Let's talk about BO-Care with Randall Hoven

We spoke with Randall Hoven, contributor to American Thinker.

Randy has quite an archive or articles and graphs. Check them out and read his opinions.

Here is the show:

They love BO but still NO troops to Afghanistan!

We just heard that Canada will leave Afghanistan in 2011.

We hear that Pres BO is talking to Pres Sarkozy about sending French troops to Afghanistan.

Good luck!

We were told during the 2008 campaign that our allies did not like Bush. We were assured that BO's historic and transforming personality would persuade the allies to fight in Afghanistan.

What's happened since that election night when so many cried about the arrival of hope and change?

The US and UK have increased their military presence.

And everybody else is getting out, not getting in or not allowing their men to engage in combat.

Change? I don't see it! The West is still not serious about fighting terrorists.

Why can't Pres BO persuade Americans on health care?

It wasn't supposed to be this way. However, it is! And the rejection of BO-Care continues!

Here is POLITICO: Barack Obama struggles to capitalize in polls

Here is Rasmussen: One Week Later, 54% Favor Repeal of Health Care Bill

Why can't he make the sale?

There are three reasons:

1) The process stunk. We spent weeks watching Dem leaders buying votes such as the infamous Nebraska and Louisiana deals.

2) The voters are not buying the numbers. In other words, you can't run these deficits on top of more deficits. (USA Today: "Nearly two-thirds of Americans say the health care overhaul signed into law last week costs too much and expands the government's role in health care too far, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, underscoring an uphill selling job ahead for President Obama and congressional Democrats.")

3) The voters do not believe that "federalizing" something will improve quality or reduce costs.

That's the story of 2010.

Yes, Pres BO and the Dem congressional leaders managed to pass a bill by 4 votes, despite a 40-seat majority.

However, the public continues to be skeptical!

P.S. It won't be easier with stories like these: Health premiums could rise 17 pct for young adults

Check out "Monday Morning thoughts":

"Hope and change" has run into problems with our allies!

We can always count on Toby Harnden to get a different perspective on US-UK relations:

"Partly behind this is the fact that, as former British ambassador to Washington Sir David Manning pointed out, Mr Obama has no "sentimental reflexes" towards the UK.

He was born in Hawaii, had little experience of foreign affairs and his grandfather had suffered at the hands of British colonialists in Kenya."

Harnden is not alone.

Over here, Michael Barone blasted it too:

"Some may attribute these slights to biases inherited from the men who supplied the titles of Obama's two books.

Perhaps like Barack Obama Sr., he regards the British as evil colonialists.

Or perhaps like his preacher for 20 years, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, he regards Israel as an evil oppressor.

But the list of American friends Obama has slighted is long. It includes Poland and the Czech Republic (anti-missile program cancelled), Honduras (backing the constitutionally ousted president), Georgia (no support against Russia), and Colombia and South Korea (no action on pending free trade agreements).

In the meantime, Obama sends yearly greetings to (as he puts it) the Islamic Republic of Iran, exchanges friendly greetings with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, caves to Russian demands on arms control and sends a new ambassador to Syria."

Again, we have never seen a US president who has adopted such an adversarial relationship with our allies.

Let's not forget Mexico and Canada, our neighbors and largest commercial partners.

A year ago, Pres BO violated NAFTA by refusing to let Mexican trucks enter the US and bowing to labor unions over the "buy American" clause in the so-called stimulus.

Did I tell you that Sec Clinton just got into it with Canada over some Artic issues? Bill Katz has a post on this! Did Sec Clinton forget that Canada has 3,000 soldiers and Sweden/Finland/Iceland don't have enough guys to play a hockey game?

To be fair, there will differences with allies from time to time. Every president had them!

However, Pres BO does not seem to understand that Canada and the UK are the only two NATO countries actually fighting in Afghanistan. He does not understand how "free trade" is essential to create the jobs that will allow Mexicans to stay home rather than come north.

