I Don't Count

I'm sitting here looking at my Census form as the current events stream by on the television.  The government wants me to fill out my census form and send it in, under penalty of law, so that I will "count".  Let's be clear, I don''t count.  My tax dollars count, but I don't.

The government doesn't take my tax money and use it for me.  They take it and use it to buy votes from people who wouldn't dream of dragging themselves out of bed to earn their own money to support themselves.  That didn't sound very nice, did it?  Well it doesn't feel very nice to be used, either.  Right now I feel that I am being used by my government with no regard to my needs or my wishes.  Right now I feel that government is taking my money and using it to commit bribery.  Right now I feel that my government is taking my money and using it to fundamentally change the relationship between government and citizens.

As Dan Riehl reminded us earlier, our founding fathers had the foresight to envision a day when tyranny would once again come to this country and they addressed that threat:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience n to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

May God help us, it is time.

Arizona Kills SCHIP

Cross posted at Potluck

Arizona is waiting to see if ObamaCare passes. The state has acted to send a powerful message to the White House that if Obama is determined to bankrupt the nation he can leave Arizona out. Megan McArdle:

On the eve of the possible passage of a health care bill, Arizona has provided a glimpse of our possible future by shutting down its SCHIP program and booting a bunch of people out of Medicaid:

The Arizona budget is a vivid reflection of how the fiscal crisis afflicting state governments is cutting deeply into health care. The state also will roll back Medicaid coverage for childless adults in a move that is expected to eventually drop 310,000 people from the rolls.

The reason this is so troubling, of course, is that the new proposed health care plan gets about half of its coverage expansion through adding people to Medicaid. The state side of this expense doesn’t show up on the books as a government expenditure (neatly enabling the bill to get a lower CBO score), but someone in America has to be taxed to pay for it, and there is a big problem when tax revenues fall short of the required expenditure.

There are two frightening possibilities, for people who support this bill (and the rest of us, as well . . . but we’ve been frightened for a while)

1) States pull out, and coverage drops

2) States don’t pull out, and they go bankrupt.

The third, and to me the most likely scenario, is that the Federal government basically bails out the states, perhaps taking over Medicaid. But that’s its own problem, because taking over the Medicaid obligations is not going to come attached to any revenue stream to pay for it. Where are we going to get the money?

Of course, that’s what I want to know about the whole thing. But this makes the problem much more vivid.

As McArdle points out, the Dems in part got the CBO score they wanted because ObamaCare passes billions of dollars of the cost on to states. The states can’t afford this.

My own state, Florida, is already in deep financial trouble. ObamaCare will push states off a cliff. Additionally, deeply hidden in the legislation is the fact that states will be forced to pay for health care for illegals. States with large populations of illegals will get a double whammy under this legislation.

If this thing passes the states are not helpless. They can say no. So far, thirty-eight states are prepared to do just that.

This is the fight of our lives but we are fighting the good fight. I have faith that we will win. Keep up the calls and emails and be prepared to keep up the pressure long after the vote is taken.

Summing Up My Thoughts

I've grown so frustrated over ObamaCare that I have had a difficult time posting.  How many ways can you write, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING"?  When I hear Obama say, "we are going to make history"  I think to myself, Hitler made history.  Making history doesn't guarantee that it is a good thing.  I've reached the point that when I am talking my TV whenever Nancy Pelosi comes on.  In other words, I've had it with these people.  Fortunately, Paco has retained his ability to speak truth to the corruption of power:

 Obama: “Le Twat, C’est Moi”

No, he won’t admit it, so the quotation marks are, of course, spurious. But there can be no mistaking the truth of the assertion. Our president is a fool, an egomaniac who is willing to put the country’s economic future – and our citizens’ lives – at risk in order to save face in pursuit of the most ill-timed and destructive piece of legislation that we have seen in our lifetimes. That the leaders in his party are willing to support him in pulling the pin on this suicide policy-bomb reveals, for the thousandth time in recent history, the absolute moral bankruptcy of the Democrats – a moniker, incidentally, that is now saturated in tragicomic irony.

