Category: Politics

I sit here at a loss for words. I’ve been operating on auto pilot ever since Sunday when this nightmare health care bill was shoved up our asses and passed with little to no regard for how the majority of people felt about it. I think I’m still in shock that it could even happen to begin with. Our country was built on WE THE PEOPLE and yet, WE THE PEOPLE opposed the health care bill and it still passed. This administration resorted to every dirty trick in the book, even going so far as to trap the Democrats in Washington until the bill was voted on.

It’s truly despicable behavior.

I have written draft after draft about the shocking ramifications of this health care law. I have ranted and raved and gotten downright nasty about my feelings about not only this bill, but about the sheer level of complacency this country has reached.

It both sickens and frightens me.

But in the end, I have deleted those rants – they do not serve any other purpose than to allow me to vent my frustrations. What’s done is done. However, I, along with over half of this country, will not take this grossly intrusive law sitting down. We will fight this process, tooth and nail, every step of the way.

And though our hands may be tied at this juncture, we will flood the polls in November and vote these rat bastards out of office. Since Congress’ approval rate is at AN ALL-TIME low, that shouldn’t be too hard to do.

As long as we stick together and remain focused on our objective – fix this fiasco, or at least try to.

I won’t go into all of the reasons this health care law is so wrong for our country – you all know most of the arguments. But I would like to continue pointing out various “goodies” that I’m convinced will surface in the next several months that the media will be sure to ignore.

Let’s begin with the unacceptable intrusion that we will be forced to endure: the expansion of the IRS.

***Highlights of New IRS Authority***
IRS agents verify if you have “acceptable” health care
coverage

IRS has the authority to fine you up to $2,250 or 2 percent
of your income (whichever is greater) for failure to prove
that you have purchased “minimum essential coverage”

IRS can confiscate your tax refund

IRS audits are likely to increase

IRS will need up to $10 billion to administer the new health
care program this decade

IRS may need to hire as many as 16,500 additional
auditors, agents and other employees to investigate and
collect billions in new taxes from Americans

Nearly half of all these new individual mandate taxes will
be paid by Americans earning less than 300 percent of
poverty ($66,150 for a family of four)

***SPECIAL EXEMPTION***
Democrats prohibit the IRS from imposing these taxes and
penalties on illegal immigrants

The IRS will be given the authority to “check your papers.” They have been appointed to act as Gestapo. Think about that for a moment. Think of the ramifications of having an organization being given that much power over our lives.

I have to ask you: you’re seriously okay with this??

Because if you are, then I’m truly scared for this country. America went to WAR with England precisely so they wouldn’t have the authority to tell us what to do or how to live our lives. And yet here we are freely handing our freedoms over to our own government.

Which somehow makes it worse, I think.

What is wrong with you, America? Are you so blinded by the prospect of getting something for free that you’re willing to sacrifice our most precious asset – our freedom? Because if you think this isn’t the beginning of that sacrifice, that there won’t be more legislation down the road that continues to chip away at our freedoms, then you’re truly delusional.

Complacency is strangling this country.

There are other, more efficient, less costly and FAIR ways of dealing with our health care issues. They are out there, but I’m betting most Obama supporters never knew that because our so-called media never reported on it.

*takes a deep breath* I’m ranting.

Here’s another unbelievable “perk” to this health care debacle:

Complete federalization of student loans. NO more private funding of college loans.

This is part of an interview transcript between Greta Van Susteren and Senator Lindsay Graham:

GRAHAM: So how do they pay for it? They cut Medicare by over $500 billion — not to save Medicare but to take money out of Medicare, senior citizens, to pay for the uninsured. They raised taxes by $600 billion. But that’s not enough. That doesn’t get you there.

So they’re taking the student loan program that 19 million students have access to, they’re giving the student loan program completely to the federal government. You want government takeover? Well, then, your ship has come in. Every student in the country can get their — has to go to the federal government to get their student loan. So what the federal government has done is dealt out the private sector, and they’re lending money at 6.4 percent, we’re borrowing it at about 2.6 percent. The difference the federal…

VAN SUSTEREN: The spread, the 4 percent spread or…

GRAHAM: Goes to the federal government. And guess what? Nine-point- one billion dollars of money created by the student loan takeover by the federal government is going to pay for health care. So it’s not enough to increase the taxes on these students when they get a job because that’s what will happen to them under this health care bill. It’s not enough to pass on $2 trillion of debt. That’s what happens when you look at this bill in perpetuity. You got to hit them while they’re in school. This stinks.

