Brain Shavings

Holy crap!

2009-07-08T19:07:42Z

Click for the full-sized graphic:

And you wonder why people with common sense have been screaming about the insane spending by Obama, Pelosi, and Reid?

Video: Senator Cornyn gets booed

2009-07-07T00:30:00Z

At the Austin, TX Tea Party on this past July 4th, Republican U.S. Senator John Cornyn got a resounding round of boos (except when he talked about our military) for his vote on TARP, the bloated bailout:

Notice how he tried to slam "Washington" as if he isn't part of it. Remember this back in April?

Cornyn should have seen it coming.

Hat tip: Michelle Malkin

Video: the "Massachusetts Model" vs. Georgia

2009-07-06T23:50:00Z

In 2006, Massachusetts passed health care reform that implemented a number of policies that are now being mirrored in the Obama health reform plan. The president has repeatedly claimed that his plan will lower health care costs but not decrease health care quality. This visualization looks at how the Massachusetts plan has panned out in terms of cost and wait times.

The "Massachusetts Model" in a word: fail.

In defense of the frail elderly

2009-07-06T23:30:00Z

A real thought-provoker:

The frail elderly and their families deserve love, support and care from a compassionate society. If we allow willy-nilly healthcare reform, the frail elderly will undoubtedly be targeted, with such rationalizations as "Why devote resources (the liberal euphemism for money) to a hopeless cause such as this?" A physician at our local Tea Party stated one platform of healthcare reform is to withhold vital treatment in the last 6 months of the patient's life.
Do we really want our government deciding when our last 6 months have arrived? They have not done such a good job predicting unemployment or economic recovery: why should we assume they'd be any better at predicting when we are in the last six months of our life?

Obamacare will decide when you've lived past your usefulness. Don't like that prospect? Do something about it.

Call your Representative & Senators
Doctors For Patient Care
Fix Health Care Policy
Patients First
Patients United Now

How the Obamacare public "option" hurts you

2009-07-06T22:40:00Z

Click to enlarge:

Source

A simple question for progressives (#10)

2009-07-06T20:40:00Z

Since we presumably still live in a nation of laws and not of men, and since the U.S. Constitution is still the supreme law of the land, I ask you to read these small portions of that document.

You'll find my question for you after the jump.

U.S. Constitution
Article I, Section 8

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

U.S. Constitution
Amendment X

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

U.S. Constitution
Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Given the above supreme law of the land that sets out the enumerated powers of Congress, on what basis does Congress have the authority to enact Obamacare?

Don't tell me it's justified because it's a good idea, because it's fair, because it's in my interest to want it, because Medicare/Medicaid/SCHIP already exist ... just tell me how Congress can possibly have the constitutional authority to enact Obamacare.

How to demolish an Obamacare advocate

2009-07-05T09:15:00Z

Match point: Talking Points Memo lobs, Katie Favazza returns with a smash. Game, set, and match: Favazza.

Hat tip: RightGirl

Obama's economy is getting nasty

2009-07-03T21:30:00Z

Most pictures are worth a thousand words. This one's worth several thousand. Click it to see it at full size.

The explanation:

The second graph shows the job losses from the start of the employment recession, in percentage terms (as opposed to the number of jobs lost).
For the current recession, employment peaked in December 2007, and this recession was a slow starter (in terms of job losses and declines in GDP).

However job losses have really picked up over the last 9 months (4.4 million jobs lost, red line cliff diving on the graph), and the current recession is now the 2nd worst recession since WWII in percentage terms - and also in terms of the unemployment rate (only early '80s recession was worse).

Don't forget this, either:

Or this:

Nice work, Obama.

President Nancypants to his Marines: "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?"

2009-07-02T21:25:00Z

Ready for a prime example of Barack Obama's incredible narcissism and utter military ineptitude? Read Bob Woodward's account of a briefing in Afghanistan conducted by deployed Marines for Obama's National Security Advisor, General Jim Jones:

Jones was carrying out directions from President Obama, who said recently, "My strong view is that we are not going to succeed simply by piling on more and more troops."
...

During the briefing, (Brig. Gen. Lawrence) Nicholson had told Jones that he was "a little light," more than hinting that he could use more forces, probably thousands more. "We don't have enough force to go everywhere," Nicholson said.

But Jones recalled how Obama had initially decided to deploy additional forces this year. "At a table much like this," Jones said, referring to the polished wood table in the White House Situation Room, "the president's principals met and agreed to recommend 17,000 more troops for Afghanistan." The principals -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; Gates; Mullen; and the director of national intelligence, Dennis C. Blair -- made this recommendation in February during the first full month of the Obama administration. The president approved the deployments, which included Nicholson's Marines.

