op ed review 3/28

OBAMACARE

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 219-212 to socialize health care in the United States, making the government the paymaster of, and giving it sweeping regulatory authority over, the U.S. health care industry which represents one-sixth of the U.S. economy. The legislation also enacts a dramatic and unprecedented diminution in the individual liberty of citizens.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/63118

It took a seedy campaign of intimidation, bribery, and back-room deal-making worthy of Tammany Hall, but Democrats have nearly pulled off the radical transformation of the American health care system that they – if not the rest of America – so desperately desire. With the 219-to-212 party-line House vote, made possible by the last-minute collapse of a holdout block of anti-abortion Democrats led by Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak, the federal government’s intrusion into one-sixth of the economy is one step closer to becoming a reality.

http://frontpagemag.com/2010/03/22/obamacare-on-the-march/

President Obama declared that the new health care law "is going to be affecting every American family." Except his own, of course. The new health care law exempts the president from having to participate in it. Leadership and committee staffers in the House and Senate who wrote the bill are exempted as well.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/23/obamacare-for-everyone-but-obama/

The legislation allocates $10 billion to pay for 16,500 new IRS agents who will collect and enforce mandatory "premiums."

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-goldberg23-2010mar23,0,6611246.column

Americans are angry: A rash of vandalism and attacks directed at politicians, with at least 10 House Democrats reporting death threats or incidents of harassment or vandalism at their district offices over the past week.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/24/AR2010032402122_pf.html

Here’s our hope now: "The health care reform legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last night clearly violates the U.S. Constitution and infringes on each state's sovereignty," Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican, said in a prepared statement announcing a news conference. "On behalf of the State of Florida and of the Attorneys General from South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Pennsylvania, Washington, North Dakota, Colorado, South Dakota and Alabama if the President signs this bill into law, we will file a lawsuit to protect the rights and the interests of American citizens.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2215987420100322

Rep. Jay Inslee attacks Washington AG McKenna for joining the suit.

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/healthcare/88791-why-is-ag-rob-mckenna-suing-the-federal-government-to-stop-health-care-rep-jay-inslee

Make them pay: House Republicans have targeted vulnerable Democrats, such as the health care reform plan's "flip-flop five" and "Stupak sellouts," who they think will lead them to victories in this fall's midterm elections. Both parties are furiously raising cash for a November showdown.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/24/gop-targets-health-bill-flip-floppers-sellouts/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_must-read-stories-today

Republicans have set their sights on a new goal: Nancy Pelosi's job as Speaker of the House. The GOP's official Web site has been replaced by firenancypelosi.com, boasting a goal to knock the Democratic leader from her post by winning 40 seats in the House of Representatives in November's elections. "It is time to fire Nancy Pelosi and send a message to President Obama that it's time to stop their partisan liberal agenda of

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/03/22/2010-03-22_fire_nancy_pelosi_gop_website_aims_to_raise_400g_to_oust_speaker.html

Pelosi's favorable rating in the polls now stands at 11 percent.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20000937-503544.html

The battle over President Obama's health care overhaul has produced an unexpected beneficiary: the pro-life movement, which is summoning support and gathering contributions at a rate not seen since the partial-birth abortion debates of the mid-1990s. Leaders of the movement are not only promising an electoral showdown in November but they've chosen a new villain: Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan. The pro-life Democrat's last-minute switch in favor of the legislation passed Sunday has infuriated movement partisans. Mr. Stupak is already paying the price: The Susan B. Anthony List immediately stripped him of a Defender of Life award it was planning to bestow on him Wednesday at its third annual Campaign for Life gala at the Willard InterContinental in downtown Washington.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/23/health-care-reform-energizes-pro-life-movement/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_must-read-stories-today

Sen. John McCain said Monday morning that Democrats have not heard the last of the health care debate, and said he was repulsed by "all this euphoria going on…..outside the Beltway, the American people are very angry. They don't like it, and we're going to repeal this.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35982527/ns/politics-health_care_reform/

You've probably never heard of Dan Benishek, but he's a Republican running against Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), who struck a deal with Nancy Pelosi that is believed to be the decisive vote to pass ObamaCare. More than 1,700 people have already joined Benishek's Facebook page. Liberty First PAC has added Stupak to its target list, and Stupak is probably going to be on a lot of other lists pretty soon.

http://spectator.org/blog/2010/03/21/dan-benishek-just-became-the-m

Sarah Palin is rallying the base on her Facebook page in a pitch to raise money to oust Democrats from 20 House seats across the nation. "With the President signing this unwanted and 'transformative' government takeover of our health care system with promises impossible to keep, let's not get discouraged," she wrote yesterday. "Don't get demoralized," her statement said. "Get organized!"

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/03/24/2010-03-24_sarah_palin_aims_to_take_back_the_20_in_wake_of_health_care_reform.html

“There is a fundamental right being denied 55% of all Americans. This denial costs over 16,000 lives per year, meaning more than 44 of our fellow Americans will die every day that we delay. What should be done in light of these shocking figures? Using the example set by President Obama and the Congressional Democrats, there is only one answer: Universal Gun Care for every American. Surely a right outlined in the Bill of Rights (2d Amendment) is just as important as a right NOT found the Constitution (Health Care).”

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/03/the_shocking_truth_about_a_fun.html

Follow the money:: “Non-union workers and private companies could be forced into absorbing the financial liabilities of underfunded union pension plans, thanks to pending health care mandates.”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/25/unions-eye-new-pools-for-pensions/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_must-read-stories-today

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IN OTHER NEWS

The mother of a Ballard High School student is fuming after the health center on campus helped facilitate her daughter's abortion during school hours.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/417276_abortion23.html?source=rss

This year, the Social Security system will pay out more in benefits than it receives in payroll taxes, an important threshold it was not expected to cross until at least 2016.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/business/economy/25social.html?sudsredirect=true

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THIS WEEK’S FEATURED COLUMN

David E. Smith 3/24

Like many Americans across the nation, I watched intensely as Congress debated and ultimately passed the onerous healthcare "reform" bill Sunday evening. One main point of contention is the idea -- affirmed by some radically "progressive" lawmakers -- that healthcare is a "right." This is nothing short of socialistic propaganda.

The implicit claim in the assertion that healthcare is a "right" is that it is a constitutionally protected right. All experts agree that healthcare is neither a constitutional nor a legal right. In America we understand that our rights to the free exercise of religion, to speak freely, to bear arms, and to be secure from unwarranted search and seizure come from God.