Read it all.

Sounds Like a Good Idea to Me

From Don Surber:

Move over Republican Senator Dr. Tom Coburn and Republican Congressman Dr. Ron Paul.

Up to two dozen fellow doctors may be joining Congress after this fall’s election.

Cybercast News Service reported 29% of doctors in a survey said they will leave medicine if Obamacare becomes law.

So they have to find some other way to make a living.

Why not become a congressman?

From Byron York: “Talk to the new candidates, and they’re worried about the entire scope of Obama policy. But an indicator of the specific effect of Obamacare is the unusually large number of new recruits — 31 — who come from the medical profession. Twenty-four are doctors. The GOP already has a significant advantage in the number of physicians-turned-lawmakers — at the Obama health care summit, the Republicans brought three doctors to the table, while the Democrats brought none — and that advantage will probably be larger in 2011.”

I would love to see more physicians in the Congress, especially if they are all cut from the same cloth as Tom Coburn.  Lost is the ObamaCare nightmare is the fact that most of us want to see health care reform.  Wouldn't it be helpful if we had more lawmakers who have a real working knowledge of health care?  Hugh bonus-we might actually get meaningful tort reform.

49,551,703

49,551,703 is the number of babies killed in this country sine Roe V Wade.  This is through 2007-you can add another 830,000 for 2008 and 2009.  If ObamaCare passes that number will go up.

Ed Morrissey writes at Hot Air:

Pelosi prays to St Joseph to pass this abortion-funding bill for its life affirmation, or something

Why am I not surprised?  I am praying, as well.

Unlike Pelosi, I am praying that God will give strength to those Democratic congressmen who have vowed to vote against ObamaCare.  I can't imagine the pressure that they must be receiving from the White House and from the unions.  I can't imagine the temptations they are facing as the White House attempts to buy their votes.

I pray that if this bill passes that the States will be able to tie it up in court and delay any implementation until after the elections.  I pray that in November every single congressman who has betrayed the American people by voting for ObamaCare finds themselves out on the street without a friend.

I pray that the American people never allow themselves to become complacent again.  I pray that now that we have seen how fragile liberty can be that we will value freedom all the more.

49,551,703 and counting.

More at:

Hot Air  Pelosi prays to St Joseph to pass this abortion-funding bill for its life affirmation, or something


RedState  Beyond Arrogance – Obama & Company’s Reckless Disregard for the Rule of Law
 
Pundette  Saint Joseph, pray for us 
 
Ruby Slippers   Altmire Voting No, Boyd Yes, and a Fracture in the Stupak Block- Bad News- UPDATE:   Cantor Claims Dems Are Bluffing  
 
Riehl World View   Obama Care Will Destroy America
 

And Now for a Very Important Announcement

With 10:54 left in the 2nd, the University of Kentucky Wildcats lead E. Tennessee State 83-46.

Go Cats!

And Speaking of November...

Kathy Castor, meet your replacement-Colonel Mike Prendergast.

Colonel Prendergast is a native of Tampa and a graduate of Clearwater Central Catholic High School. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1978 and earned a commission through Officer Candidate School. With more than 31 years of service, he retired in 2009 as U.S. Central Command's Provost Marshal, a military position similar to a civilian Commissioner of Public Safety and International Chief of Police. Colonel Prendergast served with distinction in various important command and staff assignments throughout the United States and abroad, to include combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Kosovo, and humanitarian missions in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Cameroon, and Zaire. Prendergast also served as a Senior Policy Advisor for Defense, Intelligence, and Foreign Affairs as an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow in the office of U.S. Senator Bob Graham.

