NEW ADDITION TO THE FAMILY

MY DAUGHTER, MY GRANDSON, AND OUR NEWEST MEMBER OF THE FAMILY- MY THREE WEEK OLD GRANDDAUGHTER KENDALL MADISON

Government questions the dollar value of human life

Recently, a depressing story from England provided a glimpse into America's not-too-distant (and oh-so-grim) healthcare future as it could be in the looming Age of Obama. A cancer patient in Britain was denied the drug that could have held his kidney cancer at bay for six months, because treatment was deemed to be too expensive by British healthcare authorities. And you thought life was a priceless gift from God. Guess again. In Britain, at least, the "priceless gift" has a price tag.
Read the full story.

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves."

-- William Pitt --

Straight talk about universal healthcare

Giving you complete coverage on all the dangers of universal healthcare coverage.
By William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.

"The Dems are doing their best to put a positive, humanitarian spin on the idea of universal health care, or what I call "socialized medicine", but the long-term ramifications would be devastating.

They would have you believe that conservatives who are against universal healthcare take this stance because they are mean-spirited and compassionless. Naturally, this isn't the case. And it's hardly how I feel.

I am against universal healthcare because I believe it will create one of the most intrusive government bureaucracies since the Internal Revenue Service, and it will impinge heavily on the individual freedoms of all American citizens.

Obama is attempting to achieve universal healthcare coverage by relying primarily on private insurance.

That's right - he is looking to solve our nation's health care problems by giving control of the system to the insurance companies. Wow.

One of the key misconceptions among Obama supporters is that a universal healthcare system would make healthcare more affordable. What delusional planet is he from? Under socialized medicine, the healthcare system may be perceived as being more fair, but it certainly won't be any cheaper. A better way to describe the program would be to call it "universal heath insurance." The idea is that by compelling everyone in the nation to participate in the insurance market, you'd cut down on what's known as the "free rider" syndrome. As the termsuggests, this would be people getting a "free ride" from the healthcare system by deciding not to get their own health insurance because they've been assured that in the case of an emergency or personal health catastrophe, inexpensive care will be guaranteed to them by the government. The theory is that mandated participation would help to drive down insurance costs.But any mandate requires an enforcement component. My fear is that a government branch with the kind of power to actually identify and penalize those seeking to avoid the insurance mandates of universal healthcare would be vast and all-powerful. The new healthcare arm of the government would likely have the same kind of power (and loathsome reputation) as the IRS.

I'm all about personal freedom and the rights of individuals. Universal healthcare is not only impractical, but costly - and not just for your pocketbook. It's handing over yet another right to the government, and allowing the government to decide and rule your fate.

I'm not compassionless-I'm just sensible. And universal healthcare as it's being proposed still doesn't make much sense to me. The disaster of the Massachusetts universal healthcare system should give you a preview of what life under a universal healthcare scheme could be like...

....A program of mandated health insurance is already in effect in Massachusetts. Under that system, subsidized insurance is made available to individuals earning up to $30,636 annually, and families of four earning up to $61,956 per year. The state government has begun to impose stiff fines on residents who fail to purchase health insurance - and the penalties can amount to as much as $912 a year!

And this place is already known as "Tax-achusetts!"

Even though this system is in its infancy, it already has many vocal opponents. Devon Herrick, a senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis calls the Massachusetts universal coverage plan "overregulated and largely unworkable." Herrick explains that the least expensive health plan available through the program costs $196 a month, while the state fine for being uninsured is about half that cost -- $98 a month!

After just two years, Massachusetts' universal coverage program is running at a staggering $147 million deficit, and the four insurance carriers who provide the state- subsidized insurance estimated that costs will go up by 14 percent this year.

Even more shocking is the manner in which Massachusetts state officials have decided to deal with the out-of-control costs of their broken system: they've ordered the insurance companies to cut payments to doctors and hospitals, reduce choices for payments, and possibly increase how much patients will have to pay.

I only hope that Americans get a good, long look at the disaster that universal healthcare has wrought on the economy and people of Massachusetts before a similar catastrophe is unleashed on the whole country. The train wreck in New England is headed our way if the democrats get their way.

