Health reconciliation bill HR 4872 summarized

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 5:06 am, March 26, 2010

Politico summarized the health deform reconciliation bill here. The bill, HR 4872, is here. The main bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), HR 3590, is here.

Anti-worker Democrats continue to Californiate Colorado with tax increases, anti-business bills

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 4:35 am, March 26, 2010

Anti-worker Democrats continue to attack employers and potential new employers with tax increases that would take Colorado further down the road to being another California, which is driving employers away instead of attracting them. The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce is warning Governor Bill Ritter and the Democrats who control the General Assembly that six bills would hurt the Colorado economy. Miles Moffeit’s impact graphs are below the jump:

Politics will further pollute your medical care

by Brian Schwartz | 4:00 am, March 26, 2010

Writes Paul Hsieh, MD in the Denver Post:
… But no one should be surprised that under government-controlled health insurance, medical coverage decisions will be based on political considerations. Rather, the recent wrangling over abortion will be a mere preview of special-interest battles to come as health care becomes a permanent political [...]

Why health care bill won’t reduce the deficit

by Brian Schwartz | 1:30 am, March 26, 2010

From Reason.tv:
One of the main selling points of health care reform was that it would cut the federal deficit by a supposed $143 billion over the next decade and a trillion-plus dollars in the one after that.

For references on the points made in the video, see the Reason.tv page on why the health [...]

An Animated Tribute Video F.A. Hayek

by Chuck Moe | 10:56 pm, March 25, 2010

Here’s a nice tribute video made by Marc Neilson from My Daily Roast.
Friedrich Hayek remains one of the most influential economists and philosophers of our time. His opinions on individual liberty, free markets, and centralized planning have not only influenced millions during his lifetime, but have helped to inspire a new, rising generation of leaders.
F.A. Hayek is more relevant now than…

Ken Buck still hasn’t disowned Taxpayers for Liberty’s misleading attack on Jane Norton

by Donald E. L. Johnson | 9:33 pm, March 25, 2010

Republican Ken Buck is letting the misleading attack on his opponent for his party’s nomination to the U.S. Senate, Jane Norton, stand. It’s been almost two weeks since Ben DeGrow and I called on Buck to distance himself from the secretive TFL and its dirty politics, but as far as I can tell from searching the web, he hasn’t said a word. His web site focuses on attacking appointed Democrat Senator Michael Bennet, not his GOP opponents. That’s a good sign. I’m all for negative advertising and campaigning as long as it’s honest. I don’t happen to think TFL’s attacks on Norton are honest. Interesting that Buck’s supporters have spent more time attacking me on various web sites than on attacking Norton. Even they seem to like the TFL attacks on Norton. That says something about the desperation of Bucks’ supporters, I guess.

Summit for Effective Activism April 30/May 1

by redrocks | 5:08 pm, March 25, 2010

Liberty on the Rocks (Red Rocks) will be a co-sponsor of a Post Party Summit being hosted by American Majority, The John Hancock Committee for the States, RedState.com, and Smart Girl Politics.

Save the dates of April 30th (eve) and May 1st.

Details can be found at http://summit.americanmajority.org.

This will be a great workshop, focusing on taking action!  [...]

Why government health care is wrong

by Al Maurer | 12:42 pm, March 25, 2010

Let me illustrate–as the liberals love to do–with an example from my own life.  I’ll follow the examples with the reasoning.
I was born with crooked teeth: crowded and one eye tooth stopped descending too soon.  Anybody’s fault? No.  Injustice? No. No “wrong” to be “righted;” just the luck of the draw. Life isn’t fair (see [...]

Fidel Castro Applauds Passage of Obama’s Health Care Overhaul

by Mr. Bob | 11:37 am, March 25, 2010

#tcot #redco #obamacare #marxism
That Pretty Much Says it all.

Florida Keeps Star Role among States in Improving Student Reading Scores

by Eddie | 10:59 am, March 25, 2010

Yesterday brought news from the U.S. Department of Education of the new state-by-state NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) scores in 4th and 8th grade reading. These tests are the gold standard for comparing student performance between states and over time.
The big headlines note that in the short term (since 2007) the nation’s reading scores [...]

Florida Keeps Star Role among States in Improving Student Reading Scores

by Eddie | 10:59 am, March 25, 2010

Yesterday brought news from the U.S. Department of Education of the new state-by-state NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) scores in 4th and 8th grade reading. These tests are the gold standard for comparing student performance between states and over time.
The big headlines note that in the short term (since 2007) the nation’s reading scores [...]

