Let's Give Him the Heisman Trophy Too!

When I first heard that President Obama had "won" the Nobel Peace Prize, my first reaction was "what for?". Although I still haven't figured that out other than he isn't G.W. Bush, I didn't take exception in the least. Let's hope that he is winning in advance for a bunch of stuff that a clairvoiant Nobel committee already knows about.

Anyway, I came accross a blog that advocates voting Barack Obama for the Heisman Trophy. Apparently, the award's sponsor gets to cast a vote so the fine folks at Nissan are letting the public vote on who gets their vote. I supose that the President couldn't be a worse choice than Gino Torretta was, so I went ahead and wrote the President in! Wouldn't it be great if he won? Maybe he could do that Heisman pose like Desmond Howard. This may very well be the only time that I ever cast a vote for the guy and I would implore you to vote here as well - Citizen Zane

You Can't Tax Me, I'm Union!

Well, now that the Senate Finance Committee bill has been looked through by the left wing of the house, it seems as though one of the provisions has put their collective panties into a bunch. Apparently, the bill will place a tax on so-called "Cadillac" insurance benefits.

http://dyn.politico.com/members/forums/thread.cfm?catid=1&subcatid=1&threadid=3124874&start=1&CurrentPage=1

This proposed tax would be on policies that cost more than $21,000 per year for a family or $8,000 per individual. Just to put that into perspective, my family's insurance plan costs about $14,000 per year. I reckon those other plans actually come with a real Cadillac or something.



So what are all of our pious reps so outraged about? Its because a lot of those plans that are up for taxing belong to union members. I have long thought that this health care reform nonsense is nothing more than a big game of musical chairs, where a liberal Congress makes all of us stand up and walk around until the music stops. At that point, Congress provides comfy seats for their friends (unions, trial lawyers, illegal aliens, those who can't afford insurance, other members of Congress), and everybody else lines up to be screwed.

If bills that exempt members of Congress and unions from "reform" and give no regard to tort reform hit the floor for passage, you can cue the calliope and start marching around in a circle. Don't bother looking for a seat either - Citizen Zane

President Obama Swinging for Windmills

Exiting Grand Central station this morning, I was greeted with an almost unending parade of police cars and other assorted vehicles with flashing lights moving down 42nd street toward the United Nations building. I’m not surprised by the security. After all, the President of the United States and various other world leaders are gathering today at the Don Quixote festival in honor of climate change.

I have to admit, this climate change thing was much more appealing to me when it was called global warming – especially after the atrocious winter that we enjoyed in the Northeast last year. It kind of gave me some hope. The thing that I can’t quite figure out is that now that it is no longer global warming, is there some kind of target climate that we are trying to hit out there? What if we cut down on greenhouse emissions to the point that we miss out on some really great weather one year or a hurricane that wouldn’t have happened comes crashing into the Gulf Coast? Would we really be able to tell either way? I am hoping that the President’s Climate Czar can dial up some rain for Southern California to combat the wild fires, but am not holding my breath. The knuckleheads in the Obama administration have a better chance of dialing up a good economy on demand than good weather.


The thing that is really laughable about this whole climate summit is that all of these developing countries like China and India are stepping up and proclaiming their commitment to cutting emissions. Yeah, and I’ll believe that windmills will be powering the electric shock therapy equipment at the “re-education” center that I am locked up in some day. I still hold that the best way to cut down on total pollution is to LOWER regulations for manufacturers in the US and slash the red tape involved with running a business over here. Can you imagine the outcry that would come crashing down on any manufacturer here that polluted like its Chinese counterpart? We’d tar and feather the slobs and run them out of town on a rail. The more we manufacture at home, the less we would demand from countries that pollute the sh** out of the environment and inefficiently use the world’s resources. I’ll bet that would do more good for climate change than any stupid cap and trade scheme. We would even have that odd side effect of creating more jobs and wealth in the US instead of shipping it overseas. Hey Mr. President, put that idea in your windmill and smoke it – Citizen Zane

