Free Republic

The true test is this: is Congress willing to give up their health care and be tossed in the same sty they are preparing for the rest of us? The answer to that is no. They put a provision into the House bill exempting themselves from the bill. Elitist bas....s.

If they want to get serious about healthcare here are some considerations. Healthcare is available to everyone, right now. That's right. You get hurt, you need to be treated, the ER must see you and treat you, period. You want healthcare made available to everyone, it is, right now. So two of their major talking points are non-starters. Everyone gets seen, and everyone can get healthcare if they want it.

So what is the problem? Cost. For some people healthcare is simply out of reach. Some choose to prioritize it lower than other things. But the main factor is cost. How can we not only control the ballooning costs, but reduce them. The answer to that, I believe lies outside the medical field - in law. Tort reform would go a long way to towards reducing healthcare costs. Not just through reduced malpractice suits, although that would certainly help. But also through reduced tests and procedures. Chances are, if you go into a medical facility for something even as relatively cut and dried as a broken bone you will be subject to a battery of tests. At least an X-Ray, maybe an MRI, probably a blood test, etc. etc. Why? Because medical personnel, their hospitals/clinics, an their insurers fear lawsuits. Better to blow a few hundred bucks on un-needed tests just to CYA. That way if for some rare reason something else happens or goes wrong, you won't be seeing that person in court. Well, you probably will. But at least the Dr. and facility can make the argument they did everything in their power to diagnose and treat you.

Reduce the threat of frivolous lawsuits and you'll see not only malpractice insurance costs directly reduced, but also many of the secondary tests/costs Dr.s and facilities mandate.

Such a commission on media reform, Rather said, ought to make recommendations on saving journalism jobs and creating new business models to keep news organizations alive.

Funny, I don't see anyone in the MSM doing "journalism" anymore - it all smells like socialist/fascist propaganda to me. I don't think there are any journalism jobs left to be saved.

As for creating new business models - what would he have? A media even more in bed with the socialists now running the Country? The media had a business model that worked: report the facts, keep the opinions and spin on the op-ed page. That didn't fit with their socialist agenda and they began editorializing and spinning all the "news" stories. People are fed up and no longer interested in being lied to, particularly when the lies are so transparent and insulting to the intelligence of the reader.

As for keeping news organizations alive I think that is a mistake. The best way to resurrect true journalism is to completely kill off the cancerous propaganda machines we have now.

"In the State of Hawaii, back in 1961, there were four different ways to get an 'original birth certificate' on record,"

I think obama is trying for a fifth - pay someone enough to create a credible forgery. Wonder how long it takes? Which will finish first, the various court challenges or obama's forger?

I wonder if anyone is looking into any requests for birth certificates on or around (both before and after) obama's claimed birth date? A forger would need genuine examples to work with, and possibly the serial numbers before and after to come up with a credible one.

...sponsors said on Wednesday the event will be closed to the media.

No loss, the MSM wouldn't have "reported" on the event anyway. They would've only used it to demonstrate more PDS. The MSM is dead, killed by its own arrogance and bias, the message just hasn't hit home yet.

I’m hoping obama’s term as President ends prematurely with him starting a prison sentence for fraud and perjury. There are far too many unanswered questions about his eligibility. Far too much effort is being expended to keep his records sealed - there definitely is something there worth hiding. Nobody goes to this much effort just to be bloddy-minded about something. “Mr. transparency” isn’t. When they come out, he’s going in for a long stretch.

Why is she still in Congress? She is a known liar, having falsely accused the CIA of illegal acts. Being a known liar for personal (political) gain is a huge “adverse information” item. Her security clearance should have been pulled for review. That she is still there is mind-boggling.

Grin - as Steven Tyler would say “Dude looks like a lady!” Ok, maybe a lady that fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down...

How about, just this once, the majority does not bend over backwards to accommodate a small minority? How about the trans-gendered or confused or whatever the {expletive} they call themselves just suck it up and use the locker room appropriate for the "equipment" they have. If they don't like it, tough it out or stay home.

