As Maxwell Smart Would Say...

"Missed it by that much!"

The federal government faces exploding deficits and mounting debt over the next decade, White House officials predicted Tuesday in a fiscal assessment far bleaker than what the Obama administration had estimated just a few months ago.

Figures released by the White House budget office foresee a cumulative $9 trillion deficit from 2010-2019, $2 trillion more than the administration estimated in May. Moreover, the figures show the public debt doubling by 2019 and reaching three-quarters the size of the entire national economy.

This follows what I had been thinking lately. I would be fired if my budgeting and estimating were off by these kinds of percentages after only a few months. Heaven only knows how much the deficit will actually grow in a year.

Some Good News Concerning the Fed

Maybe we have to use the courts to get the transparency that Obama promised would be the hallmark of his administration.

The Federal Reserve must for the first time identify the companies in its emergency lending programs after losing a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.

Manhattan Chief U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska ruled against the central bank yesterday, rejecting the argument that loan records aren’t covered by the law because their disclosure would harm borrowers’ competitive positions.

It is nice to hear some good news for a change.

Where Did the Cultrue of Victimization and Political Correctness Come From?

I came across this yesterday, but was too tired to post last night.

Bill Whittle of Pajamas TV does an excellent job of answering that question in less than 13 minutes in his latest edition of Afterburner.



This is a must see!

Obamacare with a Melody

What do the Bishops Say About Health Care?

I thought it would be a good idea to see how the Bishops are framing their discussion the new health care legislation that is being pushed by our President and his compatriots on the left side of the aisle. So I found a couple of recent writings to post. I suggest that you read both.

First, we have Archbishop Chaput of Denver in his August 12th column in the Denver Catholic Register.

A few key principles should guide the development of any health care reform legislation, especially in light of the mixed and sobering track record of national health plans in other countries:

• It should provide access to basic, quality health services for all persons, from conception to natural death, with a special concern for the poor, elderly and disabled, and the inclusion of legal immigrants;

• It should protect the conscience rights of individuals and religious institutions;

• It should exclude all so-called “services” that involve violence against the dignity of the human person, such abortion, physician-assisted suicide and their funding;

• It should be economically realistic and sustainable, with costs spread equitably across all taxpayers.

Second we have Bishop R. Walker Nickless, the leader of the Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa. He also uses four main points to illustrate his column.

First and most important, the Church will not accept any legislation that mandates coverage, public or private, for abortion, euthanasia, or embryonic stem-cell research. We refuse to be made complicit in these evils, which frankly contradict what “health care” should mean.

Second, the Catholic Church does not teach that “health care” as such, without distinction, is a natural right. The “natural right” of health care is the divine bounty of food, water, and air without which all of us quickly die. This bounty comes from God directly. None of us own it, and none of us can morally withhold it from others. The remainder of health care is a political, not a natural, right, because it comes from our human efforts, creativity, and compassion. As a political right, health care should be apportioned according to need, not ability to pay or to benefit from the care. We reject the rationing of care.

Third, in that category of prudential judgment, the Catholic Church does not teach that government should directly provide health care. Unlike a prudential concern like national defense, for which government monopolization is objectively good – it both limits violence overall and prevents the obvious abuses to which private armies are susceptible – health care should not be subject to federal monopolization.

Fourth, preventative care is a moral obligation of the individual to God and to his or her family and loved ones, not a right to be demanded from society. The gift of life comes only from God; to spurn that gift by seriously mistreating our own health is morally wrong.

Best Town Hall Slap Down Ever

This marine delivers the best town hall slap down ever. Hoo Rah!

Its Baaack!

The dreaded "Right Wing Conspiracy" is back and its plaguing another Democratic administration.

Obama: Republican conspiracy out to kill health reform

Will the madness never end?

I wonder if Hillary has a copyright on the phrase?

What the Hell is This?

The U.S. is going to lend billions of dollars to Brazil's state-owned oil company, Petrobras, to finance exploration of the huge offshore discovery in Brazil's Tupi oil field in the Santos Basin near Rio de Janeiro. Brazil's planning minister confirmed that White House National Security Adviser James Jones met this month with Brazilian officials to talk about the loan.

Its OK to support off shore drilling in South America, but not North America. Read the entire article here.

The Future of Obamacare is here, in Oregon

How's this for compassion. Oregon's state run health care system will not pay for chemo, but will cover you for doctor assisted suicide.



It makes the phrase, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you," send chills down your spine, doesn't it.

A Peek at Obama Care

I thought the VA Hospitals were just an example of the inefficient, bureaucratic, uncaring government run health care, but I was wrong. Here the hidden truth behind Obamacare.

If President Obama wants to better understand why America's discomfort with end-of-life discussions threatens to derail his health-care reform, he might begin with his own Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). He will quickly discover how government bureaucrats are greasing the slippery slope that can start with cost containment but quickly become a systematic denial of care.

Last year, bureaucrats at the VA's National Center for Ethics in Health Care advocated a 52-page end-of-life planning document, "Your Life, Your Choices." It was first published in 1997 and later promoted as the VA's preferred living will throughout its vast network of hospitals and nursing homes. After the Bush White House took a look at how this document was treating complex health and moral issues, the VA suspended its use. Unfortunately, under President Obama, the VA has now resuscitated "Your Life, Your Choices."

Who is the primary author of this workbook? Dr. Robert Pearlman, chief of ethics evaluation for the center, a man who in 1996 advocated for physician-assisted suicide in Vacco v. Quill before the U.S. Supreme Court and is known for his support of health-care rationing.

"Your Life, Your Choices" presents end-of-life choices in a way aimed at steering users toward predetermined conclusions, much like a political "push poll." For example, a worksheet on page 21 lists various scenarios and asks users to then decide whether their own life would be "not worth living."