Prendergast has earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with Special Honors and a dual major in Political Science and Sociology from Jacksonville State University; a Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in Psychology from the University of New York; a Bachelor of Social Science degree from Campbell University; a Master of Arts degree with a major in International Relations and a Certificate in African Studies from the University of Florida; a Master of Public Administration degree with a concentration in Public Management from Troy State University; and a Master of Strategic Studies degree from the U.S. Army War College with a major in Public Diplomacy and a concentration in Campaign and Strategic Crisis Planning.

Come on, November!

Obama to Wavering Critters: We've Got Your Back, Coburn to Critters: When Hell Freezes Over

From Ruby Slippers:

That's not all, Senate Republicans took to the microphone to telegraph a few more warnings today as well. Senator Tom Coburn warns vulnerable Dems considering switching their no vote from the fall to a yes, "sell your vote, and we will publish it." Coburn draws a chuckle from his contingent when he warns that anyone in the House taking a dive for health care, their fabulous new job awaiting them as reward might just be hung up in the confirmation process. Wouldn't that be sad? Anyone who would sell out their constituents for a failed president on the promise of a glam job, deserves to wait at the back of the line behind all those who have lost their jobs while this administration focused on health care, health care, health care.

No doubt Obama is trying to sell nervous CongressCritters on the idea that if they are punished by voters in November for voting for health care "reform" that he will see to it that they will be rewarded in their next lives.  Fat chance.  If wavering critters can count on anything it is that a very angry public is taking names and punishment is on the menu-for November, and beyond.   Obama can nominate but no Republican who cares about their own re-election will dare to confirm.  Anyone who votes for this crap sandwich, whether it passes or not, should understand that come November they will be lucky if they can find employment as a Walmart greeter.  

Unholy Alliances

Prof. William Jacobson on Jane Hamsher's opposition to ObamaCare:

The rejection of statism (whether corporate or otherwise) in favor of individual liberty and economic freedom is at the heart of the Tea Party movement and the changes taking place slowly in the Republican Party.

Perhaps it is time for Hamsher and those who blog with her to re-examine their derisive attitude towards the Tea Party movement.

We may not agree on desired outcome of what our health care system should look like, but we do agree that Obamacare represents the worst aspects of government control over society.

Hamsher is against the current health care bill not because it represents a loss of freedom or because it represents a shift of power from the individual to the state.  She doesn't oppose the bill because it will saddle the country with an unacceptable level of debt for generations to come.  She is opposed to the bill because of corporate profit. 
 
Hamsher wants a single payer health care system based on the British model.  She has no problem with the fact that the system she favors would condemn our future generations to an early death.  Hamsher herself is a cancer survivor but she doesn't address the fact that the system she favors results in lower survival rates for cancer victims.  Hamsher presents herself as "compassionate".  She is anything but.
 
From the National Center for Policy Analysis:
 

10 Surprising Facts about American Health Care

by Scott Atlas

Medical care in the United States is derided as miserable compared to health care systems in the rest of the developed world. Economists, government officials, insurers and academics alike are beating the drum for a far larger government rôle in health care. Much of the public assumes their arguments are sound because the calls for change are so ubiquitous and the topic so complex. However, before turning to government as the solution, some unheralded facts about America's health care system should be considered.

Fact No. 1: Americans have better survival rates than Europeans for common cancers.[1] Breast cancer mortality is 52 percent higher in Germany than in the United States, and 88 percent higher in the United Kingdom. Prostate cancer mortality is 604 percent higher in the U.K. and 457 percent higher in Norway. The mortality rate for colorectal cancer among British men and women is about 40 percent higher.

Fact No. 2: Americans have lower cancer mortality rates than Canadians.[2] Breast cancer mortality is 9 percent higher, prostate cancer is 184 percent higher and colon cancer mortality among men is about 10 percent higher than in the United States.

Fact No. 3: Americans have better access to treatment for chronic diseases than patients in other developed countries.[3] Some 56 percent of Americans who could benefit are taking statins, which reduce cholesterol and protect against heart disease. By comparison, of those patients who could benefit from these drugs, only 36 percent of the Dutch, 29 percent of the Swiss, 26 percent of Germans, 23 percent of Britons and 17 percent of Italians receive them.

