Will they ever learn?

As Washington shudders after Tuesday's stunning turn of events in the People's Republic of Mass. it still remains unclear as to whether the leadership gets it. We are not a far left or a far right country. Most folks are in the middle. This should be a simple concept but it's not.

The Dem's have leaders on the far left. The President while running on a populist agenda is exactly what his detractors have said...far left leaning (the opposite of the last one whod didn't get it either). Speaker Pelosi represents one of the most liberal districts in the nation. Perhaps now they will attempt to govern for all.

Newt Gingrich:

“Pelosi is faced with an enormous challenge because her natural style is to run a very left-wing operation and to dominate her caucus,” Gingrich said. “She is facing the reality that the model she’s adopted is probably not sustainable when you have a country that’s in open rebellion against you.”


It's time to pass healthcare reform that matters.
1) No more denying coverage to the sick
2) Make insurance portable
3) Let working families add their young adult kids.
4) Tort REFORM! Less law suits --> lover costs.

This forces the Republicans to vote or face the public. Lots of winners. Life is good.

It just makes too much sense.

Perhaps There is Some Confusion

I may be a bit confused, but if Fox is not a real news network because of their bias (which it has) then what is MSNBC? That weekly line-up sure looks a little on the left side of things last I checked. Memo to the White House...just becuase they are on your side doesn't make it any better.

Speaker Pelosi Is Confused

If drowning out the opposition's voice is "un-American" as Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer say, doesn't that go in direct contradiction to how they have dictated the health care legislation that is at the center of the debate. The House has worked to exclude any and all differing opinions. The bill has not bi-partisan support because that support should be more than a rubber stamp of approval. I do think there needs to be changes, but not in secret and not as designed by a few on the far left fringe of our country. The Speaker is a far off base as former VP Dick Cheney. Most of the country lives in the center, not on the fringes.

As for the President's Town Hall meeting today, it took this long before he addresses the concerns of those who have insurance? The group that is in the over whelming majority in this country? I fear he has over valued his "mandate". This is the same kind of tactic used by the Clinton administration and it just doesn't play with most Americans.

Let's hope that there is a real debate that includes the voices and opinions of all, not just those on MSNBC.

Is Anyone Surprised

WASHINGTON – Two of President Barack Obama's economic heavyweights said middle-class taxes might have to go up to pare budget deficits or to pay for the proposed overhaul of the nation's health care system.

Money for Your Clunker???

It seems to me that if the gov't is trying to improve the environment through this handout then perhaps it should be limited to vehicles that get over, I don't know, maybe 30 mpg. Even better how about 35 or 40. Encouraging people to buy new vehicles that are slightly better on gas than their old ones is a joke. Call it what it is, more cash for the car dealers through increased sales. Too many of the new pieces of the so-called stimulus plans go to small segment of our society. This is just another form of wealth re-distribution. Come to think of it, so are the new health care bills under consideration.

Call your Congressman and Senators and tell them to stop spending your tax dollars in this manner. If they don't get then it's time to vote 'em out.

How Is This a Story???

I'll Sleep Better Now

See, beer can solve all of the world's problems...

Obama's Education Plan

It's amazing to me how politicians don't get it. You can't tie teacher pay to test scores. It's just a bad idea. Bush didn't understand and neither does Obama.

If teacher pay is tied to student test scores several things will happen as a result.

1) The best teachers will avoid the worst schools.

2) Teachers and districts will teach to the test. Since when should we strive for mediocrity?

3) Increased "competition" between teachers will result in less collegial exchanges. The free exchange of information, ideas and best practices is essential to creating a climate of academic optimism where the students can not only learn but excel.

I love competition and never back down from a challenge, but this is one idea that everyone should drop.

Test Scores do not measure how much a student has learned, they just measure the minimum.

Health Insurance - My Take

I've been stuck in the house all week with an attack of gout (I am an OldRockr) and have been watching endless news channels cover this pending legislation. I watched the President's press conference and I remain annoyed by the entire process.

Back in 1994 Bill Clinton and the rest of the left leaning democrats in congress tried to ram their version of health insurance reform down the throats of Americans everywhere. They reached too far, too fast and were ultimately removed from power.

Over the 8 years of the Bush administration, little was done to ease the burden of increasing premiums and loss of coverage suffered by millions of working Americans. In my opinion the Republicans did no better, they only were ineffective in different ways. Clearly congress, under the control of the right or left, is incapable of fixing this major problem. And make no mistake this debate is driven by the right and the left, not the center.

So now it is 2009 and Nancy Pelosi now thinks that she knows what is best for the rest of us. Speaker Pelosi is perhaps the most partisan and least qualified speaker in decades. The current plan that the House is debating is a disaster in waiting. This plan forces those with insurance they are happy with the have to settle for less which is plain wrong. Why is it wrong? It is wrong because it won't fix the problem.

We are talking about working Americans in need of health insurance. Insurance that is affordable. We are not talking about those who are covered by Medicaid/Medicare. What they Congress needs to do is slow down and take this on in increments. The first thing they need to do is make insurance portable and eliminate pre-existing conditions being a reason to deny coverage. This takes many of the uninsured into account.

President Obama campaigned on each American having access, in his words, to the same coverage as Congress at a fair cost. Well I don't know about you, but I think that what we are getting forced to accept is not that, not even close. President Obama has in fact not used this phrasing in any recent speeches on the topic of health care. I have to admit to feeling a little buyers remorse from the last election.

Slow down. Work this out. Stop attempting to re-distribute the wealth in America and get this right. We can cover most of those who don't have insurance by first making sure that insurance is portable and then making denying coverage for pre-existing conditions a thing of the past. Congress and the President can then move forward to try and include more folks in the future. You can't do this all at once.

Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, the bank bailout, the automaker bailout, and on and on...government meddling is not the answer, it is part of the problem.