PM Harper and PM Brown have gone against public opinion to maintain their military presence in Afghanistan.

Wonder how they feel when Pres BO treats them like this?

The Dems are still the best at playing the race card!

What's wrong with the modern Dem party? Just take a look at Rev Al Sharpton.

For a couple of weeks, the Dems have been peddling this idea that tea party members yelled racial slurs and obscenities to black members of Congress.

We don't know for sure what happened in Washington two weeks ago. At the same, this blog has always been upfront criticizing those who use racial slurs or engage in any kind of bad language.

Did someone use the "n" word? I don't know. However, we do know that there is no audio or video of it.

Racism has turned into a cheap distraction. Playing the race card is now the first play on the Dems' playbook.

Disagree with Pres BO? You must be racist!

Don't think that the BO-Care numbers add up? You must be racist!

This is where we are and it won't get any better until the modern Dem party is driven out of power.

Here is Rev Sharpton with Bill O'Reilly:

Did anybody read this bill or consider its consequences?

Two weeks ago, Speaker Pelosi commented that we had to pass the bill in order to learn what was in it.

OK. We passed it by 4 votes despite a 40-plus majority.

OK. We ask again: Did anyone read it or consider how it would impact industry?

The NY Times has an interesting article: Coverage Now for Sick Children? Check Fine Print

How can this be?

On another point, Ron Williams, CEO of AETNA, is concerned that prices will go up because of new taxes and mandates.

The AP has a good one:

"Primary care physicians already are in short supply in parts of the country, and the landmark health overhaul that will bring them millions more newly insured patients in the next few years promises extra strain."

At the end of the day, this is not a health care bill but rather a way of expanding the role of the federal government.

Also, it will turn insurance companies into super utilities micro managed by politicians who want votes rather quality in health care.

We spoke about this on "Monday's thoughts":

The only bipartisanship is opposition to Obama!

We heard a lot about bipartisanship during candidate BO's campaign.

Before I go on, let's define bipartisanship. It loosely means that both parties work together or try to come up with laws that have support on the Dem and Rep corners.

Have we ever had it?

We did on the invasion of Iraq. Pres Bush got huge majorities to support his resolution to invade Iraq.

We had it after 9-11.

We did for major legislation like Medicare and The Civil Rights Act.

Back to the present.

A week ago, 37 Dems joined 100% of Republicans in voting against BO-Care.

Yesterday, another large groups of Dems voted to tell Pres BO that they disagreed with his Israel policies:

"Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will continue discussions with his senior ministers in the coming days, looking for a way out of the crisis with the US.

He received some badly needed support on Friday from 327 congressmen, who signed a letter expressing concern that “the highly publicized tensions” in US-Israeli ties will “not advance the interests” of either state. …

Meanwhile, in Washington, [327] congressmen – three-quarters of the House of Representatives – signed a bipartisan letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressing solid support for Israel and the expectation that differences between Jerusalem and Washington will be smoothed over quickly and in private." (EdM)

So here we are.

Pres BO has managed to promote bipartisanship, or opposition from Dems and Reps for his policies.

Wait until they try their version of immigration reform. I predict that 50 Dems in the House will oppose it, specially after the rise in border killings.

Benefits? It's about the cost and the process!

One week later and there is no BO-Care "bounce" in the polls!

The Wash Post has an interesting analysis: Washington Post poll finds split on health-care law remains deep

Why haven't the numbers changed?

It's "spending money that we don't have" and a process that made sausage making look attractive in contrast.

Prof Samuelson has more on the budget outlook:

"Should the United States someday suffer a budget crisis, it will be hard not to conclude that Obama and his allies sowed the seeds, because they ignored conspicuous warnings.

A further irony will not escape historians.

For two years, Obama and members of Congress have angrily blamed the shortsightedness and selfishness of bankers and rating agencies for causing the recent financial crisis.

