Roundup of blogs and news - 9/29/09

Where is the outrage from NOW? To discredit Giles and O'Keefe, the investigative journalists who brought down ACORN, libs are trying to find sexually suggestive pictures of Hannah Giles.

Speaking of ACORN, Harry Reid (Sleazeball-NV) is blocking a Senate probe into ACORN's activities, claiming that they would be a "distraction".

A simple explanation as to why "Health Care Reform" is simply income redistribution. Marxism in sheep's clothing.

Fact-checking Obama's claims about Health Care Reform in this NRO article by Michael Cannon and Ramesh Ponnuru.

Robert Samuelson, in the Washington Post, declares that what is driving Health Care Reform is not public needs or wants, but simply ego-gratification.

Until the Democrats take on Medical Liability Reform, any Health Care Reform bill is not serious about saving money.

You lie! Oops! Wait a second. Now, liberal Dems want to include illegal aliens in our shiny, new government run health-care system.

As the United States moves toward a public health care option, Canada moves toward a private option.

Patrick Kennedy, the dumbest of the clan, says that with the new government mandated medical records, patients may dictate what goes into them. As a physician, let me just say that this is totally INSANE!

And not content to provide one totally idiotic news story of the week, Kennedy goes for two as he provides the inevitable warning against conservative violence.

Mark Hemingway explores what is hidden in the Baucus Health Care bill.

Gosh! Who'd a thunk it? The Obama administration, in spite of all their promises and deadlines and excoriation of the Bush administration, finds that closing Gitmo more complicated than they thought.

The President doesn't have time to meet with his hand-picked General in Afghanistan or to "form a strategy", but he has time to go on a month's vacation, golf, chair a UN session, and now fly to Denmark to shill for the Olympics. Glad to see his priorities are in order.

This abuse of the Voting Rights Act by the Department of Justice is just one more example of how highly politicized this administration's DOJ is. Remember when the Dems complained about the politicization of the Bush DOJ?

I don't often link to Jay Nordlinger's recurring NRO column, Impromptus. Not because I don't like it, in fact, it is one of the columns on NRO I most like and the only one to which I subscribe by RSS. But it covers such a wide range of topics that it doesn't really fit into a round-up like this. I offer a link today because I want to introduce you to this wonderfully pithy and well-written feature, but also because of his first topic, "Everything begins with O".

The funniest man in the world, Dave Barry, turns serious as he talks about the squelching of free speech on our nation's campuses.

And here in our great state of Michigan, it seems that neighbors can't watch their neighbor's children without a license. You won't believe this. Or, sadly, maybe you will.

Tell your children to GET A GOVERNMENT JOB!

Frank Fleming is concerned about the angry conservatives and gives hints on how to make conservatives less angry.

Why in the world is the US giving Libya any money at all, let alone funneling it through the Qadaffi family? Especially after the Lockerbie bomber debacle.

Lloyd Marcus, the African-American musician who sings at the Tea-Parties tells us to stop allowing the left to set the rules.

A very important column by David Limbaugh regarding Obama and globalism.

David Brooks is the New York Times' idea of a "good conservative" which means I have very little use for him and his views normally. This article, on The Next Culture War, however, is very good.

When you've lost Richard Cohen . . . An Obama supporter tells Obama to start acting like a President.

This may need to be a recurring item. More public school indoctrination.

Dog Feces Ice Cream - by Mark Steyn

I don't usually just link to one article, but this article by Mark Steyn is especially good.

Roundup of blogs and news - 9/25/09

This is a very thought-provoking article by Victor Davis Hanson at National Review Online. If you think of Barack Obama as a college administrator, it all becomes clearer.

Barack Obama's UN address was typical Obama - typically vapid, narcissistic, and pandering to the worst elements of the world.

Rich Lowry offers another take on the UN speech. Obama Triangulates His Country.

Mona Charen offers her take on the President who seems to feel as though American history began with his election.

Meanwhile, this is how a real leader speaks to the U.N. The transcript of Benjamin Netanyahu's speech, in which he rakes the UN over the coals.

This is why some people were so upset about the Obama speech to school children - because in some of our schools, our kids are being indoctrinated. This is a public school. "Red and yellow, black and white, all are equal in his sight." Hmmmm. That sounds familiar.

Speaking of indoctrination, this video is being shown in many of our schools. It is very anti-American and anti-capitalist. The problems are just too many to mention. It is 20 min. long, but you really should see what our children are being taught.

A good article by Pete DuPont in the Wall Street Journal about why Obamacare is bad for your health.

Oh, and how about this? The IRS confirms that if you don't purchase health care insurance under the Baucus plan, you may be sent to jail!

Want to read the Baucus bill before it is voted on? You can't. Baucus claims it is too difficult to put the bill online. Is there no staffer on Capitol Hill who knows how to use a computer?

So, what if all the data that global warming was based on was lost? Nooooo. There's nothing suspicious about that at all!

