"We have to spend money to keep from going bankrupt."---Joe Biden

...Ya say ya want a REV-O-LUTIONNNN...welllll ya know, we all wanna change the world... According to the most recent developments, Obama's "asking" for a contribution on the sale of food and beverages; a previously tax exempt category. Not too sure about you, but I can just about afford my food bill as it is, once this obamanation of additional tax is levied, I guess I'll be going the way of Kate Moss. Hope the "heroine chic" look comes back into vogue...real soon. OK, OK not going to go on and on about how I predicted this mess from the day those idiots nominated him, because honestly, there's no personal satisfaction in it for me. Aside from the fact that his presidency basically spelled curtains for the basis of what made this country the land of the free and the home of the brave, I'm not going to gloat because; it was just so obvious. I heard the other day that Massachusetts is going BANKRUPT due directly to their universal health-care program, big surprise. I'd like to share with you an article written over a year ago from the Boston Globe, another liberal pseudo-commie rag brought to us by those oh-so forward folks at the New York Times;) (italics, bolding and sarcasm are mine): Subsidized care plan's cost to double Enrollment is outstripping state's estimate Globe Staff / February 3, 2008 The subsidized insurance program at the heart of the state's health-care initiative is expected to roughly double in size and expense over the next three years - an unexpected level of growth that could cost state taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars or force the state to scale back its ambitions. more stories like this state projections obtained by the Globe show the program reaching 342,000 people and $1.35 billion in annual expenses by June 2011. Those figures would far outstrip the original plans for the Commonwealth Care program, largely because state officials underestimated the number of uninsured residents. The state has asked the federal government to shoulder roughly half of the program's cost from 2009 through 2011, (if that's true....how does the FEDERAL Government think they can spend our money like mad without repercussions? If one state can not bear the burden of this ill-conceived health care program, how the hell do they expect an entire nation to swing it? "The state alone cannot support that kind of spending increase," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a business-funded budget watchdog group. Even with federal backing, the state may not be able to afford the insurance initiative as designed, because the law did not make any attempt to trim wasteful health spending, said Alan Sager, a Boston University professor who specializes in health-care costs. Currently, 169,000 people have enrolled in the program, which is expected to cost $618 million in the fiscal year ending June 30. When it authorized the program in 2006, the Legislature estimated that about 215,000 people would eventually be enrolled at a cost of $725 million. State officials in late 2006 reduced that estimate to between 140,000 and 160,000 - a number that was surpassed last year. "We're paying the price of our own success," said Widmer, (with a smile, I'm sure;) The administration of Governor Deval Patrick produced the new estimates to launch negotiations for federal funding, and has shared them with some state health leaders at closed-door meetings. Patrick is seeking about $1.5 billion over three years, half the cumulative cost for Commonwealth Care. The administration declined to discuss the numbers or the assumptions behind them, citing the ongoing negotiations. In a statement, however, the governor's spokesman, Joseph Landolfi, said, "It is clear that paying for health-care reform will pose a much greater fiscal challenge than was anticipated by the previous administration. We are committed to making health reform a success by aggressively pursuing cost savings and efficiencies in the health-care system, as well as working with legislative leaders to review options for additional state revenues so that we can continue to afford this important initiative."strong> The expanding need for new state and federal money is in sharp contrast to the statements made by former governor Mitt Romney, when he proposed the initiative in 2004 and as he campaigns for president. He has repeatedly suggested that the state could insure low-income residents largely by reallocating money paid to hospitals and health centers that serve the uninsured.Continued... "The bill that I submitted to the Legislature didn't cost $1 more than what we were already spending," he said Wednesday night during a GOP debate. "However, the Legislature and now the new Democratic governor have added some bells and whistles." In fact, Romney signed the law in 2006 as modified by the Legislature, approving most of the changes, but vetoing a few provisions that were overridden. Lawmakers then estimated that the initiative would cost the state only a small amount of new money in the first few years. It is now apparent that both Romney and lawmakers underestimated the cost of insurance subsidies as well as other parts of the initiative, largely because they based their projections on low estimates of the number of uninsured and the rising price of insurance. When the law was passed, neither Romney nor the Legislature estimated the costs beyond next year because they believed the enrollment growth would be all but complete. From the beginning, many health policy specialists said the initiative would cost the state