The president and his supporters, historians will note, were equally shortsighted and self-centered -- though their quest was for political glory, not financial gain."

Fred Hiatt writes this:

"According to a Congressional Budget Office analysis published last week, Obama's budget plan has the government spending one-quarter of the national economy (25.2 percent of gross domestic product) 10 years from now, while collecting revenue that's less than one-fifth (19.6 percent).

Such a gap isn't sustainable for any country.

The United States would have to borrow so much money that in interest alone the government would be spending 4.1 percent of GDP -- compared with 1.4 percent this year."

That's it! Most of us are concerned about spending money like this. You can't spend money that you don't have, no matter how noble the objective may be!

The second reason is the "process", a corrupt performance that has left a bad taste in people's mouths.

How can anyone support the way that votes were bought and deals were made?

And last but not least! What exactly is in this bill? Does the language of the bill match the political promises?

For example, there appears to be a contradiction on pre-existing conditions:

"William G. Schiffbauer, a lawyer whose clients include employers and insurance companies, said:

“The fine print differs from the larger political message. If a company sells insurance, it will have to cover pre-existing conditions for children covered by the policy.

But it does not have to sell to somebody with a pre-existing condition.

And the insurer could increase premiums to cover the additional cost.”" (NYTimes)

Check out "Monday morning thoughts":

Why are all of those companies cutting back their benefits?

Over the last few days, we learned this:

"Yesterday AT&T announced that it will be forced to make a $1 billion writedown due solely to the health bill, in what has become a wave of such corporate losses....

On top of AT&T's $1 billion, the writedown wave so far includes Deere & Co., $150 million; Caterpillar, $100 million; AK Steel, $31 million; 3M, $90 million; and Valero Energy, up to $20 million.

Verizon has also warned its employees about its new higher health-care costs, and there will be many more in the coming days and weeks." (WSJ)

And there will be more!

Unfortunately, we also got this report about the economy:

"Most of last quarter's growth came from a large bump up in manufacturing - but not because consumer demand was especially strong.

In fact, consumer spending weakened at the end of the year, even more than the government previously estimated, contributing to the slightly lower reading on overall economic growth." (CBSNews)

And we also learned this via Glen Reynolds:

"A long period of stability for the US government bond market showed signs of cracking this week as a lack of investor appetite for new debt sent the benchmark 10-year yield to its highest level since last June.

For more than a year, analysts have been warning that record sized debt sales by the US Treasury were at odds with a 10-year yield sitting comfortably below 4 per cent.

This week, the yield on 10-year notes jumped from 3.65 per cent to a peak of 3.92 per cent on Thursday. . . .

For now, other key markets such as equities and the dollar have not been affected by the rise in yields, but that may change if the 10-year rises decisively above 4 per cent and big auctions next month are also poorly received.”

Companies cutting back benefits? unrealistic GDP growth in the 4th quarter?

And now investors are losing their appetite?

It may be time for the Obama administration to start thinking of a pro growth agenda rather than dumping mandates and taxes on the producers.

Was Bob Lind the biggest "one hit wonder" ever?

With all due respect to Bob Lind and his fans, he may be the biggest one-hit wonder of all time.

Who else can you think of? What other pop artist released such a wonderful song and then never had a follow up hit?

"Precious and few" by Climax may be a close second.

Back in 9th grade, I had an English Literature teacher named Miss Marcus. She was a pretty young man who had just started her teaching career. She told me that "Elusive Butterfly" was one of the best examples of pop poetry. She was right and I have always loved this song.

It is one of my favorite 45s! According to songfacts, the "narrator sees himself as a butterfly hunter. He is looking for romance, but he finds it as elusive as butterflies are to capture."

This is Bob Lind's "Elusive Butterfly" and those beautiful lyrics:

Wow! I had not heard this one in years!

For many of us "baby boomers", Ed Ames was "Mingo' or Daniel Boone's sidekick in the very popular TV series.