Wait! Didn't ACORN CEO, Bertha Lewis, say she was glad that the corruption in ACORN came to light? So why is ACORN suing the filmmakers? And why are two of the fired employees joining in the suit for unlawful termination? And why should anyone take anyone from this organization seriously, ever again?

Obama has reportedly asked Gen. Petraeus and Gen. McChrystal, the commander in Afghanistan, to "scrub" their assesments on the war in Afghanistan. I get tired of saying it, but can you imagine what would happen in Bush had done that? And while we're at it, Obama says he doesn't want to commit more resources to Afghanistan until we have a strategy in place. How long has this man been President?

The US government can't get GI bill checks out to veterans who are depending on them for school. But they will do much better with health care. Right?

From TigerHawk, "A few clowns shout at a "tea party" and the media starts worrying about the resurgent Klan, but the left literally attacks the police at the G20 protests and nobody says anything." Could it be that there is a double-standard? Nah!

The President's "Diversity Czar" at the Federal Communications Commission is a Hugo Chavez admirer. The same Hugo Chavez who has systematically shut down media outlets in Venezuela who oppose him and his policies.

If you haven't read them, yet, I have posted the first two essays in my series on Health Care Reform. Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here.

And finally, another international incident as Pakistan condemns the U.S. for pre-emptive use of Hillary Clinton.

Whither the Crisis? - Part 2 of a series on Health Care Reform

We are continually being told that we have a "health care crisis". According to President Obama, in his latest address to the joint session of Congress, the health care system is "at the breaking point." So, we need to ask ourselves if we really do have a crisis and, if so, what, exactly, is the crisis?

A crisis is a situation that requires immediate action in order to avoid catastrophe. We have seen the results, with this administration and the last, of a crisis-oriented administration. As President Obama's Chief-of-Staff, Rahm Emanuel, famously said, "Never let a good crisis go to waste." And this administration certainly hasn't. We have seen an $800 billion dollar "stimulus bill", rushed through Congress and passed before anyone had a chance to read it to respond to the "economic crisis." We saw the government take-over of 2/3 of our domestic auto industry in response to an auto industry crisis. The House of Representatives passed the Cap and Trade Bill before it was finished being written - a bill that, if it passes the Senate, will constitute the largest tax hike on the middle and lower classes in history, in response to the "global warming crisis." Taxes are being levied on sugary juice and sodas in response to the "obesity crisis." A crisis is a very convenient circumstance to rush a bill through Congress without giving the public watchdogs or even the Congress Critters time to analyze the fine print of the legislation and also gives convenient cover to spend a lot of money in order to avert the imminent catastrophe. President Jimmy Carter once said, ""When a president has authority to act unilaterally (as in a crisis), his leadership can be exerted. Otherwise, compromise, delay and confusion are more likely." In fact, when Carter was presented an "energy crisis", he declared fighting it, "The moral equivalent of war."

That is not to say that there are no real crises, but when the government attempts to rush a huge, expensive bill through Congress on the basis of a crisis, our antennae should go up and we need to be sure there actually is a crisis and that what we are doing is necessary to avert that crisis. We've all seen shoot-outs on Main Street in old Western movies. In the movies, the quickest draw always won. In real life, it wasn't like that. A quick draw and shoot with a pistol is wildly inaccurate. The real winner was usually the gunslinger that took time to aim and make sure he was going to hit his target. The trouble with much of our crisis legislation is that we don't take time to aim. We spray our shots wildly, thus wasting valuable ammunition and usually getting ourselves shot, anyway.

So, is the crisis in health care one of quality? You might think so, given some of the rhetoric coming out of Washington. We hear that we spend more on our health care than any other nation, but get less for it. I've debunked this notion in my previous essay, First, Do No Harm, posted on Sept. 12, 2009. We actually have the best health care system in the world and our numbers prove it. I'm not going to reiterate my arguments here, if you haven't yet, read my previous essay.

Another reason for the "crisis" that we hear is that there are a large number of people who have no access to medical care because they cannot get insurance. The original number we heard bandied around was 47 million Americans (out of approximately 304 million), or about 15% of the population. In the most recent speech to the joint session of Congress, President Obama revised that number down to 30 million, since 17 million of those in the higher number were illegal aliens. 30 million is still a substantial number of people uninsured, but is that the whole story? No. Actually, according to the US Census bureau, more than 9 million make more than $75,000/yr. and could afford at least catastrophic health care insurance, if they choose. Many of these people are young, single people who eschew health insurance because they are healthy and would rather spend the money on flat-screen TVs and iPods. Another 14 million people are fully eligible for government programs like SCHIP or Medicaid, but are not signed up. In fact, of the children who are uninsured, over 70% are eligible for SCHIP, Medicaid, or both. That leaves 7 million Americans, or approximately 2% who are chronically uninsured. Now, without a doubt, for those individuals and families, being uninsured is a crisis, but should we restructure the entire US health care system for 2% of our population, especially when 85% of Americans say that they are happy with their health care insurance? Are there other, and better, ways to cover these uninsured people? I argue that there are and I will discuss this topic in upcoming essays.

