Townhall Daily for Sept. 2

 

Below is links to top political writers on Townhall.com Daily.

 

Today's Opinion and News: Wednesday September 2, 2009

• 
  David Harsanyi: George Will Is Right
  This week, prominent conservative pundit George Will wrote a column advocating the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. His piece, not surprisingly, was met with instantaneous anger, disdain and derision from most of the right.
• 
  Michelle Malkin: Obama's Classroom Campaign: No Junior Lobbyist Left Behind
  On Sept. 8, young students across the country will be watching television. Yes, they'll be parked in front of boob tubes and computer screens watching President Obama's address on education.
• 
  Brent Bozell: Never-Ending Katrina Bias
  Four years have elapsed since one of the most amazing cases of Republican-bashing media bias in the television era began.
• 
  

Two Democrats Stuck on an Escalator

 

This is typical of Democrats’ “Victim” identity.   A Conservative would simply walk off and help someone who REALLY needs help.

KennedyCare: funds for ACORN, Trial Lawyers

 

Last week, we told you how Obama’s tanking approval ratings were hanging like an anvil tied around the ObamaCare legislation, dooming it to a near-certain failure. So, the liberals were quick to adapt, and called it KennedyCare with the hopes of capitalizing on all of the good will and around-the-clock media coverage that engulfed the airwaves for the past few days.

So, why are congressional liberals so hell-bent on passing a wildly unpopular, government-run health care program? Because to them, it’s not even about health care anymore!

House Minority Leader John Boehner has uncovered explosive new revelations. You won’t believe what’s contained within the bill – it’s LOADED with special interest projects!

So, the liberals are desperate to pass their bill so as to bring home more power to the unions, trial lawyers and THIS:

Page 95; Section 205 – The bill directs the “Health Choices Commissioner” to conduct outreach activities, including through the use of outside organizations such as ACORN and others, to reach out and enroll exchange-eligible individuals and employers.

ACORN?! Unreal. Had enough?

How about this little nugget?

Page 53; Section 154 – The bill ensures that the new federal health care program will set a floor (but not a ceiling) for health care negotiations for unionized employers.  The legislation cannot be construed to excuse them from good-faith bargaining over health care benefits.  Furthermore, it will not permit unionized employers to unilaterally drop health coverage of its employees in favor of shunting them into the government-run plan or simply paying the penalty associated with not offering health care benefits to workers. 

Can you believe it?!

With this bill, the liberals are intent on giving everyone power EXCEPT the taxpayers!

While you and I work each day, diligently paying the taxes that will foot this bill, the liberals in Congress have turned this bill into a playground for labor unions!

There’s more – this time it’s a nice kickback for trial lawyers:

Pages 533-551; Section 1412 – The bill requires the Comptroller General of the U.S. to conduct a study examining: “(A) the extent to which corporations that own or operate large numbers of nursing facilities … are undercapitalizing such facilities; (B) the effects of such undercapitalization on quality of care, including staffing and food costs, at such facilities; (C) options to address such undercapitalization, such as requirements relating to surety bonds, liability insurance, or minimum capitalization.”  This provision primarily benefits trial lawyers who sue nursing homes.

Have you had enough yet?

This is what the liberals envision as KennedyCare. That’s some legacy to leave him, huh?

No matter how you feel about Sen. Kennedy, naming a pork-laden, special interest bill in his name is just plain wrong.

Yet, congressional liberals will stop at nothing until they can pay back their valued constituencies, no matter what the price – paid by YOU, the taxpayer.

Enough is enough. It’s time to put an end to Obama/Kennedy/GovernmentCare for GOOD.

 

Thanks for your support of AFF Political Action

Tim Albrecht
AFF Political Action

Unchecked Power to “Health Care Czar”

 

DETAILED ANALYSIS: DEMOCRATS’ GOV-ERNMENT TAKEOVER GIVES UNCHECKED POWER TO NEW “HEALTH CARE CZAR”

September 1, 2009 | House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) | Permalink

One of the most potentially frightening – and little understood – concerns about House Democrats’ government takeover of health care is the unprecedented power given to a new federal bureaucrat, the “Health Choices Commissioner.”  As the name implies, rather than giving more choices to the American people, the Democrats’ bill lets a government employee make choices that should be made by families and doctors.  House Republican Leader John Boehner made the following comment:

“The American people want two things from health care reform:  lower costs and more choices.  Yet Democrats have done exactly the opposite, coming up with a bill that actually raises costs – increasing the deficit by $240 billion – and letting a new federal bureaucrat make health care decisions that should be left to patients and their doctors.  President Obama should make it clear he doesn’t support this ill-conceived legislation, and work with Republicans to craft a bipartisan bill that accomplishes the American peoples’ goals.” 

The House Democrats’ bill gives unchecked power to a new “Health Choices Com-missioner” who will be so powerful that his or her title is referenced 182 times in the House Democrats bill.  This bureaucrat would have the power to:

• Pages 84-87; Section 203 - Decide which treatments patients could receive and at what cost.

