Video: Baucus Admits Obamacare Costs $2.5 Trillion » The Foundry

Video: Baucus Admits Obamacare Costs $2.5 Trillion » The Foundry.

Obama to Parley with Fox News

By Noel Bagwell
November 17, 2009

According to their Facebook Page, Fox News is going to be interviewing Obama, tomorrow. Here’s what their Facebook post said:

Fox News interviews President Obama! We ask the tough questions on jobs, deficits, health care, and our troops overseas. It’s the interview you’ve been asking for, TOMORROW, November, 18th on Special Report, 6pm ET.

What does this mean for the administration? Does it mean their War on Fox is over, or that they’re just raising the white flag to come out and parley? Parley… Sounds kinda… Frenchie French…

Typical. Since we’re speculating, how about a serious hypothesis? The President has committed to trying to ram socialized health care down the throats of the American public – whether they want it or not – and the greatest opposition in the media world to his efforts comes from Fox News. Why not engage them, since ignoring them has apparently had a negative (from the administration’s point of view) effect, so far?

Anita Dunn (lover of all things Mao & Mother Theresa) isn’t in the way anymore, so… who’s idea was this? Surely it wasn’t that smug, chubby bastard, Robert Gibbs, the puppet-mouthpiece of the administration. He barely entertains the mention of the White House’s War on Fox News from the press corps. An example from a November 9, 2009 Briefing by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs:

Q    One other.  Valerie Jarrett the other day was asked about the ongoing back-and-forth with Fox News.  She used the phrase that she and others in the administration are speaking “truth to power.”  Is that the administration’s view of how you guys are behaving?

MR. GIBBS:  I don’t know that I saw the interview that you’re referring to.

Q    She characterized your stance as –

MR. GIBBS:  I’m happy to look at the transcript after this.

Steve.

The guy dodges questions like Neo dodges bullets. Well, whoever’s (whomever’s?) brilliant idea it was to break radio silence and actually engage Fox News, kudos to you. You never pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel.

As for what this parley is going to involve, I would encourage everyone to watch the interview. I think expectations are high that the President will (politely) be asked some tough questions that the other networks don’t have the cajones to ask.

It’s just too bad the interview is going to be on Special Report, instead of the Glenn Beck Program. The latter would be much more entertaining – and probably more informative. Special Report has really gone downhill, in terms of the quality of the host, since Brit Hume (who looks like an old hound dog) was replaced by Bret Baier who looks like Lee Evans.

Texas Governor: Obama Taking U.S. Towards Socialism

Perry says Obama taking U.S. toward socialism
By Jason Embry | Thursday, November 12, 2009, 07:40 AM

Governor uses s-word in front of Midland crowd …

Gov. Rick Perry had some pretty strong comments about the Obama administration on Wednesday in Midland, saying, “This is an administration hell-bent on taking America towards a socialist country.”

Click here for more.

Pelosi Breaks Pledge to Put Final Health Care Bill Online for 72 Hours Before Vote

Pelosi Breaks Pledge to Put Final Health Care Bill Online for 72 Hours Before Vote.

Republican Leader John Boehner | Speaker Pelosi’s Government-Run Health Plan Will Require a Monthly Abortion Premium

Republican Leader John Boehner | Speaker Pelosi’s Government-Run Health Plan Will Require a Monthly Abortion Premium.

Daily Times: Hillary Clinton – “We tax everything that moves and doesn’t move”

Daily Times – Site Edition [Printer Friendly Version].

Cash for Clunkers costs taxpayers $24,000 per car – Oct. 28, 2009

Cash for Clunkers costs taxpayers $24,000 per car – Oct. 28, 2009 .

Common Sense and Spending

By Noel Bagwell
October 24, 2009

One of the things I don’t understand is why we’re spending so much money – why we’re spending so many taxpayer dollars – on things for other countries. We provide the bulk of the national security (except police, etc.) for the entire nation of Japan. Did you know that? Article 9 of Japan’s constitution, written at the end of World War II, prohibits an act of war by that state. The official English translation reads:

ARTICLE 9. Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. (2) To accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized.

Because Japan has no standing military, we act as their military. This is a crude description of the situation, of course, but it is generally accurate. The question, though, is why? Why, now, are we doing this? I could understand post-WWII Japan being completely disarmed, and the U.S. assuming a sort-of provider/protector role with regard to Japan during the reconstruction era after World War II. Why, though, does this continue? It is a huge drain on our resources at a time when we are out of money.

Along the same lines, why are we offering to “provide financing of between 25 and 150 million dollars for selected projects and funds” for Muslim nations?

According to AFP:

“The Global Technology and Innovation Fund will “catalyze and facilitate private sector investments” throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the White House said in a statement.”

If “we’re out of money, now,” as the President said, back in May, why are we offering to provide 25 to 150 million dollars in funding for projects in other countries?

In fact, why are we spending any money at all on projects in other countries? We can’t even pay for all the spending our government is doing in our own nation.

At some point between 2030 and 2040, the nonpartisan GAO projects mandatory spending will exceed government revenues.

