Are You Ready For Some Obamacare?

As the NFL season gets ready to descend upon us, I can almost hear the yelp of "Are you ready for some football?"  Unfortunately for the White House and Democrats on the campaign trail though, they should be worried about Obamacare and based on their silence on the issue I am guessing they are.  So are you ready for Obamacare...because it is about to get fun?

(1) You realize that premiums, which have already started going north, are headed for big bumps in 2015.  You get to see them come September 1 when open enrollments begin for folks.  Part of the original political plan to re-elect the President in 2012 was to have all the Obamacare goodies show up early and delay the pain, but the pain starts this year and keeps getting good through 2018 when Cadillac healthcare plans start getting taxed.  Hard.

According to Price-Waterhouse-Coopers, Arkansas, Iowa, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia are all on pace for premium increases between ten and fifteen percent.  Louisiana may be on pace for twenty percent hikes.  I am guessing these will not be good tidings for US Senate candidates in Arkansas, Iowa, or North Carolina.

Premiums will likely go up even further given many of the participants who signed up for coverage, are not paying for it.  The system does not work when healthy young people do not sign up and pay for their coverage.  Maybe they are figuring out that Mr. Obama sold the proverbial pipe dream.

(2) From a practical perspective, not that Mr. Obama is Mr. Practical, he just doesn't get it.  Mr. Obama likes to blame President Bush for a number of issues, but does nothing to correct them.  The economy was bad when Obama was first inaugurated, but he has had the opportunity to correct that.  Instead he has gone out of his way with legislation like Obamacare to discourage employers from employing people.  If you want an improving economy, you do that by helping people get jobs that match their skill set, not by raising the cost of job creation which is exactly what Obamacare does.


(3)  Obamacare supporters keep crying every time a court strikes down requirements that do not allow conscience objections when people who do not want to pay for abortion are forced to...there seems to be no connection between the idea that if you want me out of your body, don't ask me to pay for your body.

In the meantime, Mr. Obama and Company have shown that they have zero understanding that we elected him President, not Emperor, and because of that have zero interest in paying for others' abortions, limiting the size of our sodas, or his wife's inability to allow school bake sales.  Obamacare is one more example of an administration run amok gleeful with its own happy juice of how great they are.

(4) The constitutional law professor we elected should be in for an interesting Supreme Court term, if not this year, then next, as the question of state exchanges gets worked out.  The fact is you had to pass the bill to see what was in it as then Speaker Nancy Pelosi famously quipped.  Unfortunately, the bill was passed and then created by a group of teenagers apparently who either did not understand combinations of equal protection laws, the implications to the tax code, or how healthcare really works.

(5) Finally, returning to Mr. Obama's practicality issue - he missed the boat on keeping your doctor.  You will remember his famous promise that if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.  Meanwhile, because of Obamacare regulations, networks have not gotten bigger, but smaller.  In New Hampshire, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, the only participant in the marketplace gutted ten of the state's twenty-six hospitals from its coverage.  Two in five of you are probably out of luck when it comes to local care if you live in New Hampshire.

So as football season starts, so does the political football season.  This one should be pretty rough and tumble, but on this one, the Xs and Os were designed by the President so while we as a nation lose it is because of the game plan designed by the coach.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield

hat ever happened to Obamacare -- the unpopular healthcare bill that was to be the Republicans big weapon as they battled for control of the Senate this fall?   For sure, the Affordable Care Act has been pushed to the sidelines by the chaos in Iraq, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the surge in Central American minors across our border, the Veterans Administration scandal, the pestilential virus rampaging across the computers of the federal government, and so much more…
Now, the GOP should circle back. There are nine Senate seats described as “toss-ups” by Real Clear Politics, and Obamacare could move the needle in some of those races. The ACA is still a political stink bomb, with Kaiser Family Foundation polling showing only 37 percent of the country views the law favorably – one of its lowest ratings since it passed in 2010.  Some 53 percent of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of the ACA - up a shocking 8 points since June.
Related: Insurers Say Obama’s ‘Fix’ Is Driving Up Premiums
Democrats understandably have neglected to highlight Obamacare on their campaign sites. Instead, for example, North Carolina’s Kay Hagan implores visitors to “Take a Stand Against the Koch Brothers,” which must confuse the uninitiated. Bruce Braley, running in Iowa, focuses on veterans’ issues and the farm bill. Nary a word on Mr. Obama’s legacy issue.

IG: Obamacare’s Medical Device Tax Not Bringing In...