more than expected. Now, some say, the benefits of reaching near-universal insurance coverage may counterbalance the financial pain. "I wouldn't say there's an imminent danger that the whole thing is going to collapse," said Robert Seifert, senior associate at the Center for Health Law and Economics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. "It's challenging, but if it's a priority for the administration, then I think it's doable. There are benefits that don't appear in the budget numbers," including healthier residents, who are less of a financial drain in the long run. Government-funded costs of another part of the insurance initiative - expansion of the state's Medicaid program, called MassHealth - are also projected to grow significantly. The state is also seeking federal reimbursement for half of those expenses. MassHealth covers the poor and disabled who have minimal financial assets. Commonwealth Care provides free or subsidized insurance to those who don't qualify for MassHealth but have low to moderate incomes and no access to insurance through work. Overall, spending on the health-care initiative will total about $1.95 billion this year. Slightly less than half of that will be funded by the federal government, with the rest coming from state taxpayers and other sources. If the state doesn't get all of the federal funds it is seeking, policy makers could face difficult choices: spend more state money or cut back the two programs by reducing enrollment, cutting subsidies, or eliminating benefits. "We need that [federal money] to be able to continue the effort to provide MassHealth and Commonwealth Care to everyone who is eligible," said Thomas Dehner, director of MassHealth. Dennis Smith, the federal official who will negotiate the details of the federal contribution, declined to comment about the state's request for more money. The federal government has supported that state's insurance experiment so far - contributing about $300 million for Commonwealth Care since it began in October 2006 and millions more for other parts of the initiative. But the Bush administration has also been trying to curb federal spending in the Medicaid program, which would be the source of the new money Massachusetts is requesting. Negotiations on the state's latest funding request are expected to wrap up by July 1. The financial pressures come as the state struggles to balance the budget for next year, and as the federal economy appears headed for a downturn. The budget proposed by Patrick on Jan. 23 included money for the first wave of the projected increase in Commonwealth Care - $869 million, a figure some observers suggest may itself be too low because of growing enrollment and health-care costs. The budget counts on the federal government paying less than half of that total. There has been no discussion of a tax increase to pay for the health-care plan. One architect of the initiative said the state should work to build public backing for the measure. "I hope that the citizens of Massachusetts are willing to provide the support to maintain our status as the only place in the nation that offers universal coverage," said Jonathan Gruber, an MIT economist. Two sources of money that were part of the original financing plan have fallen short, contributing to the budget crunch. As more uninsured residents were covered, the state had expected to shift hundreds of millions of dollars from free care to insurance subsidies, but the drop has been slower than predicted. Lawmakers had also counted on collecting tens of millions of dollars from businesses that do not insure their workers. But the Romney administration reduced the number of businesses subject to penalties, and the state expects to collect only about $5 million from them this year. Sager suggested that the state look to another source to make up the difference: multimillion-dollar payments to hospitals that were included in the law to win political support. "It would be tragic to renege on the law's promises to cover all citizens of the Commonwealth, especially if those promises can be redeemed by . . . repealing the ill-targeted, unnecessary, and unaffordable Medicaid rate increases to hospitals that are already enormously profitable," Sager said. Yadda, yadda, yadda...Now, for some sense. I'll admit I am now and have always been completely against the Obama ministration's "stimulus" bill. To strap future generations with this astromical debt because our bloviated bureaucrats seem determined to spend a dollar when it's only 15 cents. What would I have done? I would have taken that enormous stimulus or omnibus or TARP check what ever they're calling it and use that money to pay off EVERY SINGLE American's personal debt Now that would free-up the flow of cash and certainly boost consumerism. I've been searching for the positive effects the Obama guaranteed to us would result for that last massive check. Matter of fact; since that checked cleared the bank, two personal friends have begun foreclosure proceedings. And I know of 3 others. Look around and take note of how many houses are sale. Common sense dictates that you can't spend to save money. And increasing taxes on the portion of the population least likely to benefit from the social programs and God know's what else this administration has up there sleeve, is just wrong. Thank God Obama's got Biden to muddy the waters/cloud the issues, otherwise we might be looking to Obama for some real solutions. original post at http://politicalpatrol.blogspot.com NEED A BLOGGER? 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Who's fault is it now?