To see the difference in government-mandated healthcare and real rights, look at how they are exercised. Historically, American citizens have been free to exercise their real, constitutionally protected rights -- or not -- as they see fit. For example, the government does not compel citizens to attend church in the name of religious freedom. The government does not compel citizens to own a gun in the name of the Second Amendment. And the government does not force citizens to engage in the political process in the name of free speech.

In contrast, our radically "progressive" friends are eager to compel every American using the heavy hand of government to exercise their so-called "right" to healthcare. Should we celebrate the passage of a bill that in the service of non-existent rights actually diminishes our liberty?

What is really at issue is not whether healthcare is a "right," but whether citizens have a right to taxpayer-funded healthcare. What other cherished American "right" has ever required that we diminish another's liberty? Does the right to free speech require newspaper owners to print every op-ed and editorial? Does the right to bear arms require the government to arm its citizenry? Does the freedom of religion require government-funding of churches, mosques, and synagogues? Of course not!

Why then, does this "right" to healthcare require the government to take from some to give to others? When in the history of our country have we had to secure a right by trampling on the liberties of others? Make no mistake...that is exactly what is happening with this government takeover of the healthcare industry. This new healthcare "right" will be forced on every American; and it will be made possible -- in the words of Karl Marx -- by taking from citizens "according to their ability" and giving to others "according to their needs."

According to U.S. Representative John Boehner (R-Ohio), this legislation will create 160 new governmental boards, commissions, and mandates, and will require $500 billion in tax increases to pay for it. Of course, that will be only the beginning, as additional taxpayer funds will most certainly be needed.

Healthcare lawyer and policy analyst John S. Hoff illuminates the troubling questions left unanswered by the phrase "right to healthcare," which he argues "does not address the relevant issues that must be considered in considering taxpayer subsidies for healthcare":

How much healthcare is to be paid for by the taxpayer, for what beneficiaries, and under what circumstances? Does it include the most advanced or experimental treatment? Indeed, what is healthcare? Long-term care? What are the parameters of self-responsibility? Should there be taxpayer subsidies for smokers, drug abusers, and dare-devils? And which taxpayers should be paying? Should the working young and low-income workers subsidize the healthcare costs of those who are wealthier and sicker?

These are political judgments that we have barely addressed, and they are camouflaged by invocation of a broad principle of a "right" to healthcare. President Obama and many in Congress are celebrating the passage of this ominous legislation -- legislation that forces American citizens into the newly created, socialized healthcare system. Sadly, the costs of this new government program are much higher than we think. Although the financial cost to taxpayers is substantial, the cost to personal liberty is incalculable.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=948956

Another good read: “Madam Pelosi's House Of Ill Repute” “Conned by the promise of an ephemeral executive order, the last holdouts cave and ObamaCare advances. It doesn't add a single doctor or hospital room, but needs 17,000 new IRS agents to enforce it. Congressman Bart Stupak, D-Mich., spent months spelling out in minute detail how the Senate version of the health care overhaul permitted federal funding of abortion through its failure to expressly prohibit it. In the end, he cashed in his principles for an unenforceable executive order that is trumped by the Senate bill he voted to pass.

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=528098

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MORE OPINIONS ON OBAMACARE

“Opponents recognize that this bill violates the most important principles of American government, and as such, is immoral. In a free society, does one individual's needs constitute another individual's obligation to provide? The answer is no; rather, it is the duty of free individuals to decide what and whose needs appear most important to them.”

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/03/the_moral_case_against_health.html

“Resisting ObamaCare, Gandhi Style: (Obama) might get more change than he hoped for. By foisting ObamaCare on a deeply unwilling country he might have set the stage for the largest civil disobedience movement since the civil rights era, which, if it plays its cards right, could undo his legislation and his legacy.

President Obama is betting that come November the bruising, yearlong battle that he has just dragged the country through will be a distant memory. But that profoundly underestimates the dismay of a large segment of the public that sees what he signed Tuesday as a fraudulent piece of legislation based on fraudulent thinking backed by fraudulent facts enacted through a fraudulent process…..Gandhi.said that "civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the state has become lawless and corrupt." Americans instinctively understand this which is why pockets of resistance to ObamaCare are already emerging. The question is only whether they can be constructively harnessed into a grassroots, Gandhi-style civil disobedience movement powerful enough to undo this monstrosity.”

http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/23/obamacare-politics-united-states-reform-opinions-columnists-shikha-dalmia.html?boxes=opinionschannellighttop

Dennis Prager: “A terrible thing happened to America on Sunday, March 21, 2010”

The country took its biggest step ever down a road diametrically opposed to its original intent of keeping the state small so that the individual can be free and great. Therefore, in this unprecedented crisis of values, this is what needs to be done:

1. Know and teach America's core values.

2. Recognize that we are fighting the left, not liberals.

3. We must single-mindedly work to repeal the government health plan.

5. Our motto: "The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen."

6. Do not let other matters distract.

7. Acknowledge that we are in a non-violent civil war.

After Sunday's vote, for the first time in American history, one could no longer confidently believe that the American system will prevail. And if we don't fight for it, we don't deserve it.

http://townhall.com/columnists/DennisPrager/2010/03/23/its_a_civil_war_what_we_do_now?page=full&comments=true

The vote is done and we have awakened to a new era. Under the guise of coverage for pre-existing conditions and the security of knowing that you can’t be kicked off your insurance when you really need it, the democrats have pushed through a bill which will lead to the end of health care as we know it.

http://biggovernment.com/egeorge/2010/03/23/depend-on-the-government-for-your-health-care-good-luck/

Newt Gingrich: “No one should be confused about the outcome of Sunday's vote. This is not the end of the fight it is the beginning of the fight….. The Obama-Pelosi-Reid machine combined the radicalism of Alinsky, the corruption of Springfield and the machine power politics of Chicago. Sunday was a pressured, bought, intimidated vote worthy of Hugo Chavez but unworthy of the United States of America.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=36142

The government takeover of health care will go down in history as the worst piece of legislation to emerge from a Congress held in general disdain by the American people. The only bipartisanship on the health bill was in the opposition…….Once voters have a chance to tell the most irresponsible government in American history that enough is enough, the Democrats' brief reign will expire, and be deemed death by suicide.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/21/editorial-democrats-death-suicide/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_must-read-stories-today

“It takes some ingenuity to add to the costs, inefficiency, and dysfunctions that government has already bequeathed to our health-care system, but the Democrats have proven themselves up to the challenge. Almost nothing about this legislation is free of dispute, but we are convinced that it will increase taxes, increase premiums, and increase debt, while decreasing economic growth, job growth, and the quality of health care. The Democrats have abused the system, ignoring both the Founders’ design and public opinion. The first step toward undoing that abuse is to make them pay a political price for it.”

http://article.nationalreview.com/428841/obamacare-isnt-inevitable/the-editors?page=2

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FROM OTHER COLUMNS

“Several states will file suit to block implementation of Obamacare, which they argue violates the Constitution by treating the states differently and infringes state sovereignty. This sounds arcane in the present day, where the doctrine of states' rights, so dear to the hearts of the Founding Fathers, was thought to have been relegated to an antique store. But so sweeping is the assault on the Constitution that the states joining the litigation are more than the usual suspects from the Deep South. The suit will be filed by Bill McCollum, the Republican attorney general of Florida, to be joined by South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Pennsylvania, Washington, North and South Dakota and Alabama. Virginia will sue separately over the provision in Obamacare, citing the constitutional power of the federal government to regulate interstate commerce, that anyone who declines to buy health insurance will be required to pay a fine. Asks Kenneth Cuccinelli, the attorney general of Virginia: "If a person decides not to buy health insurance, that person by definition is not engaging in commerce. If you are not engaging in commerce, how can the federal government regulate you?"