Thank You For Answering My Questions

Being the Concerned Citizen that I am, I sent an e-mail to my dear Representative, Congresswoman Nita Lowey regarding the current health care debate. I stated my position as being opposed to the current legislation being proposed because basically, it is shi**y legislation that no sane person could possibly think is a good idea (though a quick trip through the blogosphere demonstrates that we don't have a large enough supply of lithium on hand). I also explained that I thought that Congress should concentrate on reducing health care costs before trying to jam another 40 million people onto insurance rolls because the already ridiculous national debt would surely balloon further. Finally, I asked my Congresswoman to answer three simple questions for me:

1. If this legislation is so great, will members of Congress and the unions forgo their exempted status, because if it is good enough for us, its good enough for you?

2. Will you address tort reform, which could significantly reduce the costs attributed to defensive medicine, silly jackpot legal awards, and the costs to fight nuisance suits.

3. Will you give me an ironclad guarantee that the legislation will not increase the national debt or cost me more money paying for other people's health care?

As with the other times that I have contacted Congresswoman Lowey, I received back a form letter that is basically a propaganda sheet straight out of Nancy Pelosi's dresser drawer:

Dear Citizen Zane:

Thank you for contacting me to share your thoughts regarding health care reform. I appreciate having the benefit of your views, and I welcome the opportunity to respond.

Over the past several months, Congress and the Administration have been working to reform our nation's health care system. Evidence of the need for reform is clear. Since 2000, personal premiums have more than doubled, now consuming 17% of the median family's income. Forty-seven million uninsured often forgo preventive care and rely on hospital emergency rooms for primary care, increasing costs for all taxpayers including those with insurance. Finally, health care costs account for more than 16 percent of GDP, nearly twice the average of other industrialized nations.

Without reform, these trends will only get worse: by 2019, the cost of a family health insurance plan will increase to an estimated $24,000 per year, approximately 45% of the average household income. The number of uninsured will reach 66 million - including 11 million who will lose employer-sponsored health care - raising costs for all of us. And, health care costs will account for 25% of GDP by 2024. In my judgment, the status quo is unacceptable and unsustainable.

The House proposal for health care reform would reduce the number of uninsured and provide additional options for millions of Americans to receive affordable coverage through a health insurance Exchange offering plans based on the benefits Members of Congress receive. Private plans and a public plan would be available to those eligible to join the Exchange, which would initially include only uninsured Americans and some small businesses. Over time, eligibility would be expanded to larger businesses to opt-in to the Exchange, but no one would ever be required to join any particular plan within the Exchange.

Insured Americans could keep their current plans, and employer-based coverage is expected to expand with the creation of the Exchange and assistance for small businesses to cover employees. Businesses that cannot afford to provide benefits to employees would be offered tax credits to offset the costs. The plan would help to contain costs for all insured Americans by creating competition and implementing reforms for insurers, providing payments to doctors for quality of care - not quantity, and by eliminating billions of dollars of fraud and waste in our health care system. Patients and doctors would be armed with the best medical evidence and information to guide treatment plans, taking medical decisions away from insurance bureaucrats.

Some have raised concerns over certain aspects of the reform proposals, including a proposed tax increase, the coverage options for families and the cost of reforming the current system. I share these concerns and have advocated an approach that addresses each of them.

To minimize the impact on taxpayers, we must secure more savings from the insurance industry which has experienced a 428% increase in profits in the last nine years while too many American families have faced financial ruin because the same companies wouldn't cover necessary care. I am also working to ensure that this legislation would not unfairly penalize businesses and families in our high cost of living area. You may be interested to know that the levels for income surcharges have been raised to $500,000 for individuals and $1 million for families, which is expected to impact approximately two percent of residents in New York's 18th Congressional District, and any surcharges would apply only to income over those thresholds.

President Obama has insisted - and I agree - that health care reform must be fully paid for so that it will not add to our budget deficit. Reform proposals should be financed primarily through reducing overpayments to insurers, rewarding providers for positive health outcomes rather than excessive tests and procedures, and reducing fraud and waste in our health care system.

