Baird apologizes, announces town hall meetings

The Columbian ^ | August 12, 2009 | Mark Bowder

[jazusamo]

Thurs congressional gathering canceled over security

A week after saying he would not hold town hall meetings because of health care reform protest tactics he compared to Nazis Brownshirts, U.S. Rep. Brian Baird issued a statement Wednesday expressing regret for his comments.

"Frankly, I have had concerns about how we can have constructive dialogue and, unfortunately, in response to some of the things we've been seeing across the nation I have said some things myself that I regret," Baird said in a press release issued Wednesday. "My hope and trust is that we can have the kinds of informative exchanges that I have valued for so long and that reveal the very best of public discourse."

Baird's statement came as The Mount St. Helens Advisory Committee cancelled a meeting scheduled for Thursday in Longview after the session was "misrepresented on the Internet as a forum to discuss the issue of health care," according to a statement from Cowlitz County.

The session was to have been attended by Baird and Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, and Longview officials said they were concerned about their ability to provide adequate security for all parties in 900 people believed to be planning to attend the event.

"As you know, the potential for this event changes every minute with the continued misinformation and misrepresentation of the topic of this meeting," Longview City Manager Bob Gregory wrote in a letter to the committee.

The advisory committee said it would reschedule the meeting on Mount St. Helens to a later date.

In his statement released Wednesday afternoon, Baird, D-Vancouver, said the first of five town hall meetings will be scheduled for 7 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday at Skyview High School, 1300 NW 139th St., Vancouver.
"Congressman Baird will also hold a series of private, focused meetings with doctors, nurses, small business owners, and health care clinic administrators to go into more detail about specifics of the proposed legislation and how it would affect health care in our communities," the release said.

Baird, who described himself as "a huge advocate of town halls" said the public sessions would be in addition to the his planned August schedule, which includes several telephone town halls aimed at reaching "thousands of people who would otherwise not be able to come to a town hall meeting."

"Congressman Baird will also hold a series of private, focused meetings with doctors, nurses, small business owners, and health care clinic administrators to go into more detail about specifics of the proposed legislation and how it would affect health care in our communities," the release said.

Baird also prepared a more detailed statement that can be read in its entirely at www.columbian.com/docblog.

Read more about this story in Thursday's edition of The Columbian.

[jazusamo]

WA Ping!

[jazusamo]

Please bump the Freepathon and donate if you haven’t done so!

[pissant]

Isn’t he still on his Antartica junket?

[Paladin2]

Shouldn’t quite a few votes be held at these “town” meetings?

[jazusamo]

LOL! Probably wishes he was after the flak he’s gotten. It must have been heavy for him to apologize and change his mind on the townhalls.

[matt1234]

He needed time to make arrangements with ACORN and SEIU.

[NonValueAdded]

Some sweet irony there ... the eruption of Mt. St. Healthcare dwarfs that of Mt. St. Helens.

[sionnsar]

Thanks to jazusamo for the ping.

Say WA? Evergreen State ping

Quick link: WA State Board

FReepmail sionnsar if you want on or off this ping list.

Ping sionnsar if you see a Washington state related thread.

[popdonnelly]

The only brownshirts are some SEIU people - with the encouragement of the Administration.

[Havisham]

Spot poll was the writing on the wall. How quickly they go from master to mouse.

[jazusamo]

Yep, I’d bet those brownshirts will be at his townhalls.

[cousair]

Brian Baird is from the Third District of Washington State, southern area near PDX and MY district. I have written him many times asking if he would take on the Obama HC program he wants America to sit with. No answer, just a form letters back stating his so called accomplishments. After his smart ass comments on TV about facing mobs the likes of OKLAHOMA’S Tim McVey, the day he got back to the left coast I had an electronic message on my phone saying he,Baird, would have a PHONE CALL TOWN HALL and invited me to come! In a pigs eye...this guy needs to be dumped. He is an Obama kool aid drinker, voted FOR CAP AND TRADE in the house and is all for the Obama Universal one payer Healthcare program...What a coward, what a cop out !!!!!

[RinaseaofDs]

No balls.

[jazusamo]

Exactly Right! He’s my Rep too and he needs to go.

[B-Cause]

WOW! Check this one out.