Soon after that, Jones said, the principals told the president, "oops," we need an additional 4,000 to help train the Afghan army.

"They then said, 'If you do all that, we think we can turn this around,' " Jones said, reminding the Marines here that the president had quickly approved and publicly announced the additional 4,000.

Now suppose you're the president, Jones told them, and the requests come into the White House for yet more force. How do you think Obama might look at this? Jones asked, casting his eyes around the colonels. How do you think he might feel?

Jones let the question hang in the air-conditioned, fluorescent-lighted room. Nicholson and the colonels said nothing.

Well, Jones went on, after all those additional troops, 17,000 plus 4,000 more, if there were new requests for force now, the president would quite likely have "a Whiskey Tango Foxtrot moment." Everyone in the room caught the phonetic reference to WTF -- which in the military and elsewhere means "What the [expletive]?"

That's right, campers. It's all about Obama: his feelings, his reputation, his political future, his comfort. Don't pester him with requests for reinforcements. Sasha and Malia have to make do with the allowance Daddy gives them; you can do the same with what he's already given you. Run along now, and accomplish your mission without any politically uncomfortable casualties, OK? The Redistributor-in-Chief has to get back to socializing the health care system.

Jules Crittenden's bluntly-worded assessment follows, after the jump.

Jules Crittenden's take:

Jones knew when he took the job it would involve smiling through a lot of shit sandwiches. Shit sandwiches like telling other Marines, going into combat, "Sorry boys, you don't get what you need. Not because we can't give it to you. But because President Nancypants won't give it to you. Doesn't like the way war looks on him and he'll go all Whiskey Tango Foxtrot if you try to foist it on him. So suck it up." But do you think Woodward, who also must have known the op was coming, in retrospect feels like maybe he shouldn't have buried his lede? His article seems to want to say the president and the national security advisor are full of it, and certainly indicates that the warfighters think so. But Woodward's article never quite gets there. It wanders around the Afghan countryside a bit instead, and goes out the way it came in. With high-level Beltway platitudes from Jones.
...

The notion, the misconception, that anything happens without a significant military component ... possibly significantly more than President Obama would currently care to commit ... is as ridiculous as it was in Iraq when the pols and the reporters kept trying to get the generals to say all that war needed was a political solution. As if political or economic solutions simply require the right degree of earnestness and an attitude adjustment.

...

Too bad. It's something American troops have dealt with before and will most earnestly endeavor to deal with now. Maybe they can pull it off. The United States military, after all, has proven remarkably resourceful, resilient and adaptive not just in these wars but in all the wars it has fought. It would be helpful this time, going into this difficult task, if the Commander in Chief's attitude toward the expertise of the men who will to the heavy lifting was something other than "What the fuck?"

More commentary from Ed Morrissey at Hot Air:

But before we can build a modern Afghanistan, we have to ensure security throughout the country. That may take more than the 21,000 extra troops we sent. At the very least, a wise CinC would not rule out that possibility, especially one that promised a more energetic fight against the radical Islamists that live in the Af-Pak region. It will take a long time to succeed in Afghanistan on a military and economic basis, and 21,000 was not a magic number for success. It was just a good start in refocusing our effort.
Besides, telling the new troops that no one has their back on the eve of a major offensive is just plain stupid in terms of morale. More than a few Marines must have a few Whiskey Tango Foxtrots of their own at the moment.

So, how's that Hopenchange working out for ya?

Wisdom from a master of the obvious

2009-07-02T04:03:10Z

From the blog of the lefty group Upper Arlington Progressive Action:

We know how important the Supreme Court is to the success of progressive initiatives. We need to keep our eye on where the top nine are moving.

Of course it's important to you nutballs. It's the only way to advance your most cherished agenda items, since they'd never pass muster in Congress (much less any public initiative or referendum).

Mark Sanford's 15 minutes of fame ended days ago

2009-06-30T22:45:32Z

The guy can't be trusted to be faithful to his wife and kids, and he can't be trusted to perform his duties without running off to Argentina for some sweet, sweet lovin'. Hey, Governor! Resign and disappear, already.

Sheesh.

Video: the "Massachusetts Model" fails every time

2009-06-30T22:25:00Z

Socialized medicine doesn't result in "affordable insurance for everyone", no matter what the politicians say. Just look at what happened in Massachusetts when they tried it.