-Wes Pruden

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GLOBALONEY

The (UK) Science Museum is revising the contents of its new climate science gallery to reflect the wave of scepticism that has engulfed the issue in recent months. The decision by the 100-year-old London museum reveals how deeply scientific institutions have been shaken by the public’s reaction to revelations of malpractice by climate scientists. The museum is abandoning its previous practice of trying to persuade visitors of the dangers of global warming. It is instead adopting a neutral position.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article7073272.ece

Even Bill Clinton is now mocking Al Gore: “Elsewhere in his remarks, he noted he was speaking on the night before the start of spring, “otherwise known to Al Gore as proof of global warming.”

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/03/21/clinton-returns-to-washington-needling-himself-obama-and-the-press/

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ARTICLES

In November 2008, Americans elected a socialist as their president. In March 2010, they woke up stunned to find themselves living in a socialist country. Health insurers - once private companies - are now organs of the federal government. Every citizen is a ward of the state, which can now compel you to have insurance; punish you if you don't; determine if your insurance is acceptable; punish you if it isn't. Thousands of new federal bureaucrats will soon spill from the D.C. Beltway and flood the country.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/03/where_were_you_when_the_republ.html

20 ways Obamacare will take away your freedoms:

http://blogs.investors.com/capitalhill/index.php/home/35-politicsinvesting/1563-20-ways-obamacare-will-take-away-our-freedoms

It is quite likely that the "individual mandate" in ObamaCare requiring all Americans to purchase health insurance against their will is unconstitutional. But after the State of the Union dust-up, the Court has more than just technical legal motives to take up the case. I'm hoping that Madison's understanding of human nature was correct, and that Justices Alito and Roberts are chomping at the bit for the chance to get back at Obama and his Congressional goons for the humiliation they inflicted on the Court. A decision striking down ObamaCare, authored by Justice Alito, would be the ultimate smackdown.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/03/is_obamacare_headed_for_a_supr.html

Ben Stein: “My Thoughts on Watching the Dems Stab the Constitution on the Congressional Floor……This is not how the U.S. government is supposed to work. This is how a South American junta does its work with a puppet legislature and a supreme Caudillo above law. This is, tragically, Barack Obama's America. It took a mere 14 months to get us from the government of Jefferson to the government of Trujillo.”

http://spectator.org/archives/2010/03/22/my-thoughts-on-watching-the-de

Mitt Romney: “America has just witnessed an unconscionable abuse of power. President Obama has betrayed his oath to the nation….he has succumbed to the lowest denominator of incumbent power: justifying the means by extolling the ends….He calls his accomplishment “historic” — in this he is correct, although not for the reason he intends. Rather, it is an historic usurpation of the legislative process.”

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NzgyMzA1NWUwNjA5OTg2ZTUzMTliYzQyOTM1ZmIzNTI

Michael Steele: This weekend, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ensured that the 111th Congress will live in infamy. Instead of listening to the people she used every procedural trick at her disposal to pass her health care legislation. She must be stopped…”

http://biggovernment.com/msteele/2010/03/22/obamacare-time-to-fire-speaker-pelosi/#more-93570

Lloyd Marcus: “Democrats say that their mission is to give all Americans health care. The Democrats are lying. Signing ObamaCare into law against our will and the Constitution is tyranny and step one of their hideous goal of having as many Americans as possible dependent on government, thus controlling our lives and fulfilling Obama's promise to fundamentally transform America……I keep asking myself: How did our government move so far from the normal procedures of getting things done? Could a white president have so successfully pulled off shredding the Constitution to further his agenda? I think not. Ironically, proving that America is completely the opposite of the evil, racist country they relentlessly accuse her of being, progressives used America's goodness, guilt, and sense of fair play against her. In their quest to destroy America as we know it, progressives borrowed a brilliant scheme from Greek mythology. They offered America a modern-day Trojan Horse, a beautifully crafted, golden, shiny new black man as a presidential candidate.”

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/03/the_progressives_perfect_troja.html

Rush Limbaugh: “They won because they held Congress and the presidency, and therein lies the lesson: We need to defeat these bastards. We need to wipe them out. We need to chase them out of town. But we need to do more than that. We need to elect conservatives….”

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_032210/content/01125106.guest.html

Bill Kristol: “A One Word Agenda for Republicans: Repeal”

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/special-editorial-repeal

Nile Gardiner: “It is yet another millstone round the necks of the American people, already faced with the highest levels of unemployment in a generation. It is also a great leap forward by the United States towards a European-style vision of universal health care, which will only lead to soaring costs, higher taxes, and a surge in red tape for small businesses. This reckless legislation dramatically expands the power of the state over the lives of individuals, and could not be further from the vision of America’s founding fathers.”

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100030793/a-dark-day-for-freedom-in-america/

Back in 1946, an ingenious advertising executive named Karl Frost suggested a simple, straightforward political slogan to the Massachusetts Republican Committee: “Had Enough? Vote Republican,” it read.

http://biggovernment.com/prahe/2010/03/22/hope-and-change-had-enough/

The Demcare bribe list, Pt. III

http://michellemalkin.com/2010/03/19/the-demcare-bribe-list-pt-iii/

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NOTEWORTHY WEBSITES

Just what it says:

http://www.firenancypelosi.com/

How a bill really becomes law:

http://lucianne.com/article/?pageid=school_house_rap

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WISE WORDS

"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents... If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the General Welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one, possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one."