The third common reason we hear for the "crisis" is that health care costs are rising too rapidly and they have become a burden on our economy. Certainly, health care costs have risen far faster than the general economy over the last couple of decades. They've risen almost as fast as the advances in medicine have. There are a number of reasons for this and I'll address this issue in another essay. According to President Obama, the rising cost of health care depresses the economy of the country and the individual economies of our citizens. In his State of the Union address, President Obama claimed that a bankruptcy occurred every 30 seconds. That is false. There is not even a bankruptcy every 30 seconds in the US, let alone one caused by high medical care costs. In actuality, while people who go bankrupt often have unpaid medical bills, few people (<1%,>because of medical expenses. Almost all hospitals and physicians will allow patients to pay on an installment basis and will not contact credit bureaus if the patient is making regular payments. As Thomas Sowell says, “In a country where everything imaginable is bought and paid for on credit, why is it suddenly a national crisis if some people cannot pay cash up front for medical treatment?”

So, is there a crisis in our health care system? Do we really need to rush a bill through Congress in order to avert an imminent disaster, or do we have time to rationally study and discuss and debate these issues? There is no doubt that health care is expensive, though we cannot expect Mercedes health care for the price of a Yugo. But there are many free-market solutions that do not involve a government that has an unbroken history of bringing in programs at higher cost and more inefficiently than anticipated.

In actuality, there is no more of a crisis now than there was a year or two or three ago. The only crisis for those who are trying to rush this through is that the American people may get wind of what is in the bill. I addressed this in my essay, Honest Barack’s Used Car Lot (posted Aug. 25, 2009.) The situation is too important to be rushed through or relegated to government control.

In my first health care essay, I used the oft-cited medical phrase, Primum non nocere – First, do no harm. We must keep that in mind as we discuss health care reform.

The Party of Racism

"I guess we'll probably have folks putting on white hoods and white uniforms again and riding through the countryside, intimidating people. That's the logical conclusion if this kind of attitude is not rebuked."

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA)

So, according to the Honorable Hank Johnson, the logical conclusion of Joe Wilson shouting, “You lie!” to a man in the act of lying is that, if the House didn’t pass a Resolution of Disapproval, the Klan would, once again, ride out into the night terrorizing and killing. The logical conclusion . . . Really?!? And I suppose if Mr. Wilson doesn’t say, “Excuse me,” after he belches, we’ll have genocide?

Of all the incredibly stupid political utterances throughout the years, and there are many, this has to rank near the top in both idiocy and offensiveness. To compare someone who says, “You lie,” to a night rider of the Ku Klux Klan is breath-takingly inane. And does Rep. Johnson really believe that President Obama, the recipient of said insult, compares to those victims of terrorism, beatings and even lynchings carried out by the Klan? It is an insult to those people who were really victims of this evil organization.

Of course while Johnson’s statement was maybe the most hyperbolic of the last couple of weeks, his wasn’t the only comment about the alleged racism of President Obama’s opponents. The ever-vacuous Maureen Dowd of the New York Times wasn’t content to write an article based on the incident, she actually based her article on something she made up out of thin air. Dowd, whose continued employment at the Gray Lady is somewhat of a mystery in that, while dependably a far-left liberal, she isn’t a very good writer, wrote, “Fair or not,” [hint: When a writer writes ‘fair or not’ you can pretty much take it for granted that it’s not], “what I heard was an unspoken word in the air, ‘You lie, boy!’”

In other words, Wilson didn’t say that, but Maureen Dowd heard it in her head. This apparent schizophrenia, come to think of it, explains a lot about Maureen Dowd. She’d better hope that Obamacare has good psychiatric coverage – that is if the racists allow it to pass.

Then, of course, the execrable Jimmy Carter, not content to be merely one of the worst Presidents in our country’s history, is continuing to solidify his claim on the worst ex-President in history by stating that, "I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he's African-American." Carter claimed that the attacks on Obama are “unprecedented”. Excuse me, but where was Carter the last eight years? I mean besides conducted unprecedented attacks by an ex-President on a sitting President.

But if anyone should know racism, it is Carter. According to A Voting Rights Odyssey by Laughlin McDonald, director of the ACLU's Voting Project, when Carter was a member of the Sumter County (GA) school board, he asked the state school board to stop construction on a “Negro Elementary School” in 1956 because white parents complained that the school was “too close” to the white elementary school and, "the children, both colored and white, would have to travel the same streets and roads in order to reach their respective schools."

These were only three of the most egregious examples of the charges of racism on the left in the last week. Also chiming in were Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Virginia Governor, Democrat Tim Kaine, Newsweek’s columnist, Joe Kleine, Rep. Charles “Tax Evasion” Rangel (D-NY), and the always entertaining Rev. Jeremiah Wright, among a number of lesser luminaries.

Of course, these charges were expected at some point and we’d already seen a smattering of it. Witness the comedienne, Jeneane Garofolo, who always acts like she has chronic constipation, nattering on about tea-partiers. The sheer volume of these charges over the last two weeks, however, leave no doubt that the liberals are now pulling out the big guns and going for the nuclear option, to mix a metaphor.

