Category Archives: Barack Obama

Palin says Obama’s health care plan is ‘evil’ [but she is the DEVIL]

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Is this Sarah Palin’s America?  Fear-mongering and power-grabs?  Did she read the various committee bills?  I don’t think so.

The premise is so ludicrous that one doesn’t know where to begin.  Today, in the current system, health care and coverage are rationed and claims denied all of the time.  And all the bill says is that people should have health care proxies and end of life directives so doctors and family know their wishes.  I have a great plan and my partner and my sister have my proxies and my directives.  My mother was dying of cancer and gave us proxies and directives about what she wanted and did not want done at the end.  This is called planning ahead and having a say in your care.  This is NOT about euthanasia. This is about individualism and choice.

Does anyone’s health insurance cover a 95 year old who wants a heart transplant?  No. Cataracts?  Sure.  The government is not taking away a right that exists.

In fact, GOP took health insurance away from CHILDREN, so stop touting your special needs child.  I have a child with special needs, too.  So, I know that is a photo-op and I am appalled.

Americans cannot cheat death.  But we can live healthier and longer with a health care system that covers more wellness programs so that there is less need emergency surgeries or long hospital stays.
And, Sarah, preying on the fears of Americans who don’t have the resources or the time to understand the issues is UNAMERICAN and CRIMINAL.  There are too many people in this GREAT country who have no insurance and we the taxpayers pay their entire bill when they show up in the emergency room at a critical stage THAT COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED had they access to health care professionals.  But, hey, those ideas are mavericky and we all know you are not the real deal.

You say that Obama’s health care plan is “evil”.  That is proof enough that it is a good plan.  Why? Because you are the Devil.

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By MARK THIESSEN, Associated Press Writer Mark Thiessen, Associated Press Writer – 7 mins ago

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – In her first communication since leaving office, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin described in an Internet posting Friday that President Barack Obama‘s plan to overhaul the health care system was evil.

“Who will suffer the most when they ration care? The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course,” the former vice Republican presidential candidate wrote on her Facebook page.

“The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society,’ whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil,” Palin wrote.

An e-mail sent to Palin’s spokeswoman to confirm authorship was not immediately returned Friday.

Obama, a Democrat, campaigned on a promise of offering affordable health care to all Americans, as the United States is the only developed nation that does not have a comprehensive national health care plan for all its citizens.

He has proposed a system that would include government and private insurers. Republicans say that private insurers would be unable to compete, leaving the country with only a government-run health program. They warn that could leave Americans with little control over their health care.

Republican criticism has included claims that the reform plans will lead to rationing, or the government determining which medical procedures a patient can have. However, millions of Americans already face rationing, as insurance companies rule on procedures they will cover.

Denying coverage for certain procedures might increase under proposals to have a government-appointed agency identify medicines and procedures best suited for various conditions.

Denying coverage for certain procedures might increase under proposals to have a government-appointed agency identify medicines and procedures best suited for various conditions.

In the posting, Palin encouraged her supporters to be engaged in the debate. “Nationalizing our health care system is a point of no return for government interference in the lives of its citizens. If we go down this path, there will be no turning back,” Palin wrote.

“Let’s stop and think and make our voices heard before it’s too late,” the posting said.

Palin resigned as Alaska governor on July 26 with nearly 18 months left in her term. She cited not only the numerous ethics complaints that had been filed against her also her wish not to be a lame duck after the first-term governor decided not to seek re-election next year.

Palin, popular with conservatives in the Republican party, has said she wants to build a right-of-center coalition, and there is speculation she will seek the presidency in 2012. In the two weeks since she resigned, Palin has made only one public appearance, giving a Second Amendment rights speech last Saturday before a gun owners group in Anchorage.

Palin also has been largely silent before Friday’s post. She was a voracious user of the social networking site Twitter, and promised to keep her supporters updated with a new private account after she left office. But that hasn’t happened, leaving some of her fans begging for updates in the past two weeks.

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Welcome home, Euna Lee and Laura Ling

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I cannot begin to imagine what these last months have been like for these two reporters and their families.  And I hope I never understand.  They are home and I, a complete stranger, was overjoyed for them and proud of our government.

