Free Republic

Rangel Plans to Renew Expiring Tax BreaksBy Michael Cohn November 20, 2009 House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., intends to introduce legislation next month that would keep a variety of tax breaks from expiring before the end of the year. Instead of sending the bill through his committee, Rangel plans to dispatch the bill directly to the floor of the House, according to Bloomberg.com. There are about 73 tax provisions scheduled to expire by Dec. 31, including the credit for research and experimentation expenses, deductions for tuition and state and local taxes, film and TV production expensing...

Dems’ health plan would limit immigrant aidLatinos shaken by Senate gambit to win conservative and moderate votes By LYNSI BURTON HOUSTON CHRONICLE Nov. 21, 2009, 9:16AM WASHINGTON — The latest loser in the political pandemonium over health care reform may be immigrants living in America, an estimated 24 million people likely to be bartered in order to win support in Congress from fence-sitting Democratic moderates and conservatives. Just as House Democratic leaders sacrificed the wishes of abortion-rights activists in a successful gambit to win the votes of anti-abortion Democrats last week, the Senate leadership has included provisions in its health...

In direct contradiction to accusations that it is “dithering” or “wishy-washy,” the Obama Administration has acted forcefully to counter what it calls “the most serious and credible threat we face at this time.” It turns out that it is the rising popularity of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, as evidenced in record-breaking sales of her autobiographical book and the massive crowds that have attended her book-signing appearances, that has spurred a concerted effort at countermeasures from the Obama Administration. While Ms. Palin will still be permitted to go through with an appearance at the Army’s Fort Bragg in North Carolina,...

it's done folks...

November 13, 2009 at 1:09 pm On local Houston radio 2 days ago a private from Ft. Hood called into the AM talk show on 950AM. Since then the host has verified just to be sure that the man was indeed an injured soldier so as not to be fooled. Anyway, the private was with some others that were not critically hurt in a ward. He called in to offer the “difference” between the visit from President Bush vs the visit from President Obama. As you stated, no one knew President Bush was coming, he just showed up. WITH NO...

BANGALORE -- Hair tucked into a surgical cap, eyes hidden behind thick-framed magnifying glasses, Devi Shetty leans over the sawed open chest of an 11-year-old boy, using bright blue thread to sew an artificial aorta onto his stopped heart. As Dr. Shetty pulls the thread tight with scissors, an assistant reads aloud a proposed agreement for him to build a new hospital in the Cayman Islands that would primarily serve Americans in search of lower-cost medical care. The agreement is inked a few days later, pending approval of the Cayman parliament. Tending to India's Health-Care System Dr. Shetty, who entered...

More than 150 leaders across a spectrum of conservative Christianity on Friday released a 4,700-word document vowing civil disobedience if they are forced to take part in "anti-life acts" or bless gay marriages. Called the "Manhattan Declaration," the six-page, single-spaced document was drafted by Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson, an evangelical, and Princeton University professor Robert P. George, a Roman Catholic, and included a bevy of Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox bishops, archbishops and cardinals as signatories along with dozens of clergy and laity. Archbishop of Washington Donald W. Wuerl is one of the signatories. "Throughout the centuries, Christianity has taught...

An epic overhaul of the nation's healthcare system comes down to a single vote. POLITICO: Two Saturdays ago, Pelosi passed health reform on a squeaker of a House vote. Today, Reid can’t spare a single Democrat as the Senate decides whether to start debate. If not, President Barack Obama’s reform hopes suffer immeasurable harm. That said, things were looking good at daybreak, as Reid can be reasonably confident of 59 votes, with Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) a yes vote and Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) leaning yes. The holdout: Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), who has been a fan of reform generally...

U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is pledging to fight health care reform efforts as the Senate prepares to hold its first full-chamber vote on health reforms Saturday. The Obama administration and Democrats want to create a government-run system as a public option to offer insurance to uninsured and operate alongside private providers. McCain and U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., oppose the public option. In an e-mail to supporters, McCain pledged to fight the public option, saying it would drive up costs for consumers and widen the federal deficit.