What would happen to you if you made $50,000 per year, but you spent $75,000 per year? What would happen if you did that every year for 25 years? Essentially, that’s what our government is doing. They’re spending more than they’re taking in. “Revenue” means “taxes.” If the revenue (taxes) don’t cover the spending, it adds to the deficit (which means debt).

You wanna know what our debt looks like? Just click here: http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Now, ask yourself: Do you really think we should be spending taxpayer dollars to protect other countries? Do you really think we should be spending taxpayer dollars on a technology fund for Muslim nations? Do you really think it’s the role of our government to provide – with taxpayer dollars – humanitarian aid to other nations?

Care likes to dishonestly say that because our humanitarian aid spending is less than 1% of our GDP (according to their numbers from 2005), that our government does not reflect our values.

Their website says:

“The United States allocates less than 1 percent of its federal spending to poverty-focused assistance for other countries. That makes us the smallest contributor among major donor governments. Americans are a caring and generous people, and our government should reflect our values.”

The truth is that our government’s role is not to “reflect our values” when it comes to spending money on humanitarian aid. That’s the moral duty of private citizens, their faith-based institutions and private organizations the purpose of which is to reach out to those in need around the globe. The government’s role is to provide for the common defense, facilitate trade between the states and foreign powers, and to build and maintain necessary infrastructure.

Statue of Grover Cleveland outside City Hall in Buffalo, New York

Humanitarian aid is not the purpose of government, and that goes for domestic spending as well as spending on foreign humanitarian aid. President Grover Cleveland said,

…I do not believe that the power and duty of the general government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering which is in no manner properly related to the public service or benefit. A prevalent tendency to disregard the limited mission of this power and duty should, I think, be steadfastly resisted, to the end that the lesson should be constantly enforced that, though the people support the government, the government should not support the people. The friendliness and charity of our countrymen can always be relied upon to relieve their fellow-citizens in misfortune. This has been repeatedly and quite lately demonstrated. Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of the government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character, while it prevents the indulgence among our people of that kindly sentiment and conduct which strengthens the bonds of a common brotherhood.

The President isn’t right about much, but he is right about one thing: We are out of money, now. We do not need to be spending money we do not have on things that we shouldn’t spend money on even if we did have it!

Obama heckled during speech: ‘You lie!’

September 9, 2009
AP

Rep. Joe Wilson, R-SC

WASHINGTON — A South Carolina Republican lawmaker shouted “You lie” at President Barack Obama as he addressed Congress on Wednesday, prompting a Republican senator to call for an apology.

In his speech in the House chamber, Obama was telling lawmakers that the Democratic plans for health care overhaul do not cover illegal immigrants.

“The reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally,” Obama said.

“You lie!” Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina shouted from his seat, jabbing a finger in the air.

Following the speech, it was Obama’s Republican rival from last year’s presidential race for the White House who defended the president.

It was “totally disrespectful,” Arizona Sen. John McCain said on CNN of Wilson, a conservative who has opposed Obama’s economic remedies. “There is no place for it in that setting, or any other, and he should apologize for it immediately.”

Wilson’s spokesman Ryan Murphy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Wilson’s outburst caused Obama to pause briefly. Behind him House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could be seen glaring in Wilson’s direction, but there was no move by Democratic leaders to censure Wilson. First lady Michelle Obama, in the visitors’ gallery, shook her head from side to side disapprovingly.

. . .

Wilson’s was not the only interruption during Obama’s speech to a joint session of Congress.

Earlier, Republicans laughed when Obama acknowledged that there still were significant details to be worked out before a health reform overhaul can be passed.

Obama: “Every debate at some point comes to an end . . . it’s time to act.”

Obama Wants to End Debate, Act Without Further Discussion

By Noel Bagwell
September 8, 2009

President Obama said, in a Labor Day speech to the crowds at an AFL-CIO picnic, that the healthcare debate had gone on too long and accused opponents of spreading lies and, saying that “special interests” were determined to “scare the heck out of people.”

“I’ve got a question for all these folks who say, you know, we’re going to pull the plug on Grandma and this is all about illegal immigrants — you’ve heard all the lies,” Obama said. “I’ve got a question for all those folks: What are you going to do? What’s your answer? What’s your solution?

“And you know what? They don’t have one.”

But that is disengenuous, at best. Though Republicans have failed to coalesce around a given set of particular issues, opponents – including Republicans – to the legislation before Congress are unified in their desire for the abolition of restrictions on buying and selling health care plans and coverage across state lines, and are even more unified and emphatic in their rejection of the President’s so-called “public option” health care plan which would, over time, destroy the private health care insurance industry by under-cutting their prices to such a degree that they could not compete – the way Wal-Mart is infamous for doing to small-town retailers all over the world.

The President wants the debate over health reform to end. He wants to shut his opponents up. If that happens, though, if people just step aside, keep their mouths shut, and refuse to oppose the expansion of government in this most crucial areas of private life – the health care industry – the lives and deaths of Americans may never again be the same. Where once we had choice, we will have only hope – the hope that we don’t ever need a doctor. Where once we could make our own choices about healthy living, suddenly everything we eat, every activity we undertake is a “public policy” issue, because we all pay for everyone’s health care. Where once we had freedom, we will have only oppression, tyranny and despair.