Letter to our National Leaders on Health Care - From Main Street

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Dear President Obama and Speaker Pelosi:

With all the Democrats and media caught up in a feeding frenzy over the passage of health care reform in America I thought I would give you a little advice from the people you serve.

First, when the media becomes the cheerleader for social reform it is a sad state of affairs in America as the media were supposed to be the objective reporters of news, not the initiators of news. Somewhere along the way our media stopped reporting news and started trying to make news.

Perhaps that explains why only about 50% of the eligible voters in America don't even register to vote. Or maybe that is why network news rating have collapsed and cable news rating get far more attention than they deserve.



You don't get it but America does. When only a few million people watch cable, and just 20 million watch all network news, that means about 285 million Americans do not trust the news and don't watch it. Newspapers of course are collapsing in readership at a faster rate than television.

My advice is to take the adoration of the news media with a grain of salt. Why even the Obama love fest on The View on network television only pulls an audience of about 350,000 viewers out of 315 million. So don't assume what you see or read in the media has much credibility.

Now, as for health care, why did it take the Democrats 13 months of painful deliberations to the exclusion of the economy, unemployment and everything else to figure out you had the votes to slam through the bills? In the end the bitter partisanship that has resulted from this protracted debate has driven a stake through the heart of America being a nation of people and not political parties.



You seem to forget the majority of Americans can't identify with either political party and the independent movement gets stronger by the day. The Tea Party movement is but one of many that will be heard from in the next few years.

As for the health care bill, good old salty VP Joe Biden was right, it was a F###ing big deal. But it isn't even done until the changes are made in the Senate. If it gets done there are still some serious questions for us Americans. As I read it, and finding the truth in the claims of both political parties and the news media is a serious struggle, I believe it is the first time in our history that Americans are being forced by Congress to buy something we may not want from private companies we may not like regardless of the cost. If we don't we get fined.

Where in our Constitution does it say the federal government can do that? Does that mean you can force us to join a union whether we want to or not? Or force us to participate in public education when private, Parochial and charter schools are much better for our kids?



The Governor of Pennsylvania was on TV assuring us that the federal government has the right to force us to do this and has done it before. He gave as examples Passports and Immigration. Nonsense. We don't have to buy a Passport or get fined. And the 15 million illegal immigrants prove the government doesn't force people to get immigration papers. Where is the truth?

I heard the US Attorney from South Florida talking about Medicaid fraud. You claim this bill will save hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud. Why does this fraud still exist if you know it is there? The US Attorney says in South Florida there are $2 billion worth of fraud cases backed up waiting for criminal investigation and prosecution. He said he has 270 employees and that if he had three shifts of 270 employees working 24 hours a day seven days a week he still couldn't process the cases that are already pending. How in the world is the Justice department going to handle a caseload going after billions and billions of more in fraud? Why not increase the punishment for ripping of the government to huge fines, mandatory prison sentences and stripping guilty parties of any licenses forever?



If so much fraud exists and you all know it, then maybe you are guilty of mismanagement of billions of federal dollars and a failure to perform your fiduciary responsibilities. It would have been a bigger travesty of justice had you not passed some kind of health care reform.

You promised coverage for 32 million uninsured Americans yet they are not covered until 2014. Did you forget to tell us that? How are the states going to be able to increase taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars in 2018 to pay for Medicaid cost increases? I guess if a state has to increase state taxes by billions it does not count as a tax increase yet your action imposed that burden on the states.



Much of what was promised to us will not take effect until 2014. We wonder what you promised others to get the votes that takes effect immediately? How many pork barrel projects, special funding, or other forms of political corruption are buried in the negotiations to get this approved?

We did need health care reform. We are watching to see what we really got. And if health care reform means we have given up the last of our individual freedom and can now be forced by the federal government to buy what we may not want or be fined by our own government then you may have a much bigger fight on your hands getting this thing implemented than you think.



Finally, every small businessman I have talked with insist their health care costs are going up, not down, because of this bill. They fully expect insurance companies to adjust premiums upward to pay for all the benefits in the bill. They do not expect any government subsidies or tax credits to cover the increased costs and they dread the paperwork involved. We will be watching your actions.

Health care reform was needed. Let us hope your solution will help. Let us also hope that the flaws in the bill will not just result in another industry in the private sector becoming a slave to the federal government. Let us hope that single payer and public option elements that were originally demanded by you then defeated do not suddenly appear in the laws of the land.