I predicted ALL of this, the guy got elected on the media's hate-mongering towards the Bush Admin. Not for nothing but they basically stopped short of accusing him of crucifying Jesus Christ. This what happens when the ones with the biggest mouths and smallest brains, shape their "world view" through ingesting 20 second news bites and then think they've got it all figured out. The media loves keeping them stupid...they're easier to control that way. original post at http://politicalpatrol.blogspot.com NEED A BLOGGER? I'M AVAILABLE TO BLOG FOR YOU. CONTACT ME AT THE ABOVE ADDRESS.

All That's Left to do is Lower the Casket

original post at http://politicalpatrol.blogspot.com We have dug our own graves... NEED A BLOGGER? I'M AVAILABLE TO BLOG FOR YOU. CONTACT ME AT THE ABOVE ADDRESS.

One Last Call to Sanity!!!

original post at http://politicalpatrol.blogspot.com

I have been listening to the phone ring for the past 25 minutes, not a big deal unless you know that I am contacting the US Consulate General in Dubai (Press 1 for an American Citizen emergency.) I’ve been living outside the country for the last few months and all I can say as I count down the days to my return home is: GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!!!

I came to Dubai to teach English with (unrealistic) expectations of a progressive city, consumed by development and ripe for its foray onto the world stage. What I found was a country where the people are completely controlled. The government pays for everything and in exchange, the people forfeit their lives. This is a country where even though you live on a street with a name and there is a number on your building; the government doesn’t allow mail to be sent directly to your door. It must first go through the Post Office, the most inefficient bit of bureaucratic nonsense you could ever imagine.

There at the PO, they open, rifle through and decide on whether or not to forward your mail on to you. There are only two phone companies; both government controlled; both completely sub-par; where you must pre-pay for your minutes. You wait in line 5 hours to have somebody stamp a piece of paper that says you must get 3 more stamps to proceed. (Somewhere the Arabs heard that efficiency begins with a paper-trail…and they believed it.)

The whole region shuts down from 12:00 PM to 6-7PM to, “take a nap”-‘cause it’s hot; even though everyone works in air-conditioning , and the most “sport” they get is chewing the doughy bread served with every meal.

The reason I’m even here is a) I wanted out before the hammer fell down on the obama presidency and b) I was contacted by an inspirational woman who had a vision of what all this $100/barrel oil money could do. Two weeks ago, she was in a tragic car accident that left her brain dead. I went to give my condolences at the hospital while she was still in a coma and much to my surprise, I was ushered into her room (sans mask/protective clothing, etc) only thing they made me don was an abaya and hegab (the traditional Muslim dress and face/head covering.) I was also relieved of my rosary beads prior to entering the room.

I sat at her bed side and said the rosary by counting imaginary beads and keeping track with my fingers.

Every hour there is a call to prayer and yet every time you turn around someones trying to charge you three times what ever it's worth.

The hypocrisy here is stunning and the gulf between the haves and the have not's is vast. In Dubai there has been a great influx of Indians and Pakistanis since the building boom. They came thinking that they could grab a piece of the dream, sort of like the those who went west during the California Gold Rush in America. Unfortunately, the only reason the government even gave them a visa to stay was so that they could be employed as labourers to do the dirty work.

They are unskilled and have not been trained, nor will they ever be. They will not see any part of that dream materialize because they're worked to near death, paid pennies a day and once they've exhausted their use, they are shipped home with nothing more than what they came with. And every foreigner I met wants Obama to win and somehow felt entitled to weigh in on the goings-on in the States.

I actually got into a (just short of) physical confrontation with a co-worker from Canada who told me that both America and our President suck and we're the "reason" that the whole world is in financial turmoil. An Indian friend explained to me that, "your whole country has gone bankrupt because God is punishing you." Punishing us for what, he didn't get a chance to clarify because I immediately tore him a new asshole when I 'explained' to him that if it wasn't for America, both his country and a lot of others wouldn't still exist today.

We've sent a lot of food, a lot of medicine, a lot of money and a lot of aid ALL OVER THE WORLD. And we never asked for anything in return. And it's funny, the whole world hates us but ask anyone from one of these other countries what their dream is and the first thing they'll tell you is it's to go to America. And so now I'm back on the land that I love and I'm even more amazed that anyone fortunate enough to be here has the nerve to put this country down. All these clueless liberals who want to overtax the wealthy to even out the pot.

Let me tell you something; if you're not where you think you should be in life, it ain't because your black(or any other minority group),'cause there are many blacks who've made it. It ain't because you're a woman,'cause we're just as successful as men now. And it ain't because you're handicapped (which I happen to be), because the only real limits you have are the ones you set for yourself. No, the reason why your life is not where you thought it should be is because you're lazy.

See, that's the beauty of this country; you don't have to be born here, you don't even have to speak our language, but the door is open for you to make a better life for yourself.If you work hard and live right, you are rewarded for your efforts with a nice life.

Unless Obama gets in. Then the reverse will hold true. Work hard and the government will take more from you to distribute your wealth to those who didn't want to work at all.

Under his administration, the reward will be reserved for those who've done nothing to earn it. Eventually the hard workers will realize this and decide to coast, as well. And when everybodies kickin' back, collecting their welfare checks and eatin' their government cheese; when all those moron liberals have finally gotten their way, you better decide quick whether you're going to Canada or to Mexico, because America will cease to exist.

The reason America became the most powerful country in the world is because we were working while all the other countries were taking their naps. I fear it will be the end of the road for this great nation if we allow this conniving manipulator to lead us. In all likelihood we'll be following him right off a cliff. http://usawakeup.org/USSA.htm

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