Olympic Wrap Up - Canadians Just Want to Have Fun

-




Hi-res images from Los Angeles Times photographers Robert Gauthier and Wally Skalij





It was a fitting final day for the Olympics as NBC continued with their odd programming while the events ended as the script required, with Canada beating the USA in overtime in hockey. No more was necessary for Canada to have a successful Olympics.



Who cares if the closing ceremonies were like a bad LSD trip from the '60's? I thought I was watching an old Macy's Thanksgiving day Parade for a time with the flying moose and beavers or whatever they might be. The speeches or skits were bizarre, "yellow snow".





But one can forgive the Canadians for an over exuberant closing after winning both the women's and men's hockey matches against their big brother to the south. America had a great medal haul, leading the way with 37 medals while Canada led the way with 14 golds.







There were a lot of great sidebar stories, most missed by NBC as it seemed at times the producers for the network were so lost in complexity they forgot what was going on. The most grievous mistake was the placement of Jerry Seinfeld's new NBC series right in the middle of the closing ceremony. That was a serious abuse of broadcasting for self-interest and probably sent a lot of viewers packing. The show that interrupted the Olympics was stupid as usual, but to pre-empt the Olympics for it was near criminal.







Throughout the Olympics I had trouble finding the right NBC outlet for the events and the barrage of commercials, while good for the NBC bottom line, took away a lot of the drama of the events. With three and four networks airing Olympic events it seemed stupid the entire affair could not have been shown in real time as I, like most people, simply went to the Olympic, Vancouver and NBC sites to get the results before the events even aired.







It also seemed like NBC were cheerleaders for Canada a lot of the time. There were a lot of incidents where an in depth follow up seemed warranted but NBC missed the chance. For example, in the closing ceremony athletes were seen carrying in someone but no explanation of who they were carrying. As for the events, obviously curling was the cheapest to broadcast as from beginning to end of the winter Olympics curling matches were on the air.







The last day we saw the entire 50 km cross country race, all 55 participants, when highlights would have been much more interesting. We kept seeing limited views of speed skating and other events and broadcasting them live throughout would have been much more interesting. A lot of good stories of heroes and exceptional performances were shortchanged or missed entirely because of production decisions.







Americans are not just interested in our athletes or those from Canada. Many fascinating stories of courage and overcoming adversity were waiting to be learned from athletes throughout the world but were missed by the broadcasters. With four networks available to them it seemed NBC could have covered a lot more. Certainly they never missed a chance to advertise their own programs but it seemed excessive at times.







Personally I wanted to hear more about the Korean figure skating champion. At 19 and with $8 million in endorsements we learned very little about where she came from, her story and how she wound up being trained in Canada for the event.







In the end the ratings were up for NBC and the athletes performed beyond expectation in many cases and it was a good diversion from the snowstorms that wreaked havoc on the North Atlantic United States. What else could we do but watch the Olympics? I hope you enjoyed the Hi-res images from Los Angeles Times photographers Robert Gauthier and Wally Skalij, they were exceptional.



-

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

-



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.

-

Health Care Reform - What Summit? What Bi-Partisanship?

-



The president held his long and tedious health care summit yesterday but was he really a summit moderator when the only thing he endorsed was the Democrats position in the House and Senate bills? How does one negotiate when they start out saying this is what I want? The entire political sideshow was an attempt by the Obama White House to make the Republicans look bad while helping Democrats keep from getting routed in the fall elections.



A few weeks ago the White House did catch the Republicans off guard but this time it just might have backfired. For it was Republicans in the form of Lamar Alexander, Tom Coburn and Paul Ryan who provided calm, reasoned arguments on behalf of the GOP regarding fraud, waste, competition and cost reduction proposals that have not been considered by the Democrats. In fact the performance by Coburn and Ryan was so dominating they might have become new Republican stars.

By the end of the session it was clear the Republicans had many good proposals for change in health care and that they had the facts to back up their proposals. More important, they were making an effort to be bi-partisan even though the deck was stacked against them. It is not the Republicans fault there is no health care, not when the Democrats have the votes if they really wanted health care. The only current obstruction to health care is the division within the Democrats. Pelosi and Reid cannot control their own members and need a scapegoat for their incompetence as leaders of the majority party.



In their opening statements House Speaker Pelosi and Senate Leader Reid were apparently so disgusted with the whole affair they couldn't look at the Republican speakers during the session and refused to embrace the GOP ideas, even when other Democrats were saying the ideas made sense. In fact they raised only partisan issues and were more than a little defensive. It was as if they already planned on going ahead without the Republicans and would try and ram comprehensive health care with all the secret deals and payoffs down our throats.