Fact No. 4: Americans have better access to preventive cancer screening than Canadians.[4] Take the proportion of the appropriate-age population groups who have received recommended tests for breast, cervical, prostate and colon cancer:

· Nine of 10 middle-aged American women (89 percent) have had a mammogram, compared to less than three-fourths of Canadians (72 percent).

· Nearly all American women (96 percent) have had a pap smear, compared to less than 90 percent of Canadians.

· More than half of American men (54 percent) have had a PSA test, compared to less than 1 in 6 Canadians (16 percent).

· Nearly one-third of Americans (30 percent) have had a colonoscopy, compared with less than 1 in 20 Canadians (5 percent).

Fact No. 5: Lower income Americans are in better health than comparable Canadians. Twice as many American seniors with below-median incomes self-report "excellent" health compared to Canadian seniors (11.7 percent versus 5.8 percent). Conversely, white Canadian young adults with below-median incomes are 20 percent more likely than lower income Americans to describe their health as "fair or poor."[5]

Fact No. 6: Americans spend less time waiting for care than patients in Canada and the U.K. Canadian and British patients wait about twice as long - sometimes more than a year - to see a specialist, to have elective surgery like hip replacements or to get radiation treatment for cancer.[6] All told, 827,429 people are waiting for some type of procedure in Canada.[7] In England, nearly 1.8 million people are waiting for a hospital admission or outpatient treatment.[8]

Fact No. 7: People in countries with more government control of health care are highly dissatisfied and believe reform is needed. More than 70 percent of German, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and British adults say their health system needs either "fundamental change" or "complete rebuilding."[9]

Fact No. 8: Americans are more satisfied with the care they receive than Canadians. When asked about their own health care instead of the "health care system," more than half of Americans (51.3 percent) are very satisfied with their health care services, compared to only 41.5 percent of Canadians; a lower proportion of Americans are dissatisfied (6.8 percent) than Canadians (8.5 percent).[10]

Fact No. 9: Americans have much better access to important new technologies like medical imaging than patients in Canada or the U.K. Maligned as a waste by economists and policymakers naïve to actual medical practice, an overwhelming majority of leading American physicians identified computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the most important medical innovations for improving patient care during the previous decade.[11] [See the table.] The United States has 34 CT scanners per million Americans, compared to 12 in Canada and eight in Britain. The United States has nearly 27 MRI machines per million compared to about 6 per million in Canada and Britain.[12]

Fact No. 10: Americans are responsible for the vast majority of all health care innovations.[13] The top five U.S. hospitals conduct more clinical trials than all the hospitals in any other single developed country.[14] Since the mid-1970s, the Nobel Prize in medicine or physiology has gone to American residents more often than recipients from all other countries combined.[15] In only five of the past 34 years did a scientist living in America not win or share in the prize. Most important recent medical innovations were developed in the United States.[16] [See the table.]

Conclusion. Despite serious challenges, such as escalating costs and the uninsured, the U.S. health care system compares favorably to those in other developed countries.
 
[1] Concord Working Group, "Cancer survival in five continents: a worldwide population-based study,.S. abe at responsible for theountries, in s chnologies, " Lancet Oncology, Vol. 9, No. 8, August 2008, pages 730 - 756; Arduino Verdecchia et al., "Recent Cancer Survival in Europe: A 2000-02 Period Analysis of EUROCARE-4 Data," Lancet Oncology, Vol. 8, No. 9, September 2007, pages 784 - 796.


[2] U.S. Cancer Statistics, National Program of Cancer Registries, U.S. Centers for Disease Control; Canadian Cancer Society/National Cancer Institute of Canada; also see June O'Neill and Dave M. O'Neill, "Health Status, Health Care and Inequality: Canada vs. the U.S.," National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper No. 13429, September 2007. Available at http://www.nber.org/papers/w13429.