I am sick and tired of some small minority screwing with other peoples' rights and normal lives just because they are thin-skinned, feel inadequate, didn't get enough attention from their Mommy or Daddy, have a victim mentality, or whatever their "major malfunction is." (thanks gunny Hartman) You know what, I want my kids to pray in school. I want to see the 10 Commandments on the courthouse. I don't care if a student displays a swastika, or a Star of David, or that idiot Che on their shirt. I don't care if someone chooses to fly a rebel flag, drink beer, and watch NASCAR all day - if that works for them, great. I don't care if minority comedians make jokes about middle-aged Christian white guys - as long as they don't take offense when we make similar jokes about them. I don't want everything down to a parking ticket considered a hate crime. Enough already!

I’m with you. obama is a complete and utter failure as President. He is quite possibly the worst thing to happen to this Country since the civil war. As far as I can tell, he hasn’t done a single thing that has had a positive effect on the Country. Sure, he’s helped a number of special interest groups, and he has pushed the fed towards a socialst/fascist nightmare. But he has done absolutely nothing that has made America better, safer, or more prosperous. As my younger son would say “epic fail.”

What happened to the transparency we were promised?

Like the Constitution, laws, ethics, and plain decency...that's for the little people. obama is an elitist, socialist, and fascist. We'll never see true transparency from him or his administration / cohorts-in-crime.

Calling obama a liar is too kind ... and a slight to all other liars everywhere.

I thought Al was sure that if we didn’t enact sweeping changes (and we haven’t) that we’d all be dead by now, baked or drowned or some such? . . . Hmm, I feel fine except for what the government is trying to do to us. Guess Al was wrong, no surprise there. Anyone spouting a line of “We must act now, there’s no time for reasoned debate! Do it! Do it!” is selling you a bill of goods. Kind of like obama and porkus, health care, deficits . . .

I have some friends who are "left leaning" and they aren't too bad. Even though I'm a conservative, I value their friendship and opinions as a counterpoint and source of ideas - even if I don't always agree with them.

However, through these friends (and unfortunately family too) I know some "liberals" who are more out there. They are universally intolerant, elitist, arrogant, close-minded thugs. You're right, "liberal" does not apply to them at all. They are socialist and fascist. If you dare try to engage them in thoughtful discourse, countering their emotion-based arguments with logic and facts, they quickly turn to personal attacks and derision. The far left are truly not nice people to be around.

The MSM is so biased it isn’t worth saving. Good riddance, you won’t be missed.

It makes perfect sense that the government will try to control our diets and take away more freedoms and liberties.

They already mandate a lot of things "for our own good." Consider your car, 5 mph bumpers, air bags, seat belts, don't talk on the cell phone, don't drive impaired, obey the speed limits etc. All these laws and regulations about what you must/must-not have, use, or do. Or consider you home, maybe it is quake-proof/resistant, or has a basement, extra wiring, smoke detectors, etc.

Not that I'm against safe vehicles and safe driving practices. Nor am I against building codes and home safety/security. But look at the thought process that got us to the point where the government is requiring these choices now. "Too many people are getting injured/killed by xyz... We'll pass laws to protect you." (from yourselves) ...and another little bit of personal liberty gets chipped away.

If we have universal health care, backed by the government (ie. our tax dollars), it is a natural outcome of this thinking that they'll want to control diet, exercise, lifestyle choices. "Too many people are making unhealthy choices, it is a burden on the health care system, costing you money. We'll help. We'll pass laws to protect you, and reduce costs."

This is where liberal thinking and ideals leads us. They alway sound great on the surface, appealing to emotions. Who could be against healthcare? Who could be against airbags? Who wouldn't want their children to be "safer" in a gun-free zone? But when you actually dig deeper, you find that generally, all these wonderful, sound-bite good, feel-good ideals lead to fundamental problems with liberties. The entire process is geared towards taking away freedom, liberty, choices, responsibility and accountability. The time is rapidly approaching when Americans are going to have to make a profound choice and a fundamental shift in what America is. We are very far beyond the principles this Nation was founded on. Very far from what the Founding Fathers fought to create. We are either going to descend into a mediocre socialist nanny-state, or reset back to a Nation built on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

...people who are worried about gun control and immigration, or even people who are merely skeptical of government, are psychologically insane.

Responding to Matthews’ implication that people who had questions about Obama’s birthplace were “full mooners” and insane, MSNBC political analyst Howard Fineman included “people who are worried about the government taking up the guns, people who deny the federal government has a right to tax your income, people who are worried about being overrun at the borders,” in the same category and said they were merely looking for a reason to find a conspiracy behind Obama.