Who knew that this guy could sing like this? I didn't know! I learned later that Ames had performed professionally with his brothers over the years.

In the spring of 1967, Ed Ames shook up the charts with "My cup runneth over", one of the most remarkable performances by a male vocalist ever!

It was popular enough to compete with the heavyweights in the charts: The Beatles' "Penny Lane", The Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday" and The Turtles' "Happy together"!

It was a great song and this video was put together by a group promoting strong marriages:

"Sometimes in the mornin' when shadows are deep
I lie here beside you just watching you sleep
And sometimes I whisper what I'm thinking of
My cup runneth over with love

Sometimes in the evening when you do not see
I study the small things you do constantly
I memorize moments that I'm fondest of
My cup runneth over with love

In only a moment we both will be old
We won't even notice the world turning cold
And so, in these moments with sunlight above
My cup runneth over with love
My cup runneth over with love
With love"

"Let it be" released 40 years ago this month!

We remember "Let it be", released this month in 1970:

"The single reached number one in the U.S., Germany, Australia, Italy, Norway and Switzerland and number two in the UK.

It was the final single released by the Beatles while the band was officially considered an active group.

Both the Let It Be album and the single, "The Long and Winding Road", were released after McCartney's announced departure from and subsequent break-up of the group." (Wiki)

There were two versions of the song. The single was shorter. The album version was longer and it included a nice guitar solo.

I like the single version better, or the second one below.

Here is Paul, the Beatles and both versions of "Let it be":

Want a Euro welfare state? Get ready for high taxes!

It's Friday so it must be Charles Krauthammer:

"So you want to have "progressive" health care like the Euros? Get ready to pay taxes like they do!"

Today, we got some news about our debt:

"President Obama's fiscal 2011 budget will generate nearly $10 trillion in cumulative budget deficits over the next 10 years, $1.2 trillion more than the administration projected, and raise the federal debt to 90 percent of the nation's economic output by 2020, the Congressional Budget Office reported Thursday." (WashTimes)

We also learned today that the 2009 4th quarter growth was not a sign of a recovery after all:

"Most of last quarter’s growth came from a large bump up in manufacturing — but not because consumer demand was especially strong.

In fact, consumer spending weakened at the end of the year, even more than the government previously estimated, contributing to the slightly lower reading on overall economic growth." (via EdM)

Where are we a week after Pres BO and the Dems passed health care by 4 votes despite having a 40-seat majority?

Where are we after 37 Dems joined all Republicans in the only bi-partisan vote last weekend?

First, we have just added a unsustainable huge entitlement.

Second, our debt will be higher than anticipated.

Third, the 2009 4th quarter GDP growth was a fluke, an inventory fluke that is!

We don't do doom and gloom in this blog. However, I don't like where we are going!

I don't want to look like Europe! Besides, who is going to defend us if we turn into another Europe?

Fidel likes BO-Care but Americans don't!

What an endorsement, although not the endorsement that most Dems were looking for.

Speaking of BO-Care, Fidel likes it.....Americans do not!

Today, we read this on AP via The Weekly Standard:

"It perhaps was not the endorsement President Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress were looking for.

Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro on Thursday declared passage of American health care reform "a miracle" and a major victory for Obama's presidency, but couldn't help chide the United States for taking so long to enact what communist Cuba achieved decades ago."

We also learned this from Rasmussen:

"The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey, conducted on the first two nights after the president signed the bill, shows that 55% favor repealing the legislation. Forty-two percent (42%) oppose repeal.

And we also learned this:

"AT&T, the biggest U.S. phone company, joins Caterpillar Inc., AK Steel Holding Corp. and 3M Co. in recording non-cash expenses against earnings as a result of the law.

Health-care costs may shave as much as $14 billion from U.S. corporate profits, according to an estimate by benefits consulting firm Towers Watson. AT&T employed about 281,000 people as of the end of January."

Americans don't like it.

Fidel likes it! And US employers will see a drop in profits!