Be very careful how you implement this bill. Be very cautious with the truth. So many lies and distortions have already been shouted we do not need any further reason to question the credibility of our government.

Sincerely,
Main Street America

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Obama Health Care Done - Democrats Celebrate - Is it Premature?

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Well the national and cable media are falling all over themselves in glee this morning after President Obama got the weekend votes on health care in Pelosi's House, but have they once again idolized their hero prematurely like they did in the election?

Before we write a new chapter in the history of health care in America we better wait and see what the Senate does to the reconciliation bill passed by Pelosi's House. Without the approval by the Senate the original bills passed by Pelosi could go down in flames and there are a lot of lingering questions about the process, the elements of the bill, the long term impact and whether it will raise taxes and premiums.



This much we do know. What passed will raise taxes by $437 billion. There are 15 different tax raises hidden in the bills approved by the House. Even top Democratic analysts say health insurance premiums will rise 10-13% as a result of the bills.

By 2013 there will be a 3.8% increase in taxes for every family in America earning more than $200,000 and a lot of middle class families will be earning over $200,000 in four more years.



By 2017 all the states will have to increase their taxes to pay for Medicaid subsidies required under the Obama-Pelosi bills. Just one state, the state of Ohio, will have to raise $200 million to pay for the new Obama taxes which means nationwide states will increase taxes by several billion dollars yet Obama does not consider this a tax increase since it is the state that has to pay.

Even Leslie Stahl, a veteran CBS reporter on 60 Minutes, said she listened to all the debate and still doesn't know if the bills will increase taxes. If the national news media has no clue, and there are 15 new tax increases in the bills not counting the taxes on states, then how will the public ever learn the true extent of health care reform.

There are also the deals made to secure votes and it may take years to unscramble what was promised. We know there are several hospitals in certain states that received $20 million windfalls in order to get votes. How many more secret deals were made?



We also know the Pelosi bills eliminated cost controls on drugs for senior citizens. Do you realize what I said? Pharmaceutical companies will not be restricted from raising prices from drugs. Obama promised to stop the spiraling drug costs, then let Emanuel negotiate away the controls to get final passage. This will also cost billions more since the average senior in America has 6-8 drug prescriptions.

The bills do not put any cost controls on the health industry and they do not put any controls on the medical malpractice abuses, both of these actions are necessary to save billions of wasted dollars but they are missing from the bills.

Also unknown is if the federal government can force citizens to buy health care and fine them if they don't which it is trying to do. More than 37 states have already said they will sue the government to stop the action. It could be another big setback.



No one has really studied who the 32 million people are who will be added to the health insurance roles. We know 253 million people were covered in 2007. We also know low income are covered through Medicaid and 15 million illegal immigrants will not be covered.

What we don't know is how many of the uninsured do not want health care. They could be rich and not need it. Many college age kids don't have it because they are healthy and it costs too much. They will now be forced to have it because the family health policy was extended to cover all dependents up to age 26. This will most certainly raise family premiums whether they want it or not. We also don't know how many have adopted alternative health techniques and programs, most of which are denied insurance coverage even though the treatments have been proven effective. They will be forced to have it.



Perhaps more ominously, what about the doctors, dentists and opticians who refuse to participate in health insurance programs. Many have demonstrated that they can deliver health care up to two thirds cheaper than through health insurance if you pay cash. Will they be forced to participate? Some have already indicated they will retire before work under a health insurance program. How many doctors will we lose because of this?

No, the battle may have just begun to approve the reconciliation in the Senate and to resolve the many points I have just described. Don't let the media fool you, finishing the approval process and implementing the whole monster program is a long ways from finished.



Just as the White House, Obama and Pelosi are declaring a historic victory and marveling at how the president brought health care reform back from the dead, the Republicans could also bring defeat back from the dead by refusing the House reconciliation bill.

If the public realizes they have been hoodwinked by Obama and Pelosi when insurance premiums continue to increase, drug prices continue to rise and the 15 new taxes are implemented they could raise up in revolt against the new social system in America.

Will the Obama liberal base allow the president's last second Executive Order denying the use of federal money for abortions, a move intended to buy the votes needed to get approval for the act, survive challenges in court and the Congress? The reversal by Obama at the last second infuriated the liberal base and they may not take this lightly.