VAN SUSTEREN: Now, this 4 percent spread, was this something that before was being paid into the private sector, or I mean, is the cost to the students still the same, it’s just a question of where the 4 percent goes?

GRAHAM: The average student will be spending $1,700 to $1,800 more during the life of their loan because of this surcharge. From the students’ point of view, it’s going to cost you $1,700 to $1,800 more to pay your student loan off, and all the money goes to the federal government. At the end of the day, they took the student loan business over to generate income for the federal government and they’ve applied it to paying for this health care bill.

VAN SUSTEREN: Are you going to have an amendment on this?

GRAHAM: You better believe it! And the one thing I want students to do is speak up. Your student loan rates are going to change. You’re going to have one place to get your student loan from.

VAN SUSTEREN: Are the Democrats saying they’re doing this to help finance the health care reform bill, or do they say that there is another reason? Is there more…

GRAHAM: They’re…

VAN SUSTEREN: What’s their explanation for it?

GRAHAM: They’re saying that the banking system doesn’t work, that the private lenders ought to be taken out of the equation, no private sector entity should make money sending kids to school. So we’re going to have a federally government run student loan program. You know, it’s not enough to own a car company, we got to take over all the student loans in the country. So they’re saying this is better for the students.

The truth is that the spread between what we borrow the money and we charge the student is about 4.2 percent, maybe a little bit higher. It generates money for the federal government to be used not to retire the deficit, not to help students go to school, but to pay for this health care bill. So this is another example of a government takeover of the private sector that will cost the average person more money. And why they’re doing it? To pay for a health care bill that they can’t afford unless they start robbing students.

Again, yet another government take over that squeezes out the private sector – all in the name of funding a health care law we can’t afford and don’t want.

They are slowly, bit-by-bit, chipping away at the foundations of what make this country so great. And I guess we’re just going to stand by and watch them stick it to us, and to our children.

This is unacceptable.

Stay tuned – I’m sure this will only get “better” as we learn more and more. Now that the bill is law, we can learn what’s in it.

If you truly care about this country, then look past the guise of FREE health care for a minute and look at the bigger picture. You owe your country that much.

I have written an apology to my children. I think it’s warranted, don’t you? After all, they will be forced to pay for most of it.

(And by the way, comments are closed. I’m not debating this. I mean, why? What’s done is done. All we can do at this point is damage control).

Updated: Watch the live streaming video of Obama’s address here: http://linkbee.com/C1U6I (10:40 a.m. CST)

Updated II: And by the way folks, to play fair, Democrats got just as bent out of shape when Pres. Bush spoke to kids in 1991. http://bit.ly/3JM2Go Bottom line? Keep an eye on our politicians. Power corrupts people, even good people.

Much controversy has surrounded the issue of why President Obama is addressing the nation’s school children Tuesday. Critics point out that much of the background information originally delivered to schools suggested that teachers use the speech to discuss the president’s work rather than education itself. When that was criticized by the media, the White House pulled back, now communicating that this speech is about the president sharing his views about why school is so important.

Whether or not you believe it is a good use of the president’s time to deliver this national education speech, or whether or not you agree with him, here are some tips on how you can use this opportunity to educate your own kids about education – how it works, what we all can do to make it better, and how we can influence our elected officials to do the right thing for our kids.

Why are some people so mad about his giving the speech?

Some people think this is another attempt by the president to take over an issue that’s historically been a local one. Clear authority for school improvement needs to be made at the state level. The federal government can provide support or incentives, but we’d prefer that decisions about how we operate schools and what kinds of reforms we adopt be made closest to where we live–by state legislators that we elect from our communities. Local decisions are not always the best, but we can monitor them more easily and they reflect the unique differences of each state. As long as we all recognize that, no one should be threatened by the president’s speech.