Gary Wolfram: Healthcare, Hayek and Freedom

by Rossputin | 10:13 am, March 25, 2010

For your dose of intellectual ammunition for the day, all you really need is this article by Hillsdale College Professor Gary Wolfram:

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=36182

For a good second dose, read this discussion of the dangerous concept of a “living constitution” by George Neumayr at the American Spectator:

http://spectator.org/archives/2010/03/25/pulling-the-plug-on-the-living

Tea Party Express III – Just Vote Them Out – Colorado Stops March 31

by Lu Busse | 9:09 am, March 25, 2010

Tea Party Express III Tour Welcoming Rally Just Vote Them Out DATE: Wednesday, March 31, 2010 TIME: 5:00-7:00 pm West Steps of the Capitol Denver, Colorado Tour Website Program with speakers and musical performances scheduled for ~2 hours and last time (11/2/2009) they started 30 minutes late so you are welcome to be there by 5 pm or come [...]

April Fools! Time for the “Won’t Get Fooled Again” Fundraiser for Clear The Bench Colorado

by CTBC Director | 7:11 am, March 25, 2010

Celebrating the one-year anniversary of the notorious “April Fool’s” brief to the Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee that opened the door to a flood of new taxes (er, “eliminating tax exemptions“) without the constitutionally-required prior approval by a vote of the people.
Yes, the joke was on you – and the punchline was repeated twelve times at the [...]

Renewable Energy Madness

by Jon Caldara | 6:04 am, March 25, 2010

The recently passed House Bill 1001 mandates that 30 percent of Colorado’s energy be generated from renewable sources by 2020. But can mandates and subsidies really get us to the “New Energy Economy”? On this week’s Independent Thinking, Sate Senators Kevin Lundberg (R-Berthoud) and Mike Johnston (D-Denver) join me for a lively discussion [...]

ObamaCare horrorshow: So much for hope and change

by Rossputin | 5:06 am, March 25, 2010

Of course, nobody but the radical left and union leaders (sorry if that’s redundant) still believe any of Barack Obama’s campaign promises of “hope and change”.  Well, at least not “hope”.

But if there’s one disgustingly common behavior among politicians which one would have “hoped” that a man of the people like Barack “Community Organizer” Obama to have avoided, it would have been enacting legislation that impacts every American except the president, vice-president, and administration and certain congressional staff from having to participate in whatever it is that ObamaCare ends up forcing on America.

Connie Hair reports more on the story HERE.

And, in another bit of anything-but-change, apparently Obama didn’t read the bill either.  He’s been promising for weeks that children would no longer be able to be excluded from health insurance coverage because of pre-existing conditions.  The AP, which has had moments of doing actual journalism in the past year, is now reporting that it isn’t so:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Gap-in-health-care-laws-apf-4272209396.html?x=0&.v=1

This will be extremely interesting politically:  The Administration will scramble to amend the legislation to make it match up to their promises.  The Republicans will want to stop him, but they will be hard-pressed to vote against possibly the most popular aspect of the legislation.  Perhaps they will play hard-ball and say they won’t agree, no matter how bad it looks, unless they get something in return.

And while that would appear as a victory in a way, should they get it done, it’s actually not a great outcome; making a horrific bill slightly better still leaves a horrific bill but gives it a hint of bipartisan support that it should never have.

So, here’s the best answer I can think of:  Insist on the Democrats’ following the bogus “pay-go” rules they recently implemented, forcing them to cut spending on something else or raise taxes even more if they want to pass the increased entitlement.  Just keep reminding people how much this travesty costs.

If Republicans play this wrong, and it’s a very tricky spot they’ll be in, they will just be handing Obama another victory.  Indeed, Republicans have been so politically stupid in recent years that it’s entirely possible Obama planned this whole thing…

A little icing on Stupak’s cake?

by Rossputin | 4:03 am, March 25, 2010

We all knew that Bart Stupak wanted to cave in and was just looking for political cover.  But apparently the administration was taking no chances, offering him the standard sort of help-you-get-reelected indirect bribe that is disgustingly commonplace among both political parties when they’re given the opportunity:

See “Obama Administration Awarded Hundreds of Thousands in Airport Grants to Stupak’s District Two Days Before Vote“

One caveat: The story comes from the National Republican Congressional Committee and I have not verified it…

Who’s exempt from new insurance mandates?

by Brian Schwartz | 3:00 am, March 25, 2010

The New York Post reports:
Good old Joe Biden, introducing Barack Obama at the health-care bill-signing lollapalooza in Washington yesterday, leaned over and whispered into the presidential ear (and a nearby open mike): “This is a big f—ing deal.”
Sure was — though not personally to Veep Potty-Mouth, nor to the president.
They’re exempt, [...]

Who’s exempt from new insurance mandates?

by Brian Schwartz | 3:00 am, March 25, 2010

The New York Post reports:
Good old Joe Biden, introducing Barack Obama at the health-care bill-signing lollapalooza in Washington yesterday, leaned over and whispered into the presidential ear (and a nearby open mike): “This is a big f—ing deal.”
Sure was — though not personally to Veep Potty-Mouth, nor to the president.
They’re exempt, [...]

How Many Employers Will Stop Providing Health Insurance?

by Brian Schwartz | 1:30 am, March 25, 2010

Economist Bryan Caplan asks: How Many Employers Will Stop Providing Health Insurance?
If preliminary summaries of Obamacare are true, it looks like individual health insurance will soon be a better deal than employer-provided health insurance.  In the individual market, you can now wait until you’re really sick to buy insurance: “Heads I [...]