America: you have been warned."

Oliver North : Wrong Again

WASHINGTON -- It took the Obama administration eight days to figure out whether Iranians being gunned down for protesting a fraudulent election and demanding basic civil liberties deserved to be acknowledged by the president of the United States. It took the O-Team less than eight hours to side with Cuba's Fidel Castro, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega over the ouster of Manuel Zelaya in Honduras.

David Limbaugh : None Dare Call It Marxism

All right already. I won't call Obama a Marxist in this column. Instead, I'll point to some signs that indicate that Barack and Karl might well be soul mates. At least, they have similar attitudes about capital, labor and profits, er, surplus value.

David Satter: The President's Mission to Moscow

Obama doesn't need to engage Russia's leaders. He needs to deter them.

Obama and Putin's Russia

Retro agenda: Arms control and arm-chair Kremlinology.

O'Grady: Honduras at the Tipping Point

Why is the U.S. not supporting the rule of law?

Strassel: The EPA Silences a Climate Skeptic

The professional penalty for offering a contrary view to elites like Al Gore is a smear campaign.

Cap-and-Trade: What's Next?

How China will benefit from cap-and-trade, and more on the looming battle in the Senate...
by Sen. James Inhofe

EXCLUSIVE: Pakistan Nukes At Risk

by Rowan Scarborough

Taliban terrorists know where some of Pakistan's nuclear weapons are stored based on information from allies inside the country's national security forces.

"Don't put the key to your happiness in
someone else's pocket, but into your own."

ONLY IN AMERICA

ONLY IN AMERICA, MUST WE SPEND BILLIONS BECAUSE WE CAN'T LET CHRYSLER GO BANKRUPT, AND THEN, LET CHRYSLER GO BANKRUPT.

ONLY IN AMERICA, CAN CONGRESS FORCE FANNIE AND FREDDIE TO BUY SUB-PRIME LOANS, AND THEN BLAME FANNIE AND FREDDIE FOR BUYING SUB-PRIME LOANS.

ONLY IN AMERICA, A MAJOR CRISIS REQUIRES SWIFT ACTION TO PASS A BILL WITHOUT READING IT, THEN VACATION FOR THREE DAYS BEFORE THE PRESIDENT HAS TIME TO SIGN IT.

ONLY IN AMERICA, YOU CAN BE LEGALLY ILLEGAL.

ONLY IN AMERICA, THE CONGRESS MAKE LAWS THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO FOLLOW.

ONLY IN AMERICA, WHERE YOUR VICE PRESIDENT DECLARES ‘JOBS’ A 3 LETTER WORD.

ONLY IN AMERICA.... DOES THE MILITARY GET INVESTIGATED BY HOMELAND SECURITY AS POSSIBLE TERRORISTS, WHILE OUR BORDERS ARE WIDE OPEN.

ONLY IN AMERICA.... CAN YOU GET A TAX REFUND ON TAXES YOU DIDN'T PAY

ONLY IN AMERICA, CAN YOU CAN BLAME OTHERS WHEN YOU DON'T PERFORM.

ONLY IN AMERICA, YOU HAVE MORE RIGHTS BEING ILLEGAL, THAN YOU DO LEGAL.

ONLY IN AMERICA.... CAN YOU BE 13 AND HAVE AN ABORTION WITHOUT TELLING YOUR PARENTS, BUT MUST HAVE A WRITTEN NOTE FROM YOUR PARENT WHY YOU MISSED SCHOOL.

ONLY IN AMERICA.... ARE YOU PUNISHED FOR GOOD PERFORMANCE AND REVERED FOR NONPERFORMANCE.

ONLY IN AMERICA, CAN YOU CALL LARGE CORPORATIONS EVIL, WHILE 99.9% OF THE AMERICANS WORK IN COMPANIES WITH LESS THAN 500 EMPLOYEES.

ONLY IN AMERICA.... CAN CHRYSLER GET 10 BILLION IN AID FOR THEIR COMPANY OF 30,000 EMPLOYEES. I GUESS IT IS DIFFICULT TO RUN A COMPANY FOR $333,333 PER EMPLOYEE.