-James Madison

"Honor, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive from us. "

-Thomas Jefferson

op ed review 3/21

OBAMACARE

If Congress passes the Senate health-care plan, American families will be required by federal law to buy a federally approved health insurance plan that will cost a minimum of $12,000 per year--and, on average, will cost $15,000 per year -- whether their employer or the government helps them with the premium or not. Beginning in 2014, the Senate plan would require all individuals to buy health insurance. Anyone who does not obtain insurance through an employer would be forced to buy it out of their own pocket.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/63012

Nearly one-third of all practicing physicians may leave the medical profession if President Obama signs current versions of health-care reform legislation into law, according to a survey published in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/62812

On Intrade, the largest prediction market, the betting is swinging in favor of the health care takeover, with the latest odds giving Democrats a 70 percent chance of passing it. Stopping this travesty depends on voters expressing their outrage to Democrats on Capitol Hill.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/16/the-health-care-bill-can-be-defeated/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_must-read-stories-today

The Obamacare vote will be Sunday. Michelle Malkin: “If you can make it to D.C…, there’s a Tea Party effort to “Take the Town Halls to Washington”, surround the Capitol and let Pelosi et al feel our wrath. Rush Limbaugh just interviewed Rep. Paul Ryan who said a busload of Floridians have arrived and descended on one of the House office buildings, hurling verbal assaults at the Dems hiding under their desks. These “seasoned citizens” are furious. Mike Pence, Michelle Bachmann, Steve King (IA) are all calling for a march. Glenn Beck on his radio program is asking for one million, says he’s thinking of covering it live on TV. Hannity will have info on his show tonight. The National March on Washington is intended to shut down the city and kill the bill. It will begin on Friday with an all night vigil. Pray, tell people, help any way you can. Pack a toothbrush… our country needs you.”

http://michellemalkin.com/2010/03/18/take-the-town-halls-to-washington/

Actor Jon Voight: “I am calling to all of you freedom-loving Americans to come once again to Washington D.C. to gather on the Capitol steps on Saturday, at 12 o’clock noon. We must come by the thousands. Speaker Pelosi will stop at nothing to fulfill her corrupt conquests. She will bring all of the corrupt ACORN liars to try to bully all the Democrats that may be having pangs of guilt…. If they’re bullied into saying “yes,” it will destroy America. Be there in Washington DC at 12 noon EST”

http://bigjournalism.com/jvoight/2010/03/18/call-to-arms-join-me-in-dc-saturday-to-stop-obamacare/#more-37746

Rush Limbaugh: Folks, you know, I very seldom….encourage phone calls and e-mails and letters to members of Congress. The reason that I don't do it is that I never want the charge to be leveled that whatever response you gave was not genuine, that you had been talked into it or motivated and inspired or manipulated into doing it. I think it is pedal-to-the-metal time, and even if you have been e-mailing and faxing and calling, I think it's time to intensify it.” Call the Capitol Switchboard: 877-762-8762 or 202-224-3121
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_031610/content/01125106.guest.html

Petition: Warn Congress that “November is coming”

http://novemberiscoming.com/

The GOP health care count right now: 209 no, 204 yes,18 undecided

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/The-GOP-health-care-count-209-no-204-yes-18-undecided-88247587.html

List of representatives who are undecided:

http://www.nrcc.org/CodeRed/targets/

Send blast faxes to undecided representatives.

https://fs8.formsite.com/cfiforg/form368400959/secure_index.html

In a conference with left-wing bloggers, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that passing the current Democratic health care bill is the beginning, not the end, of the process of creating a national government health care system. "Once we kick through this door, there'll be more legislation to follow," Pelosi said.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/GOP-on-Pelosi-Whose-door-is-she-kicking-in-87782582.html

Caterpillar Inc. said the health-care overhaul legislation being considered by the U.S. House would increase the company's health-care costs by more than $100 million in the first year alone.

http://www.chicagobreakingbusiness.com/2010/03/caterpillar-health-care-bill-would-cost-it-100m.html

Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson gets another “Cornhusker kickback” reward for supporting Obamacare. A half-billion dollars for a new veteran’s hospital in Omaha.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/18/nebraska-scores-again-health-care-endgame/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_must-read-stories-today

Republicans from both chambers are working to rally opposition in the House and lodge procedural challenges in the Senate that could tie up the Democrats' health care overhaul. "The American people want no part of it. So they can tweak this thing and tweak it, but still it's a trillion dollars they're going to spend," said House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, R-Ohio. Boehner urged voters to complain to Democrats: "They need to yell a little louder."

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=cqmidday-000003571953

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is going a step beyond simply pledging to fight efforts to pass the health care bill -- she's openly pronouncing that people should personally declare it unconstitutional and defy it, depending on how it ends up getting passed.

http://www.thefoxnation.com/michele-bachmann/2010/03/16/bachmann-we-wont-obey-illegitimate-health-care-bill

Idaho took the lead in a growing, nationwide fight against health care overhaul Wednesday when its governor became the first to sign a measure requiring the state attorney general to sue the federal government if residents are forced to buy health insurance. S

http://www.azdailysun.com/news/national/govt-and-politics/article_1742b9b9-082d-5c50-be1e-54b50543ae7a.html

More of this to come if Obamacare passes: effective April 16, Walgreens drugstores across (Washington) state won't take any new Medicaid patients, saying that filling their prescriptions is a money-losing proposition. Walgreens said its decision stemmed from a "continued reduction in reimbursement" under the state's Medicaid.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011367936_walgreens18m.html

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IN OTHER NEWS

Barack Obama has told the U.S. relief forces in Haiti not to fly the U.S. flag over its own military compounds because it will “send the wrong message.”

http://biggovernment.com/wthuston/2010/03/16/obama-orders-army-not-to-fly-u-s-flag-in-haiti/

Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, is aligning herself with the Tea Party movement and has formed a new organization to promote its ideals.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124708036&ft=1&f=1003

A billboard has appeared in Minnesota featuring a photograph of former President Ronald Reagan and the words, "Remember real hope and change?"

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20000495-503544.html

A new campaign by the Girl Scouts, with the help of Planned Parenthood, is offering girls ages 10 to 14 the inside details on how to be "hot." This week, the World Association of Girl Scouts and Girl Guides held a no-adults-allowed panel at the United Nations in which Planned Parenthood distributed a brochure entitled "Healthy, Happy and Hot." The brochure targets young people and contains graphic details on sex. It also encourages casual sex in many forms.

http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=128389

In the UK, households could be fined up to £1,000 if they fail to comply with complex new rules on sorting recyclables. Food scraps, tea bags and vegetable peelings thrown into the wrong bin could land them with hefty penalties.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1258755/1-000-fine-using-wrong-bin-Families-face-new-crackdown-household-waste.html

The Obama administration is poised to ban offshore oil drilling on the outer continental shelf until 2012 or beyond. Meanwhile, Russia is making a bold strategic leap to begin drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico. While the United States attempts to shift gears to alternative fuels to battle the purported evils of carbon emissions, Russia will erect oil derricks off the Cuban coast.