In fact Pelosi showed such little regard for the outcome she had Charles Rangel make the closing statement for the Democrat majority the same day a House Ethics panel said Rangel violated many House ethics rules with tax fraud and other ethics violations. Rangel, Pelosi's Chairman of our tax writing committee, seemed to have forgotten to pay taxes on apartments he owns in NYC, foreign investments, made illegal use of campaign funds and who knows what else. What a slap in the face to America when you flaunt tax cheats in a national forum.

Before the conference even closed, Harry Reid was proven wrong when he started the conference saying there was no truth to the rumor the Democrats planned to use the highly controversial Reconciliation rule to force a vote by simple majority in the Senate. His own staff and White House staff were already hard at work planning on the Reconciliation vote before the Easter break, in just four weeks. So a Summit that starts with false statements and no indication of a spirit of compromise wound up giving the public all the more reason to question the leadership, or lack thereof, of the Democratic majority.



Why is it health care reform means many different things to different people? Maybe they people in Washington should get their terminology straight before they make wild claims and declarations. The whole discussion with health care centers on why the United States has the most expensive health care in the world yet gets treatment that ranks 37th out of 191 countries. A secondary issue is what to do about health care for the uninsured. This will increase the cost to government.

Thus any discussion of reforming health care should first be based on lowering the cost or upgrading the service. If a proposal does not generate either result forget it. Federal government policy must be based on several key factors. Does the federal government have the legal and Constitutional authority to address each aspect of the policy proposed? Is there enabling legislation clarifying the role of the federal government in the specific aspect of the issue? Has the federal government appropriated the money to pay for that aspect of the issue?

Once a proposal passes these first tests then another series of requirements must be met. Is the current method of implementing the proposal the best use of government resources and funds or is there a better way to do it more cost effective and resulting in better program efficiency. One must first question whether our entire health care system is the best way to keep Americans healthy. This has not been done in any of the legislative proposals.



For example, there are alternative treatments including ancient techniques using herbs, acupuncture, acupressure, massage and numerous others that have been proven successful over the years that are used for health maintenance. These would include disciplines like Yoga, Tai Chi, and herbology, many from ancient Far Eastern cultures. Many are not allowed under health insurance plans even though they are ways to lower all health costs with preventive maintenance to the body.

The cost of these treatments is a fraction of any Western Medical cost for examination and testing to find problems to treat. The cost of a CAT scan can run up to $6,000, an MRI can cost $3,500 and myocardial perfusion scans may cost $5,000 - 6,000. This is the cost of the machine doing it's thing. There are addition fees for the appointment, doctor's analysis, cost for the clinic or hospital and on and on. The use of such scans is exploding, perhaps as a way to protect doctors from malpractice suits. CAT scans alone have quadrupled over a ten year period, myocardial perfusion scans increased 40% the last three years..

The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) did a study, which analyzed three years (2005-2007) of medical data from nearly 1 million adults aged 18 to 64, and found that such procedures are bombarding a significant number, about 4 million Americans, with potentially cancer-causing doses of radiation. Yet the tests are often used in situations where their value hasn’t been proven. The study showed there are 163 imaging procedures performed on every 1,000 people in America. This includes the CAT scan and myocardial perfusion scans (a nuclear stress test used to evaluate the heart) and MRI. The first two tests accounted for 21 percent of the total number of procedures undertaken by the one million people in the study but more than 75 percent of the total exposure to radiation. That means is has cost about $6,000 plus just to examine the patient through imaging before any diagnoses or treatment has been undertaken. No wonder health care costs so much.



Another major issue with health care cost is what is being done to bring new treatments into the health care system. Our Food and Drug Administration approves new drugs in America whether those drugs are natural or fabricated. Major pharmaceutical corporations control the approval of new drugs and have spent up to $50 million getting new drugs through the FDA process. The fees from these drug companies paid to FDA give it millions of dollars in revenues.

How can a small company possibly get approval for new drugs or treatments when the maze of tests and the requirements for data by FDA drive the cost into the millions of dollars? Better yet, how many cures for cancer and other diseases are not available in America because small businesses cannot afford the fees and the companies refuse to sell out to the major pharmaceutical companies trying to force them into selling or attempting takeovers. These predator practices are encouraged by FDA whose revenue is dependent on the large drug companies.

We have only begun to root out the corruption in health care within the government, within the health care industry, between pharmaceutical companies and doctors, hospitals and clinics (kickbacks), between investment houses and stock of the health care providers, and who knows what else. Billions of dollars in unnecessary costs and fraudulent billings may be involved and billions more in investment capital and the manipulation of stock may be underway. Don't we need to get rid of the waste, corruption and fraud before we spend another trillion dollars on a broken system?



When President Obama and the Democrats try and ram their bill down the throat of the public abusing the Reconciliation rule of Congress and formally try to protect the secret deals and payoffs they intend to make it will be the beginning of the end of the current leadership of the House and Senate. It will provide the foundation for the taxpayer revolt and it will finally demonstrate that our charismatic president may indeed have more sinister goals than knowing what is good for the public.