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Little Gems From the Obama Health Care Bill
• Page 16: States that if you have insurance at the time of the bill becoming law and change, you will be required to take a similar plan. If that is not available, you will be required to take the gov option!
• Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure!
• Page 29: Admission: your health care will be rationed!
• Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatmen ts and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process)
• Page 42: The "Health Choices Commissioner" will decide health benefits for you. You will have no choice. None.
• Page 50: All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free healthcare services.
• Page 58: Every person will be issued a National ID Healthcard.
• Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer.
• Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans (example: SEIU, UAW and ACORN)
• Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government=2 0rules to participate in a Healthcare Exchange.
• Page 84: All private healthcare plans must participate in the Healthcare Exchange (i.e., total government control of private plans)
• Page 91: Government mandates linguistic infrastructure for services; translation: illegal aliens
• Page 95: The Government will pay ACORN and Americorps to sign up individuals for Government-run Health Care plan.
• Page 102: Those eligible for Medicaid will be automatically enrolled: you have no choice in the matter.
• Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No "judicial review" is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply, private insurers will be crushed.
• Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages.
• Page 145: An employer MUST auto-enroll employees into the government-run public plan. No alternatives.
• Page 126: Employers MUST pay healthcare bills for part-time employees AND their families.
• Page 149: Any employer with a payroll of $400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays an 8% tax on payroll <>BR • Page 150: Any employer with a payroll of $250K-400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays a 2 to 6% tax on payroll
• Page 167: Any individual who doesnt' have acceptable healthcare (according to the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income.
• Page 170: Any NON-RESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans will pay for them).
• Page 195: Officers and employees of Government Healthcare Bureaucracy will have access to ALL American financial and personal records.
• Page 203: "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax." Yes, it really says that.
• Page 239: Bill will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors and the poor most affected." • Page 241: Doctors: no matter what speciality you have, you'll all be paid the same (thanks, AMA!)
• Page 253: Government sets value of doctors' time, their professional judgment, etc.
• Page 265: Government mandates and controls20productivity for private healthcare industries.
• Page 268: Government regulates rental and purchase of power-driven wheelchairs.
• Page 272: Cancer patients: welcome to the wonderful world of rationing!
• Page 280: Hospitals will be penalized for what the government deems preventable re-admissions.
• Page 298: Doctors: if you treat a patient during an initial admission that results in a readmission, you will be penalized by the government.
• Page 317: Doctors: you are now prohibited for owning and investing in healthcare companies!
• Page 318: Prohibition on hospital expansion. Hospitals cannot expand without government approval.
• Page 321: Hospital expansion hinges on "community" input: in other words, yet another payoff for ACORN.
• Page 335: Government mandates establishment of outcome-based measures: i.e., rationing.
• Page 341: Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs, etc.
• Page 354: Government will restrict enrollment of SPECIAL NEEDS individuals.
• Page 379: More bureaucracy: Telehealth Advisory Committee (healthcare by phone). • Page 425: More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia?
• Page 425: Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory. Appears to lock in estate taxes ahead of time.
• Page 425: Goverment provides approved list of end-of-life resource s, guiding you in death.
• Page 427: Government mandates program that orders end-of-life treatment; government dictates how your life ends.
• Page 429: Advance Care Planning Consult will be used to dictate treatment as patient's health deteriorates. This can include an ORDER for end-of-life plans. An ORDER from the GOVERNMENT.
• Page 430: Government will decide what level of treatments you may have at end-of-life.
• Page 469: Community-based Home Medical Services: more payoffs for ACORN.
• Page 472: Payments to Community-based organizations: more payoffs for ACORN.
• Page 489: Government will cover marriage and family therapy. Government intervenes in your marriage.
• Page 494: Government will cover mental health services: defining, creating and rationing those services.


Listed above are some of Obama's "Changes"

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Watch This Short Video Clip!

Click Here

to watch a short video clip on the "Death of Democracy in America"

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[SloopJohnB]

ARE YOU READY FOR BRIAN'S MEETINGS!!

[Frantzie]

Bingo! He will pack the hall wityh SEIU/ACORN goons first.

Have one of the goons in the middle of the night paint a swastika on his office sign.

[olezip]

A week after saying he would not hold town hall meetings because of health care reform protest tactics he compared to Nazis Brownshirts, U.S. Rep. Brian Baird issued a statement Wednesday expressing regret for his comments.

Brian Baird supports nationalizing our financial institutions, the automobile industry, and, now he supports nationalizing health care, a good chunk of our economy. Does that not fall in line with a national socialist program? Are not the union thugs the Democrat version of brownshirts?

[DennisR]

Note to Brian: Apologize all you want, we really know what goes on in your head. It only came out when you were amongst media with whom you relate: Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. Because liberals cannot be honest about who they are - they would scare their voters to death.