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/18/obama-surrenders-gulf-oil-to-moscow/

A wealthy businessman who raised money for leading Democratic Party politicians, including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, pleaded guilty on Thursday to defrauding three major banks out of $292.2 million in loan transactions.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1820602220100318?type=marketsNews

Whose side are they on? The ACLU is suing the federal government over the use of unmanned drones to kill terrorists.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34529.html#ixzz0iSXlue0i

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THIS WEEK’S FEATURED COLUMN

Bill O’Reilly 3/20

If Obamacare becomes law, about 30 percent of the primary care doctors in America will consider leaving the medical profession.

That bit of brightness comes from a survey by The Medicus Firm, the results of which were posted by The New England Journal of Medicine. Medicus interviewed more than a thousand American physicians, and 55 percent of them believe the quality of medical care in America will decline if the Democrats pass the current health care reform proposals. Apparently, many of them want no part of it.

Although the media largely ignored the Medicus study, the story is huge. Perhaps as many as 30 million more Americans may have access to health insurance. The question is: Who will treat them?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 22 percent increase in practicing physicians over the next decade. But that will not be enough to treat the universal health care crush, especially if a bunch of doctors now on the job pack it in.

There are essentially two reasons why Obamacare nauseates some doctors. First, control. Medical people simply do not want federal pinheads telling them how to treat their patients. The medical profession attracts intelligent, assertive people who are motivated to help others. This is not a docile crowd.

Second, money. Right now, many doctors are already seeing too many patients in order to pay the bills and provide a decent living for their families. Obamacare does nothing to bring down the outrageous expense of medical malpractice insurance, and it is likely to cut Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements.

Doctors can do the math. Their expenses remain high; their incomes decline. Again, these are smart people who could make good money doing something else.

In Canada and Great Britain, where socialized medicine is practiced, it is difficult to actually see a doctor in some places. Instead, nurses, physician assistants and other medical personnel fill the need. That is what could happen in the United States if the feds begin calling the health care shots.

Not since the Iraq war has America been so divided on an issue. Yes, ideology is playing a part. Conservatives despise government intrusion in the marketplace, but liberals love it. Right now, however, most polls show that the majority has turned on Obamacare. The latest Wall Street Journal poll, for example, found 48 percent opposing and just 36 percent supporting.

Here's my question: What would Marcus Welby, M.D., and Dr. Kildare say? These guys usually had the answers, back when wise doctors were the subjects of TV programs and health care seemed to be a glamorous profession.

Would Ben Casey support Obamacare? We know the "M*A*S*H" guys would. Dr. Jekyll might like it, but Mr. Hyde? I don't know.

What I do know is that many Americans are sick of the whole health care thing. And no prescription on earth will change that.

http://townhall.com/columnists/BillOReilly/2010/03/20/paging_doctor_kildare

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FROM OTHER COLUMNS

"The debate over health care reform has been messy and often chaotic, but here we are a year later and Barack Obama and his radical agenda might yet win. If it does, he will have put in place the structure for taking over everything else."

-Wesley Pruden

"It's all supposed to be voluntary, those 'home visits' that are tucked into the mammoth Obamacare bill. If you have a strong stomach, and a stronger bottom, you can find home visitation on pages 568-595. That's Section 2951 of H.R. 3590, the Senate [health care] bill.... The bill provides for federal funding and supervision for this vast expansion of government intrusion into family life. This is the Nanny State on steroids. Is your family being 'targeted' for such home visitations? Let's see if you fit into one of these very broad categories: Families where Mom is not yet 21. (No mention here whether she is married or not.) Families where someone is a tobacco user. (Does this include the White House? Watch out, Sasha and Malia! Does Grandpa, whom you love and have taken in, enjoy his after-dinner pipe?) Families where children have low student achievement, developmental delays, or disabilities. As if that list were not wide-ranging enough, here's the net that can encompass tens of millions: Families with individuals who are serving or formerly served in the armed forces, including such families that have members of the armed forces who have had multiple deployments outside the United States. [Emphasis added.] ... Do you spank your children? You should know that HHS bureaucrats think you are an abuser. Do you support the Second Amendment? How would you like HHS bureaucrats asking your children if you maintain firearms in the home for family protection? Do you home-school your kids? Take care. Members of Congress who have tried to abolish home-schooling are big backers of this health care bill. Do you wonder why? ... One thing is clear: For life and liberty, we must defeat ObamaCare."

-Ken Blackwell

"In his book 'Dreams From My Father' Obama gives the distinct impression that his gifts are too great for the smallness of our political stage. He regrets not having been born during the civil rights era when the grandness of the cause would have measured up to the grandness of his ambition. He is in search of something big that will allow him to make his mark on the world as Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King did. Hence, the defeat of ObamaCare would not just be par for the course in the rough-and-tumble world of politics for him. It would be sign of his ordinariness, his mortality, and that, to him, is unendurable.”

-Shikha Dalmia

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GLOBALONEY

If there’s a drought – it’s global warming. When there’s a hurricane – it’s global warming. If there are heavy snows or even blizzards – it’s somehow global warming. And amazingly, the latest round of rainy and windy weather in the Northeast, well that’s consistent with this phenomenon as well, so says former Vice President Al Gore.

http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2010/20100316061540.aspx

American's concerns over environmental worries are at the lowest level in two decades, according to a new Gallup poll. "Many environmental issues are at a 20-year-low concern," the poll found. It also found that public worries over eight green-related issues — from air pollution to the state of rain forests — have dropped by as much as nine percentage points in the last year alone. "Americans worry most about drinking-water pollution and least about global warming," said Gallup analyst Jeffrey Jones.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/17/poll-fewer-americans-worry-about-global-warming/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_must-read-stories-today

Interesting chart from 1990-2008 showing air pollution down 41% while economic growth increased 64%.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/03/graph_of_the_day_for_march_18.html

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LEFTIST WATCH

The new and much-publicized Coffee Party movement sports a fairy tale narrative about being a spontaneous uprising of concerned Americans appalled at the Tea Parties, and determined to restore civility. The truth, easily researchable on the internet, is that plenty of left wing establishment fingerprints are all over the birth of this supposedly spur-of-the-moment operation.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/03/the_coffee_party_con_1.html

Annabel Park, the purported creator of the Coffee Party movement does damage control with the help of CNN, claiming that her movement, aided by Soros-funded organizations and planned at RootsCamp, a left wing organizing workshop held at the teachers union NEA Headquarters, is actually a spontaneous, self-organizing movement.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/03/coffee_party_founder_in_astrot.html

“(Bill Maher)… leftist social critic, anti-Christian crusader, and HBO comedy show host warned God at the end of last week to back off, to allow smart people like himself and Barack Obama and the New York Times editorial board to push the God-fearing "ignoramuses" aside this week and take control of the nation's health care….For Maher, God is behind the mass stupidity of the American people. Or rather, it's belief in God, a fairy tale that refuses to go away. Obamacare, in which educated atheists make decisions for the God-fearing masses, Maher says, will be the biggest step our elites can take to fix the stupidity emanating from religious America.”