Real simple sport. If you trust your government, particularly the one we have now with obama at the helm, you my friend are insane.

Of course there are people out there that want to remove all firearms from the hands of private citizens. To deny that is a bald-faced lie. If the government thought it could get away with it, they would do it tomorrow.

We're not worried about immigration. However, we are very concerned about illegal immigration, smuggling, and in a broader sense border security. If you aren't, you are either a one-world let's all be one big happy family idealist, a fool to rely on the good intentions of others, or sadly misinformed. There are people out there who wish us harm. They are looking for ways to do us harm. We either secure our borders, or suffer the consequences. There is no touchy-feely middle ground.

I absolutely do not think the government has "a right" to tax my income. As citizens we are (supposedly) protected by and represented by our government. That doesn't happen for free. So as a citizen I believe I am obligated to help pay for this common defense. However, there is nothing magical about an income tax. The government has no intrinsic "right" to tax me. The federal, state, and local budgets could be funded just as easily solely by a sales tax.

Is there a conspiracy behind obama? Yes, I believe there is. obama is hiding something. Almost all the records of his youth have disappeared or been sealed. His birth certificate and eligibility to be President remains an open question. The only "proof" offered of his citizenship has been a "short form" certificate of live birth. In Hawaii, at that time, anyone could get a COLB, even if they were not a natural born US citizen. There are conflicting stories regarding obama's long-form or full birth certificate. Someone said they saw it, someone said obama has it. Some others claim Hawaii destroyed them in 2001 and went paperless so he couldn't possibly have it. Others have stated he cannot produce it because he cannot find it. Too many contradictions - someone (one or more people) is obviously lying. For added fun, the address listed on the COLB is not and never has been an obama residence. So this is obviously incorrect, possibly made-up when someone was falsifying the COLB. Simply put, if there is nothing worth hiding in the real documentation of obama's youth, why are he and his cohorts (in crime?) spending so much time, money, and political capital to keep them sealed? Why is obama in such a rush to ram his version of a socialist/fascist paradise down our collective throats? Is it because he knows his days in office are numbered? Counted by the various court challenges he now faces?

In short, there are lots of reasons to disagree with MSNBC... We are not insane, they are at best foolish and naive, but more probably just drinking the obama kool-aid afraid to admit they backed a nightmare.

Yep. There’s already going to be a tremendous backlash against the leftist liberal Democrats. Might as well make it a rout.

Shwo us the Long Form Birth Certificate please, and we will slink away and shut up.

That's all I'm looking for too. I don't think we'll ever see it because I don't think it exists. All I want to see is some documentation that proves he is, as he claims to be, a natural born US Citizen. As I understand it, the "short form" or "certificate of live birth" could (at that time) be obtained in Hawaii even if you were born elsewhere. Therefore the short form is not sufficient documentation to prove natural born citizenship status.

Along with obama's full "long form" birth certificate (if it does exist) I want to see the records of his youth unsealed. As a citizen I demand to know a little bit more about the President. Particularly a President whose ideals seem to be so at odds with a majority of Americans, and whose policies are significantly changing America (not for the better) into a socialist / fascist state. What is known about obama's youth is troubling, indicating he may not have been claiming US Citizenship. The documentation of this needs to be brought forth, or refuted.

Until these serious questions are answered to reasonable satisfaction, I believe the "birth certificate" issue will continue to dog obama. In particular, there are contradictory stories and statements surrounding the issue - the kind you might expect if people were struggling to get their lies right. "I've seen his original birth certificate..." "...all long form paper documents were destroyed..." "He has a copy of his original birth certificate..." "...no, his original birth certificate cannot be located..." All statements made by people who purported to know... Obviously someone (probably several some-ones) is/are lying through their teeth.

I'm with you. I wish I could be as clear, concise, and insightful. At work I produce technical documentation of various forms, lead meetings for my team, then there are always emails, briefings, and heck, just posts here. Oh to be as well-spoken as Mr. Sowell.

Of course, were I a liberal, I would expect a handout from the government or my employer to send me to writing classes. Failing that, I'd expect rules/procedures that would pull Mr. Sowell's discourse down to my level. ;-)

obama breaking yet another promise? I'm shocked, shocked I say! :-/

About the only promise he seems to be keeping is his full-court-press at turning America into a bankrupt, socialist/fascist nightmare.