Christmas Eve Eve thoughts…
First, may you all have a very Merry Christmas, and please find some time to consider why we celebrate this day. And, FYI, I will be filling in for Sean Hannity next Monday, December 28, on the radio.
The Senate will vote on their health care reform bill tomorrow. It will pass, but then must go to conference to be reconciled with the House version, passed 220-215. There are some significant differences and the reconciliation process will not be easy. Your House member needs to hear from you again, and again and again. If they oppose this bill, they also need to hear your thanks.
Politico reported today that the White House may push conference consideration of the two bills off until February, after the State of the Union address in late January. Apparently, the One has decided he needs to emphasize job creation in early 2010, and dealing with the deficit. House Democrats are reportedly concerned with delaying consideration, since the longer the bill remains unpassed, the longer their numbers can go down in the polls.
Some of the taxes included in the Senate bill to pay for it include a $2.7 billion tax on indoor tanning salons ( adopted after objections to the Botox tax caused it to be dropped. ), a 40% $150 billion tax on Cadillac health plans, which the CBO said would be passed along in higher premiums ( hey, wait a minute, I thought this bill was going to lower premiums? ), a $60 billion tax on health insurance companies, paid for by passing this cost along ( hey, wait a minute, I thought this bill was going to lower premiums?), a $19.2 billion tax on medical devices, like hearing aids, stents and artificial limbs, paid for by passing this cost along ( hey, wait a minute, I thought this bill was going to lower medical costs? ),and a $22 billion tax on drug companies ( hey, wait a minute, I thought this bill was going to lower medical costs? ).
BTW, did you hear that Medicare has a HIGHER claim denial rate than the private sector? It does, according to the AMA’s National Health Insurer Report Card for 2008.
In economic news, new housing sales fell 11% in November, the lowest level since April. You may have heard sales were up in November, but those were sales of existing, not new homes. The key difference in new sales versus resales: resales includes all sales closed in November, reflecting contracts signed in previous months; new sales reflect sales agreements signed in November.
A new study of happiness, of people expressing satisfaction with their lives, is out. Of the top 15 states, 13 are red ( McCain ) states, if you will. Of the bottom 15, 13 are blue ( Obama ) states. Maybe there is something to the idea that conservatives are happier people in general, that a lot of liberals are cranky and angry. Prominent states in the top 15: Alaska, Alabama, Louisiana, Wyoming, Tennessee and Texas. Prominent states in the bottom 15 include Michigan, California, Massachusetts, Illinois, New York, Connecticut and Washington.
Misc Musings
Well, sorry I haven’t posted daily thoughts recently, it’s been a bit hectic with Christmas and all. I will be better in the future and will eventually respond to as many of you as I can. But a lot has been happening…
Our thoughts and prayers are with the two Pierce County deputies shot last night. My God, when will this cease, police officers shot and killed now once a month for the past three months? I talked to a State Patrolman recently who told me his fellow officers are nervous beyond belief now, hesitent to take coffee breaks, reacting everytime someone comes in the door of the coffee shop. Our thanks and prayers go with all of you in law enforcement.
Congressman Parker Griffith of the 5th District in Alabama, switched parties, becoming a Republican. He is a conservative, a doctor, and comes from a district which has voted Republican on the Presidential level for a while, but hasn’t voted for one for Congress since 1886. Not 1986, 1886. Expect to see a few more retirements and switches in the near future.
The health care bill will probably pass in some form, but there are obstacles that will not be easy to overcome. This bill is so bad, that bribes ( with your money), exceptions and special considerations are necessary to pass it. According to a Battleground poll this month, 91% of you are satisfied with your health coverage. Can anyone tell me why we are screwing up and fundamentally changing the whole system for 9% of Americans? And why it takes 2,000+ pages, when the 1965 law that created Medicare and Medicaid was only 137? Did you all know that both the House and Senate versions require chain restaurants ( 20+ outlets ) throughout our land to post nutritional info on their menus? Daily specials are exempted, but not drive-through windows nor vending machines. That’s right, vending machines will post the info too – by law. I guess you all are just too stupid to know that three Big Macs a day, or a diet based on vending machine food, can be harmful to your health.
Speaking of polls, the WSJ/NBC poll just released showed 77% of independents disapprove of Congress’ performance. Time magazine reports today in a story on their site that an analysis of recent polls show not just independents swinging wildly away from the President, but that the Obama movement isn’t, and that there is a significant enthusiasm gap between Republicans and Democrats, the former being more so than the latter. They also indicate that public concern about access to health care ( which is the issue the debate started about ) is significantly lower than concern over jobs, the economy and government spending. One pollster reported that spending was the ‘tipping point’ that sent indys fleeing from Obama. Maybe we just need another stimulus package…
And, the economy is not recovering as well as first thought. GDP growth for the third quarter was adjusted downward today from an initial estimate of 2.8% to 2.2%. A lot of that was the one time Cash for Clunkers and the first time home buyers credit, which has now been expanded. Growth that is the result of subsidies and government money and crank programs is not real growth.
Friday thoughts
If you haven’t seen it, you can check it out at the Corner at nationalreview.com. It’s a new poster, promoting participation in the Census, devised by the National association of Latino Elected Officials. It shows the Star of Bethlehem and a man leading a donkey with a woman riding on it.’ this is how Jesus was born, it reads. Joseph and Mary participated in the census. Don’t be afraid. It’s time. Make yourself count.’ I don’t have the words.
Late Thursday thoughts…
The Gallup poll shows 64% of Americans oppose closing Gitmo and moving some of the prisoners there to American soil. That’s nearly two-thirds. Only 50% of Ds, 28% of independents and 8% of Rs support the move. Health care, cap and trade and the economy will NOT be the only issues in 2010. National security will have a prominent place in the minds of the voters and again, the President appears to be in a different universe on this issue. Keep digging that hole…
Also, please note these comments from Andrew Kohut, President, Pew Research Center from earlier today. He writes, ” What’s really exceptional at this stage of Obama’s presidency is the extent to which the public has moved in a conservative direction on a range of issues. These trends have emanated as much from the middle of the electorate as from the highly energized conservative right. Even more notable, however, is the extent to which liberals appear to be dozing as the country has shifted on both economic and social issues.”( emphasis mine). He goes on to specifically mention the issues of gun control ( ” declining support for gun control”), abortion ( ” a fall in support for abortion rights”), global warming ( ” a rise in public doubts about global warming”), health care ( ” strong opposition to health care reform has topped strong support in every survey” ). Keep digging that hole.
Thursday must read
George Will this morning in the Washington Post ( and elsewhere, I assume ). Then, E J Dionne, in the same paper, writes about how Democrats must find a reason for people to support them that doesn’t include George Bush. As a reader to National Review said this AM, adding his comment to Dionne’s column:
BUSH: Two wars, Gitmo open, Don’t ask, don’t tell, Patriot Act, Stocks:14,000, Unemployment 4.5%
OBAMA: Two wars, 60,000 more troops, Gitmo open, Don’t ask, don’t tell, Patriot Act extended, Stocks 10,000, unemployment 10%
He ended by saying the Democrats don’t need Bush, America does.
BTW, new unemployment figures reported this morning were HIGHER than expected.