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/03/bill_maher_to_god_stand_aside.html

The Democratic Socialists of America explain it very clearly in their publication, What is Democratic Socialism. “We are not a separate party. Like our friends and allies in the feminist, labor, civil rights, religious, and community organizing movements, many of us have been active in the Democratic Party. We work with those movements to strengthen the party’s left wing….”

http://www.dsausa.org/pdf/widemsoc.pdf

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ARTICLES

“Let’s face it, chivalry and respect in young men are hard to come by these days. Radical feminism has taught our boys that door-holding and other such gentlemanly behavior are insulting and smack of “gender rules” that should be obliterated from society. Further eroding our ability to teach young males the virtues of civility and just plain thoughtfulness is a media culture steeped in crude, selfish and foolish male images. Battling a culture that devalues civility in general and purposefully attacks tradition makes it seem impossible to teach our sons how to be gentlemen. Where can a parent go for help? Join the Boy Scouts of America. This year marks the 100th anniversary of one of the finest organizations the world has ever known. As a mother of two Eagle Scouts, I can personally attest to how Scouting reinforced my husband’s and my efforts to teach our young boys to become men of honor.”

http://townhall.com/columnists/RebeccaHagelin/2010/03/16/boy_scouts_of_america_still_americas_best?page=full&comments=true

''Nonpaying status used to be a sure sign of poverty,'' says Tax Foundation President Scott Hodge. ''But thanks to increased use of the tax code to deliver social benefits, incentivize behaviors and funnel money to targeted groups, middle-class families have now been pulled into the growing pool of nonpayers. We're now in a situation where a record number of tax filers are completely disconnected from the cost of government.''..

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=527490

New Jersey's Republican Governor Chris Christie may be the best thing to come out of the Garden State since The Sopranos ended its run. Christie has given the GOP faithful not just a reason to hope but to exult. We conservatives are programmed to take deep breaths even after favorable election results, especially in the blue Northeastern states.. When the state's leading newspaper, The Star-Ledger, can post a headline that reads, ''Action Leaves Democrats Seething,'' you know the right person is in charge.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/03/chris_christies_new_jersey_rev.html

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NOTEWORTHY WEBSITES

Obamacare rules and regulations:

http://lucianne.com/article/?pageid=obamacare_rules

The Citizen’s Alliance for Property Rights

http://www.capr.us/

Liberty Central is activating informed American patriots who are seeking knowledge of the core founding principles and passionate about preserving freedom and liberty. By providing tailored information, encouraging civil discourse, and inspiring activism, Liberty Central brings people together to protect the core founding principles. In as little as 3-5 minutes a day, everyday citizens can connect through LibertyCentral.org to meet like-minded others, get their voices heard and direct America’s future course.

http://libertycentral.org/

The 4,700-word Manhattan Declaration speaks in defense of the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, and religious liberty. It issues a clarion call to Christians to adhere firmly to their convictions in these three areas.

http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/

Dogs playing in the snow.

http://www.dogwork.com/snow2/

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WISE WORDS

"[G]iving [Congress] a distinct and independent power to do any act they please which may be good for the Union, would render all the preceding and subsequent enumerations of power completely useless. It would reduce the whole [Constitution] to a single phrase, that of instituting a Congress with power to do whatever would be for the good of the United States; and as sole judges of the good or evil, it would be also a power to do whatever evil they please. Certainly, no such universal power was meant to be given them."

-Thomas Jefferson

op ed review 3/14

THIS WEEK’S NEWS

The Obama administration is quietly exploring strategies that would require mandatory investment of your 401(k)s and IRA’s in U.S. Treasury bonds.

http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=127284

The Obama administration will accept no more public input for a federal strategy that could prohibit U.S. citizens from fishing the nation's oceans, coastal areas, Great Lakes, and even inland waters. “….unless anglers speak up and convince their Congressional representatives to stop this bureaucratic freight train, it appears that the task force will issue a final report for "marine spatial planning" by late March, with President Barack Obama then issuing an Executive Order to implement its recommendations — whatever they may be.”

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/saltwater/news/story?id=4975762

A majority of Americans say the United States is less respected in the world than it was two years ago and think President Obama and other Democrats fall short of Republicans on the issue of national security, a new poll finds

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/08/poll-obama-dems-losing-ground/

48% of Americans now believe that the seriousness of global warming is generally exaggerated, up from 41% in 2009 and 31% in 1997, when Gallup first asked the question.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/126560/Americans-Global-Warming-Concerns-Continue-Drop.aspx

Supporters like to portray President Obama and his agenda as centrist. But those actually in the political center beg to differ. In fact, 66% of independents say their ideology is to the right of Obama, according to the latest IBD/TIPP poll. Just 14% say they’re more liberal.

http://blogs.investors.com/capitalhill/index.php/home/35-politics/1494-66-of-independents-say-obama-is-to-their-left

In another worrisome sign for Democrats, a greater number of young Republicans are prepared to go to the polls in the 2010 election, according to a new survey. The enthusiasm of young Democratic voters is waning, according to the poll from the Harvard Institute of Politics.