According to a federal report issued Tuesday, Obamacare’s controversial medical device tax isn’t bringing in nearly as much cash as expected. The Treasury inspector general for tax administration found that the...

Several GOP campaign sites go light on Obamacare too. Thom Tillis in North Carolina broadcasts Kay Hagan’s close ties to President Obama, while David Perdue in Georgia emphasizes his business background. Joni Ernst, running neck in neck for the Iowa seat, brags on her front page, “I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm, so in Washington I’ll know how to cut pork.” Some local color.
Other Republicans are following the expected playbook. Scott Brown, campaigning for the New Hampshire seat held by Jeanne Shaheen, goes all in against Obamacare. Ditto Republican Cory Gardner, running an uphill battle against Mark Udall in Colorado, who notes that 335,000 Coloradans lost their policies because of the ACA.
Bill Cassidy, with a light lead against Mary Landrieu in Louisiana, charges that Obamacare is causing that state’s premiums to rise. But Cassidy lists it fifth of five issues, after amnesty, purportedly “illegal” travel expenditures and other missteps by the incumbent.
While local issues vary, Republicans should double down, and remind voters how much they dislike the ACA. Why?
Related: So Far, Obamacare’s Hospital Reform Isn’t Working
1. Big premium hikes are slated for 2015. Because the country erupted in outrage over the millions of policies cancelled under Obamacare, which made a lie of the president’s vow, “If you like your insurance you can keep it,” the White House reversed course and allowed people to maintain existing coverage. As a result, the Obamacare exchanges were starved of the healthier people needed to pay for the sick and poor previously without insurance. Insurers are now planning to raise premiums.
According to PwC Health Research Institute, the average premium increase request for 2105 in North Carolina is 10.8 percent; in Iowa the hike is 11.5 percent. Many in Louisiana are looking at almost a 20 percent increase, and in Arkansas nearly 12 percent. That’s big, unpleasant news for Democrats.
2. Critics claim the Obama administration is fudging the ACA enrollment numbers. The White House trumpeted that 8 million Americans had signed up for Obamacare, but that total has been shrinking. Aetna, one of the program’s biggest players, reports that of their 720,000 enrollees, only about 600,000 are paying for their coverage, a number they expect will drop to about 500,000 by year-end. Other insurers indicate fall-off as well.
3. People are angry about the narrower choices of doctors and hospitals available to them.  In New Hampshire, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield was the sole insurer participating in the marketplace; it eliminated 10 of the state’s 26 hospitals from its network. According to Politico, such is the uproar about shrinking choices that “since the beginning of 2013, more than 70 bills have been introduced in 22 states to clarify the network rules, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.” In California, more than one group has sued Anthem Blue Cross, charging that the insurer misrepresented the scope of its doctor network.
Related: Up to 300,000 Could Lose Obamacare on Federal Exchange
4. The ACA was constructed incompetently. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently ruled illegal the federal subsidies paid to Obamacare enrollees in states that have not set up their own exchanges -- a stark reminder of how badly the healthcare bill was implemented. This and other unintended consequences are excellent arguments for significantly overhauling the ACA – an undertaking that might be possible under a Republican Senate but that has little or no hope otherwise.
5. Obamacare highlights the president’s imperial tendencies. Mr. Obama has single-handedly changed the ACA some 24 times, delaying important provisions such as the employer and individual mandates. The president has rigged the rollout of the ACA to political advantage, putting off the most painful aspects of the bill and front-loading the goodies. Republicans should remind voters we have yet to encounter, for instance, the 40 percent Cadillac tax, which has been pushed back until 2018, but which is expected to raise as much as $214 billion by 2023.
6. Obamacare undermines job creation. The ACA has been the most important of a number of White House policies that have discouraged job creation at a time when the country is struggling to put people back to work. At last tally, there were 92 million adult Americans who are not working (like stay-at-home moms), are unemployed, retired or disabled. The workforce participation rate is at a decades-long low. This is unsustainable, and Obamacare is not helping. Companies have limited their hiring and also the number of hours their employers work because of the bill and have faced increased uncertainty. Meanwhile, because of the ACA, Americans no longer need to work to get health benefits – maybe a good thing for individuals, but not for a country whose safety net must be funded by an ever-greater workforce.
In short, there’s still meat on the bones of the Obamacare carcass; Republicans running for office should get out their knives and forks.
- See more at: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2014/08/20/6-Reasons-Obamacare-Can-Win-Senate-GOP#sthash.9It4kWMD.dpuf