[3] Oliver Schoffski (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg), "Diffusion of Medicines in Europe," European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, 2002. Available at http://www.amchampc.org/showFile.asp?FID=126. See also Michael Tanner, "The Grass is Not Always Greener: A Look at National Health Care Systems around the World," Cato Institute, Policy Analysis No. 613, March 18, 2008. Available at http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9272.

[4] June O'Neill and Dave M. O'Neill, "Health Status, Health Care and Inequality: Canada vs. the U.S."

[5] Ibid.

[6] Nadeem Esmail, Michael A. Walker with Margaret Bank, "Waiting Your Turn, (17th edition) Hospital Waiting Lists In Canada," Fraser Institute, Critical Issues Bulletin 2007, Studies in Health Care Policy, August 2008; Nadeem Esmail and Dominika Wrona "Medical Technology in Canada," Fraser Institute, August 21, 2008 ; Sharon Willcox et al., "Measuring and Reducing Waiting Times: A Cross-National Comparison Of Strategies," Health Affairs, Vol. 26, No. 4, July/August 2007, pages 1,078-87; June O'Neill and Dave M. O'Neill, "Health Status, Health Care and Inequality: Canada vs. the U.S."; M.V. Williams et al., "Radiotherapy Dose Fractionation, Access and Waiting Times in the Countries of the U.K.. in 2005," Royal College of Radiologists, Clinical Oncology, Vol. 19, No. 5, June 2007, pages 273-286.

[7] Nadeem Esmail and Michael A. Walker with Margaret Bank, "Waiting Your Turn 17th Edition: Hospital Waiting Lists In Canada 2007."

[8] "Hospital Waiting Times and List Statistics," Department of Health, England. Available at http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Statistics/Performancedataandstatistics/HospitalWaitingTimesandListStatistics/index.htm?IdcService=GET_FILE&dID=186979&Rendition=Web.

[9] Cathy Schoen et al., "Toward Higher-Performance Health Systems: Adults' Health Care Experiences In Seven Countries, 2007," Health Affairs, Web Exclusive, Vol. 26, No. 6, October 31, 2007, pages w717-w734. Available at http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/26/6/w717.

[10] June O'Neill and Dave M. O'Neill, "Health Status, Health Care and Inequality: Canada vs. the U.S."

[11] Victor R. Fuchs and Harold C. Sox Jr., "Physicians' Views of the Relative Importance of 30 Medical Innovations," Health Affairs, Vol. 20, No. 5, September /October 2001, pages 30-42. Available at http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/20/5/30.pdf.

[12] OECD Health Data 2008, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Available at http://www.oecd.org/document/30/0,3343,en_2649_34631_12968734_1_1_1_37407,00.html.

[13] "The U.S. Health Care System as an Engine of Innovation," Economic Report of the President (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 2004), 108th Congress, 2nd Session H. Doc. 108-145, February 2004, Chapter 10, pages 190-193, available at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy05/pdf/2004_erp.pdf; Tyler Cowen, New York Times, Oct. 5, 2006; Tom Coburn, Joseph Antos and Grace-Marie Turner, "Competition: A Prescription for Health Care Transformation," Heritage Foundation, Lecture No. 1030, April 2007; Thomas Boehm, "How can we explain the American dominance in biomedical research and development?" Journal of Medical Marketing, Vol. 5, No. 2, 2005, pages 158-66, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, July 2002. Available at http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/publications/erp/page/8649/download/47455/8649_ERP.pdf .

[14] Nicholas D. Kristof, "Franklin Delano Obama," New York Times, February 28, 2009. Available at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/opinion/01Kristof.html.

[15] The Nobel Prize Internet Archive. Available at http://almaz.com/nobel/medicine/medicine.html.

[16] "The U.S. Health Care System as an Engine of Innovation," 2004 Economic Report of the President
 

I'll take a vote against ObamaCare where I can find it but I have no desire to be part of any alliance that include Hamsher or anyone like her.