Over the last 8 years, we were reminded that, “Dissent is the highest form of patriotism,” an insipid phrase to begin with. Now, I guess that, to quote a Mark Steyn reader, “Dissent is the lowest form of racism.”

The charges of racism are particularly risible. They are meant to stop all debate. After all, if the underlying motive of the dissent is racism, then that makes the argument automatically invalid. Racism, in the absence of overtly racist actions or words cannot be proven, it can only be supposed a la Maureen Dowd.

By stating that opposition is based on race, policy and ideological differences are deligitimized. We are expected to believe that opposition to President Bush was based on differences in political philosophy, but that same consideration is not given to critics of the current administration. That is one reason that these charges have suddenly exploded on the scene – the liberals know that they are losing the battle over Health Care Reform and, bereft of cogent arguments, they are unable to defend their own position and, instead, intend to deligitimize the opposition’s arguments.

But not only that, the charges of racism has a deeper, more pernicious purpose. By charging racism, the liberal tries to divide society into good vs. evil. Racists are evil, therefore the things they believe are evil, as well. Liberals are anti-racists and, therefore, good. The things they believe and the policies they support are, therefore, also good. Q.E.D.

It is the liberal who throws out the charge of racism in the absence of any evidence who intends to divide society. By pressing these charges, they cynically aim to continue to keep the African-American community in their constituency while continuing to propagate those policies that keep the African-American community dependant upon them. The charges of racism continue to unnecessarily fuel racial tension and create resentment of both races.

As the last eight years under the Bush administration demonstrates, there need not be a racial component to criticize or oppose an administration. Until the criticism of Obama reaches the level of vitriol that was aimed at President Bush, the charges of racism ring hollow.

It is time that the liberals, in general, and the Democrats, in particular, stop the exploitation of African-Americans to further their own political purposes. It is time they start trying to look not at the “ . . . color of their skin, but [at] the content of their character.” It is time that they stop the vile name-calling, accusations, and underhanded political chicanery.

Or is it too racist of me to ask that?

Roundup of blogs and news - 9/21/09

Leading off tonight, we have Obama's Health and Human Services Department infringing on the right of a private company to exercise their free speech because they are "scaring seniors". There are many of us who believe that seniors should be scared and that the insurance company has not only the right, but the responsibility to inform their customers of what they believe are the problems with Obama's health care reform. Remember when we heard that Bush was trampling on civil rights? How about the right of free speech?

Madeline Albright continues her "exceptional" work as an American envoy, reports John Hinderaker at Powerline. "The Russians in attendance must have wondered how they managed to lose the cold war."

Media Matters, a media "watch-dog" group demonstrates their partisan hackery as they edit out pertinent phrases in a Glenn Beck monologue. Reported by Ed Morrisey at Hot Air.

So, Obama in his recent Sunday morning talking head show blitz didn't want to get the tough questions from Fox News. Chris Wallace calls the White House a "bunch of crybabies." Heh.

Here it comes. I predicted it months ago. Obama is laying the groundwork for a newspaper bail-out. I love this line, "I am concerned that if the direction of the news is all blogosphere, all opinions, with no serious fact-checking, no serious attempts to put stories in context, that what you will end up getting is people shouting at each other across the void but not a lot of mutual understanding."

So President Obama didn't know that ACORN was receiving a lot of federal funds? Where has he been for the past 20 years?

Wait a minute . . . didn't we get into our current economic mess because of low-interest, high-risk home loans mandated by the Community Reinvestment Act? So why do Congressional Democrats want to expand it?

From Michelle Malkin in the Washington Times - "Undercover journalism is only acceptable when it fits a liberal agenda."

Victor Davis Hanson explores why the backlash against Obama in his article, "Dr. Barack and Mr. Obama."

I am not surprised by this - 45% of doctors would consider quitting if Congress passes health care overhaul, according to a poll by Investor's Business Daily. I am one of the 45%.

From the same poll, 67% of doctors believe that health care for seniors would suffer under the President's Health Care Reform plan.

Again, I think it is an embarrassment that the U.S. is in the United Nations at all. Mona Charen wonders why we are at least involved in the UN Human Rights Council.

Obama is looking for complete nuclear disarmament. According to one official, "He is saying these are the president's weapons, and he wants to look again at the doctrine and their role." Funny, I thought these were America's weapons.

Zbigniew Brzenzinski, Jimmy Carter's National Security Advisor, says that Obama should order our military to shoot down Israeli jets if they try to take action against Irans nuclear weapons. Really. This is one more reason that Jimmy Carter was one of the worst presidents in our nation's history. He surrounded himself with these kind of dolts.

And lastly, to complete the circle, Michael Barone writes about liberals trying to stifle dissent. More to come from me on this later. Until then, enjoy Monday Night Football.

Roundup of blogs and news - 9/15/09

Rich Lowry from National Review Online calls ACORN, "The E.F. Hutton of Prostitution."