In the meantime, will the White House and Congress ever get to the number one issue in America, jobs, the economy, credit, credit card fees and banking fees? So far no one is talking about these bread and butter issues and the patience of the public is growing thin.

Much remains to be seen.

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Demon Pass and Reconciliation - Total Health Care Chaos in Congress - Who is the Fool?

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Okay, yesterday Nancy Pelosi finally posted the Obama health care demon pass rule or whatever the heck it is since it is not a bill that was approved by congress. It is a rather odd demon pass rule in the House that no two people in Washington explain in the same way, and it is also a reconciliation procedure in the Senate yet somehow it morphs into a bill.

The report from the Congressional Budget Office is in and they claim if we spend about a trillion dollars the first ten years we will reduce the deficit by around $134 billion. Then after ten more years we will save another $1.2 trillion. Strange math I think.



If you look at the fine print in the CBO instructions it may very well say the savings are not savings at all but a reduction in future increases, a technique congress has used often to confuse the public. Well a reduction in future increases is no savings and I don't care what school of economics you attended.

Now the financing of the first trillion dollars comes from increased taxes, a $500 billion reduction in Medicaid, taxes on a whole bunch of health expenses like wheel chairs, and who knows what else. I don't remember Obama promising to do any of those things during the campaign and debate over the bill.



Some of the bill does not even start until 2014 so don't expect overnight results. And those promised reductions in health care premiums, don't count on them either. As for punishing the insurance industry, don't you find it odd that with all their billions of dollars there is no evidence of lobbying against the bill or running commercials opposing the bill by those insurers? Wouldn't you think they would be fighting it tooth and nail if they were going to be disemboweled by it as Obama claims?

Fact is as the final action neared those devils on Wall Street, the ones who finance those bad insurance companies while taking million dollar bonuses, have not been driving down the stock market prices but have actually had eight straight days of driving up the market. Yet another sign the big, bad, rich guys are for the bill, not opposed. There is even an internal method to poll Wall Street which shows according to MSNBC the bet on Wall Street is 80% believe it will be approved.



So Wall Street, Obama and Pelosi agree it is best for America. Now we find out if the Democrats in the House first, and Senate second, agree. We know the Republicans oppose it and it seems as if the public is split or a majority oppose it.

Sunday just after 2 pm the House, under Pelosi, will take up the demon pass rule in order to avoid voting on the Senate bill which somehow they think will protect Democrats from being defeated in the elections this fall. Of course demon pass has never been used for this purpose. Then there will be a vote on the changes that Obama and the House want to the Senate bill which has not been approved by the House yet.



Nor will it ever be thanks to the Pelosi and Steny Hoyer rules that will be applied. So 216 votes are needed and it could be a cliffhanger. If they get them the bill thing then goes to the Senate because the House has now changed the Senate bill without voting on it and the Senate must agree to the changes to their bill that wasn't voted on. Still following me?

Now here is one thing the media, president and Pelosi are not talking about. You see, under the reconciliation procedure being used by good old Harry Reid and Obama in the Senate, every single proposal in the House bill must be directly related to the federal deficit or budget process. A Senate parliamentarian must rule on each section. There is no guarantee every section will meet the budget rule and if the Senate refuses to agree with any part of the bill, whoops, it goes back to the House for another round.



No matter what the White House and Democratic leaders say, there have never been votes on such broad bills like the health care reform bill using either the House demon pass rule or the Senate reconciliation procedure. That means it could also be subject to a Constitutional challenge. Add another year to the process for the courts to act.

The House will act on Sunday, but if the bill slips through don't start celebrating yet. It could take a week or more for the Senate to act. If they disagree on any part of it add a few more months. If they agree then we still have the court challenges. And even if we don't have court challenges remember much of the bill does not start until 2014.



Now if you understood everything I just said you should be running for president or moving to South America. If you could explain it, and remember, each thing I said is contested by either the Democrats or Republicans, then you are a better communicator than our president, congress and media.

So in summary, take every step the rest of the way with a grain of salt. No one really knows if it will add to our deficit or reduce it. Based on past government projections and promises, don't count on it reducing the national debt, reducing your health insurance premiums or get you better, if any, health care.



