A Dainty Letter To Your "Dear Congressman"

Dear Congressman,

May I encourage you to oppose government-run health care and any legislation which might broaden the federal government's control over my health care. Current health care legislation will result in lost health insurance, lost jobs, and insurmountable debt for the American people and will push us deeper into recession.

Nobody has ever attempted this level of centralized planning. The federal government does not have my trust to run a program as big as the economy of France. I disagree with how this whole tdebacle has been handled, behind closed doors, with favors and insidious, outright bribes. The way this is being done feels criminal, especially this Slaughter shenanigan.

I agree with the WSJ, who said yesterday, this gambit is a brazen affront to the plain language of the Constitution. If this "reform" is truly about "controlling costs," why did the democrats rig the estimate on the first decade of costs by delaying the program's start by five years?

Is anyone listening to the CBO? How about the admission from the State Treasurer of Taxxachusetts advising that the USA will be bankrupt in four years if this leviathan is implemented. Hello?!

Why hasn't tort reform be front and center? Why hasn't opening up competition across state lines be part of the proposal?

The federal government should NOT be funding abortions or health care for illegal immigrants. No matter what the democrat leadership says about this, I don't trust them. And I don't trust the government to interfere with the doctor/patient relationship.

Lastly, how are we going to pay for this monstrosity? Answer me! The country cannot afford another huge program and you know it; you saw how Moody's warned yesterday about preserving debt affordability, right?

Last week S&P warned our triple A credit rating was at risk. The only way the U.S. will rise to the financial challenges we face is if we stop spending money we don't have, and that means voting no on this healthcare bill.

I hope that you fight against health care legislation that would drive up costs, diminish quality and limit access. It is just not right, especially not in a republic, to cram this down our throats. There's a reason the congressional switchboard was nearing overload Wednesday. Folks don't want this!

The Washington Post reported Nancy Pelosi suggested Monday that she might attempt to pass the measure without having members vote on it. That's a joke, right? Who does she think she is, Tony Soprano? So now you want to go from passing bills without reading them to passing bills without even voting on them? Are the democrats on crack?

Please listen to us and vote no.

Sincerely,

(Click on bold headline for complete story)

10 Questions which need answers

Ten Questions Politicians Won’t Answer

From National Review by Tom Coburn - Senator from Oklahoma

While I have confidence in the American people to come up with their own probing questions, let me suggest a few questions that my own colleagues have been loath to answer:

1. Why do we need to increase spending on health care by at least $1.6 trillion and steal prosperity from our children and grandchildren when we spend nearly twice per person what other industrialized nations spend on health care?

In my view, any bill that increases spending is a failure and not serious reform. The problem is not that we don’t spend enough on health care, but that we don’t allocate resources efficiently and get value for what we pay.

2. What programs will you cut and whose taxes will you raise to pay for health-care reform?

Any politician — Republican or Democrat — who refuses to answer this question or avoids the topic by deferring to the committees of jurisdiction doesn’t deserve to be in office.

3. What earmarks or pet projects that you have sponsored will you sacrifice to help finance the cost of health-care reform?

It is immoral, in my view, to ask taxpayers to make more sacrifices while politicians practice business-as-usual pork-barrel politics.

4. Will you vote for a public option that requires taxpayer-funded abortion?

The current version of the so-called reform bill requires taxpayer-funded abortion. In the House, this fact prompted 19 pro-life Democrats to send a letter of protest to Speaker Pelosi. In the Senate, an amendment by Barbara Mikulski (D., Md.) that would require taxpayer-funded abortion passed in committee. Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) objected and voted no, saying, “The way it [the Mikulski amendment] is written could be interpreted down the road to include something like abortion.” Are these Democrats also part of the right-wing scare-tactic conspiracy?

5. If the public option is so wonderful, will you lead by example and vote for a plan to enroll you and your family in the public option?

I offered an amendment in committee to force members of Congress to enroll in the public option. Nine out of eleven Democrats on the health committee who back the public option refused. If the politicians creating the public option don’t have confidence in it, neither should the American people.

