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An independent review says medical care remains below acceptable levels in more than two-thirds of California state prisons. The review shows just nine of the 33 adult prisons met minimum health care standards. The review is the first independent look at all the facilities in the state's prison system. It was ordered after a federal judge found that poor care was causing the death of an average of one inmate each week. The review comes as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a ruling to force California to improve the care of physically and mentally ill inmates. Mark Kleiman is a...

"There will be zero tolerance for this type of misinformation and unjustified rate increases." That sounds like a stern headmistress dressing down some sophomores who have been misbehaving. But it's actually from a letter sent Thursday from Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to Karen Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans -- the chief lobbyist for private health insurance companies. Sebelius objects to claims by health insurers that they are raising premiums because of increased costs imposed by the Obamacare law passed by Congress last March. She acknowledges that many of the law's "key protections" take effect later...

Ed Schultz, the lib talker radio and television host, recently postulated that Barack Obama may not really desire to be president. Schultz said it may just not be his "gig". In an interview with ABC News, Obama had told Diane Sawyer that he'd rather be a really good one term president, than a mediocre two term president. Instead, what we're dealing with is a man who would be happy to serve only one term, provided that he can push his radical agenda on the American people. Three examples stand out as to what Obama is trying to accomplish in his...

Our congressional leaders have seen fit to implement the perfect health care system for the country, but have chosen not to make it applicable to the senior leadership of congress and their staff. It is hard to justify this position. For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that congressional operations and members of Congress are exempt from various laws or have special benefits.....

It looks as if it is not just state attorneys general that are filing a lawsuit against the new health care law recently passed by the Democrats and signed into law by President Obama. The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) put out the following statement: The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) became the first medical society to sue to overturn the newly enacted health care bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). AAPS sued Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (AAPS v. Sebelius et al.).

Robert Creamer of the HuffyPost penned a very revealing piece that proves that Democrats simply don't care at all about anyone's "health," but that this whole fiasco is solely about political "wins" and power. If someone happens to get a little healthcare out of the thing, that is purely incidental to the actual purpose of Obamacare. Creamer's piece describes the top 10 reasons why voting yes on Obamacare is "good politics for Democrats." Tellingly, not one of the reasons is because healthcare "reform" is good for the people. In fact, most of his "reasons" that Dems should vote for Obama's...

Americans should launch a “Velvet Revolution”-style uprising against the federal government in order to put a stop to creeping socialism and defeat health care reform, U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron, said Tuesday. King was a featured speaker at several “Kill the Bill” rallies in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday morning that were designed to stop health care reform legislation. In an interview with the liberal site Huffington Post, King said there are a lot of similarities between current-day America and Czechoslovakia under communism.

The Moral Failure of German Medicine The complicity of German physicians in the Nazis' crimes against humanity is a well-established historical fact. Explaining that fact is far more difficult. Why were German doctors such avid fans of fascism? Why did nearly half of all German physicians join the Nazi party? I don't think it was the tirades of Julius Streicher in Der Stürmer that attracted their interest, but rather the promises of Nazi leaders to solve Germany's problems medically, surgically. The Nazi state was supposed to be a hygienic state; Nazism was supposed to be "applied biology" (Fritz Lenz coined...

President Obama began an important political week for his health-care legislation with a passionate argument for its urgency Monday at Arcadia University in Glenside, blasting the insurance industry for skyrocketing premiums, canceled coverage – and suffering Americans. "We've been talking about this for a century . . .. If not now, when? If not us, who?" Obama said to 1,800 people crammed into the school's gym. "I don't know how health-care reform will play politically, but I know it's the right thing to do." Obama said that Washington's preoccupation with the "sport of politics" is hindering solutions to problems with...

WASHINGTON (Associated Press) -- President Barack Obama ratcheted up his attacks against insurance companies Monday in a last-ditch attempt to get a reluctant public and skittish Democrats behind his health overhaul legislation. Obama contended that insurers have calculated that they'll make more money by denying coverage to some and jacking up rates on others.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday floated the idea of a two-track plan for health care reform — with Congress pursuing easier-to-pass incremental changes now and comprehensive reform later. “We believe that it’s possible to have comprehensive health care reform as we go forward, but at the same time, it can be on another track where some things can just be passed outside of that legislation, and we’ll be doing both,” Pelosi said in an interview with POLITICO. Though the Democrats’ loss of Ted Kennedy’s old Senate seat has complicated efforts to get the 60 votes they need for a...