If the timing works out, the Senate could be voting about the same night NCAA March Madness ends with the National Championship game on April 5. Let's hope it doesn't end on April 1, April Fool's Day, because of the chaos node we are in we will have no idea who got fooled. Is it the president, congress, the Democrats, the Republicans, the public, the media or Wall Street who will be the biggest fool?

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Pelosi "Demon Pass" Strategy - Yet another Obama assault on the Constitution

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Now that it is crunch time for counting votes on health care, and after Obama has kept Ohio under siege with his flurry of recent visits to friendly audiences in order to threaten Ohio congressmen, we find out that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has now come up with yet another procedural manipulation called the "deem and pass" procedure to circumvent the Constitution and force legislation through the House with no vote on the Senate Health reform bill.

This procedure has never been used for major legislation nor was it ever intended to be used for that purpose. Therefore, what Pelosi proposes, that the House only vote for fixes to the Senate bill while never voting on the Senate bill itself, is comparable to going to war with no war resolution approved by the Congress. Pure and simple, it is Constitutionally illegal.



Pelosi does not have the votes for a legitimate vote even though the Democrats control Congress by a huge majority. That much is obvious or she would not be proposing a procedure that is certain to assure her a spot in the history books, as the first Speaker of the House to flaunt a disregard for the US Constitution in the interest of partisan politics and because she is incapable of leading her own majority.

If her own Democrats will not give her the votes to pass the proposed Senate Health Care Reform kickback program, approving minor amendments while declaring the Senate bill deemed and passed with no vote is sheer insanity and will be an issue before the Supreme Court long before it can ever be implemented.



Pelosi and Obama are counting on a really stupid public to not understand the shell game that was just played on them with this Pelosi demon pass procedure and expect us to rollover and accept a monstrous bill full of secret deals, campaign payoffs, White House deals with the SEIU union bosses and the dreaded pharmaceutical companies, and who knows what else, because of all the lies we have heard on health care, claims that the process was transparent when secrecy dominated the process is the most arrogant and deceitful slap in the face of the public we have heard.

Well if Pelosi resorts to the demon pass rule of stealing our Constitutional process then Pelosi is not fit to serve as Speaker of the House because her own oath of office said she was to protect the Constitution, not undermine it with procedural gimmicks. And our president, proud of his status as a Constitutional Lawyer from Harvard of the Ivy League, had better start telling us what Constitution he took an oath to defend.



He has endorsed a procedural trick to circumvent the Senate with reconciliation, he has embarrassed the Supreme Court in front of the world, and now he is backing a procedural trick to circumvent the House. Is he trying to work in a bi-partisan matter as he promised or to undermine every separate branch of government, the Legislature and Judiciary, that won't do what he wants? This is sheer insanity.

Every ounce of energy and every bit of the attention of our president and White House is focused on this garbled health care reform bill and it has been the entire last year. Forget about jobs, unemployment, wars, crumbling foreign relations, drug wars spilling over the American borders, non-prosecution of the thieves on Wall Street, cover ups for the legislative and regulatory actions that led to the collapse of our economy, forget about everything that is important to Americans.



There are far better ways to fix health care than the conglomeration of secret deals and payoffs about to be shoved down our throats. It makes one wonder, what is really in the bill that makes it more important to the president and Democratic congressional leaders than any other problems, issues or priorities including the economy. What is in the bill that has caused such panic over not having the votes that they risk rules and procedures never intended for the purpose, and in the case of the Pelosi demon pass procedure, has never even been used for that purpose.

Is it so important to pass anything no matter what the cost, ramifications or even potential for helping with health care. It leads me to think we have still not been told all the secret deals made to get this bill passed and we are yet to know the real purpose for the bill. If it was just about fixing health care and lowering costs no one would object and legislative tricks would not be necessary.



Maybe in the interests of transparency President Obama and Speaker Pelosi could tell us the truth, why is this bill so important, what is in the bill they have not disclosed, and is it worth the challenges to the Constitutional foundation of our nation. Who did you promise and what did you promise to make this bill supersede everything our government has done for the last year. Transparency also means truth. It is time to put truth in the discussion.

Enough Washington, get the dirty deed done. We the people will deal with the consequences. Fix the real problems we face with the economy, unemployment, corruption, kickbacks, foreign affairs mess, coddling of Wall Street and lack of campaign reform . Admit whatever you do on health care will not happen for several more years and get on with the business of governing.