C-SPAN 2 is carrying the Senate floor debate live this afternoon.The Democrats control the floor right now. Earlier, Republican Senators Judd Gregg, Kit Bond, Jeff Sessions and David Vitter gave good speeches and dialogues on the budget-busting effects of ObamaCare.Maria Cantwell is speaking now. Mary Landrieu is excpected to speak shortly.The cloture vote is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST tonight.

The Democratic Party's broad ruling coalition is starting to fracture as lawmakers come under increasing pressure from the left to respond to voter anger over joblessness and Wall Street bailouts. Tensions boiled over this week, with an angry party caucus meeting Monday in the House, and black lawmakers Thursday threatening to block legislation in protest of President Barack Obama's economic policies. Along the way, members of both parties grilled Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner over his ties to Wall Street, and some called on him to resign. The squabbling is turning up pressure on the White House and Democratic leaders in...

Yesterday afternoon I went to one of the statewide protests outside Mary Landrieu's offices. In Shreveport, under drizzling skies, about sixty people showed up in front of the Federal building where Landrieu's office is. Additionally, there were counter protesters, in support of Obamacare, also there; I'd say there were at most about 15 of them...A couple of folks from our side, the Kill the Bill side, went up to Landrieu's office to register an opinion. One lady, Janet, was told, "Well, you know Senator Landrieu is a huge supporter of small business!" and Janet replied, "Then I KNOW she's going...

[T]oday let's focus on the damage the [Senate health care] bill would do to consumer-driven health plans—the kind that give individuals more control over their health dollars and insurance choices. The 2,074-page bill crushes them with malice-aforethought. ... Start with its attack on flexible spending accounts that are an important part of many employer plans. Flex accounts let employees set aside some portion of their pre-tax pay for out-of-pocket costs or medical services that their insurance plan doesn't cover, such as a child's orthodontics or testing supplies for diabetics. The Reid bill caps these now-unlimited accounts at $2,500 per year...

Republican genius, Peter Schiff talks about the Dumbocrats' stupid ideas for the economy. America is simply printing more money hoping that that will make people richer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pqQWzxMo2M http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHE6LBJjksg He is running for Senate in Connecticut, vote him IN, people. On healthcare: http://www.youtube.com/user/SchiffReport#p/a/u/1/LfGjqmG47cU

The President’s popularity did not even last one year. He was a creation of the media and was accepted by the American people who were looking for a change from the policies of George W. Bush. However, the center-right country does not want hard core liberalism. This is a shocking fall from grace for the idol of Hollywood and the media. Obama has received more positive news coverage than any other President in history, yet the American people are seeing through the spin. More and more people are starting to recognize that Obama has a radical liberal agenda. While this...

Senator Harry Reid, who drafted the bill, cannot pass it without the support of Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu. How much does it cost? According to the Congressional Budget Office: $100 million.

Sarah Palin asks: 'Rationed care' already?By ANDY BARR | 11/20/09 8:44 AM EST Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin early Friday morning greeted news that renewed guidelines scale back screenings for cervical cancer by asking if bureaucratic panels were already rationing care. “The recommendation from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists comes on the heels of another recommendation to limit breast cancer screenings with mammograms. There are many questions unanswered for me, but one which immediately comes to mind is whether costs have anything to do with these recommendations,” Palin wrote in a post on her Facebook page. “The current...

Reality Check: The "Rationing" Smear... Again?Posted by Dan Pfeiffer November 20, 2009 at 03:03 PM EST When people use arguments they know are bogus, it's probably because they know they don't have any valid arguments at their disposal. So it would seem with opponents of reform in the Senate spending today obsessed with arguments about "rationing" that were debunked months ago. Their attacks are focused on the fact that the legislation supports research into what treatments work best for patients. Before we go any further, let's just say this as plainly as possible: Under health insurance reform, this research cannot...

Forced health insurance on shaky legal groundPosted on Fri, Nov. 20, 2009 10:15 PM PHOENIX | In 2006, long before there was an Obama administration determined to impose a command-and-control federal health care system, a young orthopedic surgeon walked into the Goldwater Institute with an idea. The institute, America’s most potent advocate of limited government, embraced Eric Novack’s idea for protecting Arizonans from health care coercion. In 2008, Arizonans voted on Novack’s proposed amendment to the state’s Constitution: “No law shall be passed that restricts a person’s freedom of choice of private health care systems or private plans of any...