ONLY IN AMERICA….WE CARE ABOUT 3 GUYS THAT GET WATER UP THE NOSE, WHILE OUR ENEMIES ARE BEHEADING US AND BLOWING CROWDS OF PEOPLE UP WITH SUICIDE BOMBINGS.

ONLY IN AMERICA, YOU CAN SAY OTHER INTERROGATION TECHNIQUES WORK, BUT YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THOSE TECHNIQUES ARE.

ONLY IN AMERICA….YOU CAN BE PRESIDENT WITHOUT A VALID BIRTH CERTIFICATE.

ONLY IN AMERICA.... WHATEVER GOES WRONG WILL ALWAYS BE BUSH'S FAULT.

LASTLY, HOWEVER, IN AMERICA, YOU CAN ONLY BE PRESIDENT WHEN THE TELEPROMPTER IS ON!

New data indicate recovery not near

9.5 percent jobless

The end of the longest recession in recent history got pushed further off last month as employers eliminated nearly a half-million more jobs, unemployment rose to its highest level in 26 years and wage growth came to a standstill. Read more.

ARE THEY IDIOTS, OR DO THEY HAVE ANOTHER AGENDA?

By Richard Rahn

Why did a bare majority (219-212) of the members of the U.S. Congress vote for the largest tax increase in American history this past Friday, under the claim it was a vote to save the climate?

There is no consensus in the scientific community about how much climate change, other than the normal cycles, is taking place, nor how severe it will be, and how much man-made CO2 is responsible.

It is known that the legislation will have a negligible effect on global CO2 emissions, particularly since the big polluters, such as China and India, are not playing ball. It is also known that the "cap and trade" system that the legislation calls for has been a failure in Europe.

In sum, serious people understand the legislation will hurt the U.S. economy, reduce the standard of living and yet not accomplish its claimed intent; therefore, why were so many members of Congress willing to vote for it?

Are they idiots, or do they have another agenda?

Read more ...

"In Honduras, Mr. Obama is intervening on the wrong side. But if you take him at his word (a dangerous thing to do), the wonder is that he is intervening at all. This is the guy, you'll remember, who was so concerned about being perceived as "meddling" in Iran's internal affairs that he, alone among Western leaders, refused to denounce the blatantly stolen election in Iran, or to express support for those who protested the theft.

"Mr. Obama is now doing with regard to what he has refused to do with regard to Iran: organizing an international coalition to pressure the country to reverse course.

There is a disturbing consistency to Mr. Obama's apparent inconsistency on Honduras and Iran. In both the case where he has intervened, and in the case where he hasn't, he has taken the side of anti-American dictators (in Mr. Zelaya's case, a wannabe dictator) over the vast majority of their people."

-- Jack Kelly, columnist

It’s the Benefits, Stupid!

By Robert Ringer

"Sadly, most professed conservatives today are to the left of FDR."

----------

"Liberty is man’s natural state, tyranny his natural enemy"

As the poll numbers for the Duplicitous Despot have finally begun to slip a bit, conservative smiles are cautiously surfacing. Could it be that the walking dead (read, “centrists”) are starting to realize that 2 + 2 actually equals 5, not 4?

Not so fast. Optimism is a good thing, but realism is even better. There are a number of obstacles that still have to be overcome before liberty lovers can begin celebrating a return to our once-cherished state of semi-freedom.

Obstacle No. 1: The straight-faced deviousness of the Duplicitous Despot. Most.....

Dick Cheney: Troop Pullout May Waste U.S. Sacrifices in Iraq

Former Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday expressed concern that the pending pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq's cities could reverse the military progress made by American and Iraqi forces there since the George W. Bush administration's 2007 surge.

"I hope the Iraqis can deal with it," Mr. Cheney told The Washington Times' "America's Morning News" radio show. "At some point, they have to stand on their own, but I would not want to see the U.S. waste all the tremendous sacrifice that has gotten us to this point."