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Democrats Continue Demolition Derby as Godmother Pelosi Protects Pandering Politicians!

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Just when you think sex in the city couldn't get any worse Eric Massa, former Congressman from way Upstate New York (29th District), gave mainstream media a reason to remain in the gutter with the supermarket rags while the Godmother, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, added fuel to the meltdown.



Massa is giving us a whole new set of word definitions along with insight into the unusual party favors in Washington. It started off innocent enough Tuesday when the media got wind that Massa was having a meltdown because of another ethics problem but intensified when Massa went on the Glenn Beck Show and the show of the poster boy for health care reform, Larry King, to explain himself.



What a mistake. First we learned a whole new definition for the home Congressional District for Massa. And we always thought a swing district was one that went from being Republican to Democrat and back in elections.



There are Red states who vote Republican. They are called Red because the media wants you to associate Republicans with Communism. The Blue states are Democrat. Now Blue stands for being conservative and pure, like the Virgin Mary, neither having anything to do with Democrats. So you might say the media reference to Democrat states as Blue is an effort to make you forget what they really stand for.



Some states aren't really red or Blue because they vote Democrat one year and Republican the next. So they are called swing states. What color do you think the media assigned this group? Purple, the color that implies royalty, mystery, nobility and spirituality. Now that is a mouthful. But I guess what the media meant was the Swing states are the Holy Grail of politics, you win them you win the election.

Massa taught us a new meaning for his Swing District. It has nothing to do with politics. It is staff and associate interaction consisting of groping, tickling, pointing fingers while naked in the steam room, even snorkeling, which is a twisted sexual perversion performed under water. Apparently a Navy buddy of Massa said he was always trying to snorkel with them.



Larry King got into an extended battle of words with Massa over homosexual tendencies. Who knows what they were saying? Then just when we knew beyond doubt this guy has a serious mental meltdown, into the cameras jumps the Democrat's Godmother, Pelosi, never one to miss a press op, and claims she knew about his sickness last October. So Pelosi covered up the meltdown of a fellow Democrat for the last six months to hang on to her votes in the House.



If she knew he was groping staff back then did the thought ever occur to you, Godmother, that maybe you should turn his actions over to the ethics committee and get him out of Congress and into rehab before he could hurt anyone else? Well of course not.



So Obama leaves town to campaign and the only fund raiser he can get is for a Senate race for 2012. It seems Democrats running for election this year don't want to be seen around the president. And Obama continues to talk about health care as if he never stopped campaigning and got real.



What about the economy Mr. President? What about jobs and unemployment? What happened to Main Street? Why did you send Biden to negotiate peace in the middle east, you are the one with the Peace prize?

Poor Joe. He gets to Israel and gets slapped in the face before he even gets a word out as the Israelis announced thousands of more homes will be built in the Palestinian area, a move Obama and the United Nations warned Israel not to do. Some start for peace. Is this a sign of the Israeli attitude toward Obama or the peace process? It sure helped set back relations between the USA and Israel but then how could the Israelis negotiate peace if they are planning to go to war to stop Iran? It would be kind of like winning the Nobel Peace Prize then expanding the war in Afghanistan. Nothing makes sense.



So now the Godmother is busy sweeping the dirt under the rug and tying to get people to think all is well in her transparent world. Let's see, if what is going on is transparent then why didn't we know about Massa a lot time ago? Hummmm, Messa, Rangel and Paterson, not a bad start for the campaign cycle.

As if that weren't enough for one day, last night Congressman Patrick Kennedy goes on TV and rails against how the press and media are not covering the most important issue of the day, the war in Afghanistan, and he calls the fact only two press people are in the gallery as "despicable!" I'm beginning to think all the politicians in our nation's capitol are losing their marbles.

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Obama's Health Care - Check or Checkmate?

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The President threw down the gauntlet and now seems intent on forcing Congress into submission. It is quite a role reversal from his year of allowing Congress to decide what would be done and it is bound to upset those who still believe in the separation of government functions, the executive and legislative branches, and the legislative procedures of the House and Senate.



Obama and the White House gang are desperate and believe this is the only thing they can get done before the fall elections that might stop the Democrats self-destruction and potential loss of leadership of the House and Senate. In truth it could do a lot more harm than good.

