legislation; he can only sign it.  And sign he will, if the opportunity arises.  Never mind that Pelosi's grand health care plancontains many gross discrepancies and may even be unconstitutional - that little scrap of paper is just a minor annoyance to really smart people.  Buried in the bill is the hallmark of socialized medicine: the waiting list.

H.R. 3962, the Democrats’ health insurance reform bill, to be voted on this week by Congress, contains a provision to establish waiting lists as a mechanism to control costs.

Such waiting lists have long been a characteristic – and a bane – of socialized medicine.



Indeed, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled them illegal in June 2005.

"Access to a waiting list is not access to health care," wrote Canada’s Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin at the time.

Oh, piffle!  What do Canadians know about government-run health care anyway?  So sniffs Nancy, as she lashes out any any who dare to oppose her wishes.  But a growing number of Dem Representatives are entertaining some serious second thoughts, in light of the recent elections. 

Election Day losses in Virginia and New Jersey have congressional Democrats focused like never before on jobs---their own.

While the White House and party leaders are urging calm, Democratic incumbents from red states and Republican-leaning districts are anything but; Tuesday's statehouse defeats have left them acutely aware that their votes on health care reform and other major Obama initiatives could be career-enders in 2010 or beyond.

The Worst Bill Ever

That's how The Wall Street Journal describes the 1,990-page "health bill" that Nanny Pelosi unveiled last week.  If anything, WSJ sugar-coated it.  Among the many "features" of the bill are some which are likely unconstitutional, such as the requirement that individuals purchase health insurance or face heavy penalties. 

Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, who has served in the Senate for 33 years and is a longtime member of the Judiciary Committee, told CNSNews.com that he does not believe the Democrats’ health-care reform plan is constitutionally justifiable, noting that if the federal government can force Americans to buy health insurance “then there is literally nothing the federal government can’t force us to do.”

This is roughly akin to the feds suddenly deciding that because milk has vitamins and minerals and is therefore "good for you", then everybody should be required to purchase milk.  You may, for reasons of your own, prefer not to buy it.  Your preferences, however, no longer matter, because milk purchase is now a requirement.  You will buy it, or suffer the consequences for your failure to comply.

If you want to drive, most states require that you pass a test, register and license the vehicle, and purchase insurance, correct?

Actually, no.  Most states require that you either purchase vehicle insurance or demonstrate that you possess sufficient financial resources to render such purchase unnecessary.  The states don't require you to purchase insurance or to provide similar assurance unless you choose to drive on public roadways.

If you have a large ranch, for example, and if you drive only on that ranch, you are not required to pass a test, to pay registration and license fees, nor to purchase insurance in order to drive a vehicle (on your own property).  What democrats hope to ram through is entirely different: it is an attempt to impose a federal requirement that you purchase a specific product, and this is far outside the purview of government in the USA.  Or, it has been - until now.

This is but one of several egregious attempts during the past month - all at the hands of democrats - to permanently degrade your freedom.

Democrats during the past month placed an amendment on a defense appropriations bill to make speech against homosexual conduct a thought crime.  The President joined with Egypt to sponsor a U.N. resolution that would ban speech that "defames religion" (though presumably exemptions were inserted into the language so that Jews and Christians can continue to have their beliefs urinated upon).

BO campaigned (his only real accomplishment to date) on a message of "hope and change".  That was the message - but it was likely only because the fawning media had dyslexic issues.  The real message was likely "dope and change". 

Pip Pip And All That

Across the pond, calls for sleep education are emanating from boffins who believe that children should be taught the importance of a good night's sleep in school.  Presumably, this would not involve having children actually sleep in school, but on the other hand, such a course would be unsurprising at this point.

Literacy in the sciences, the arts, and language have long since taken a back-seat to indoctrination.  It makes things ever so much easier.

Of course, here in the USA, we've adopted much of the European model, and achieved similar results.  By replacing education with vegetation, we have managed to produce a couple of generations' worth of inDUHviduals  who completely buy into claims such as these:

-"I'm very pleased that (Democratic leaders) will be talking, too, about the immoral profits being made by the insurance industry and how those profits have increased in the Bush years." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who also welcomed the attention being drawn to insurers' "obscene profits."

-"Keeping the status quo may be what the insurance industry wants their premiums have more than doubled in the last decade and their profits have skyrocketed." Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, member of the Democratic leadership.

-"Health insurance companies are willing to let the bodies pile up as long as their profits are safe." A MoveOn.org ad.

Because they are uneducated (though they may hold high school diplomas and college degrees), it never occurs to most voters today to compare the statements above with facts such as the following:

Health insurers posted a 2.2 percent profit margin last year.