What's going on? Quite a bit specially all of the jobs killing provisions in BO-Care! The WSJ has a great editorial today: The corporate damage rolls in, and Democrats are shocked!

Let's talk with Tom Washington of the Denton County GOP

On Thursday's show, we spoke with Tom Washington of the Denton County GOP in Texas.

Tom is First Vice Chair for Political Affairs.

We spoke about Tom's involvement in politics, the big issues of 2010, the importance of electing a Republican House and the tea party movement. Here is the show:

Where was the outrage when they were calling Bush names?

Where was all of the outrage and the 24/7 programming about the angry left calling Pres Bush and VP Cheney names?

I am still waiting.

Last weekend, someone allegedly used the n-word against some black congressmen.

I say allegedly because no one has found a video or audio of the incident. See Kevin Jackson on this! Check out Dan Riehl! See this! Where was the outrage when Ken Gladney, a black conservative, was attacked and called the n-word?

Nevertheless, we deplore bad language or insults.

In this blog, we disagree with Pres BO but we don't insult him.

Today, we are witnessing selective outrage against the tea parties from the same people who used bad language against Pres Bush or VP Cheney.

Here is my suggestion: Let's disagree without calling people names or insulting them.

Let both sides chill out and debate ideas!

Let liberals, specially the ones who are so outraged at tea party placards, criticize those who marched with signs saying that Bush was a war criminal and raping the constitution.

Finally, we hear of "death threats" against Congressman Stupak, the pro-life Dem who changed from "no" to "yes" at the last minute.

We hear that some idiots are leaving him nasty messages.

Unfortunately, we did not hear that he was getting death threats the week before when he was thinking of casting a "no" vote.

Again, where was the outrage when the left was leaving him nasty messages or making threats?

P.S. I like this from John McCormack:

"Yes, threats are despicable and should be denounced by all.

But wouldn't it have been nice if CBS had informed readers that the "onslaught of threatening messages" he received last week were from those who supported the health care bill?

Isn't it odd that CBS didn't cover this story last week?"

REPEAL is the word!

We will wait and see how the public reacts to BO-Care.

It is too early to tell but I like what I'm hearing.

First, we have several states suing the federal government over the "mandate" to purchase insurance.

Second, we see that BO-Care was passed with a lot of sweetheart deals:

"We started to see the answer today, as Republicans proposed a series of amendments and made motions that were designed to expose the corruption at the heart of the Democratic Party's legislation.

Thus, John McCain offered an amendment that would strike all "sweetheart deals" from the law:

The amendment repeals the following "sweetheart deals" included in the health care law and the reconciliation bill:

1. Increase in Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments just for Tennessee (Section 1203, page 71 of H.R. 4872);

2. Increase in Medicaid DSH payments just for Hawaii (Section 10201, page 2132 of H.R. 3590);

3. The "Louisiana Purchase" to increase Medicaid funding just for Louisiana (Section 2006, page 428 of H.R. 3590);

4. Increased Medicare reimbursement just for frontier states (Section 10324, page 2237 of H.R. 3590);

5. Medicare coverage just for Libby, Montana residents exposed to environmental hazards (Section 10323, page 2222 of H.R. 3590);

6. A $100 million hospital funding provision intended to benefit Connecticut (Section 10502, page 2354 of H.R. 3590); and

7. Extension of Section 508 hospital reimbursement provisions just to Michigan and Connecticut (Section 10905, pages 2205-06 of H.R. 3590)" (via Power Line)

Third, it's still unclear how we are going to pay for this or how states will deal with the unfunded mandates.

Speaking of BO-Care's cost and projections, check this from Nick Gillespie via HotAir:

Let's talk about Gov Christie of New Jersey

On Tuesday, we were joined by Clifford of Another Black Conservative.

We spoke about Gov Christie and the financial situation in New Jersey.

In part 2, Mario Yngerto continued his commentaries on our federal deficit and debt.