6. Will you vote for a plan that will allow a board of politicians and bureaucrats to override decisions made by you and your doctor?

Both the Senate and House bills set up a government-run “comparative effectiveness” board that will make final decisions about treatment and care. In committee, I gave senators several opportunities to accept language that would forbid this board from denying care. All of my amendments were rejected, which suggests that the intent is to set up a board that will ration care, as is done in the United Kingdom.

7. If you support a “comparative effectiveness” board, what qualifies you, as a politician, to practice medicine? Have you delivered health care to a single person, much less entire classes of people you claim to represent, such as the poor, the uninsured, or children?

I’m one of two physicians in the Senate, along with John Barrasso of Wyoming. I know for a fact that very few leaders in this debate have any firsthand experience or knowledge of health care, which is disturbing.

8. How will a government-run public option perform better than other failing government programs, such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Indian Health Care?

Forty percent of doctors refuse to accept Medicaid patients because the program is broken. Access to a government program — such as the public option — does not guarantee access to health care.

9. If increasing spending on health care was the solution, why hasn’t it worked yet?

The public-option “reform” is not new at all but an extension of 1960s-era public policies that say a little more government spending and intervention is always the answer.

10. Are you more committed to doing reform right or quickly? Would you consider backing a thoughtful alternative to the public option? If so, which one?

I’ve introduced a bill along with Sen. Richard Burr (R., N.C.) and Reps. Paul Ryan (R., Wisc.) and Devin Nunes (R., Calif.) called the Patient’s Choice Act that guarantees coverage and choice for every American without raising taxes or increasing spending. In fact, our bill will save taxpayers at least $70 billion. Many other members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, are working on alternatives that don’t herd the American people into a government-run program.

The choice is not between the public option and nothing. The choice is between the public option and an option that can win the support of the public. The future of health care truly is up to you.

— Dr. Tom Coburn (R.) is a U.S. senator from Oklahoma. (Click on bold headline for complete story)

Unethical Rangel Gonna Skate?

Pelosi just can't pull rank on her cohort and clean up her "most ethical house in history." Despite temples dedicated to self at taxpayers expense, and $75,000 in unreported income, Rangel survives any inquiry...all this as the head of the House Ways and Means Committee. You see, they don't have to follow the law, but all of us do. Once again, Charlie Rangel proves Congress is great work if you can get it. (Click on bold headline for complete story)

Pelosi - Pickens ... Any Connection?

While the rest of the petroleum thirsty world drills the earth's crust for oil, the United States Congress, led by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, tells us we can't. Apparently it's OK for Russia, Brazil, China, Venezuela, Canada, oh, I almost forgot Nigeria(ad nauseum) ... it's OK for all of them to drill but not us. Why you ask? What say you Queen Pelosi? Please spare a smidgen of time from your rigorous schedule of busily "saving the planet" to enlighten the masses.

In the meantime, my friend's pastor said that Jesus of Nazareth has already "saved the planet." Perhaps the outrageously hubristic and plagiarizing Pelosi could employ a different sound bite. How about a phrasing which includes "cripple, handcuff, hamstring, or seditiously emasculate this nation's energy resources." Either one would more accurately describe her goals.

In the meantime, I sure hope it doesn't rain today. I'm pedaling my Schwinn Le Tour to Home Depot as my individual sacrificial contribution to save our globe ...oh wait, how am I gonna carry anything back with me? (Click on bold headline for complete story)

Feckless To Reckless, Pelosi Should Resign

It is as if Nancy Pelosi's agenda is to literally destroy our national infrastructure as she and the Democrats hamstring America from becoming energy independent. And her reasoning is...? What kind of captivity is the American populace in when Congress dictates drill-nothingism?!(Click on bold headline for complete story)

Slim Pickins From T. Boone Pickens

Always the panacea. The best question for Big Wind Pickens is if oil is not the answer, why then does Brazil, Russia, and China keep drilling? Not to mention all the coal in America! (Click on bold headline for complete story)