Cats vs. Dogs

Over at The Corner there seems to be a cat vs dog thing going on between John Hood and Jonah Goldberg.  Clearly, Goldberg has the upper hand in this argument.  Hood apparently thinks that cats are superior by virtue of their shiftiness, as if shiftiness were a positive attribute. 

What, if anything, dogs lack in stealth they more than make up for with their bravery, loyalty and heart.

Never trust a cat.

Something You Won't See in Haiti

Despite the outpouring of support the United States has shown Haiti in the form of money, manpower and supplies, our flag doesn't fly in Haiti.  Other country's flags do, but not our Stars and Stripes.  Ed Morrissey reports the reaction from the Army Times:

The many nations helping Haiti recover from the devastating earthquake that struck there have set up their own military compounds and fly their flags at the entrances.

France’s tricolor, Britain’s Union Jack and even Croatia’s coat of arms flap in the breeze.

But the country whose contributions dwarf the rest of the world’s — the United States — has no flag at its main installation near the Port-au-Prince airport.

The lack of the Stars and Stripes does not sit well with some veterans and servicemembers who say the U.S. government should be proud to fly the flag in Haiti, given the amount of money and manpower the U.S. is donating to help the country recover from the Jan. 12 quake.

The Obama administration says flying the flag could give Haiti the wrong idea.

“We are not here as an occupation force, but as an international partner committed to supporting the government of Haiti on the road to recovery,” the U.S. government’s Haiti Joint Information Center said in response to a query about the flag

How exactly would we be sending the "wrong message"?  Can't the Obama Administration just this once show a little pride for our country? 

For more read No American Flag in Haiti by Pat at And So it Goes in Shreveport.

Thomas Sowell says

Ten of my favorite Thomas Sowell quotes via Brainy Quote:

Much of the social history of the Western world, over the past three decades, has been a history of replacing what worked with what sounded good.


It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.


It is amazing that people who think we cannot afford to pay for doctors, hospitals, and medication somehow think that we can afford to pay for doctors, hospitals, medication and a government bureaucracy to administer it.


If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the 


If the battle for civilization comes down to the wimps versus the barbarians, the barbarians are going to win.


One of the common failings among honorable people is a failure to appreciate how thoroughly dishonorable some other people can be, and how dangerous it is to trust them.


The first lesson of economics is scarcity: there is never enough of anything to fully satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.


The next time some academics tell you how important diversity is, ask how many Republicans there are in their sociology department.


The problem isn't that Johnny can't read. The problem isn't even that Johnny can't think. The problem is that Johnny doesn't know what thinking is; he confuses it with feeling.


The welfare state is not really about the welfare of the masses. It is about the egos of the elites.


Would you bet your paycheck on a weather forecast for tomorrow? If not, then why should this country bet billions on global warming predictions that have even less foundation?

Bonus quote from Milton Friedman:

If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand.

Straight Talk Don't Swing the Votes

The Dems have pulled out all the stops when it comes to tear jerker stories of people who can't afford health care but they aren't telling the whole story.  Consider this from reason.tv:

“Of people currently classified as uninsured, a conservative estimate says about 45 percent of them would be able to get health insurance right now if they wanted it,” says economist Glen Whitman. That estimate comes from a study headed by a Johns Hopkins University researcher, which separates those who could get insurance into one of two categories: Those who earn enough money to buy it, and those who qualify for existing government programs.

We don't hear alot about people who can afford health insurance but choose not to purchase it.  The twenty-five year old who would rather eat out every night than buy insurance doesn't exactly pull at the heart strings the way a sick child does.  The video at the link below also states that there are approximately 11 million people in the United States who qualify for existing government programs but don't apply for them.  Why don't Obama & Co. tell the whole truth about the state of health care in this country?  Because emotions sells, facts don't. 
 
Watch the video. 
 

The New York Times Deifies Obama

Today's "why settle for sainthood when you can be the Messiah" moment is courtesy of the New York Times.  Exhibit A:

The New York Times, that bastion of openness and impartiality, has crossed in to pure hackery.  The imagery is pretty unmistakable and so is the message the NYT is trying to send.  The Anointed One is here to save the world.  No thanks, I've already been saved.