Here is the show:

3 questions about the bill passed on Sunday night!

On Sunday night, 219 Dems passed the largest expansion of federal government ever.

In other words, 50.8% of the House passed a law that will impact 15% of our GDP.

And it did not have a single Republican vote. (It did have 30-plus Dems who voted "no"!

I still have 3 questions:

How are we going to pay for this? Don't tell me that we are going to increase taxes on the rich or punish insurance companies.

How is this bill going to impact the states? How can we expect states running deficits to handle more unfunded mandates?

How can the federal government force anyone to buy health insurance? How do they do that? We are already hearing that several states are challenging the federal government over these mandates.

One more question: How can honest supporter of health care reform be proud of the way that the Dem leadership did this?

Trust me. This is not over! BO-Care is going to be a very hard sell! Wait until the public learns what's inside these 2500 pages!

Here is "Monday morning thoughts":

The process stinks, specially that executive order....

In order to pass this bill by just 3 votes despite a 40-seat majority, Pres BO signed an executive order that left many of us dumbfounded.

Let's check with Jenniffer Rubin:

"In the list of deceptions and worm-like maneuvers, this one ranks up there.

No, you haven’t forgotten your basic civics.

An executive order cannot countermand a statute passed by Congress and signed by the president.

If ObamaCare says, “We will subsidize abortion,” no executive order can effectively say, “but not really.”

And if it were so, then every pro-choice member of Congress who is voting for this is deceiving the public by voting to “preserve reproductive choice.”

Certainly Rep. Bart Stupak and his cohorts know this.

He and his gang of seven or so are now simply looking for cover to sell out.

Just as Sen. Ben Nelson voted for a measure that plainly didn’t preserve the Hyde Amendment, so too we see the Stupak Gang willing to use the skimpiest of fig leaves to hide their willingness to abandon principle.

Let’s be clear: the pro-life movement will never fall for this, and Stupak and his ilk will be the subject of his pro-life constituents’ ire.

If he pushes this through, he will become the poster boy for the anti-incumbent, anti-ObamaCare campaign this November. And he will have earned that honor."

I think that Rep. Stupak was desperately looking for a way to vote for this bill.

Unfortunately, he looks worse.

He looks like a fool who fell for an executive order that has no authority. Or, a dishonest man who was just teasing us for the last two weeks. (I agree with Neil Patel!)

Again, this process stinks and let's hope that voters tell Dems what they think of all of these childish games.

P.S. Let's take a trip down memory lane and remember candidate BO's words:

Yes, we are consuming and funding the drug war on the border!

Mexico is back in the news.

Last week's killing of a pregnant woman and her husband in Juarez has put Mexico back on our front pages.

Frankly, why did it take this awful killing to put Mexico on our front page?

Here is the bitter truth: Our consumption is financing this war.

Here is bitter truth # 2: We could cut our consumption in half and it would still be a huge business.

The US GDP is approximately US$ 15 trillion, or about 14 bigger than Mexico's.

Therefore, anything that we consume, from avocado to beer to chips, is a huge business opportunity for Mexico.

And illegal drugs is no exception! (estimated at US$ 10 billion)

So how do we help Mexico?

We can continue our military assistance, although I agree with Prof Ackerman that this is not a magic bullet.

We can continue to monitor the border to curtail drug traffic into the US!

This is going to be long and difficult. Check out Mary O'Grady's op-ed in The WSJ: The War on Drugs Is Doomed

P.S. Check out "Monday morning thoughts":

Let's talk to Bill Katz about US-Israel relations!

On Sunday night, we spoke with Bill Katz of URGENT AGENDA about the state of US-Israel relations.

We discussed some of the recent stories about VP Biden's visit.

Chris Corbett, delegate to the Texas GOP Convention, joined us in the round table.

Here is the show:

Stop this bill and support life

We learned this morning that the US Catholic bishops sent this letter to the House:

"First, the bishops argue that health care reform “must protect life and conscience, not threaten them."