at ever happened to Obamacare -- the unpopular healthcare bill that was to be the Republicans big weapon as they battled for control of the Senate this fall?   For sure, the Affordable Care Act has been pushed to the sidelines by the chaos in Iraq, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the surge in Central American minors across our border, the Veterans Administration scandal, the pestilential virus rampaging across the computers of the federal government, and so much more…
Now, the GOP should circle back. There are nine Senate seats described as “toss-ups” by Real Clear Politics, and Obamacare could move the needle in some of those races. The ACA is still a political stink bomb, with Kaiser Family Foundation polling showing only 37 percent of the country views the law favorably – one of its lowest ratings since it passed in 2010.  Some 53 percent of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of the ACA - up a shocking 8 points since June.
Related: Insurers Say Obama’s ‘Fix’ Is Driving Up Premiums
Democrats understandably have neglected to highlight Obamacare on their campaign sites. Instead, for example, North Carolina’s Kay Hagan implores visitors to “Take a Stand Against the Koch Brothers,” which must confuse the uninitiated. Bruce Braley, running in Iowa, focuses on veterans’ issues and the farm bill. Nary a word on Mr. Obama’s legacy issue.

IG: Obamacare’s Medical Device Tax Not Bringing In...

According to a federal report issued Tuesday, Obamacare’s controversial medical device tax isn’t bringing in nearly as much cash as expected. The Treasury inspector general for tax administration found that the...

Several GOP campaign sites go light on Obamacare too. Thom Tillis in North Carolina broadcasts Kay Hagan’s close ties to President Obama, while David Perdue in Georgia emphasizes his business background. Joni Ernst, running neck in neck for the Iowa seat, brags on her front page, “I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm, so in Washington I’ll know how to cut pork.” Some local color.
Other Republicans are following the expected playbook. Scott Brown, campaigning for the New Hampshire seat held by Jeanne Shaheen, goes all in against Obamacare. Ditto Republican Cory Gardner, running an uphill battle against Mark Udall in Colorado, who notes that 335,000 Coloradans lost their policies because of the ACA.
Bill Cassidy, with a light lead against Mary Landrieu in Louisiana, charges that Obamacare is causing that state’s premiums to rise. But Cassidy lists it fifth of five issues, after amnesty, purportedly “illegal” travel expenditures and other missteps by the incumbent.
While local issues vary, Republicans should double down, and remind voters how much they dislike the ACA. Why?
Related: So Far, Obamacare’s Hospital Reform Isn’t Working
1. Big premium hikes are slated for 2015. Because the country erupted in outrage over the millions of policies cancelled under Obamacare, which made a lie of the president’s vow, “If you like your insurance you can keep it,” the White House reversed course and allowed people to maintain existing coverage. As a result, the Obamacare exchanges were starved of the healthier people needed to pay for the sick and poor previously without insurance. Insurers are now planning to raise premiums.
According to PwC Health Research Institute, the average premium increase request for 2105 in North Carolina is 10.8 percent; in Iowa the hike is 11.5 percent. Many in Louisiana are looking at almost a 20 percent increase, and in Arkansas nearly 12 percent. That’s big, unpleasant news for Democrats.
2. Critics claim the Obama administration is fudging the ACA enrollment numbers. The White House trumpeted that 8 million Americans had signed up for Obamacare, but that total has been shrinking. Aetna, one of the program’s biggest players, reports that of their 720,000 enrollees, only about 600,000 are paying for their coverage, a number they expect will drop to about 500,000 by year-end. Other insurers indicate fall-off as well.
3. People are angry about the narrower choices of doctors and hospitals available to them.  In New Hampshire, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield was the sole insurer participating in the marketplace; it eliminated 10 of the state’s 26 hospitals from its network. According to Politico, such is the uproar about shrinking choices that “since the beginning of 2013, more than 70 bills have been introduced in 22 states to clarify the network rules, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.” In California, more than one group has sued Anthem Blue Cross, charging that the insurer misrepresented the scope of its doctor network.
Related: Up to 300,000 Could Lose Obamacare on Federal Exchange
4. The ACA was constructed incompetently. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently ruled illegal the federal subsidies paid to Obamacare enrollees in states that have not set up their own exchanges -- a stark reminder of how badly the healthcare bill was implemented. This and other unintended consequences are excellent arguments for significantly overhauling the ACA – an undertaking that might be possible under a Republican Senate but that has little or no hope otherwise.
5. Obamacare highlights the president’s imperial tendencies. Mr. Obama has single-handedly changed the ACA some 24 times, delaying important provisions such as the employer and individual mandates. The president has rigged the rollout of the ACA to political advantage, putting off the most painful aspects of the bill and front-loading the goodies. Republicans should remind voters we have yet to encounter, for instance, the 40 percent Cadillac tax, which has been pushed back until 2018, but which is expected to raise as much as $214 billion by 2023.
6. Obamacare undermines job creation. The ACA has been the most important of a number of White House policies that have discouraged job creation at a time when the country is struggling to put people back to work. At last tally, there were 92 million adult Americans who are not working (like stay-at-home moms), are unemployed, retired or disabled. The workforce participation rate is at a decades-long low. This is unsustainable, and Obamacare is not helping. Companies have limited their hiring and also the number of hours their employers work because of the bill and have faced increased uncertainty. Meanwhile, because of the ACA, Americans no longer need to work to get health benefits – maybe a good thing for individuals, but not for a country whose safety net must be funded by an ever-greater workforce.
In short, there’s still meat on the bones of the Obamacare carcass; Republicans running for office should get out their knives and forks.
- See more at: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2014/08/20/6-Reasons-Obamacare-Can-Win-Senate-GOP#sthash.9It4kWMD.dpuf, N