For one, he is counting on his somewhat tarnished vision that people can be strongly influenced by the president of the USA whether they be moderate Democrats, Republicans, Iran, North Korea or the Olympic site selection committee. So far his track record of being heard is dismal at best. The long year Congress has been debating the health care bill just adds to the frustration.



Now his two week timetable to get this done before, well I guess Armageddon, seems a bit ambitious but Obama, if nothing else, has demonstrated that his inexperience in leading has been his greatest fault. Now that the Republicans are out of the picture, and in truth Obama's problem has never been the Republicans but his own party since the Democrats have decisively controlled the House and the Senate, we shall see if he can lead his own party if not the nation.

Which leads us to the second part of the puzzle, the legislative process. What Obama has done is circumvent the legislative process. He had the House pass a health care bill. Then he had the Senate pass an entirely different health care bill. Now he has presented his own bill containing some elements of the House and Senate bill and other things.



Normally a Conference between the House and Senate would be held to work out the differences between bills and present it back to the House and Senate for final approval. Obama has eliminated that step by saying, after a year of legislative hassle, he doesn't want either bill but now wants his own. To give it to him means the Democrats must do the following.



1. The House must pass the Senate bill as is.
2. The House must pass a new bill clarifying changes they want made to the Senate bill they just approved.
3. The Senate must pass the new House bill under Reconciliation which is supposed to be used for only budget and deficit issues.
4. Then the president must sign both bills setting up the health care reform and then changing the health care reform before it is even started.



Of course not all the things the Democrats will want to change can be included under Reconciliation. For example any restrictions on Abortion, and there are some in the House bill but none in the Senate bill, are a matter of policy and not budget so should be excluded from reconciliation. That means Obama will lose the support of all the House Democrats who are Right to Life, all of whom supported the House bill the first time. Not good for the President.

The House and Senate do not even agree what should be in the final bill or two as the House also wants the public option, Andy Stern and the unions want control of all health care workers in America, Goldman Sachs wants nothing that might hurt the stock value of companies they represent on Wall Street, and Obama will take anything so he can say he did accomplish one thing his first two years as president.



Then, of course, there are the deals that will have to be made to get the House to agree to the old Senate bill and the Senate to agree to the new House bill. We already saw how far both the House and Senate went to cut deals for the first bills. The second will be much harder and closer thus opening the door to pork barrel, favoritism, legal bribes and ferocious lobbying to an extent never seen before.



Don't be surprised if wheel barrows full of money are moved into the political campaign funds of those Democrats sitting on the fence. Self-survival seems to be the greatest motivator of our Washington establishment.



With all this confusion, Congress and the president will be operating in a fog, both to keep each other confused as well as the voter and taxpayer who will pay for this mess. Media analysts on both sides of every issue will no doubt expand their standard fare of hyperbole and exaggeration to outright lies and deception as no one, from the president to the Secretary of Health to the leaders of both the Democrats and Republicans and including every person hired by the media to give us the facts has ever let truth get in the way of making a point.

If Obama brings about a checkmate and no health care bill gets through, every person in America worried about the economy, out of work, or having trouble making ends meet should wonder how they can support any longer a president whose own ego and arrogance keep him demanding a win in health care while our economy keeps seeking into the abyss. His failure to address the economy, the Wall Street debacle, the foreign policy crisis and everything else he failed to do the last year will prove he is too inexperienced to be trusted as president.



When the people standing behind him are Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, and they all contributed to the obsession with health care and ignorance of the economic problems we face then we should realize there is only one way out of the mess, to change the balance of power by giving the Republicans control of the House and Senate so someone can keep him from destroying the country and it certainly is not the Joe, Nancy and Harry show currently leading the Democrats.

Right now the nation stands at check with the failure of the President and Congress to complete work on a health care bill after a year of nonsense. Checkmate stands about two weeks away when Obama tries to force the House and Senate Democrats to do his will while ignoring the will of the public. Just who are the pawns in this classic chess match? Stay tuned.

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Nancy Pelosi - The Siren of Capitol Hill - Leading the Democrats to Self-Destruction

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Princeton University has developed WordNet® a large lexical database of English, that offers the following definition of Siren. The first three definitions according to Princeton are; Noun. (n) Siren (a sea nymph (part woman and part bird) supposed to lure sailors to destruction on the rocks where the nymphs lived) "Odysseus ordered his crew to plug their ears so they would not hear the Siren's fatal song"; (n) enchantress, temptress, siren, Delilah, femme fatale, (a woman who is considered to be dangerously seductive) and (n) siren (a warning signal that is a loud wailing sound).