Let the pundits criticize.  Here is how I see it.  We are currently engaged in a zero sum chess game with North Korea about nuclear disarmament.  Two reporters became pawns in that game.  Over the course of these months, other than some pointed words by the Secretary of State, there was no swagger or threats from the White House (as would have been the case in the Bush Administration).  There was behind the scenes diplomacy to get these two women home and, more importantly for our national interests, keep them off the nuclear chessboard.  President Obama used his “arsenal” — an incredibly popular former president, the Swiss and the UN.

President Obama made comments only after the women landed safely on American soil and were re-united with their families.  And, he didn’t self-serving take credit for their safe return.  The President got two Americans home for the price of a photo-op with Bill Clinton and Kim Jong Il’s opportunity to say whatever he wants to his people about his visit with Mr. Clinton — something Kim Jong Il does anyway. 

Quietly and effectively, Obama got the job done and may have opened the door a crack to restart negotiations with North Korea.

Thank you, Mr. President and Team Obama.

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Happy birthday, Mr. President

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May all your wishes come true.   And let me help you itemize them:

  1.  a little GOP cooperation.
  2. a country back on track within two years.
  3. a visit from my family at the White House (we would like NOT to stay in the Lincoln Bedroom because it has gotten too much use over the years, a little like a Motel 6).  Let’s pick some dates and firm up with our wives.
  4. a tattoo that says “Made in the USA” so that the conspiracy theorists might go away.
  5. a situation room that looks like Wolf Blitzer’s
  6. getting a free pass once a month on something you say in front of the press.
  7. a date with your wife that isn’t a political free-for-all on the 24-hour news re-cycle.
  8. one day without a full-blown crisis at the office.

And many, many more returns of the day, Mr. President.

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Don’t quibble about the cigarettes

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If that is Obama’s vice while he deals with the most insurmountable problems of three generations, well, we are just going to have to get over it.

Clinton and JFK were philanderers.  Reagan had Alzheimers and his admininstration kept us in the dark.  Bush II was a “recovered” alcoholic and chose  to let others make decisions for him. 

News flash:  Obama is mortal with flaws.  Not a great example for the kids, but it is a lot better than what most Americans do: slam down some whiskey shots, take sedatives, take out their problems on other people, etc. 

So, everyone, chill.  We gave GWB a lot of slack.

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First, Crowley and Gates, then O’Donnell and Trump?

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USREPORT-US-OBAMA-RACEObama hit the BIG KUMBAYA with Officer Crowley and Professor Gates.

Even those commentators who rail against Obama actually complimented him.  I don’t really know how I feel about it because the president cannot settle every dispute and he is not the Referee-In-Chief.  So, maybe it was a teachable moment in do-it-yourself mediation, preferably with some form of social lubricant or liquid confidence.

So, here is the lesson.  IT WASN’T ABOUT OBAMA.  It is about two people who need and WANT a forum to work things out.  And that makes Officer Crowley and Professor Gates the true stars of this summit.  This was a racially/socially/politically charged event and the two in the middle reached across the divide and set an example for a nation.

So, in that vein, Rosie O’Donnell made an overture to the Donald, which he turned down in a way in his typical fashion.  He was offensive.  Rosie, nice gesture, but don’t wait for Donald. He doesn’t have the right stuff.

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A beer with the Prez

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I don’t drink beer.  After four years of smelling mung beer in fraternity basements in college, the mere suggestion of beer makes my nose hair curl.

Have a beer with the President? You bet.  What, my strong aversion to beer?  Nah, dude.  If that is my ticket to have a sit down with the most powerful man in the nation (who happens to have the cutest ears in the nation), then, what me, an anti-beerist?  I’d even drink a rusty can of Rheingold circa 1969 if it gets me on the patio in the Rose Garden.

So, as I see it, here is how I need to orchestrate my 45 minutes with the Big Guy.  I have to do something outrageous that actually sparks outrage.  (I do outrageous stuff all the time, but no one seems to care.)  It has to threaten the kumbaya veneer of society in a menacing, yet ultimately not physically harmful, way.  Then it has to be on the 24-hour news RE-cycle, just in time for a Presidential press conference where the President is tired and talking about really important things critical to the nation’s future. Then, with seconds to go before he gets to leave the press room, have his make-up washed off and kick back with Michelle, a friend with press credentials has to ask about my incident.  Hopefully, he will be annoyed and the incident will touch a chord in him and he will have an authentic, I-am-human-and-I-have-unscripted-opinions moment.  POUNCE!!  I got my beer.