In addition to concerns about what the bill contains, many Americans have been bombarded with misinformation about the contents of the House health reform proposal.
o The House bill would not result in rationing of health care; instead it would stop the practice of insurance companies rationing coverage for catastrophic care, treatments for pre-existing conditions, and many common medications and treatments recommended by doctors.
o Our health care system would not be socialized because those who have insurance would keep it, and no one would ever be forced into any specific public or private plan.
o Medicare would be made more solvent by ending billions in overpayments for various services and reimbursing physicians for quality - not quantity - of care.
o Just as current law prohibits illegal immigrants from receiving government benefits, the health reform bill would provide no benefits for illegal immigrants.
o Older Americans would not be denied care based on their age or be required to discuss end of life care with government officials. However, end-of-life counseling with a health care provider would be covered for the first time for Medicare enrollees seeking this service.

The House Committees of jurisdiction have completed the mark-up process of the current health care proposals and are now working to develop a combined final package. I strongly support an open and deliberative process and will work hard to ensure that Congress moves forward with a plan that makes quality care for individuals and their families affordable and accessible, preserves patients' choice of doctors and plans, and reins in long-term health care costs that threaten businesses' and families' financial security.

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts with me. If you would like to sign up for my regular e-newsletter or to find more details about health care reform proposals including explanations of common misconceptions, visit my website at www.lowey.house.gov. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can help you in any way.

Sincerely, Nita Lowey Member of Congress

Well, at least I don't have to worry about the bill increasing the national debt because my valiant Congresswoman and the president insist that savings from screwing over the insurance industry and cutting fraud and waste! I'll also stop worrying about retirement because I will assume that social security will cover me. I know that everything that Nita Lowey tells me is not worth a lick of pooh. I suppose that there are some really gullible fools out there who actually believe this nonsense, but they were already predispositioned to lick the inside of the liberal toilet bowl and declare the contents 'delicious'. What I can't figure out is why don't we get on that cutting fraud and waste thing first and see what we can come up with. As for my other questions, well, Miz Lowey didn't think that they deserved a sniff in her form letter. I guess that I know where she stands on those issues. And this is how I know that the liberals are really not interested in real reform. Why would what any non-partisan person with the IQ of a venus fly trap not think that those were good ideas? The clever thing is how they are casting the Republicans as the gang not interested in real reform (which may be true too) and keeping the brain dead drunk with the Kool-Aid - Citizen Zane

Ding-Dong Demos Dip Double Digits?

Well, this is certainly a headline that I can get behind. I suppose my own personal conservative fiscal tendencies tend to make me cringe when the Democrats start planning the myriad of ways to spend my tax dollars out to 140 years beyond where I have earned the paycheck to be taxed, so I will sleep better when they are no longer in total control of both houses and the presidency. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that the opposition is going to give us any better representation.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26393.html

I would honestly like to see both parties with significant losses in the 2010 elections. The last thing that we need are more Representatives who are beholden to the party that got them elected and obligated to vote down party lines instead of for their constituents. My rep is so far up Nancy Pelosi's arse that she farts every time Nancy eats chili. I can predict her vote on any issue by listening to Nancy, regardless of what the people she represents want. I'm sure that there are similar drones from both major parties who mindlessly wander around the halls of Congress taking orders from party big-wigs, dangerously tacking dubious spending projects onto every bill and grandstanding for or against this thing are that when the cameras are rolling.

Ask yourself: Do the men and women of Congress:
Care more about the USA or their own political party?
Care more about the Citizens of the United States or about their own re-elections?
Pay more attention to lobbyists with goodies or letters from their constituents?

Hmmmm, seems pretty obvious to me. Now ask yourself:
Do I always line up with one party or the other, rationalizing away valid points made by the opposition while finding some reason to support the side that I cheer for?
Can I find a zillion reasons why the other side is responsible for the mess we are in and rationalize away my side's contributions to the disaster?

