How do the Obama deficits compare with past presidents? And how did the national debt get so big anyway. This video tries to answer those questions by looking at the debt as a road trip and seeing how fast different administrations have been traveling.
With the absence of celebrity deaths during the past few hours, the blogosphere is a-buzz with posts on the upcoming White House Beer Summit. The economy is in shambles. The thousand-plus-page, 13-pound healthcare bill is in cardiac arrest, (which is not a bad thing, by the way). The president’s job disapproval rating reached double digits. And yet the White House’s headline of the week is that the president of the United States will down a beer with a couple of guys from Boston on Thursday afternoon? Only in America!
Radicals are spinning the story’s racism undertones (even though the recently released 9-1-1 tape proves the neighbor who reported the break-in did not specify race); patriotic purists are agog about the beer brand announcement (Mr. Gates, apparently, has chosen a Jamaican blend — how unAmerican!); many are speculating as to who might be footing the bill for the event (Crowley’s crowd was quick to announce his trip would NOT be funded by the American public); and I’m sure the question of background music has crossed the minds (and possibly websites) of many a journalist. (My personal suggestion is “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” by War. The juxtaposition of the song and group titles pretty much sums up the story, don’t you think?)
My whole question is this — while seemingly our entire country is focused on popping a top at the president’s place, what is Mahmound Ahmadinejad wondering? Or is he sipping suds somewhere with Hillary Clinton?
A new Rasmussen Reports poll shows that President Barack Obama’s rating in Rasmussen’s Presidential Approval Index has hit negative double digits for the first time.
The survey found that 29 percent of voters strongly approve of Obama’s job performance, while 40 percent strongly disapprove.
Rasmussen calculates its Presidential Approval Index by subtracting the “strongly disapprove” figure from the “strongly approve” figure. As a result, Obama’s overall score is a minus-11. That’s the first time his rating has reached negative double digits.
Other results of the poll:
# 49 percent somewhat approve of Obama’s performance.
# 50 percent disapprove of Obama’s performance.
# 76 percent see Obama as liberal.
# 48 percent see Obama as very liberal.
# 54 percent primarily blame former President George W. Bush for America’s economic woes.
# 25 percent say the U.S. economy has been aided by the economic stimulus package.
# 53 percent oppose the Democratic healthcare reform package.
# 37 percent say deficit reduction should be Obama’s top priority.
# 20 percent say healthcare should be Obama’s top priority.
The poll is based on answers from 1,500 likely voters. It has a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.
If your representative in Congress is among those who have refused to vote for the proposed socialized healthcare reform bill, THANK him or her. This bill is not healthcare reform — it’s BIG BROTHER! The following list is just a snippet of items included in the bill. Not only does this program have the potential to bankrupt the nation, it will strip away many freedoms we enjoy. Please don’t blindly follow or support Obama just because you may think he is “cool.” Educate yourself about his agenda, much of which is blatantly displayed in this list:
• Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure!
• Page 29: Admission: your health care will be rationed!
• Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits
you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process)
• Page 42: The “Health Choices Commissioner” will decide health benefits
for you. You will have no choice. None.
• Page 50: All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free
healthcare services.
• Page 58: Every person will be issued a National ID Healthcard.
• Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all
individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer.
• Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community
organizer health plans (read: SEIU, UAW and ACORN)
• Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to
participate in a Healthcare Exchange.
• Page 84: All private healthcare plans must participate in the Healthcare
Exchange (i.e., total government control of private plans)
• Page 91: Government mandates linguistic infrastructure for services;
translation: illegal aliens
• Page 95: The Government will pay ACORN and Americorps to sign up
individuals for Government-run Health Care plan.
• Page 102: Those eligible for Medicaid will be automatically enrolled: you
have no choice in the matter.
• Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No
“judicial review” is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply,
private insurers will be crushed.
• Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages.
• Page 145: An employer MUST auto-enroll employees into the government-run
public plan. No alternatives.
• Page 126: Employers MUST pay healthcare bills for part-time employees AND
their families.
• Page 149: Any employer with a payroll of $400K or more, who does not
offer the public option, pays an 8% tax on payroll
• Page 150: Any employer with a payroll of $250K-400K or more, who does not
offer the public option, pays a 2 to 6% tax on payroll
• Page 167: Any individual who doesnt’ have acceptable healthcare
(according to the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income.
• Page 170: Any NON-RESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes
(Americans will pay for them).
• Page 195: Officers and employees of Government Healthcare Bureaucracy
will have access to ALL American financial and personal records.
• Page 203: “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as
tax.” Yes, it really says that.