The Senate votes to defund ACORN by an 83-7 margin. Who were the 7 who are pro-Child-Whoring Pimp-Assisting (as Jim Geraghty says)? Roland Burris (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Robert Casey (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Bernie Sanders (Socialist-VT), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

ACORN is fighting back. Instead of offering apologies, they threaten to sue the filmmakers and FOX.

Meanwhile, Charlie Gibson, NEWS ANCHOR at ABC hasn't even heard about the ACORN scandal.

College students are less politically active today than their parents were. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? David French at National Review Online writes an article that all parents of college children should heed.

From the Washington Examiner, inconvenient questions about health care reform.

Thomas Sowell is brilliant.

From the Wall Street Journal, an Angry, Polite 'Mob' Descends on D.C. during the March on Washington on 9/12.

The European Court of Justice says that if an employee is sick on their vacation, their employer must compensate them. Oh, yeah. This won't be abused at all.

Finally, we deal with the racism claim, again. It is clear now that this is a concerted effort to get the conversation off the health care debate and discredit the opposition. From Jonah Goldberg at National Review Online.

Roundup of blogs and news - 9/14/09

While entirely predictable, this is getting old very quickly. I have no doubt that there are people who do not like President Obama because of the color of his skin, just as there are people who do not like me based on the color of my skin. But to ascribe every bit of opposition to the President's plans and goals to "racism" is not only false, it an insult to citizens of all races. While there are doubtless some who truly believe this garbage, most are political opportunists who are looking to score cheap points and stifle discussion of the issues. President Obama says he wants an honest discussion, yet crying, "Racism!" deligitimizes not only the argument, but the person making the argument. When one comes from an assumption that their opponent is making an argument based on racism, then one is no longer required to defend their position as the opposition argument is not legitimate. President Obama has not been treated with near the malice and opprobrium that was dealt to President Bush. Can we ascribe his treatment to racism? Of course not. That was "legitimate" ideological opposition. By saying an opponent is racist, the liberal claims the high ground - only they can object to something on ideological grounds, conservatives have no legitimate ideological stands. Come on! Do these people really think that if Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, or John Edwards had been elected President that conservatives would have been happy with the government taking over large chunks of the banking and auto industries, imposing huge tax and regulatory burdens with cap-and-tax, and trying to push through a poorly conceived health care "reform"? Of course not. This should be objectionable to those who have really suffered racial discrimination. So let's stop these baseless accusations and get serious, for a change.

Victor Davis Hanson, at The Corner, makes much the same point and chronicles some of the strident anti-Bush rhetoric.

Joe Wilson, in calling President Obama a liar, was technically wrong, but factually correct. In fact, the health care bill DID prohibit health care for illegal immigrants, but also prohibited checking citizenship status. Several GOP amendments requiring proof of citizenship have been introduced and voted down by party-line vote. Now, the White House, by their actions, admits that Rep. Wilson was right.

The President's health care speech was the "policy equivalent of the middle finger."

Speaking of the Liar-in-Chief, remember those heart-wrenching stories from his speech? Not exactly the way they happened. Surprise!

Is there a "right" to health care? Jeff Jacoby says no.

If you or your family has benefitted from a CT scan, PET scan, MRI or other advanced medical technology, this tax on medical technology companies should interest you.

And why do we think that Washington will do it right this time? After all, their track record is abysmal.

The Obama administration isn't cooperating with the Civil Rights Commission on the New Black Panther case. It's getting old to say, but imagine if Bush stonewalled the commission.

More evidence that "cash for clunkers" is a failure. All is did was move impending car sales forward.

Good news - ACORN dropped from the 2010 census efforts. (Notice how "The Paper of Record" omits any reference to ACORN offices facilitating child prostitution.)

National Review Online, my favorite political blog, re-ran this 2008 story on ACORN today. A great explanation of ACORN and Obama's ties to that organization.

The 9/12 March on Washington, as reported by someone who was actually there.

Speaking of the New York Times, the Van Jones case puts the "lie to the Times' objectivity."

Now for the really important news - My fantasy football team pulled ahead in my game vs. Straight Cash Homey last night, thanks to the Chicago Bears defense and their 4 sacks and a safety. The Roasters now have a comfortable 538 pt. to 411 pt. lead and I have the New England kicker and a Raider running back yet to play. My opponent only has one defensive player left, so unless something really weird happens, The Chesnut Roasters should open the season 1-0. Just to make sure, though, I need to sign off and cheer on my guys.

First, Do No Harm – Reforming Health Care (Part One)

I had originally thought I’d write an essay covering my opinions on the problems in health care and my opinions on how we can reform the system. I quickly realized that such an essay would run many pages and no one wants to wade through that. I’ve decided, therefore to do this in installments. This essay is the first of a planned series on the subject.