The truth is: Both parties have lost touch with the wishes of the people. They bicker and strut about, dividing us this way or that while passing just enough horrendous legislation that we don't need to keep their own palms greased. All the while we stupidly continue to vote for that same party that we have voted for the past upteen years because we have convinced ourselves that they are morally/fiscally/socially taking the high ground on all the issues and the other side is a bunch of nuts. We deserve the horrible representation that we receive and the mess that we are in because we goshdang ask for it year after year. You lazy asses out there - get to the polls and start voting these incompetent fools out of office until they put the people first - Citizen Zane

More Stumulating for the Party

I have long worried that the stimulus bill was more about stimulating the Democratic Party than the national economy. So despite the President's promises for transparency and for keeping politics out of the use of the stimulus funds (and despite the valiant efforts of watch poodle Joe Biden of "nobody messes with Joe" fame), here is further evidence that party counts.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090826/ap_on_go_co/us_stimulus_border_crossings

Not only does it not surprise me that the cash is flowing into the greedy paws of powerful Democratic politicians, but it is even less of a surprise that this particular $15 million is apparently be wasted. I mean $15 million for a checkpoint frequented by three people a day - albeit dangerous Canadians - is government waste at its finest. What are they going to do, gold plate the toilet seats? I mean for three people a day, we can have a little shack with a guard who looks like the Maytag repair man, a cot for him to nap on between wayward travelers, a TV (with cable), and refrigerator stocked with nutritious snacks for what, like $75,000 a year. I'll tell you what President Obama, for a measly $7.5 million, I'd be happy to administer this check point for the next 20 years. What a bargain - I would save the taxpayers $7.5 million! Now go and put the money to use in Laredo Texas where it is needed. I know that Texas is Republican territory, but if you insist on wasting our tax money, at least waste it to good use - Citizen Zane

Retirees in Trouble? Lucky them!

I happened upon this article that explains that with no rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) this year, social security recipients will not get their usual cost of living raise this year. Because medical care costs are not included in the CPI - what government genius thought that up? - rising costs for their health care will effectively make any of our seniors on SS a little poorer this year.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32544620/ns/politics-more_politics/

Do you know what I say????? Boo Hoo HOO! Pretty calous? Damn straight. Here's why: because Citizen Zane has been paying 7.65% of every pay check this year to fund Social Security and Medicare and my dear employer has been matching those contributions. Assuming that I make $100,000 (because that one and those zeros make for an easy calculation) this year, my employer and I will have shelled out $15,300 to pay for seniors. When my wife was still gainfully employed, we were paying her share too, and for what? How much Social Security and Medicare will I be blessed with? I am still a good 25 years away from collecting and we have to survive all of the baby boomers who are holding out their greasy palms for their share and are in line before me. In other words - I AM NOT GOING TO GET JACK SH*T WHEN I AM OLD! That's because that account in my name that Bill Clinton promised would be there has absolutely NOTHING in it. Congress already looted it and used it for some stupid pork barrel project or a war in the Middle East.

So if you are lucky enough to be collecting anything at all right now, count your blessings. When the baby boomers start retiring, we are going to be buried under the social security and medicare obligations owed to them that we don't have savings for. Here's what's going to happen...everybody who isn't collecting SS or medicare will vote to reduce the benefits for the people who are. Either that or the system and the governemnt will simply collapse from the accumulated debt. And the baby boomers have nobody to blame but themselves. Everybody in the free world has known that the system is going broke since as long as I can remember. Problem is, nobody did anything about it. If you think that Congress today is going to worry about your problems 10 years from now, you are a fool. Go check your face in the mirror, point to the reflection, and say thou fool!

I remember when President Bush Jr. was talking about privatizing SS, and there were a bunch of ding dongs out on the street corners with signs telling him to keep his filthy hands off of their benefits. HAHAHAHAAHAHA!!! The joke is certainly on them. There was nothing there for him to sully his paws on. I think that our only hope is to let a bunch of new immigrants who will work and fund the next round of retirees into the country. Let's hope that our immigration policies in the near future will be smarter than our retirement plans are right now - Citizen Zane