Colorado Legislators propose another new tax increase – openly, this time

by CTBC Director | 11:45 pm, March 24, 2010

For most of the past year, Clear The Bench Colorado has been predicting that the Colorado legislature would not be proposing any new tax increases in this year’s legislative session - at least, not in name.  Good news, right?  Of course, the bad news punchline is that, thanks to the Colorado Supreme Court’s Mullarkey Majority rulings [...]

Of Recent Lang Sias Endorsements, John McCain, and Poor Voting Histories

by Ben DeGrow | 9:12 pm, March 24, 2010

Brace yourselves for my “usual thousand words”….
Today Lynn Bartels reports that former Congressman Tom Tancredo has thrown his support behind Lang Sias in Colorado’s 7th CD Republican primary. Quoting from the press release:

In his remarks, Tancredo said of Sias, “Lang will be a great conservative voice in Washington. We talked at length about every issue [...]

Republicans finding their mojo?

by Al Maurer | 6:27 pm, March 24, 2010

This is certainly a very well-done video, by the RepGovs:

Marxists and the President

by Mr. Bob | 9:56 am, March 24, 2010

#marxism #che #tcot #glennbeck #teaparty
Still think Glenn Beck is crazy? I heard Victor Davis Hanson this week say that he used to laugh at Glenn Beck and his chalkboard, now he sits real close to the TV so he can read it and pay attention.

iVoices: Denver Innovation and Charter Schools Look at Hopeful Partnership

by Eddie | 8:34 am, March 24, 2010

Back before Christmastime, I told you about the promising work going on in the once-troubled Cole Arts and Science Academy in Denver, thanks to its newfound liberating status as an Innovation School.
Well … freedom and autonomy lend themselves not only to innovation but also toward groundbreaking partnerships not nearly as likely to take place in [...]

Getting Smart on Crime – Unanimously

by Jon Caldara | 6:12 am, March 24, 2010

The Denver Daily News reported yesterday that House Bill 1352 passed unanimously. This bill addresses Colorado’s exploding prison population by allowing for treatment for some drug offenders, rather than the currently required jail terms. Justice Policy Center Director Mike Krause has been working on this issue for many years, and believes that this bill [...]

Take the “Repeal It” health care pledge

by Brian Schwartz | 6:00 am, March 24, 2010

From Club for Growth:
I hereby pledge that if any federal health care takeover is passed in 2010, I will support – with my time, money, and vote – only candidates who pledge to support its repeal and replacement with real reforms that lower health care costs without growing government.
Document that you’ve taken [...]

The next step in the politics of fighting ObamaCare

by Rossputin | 4:48 am, March 24, 2010

Now that ObamaCare has passed, Republicans need to reassess their next steps.  While an utter perversion of a process was in place, it was easy to demonize it.  Now that the process is over, rehashing it is not the best tactic.  Nor is repeatedly emphasizing how unpopular the bill was.

The Democrats’ strategery is to talk about the two or three items in the bill which the public will like, such as removing pre-existing conditions exclusions for kids and requiring insurance companies to allow children to stay on their parents’ plans until the ripe old age of 26 (or is it 27…I don’t remember, not that it really matters.)

The Republicans need to focus now on the hundreds of other items in the bill which will damage the health care system as well as focusing on how the plan (1) guts Medicare, (2) damages Social Security, (3) massively adds to the deficit regardless of the lies the CBO was forced to accept.

The GOP should talk about repeal, but not only about repeal.

Also, the GOP should not set expectations of anything too high.  If Republicans make it sound like a certainty that the party will take back control of the House or Senate, they (1) sound arrogant, and (2) reduce the need to which activists will feel like they have to work hard.

Again, the emphasis needs to be on how this will damage the relationship between patient and doctor, lead inevitably toward patients not being able to get the treatments they want, and raise the cost of health insurance for more than a hundred million people.  That last point is critical because the vast majority of Americans were already satisfied (even if not overjoyed) with their existing coverage.  Raising the costs for a hundred million people or more in order to cover 30 million people is a hard sell and the Republicans need to keep pounding that point home.

For the GOP to keep these as an enormous issue, the discussion needs to be about tangible negative impacts, not about process or popularity.  It’s all about the wallet…

David Hogberg: 20 Ways ObamaCare Will Take Away Our Freedoms

by Rossputin | 4:05 am, March 24, 2010

Everyone needs to read this and pass it around:

20 Ways ObamaCare Will Take Away Our Freedoms

States sue to block mandatory insurance

by Brian Schwartz | 1:01 am, March 24, 2010

The Denver Post reports:
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said Monday that he was joining with attorneys general from at least 11 states who are mounting a legal challenge to the health care overhaul [sic] that Congress passed Sunday. …
One of the powers delegated to the federal government in the Constitution is the [...]

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