Introduction

I don’t know that there is anyone who thinks that health care doesn’t need reformed. The straw man that President Obama posits, that those who oppose his brand of health care reform want the status quo, is just not true. The problems are complex and defy simple, or quick, solutions. The issue requires careful study, sober contemplation, and multi-faceted solutions rather than quick solutions based on political expediency and interest group politics. Unfortunately, serious attempts to comprehensively address these issues are in short supply in Washington these days. In this series, I will attempt to address some of the problems we face and will suggest some potential solutions for those problems.

My Qualifications

Simply put, I am a member of the health care industry. I have been a physician for 23 years, working both in primary care and as a specialist. I have worked for the government when I served in the U.S. Air Force and am now in a private practice. I currently am a radiologist and nuclear medicine physician in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I am a shareholder in one of the largest single-specialty private practice groups in Michigan. I work in several hospitals and a large private medical group. One of the hospitals in which I work is a large, level I trauma center that has the 13^th busiest emergency department in the United States. It is also within the top 10 in the United States in the number of joint replacement surgeries and heart surgeries performed. I am on faculty at the Michigan State University medical school and teach medical students and residents.

My father was a small-town family physician for almost 40 years. He was a true cradle to grave doctor who delivered babies, made house calls, and was on-call 24 hr./day.

One problem that I see with health care reform is that there is a dearth of practicing physicians among the reformers. Most of the people on these committees are politicians, businessmen, or physicians who have not seen the business end of a stethoscope for years. In a field that is growing and changing as quickly as medicine, someone who has not practiced for several years has no conception on how health care has changed. Ask any physician and they will tell you that the practice of medicine 10 years ago is almost unrecognizable today.

So, as far as my qualifications go, they are informed and limited by my daily life as a physician. I don’t claim to be an expert on the insurance industry, the hospital industry, or the pharmaceutical industry. This paper, therefore, shouldn’t be seen as a comprehensive solution, but as a piece of a much larger puzzle.

Primum, non nocere

I will begin with a premise of which I am absolutely convinced, and that is that the United States health care system is, by far and away, the best in the world and it isn’t even close. Our physicians, nurses, and ancillary personnel are better trained than anywhere else, our equipment is better and more plentiful, and our facilities are second to none. It is no accident that our medical schools and residency programs are filled with students from around the world. It is also not merely blind luck that almost every significant medical advance in the last 30 years has come from the United States.

Detractors will point to lower life span in the United States, as compared to other countries, but not account for the high rates of obesity, heart disease, and violent (primarily vehicular) deaths in the United States as compared with most of the rest of the world. These are not health care issues as much as lifestyle issues. As the late syndicated columnist, Mike Royko said

Let us talk about medical care and, one of the biggest problems we have. That problem is you, my fellow American. Yes, you, eating too much and eating the wrong foods; many of you guzzling too much hooch; still puffing away at $2.50 a pack; getting your daily exercise by lumbering from the fridge to the microwave to the couch; doing dope and bringing crack babies into the world; filling the big city emergency rooms with gunshot victims; engaging in unsafe sex and catching a deadly disease while blaming the world for not finding an instant cure.
You and your habits, not the doctors, are the single biggest health problem in this country. If anything, it is amazing that the doc’s keep you alive as long as they do. In fact, I don’t understand how they can stand looking at your blubbery bods all day.

According to the Center for Disease Control, the average life expectancy for white females in the United States born in 2005 is 80.4years. That of white men is 75.2 years. Average life expectancy for an African American female born in 2005 is 76.5 years. Do we really think that African American females receive better health care in the United States than white men? According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the group with the highest life expectancy in the United States is Oriental women, with a life expectancy of 85.8 years. So, according to those who use life expectancy as an indicator, Oriental women receive the best health care of all. The fact of the matter is that health care has little to do with life expectancy.

Another statistic that is often trotted out by detractors of the US health care system is that of the infant mortality rate. But again, as they say, there are lies, damned lies, and statistics. Infant mortality is defined as the death of any child who was born live and who dies before one year of age. One of the problems is what constitutes a live birth? An article in US News and World Report, published in 2006, sums up the problem this way:

First, it's shaky ground to compare U.S. infant mortality with reports from other countries. The United States counts all births as live if they show any sign of life, regardless of prematurity or size. This includes what many other countries report as stillbirths. In Austria and Germany, fetal weight must be at least 500 grams (1 pound) to count as a live birth; in other parts of Europe, such as Switzerland, the fetus must be at least 30 centimeters (12 inches) long. In Belgium and France, births at less than 26 weeks of pregnancy are registered as lifeless. And some countries don't reliably register babies who die within the first 24 hours of birth. Thus, the United States is sure to report higher infant mortality rates. For this very reason, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which collects the European numbers, warns of head-to-head comparisons by country.

Some countries will not count any birth as a live birth if the baby is pre-term (38 weeks.) In fact, Russia and other former Soviet Union countries would not count a premature baby as having been born alive until it had lived for 7 days. Japan and Hong Kong both report a very high rate of stillborn infants to live births, almost certainly because those infants who die shortly after birth are being reported as stillborn rather than an infant death.