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/polls/85667-young-gopers-prepared-to-rock-the-vote

“The current Democratic strategy on health care is to force the House of Representatives to pass the Senate bill as it is, with no changes. The President's goal is for the House to pass the bill before he leaves on an international trip on March 18. In other words, time is short and the pressure is on. Time is of the essence, and your representative's vote will be historic, whether for good or for ill. He (or she) must hear from you immediately, as members of the House are getting enormous pressure from the White House to capitulate on this horrendous bill.”

http://www.capwiz.com/afanet/issues/alert/?alertid=14778946

Or they may try this scheme: “Would House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her fellow House Democratic leaders try to cram the Senate version of Obamacare through the House without actually having a recorded vote on the bill? Not only is the answer yes, they would, they have figured out a way to do it, according to National Journal's Congress Daily:”

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/House-Democrats-looking-at-Slaughter-Solution-to-pass-Obamacare-without-a-vote-on-Senate-bill-87267402.html

The Obama administration promised increased transparency in government but has rolled back rules proposed by the Bush administration that expanded the financial disclosure statements required of labor unions and their leaders.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/11/bushs-union-transparency-rules-retracted-under-oba/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_must-read-stories-today

Seven Muslims were arrested in the Irish Republic over an alleged plot to assassinate a Swedish cartoonist who depicted the Prophet Mohammed with the body of a dog, police said. Al Qaida put a 100,000-dollar bounty on the head of cartoonist Lars Vilks after a newspaper published his cartoon. The four men and three women were detained after an investigation involving European security agencies and the United States' CIA and FBI.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/sweden/7406023/Seven-Muslims-arrested-over-plot-to-kill-Swedish-cartoonist.html

One of them was a blonde haired, blue eyed Pennsylvania woman who called herself JihadJane. Federal prosecutors accused Colleen R. LaRose, an American from the suburbs of Philadelphia, of linking up through the Internet with militants overseas and plotting to carry out a murder.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/us/10pennsylvania.html

LaRose, the woman who is accused of volunteering for a terrorist plot in Europe, appeared to live a double life.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-jihad-jane11-2010mar11,0,3972459.story

The Hill's campaign blog, says that former King County Executive candidate Susan Hutchison is "emerging as a chief alternative" to run against Senator Patty Murray, should former gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi decide not to.

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2010/03/seattle_blogs_susan_hutchison.php

http://www.getliberty.org/files/NomineeAlert%20-%20Mari%20Del%20Carmen%20Aponte%20-%20Ambassador%20to%20El%20Salvador%2003_05_10.pdf

Dan Rather had this to say about the President: "Listen he's a nice person, he's very articulate…..but he couldn't sell watermelons if you gave him the state troopers to flag down the traffic." While Rather may not have been being intentionally racist one has to wonder what the reaction would be if a conservative had used similar language.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/geoffrey-dickens/2010/03/08/dan-rather-articulate-obama-couldnt-even-sell-watermelons#ixzz0hhkFVjHA

Great moments in socialized medicine: A UK man of 22 died in agony of dehydration after three days in a leading teaching hospital. Kane Gorny was so desperate for a drink that he rang police to beg for their help. They arrived on the ward only to be told by doctors that everything was under control. The next day his mother found him delirious and he died within hours. She said ‘lazy’ nurses had failed to give him vital drugs which controlled fluid levels in his body.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1255858/Neglected-lazy-nurses-Kane-Gorny-22-dying-thirst-rang-police-beg-water.html#ixzz0hbJaZyOE

“Mr. Goetschel is the only official animal lawyer in Switzerland, but that may be about to change. On Sunday, the Swiss will vote on a referendum that would compel all of Switzerland's cantons to hire animal lawyers. If Sunday's referendum passes, animals will have the right to be represented by lawyers in court. If they cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed at government expense.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703915204575103520836794314.html

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THIS WEEK’S FEATURED COLUMN

Walter Williams 3/8

Most politicians, and probably most Americans, see health care as a right. Thus, whether a person has the means to pay for medical services or not, he is nonetheless entitled to them. Let's ask ourselves a few questions about this vision.

Say a person, let's call him Harry, suffers from diabetes and he has no means to pay a laboratory for blood work, a doctor for treatment and a pharmacy for medication. Does Harry have a right to XYZ lab's and Dr. Jones' services and a prescription from a pharmacist? And, if those services are not provided without charge, should Harry be able to call for criminal sanctions against those persons for violating his rights to health care?

You say, "Williams, that would come very close to slavery if one person had the right to force someone to serve him without pay." You're right.

Suppose instead of Harry being able to force a lab, doctor and pharmacy to provide services without pay, Congress uses its taxing power to take a couple of hundred dollars out of the paycheck of some American to give to Harry so that he could pay the lab, doctor and pharmacist. Would there be any difference in principle, namely forcibly using one person to serve the purposes of another?

There would be one important strategic difference, that of concealment. Most Americans, I would hope, would be offended by the notion of directly and visibly forcing one person to serve the purposes of another. Congress' use of the tax system to invisibly accomplish the same end is more palatable to the average American.

True rights, such as those in our Constitution, or those considered to be natural or human rights, exist simultaneously among people. That means exercise of a right by one person does not diminish those held by another. In other words, my rights to speech or travel impose no obligations on another except those of noninterference.

If we apply ideas behind rights to health care to my rights to speech or travel, my free speech rights would require government-imposed obligations on others to provide me with an auditorium, television studio or radio station. My right to travel freely would require government-imposed obligations on others to provide me with airfare and hotel accommodations.

For Congress to guarantee a right to health care, or any other good or service, whether a person can afford it or not, it must diminish someone else's rights, namely their rights to their earnings. The reason is that Congress has no resources of its very own.

Moreover, there is no Santa Claus, Easter Bunny or Tooth Fairy giving them those resources. The fact that government has no resources of its very own forces one to recognize that in order for government to give one American citizen a dollar, it must first, through intimidation, threats and coercion, confiscate that dollar from some other American.

If one person has a right to something he did not earn, of necessity it requires that another person not have a right to something that he did earn.

To argue that people have a right that imposes obligations on another is an absurd concept. A better term for newfangled rights to health care, decent housing and food is wishes. If we called them wishes, I would be in agreement with most other Americans for I, too, wish that everyone had adequate health care, decent housing and nutritious meals.

However, if we called them human wishes, instead of human rights, there would be confusion and cognitive dissonance. The average American would cringe at the thought of government punishing one person because he refused to be pressed into making someone else's wish come true.

None of my argument is to argue against charity. Reaching into one's own pockets to assist his fellow man in need is praiseworthy and laudable. Reaching into someone else's pockets to do so is despicable and deserves condemnation.

http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=525716

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FROM OTHER COLUMNS

"The more we come to rely on government, the fewer freedoms we will enjoy. Government will start dictating what we can own, eat and drive, how much of our money they will let us keep, how we run our businesses, how many -- if any -- guns we can own, and what we may and may not say. Oh, wait! They are already doing that. To preserve freedom we must fight for it."

-Cal Thomas

"With their backs to the wall, Democratic leaders are preparing a complicated plan to pass their national health care bill. Standing in the way are Democrats who oppose the bill, whether on principle or out of fear that voting for a wildly unpopular measure will spell defeat for them in November. If you think House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is going to let them off easy, allowing them to kill the party's top policy priority in more than a generation -- well, that's not gonna happen. Democrats who are considering voting against the bill are about to experience arm-twisting, threats, and pressure like they've never experienced."