Now do you get it? When Republicans like former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney tell you that they know how to provide health insurance for everybody, remember that they're full of crap. When slicksters like Barack Obama and Teddy Kennedy talk soothingly about how their public "option" will magically provide care for the uninsured, remember that they're full of crap.

Socialized medicine never works better than the private sector at providing the best possible care for the greatest number of people. Never.

More uncomfortable public "option" questions

2009-06-30T14:18:00Z

Courtesy of Tom Blumer:

Questions for those advocating the "public plan" option in Obamacare:

Will the "public plan" pay income and other taxes like the companies who run private plans must? (Example: Aetna alone incurred $790 million in income tax expenses in calendar 2008, and over $3.5 billion in the past four years. The company's most recent 10-K [PDF] indicates that this expense is almost entirely related to its Health Care and Group Insurance.)

What will anyone do to keep the "public plan" from taking advantage of other unfair advantages, which could at least include general government absorption of administrative costs, sales-tax exemptions, property-tax exemptions, "public service" advertising, and much more?

Will the "public plan" be just as vulnerable to class-action and no-limit malpractice lawsuits as private plans currently are?

If the answers to Question 1, 2, or 3 are "no" or "I don't know," how can you possibly claim to know that the "public plan's" competition against private plans will be conducted on a level playing field?

Very good questions, Tom. I've asked similar questions and made similar accusations that have so far gone unanswered. I'm sure the Obamabots will respond soon. Yup. Really soon.

Any day now ...

Why is the Ohio GOP involved in the primary?

2009-06-30T07:15:00Z

The Ohio Republican Party appears to be moving full steam ahead toward endorsing John Kasich for Governor. That's funny ... I thought the primary contest was still underway. When last I checked, Kevin Coughlin was still angling for a chance to take on Ted Strickland.

It's not up to the Ohio GOP to pick the party's nominee. It's up to us, the voters, to choose our nominee in the primary election. The state party ought to butt out until then.

After all, Bob Taft, "Uncle Bob" Bennett, Kevin Dewine, Ken Blackwell, Jim Petro and friends haven't exactly covered themselves in glory over the past several election cycles.

We'll pick our guy without your interference, thanks.

Rove, you magnificent bastard

2009-06-30T06:30:00Z

My mind boggles at the the sheer brilliance of it all. Even though he left the government on August 13, 2007, Karl Rove managed to start 2500 Department of Justice investigations into innocent community leaders from industrial states in the Great Lakes region. Everybody knows that Rove hates overweight Italian Democrats, especially when they stand in the way of his continuing attempts to suppress voter turnout among blacks eager to vote for Our Lord and Savior Barack Obama.

Why else would County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora and County Auditor Frank Russo be under investigation?

No corruption here. They're as pure as the wind-driven snow! You know the fix is in when two editors from that obvious right-wing rag, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, are seen plotting over dinner with the arch-conservative "Uncle Bob" Bennett, former head of the Ohio Republican Party.

Only a brilliant intellect of Jimmy Dimora's prodigious stature could untangle the wispy tendrils of this wingnut conspiracy, a plan so incredibly subtle that it continues to unfold during the administration of its original target. Only the sinister mind of Darth Rove could manipulate the levers of power so deftly that even President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have not detected the plot. Thankfully we have Jimmy Dimora to rely upon, so that the well-meaning but clearly misguided Department of Justice can investigate its own investigation and stop itself from mindlessly marching to the Evil One's tune.

Hats off to Karl Rove, the evil criminal mastermind! Someday justice will be done, but until then he deserves our grudging admiration.

You don't mind if we tax your health benefits, do you?

2009-06-30T02:30:00Z

Remember this ad from October 29th, 2008?

Gosh, Candidate Obama sure did make a big fuss about the evil idea of taxing your private health care benefits, didn't he?

Of course, now he's the President. Things have changed. He has a lot of big, expensive programs to fund, including a complete government takeover of your health care. He has to keep his options open ... especially the so-called public "option", which won't fund itself. That gigantic price tag is something he has to deal with, you know. He's going to "let the process work its way through":

You wouldn't be so gauche as to hold it against him if he taxes your private health care benefits to fund Obamacare, would you? C'mon, what's a broken promise and some more crushing taxation between friends?

Imagine a Brevity Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

2009-06-29T23:45:45Z

It might read something like this:

No law, bill, resolution or any act of Congress shall exceed 2000 words, including all footnotes, amendments and signatures. Congress shall not vote on any item longer than that. Each item requiring a vote shall be read aloud in its entirety in session to a majority of members. Those not in attendance may not vote on the item.