The Senate bill "extends abortion coverage, allows federal funds to pay for elective abortions (for example, through a new appropriation for services at Community Health Centers that bypasses the Hyde amendment), and denies adequate conscience protection to individuals and institutions."

"Simply put," the letter to Representatives continues, "health care reform ought to continue to apply both parts of the Hyde amendment, no more and no less."" (CNA)

We are a pro-life blog. We do not believe that government should pay for abortions.

We stand with the bishops: respect life!

P.S. Here is a little memory lane to remind you that Pres BO is the most pro-abortion candidate in US history:

Happy first Sunday of spring and a little "winter advisory"!

Say hello to spring and get ready for cold rain around here. We had a little sleet in the Dallas area on Saturday night and (yes) a Winter Advisory!

Once spring arrives, we have a lot of activities over at The Dallas Arboretum and Ft. Worth Botanic Gardens. They are wonderful places to visit before it gets too hot to enjoy the outdoors, i.e. after Memorial Day.

According to a recent poll:

".....64% of Americans say the arrival of the new season will put them in a better mood.....

Twenty-eight percent (28%) of all adults say spring is their favorite season of the year." (RR)

Spring is also about spring break, and the kids being out of school.

What's the best "feel good song" about spring?

Let me try "A beautiful morning" by the Rascals:


"It's a beautiful mornin',
I think I'll go outside a while,
And just smile.
Just take in some clean fresh air, boy!
Ain't no sense in stayin' inside
If the weather's fine and you got the time.
It's your chance to wake up

and plan another brand new day.
Either way,
It's a beautiful mornin',

Each bird keeps singin' his own song.
So long!
I've got to be on my way, now.
Ain't no fun just hangin' around,
I've got to cover ground,

you couldn't keep me down.
It just ain't no good if the sun shines
When you're still inside,
Shouldn't hide, still inside, shouldn't hide,
Ahhhh..Oh!
There will be children

with robins and flowers;
Sunshine caresses

each new waking hour.
Seems to me that the people keep seeing
More and more each day,

gotta say, lead the way,
It's okay,

wednesday, thursday, it's okay,
monday, wednesday, friday, weekday,

Ah, Ah, Ohhh..."

Almost there: Looking for 216 "no" votes!

By any historic measurement, Pres BO has failed miserably to persuade the majority party to pass his administration's signature bill.

What else can you say about a president who has a House majority of 40-plus seats?

How can it be so hard to get 216 votes or just a simple majority?

There are several reasons for this:

1) No one understands the 2,500 pages. Wonder how many members have even read them?

2) In fact, you can expect massive lawsuits if the Dems manage to pass something on Sunday and there is little support for it:

RR: 50% of voters nationwide say states should have the right to opt out of the entire plan

PEW: "Currently, 48% say they generally oppose the health care bills in Congress while 38% say they generally favor them. That is almost identical to the balance of opinion in February and January."

FOX: "55% Oppose Health Care Reform"

3) The process stinks. It smells bad because of political bribery, such as the infamous Nebraska deal, and budget gimmicks that understate taxes and over promise benefits.

4) Today's WSJ editorial is correct. BO-Care is a budget buster:

"Once the health-care markets are put through Mr. Obama's de facto nationalization, costs will further explode.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates ObamaCare will cost taxpayers $200 billion per year when fully implemented and grow annually at 8%, even under low-ball assumptions.

Soon the public will reach its taxing limit, and then something will have to give on the care side.

In short, medicine will be rationed by politics, no doubt with the same subtlety and wisdom as Congress's final madcap dash toward 216 votes."

5) In the past, "historic" bills meant bi-partisan support. It meant that both sides got together and came up with something that enjoyed broad support.

Bill Kristol wrote today:

"The Civil Rights Act of 1964 originally passed in the House by 290-130.