at ever happened to Obamacare -- the unpopular healthcare bill that was to be the Republicans big weapon as they battled for control of the Senate this fall?   For sure, the Affordable Care Act has been pushed to the sidelines by the chaos in Iraq, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the surge in Central American minors across our border, the Veterans Administration scandal, the pestilential virus rampaging across the computers of the federal government, and so much more…
Now, the GOP should circle back. There are nine Senate seats described as “toss-ups” by Real Clear Politics, and Obamacare could move the needle in some of those races. The ACA is still a political stink bomb, with Kaiser Family Foundation polling showing only 37 percent of the country views the law favorably – one of its lowest ratings since it passed in 2010.  Some 53 percent of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of the ACA - up a shocking 8 points since June.
Related: Insurers Say Obama’s ‘Fix’ Is Driving Up Premiums
Democrats understandably have neglected to highlight Obamacare on their campaign sites. Instead, for example, North Carolina’s Kay Hagan implores visitors to “Take a Stand Against the Koch Brothers,” which must confuse the uninitiated. Bruce Braley, running in Iowa, focuses on veterans’ issues and the farm bill. Nary a word on Mr. Obama’s legacy issue.

IG: Obamacare’s Medical Device Tax Not Bringing In...

According to a federal report issued Tuesday, Obamacare’s controversial medical device tax isn’t bringing in nearly as much cash as expected. The Treasury inspector general for tax administration found that the...