-

The Canadian Olympic Hockey Girls Golden Moment - Smashed and Trashed

-








Girls just want to have fun!

After four years of hard work the Canadian Women's Hockey team finally beat the USA in the finals and are the best hockey team in the world taking home, well they alreay were home, the Olympic gold.



About 30 minutes after the gold medal ceremony, the same team was back on the ice in the deserted hockey stadium armed with beer, champagne and cigars getting smashed and trashed in the spirit of Cindi Lauper's rock classic, Girl's just want to have fun.



It was an early demonstration of the benefits of winning gold in Canada as it seems all laws regarding underage drinking were waived, don't forget the team did have underage teenagers, not to mention drinking in an Olympic stadium.



So the Olympic Committee gave the team a tongue lashing about how the drunken celebration was not in the Olympic spirit. Are they crazy? I, for one, think after all those years of training and competition the girls deserved to let loose.



Here in America our teens don't even need an excuse like winning Olympic gold medials to have a party and get smashed and underage drinking is most certainly rather common.



Not that I am condoning it mind you because we know every adult in America has never done such a thing. But no one was in danger of drunk driving when they were sprawled on the floor of a hockey rink, unless it was the girl who tried to drive the ice cleaning machine and she didn't evenhave the keys.



Canadians, well they are Canadians, and don't think for a moment they don't know how to party. I say forgive them their errors of judgment. Any nation that can provide the energy needs of the USA should be allowed an occasional party.



Besides, what is going on here during Mardi Gras, New Years Eve, Super Bowl Sunday and March Madness? And we do this every year, not every four years.



-

Obama's Return to Health Care - A Case of Chicago Arrogance?

-




Tomorrow Obama has scheduled a bi-partisan meeting on health care. Unfortunately, he has already taken the Senate and House Democratic bills and combined them into what he calls a template for a final bill. We are talking about over 1000 pages consolidated into a template. That is rather absurd. But giving the president the benefit of the doubt, so he has a template.



However, he has already said, before the meeting took place, that if the Republicans don't do what he wants them to do he will force his bill through Congress using a reconciliation act. Now that seems to take away any interest in bi-partisanship, any intent to negotiate, and any concern for the public will which is obvious from the elections in New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts or the polls showing the vast majority of Americans do not want a wholesale overhaul of health care. The public just wants the problems fixed.



As for the reconciliation procedure to circumvent the Senate rules, it was established for the sole purpose of establishing a mechanism to deal with contentious budget issues, not general policy. To date it has only been used for budget issues. The Byrd rule within the reconciliation procedure says no bill may be considered that will increase the national debt at the end of ten years.



With all the confusion over the impact of health care reform, and the dependence on certain budget assumptions by the White House regarding unemployment and tax revenues over the next ten years, does anyone really think this White House can be wrong on every economic and budget projection to date and not be wrong on a ten year health care projection. Not to mention that the health care reform goes way beyond a budget bill and impacts on federal policy and programs in many none budgetary ways.



So, what does it all mean? First, in the interest of transparency which Obama hails as a first step toward getting this done, the President must reveal his deals with the unions contained in this bill. He must also reveal how the auto bailout has already given the unions a multi-billion dollar payoff for health benefits. Then he must reveal any secret deals made between the White House, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in particular, to protect the union benefits far exceeding normal health care benefits and pharmaceutical corporations to protect them from foreign competition. Finally, he must reveal any deal with the Trial Lawyers that might prevent tort reform from being included in the package.



One last item. Our health care system is built around a maze of stock ownership positions as most health care providers are private corporations. Also in the interest of transparency the White House should disclose those investment houses they have discussed health care reform with and what promises might have been made to the Goldman Sachs, JP Morgans and banks regarding their investment in these health care special interests. Far more than the insurance companies stand to gain big bucks from the Obama plan and the involvement of Wall Street in the White House plan must also be disclosed.



There is no way the president will allow the truth about any of those questions to come out as they would undermine any bi-partisan efforts and result in outrage by the public, Republicans and moderate Democrats. Obama as much as said it already by threatening to shove the bill down our throats with the misapplication of the reconciliation procedure.



Now if the Republicans do not press for answers on these issues they are just as delinquent as the White House. The Republicans must have an alternative to the Obama plan, and they must demand answers in the interest of transparency on these issues.

It is clear Obama's Chicago gang has no concern for the public will and events starting tomorrow will demonstrate if the Democrats and Republicans chose to ignore the public as well. If our elected officials do not listen to the mood of the public, and pay attention to all those polls they claim they do not read, then we know they are serving special interests and not the public interest.

The Administration and Congress are at a crossroads. They have to decide whether their campaign funds are more important than the public good. They need to pass a health care bill that reduces the cost and improves the service without impacting on the national debt. Will they serve the public interest or the special interests. We may soon know.

-