Certainly worth discussing, no?

Obamacare will destroy your private health insurance

2009-06-29T03:15:00Z

The following snotty quote is a lie.

Why would [the "public option"] drive private insurers out of business? If private insurers say that the marketplace provides the best quality health care, if they tell us that they're offering a good deal, then why is it that the government -- which they say can't run anything -- suddenly is going to drive them out of business? That's not logical.
Barack Obama
June 23, 2009

Oh, it's logical. The so-called "public option" sounds nice at first, but it's actually a sneaky scheme to engineer a total government takeover of your health care.

You have to remember that the government isn't a fair competitor. It doesn't have to play by the same rules as your employer. It doesn't have to make a profit, keep its employees happy, or provide excellent service to its "customers." It will take you as a "customer" even if you can't pay, because it can just absorb the loss and print more money. Private companies can't compete against the entity that makes and enforces the rules ... especially when that entity is run by ~~statists~~ progressives who have decided to eliminate those private companies. The game is rigged from the start.

When it comes to covering expenses for employee pay and benefits, your employer has two choices:

Unless your boss is nuts, he'll stop paying for your health insurance. What if your boss actually is nuts, and decides to keep paying for your private health plan? Your employer's competitors will cut their expenses by dumping their health coverage, and their cost savings will mean they'll run your employer out of business ... and you'll lose your job.

Although it's bad enough to face a choice between eventually losing your private health care or losing your job, Congress is about to kick things into high gear. They're getting ready to tax your private health insurance. It won't be long until the so-called "public option" will be your only option.

The ~~statists~~ progressives have been working toward that goal all along, and last year during the presidential campaign a few were honest enough to admit it.

Today? Eh, not so much.

Video: The "public option" will kill your health care insurance

2009-06-28T21:42:51Z

A simple question for progressives (#9)

2009-06-28T21:24:43Z

Can you name a government entitlement program that ended up spending less than its advocates predicted?

On the loss of $800+ worth of plants

2009-06-26T19:15:00Z

I just caught the lawn care company applying Round-Up to every plant under 2' tall in my beds. Just lost $400+ of wildflowers, perennials, baby shrubs, and any large plants hit by the windblown spray. No wonder last year's starts (also $400+) all died too.

I'm drafting an itemized bill now. If they refuse to reimburse me, they'll learn how foolish it is to pick a fight with someone who buys bandwidth by the megabit.

A simple question for progressives (#8)

2009-06-26T05:57:55Z

Can you name a single Obama policy decision so far that's had the intended result?

All you need to know about Cap-And-Trade

2009-06-26T01:30:00Z

It's just plain disastrous.

Source

Michael Jackson, dead at 50

2009-06-26T01:23:55Z

Video: Mary Katharine Ham does what Congress won't do

2009-06-25T07:15:00Z

She actually reads the "Cap and Trade" bill:

I wonder if Representative Betty Sutton (D-OH), my Congresscritter, has actually read this monstrosity? Even if by some miracle she reads it, she ought to think long and hard before voting "yes."

Source

I've misjudged Andrew Sullivan

2009-06-23T19:41:53Z

I'm just not smart enough to understand his brilliance. Mea culpa.

Video: trailer for "The Pacific" (HBO miniseries)

2009-06-23T03:51:46Z

Come March, 2010 I'm going to subscribe to HBO just to watch this.

I still watch my DVD boxed set of "Band Of Brothers" at least once a year ...

... so I suspect I'll be buying this one in about a year's time.

H/T: BLACKFIVE

Thank you for playing, Valerie Plame

2009-06-22T21:39:38Z

You lose. Now take your frivolous lawsuit and your lying husband and go crawl under a rock somewhere.

Obamacare means rationing and long lines

2009-06-22T20:48:01Z

Just look at Canada:

Take, for example, the report out last week from the Wait Time Alliance (WTA), a group of 13 Canadian medical groups, including the Canadian Medical Association. For cancer patients, the report found that "the median wait time for radiation therapy was almost seven weeks." That figure exceeded the recommended maximum wait time of one month. Note, too, that as a median figure, there were just as many patients who waited longer than seven weeks as who waited less than seven weeks.

A government takeover of your health care will inevitably result in problems like this.

Video: Gibbs on single-payer health care

2009-06-17T23:55:42Z

As President Obama suggested, government health care works in some countries, like ... umm ... uh ... errr ...