Several GOP campaign sites go light on Obamacare too. Thom Tillis in North Carolina broadcasts Kay Hagan’s close ties to President Obama, while David Perdue in Georgia emphasizes his business background. Joni Ernst, running neck in neck for the Iowa seat, brags on her front page, “I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm, so in Washington I’ll know how to cut pork.” Some local color.
Other Republicans are following the expected playbook. Scott Brown, campaigning for the New Hampshire seat held by Jeanne Shaheen, goes all in against Obamacare. Ditto Republican Cory Gardner, running an uphill battle against Mark Udall in Colorado, who notes that 335,000 Coloradans lost their policies because of the ACA.
Bill Cassidy, with a light lead against Mary Landrieu in Louisiana, charges that Obamacare is causing that state’s premiums to rise. But Cassidy lists it fifth of five issues, after amnesty, purportedly “illegal” travel expenditures and other missteps by the incumbent.
While local issues vary, Republicans should double down, and remind voters how much they dislike the ACA. Why?
Related: So Far, Obamacare’s Hospital Reform Isn’t Working
1. Big premium hikes are slated for 2015. Because the country erupted in outrage over the millions of policies cancelled under Obamacare, which made a lie of the president’s vow, “If you like your insurance you can keep it,” the White House reversed course and allowed people to maintain existing coverage. As a result, the Obamacare exchanges were starved of the healthier people needed to pay for the sick and poor previously without insurance. Insurers are now planning to raise premiums.
According to PwC Health Research Institute, the average premium increase request for 2105 in North Carolina is 10.8 percent; in Iowa the hike is 11.5 percent. Many in Louisiana are looking at almost a 20 percent increase, and in Arkansas nearly 12 percent. That’s big, unpleasant news for Democrats.
2. Critics claim the Obama administration is fudging the ACA enrollment numbers. The White House trumpeted that 8 million Americans had signed up for Obamacare, but that total has been shrinking. Aetna, one of the program’s biggest players, reports that of their 720,000 enrollees, only about 600,000 are paying for their coverage, a number they expect will drop to about 500,000 by year-end. Other insurers indicate fall-off as well.
3. People are angry about the narrower choices of doctors and hospitals available to them.  In New Hampshire, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield was the sole insurer participating in the marketplace; it eliminated 10 of the state’s 26 hospitals from its network. According to Politico, such is the uproar about shrinking choices that “since the beginning of 2013, more than 70 bills have been introduced in 22 states to clarify the network rules, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.” In California, more than one group has sued Anthem Blue Cross, charging that the insurer misrepresented the scope of its doctor network.
Related: Up to 300,000 Could Lose Obamacare on Federal Exchange
4. The ACA was constructed incompetently. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently ruled illegal the federal subsidies paid to Obamacare enrollees in states that have not set up their own exchanges -- a stark reminder of how badly the healthcare bill was implemented. This and other unintended consequences are excellent arguments for significantly overhauling the ACA – an undertaking that might be possible under a Republican Senate but that has little or no hope otherwise.
5. Obamacare highlights the president’s imperial tendencies. Mr. Obama has single-handedly changed the ACA some 24 times, delaying important provisions such as the employer and individual mandates. The president has rigged the rollout of the ACA to political advantage, putting off the most painful aspects of the bill and front-loading the goodies. Republicans should remind voters we have yet to encounter, for instance, the 40 percent Cadillac tax, which has been pushed back until 2018, but which is expected to raise as much as $214 billion by 2023.
6. Obamacare undermines job creation. The ACA has been the most important of a number of White House policies that have discouraged job creation at a time when the country is struggling to put people back to work. At last tally, there were 92 million adult Americans who are not working (like stay-at-home moms), are unemployed, retired or disabled. The workforce participation rate is at a decades-long low. This is unsustainable, and Obamacare is not helping. Companies have limited their hiring and also the number of hours their employers work because of the bill and have faced increased uncertainty. Meanwhile, because of the ACA, Americans no longer need to work to get health benefits – maybe a good thing for individuals, but not for a country whose safety net must be funded by an ever-greater workforce.
In short, there’s still meat on the bones of the Obamacare carcass; Republicans running for office should get out their knives and forks.
- See more at: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2014/08/20/6-Reasons-Obamacare-Can-Win-Senate-GOP#sthash.9It4kWMD.dp

Companies Are People...Or Not.

So, where are all my court watchers?  This Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) term is about to get interesting.

This Tuesday, the justices will hear cases about whether or not the government can mandate a company to provide birth control to its employees via the Affordable Coverage Act, known as Obamacare.  Not being a lawyer, I am not sure which way this case goes.

It would seem that the court has two very distinct directions in could lean on.

One, it just said the ACA was legal and appropriate in one of the worst decisions I think I have ever witnessed.  Chief Justice Roberts basically wrote a defense of the ACA on grounds that weren't argued.  He provided the judicial activism conservatives love to hate.  That decision provides the groundwork that the government can tell you what you will buy and when and how whenever it wants to.  The loss of freedom in that basic decision is appealing.  It is almost as bad as the fact that four justices agreed that the government has the right to tell you to buy Coke or Pespi.  What?

The issue here is that there are companies who do not want to provide birth control to their employees saying it goes against their religious beliefs.  That is a serious fundamental question that will make other things interesting to like can I deny you the right to service at my restaurant if I find anything about you contradicts my religious beliefs.

Meanwhile, the Citizens United opinion was clear that companies could spend money on elections because to do otherwise would deprive them of their right to speech.  What company has a right to political speech?  Well, according to SCOTUS, they all do.  That being the case, it should not that big a jump to say companies like Hobby Lobby should also have the right to religious beliefs as well.

Since the First Amendment covers both the right to speech and religious choice one should not be inclined to believe this would be a big jump, but this will be another interesting one for sure.

Hold onto your seats folks...this one will be interesting.

Yawn

Is anyone still listening to the President?  Perhaps they should with his call for executive action without Congess, but in reality is anyone still paying attention to this dilettante?  President Obama seems far too happy with plaudits and rose colored glasses and the main stream media seems ready to help him along here.