In the United States, 50% of all babies born at 25 weeks survive because of the extraordinary care we provide. Elsewhere around the world, it is rare that any attempt is made to care for these infants. They are more likely to die within minutes to hours after birth and be listed as a stillbirth or a miscarriage.

During my residency, I spent three months at Boston Children’s Hospital. I remember reading chest x-rays from the neonatal intensive care unit and remarking on how many children had a rare congenital heart disease (I don’t remember now which one.) My attending reminded me that the disease was exceedingly rare, but that Children’s Hospital was the only place in the world that offered the potential life-saving surgery for these babies. And it wasn’t just this one heart disease. It was a number of different conditions. During my three months there, I saw children that had been flown in from Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Portugal, France, and Saudi Arabia, just to name a few. Now, if one of these infants died, this would count against the United States statistics since that is where the death occurred. And Boston Children’s, while one of the finest pediatric hospitals in the United States, certainly isn’t unique. There are a number of pediatric hospitals in the US that perform similar services.

Probably a better indication of the quality and accessibility of health care is cancer survival rate, which is almost entirely due to differences in detection and treatment. The 5-yr. survival rate (those patients still alive 5 years after detection) for breast carcinoma in the United States is 90.1%, in Europe, it is 79.0%, and in Canada, 82%. For prostate carcinoma, the 5-yr. survival rate in the US is 99.3%, in Europe it is 77.5% and in Canada, it is 87%. In fact, for every cancer, the US 5-yr. survival rate is higher than that of Europe and Canada. For all cancers, no country in the world has better cancer survival rates than the US.

As far as quality of care, accessibility, and innovation, there is nowhere in the world that can equal the United States system of health care. Whatever else is done to reform health care, the reformers should adopt one of the first lessons taught in every medical school – Primum, non nocere. First, do no harm.

Obama's Center

During the campaign, we were told that we were being unfair when we mentioned Obama's associations with Bill Ayres, Jeremiah Wright, Father Pfleger, Khalid Rashidi, et al. It was a below-the-belt, guilt-by-association attack, we were told. We were told that his association with ACORN or the Gamaliel Project weren't legitimate issues.

Now, look at the people Obama has advising him - Van Jones, Cass Sunstein, John Holdren. Look at his associations with SEIU, ACORN and his sops to the UAW.

When will people realize that Obama is not a centrist or even a run-of-the-mill liberal? He is a far-left radical who has surrounded himself with far-left radicals and has a far-left radical vision for this country. He has shepherded a break-the-bank "stimulus" bill through Congress that has little to do with stimulus and everything to do with liberal pet projects. He pushed for a far-left cap-and-tax bill that will be the largest tax on the American people ever. (A regressive tax, too. It will hit the lower class far more than the upper.) Now, he wants to change our entire health care system? When will we wake up?

Mark Steyn address this in his article today, "Where is Obama's Center?"

Roundup of blogs and news - 9/11/09

Today marks the eighth anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center, Pentagon, attempted attack on the US Capitol, and an attack on all of America. Let us never forget. God bless America.

If you read only one article today, read this one by Ralph Peters. We say "Never forget", but it seems that we've already forgotten.

To illustrate the above, the Department of Homeland Security urges us to remember the victims of 9/11 by . . . helping stop the spread of swine flu. Really.

The world's best conservative columnist, Charles Krauthammer, discusses why Van Jones had to go. The incredible part is how the White House and other liberals seemed perfectly comfortable with having a 9/11 Truther in an administrative position.

Who are more nuts, Truthers or Birthers? Jonah Goldberg discusses.

An anti-abortion activist was killed because of his activities today. I think that we can all expect the press to weep and gnash their teeth over all the hate on the left. We can expect the White House to express their dismay over this violence. I'm sure that leading abortion activists will rapidly condemn the shooter. Right? Anyone?

Rich Lowry tells you how you, too, can make a speech like Obama.

Jack Webb schools Obama. Heh.

Why Medicare should not be used as the model for health care reform. I can say from personal experience that physicians HATE Medicare. One of the big reasons your insurance premiums are so high is that you are subsidizing Medicare and Medicaid patients.

Wonder why Republicans haven't come up with their own health care plan? They have - at least 32 times! Why haven't you heard about this? Take one guess.

Thomas Sowell writes, "One of the secrets of being a glib talker is not getting hung up over whether what you are saying is true." He writes today about our Charlatan-in-Chief. But he's probably just racist.

No American should have to choose between health insurance and getting drunk.

ACORN is at it, again. Even though a second ACORN office counseled a "pimp and prostitute" on how to circumvent the law, ACORN insists that this is a "political smear campaign."

Oh, and it's racist, too. Of course.

But at least the State's Attorney's Office in Baltimore is on the case. They are going after the real criminals in this whole thing. You won't believe this one. (On second thought, the sad truth is you probably will believe it.)

The good news is that ACORN won't be conducting the census this year. At least until Barney Frank, et al. enter into the fray.

Because nothing says Liberal like trying to silence your political opposition.

Have a good weekend, everyone.