So, here is my checklist to close this deal:

  1. outrageous behavior: easy
  2. outrageous behavior that is offensive but does not involve weapons: hmmmmm.  Watch celebrity TV shows for ideas.
  3. get attention for outrageous behavior: Get a walk-on spot on “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!!”
  4. get on 24 hour news RE-cycle: [Do I have to say nice things about CNN?] Start by being an iReporter.
  5. time it with an important press conference:  after August recess when Congress is fighting over the health care bill.
  6. have a friend with a press pass to the White House:  We need to break this agenda item into 3 subparts:  (a) Find a friend, (b) find a friend with press pass and (c) find a friend with press pass to White House.
  7. have friend ask a question on my outrageous behavior (which I learned from the celebrity TV shows or the coverage on the Michael Jackson family circus):  do you think tickets to the US Open Tennis men’s and women’s finals will do it?
  8. Get Obama ticked off:  easy, just ask my partner.
  9. BEER TIME!!!!
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Thought for today, July 30, 2009

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Of course Obama’s ratings are going down.  The real issues facing our nation are complicated and the choices are hard.  And good compromise means no person or constituency gets everything he or it wanted.   Including the President and the Republicans.

The debate should be about facts.  Not scare tactics.  Glenn Beck called President Obama a racist.  Why, because he had a visceral reaction to an incident involving Professor Gates?  Glenn Beck had a visceral reaction to President Obama’s statement.  Let’s look at this:  Obama’s reaction caused him to say that police acted “stupidly”.  Glenn Beck’s reaction is to call Obama a racist. Who over-reacted?  Hmmmmm.

But all this did was divert attention from the issues. We don’t have time for this nonsense.  But at least Glenn Beck’s reaction shows that the right can’t counter President Obama’s plans and policies on the facts.

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Obama’s comment

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I, for one, cannot imagine what it is to be racially-profiled or black in America.  So when No Drama Obama says something out of character, it may come from a place that I have never been and can never understand.  And I am grateful never to have been “there”.  So, I don’t judge the comment.

At his news conference, President Obama spoke almost entirely about health care until the last question.  The 24-hour news recycle only focused on his answer to that last question, the one about Professor Gates.

Here is a man who is handling crises at home and on every continent every day and who is juggling numerous policy initiatives toward a stronger country (many may disagree with his approaches, but not his commitment to this country).

Whether or not he needed to apologize, he did apologize.  SO, LET IT GO and get back to hitting him hard on the issues that matter — economy, Iraq, Iran, N. Korea, healthcare and where Michelle and he are going for their next date night.

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Birther conspiracy theorists and Obama’s Mama

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I miss the Jon and Kate plus 8 drama.  I never watched them, never cared about their marriage issues, her diva episodes or his new girlfriend.  Now I am sad that they don’t even hit the summary page on Yahoo anymore.

Why? Because now we read about the birthers, the ones — including GOP congressmen — who think that President Obama was actually foreign born and uses a fake Hawaiian birth certificate.  To be fair, on The Chris Matthews’ show, a congressman said that if John McCain had been elected, we would be talking about him in this way, as well.

So these birther conspiracy theorist would have had a field day over a white male Vietnam War hero born to a Navy admiral living on an American base in the Panama Canal Zone?  Let’s ponder this.  Hmmm.  I think not.

Barack Obama was born in Hawaii to a mother who was a US CITIZEN.  So, what these people are really talking about is President Obama’s MAMA.  Now, if you talk about someone’s mother, be prepared for yours to be dragged into the fray.

If we all go back far enough, one or more of our grandparents or great grandparents were born somewhere outside the United States.  I am not an immigration scholar, but if my mother who was born in, and a citizen of, the United States gave birth to me in Toronto, Canada, while on vacation, wouldn’t I still be eligible to be a sitting president?

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