What is worse, Obama continues to play the game of do as I say, not as I do.  (This unfortunately is not much different than most politicians, but he is President now.)

For instance, when President Obama talks about equal pay for equal work in the country, why is it that his idea only applies outside the walls of The White House?  According to a 2011 report The White House average salary for a male was $71,000 per year; for females $60,000.  I wonder why the discrepancy in equal pay for equal work in his own shop.

Next, the President refers to job growth of eight million new private sector jobs, but notice in his speech, he was referring to jobs after 2010.  The net growth rate of jobs since Obama took office is only 3.2 million - a paltry number during any administration - and a reason for the growing dissatisfaction of youth voters towards Obama.  His job numbers do not include the layoffs at the state and local level or the nearly 4.2 million private sector jobs that were lost during his administration prior to 2010.

Finally, the President's prized piece of legislation...the Affordable Care Act - which has proven thus far to be anything but affordable.  The President claims 9 million new sign ups for his signature legislation.  Nine million!  Wow.

Unfortunately, once again, this is campaign talk and bluster.

First, we know that millions were told if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor, which has turned out not to be true as millions were dropped from existing coverage they had.  Second though, millions signed up for the ACA (or Medicare)...because they were newly eligible.  That is not the same as they signed up because of.  While I will not attempt to teach the President about cause and effect, his own administration does not back up his claim and we know that many of the "uninsured" who are now covered, did have insurance, but changed policies under the new exchange system.

I guess President Obama is no worse on his numbers game than most politicians, but the question for me is anyone still listening?  He continues to talk the talk, but his administration doesn't walk the walk...or it does so with disastrous results.

I saw President Obama in New Hampshire, when he was the junior US Senator from Illinois, and I saw the Bobby Kennedy-like charisma that I had heard older generations speak of, but he is still in campaign mode.  After five years he still can tell me who is to blame for a malady, but he has no fixes, only that someone else is responsible for it.  Meanwhile, under the management (I won't use the term leadership) of Speaker Boehner, Republicans have no new ideas and look lost in a wilderness that have self created.

Is anyone listening?  I am ready to go back to sleep which doesn't seem that different than the three in the picture above.

Forty-one and counting...

On the anniversary of the legalization of abortion, Roe v. Wade, I wonder how our President will mark the anniversary.  Two years ago he chose to attempt to argue the economic value of killing children before they are born.

Once again I am embarrassed for a man who says one thing and then does another. He talks about everyone having a right to healthcare, but then argues for the economic incentives of allowing children to be killed in utero rather than being healthy, responsible citizens who contribute to society. While 50,000,000 plus children have been killed since Roe v. Wade we wonder aloud about why we have a society that doesn't support public education, a society that does not teach humanities or protection of our natural resources.  Is it any surprise that motorists continue to litter highways when our culture defends the throwing away of human lives?  Again and again you see cases where either mothers will throw away their child's life, will subject themselves to brutal acts of barbarism to kill their own children.  Are we then surprised when fathers have no connection to the sexual act that creates children.  Sorry ladies, your sexual revolution has not given you equality with men in a positive manner, you have simply let men off the hook for their reproductive actions by endorsing a path of personal ease.

According to the CDC, 85% of all abortions are performed on unmarried women.  Again, the sexual revolution has allowed you your rights to multiple partners, but it hasn't led to a happier family.

Additionally, this week was also about celebrating Martin Luther King's legacy towards equality.  What equality is there when black women are nearly five times more likely to have an abortion than a white woman?  What equality is there when a Hispanic woman is nearly three times more likely to have an abortion than a white woman?  These statistics show a pattern of genocide of two races in the United States.  If this weren't about sexual "rights" we would be horrified by the numbers.

And for those who are ready to parade Hillary Clinton and the democratic party, let's be clear, they could care less about your sexual rights.  Abortion is simply an easier path to checkbook independence.  Abortion for white, protestant women is clear from the statistics with seventy-five percent of respondents saying "having a baby would interfere with work, school or other responsibilities."  I suspect there is no comment to the idea that an abortion will interfere with that child's future work, school, or other responsibilities.

Unfortunately, we are not at fifty million lost lives and counting.  This is the forty-first anniversary of a decision that shows a country's indifference towards its most unprotected.  Forty-one years and counting...