• Page 239: Bill will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors and
the poor most affected.”
• Page 241: Doctors: no matter what speciality you have, you’ll all be paid
the same (thanks, AMA!)
• Page 253: Government sets value of doctors’ time, their professional
judgment, etc.
• Page 265: Government mandates and controls productivity for private
healthcare industries.
• Page 268: Government regulates rental and purchase of power-driven
wheelchairs.
• Page 272: Cancer patients: welcome to the wonderful world of rationing!
• Page 280: Hospitals will be penalized for what the government deems
preventable re-admissions.
• Page 298: Doctors: if you treat a patient during an initial admission
that results in a readmission, you will be penalized by the government.
• Page 317: Doctors: you are now prohibited for owning and investing in
healthcare companies!
• Page 318: Prohibition on hospital expansion. Hospitals cannot expand
without government approval.
• Page 321: Hospital expansion hinges on “community” input: in other words,
yet another payoff for ACORN.
• Page 335: Government mandates establishment of outcome-based measures:
i.e., rationing.
• Page 341: Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage
Plans, HMOs, etc.
• Page 354: Government will restrict enrollment of SPECIAL NEEDS individuals.
• Page 379: More bureaucracy: Telehealth Advisory Committee (healthcare by
phone).
• Page 425: More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior
Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia?
• Page 425: Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills,
durable powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory. Appears to lock in estate taxes
ahead of time.
• Page 425: Goverment provides approved list of end-of-life resources,
guiding you in death.
• Page 427: Government mandates program that orders end-of-life treatment;
government dictates how your life ends.
• Page 429: Advance Care Planning Consult will be used to dictate treatment
as patient’s health deteriorates. This can include an ORDER for end-of-life
plans. An ORDER from the GOVERNMENT.
• Page 430: Government will decide what level of treatments you may have at
end-of-life.
• Page 469: Community-based Home Medical Services: more payoffs for ACORN.
• Page 472: Payments to Community-based organizations: more payoffs for ACORN.
• Page 489: Government will cover marriage and family therapy. Government
intervenes in your marriage.
• Page 494: Government will cover mental health services: defining,
creating and rationing those services.
A friend of mine mentioned an intriguing book title and said he hoped to soon read Where Have All the Leaders Gone by Lee Ioccoca. Always eager to read a good book, I ordered it and on the day it arrived, opened it with great anticipation. Sixty pages later, I determined this book was not about leadership, but rather a book-length rant about Ioccoca’s disdain with the Bush administration. I gave it several chapters, hoping to receive some useful nuggets, but I’ve put the book down and likely won’t finish it. Time is too short to fill one’s mind with negativity.
Included in that same shipment, however, was the other book I’d ordered — Black Belt Patriotism by Chuck Norris. I admire Mr. Norris and what he stands for and promotes — God, Family, Country. While I’ve just begun reading this book, I doubt I’ll be disappointed like I was with its package-mate. I subscribe to one of Norris’s online columns as well as his love for our great nation.
From the back cover:
“Black Belt Patriotism is my critique of what is destroying our country, and offers my solutions for rebuilding America and restoring the American dream. It’s “black belt” in the sense that it is strong, resolute, and to the point, like a roundhouse kick. It’s “patriotic” in the sense that it recaptures the vision of America’s Founding Fathers. I wrote this book in the hope that future generations of Americans can continue to enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
I once saw a cartoon with the caption, “The trouble with being a writer is that when you’re looking out a window, nobody believes you’re working.” Personally, the trouble with being a writer is working so much that I don’t spend enough time looking out windows. What about you? Do you spend time to wonder? [...]
Yes, folks, it’s Freebie Friday at my new blog about blogging — On Blogging Well, which means you’re welcome to download this week’s free gift — a report titled, “Seven Things Your Blog Needs to be Successful.” Thanks for stopping by On Blogging Well! I hope you make this one of your regular blog stops.
I was blessed by being born into a family of readers. One of the first lessons I remember learning is that “books are your friends.” My parents taught my brothers and me to treat books with respect, to cherish the words within them, and, when we had a question, to “look it up.” That love [...]
A fire destroyed the old E.E. Mitchell building in Morilton’s historic district last night. The building, a one-time furniture store, recently housed a flea market. Reports vary, but at least three, and possibly four, buildings were destroyed, with 6-8 others damaged from smoke. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured in the blaze. Here’s the official [...]
Pause for a moment today and reflect on the memory of those who died during the 9/11 terrorist attack, those who died in defense of our country, and those who are still fighting for our freedom today.
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