Take your pick, Pelosi captures the essence and spirit of all three and to have someone like that a heartbeat away from the presidency is a frightening proposition for America. Just remember this politician is second in line to become president of the United States after Vice President Joe Biden and she was only elected by voters from the 8th Congressional District in California with 134,767 votes. Did you hear me? Just 134,767 people in 2008 from San Francisco decided who will be second in line to be president of the United States and she would be president of over 300 million people.



I doubt she was what the legislators had in mind when they adopted the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, (3 U.S.C. § 19(e). In fact Constitutional lawyers question whether the 1947 law is even Constitutional because it was the first to mention the Speaker of the House and President Pro Tempore of the Senate in the line of succession. Neither was elected by the people of the US and neither serves more than a single Congressional District or State. In fact President James Madison warned against allowing people in the line of succession who were not elected nationally or part of the Administration serving the people.



Each time the Speaker of the House goes before the press our Siren acts more and more like a dysfunctional bobble head doll luring the Democrats to the precipice of destruction. A rather harsh view you might say of our most powerful member of the House. Now that is a scary thought in and of itself, but when you examine her record as Speaker over the past four years, yes two more years as Speaker than Obama has been president, it should shake you to the very bone. Pelosi delivered the votes to bailout Wall Street, to bailout the housing agencies guilty of leading America to the precipice of disaster, to bailout AIG and put billions of dollars into the coffers of Goldman Sachs and other financial houses who rewarded us with record executive bonuses, and with the economic stimulus act where we are still trying to find the jobs.



Of course Pelosi has been the screaming siren of health care reform Obamacare style which means a massive takeover of the health care system as determined by the government and Andy Stern, President of the SEIU. Do people really want the government and SEIU to manage our health care? I doubt it, Stern's own labor unions just rejected his management style of the union when they rejected his hand picked leadership in elections announced today for the SEIU 1021 health care union, based in Pelosi's own San Francisco area.



Pelosi has already announced she knows what is best for America and in spite of public opposition to the House and Senate health care bills, with their thousands of pages of bureaucratic gobble de gook that will ensure no one knows what is happening for decades to come, she announced she will slam it down the throats of Americans with a budget reconciliation bill, a technique that violates every principle of the reconciliation. In fact her technique has been condemned by Senator Robert Byrd, President Pro Tempore of the Senate who authored the reconciliation bill. This is who we want in line for the presidency?



Then there is the Pelosi pal Charles Rangel, her Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, the tax writing committee of the federal government. The House Ethics panel has already said Rangel violated House Ethics Rules and IRS and other Congressional committees are concluding several years of investigations of Rangel for tax fraud, tax evasion and a host of other ethics charges. Still Pelosi stands behind her hand picked chairman.



Add to that her Cap and Trade bill to end forever any chance America has to gain energy independence by using the oil, natural gas and coal we have right now and a host of other oddball legislative initiatives that will result in one employer in America, the government, regardless of the ability of the government to deliver services, be efficient or be honest and we are in a precarious leadership position.

Nancy Pelosi has demonstrated that she views her Speaker position as one giving her the right to determine what is best for America. Forget democracy, public opinion or bi-partisanship, Pelosi just continues to babble on about her vision of America and how she can circumvent the Constitution to get her way, which is what will happen if health care is approved as a budget reconciliation as she intends to do.



Never has the leadership of Congress been so disconnected from the public mood and opinion of the people and Pelosi is the poster girl for flaunting the power of Congress over the people to a degree we seldom see in our history. From covering up corruption in the House to backroom deals to give billions in bonuses to Wall Street executives, Pelosi is the epicenter of chaos and misrepresentation.



Sadly her actions are going to lead a lot of good Democrats to destruction in the next couple of elections and her co-responsibility with President Obama in adopting their agenda for America using every tool to circumvent our democracy from executive orders to budget reconciliation will impair our nation to an extent we have never witnessed before.



Let us hope the good Democrats grow tired of risking their reputation and the future of America to the whims of Pelosi, Stern and company before it is too late. If not the Republicans may find themselves in control sooner rather than later and not because they deserved it but because the Democrats could not back the current leaders of the House and Senate.

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