The Biggest Threat

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As you walk down the street are you afraid?  If you live near a convent, you should be.  Nuns everywhere wearing their habit and holding their rosary are ready to pounce.  That’s right…if you believe the mainstream media, the Little Sisters Of The Poor are about to derail the brilliant piece of legislation which is the Affordable Care Act.

In a recent piece of glaring anti-Catholic fervor, Alex Wagner of MSNBC actually referred to a group of nuns as a threat.  And what atrocity had these poor women committed?  Well , they would not put pen to paper to sign off on a third party providing contraception services to its employees as it is against the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church of which they are affiliated.  (You should not be surprised from MSNBC to see no one on the show defending nuns from the attacks of Howard Dean and Cecile Richards - two who support abortion on demand and have never been willing to discuss any of the protections and safety issues a large majority of Americans want when it comes to abortion.)

When I first started this blog with a single post, I made note of Henry VIII and his Succession Act.  That piece of legislation basically allowed him to pull England from Rome and form what would become the modern day Episcopal Church.  When one of his chief supporters found himself in disagreement with the legislation that would ultimately lead him to divorce and the marriage to Anne Boleyn, he didn’t write a book as former Defense Secretary Gates did, he didn’t run to Fox News to get his side heard, he simply retired back, but this was not good enough for King Henry VIII who required him to sign onto his marriage to the future headless queen.

Similarly, Obama says you can disagree with me, but you still have to provide the services, because contraception which is widely available should be subsidized by those who find it anathema, which brings us to the Roman Catholic Little Sisters of the Poor.

What is it the Little Sisters of the Poor do anyway?  Well, in both Baltimore and Denver they care for the elderly poor in nursing homes for those who can not afford a nursing home replete with its poor care and regular infections.  The Little Sisters prefer that the elderly not be warehoused with uncaring providers, but by persons such as themselves who have abandoned world pleasure to care for the elderly.  This would seem to be a goal of the Obama administration and the Affordable Care Act.  Instead it is the starting point to regular anti-Catholic bigotry which few in the media seem willing to call out.

In a recent, US News piece, Jamie Stiehm goes on a personal attack against Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor, for issuing a preliminary injunction on behalf of the Little Sisters of the Poor.  Again and again, her histrionics go on about the six Catholics who sit on the Supreme Court and the poor Jews who must contend with them.  The anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic rage she has should be grounds for termination in almost any other field, but US News stands by its “reporter.”

What is amazing is first, Justice Sotomayor’s move was only to stay the penalties to be issued by the IRS until the legal arguments could be made for and against the issue of whether or not nuns, who are caring for the poor elderly, should be made to provide contraception against their conscience.  Two and equally interesting, Justice Sotomayor is hardly the face of the conservative wing of the court so why would you blast her so publicly unless your argument just that desperate?  Could it be that the dream of big government liberals could come crashing down because of the efforts of a few nuns?  Not efforts to stop the law of course, just efforts of nuns to care for the sick and the old in their way, without interference from a US government who hasn’t been able to provide adequate healthcare to the elderly for decades or adequate care to our returning military veteran’s for generations?

If you argument is that weak, perhaps the Little Sisters of the Poor are a threat and your law is about to topple like the Tower of Babel.

Government Behaving Badly

Welcome to the new world where up is down and back is front and left is right.  What in the world is going on?  Today’s news features two stories which are appalling on their face as the government does its best impressions of incompetence. 

First, our venerable Customs and Border Protection who has multiple sites across Arizona, California, and New Mexico to detain Americans traveling wholly and entirely within the United States and ask them questions about their national heritage has recently confiscated and then destroyed thirteen wooden flutes of Boujemaa Razgui, a classical flutist, who has performed with these same instruments at the Lincoln Center and with both Shakira and Beyonce. 

Being the all powerful government they are, they refuse to apologize for destroying these rare instruments, just as they seem comfortable not apologizing for performing their primary mission of stopping foreign nationals from invading the country illegally.  Should I mention Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev? 

Why is it again and again, when our government makes a mistake they refuse to try to fix it?  We get it that the US Government is not perfect.  It’s okay that you hit the baseball into the living room window, but now you have messed something up and you need to go mow lawns until you can pay to replace the glass. 

That being the case, how many of you who voted for President Obama are loving that decision now that they have forced through the Affordable Care Act and you get to not only pay higher premiums, get dropped from the insurance you did like, but now can’t get verified to receive treatment?  Let me get this right, I can’t keep my doc, have to pay more, and still can’t get service.  Thank you President Obama for creating a whole new black market called medicine.  You say you want more people insured and covered, well you have just done the opposite. 