Is anyone planning on heading down to the US Capitol tonight? Is anything officially organized yet?

www.catholicnewsagency.com USCCB: Senate health care bill 'morally unacceptable' Washington D.C., Nov 20, 2009 / 08:02 pm (CNA).- As the Senate prepares for the discussion of its health care reform bill this weekend, several bishops have sent the Senators a letter on behalf of the USCCB, calling the current version of the health care bill both “a huge disappointment” and “morally unacceptable.”The letter, signed by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Chairman of the Committee on Pro-life Activities; Bishop William F. Murphy Diocese of Rockville Centre, Chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development and  Bishop John Wester, Chairman of the...

Sherry Johnston was sentenced Friday to three years in prison for dealing the prescription painkiller OxyContin. [...] Johnston made a deal with prosecutors to plead to a single felony count in exchange for dropping five other felony drug dealing charges against her. The deal called for the 42-year-old Wasilla woman to be sentenced to three years of prison time plus three years of probation, which is what the judge gave her. Johnston received less time than the normal five to eight years for a second-degree felony drug charge because the amount she was dealing was so small. Johnston is slated...

I am a fan of horror movies. I have basically seen it all. But this video from Barack Hussein's site makes me physically ill, and I'm not exaggerating. This is nothing short of calling Republicans baby killers.

They had been waiting for more than 24 hours, camped out on the pavements in a frigid Michigan chill. Stepping off her bus, in four-inch heels, black skirt and red blazer, came their heroine — clutching baby Trig. A roar went up, acclaiming the woman who they passionately believe is going to save America. “Alaska and Michigan have so much in common — the huntin’, the fishin’ and the hockey mums!” she declared to chants of “Sarah! Sarah!” and “USA! USA!” She went on to pay homage to “just the hardworking patriotic Americans who are here”. It was like 2008...

In case you missed it, here is video of Part two of Sarah Palin's interview with Bill O'Reilly. Tonight, they focus on policy issues. Below is the first segment of tonight's Part 2 Interview. In the second part, not yet posted, Palin says bluntly that Obama's foreign policy is weak, citing the fact that Obama is "bowing to other world leaders." We'll post the rest of it once it is available . . . (VIDEO)

Beauty and the beast.....

The Senate is set to vote Saturday night, right before the holiday, on a motion to proceed on its latest health care government take-over bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is pushing for yet another weekend vote (commonplace now for the party of “transparency”) because he knows that the American people will be none too happy about the Democrats’ proposal the longer they have to look it over. A vote against the Democrats’ motion will help stop Obamacare before it gets any closer to becoming a reality. While this Saturday night vote might seem like a procedural matter, at the...

This Saturday’s Senate vote on National health care for America looks likely to turn into a long, drawn-out bloodbath as all 40 of the Republicans in the chamber have vowed to filibuster the bill. Even moderate Republican Olympia Snowe has said she will participate in the fillibuster against Obamacare. Democrats need to only get 60 votes to proceed to debate, where they only need a majority to pass the bill. This will allow Democrat Senators vulnerable in their re-election 2010 bids a John-Kerry-esque “I voted for the bill before I voted against it” line of politicking, where they can vote...

May I suggest amending Harry Reid's Health Care Plan to Connect it DIRECTLY to future Senatorial Junketing Funds? If, in any future year, This {Reid's} plan adds to the National Debt; the SENATE MUST cut it's next year's Junketing Budget by 50% {from THE Prior Year's funding}. While "The House" writes each Year's actual Bill, IT [The House] Must respect & include this Portion of this Bill. A 'Sense of the Senate' letter to Pelosi {suggesting a similar addition to the House Junket Budget process} would be a Natural.

Pure evil. As if the parents of special needs children don’t suffer enough. Dems will increase taxes on the parents of special needs children in their nationalized health care bill. LifeSite News reported: The statistics are scary when it comes to the percentage of unborn children born with special needs who become victims of abortion. One fiscal conservative group says the task for parents raising such children is made more difficult by extra taxes found in Harry Reid’s new Senate health care bill. The measure has already been condemned by pro-life groups and the Catholic bishops for its abortion funding...