Cloture was achieved in the Senate by a vote of 71-29, and the Senate then passed its version of the legislation 73-27.

The House took up the Senate bill and passed it 289-126.

Substantial majorities of both parties supported the legislation at every stage.

This is what allows historic legislation to become historic -- it achieves broad support, is passed without parliamentary tricks, and becomes the broadly accepted law of the land."

Bipartisan? Going to war with Iraq passed the House, 296-133, and the Senate, 77-23.

Perhaps, there is a Dem in the House who understands what passing this bill will ultimately mean.

It will divide the country.

It will see lots of Americans rushing to the courts to challenge the mandates to purchase insurance.

It will see states challenge the federal government's authority to pass all of the unfunded mandates.

It will bankrupt the nation. We can't afford another entitlement!

Let's hope that there are 216 House members who vote "no"!

Let's talk with John Ackerman about Mexico

On Wednesday, we spoke with John M. Ackerman, professor at the Institute for Legal Research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, editor in chief of the Mexican Law Review and a columnist for La Jornada newspaper and Proceso magazine.

John recently wrote: Defeating Mexico's Drug Cartels (Los Angeles Times)

Here is the show:

Twilight zone: Pro-abortion Pelosi prays to St Joseph?

How weird is this stuff going on in Congress? You can not make this up!

Speaker Pelosi, one of the most pro-abortion Dems ever and annual participant in the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade, has reminded us that she prayed to St. Joseph for divine intervention in the health care debate.

Wonder what St Joseph told Pelosi about abortion, partial abortion and marching with homosexuals in San Francisco?

This is the video:

Pres BO and the interview with FOX News

On Wednesday, Pres BO went on FOX to influence all of those Dems who represent districts between LA and NY City. (Pres BO could use a little help: New Gallup Poll finds Americans suddenly souring more on Obama)

How did he do? He did not answer questions. He was on defense the whole time. He also did not look like a man who knows the details of what he wants Congress to vote on this weekend.

First, let's check Ann Althouse:

"And so Bret Baier never gets an answer to that question.

Barack Obama — who acted like he didn't want to waste his time on the deem and pass — wasted our time evading the questions about the deem and pass.

His aim is to put us to sleep.

We may be asking questions about the procedure now, but eventually we'll let it go and ultimately we will look at the substance what we got and decide whether we like it.

So quiet down and wait, the most powerful man in the world tells us. He knows what's good for us.

Don't look while he prepares the medicine that will make you very very happy. "

Second, let's check with The Corner:

"Bret Baier just concluded the single best interview of President Obama in a year, by any reporter.

He was resilient in the face of the president’s obvious attempts to run down the clock by stonewalling;

Bret continually hammered a series of questions the president did not want, and yet he was polite in explaining to the president the meaning of the questions just in case they were not what the president was familiar with (see the question about Connecticut for example).

It was a model of how not to be cowed by a strong and charismatic leader and a model of a truly independent anchor/reporter.

President Obama knew he didn’t have Bret at the very end when his last effort at victimhood was to sarcastically hang his head to the side in response to Bret’s saying he didn’t mean to interrupt, as if Bret were being insincere — which he wasn’t.

Anyone who watches the interview can see who was stalling, who was running the clock, who was refusing to answer the questions, and why polite interruption was exactly what was needed.

It was a model.

If any of the MSM can watch it and conclude anything it is that FNC deserves a) its ratings and b) kudos for being truly independent from the herd of faux independent minds, the likes of which Howell Raines seems to esteem.

Bret showed the rest of the press how to do it from now on."

Pres BO did not look comfortable and evaded questions.

At the same time, Bret Baer stuck with his questions and did not look into the president's eyes and scream "yes we can."

Baer did not faint or fall for the "hope and change" stuff.

P.S. Do you understand why FOX has the largest audience? The answer is simple. The public wants respectful but tough questions rather than a bunch of 13 year old girls (i.e. reporters) screaming at the sight of their favorite pop star.