C-SPAN chief executive Brian Lamb, who has long fought for more television access in Congress, is now asking House and Senate leadership to allow cameras inside while members hammer out differences between the two health care bills. Lamb, in a letter dated Dec. 30 and made available today, requested opening up “all important negotiations, including any conference committee meetings, to electronic media coverage” President Obama, Senate and House leaders, many of your rank-and-file members, and the nation’s editorial pages have all talked about the value of transparent discussions on reforming the nation’s health care system. Now that the process moves...

WASHINGTON – House and Senate Democrats intend to bypass traditional procedures when they negotiate a final compromise on health care legislation, officials said Monday, a move that will exclude Republican lawmakers and reduce their ability to delay or force politically troubling votes in both houses. The unofficial timetable calls for final passage of the measure to remake the nation's health care system by the time President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address, probably in early February.

Sarah Palin comes to Asheville NC to have Dinner with Billy Graham & Family from richard bernier on Vimeo. Sarah Palin arrives in Asheville NC to have Dinner with Billy Graham & Family. 22 Nov 2009 - On a very short notice, Space Mountain Productions was advised that Mrs.Palin would be coming to Asheville to have dinner with Billy Graham & Familly. Mrs. Palin is on her book tour & will be in Fayetteville the next day to promote her book. Mrs.Palin arrived at 3:10pm & took a few questions & meet some supporters who had time to come to...

WH Political Director, Patrick Gaspard Behind Scozzafava’s Owens Endorsement November, 2, 2009 — nicedeb Buried deep in a Washington Post profile of the “low-key” Patrick Gaspard, was this interesting tidbit: Steeped in New York politics, he played a pivotal role in the effort over the weekend to persuade Republican State Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava to endorse the Democratic candidate in the special election in New York’s 23rd Congressional District, two senior White House officials said Sunday. One senior official added that Gaspard was the “air traffic controller” of multiple parties as events in the district unfolded. Scozzafava, a rare Republican who...

Just in from the Senate Majority Leader’s press shop: Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will hold a press conference this afternoon to give an update on the merger of Senate health insurance reform proposals. Today, Monday, October 26, 2009, at 3:15 p.m. Practically every report agrees that Reid will deliver a bill to the CBO today for scoring, and that it will include a public option with the potential for states to opt out.

Just 42 percent of voters support Democrats' health care reform plans even though a majority wants Congress to pass some version of reform, according to a new poll released Monday. The Rasmussen survey shows 54 percent is opposed to the plans backed by President Obama and Democrats in Congress. The percentage of voters supporting the proposals is down 2 points from the previous week and down 4 points from the week before that. The survey reflects persistent public skepticism toward the health care overhaul in its current form, even as it advances steadily through Congress. The Senate Finance Committee last...

Reid ‘Likely’ to Make Entire Health Bill an Amendment to Unrelated Tax Bill That House Passed in March(CNSNews.com) -- A senior aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told CNSNews.com that it is “likely” that Reid will use H.R. 1586—a bill passed by the House in March to impose a 90-percent tax on bonuses paid to employees of certain bailed-out financial institutions—as a “shell” for enacting the final version of the Senate’s health care bill, which Reid is responsible for crafting. Under the procedure, the substance of House Resolution 1586 would be removed and replaced with the entire Senate...

By now, members of Gun Owners of America should have received pre-written postcards opposing the anti-gun health care bills that are floating around on Capitol Hill. Please send in those postcards -- as it’s very important for legislative offices to see mounds of gun owners’ mail being dumped on their desks! Now that Congress is back in session -- and the President has given his televised push on health care -- it is time for us to redouble our efforts. To review the bidding: Every major health care bill being considered in Congress would require many (if not most) Americans...

“The Constitution of the United States was created by the people of the United States composing the respective states, who alone had the right.” - James Madison Today marks the 222nd anniversary of the formation and signing of our Constitution. The United States Constitution is one of the greatest founding documents in history because it charted a bold new path in the realm of political theory. Not only does the Constitution establish checks and balances within the federal government, it also divides power among the federal government, the states, and the people. The Founders understood that it is the nature...