-Byron York

"In my entire career, I have never been as confounded as I am over President Obama and the Democratic leadership's obsession with a piece of legislation that not one major national poll has shown to be popular. ... So I have to ask, why are the president and the leaders of Congress willing to see their entire party and a multitude of other policy proposals go down in flames over something that the public can't stand? ... Folks, this is nothing more than a power grab. It's an effort to take one of the most essential elements of every person's life -- their health -- and put it under the control of government."

-Matt Towery

"President Obama met with ten House Democrats opposed to the health care bill. He did all he could to get their votes. He promised to campaign for them in their districts and when that didn't work, he threatened to campaign for them in their districts.”

-Argus Hamilton

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GLOBALONEY

The possibility of suspending California's Global Warming Solutions Act, a law unlikely to change temperatures but certain to wreak economic havoc, appears to have increased dramatically. Two large Texas-based refineries have pledged as much as $2 million to pay for signature-gathering to place an initiative on the November ballot that would suspend the global warming law if passed by voters.

http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/warming-238165-global-climate.html

THE CASE for global-warming alarmism is melting faster than those mythical disappearing Himalayan glaciers, but Al Gore isn’t backing down.

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/03/03/gore_still_hot_on_his_doomsday_rhetoric/

Barcelona hit with heaviest snowfall in 25 years

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/7401422/Barcelona-hit-with-heaviest-snowfall-in-25-years.html

Blizzards have hit the French Mediterranean coast amid warnings of up to 20 inches of snow in Northern Spain on Tuesday.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8557570.stm?ls

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BOOKS

“Karl "The Architect" Rove came by the NR offices this afternoon to talk about his new book Courage and Consequence. The conversation spanned from Social Security reform and Medicare Part D to Iraq and the Surge — all topics on which Mr. Rove's nimble command of even the finest-grained political and policy details helped frame in light of current political battles.”

http://www.amazon.com/Courage-Consequence-Life-Conservative-Fight/dp/1439191050/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268445442&sr=8-1

Mitt Romney's new book, "No Apology: The Case for American Greatness," will debut on top of the New York Times bestseller list due out March 21, a source tells me.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0310/Romney_tops_bestseller_list.html?showall

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LEFTIST WATCH

Newsmax first reported that Organizing for America, the community organizing outfit under the auspices of the Democratic National Committee, has launched a plan to inundate talk radio shows with callers. The action will occur when a particular radio show is discussing ObamaCare. This is an extension of OFA’s and Health Care for America Now’s campaign to flood last summer’s town hall meetings with union members and left-wing activists supporting Obama’s government takeover of health care.

http://biggovernment.com/kolson/2010/03/11/heads-up-talk-radio-the-presidents-foot-soldiers-have-your-number/#more-87386

It’s understandable that student newspapers at public universities are left-leaning. The advisors of the papers are usually left-leaning and they often have a left-leaning administration leaning on them. So their coverage of issues like abortion and homosexuality is often skewed. But private religious universities once provided a safe haven for those who wished to express views not approved by the immoral minority. It’s tough to comprehend the extent to which they have fallen prey to political correctness in recent years.

http://townhall.com/columnists/MikeAdams/2010/03/08/the_university_of_notre_shame

If Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn had his way, any journalist who called Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez a dictator would quickly find himself behind bars.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/03/08/sean-penn-wants-reporters-jailed-calling-chavez-dictator/

After all of Hollywood's Iraq movies have flopped (even the Oscar-garlanded "The Hurt Locker" earned only $15 million at the box office), one studio thinks it has the following secret to success: The previous films didn't insult the United States enough. "Green Zone," opening Friday, is a $100 million slime job that conjures up a fantastically distorted leftist version of the war and wraps it around a frantic but preposterous action picture.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/new_damon_flick_slanders_america_FGv1evpniBqZyEfmFpP4yO

"[W]e have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy."

-House Speaker Pelosi (D-CA), explaining why the little people don’t need to follow this

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ARTICLES

Is President Obama losing his base? Liberal and progressive organizations that helped propel him to the White House are turning on him now, little more than a year after he took office. Their collective discontent, on issues from health care to nuclear energy to the handling of terrorism suspects, could mean bad news for Democrats during this fall's congressional elections.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-03-10-liberals_N.htm

Millions of Americans have been forced to rely on unemployment payments for extended periods as the nation struggles through its longest period of high joblessness in a generation, and critics are taking aim, saying that the Depression-era program created as a temporary bridge for laid-off workers is turning into an expensive entitlement. About 11.4 million out-of-work people now collect unemployment compensation, at a cost of $10 billion a month. Half of them have been receiving payments for more than six months, the usual insurance limit. But under multiple extensions enacted by the federal government in response to the downturn, workers can collect the payments for as long as 99 weeks in states with the highest unemployment rates -- the longest period since the program's inception. Complaints that extending unemployment payments discourages job-seeking have begun to bubble into the political debate.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/08/AR2010030804927_pf.html

Get ready to pay a lot more than $3 a gallon to fill up your car during peak driving periods this spring and summer. More pain at the pump is the inevitable result of the Obama administration's carrot-and-stick approach to dealing with America's energy woes

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/09/obama-to-inflict-pain-at-the-pump/

A woman with a petition went among the crowds attending a state fair, asking people to sign her petition demanding the banning of dihydroxymonoxide. She said it was in our lakes and streams, and now it was in our sweat and urine and tears. She collected hundreds of signatures to ban dihydroxymonoxide — a fancy chemical name for water. A couple of comedians were behind this ploy. But there is nothing funny about its implications. It is one of the grim and dangerous signs of our times.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/Thomas-Sowell-Artificial-stupidity-87080647.html

Given that there is now almost no leftwing furor over Guantanamo—reminding us that the problem was probably never the detention center per se, but rather the liberal narrative of George Bush as outlaw—there seems to have been an administration decision made not to worry much about reneging on the pledge to have closed it by January 2010. One mystery remains, however—the apparent silence among Guantanamo's critics in the so-called world community. Here at home we finally learned that the Bush as Constitution-shredder

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=OTM3NGVkY2VlNGIxMmU4YmI3MjJkMTFlNDNmYjQ5NGI=

5 Ways Liberals Misjudge the American People

http://townhall.com/columnists/JohnHawkins/2010/03/09/5_ways_liberals_misjudge_the_american_people

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NOTEWORTHY WEBSITES

Talking babies reject Obamacare:

http://www.youtube.com/user/RepublicanStudyComm#p/search/0/6c6wLToQUN8

Memory lane: Don Rickles roasts Ronald Reagan on the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/03/ronald-reagan-dom-rickles.html

America Rising

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=662R2awSwPQ

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WISE WORDS

"On every question of construction, carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed."

-Thomas Jefferson