E-Mail List of Democrat Senate Staffers (and a few weak sisters)- Stop ObamaCare! Friday, November 20, 2009 | caphillbabe Posted on Friday, November 20, 2009 10:21:45 AM by kristinn Moderate Dems Pivotal in Saturday Health Care Vote NYTimes ^ | November 20th, 2009 Posted on Friday, November 20, 2009 11:24:38 PM by Steelfish Moderate Dems Pivotal in Saturday Health Care Vote ASSOCIATED PRESS November 20, 2009 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Suitably opaque, Section 2006 takes up only a few dozen lines in a sweeping health care bill that runs to 2,074 pages and mentions neither Sen. Mary Landrieu nor her state...

Democrats are the equivalent of political suicide bombers. They have strapped political bombs to themselves and they are hell-bent on taking out as many Americans as they can with them. This is how this must be looked at. There is nothing remotely good about any of this. There's nothing compassionate about any of this. Just before they detonate their political bombs -- which is what their votes against the wishes of the people they serve are -- they may as well shout "Death to freedom!" They may as well shout "Death to freedom!" as they cast their vote....

We are taking a BIG TRIP - 13 Cities! - Please pray for us. (See List of Cities Below.) Beginning on Sunday, November 22, we are taking a seven state, 13-city tour, to do press conferences, protests, and lobbying against this damnable "healthcare" legislation. Please pray for us, and help us if you can. We need funds for the trip! (If you want to contribute on line, go to here! and click the donate button.) I am pleased that the Stupak Amendment passed in the House, but I'm sure you understand that the end result of the Stupak Amendment may...

It appears the fate of the Senate Health Care Bill is now in the hands of two Democrat senators - Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana. Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska has announced he will vote for cloture tomorrow, which would open the way for the bill to be taken up on the Senate Floor and receive an up or down vote. If Democrats can cobble together the 60 votes needed to invoke Cloture tomorrow, they will then only need 50 votes (plus VP Joe Biden) to gain final passage of the bill. Fifty votes would appear...

JUST ONCE in a lifetime are we all called to stand and be counted for what is right. This is our time. LET US stand tall and never assent to our TAX DOLLARS being used to KILL BABIES. LET US record our names FOR ALL, INCLUDING GOD to see and pledge to GO TO JAIL before we let one cent of our money be used to finance the blood sport of killing babies and fill the God forsaken coffers of Planned Parenthood and their ilk. THROW ME IN JAIL. I WILL NOT PAY THE GOVERNMENT TO KILL BABIES.

AUSTIN – Here's what I did not hear at the annual confab of Republican governors held here this week: The words socialist, extremist, or government takeover. With the focus on jobs, jobs and jobs, the only red meat was the Texas barbecue. And by design, there was no Obama-bashing. [snip] Barbour cautioned Republican candidates to refrain from attacking the president, period: "People want the president to succeed; good Lord, they want the country to succeed, and particularly the first African-American president has a lot of goodwill. . . . We need to be careful, we need to treat the president...

Landrieu's Vote Will Reveal her integrity (or lack of): WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's health care bill has millions of dollars to help Louisiana finance Medicaid at a time when he is hoping that state's wavering Democratic senator will support overhaul legislation. The bill provides at least $100 million for Louisiana in extra funds for Medicaid, the state-federal health program for the poor. Louisiana's Democratic senator, Mary Landrieu, has said she is undecided about the Democratic health care package. Reid needs the votes of all 60 Democratic senators for the Senate debate to begin.

With the introduction of Harry Reid's health care bill - talk will inevitably focus on whether the public option or the Stupak amendment will undermine the legislation. Yet, if the bill dies, I do not think either of these will be the primary cause of death. I think this will be the culprit: (See chart in link) This is the CBO's analysis of how the Reid bill will cut Medicare. The total reductions come out to $491 billion over 10 years when everything is factored in. The following has been said by other commentators, but I have to add my...