Any apologies from 44?  How about Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid?  Of course not.  You will remember, they are all exempt from the provisions of the ACA which they all loved so much they could not wait to force it on you and I. 

The ACA is now causing people with chest pain to leave hospitals without being seen because their brand new, shiny Obamacare insurance can not be verified. Woops. 

I am tempted to give these lawmakers the benefit of the doubt on these issues that this is not what they intended, but they realized there were problems and refused to delay the entire process, instead carving out for themselves exemptions that the ordinary American can not have for themselves. 

I realize that these issues would seem not to relate, but in both cases, you have bureaucrats acting in their own manner.  They are acting arbitrarily and capriciously without thinking through the consequences of their own actions and considering the effect on the populace.

While many Americans think about George Orwell and the spying in 1984, I am much more concerned about Animal Farm and the statement “all animals are equal, some are just more equal than others.”  Somewhere along the line President Obama became too comfortable with this idea to the chagrin of the rest of us.

So we care what the people think?

President Obama decided he would insert himself into the naming issue of the Washington Redskins that continues to show up from time to time.  This time he claims "I don't know whether our attachment to a particular name should override the real legitimate concerns that people have about these things," he said in the interview, which was conducted Friday at The White House.

As I have previously discussed about this issue, this is a topic this seems to show up when we need a diversion from say real issues, but this being the President and all, I will listen up.  Afterall, if he is concerned about what people think about issues, perhaps we should look at recent polling on Obamacare, or even the Affordable Care Act - which is showing itself to be anything but affordable for the average family.

According to some families, the ACA is thought to be a bad idea by 44 percent of those polled versus just 31 percent of those who thought it was a good idea.  The numbers are even more drastic, 45 to 23 when you ask whether or not the ACA will have a positive impact on the nation's health care.  So...if it is really polling you want Mr. President, let's have that conversation, but your signature achievement would end up getting turned over - probably as quickly as the Redskins are doing this year with their turn over issues.

As usual the President seems more interested in being a celebrity President than a leader President.  Another sad day for the American populace.

EMS Rights

Several articles have been posted lately across the United States about EMS organizations demanding that judge's and police organizations hold accountable those people in the public who assault paramedics.  I have no argument with any of these organizations or what they are trying to do, but I would add the caveat that we (a) do have laws against assault, and (b) we signed up for a profession where we don't see people at their best.

Having said that and having worked in a career where on more than one occassion I have worked the ominous forty-eight hour shift consecutively due to overtime, I am appaled by West Midlands Ambulance Service's recent statement on the death of an infant after a delay in EMS response of 41 minutes.  Their statement that their EMS crew having a right to a break misses the point.  A short article on the topic indicates the child went into cardiac arrest shortly after arriving at the hospital - a potentially preventable occurrence in my mind - when you bring into play your physician and nurse partners into the care of the patient.

The "what me worry?" attitude of the NHS's West Midlands Ambulance is scary when you consider this is the same health "service" which is placing hundreds of patients, including infants and children, on a death pathway.  This is not health service at all, but a bureaucratic plan to make life easier for the provider.  It is even scarier for me when I think that this is the same healthcare plan that President Obama wants here in the United States where care is rationed and your end of life becomes an issue not of morality, but of money.

I understand that we all get hungry, we all get tired working the long shifts on the box, but the bottom line is when the bell rings, you go.  I know that in a single shift I worked we had an unconscious inmate who required intubation and aggressive treatment for hyperthermia of unknown origin, followed by a head on MVC which resulted in double traumatic cardiac arrests - my patient ultimately had ROSC secondary to our NEBR resuscitation method and pericardial centesis, and then we had a cardiac arrest following that - all before we were fully restocked on our rig.  Three consecutive patients in a four and a half hour window.  During that time my EMT partner and I had three patients plus managed the accident scene from a MCI perspective until fire arrived.  We ended up with three tubes, two ROSCs out of two cardiac arrests, and an empty stomach.  We had been on calls all day and the accident wasn't even our call, but due to our proximity versus the dispatched unit, we went.  We didn't have a responsibility to go, but we had a moral code to go.

The crew from West Midlands seems to believe that a meal is more important than the next life you can save.  It is scary on more than one level to think that these are emergency responders.  Day one of EMT school I was told have a pen, penlight, stethoscope, and a snack because you know you need the first three for documentation and assessment and you never know when you might need the last one.  West Midlands step up or step off the dance floor.