This is an excerpt from the article, “Making Sense of President Obama’s School Speech” at The Center for Education Reform.

I’d like to take it one step further — people are also upset because they see it as yet another attempt, from our government, to push socialistic issues, not necessarily educational issues, on our country. By addressing our children, some people feel like they are trying to manipulate, and mold, our young into thinking the way they do so they will grow up and support a socialist country.

People are scared and nervous because suddenly, becoming a socialist country is a lot more attainable than they had originally thought possible. Helping people is one thing, taking over people’s lives and dictating how they can, and can not live, is an entirely different monster.

Look, here’s the thing — I’m a devout Republican.

I know, how freaking annoying and OH MY GOSH! I must be a cold and heartless person to admit that, but please, don’t judge – we all have our beliefs and I just happen to agree (FAR) more with the Republicans than with the Democrats.

(We don’t need no stinkin’ government breathing down our necks, thank you very much. We can take care of ourselves).

But let’s get real here, just because I’m a Republican doesn’t mean I agree with everything the Republicans stand for. For instance, what is UP with people’s reactions to President Obama’s proposed speech?

Granted, when I first read about the speech and saw, with my own eyes, what he had planned, I was furious.

“What can YOU do to help the president??” Was one of the exercises the White House was “suggesting” our children take part in after the speech.

Geez, what a self-serving … jerk that man is. Could his ego GET any bigger?

Was my first thought.

But because this is America and we have an awesome, if not flawed, checks and balances system, people saw this load of propaganda nonsense and called the president out on it.

(Though to be fair, it was most likely the writer’s fault for the insane, and poorly written verbiage, but who knows? You’re telling me the president never looked over the material before it went public?)

As a result, the White House revised the agenda.

Score one for the Republic. (Keep an eye on these politicians, folks. Both Democrats AND Republicans. They will be given an inch and then tax us a mile).

But now? It’s a simple speech, addressed to our children, about the importance of staying in school and to work hard toward their goals.

WHY exactly is this a problem of such colossal proportions that parents are actually entertaining the notion of keeping their children home from school tomorrow?

What exactly are we teaching our children when we resort to drastic measures like this simply because we disagree with an institution or an individual?

That it’s okay to simply hide our head in the sand and NOT at least have the respect and courtesy of listening to an opposing side? How does this mold responsible and informed future citizens? How can a person logically and intelligently make a decision on an issue if he/she doesn’t hear ALL sides?

Don’t our children have the right to make up their own minds about issues? Are we so focused on making sure they grow up with our own ideals and beliefs that we’re willing to yank them from the debate, thereby denying them the right to decide for themselves?

That in itself sounds a little like brainwashing to me.

Now granted, they are children. And they are gullible and vulnerable, but let’s give these kids some credit, they aren’t likely to become brain washed into a radical state of thinking by simply watching one presidential address.

(Now if the president makes this a habit, that’s something entirely different – but this one time? It doesn’t warrant the panic that it’s evoked).

And let’s not forget, he IS our president, whether we like it or not. Again, what are we teaching our children? To disrespect the president? What ever happened to respectfully disagreeing?

My boys are going to school tomorrow. And I am NOT signing a form that will excuse them from the speech IF their teachers feel it’s necessary to allow our students to view it. Why? Because it’s a perfect opportunity to TALK to the boys about what’s going on in our country right now and to LISTEN to their own unique, and individual, views on the subject.

By making this a big deal, guess what, IT’S A BIG DEAL. At least, to our children, who don’t fully understand what is going on. All they know is that their parents are upset because the president, a man who deserves our respect simply because of his position, is daring to speak to our country.

I understand the principle behind the arguments. I understand, and agree, that we don’t wish our president to shove socialistic ideals down our children’s throats. And yes, it’s a little strange that the president is addressing this during the day and not at night so that parents and children can view it together.

But I believe he feels like he’s doing a good and positive thing here, so let’s take the president’s good intentions and go with it.

Keeping our children home from school simply because we don’t wish for them to hear our president speak is defeating the purpose – it’s NOT making our country stronger, it’s driving that wedge just a little deeper.

(Cute little girl image by Clover__1)