November 20, 2009 What's Next for Oprah? President? UN Secretary General? -and- WHY are we consumed by meaningless Speculation? by MrArbitrage Just a day after Oprah Winfrey announcing that she will be ending her talk show, we are already being overloaded by columns and news reports speculating on “Oprah's next move". I think she’s going to enjoy the attention from this PR stunt immensely. I can see it spinning out of control already and I’m not looking forward to listening to the speculation propounded ad nauseam by media pundits over the coming months. It’s on par to be bigger and...

With all that in mind, an article in Esquire, “The 'Socialist' American Reform That Worked Long Before Health Care”, seemed timely. After all, the premise was that the past struggle for universal public education in the United States is analogous to the current struggle for universal health care.

Senate Health Care Bill Raises Taxes on Special Needs Children Washington, DC -- The statistics are scary when it comes to the percentage of unborn children born with special needs who become victims of abortion. One fiscal conservative group says the task for parents raising such children is made more difficult by extra taxes found in Harry Reid's new Senate health care bill. http://www.LifeNews.com/nat5694.html

Sen. Harry Reid Washington D.C., Nov 20, 2009 / 02:36 pm (CNA).- Catholic political analyst, Deal Hudson, said yesterday that pro-life forces will face an uphill battle over the health care bill expected to reach its peak of discussion in the Senate over the weekend.Hudson, director of InsideCatholic.com, explained that the Senate Health Care Bill “contains federal funding for abortion, and many other unmentionables, e.g., so-called ‘end-of-life’ care.”“In spite of Sen. Reid's explicit promise, the Stupak-Pitts Amendment was rejected,” Hudson wrote. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's bill would permit abortions in a government-run plan if it receives the approval...

. . . phone calls are not going through at all now. Try calling my phone or any phone. It is not even the switchboard anymore. The entire Senate phone system has collapsed. Keep melting the phones!

Senate Democratic leaders, having negotiated critical last-minute commitments, Friday stood on the verge of achieving the 60 votes they need to begin consideration of the most expansive healthcare legislation to go before the Senate in nearly half a century. Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson, who was among three Democratic holdouts, announced that he would back an all-important procedural vote set for Saturday that will allow the chamber to take up the wide-ranging bill unveiled this week by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). And Democratic leaders expect Sens. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana to support a cloture...

The response on this book tour has been overwhelming. We are truly humbled, and I thank you. I've been told that yesterday there were supporters in Noblesville who stood in long lines for hours in the cold and rain, and the book signing event ended without a chance to say hello to everyone who showed up. I am so sorry. We are working on a solution for those who were left behind. I apologize. - Sarah Palin

Why all the silence from the MSM on the US Senate healthcare bill? Other then for the alternate news media, who has been holding the torch in discussion of this major issue it has been nothing BUT SILENCE, PERIOD. This summer, I’ve spent my fair share of time reading complicated legislation that frequently does not make sense. There are thousands of pages with details about tax, regulation and service changes that will impact health care service, quality and cost. I challenge the media to tell us what’s in the bills.

Will mammograms sink the Health Care Bill in the Senate? The 16-member U.S. Preventative Services Task Force released its new recommendations on mammograms a few days ago. Talk about some outrage by its recommendations! It said they wanted to change the standard of once a year screenings for women over 40 every other year. Boy did the stuff hit the fan! Please allow me give you some quotes to aid in your evaluation of the situation; Dr. Daniel Kopans, head of breast imaging at Massachusetts General, “I think it is outrageous to reduce costs by taking away a test that...

Any good parent, or teacher, will tell you that repetition is one of the best teaching tools at our disposal when it comes to getting children to learn something. This process also works on adults. Hearing something repeated often enough would undoubtedly embed whatever it is that is being said into our thick little skulls. For example, this simple repeat strategy is why everyone between the ages of forty to sixty can immediately join in singing, “There she was just a walkin’ down the street singin’ do wa ditty, ditty dum ditty do.”

A healthcare policy expert says there are details in the Senate healthcare bill that will frighten everyone. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) has unveiled his more than 2,000-page healthcare bill with an estimated price tag of $849 billion. However, as Grace Marie Turner of the Galen Institute points out, one of the reasons the bill was scored under President Obama's $900 billion cost goal is because no one gets any benefit from the program until 2014. "So they start collecting taxes and fees now, and...the first ten years of full implementation of this bill is $2.5 trillion, and that's...