• Page 42; Section 142(a)(1) - Decide which private plans would be allowed to participate in the Exchange.

• Page 40; Section 134 - Regulate all insurance plans, both in and out of the Exchange.

• Page 80; Section 202(e) - Determine which employers would be allowed to participate in the Exchange.

• Page 82; Section 202(f) - Determine how many and which Americans will be allowed to choose health coverage through the Exchange.

• Page 90; Section 204(b) - Decide which physicians and hospitals participate in the government-run plan and in private plan provider networks.

• Page 111-115; Section 208 – Deter-mine which states are allowed to operate their own Exchange and to terminate a previously-approved State Exchange at any time.

• Page 87; Section 203(d) - Override state laws regarding covered health benefits.

• Page 42; Section 142(a)(2) – Deter-mine how trillions of taxpayer and employer dollars would be spent within the Exchange.

• Page 42; Section 142(a)(3) – Deter-mine who qualifies for premium assistance.

• Page 97-99; Section 205 – Auto-matically enroll Americans into the Exchange if they don’t have coverage, including potentially forcing these individuals into the government-run plan.

Democrats should stop ignoring the will of the American people.  They need to scrap this government takeover and work on common sense reforms to lower health care costs and increase access.  Let’s hope after a long, hot summer back in their Congressional Districts, Democrats will be willing to do just that.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH)
H-204, THE CAPITOL
(202) 225-4000 | GOPLEADER.GOV

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Obama’s Marxist-Leninist Connections

British Petroleum Deserves To Be Boycotted

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Recent developments:

Revealed: Libya paid for medical advice that helped Lockerbie bomber's release.

Libya paid for “evidence” that released Lockerbie Bomber!  OUTRAGEOUS!

British minister Jack Straw admits Lockerbie bomber's release was linked to oil.

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British Petroleum (BP) needed a deal with Libya to recover oil and gas. 

Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gadaffi wanted to get his terrorist friend back home.

Scottish officials announced that they would release Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, for compassionate reasons.  Al-Megrahi reportedly has terminal cancer.   OUTRAGEOUS!

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Boycott British Petroleum

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The so-called Lockerbie Bomber killed more than 200 innocent people.  He did not deserve compassionate release.   But the Bloody British needed oil and British Petroleum needed a deal.

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Boycott British Petroleum

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Al-Megrahi returned home.  He was welcomed home like a hero.  He served just 11 days of a life-time sentence for killing each victim!

British Petroleum got their deal.   BP’s gasoline will flood into American service stations.  Consumers will buy it, and everybody will be happy.  Right?  WRONG! Oil and blood do not mix!

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Boycott British Petroleum

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Less than a week after the release, the Times of London released it’s bombshell on Sunday. 

“The British government decided it was ‘in the overwhelming interests of the United Kingdom’ to make Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, eligible for return to Libya, leaked ministerial letters reveal.”

In their best interest?   That is an outrage!

“Gordon Brown’s government made the de-cision after discussions between Libya and BP over a multi-million-pound oil ex-ploration deal had hit difficulties. These were resolved soon afterwards.

“The letters were sent two years ago by Jack Straw, the justice secretary, to Kenny MacAskill, his counterpart in Scotland, who has been widely criticised for taking the formal decision to permit Megrahi’s release,” the Times reported

Then the Times concluded:

“The correspondence makes it plain that the key decision to include Megrahi in a deal with Libya to allow prisoners to return home was, in fact, taken in London for British national interests.”

No one included the families of the 200 victims in the negotiations.

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Boycott British Petroleum

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Then the British news service Reuters jumped in.  LINK

This is a crisis for Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government.  Fox News analyst called it Brown’s Watergate. 

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Did the Obama Regime Know About the Deal?

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Did the British consult with the Obama Regime about the deal?   The British and Obama’s press secretary Robert Gibbs  denied they talked about it.  However, some people don’t believe it.  Check this YouTube replay of the Morning Joe news program.

No one is believing that Obama didn’t know that the British would release the Lockerbie bomber.

No one believes that the British released the Lockerbie Bomber for compassionate reasons either!

Fox Web Site Blows Away Competition

The Fox News Channel’s web site is blowing away all competitors. 

I ran a comparison using the tools in Complete.com.

Fox News Channel has been leading all other media outlets in providing fair and balanced information about the Tea Party Movement, town hall rancor by angry voters, and the lies of the Obama-care spin machine.

Fox News’ web site reached almost 11 million unique visitors per month in June and July.  These are the latest statistics for the web sites.  August statistics are not available.

NBC.com (green line on the chart) took a big dip in June and continued to plummet in July.   Meanwhile, CBS continues to lag.   MSNBC.com is a distant fourth.

The New York Times web site hardly made the scale.   All of the media giants except for Fox News is having trouble staying ahead of Drudgereport.com (not on this scale) which is an independent website with no associated TV channel.