H/T  Adrienne's Corner

More from Doug Ross

Remember When Movies Were Entertaining?

Big Hollywood is reporting that Matt Damon's latest anti-American film Green Zone, opened to a dismal $14.5 million weekend take at the box office:

UPDATE: AP confirms: “Green Zone” opens to a dismal $14.5 million.

The moral of the story? If you’re going to trash America and the troops, use Smurfs.

The Wrap:

Universal’s “Green Zone” became the latest Iraq War-themed movie to fall down the box office rabbit hole, debuting to just $5 million in the U.S. and Canada Friday, according to studio estimates. …

“Green Zone” could find little traction, getting out to a pace that will give it less than $15 million for its premiere weekend.

That would be even less than the modest pre-release expectations for the $100 million film, which reteams star Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass, who worked on the Universal’s last two “Jason Bourne” franchise installments. The film was put into production during the co-chair term of Marc Shmuger and David Linde.

So, Matt Damon has a decidedly different opinion of this country than most Americans.  It happens, ene to people like Damon, who this country has been very, very good to.  But instead of lifting America up, Damon chooses vehicles that disparage the country.  But how many of these "blame America first" movies have to flop before the studios who bankroll them wake up?

If I am going to pay to watch a movie I want to be entertained and I don't find America bashing entertaining or educational. 

An Nation of Tim Geithners? No Thanks!

From Don Surber:

If anyone wants to know why the federal government will outspend by nearly $2 trillion what it receives from taxpayers, Americans might want to look at the tax code, which allows more than 50 million workers — in good times — to get away with paying nothing to the federal government — in fact, in many cases, the government pays a negative income tax to them.

More than one third of the people with incomes in 2008 paid no federal income taxes, the Tax Foundation reported.

The actual number was 51.6 million — or 36.3%.

The taxes from these 51.6 million were less than zero — thanks to our politicized tax code — and they paid a total of negative $50.5 billion.

What it comes down to it that we have millions of citizens who enjoy all the benefits of citizenship without any the financial stake that comes with benefit.  The government uses the tax code not just to raise revenue to fund national defense or infrastructure but also to reward or punish behavior.  This often results in productive citizens footing the bill for non-productive citizens. 

I'm not a big fan of paying taxes but I accept that taxes are necessary.  But as someone who works in a credit union and sees some whopper tax refunds I can't help but resent it when I see refunds in the thousands of dollars go to people who pay nothing in to the system.

Surber loses me at the end of his post:

How much did you make? Pay the greater of $1,000 or 10% of your first $100,000 and 40% of anything over that.

Charging 40% for anything over $100,000 punishes productivity.  Taxes shouldn't have anything to do with earnings.  To be truly fair, taxes should be based on consumption not earnings.  Let's do away with income tax and have a national sales tax instead.  Everyone consumes, therefore, everyone would pay.

Ladies Only "Rule 5" Sunday

Nick Gillespie

The editor of Reason.Com and Reason.TV, Gillespie was named in The Daily Beast’s "The Right's Top 25 Journalists".

Gillespie is a Libertarian who often confounds both conservatives and liberals alike. He has long championed small government of greater personal liberty.

Gillespie offers excellent take downs of Che Guevara here and here.

Adam Baldwin

Actor and conservative writer for Big Hollywood, Baldwin has appeared in Full Metal Jacket, Firefly, Serenity and currently appears in Chuck.

Among his many writings for Big Hollywood, his article Why ‘The People Speak’ and the Zinn Education Project May Be Illegal in Public Schoolsis a must read for parents.

Jon Voight



Voight’s breakout movie was Midnight Cowboy, for which he was nominated for the best actor Oscar. Like many in Hollywood he started out as a liberal, he registered voters in Los Angeles for George McGovern’s presidential bid and actively protested against the war in Viet Nam. Later he had an awakening and became an supporter on conservative principals and appearing at the 2008 Republican National Convention.