Congress and Respect: A Strange Sense of Priorities

President Obama can’t catch a break when he tries to sell the United States on health care reform. Last time, all anyone wanted to talk about after his press conference was his ham-handed handling of “Gatesgate”. This morning, after Obama’s address to the joint houses of Congress, much of the ink that has been spilled has regarded only two words – and not those of Obama. All the talk has been about the Republican Representative from South Carolina, Joe Wilson, and his outburst when Obama claimed that his health care bill would not provide coverage for illegal aliens, “You lie!”

Even though the New York Times, Washington Post, and Newsweek, not to mention the major television network news couldn’t see fit to report about the racist, profanity-laden, conspiracy-theorizing words of former self described communist-radical Green Jobs Czar, Van Jones until after he was fired (and even then, attributed it to a right-wing hatchet job by Fox News’s Glenn Beck), Wilson’s words were front-page news on all the aforementioned outlets.

The hyperventilating left is having a field day. Rahm Emanuel, White House Chief of Staff, angrily confronted Republican leaders saying, “No President has ever had that happen before!” Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t Mr. Emanuel a member of the House of Representatives in 2005, when Democrats booed, hissed, and shouted, “No!” when President Bush spoke about the need for social security reform? Arlen Specter, ever the opportunist, stated that Wilson should be censured. After all, as Nancy Pelosi reminded us, lawmakers can be sanctioned for calling other lawmakers liars. Let’s just forget the fact that Harry Reid did just that about President Bush on national TV. The head of the House Democratic Caucus, John Larson, is looking into sanctions against Wilson.

Now, I think that yelling during a Presidential address to Congress is boorish behavior and totally inappropriate, in spite of the fact that he was absolutely correct. Wilson should not have shouted and it was entirely appropriate that he immediately apologized. But forgive me if I don’t succumb to the vapors over this incident as have so many on the left and in the media (but I repeat myself.)

It is interesting to me what constitutes an offense sufficient for a call for censure in Congress. If Congress can censure Wilson for calling Obama a liar, why don’t they censure Obama for repeatedly calling his opponents in the health care debate liars? In last night’s speech alone, Obama stated that his opponents are spreading “bogus claims”, “tall tales”, and “demagoguery and distortion”, which is ironic, considering that his entire speech consisted of bogus claims, tall tales and demagoguery and distortion.

But I really don’t have a lot of concern for what lawmakers call each other. I find it strange, though, that while calling another lawmaker a liar is censurable, no one seems to bat an eye when lawmakers call citizens expressing their legitimate concerns “un-American”, as did Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer, or “tea-baggers”, a pornographic term, as did Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-CA), or likening Obama opponents to the Delta fraternity in Animal House, looking to start a food fight, as did White House Press Secretary, the golden-tongued Robert Gibbs. The degree of contempt that Congress and this administration have toward the American people is remarkable.

And while we’re on the subject of censure, is Wilson’s outburst a more serious offense than Charles Rangel, head of the tax writing House Ways and Means Committee, failing to report over $1 million to the IRS? If Wilson showed disrespect to the President, doesn’t that type of blatantly illegal activity show disrespect to all those of us who pay our taxes, as required? Let’s not even get into the corruption that sticks all over Congress Critters like John Murtha, Chris Dodds, and Barney Frank.

Today, on www.Biggovernment.com, a video surfaced showing members of ACORN, counseling an undercover documentary film maker and his accomplice on how they can set up a brothel and employ children as sex workers. Let’s see how much respect Congress has for your tax dollars. If they don’t investigate ACORN, you know that they don’t care about you. All they care about is preserving their political power.

So, while lawmakers are busy getting their panties in a bunch over an admitted lack of decorum during a speech, it is business as usual, the pillaging of the national treasury for their own gains. After the 2006 mid-term elections, Nancy Pelosi vowed to “drain the swamp” of Republican corruption. It seems that the Republican swamp rats have just been replaced with Democratic weasels. It has become increasingly obvious that the only way to drain the swamp is to totally replace the entire Congress.

So, while Congress works themselves into a lather about a lack of respect of one of their members to the President, let’s not forget the lack of respect Congress has for you.

ACORN - Your Tax Money at Work Building Brothels for Underaged Prostitutes

This is an incredible video done by a 25 year old aspiring documentary film maker and a 20 year old aspiring journalist. It shows your tax money hard at work as Barack Obama's former employer and current flunkie, ACORN, does what it does best - use your tax money to engage in illegal activities.

In this video, the film maker assumes the role of an aspiring politician and the journalist assumes the role of a prostitute. They come into an ACORN office in Baltimore, where they try to get housing assistance to open a brothel, complete with underage illegal alien prostitutes. The ACORN employees are only too glad to show them how to break any number of laws and even give instructions on how she can launder money and contribute to his campaign.

Watch these videos and tell me how Congress, not to mention law enforcement, can not investigate this snake's nest. For my liberal friends, is there any way you can possibly justify this? Why is our tax money going to an organization that has been, time and again, shown to be institutionally corrupt? I think we all know that answer to that.

This story originally reported on http://biggovernment.breitbart.com/