Rasmussen Poll: Obama's Popularity Plunging

The latest Rasmussen daily tracking poll shows that President Barack Obama for the first time has a negative approval index — more Americans disapprove of his job performance than approve

Who Railroaded the Amtrak Inspector General?
By Michelle Malkin

Watchdogs are an endangered species in the Age of Obama. The latest government ombudsman to get the muzzle: Amtrak Inspector General Fred Weiderhold. The longtime veteran employee was abruptly “retired” this month—just as the government-subsidized rail service faces mounting complaints about its meddling in financial audits and probes. It’s another case of watchdog out – Obama lapdog in.

Obama’s One-World, America-Last Government
By Ben Shapiro

Barack Obama views the world through the lens of his own leadership—if he can simply co-opt the leadership of every ideological group on the map, then he can avoid all conflict. How can he cultivate followers among America’s enemies? By siding against America, of course. Take the case of Honduras…

Justice Department: U.S. Border ‘Underprotected,’ ‘Easily Breached’
By Terence P. Jeffrey

Our president and congressional leaders now seek to control Earth’s climate by capping carbon emissions in the United States—even as they fail to perform their constitutional duty by capping the flow of contraband crossing our border from Mexico.

Federal agents hunt for guns one house at a time
Chronicle | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

In front of a run-down shack in north Houston, federal agents step from a government sedan into 102-degree heat and face a critical question: How can the woman living here buy four high-end handguns in one day?

The house is worth $35,000. A screen dangles by a wall-unit air conditioner. Porch swing slats are smashed, the smattering of grass is flattened by cars and burned yellow by sun

 Arizona Senate OKs Immigration Enforcement Bill
CNSNews.com

Phoenix (AP) - Arizona has moved a step closer to becoming the only state to criminalize the presence of illegal immigrants through an expansion of its trespassing law.

A 16-11 vote by the Arizona Senate early Wednesday would criminalize the presence of illegal immigrants in the state. The measure must still be approved in the House and signed by Gov. Jan Brewer.

ICE and ATF to Share Intelligence to Stem Flow of Guns and Drugs Between U.S. and Mexico

(CNSNews.com) - A top official at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) admits that drug cartels have “gatekeepers” who control part of the U.S.-Mexico border, and that securing the southwest border to stem the flow of illegal activities is something that ICE is devoting “time and effort” thinking about.

Democrats’ Cap-and-Trade Bill Creates ‘Retrofit’ Policy for Homes and Businesses

(CNSNews.com) – The 1,400-page cap-and-trade legislation pushed through by House Democrats contains a new federal policy that residential, commercial, and government buildings be retrofitted to increase energy efficiency, leaving it up to the states to figure out exactly how to do that.

Obama Administration Not Ruling Out Tax on Health Care Benefits

(CNSNews.com) – Critics of President Barack Obama’s health care reform plan believe that he is backtracking on his campaign pledge not to tax health benefits. The administration, meanwhile, is not giving a strong reassurance to the contrary.

GOP: STAND YOUR GROUND By DICK MORRIS

Only the Senate and House Republicans can save Obama now by compromising and lending his extremist legislation the veneer of bipartisanship in order to remove it as a political issue.

If the likes of GOP Sens. Olympia Snowe (Maine), Susan Collins (Maine), Chuck Grassley (Iowa), Orrin Hatch (Utah) and others refuse to go along with Obama on healthcare and on cap-and-trade, they will force him to pass both programs as one-party bills. Not only is it possible that as public support runs out on these measures he will fail even to get 50 votes to pass them, but it is likely that even if they go through, they doom his administration to perpetual unpopularity.

Obama is, quite simply, stuck with these programs as a result of his campaign promises. But they will become larger and larger burdens to carry as their unpopularity increases. Read more.

EA: The Return of Classical Greek Terrorism | STRATFOR

Periodic attacks by anarchists and left-wing militant groups in Greece date back to 1975, when the emerging N-17 shot and killed CIA Station Chief Richard Welch in Athens. In 2009, however, militant attacks have become more frequent and lethal. There have been 16 attacks so far in 2009, compared to 10 in 2008 and 4 in 2007,