The railroads brought in a 12.6 percent profit margin. Leading the list: network and other communications equipment, at 20.4 percent.

You can market repackaged urine and roughly quadruple the profit margins attained by the health insurance companies:  Molson Coors Brewing, 8.1 percent.

Time To Eat The Dog

Although the hype continues to be disproven, fearmongers simply respond by coming up with new twists. One of the latest involves your dog.

Your dog, it is now argued, eats up more resources in a year than driving your car.  Presumably, what this means is that if you eat a dog, then you don't need to pay to build (much less ride) light rail; you can just drive.

Of course, that connection is never actually addressed; they recommend that you go vegetarian to compensate for your dog's "eco-footprint", or better yet, go vegetarian and keep a fish or a rabbit as a pet, rather than a dog.

Notice that they refer not to the "carbon footprint"; that apparently is old and busted.  The new hotness is the "eco footprint".  Just as you may have noticed that they seldom talk any longer about AlGore's vision of Man-Made Global Warming with its attendant hurricanes and catastrophic flooding because nobody buys it, so you may have noticed that the hype remains but the terms are different:  the hotness now is "climate change" - the "effects" of which are achieved by acting as "threat multipliers".  Oh, and as noted above, the "carbon footprint" has been replaced by the "eco footprint".

Health Insurance Reform In Deep Trouble

The more folks find out about it, the less they like it.  No wonder BO wanted to fast-track a "reform" proposal. 

Sen. John Ensign, a Nevada Republican, got an interesting handwritten note last week from the chief of staff of Congress' Joint Committee on Taxation. Tom Barthold told Ensign that an American who did not buy health care insurance or pay the fee — up to $1,900 — that is required from those who opt out would find themselves in deep trouble with the government.

"Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and could face up to a year in jail or a $25,000 penalty, Barthold wrote on JCT letterhead," Politico reported.

The gulags appear to be not all that far off.

Smoke Ban Cuts Lottery Profits; State To Declare War On Tribes

The brain-trust in Oregon enacted a ban on smoking in taverns, which happens to be where most of their video lottery machines are located.  Darned if the bottom didn't fall out of their profits.  Who'd ever have thunk it?  The folks who used to perch and light up smoke after smoke while pushing buttons until the money ran out just aren't there any more.

But the smoking ban was passed to ensure peoples' health.  It's a wonderful thing.  But revenues are down.  Well, let's blame the Indians.  Heck, that works - the various tribes run nine casinos in Oregon, and they don't abide by the Oregon law.  Obviously, all the smokers are rolling out to the Indian casinos so they can light up smoke after smoke and push buttons until the money runs out.

The Oregon chapter of the American Lung Association has decided to go to bat for the poor bar-owners, and they had their attorney, John DiLorenzo, write up a stern letter to governor ready Teddy, advising him in no uncertain terms to get them damn Indians under control.

DiLorenzo said “there is an equity argument to be made” by bars and taverns that must abide by a smoking ban that tribes do not face.

Gee, if Oregon hadn't enacted that silly law, then Oregon likely wouldn't have a problem.  Want to resolve the "equity argument"?  Easy.  Repeal the law.

Oregon has been invaded by leftists who have no concept of basic issues, like cause and effect.  If you want to protect your health, don't go to bars where smoking is permitted.  Nobody forces you to work there, either.  When you pass laws limiting freedoms, expect repercussions.

On Democrat Health Insurance And Unicorns

Despite the claims of the BO administration, a new poll demonstrates that two-thirds of doctors in the USA not only do not support the proposals for "health care overhaul" - they actually oppose them.  45% would consider quitting or taking early retirement is such proposals were adopted.  72% of the doctors polled disagree with the administration's claim that the government can cover 47 million more people with better-quality care at lower cost.

We're adding patients faster than we're adding doctors.  If a Democrat plan is passed, roughly 400,000 doctors would consider abandoning their practices.  If even half followed through, you have a huge problem.

BO and his gang claim that 40 million people here have no access to health care - which is demonstrably false.  The maximum number, according to independent estimates, is around 5 million who don't qualify for existing programs.  We should be able to adapt to address the issues in this relatively small number without taking the step toward essentially dismantling the existing set of systems.

BO claims that we can provide subsidized health insurance to millions more, and do so at lower cost - even as we bleed health care professionals.

We can also save money by eliminating law enforcement personnel, and at the same time reduce almost all need for driving cars.  Once everyone has a unicorn that they can saddle up, the world will be a better place.