Voight is a frequent guest on conservative talk shows and is a supporter of Israel.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sean Hannity


The popular host of Hannity’s America on Fox was fired from his first talk radio job after less than a year because of controversial remarks he had made. The American Civil Liberties Union fought against his dismissal but he declined to return his job when it was reoffered to him.

Since 2003 Hannity has hosted a series of “Freedom Concerts” which have featured Ted Nugent, Charlie Daniels, Lynard Skynard and Lee Greenwood among others. Nine million dollars have been raised through the concerts to provide scholarships for children whose parents have been disabled or killed in military action.

Obama's Cousin Understands the True Cost of the Government Health Care

I wish my cousin Barack the greatest of success in office. But I feel duty-bound to rise in opposition to Obamacare. I must take a stand for my patients, my profession and, ultimately, my country. The problems caused by government will not be solved by growing government. Now that this new era of big-government takeovers has spread to our health care system, it's not just our freedoms or our wallets that are at stake. It's our lives.

Those are the words of Dr. Milton R. Wolf, a physician in Kansas and President Obama's second cousin once removed.  Writing in the Washington Times, Dr. Wolf cites some frightening statistics from nationalized health care around the world as compared to the current situation in the United States:

America has the finest health care delivery system in the world. Let's not forget that and put it at risk in the name of reform. Desperate souls across the globe flock to our shores and cross our borders every day to seek our care. Why? Our system provides cures while the government-run systems from which they flee do not. Compare Europe's common cancer mortality rates to America's: breast cancer - 52 percent higher in Germany and 88 percent higher in the United Kingdom; prostate cancer - a staggering 604 percent higher in the United Kingdom and 457 percent higher in Norway; colon cancer - 40 percent higher in the United Kingdom.

Dr. Wolf isn't comparing our cancer mortality rates to those of third world countries.  Germany, the United Kingdom and Norway have the same medical technology that is present here but their doctors do not have the same access to the technology as our doctors because of the cost factors. 

Read Dr. Wolf's article and then email a copy of it to your Congressman.

H/T Paco Enterprises

Busybodyitis

Sometimes it feels as if there is a contest to see who can be the nanniest of nanny states.  The latest silliness comes from New York where a salt ban has been proposed.  There is no end to the number of things that the government either has or can ban in the name of protecting society.  The problem of course is that it is not the government's job to protect us from ourselves.

My son asked me today how this country reached the point where personal liberty is under constant attack.  Busybodyitis isn't a new condition.  Consider this chart:



In 2008 there were nearly 900,000 marijuana arrests in the United States.  I think it is safe to say that the "war on drugs" was primarily the brainchild of Conservatives and that the cost to society to prosecute that war has far outweighed the benefits.  I would also argue that an unintended consequence of prohibition is increased demand.  Lastly, I will admit that until recently I never put much thought in to Conservative attacks on personal liberty because it didn't affect me.

 Now that we have the food police, the tobacco police,etc., the stampede to totalitarianism is primarily being led by the Progressives.  They argue, just like the Conservatives before them, that society shoulders the costs of individual's unhealthy behavior and therefore, has a right to regulate individual behavior.  If you buy in to that line of reasoning it follows that there is nothing that society shouldn't regulate.  In the end the choice is whether people should be regulated based on Conservative values, Progressive values, or allowed to regulate themselves based on their own values.

Functioning societies require some regulation of individual's liberties but less really is more.  A good place to start is by eliminating busybodyitis.

Prayers for Sen. Reid and His Family

Sen. Harry Reid's wife and daughter were seriously injured in a car accident today.  Neither's injuries are life threatening although Mrs. Reid's neck and back are broken.  Several years ago I also broke my back in a care accident.  I know from the experience that Mrs. Reid will have  long, difficult road back.  My prayers go out to her, her daughter and Sen. Reid.