Liar!

I do not relish using the word "Liar" as the title of this post, but I do not see a better way of stating my point. From President Obama's weekly address:

As we move forward in the coming weeks, I understand that members of Congress from both parties will want to engage in a vigorous debate and contribute their own ideas. And I welcome those contributions. I welcome any sincere attempts to improve legislation before it reaches my desk. But what I will not accept are attempts to stall, or drag our feet. I will not accept partisan efforts to block reform at any cost.

He and the Democrats do not welcome any contributions that are not aligned with the plan that they are pushing. Where are solid clear cut amendments that eliminate funding for abortion? Where are the conscience clauses? Where is tort reform? Where is the amendment enabling insurance sales across state lines? (This actually falls within their constitutional powers of regulating interstate commerce.) Where are the myriad of other amendments that have been proposed? Neither the President nor the Democrats are interested in debate or contributions from the Republicans. Liar is the only response that really fits his words.

Instead, I expect us to move forward with a spirit of civility, a seriousness of purpose, and a willingness to compromise that characterizes our democratic process at its very best.

Civility? Joe Wilson was excoriated for shouting "You Lie" during the President's address to Congress and he was wrong for doing so. But when Alan Grayson says that Republicans want sick Americans to "die quickly" and likens the current health care system to the Holocaust, does Nancy Pelosi or any of the Democratic leadership denounce him? No!

Actions speak louder than words -- all we hear from the White House and the Democrats is the sound of silence.

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."