Obama, in his speech to Congress last night, September 9, 2009, attempted to portray the many concerns about his health care plan as lies and misrepresentations. He spoke of bogus claims by talk radio hosts and by politicians that the health care plan would set up panels of bureucrats to kill off senior citizens. At one point in the speech, SC representative Joe Wilson yelled out and called Obama a liar. Wilson apologized.
“While I disagree with the president’s statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable,” ” I extend sincere apologies to the president for this lack of civility.”
Representative Wilson, there is no need to apologize. Obama is and always has been a liar. We applaud you for standing up. Stick to your principles. Joe Wilson was pressured to apologize by Republicans and Democrats. Let’s inform these jackasses that they work for us and not an illegal president.
Watch this Youtube video.
“An audience member yells “liar” at Obama during his speech to Congress.
Obama also took a personal swipe at Sarah Palin during his speech.”
The Charlotte Observer, a liberal newspaper that gave Obama a free ride during the election, has finally produced a snippet of journalism, and though not comprehensive, is a start:
“Fact Check”
From AP
Obama: “I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits either now or in the future. Period.”
THE FACTS: “House Democrats offered abill that the Congressional Budget Office said would add $ 220 billion to the deficit over 10 years.”
(Citizen Wells: This is a huge Obama lie!!!)
Obama: “Nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or doctor you have.”
THE FACTS: “Employers sponsor coverage for most families, and they’d be free to change their health plans in ways that workers may not like, or drop insurance altogether.”
(Citizen Wells: Another Orwellian lie by Obama. Employers will begin dropping health plans and let employees sign up for government plans, thus achieving Obama’s goal of government run health care.)
Obama: “Don’t pay attention to these scary stories about how your benefits will be cut … That will never happen on my watch. I will protect Medicare.”
THE FACTS: “Obama and congressional Democrats want to pay for their health care plans in part by reducing medicare payments to providers by more than $ 500 billion over 10 years.”
(Citizen Wells: Straight out of Nazi Germany and “1984” by George Orwell. Tell a big lie and repeat it often.)
With the liberal Charlotte Observer reporting this much, you can bet that lies about the Obama Health care plan are much worse than this.
Thanks to commenter Army D.A.V. for the video info.
I was fortunate to be at the Vermont State Capitol in Montpelier, VT, today, Tuesday, September 8, 2009, when State Auditor, Tom Salmon announced that he was switching from the Democrat to Republican party. The Citizen Wells blog has posted a longer video coverage of the event and here is an article from Vermontbiz.com that provides more background information on Tom Salmon.
“Vermont Auditor Tom Salmon switches to Republican Party”
“Vermont Auditor of Accounts Tom Salmon, who was rebuffed by the Democratic leadership last spring, announced today that he was switching parties and will join the Republican Party. Salmon won the position of state auditor as a Democrat in 2006 when he beat one-term incumbent Republican Randy Brock. That race saw Brock apparently win re-election in a very tight race, before a re-count gave the race to Salmon by 102 votes. Salmon cited the lack of fiscal responsibility among legislative leaders during the debate over the state budget. Salmon had offered to mediate discussions between Republican Governor James Douglas and the Democratically controlled Legislature, but was turned down by Speaker of the House Shap Smith. He said the Republicans are better able to manage the fiscal matters of the state, as represented by Governor Douglas.
Salmon further said he will likely run for re-election for Auditor, but there is “a 10 percent chance,” he will run for governor or lieutenant governor instead. Several Republicans are deferring their decisions on 2010 until Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie decides what, if any, position he will run for. Dubie has indicated he is considering a run for governor. Douglas has already stated he will not seek re-election and will not run for any office in 2010. Salmon made his announcement at the State House shortly after 11 am on Tuesday September 8, 2009.
Salmon, 46, has served in Iraq for long tours of duty in the US Navy Reserve while also holding the post of auditor. Thomas M Salmon is the son of the former Vermont Governor Thomas P Salmon, who served from 1973-1977 as a Democrat. The elder Salmon served as a surrogate during his son’s re-election campaign because serving military cannot also campaign for office. Salmon met little resistance in being re-elected last year.
“Vermont Business Magazine conducted a Q&A with Tom Salmon December 2007 with Robert Smith. In that interview he explained why he ran for auditor:
“I ran for state auditor, because as a Rockingham Selectman, I had moved from a simmer to a boil about how fiscal management was occurring in the state. I really didn’t think that anyone was taking responsibility for the fiscal management of the parts of the state. Prior to being a selectman, I go back to December 2005. I’m a Navy Reservist, a Seabee, construction battalion, dirt sailors – we’re never on a ship, so when people see us in our greens they say, ‘Look mommy, it’s an Army man!’ I was in Gulfport, Mississippi, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. That situation moved me to want to commit to public service. I decided when I came home that I was going to run for the select board in Rockingham. The finances were a mess, the morale was not good, the divisive situation over buying the dam – you were here so you know.””
Here is a copy of the letter Salmon sent to his supporters:
“September 5, 2009
Dear Friend,
It is an honor to serve as Auditor for the State of Vermont. In 2006, I was elected as a Democrat. In 2008, I was re-elected on the Democratic/Republican ticket. 2010 will be different.
I am changing my political affiliation to align myself with the party closest to my core beliefs. It is my belief that the VT Republican party is closest to accepting the realities of our times; and is therefore the party best equipped to manage the very real and troubling economic and social conditions which confront us not only today, but in the coming decade.
As many of you know, in the face of the enormous fiscal crisis, I have sounded the alarm for new thinking, responsible budgeting, meaningful long-term planning and painful prioritization.
When I returned home from Iraq, I witnessed first-hand a budget process rife with deficiencies and dysfunction. There was little balance in the debate.
As a Certified Public Accountant, I recently completed my required Ethics course for re-licensing. The Professional Code of Conduct demands that I act with integrity, objectivity and independence. As Auditor, I have preached that Vermont is on an unsustainable track we cannot tax ourselves out of.
I believe the majority of Vermonters do not want to see tax increases as a consequence of poor planning. However, without major restructuring of human services, corrections management and public education (which together account for some 75% of our expenditures) we are going to find that situation unavoidable. Removing even greater sums of capital out of our job-creating private sector and the budgets of Vermont families will only hasten the ill effects of the current crisis.
We all watch a healthcare reform movement focused on increased access rather than A) addressing the root causes of the problem B) fixing Medicaid and Medicare or C) promoting incentives and personal responsibility. The big losers are our young people, the vulnerable elderly population and the viability of Vermont’s 1778 motto of “Freedom and Unity.”
I am a believer in the America of hard work and “get oneself upstream” with a combination of personal commitment and external support.
I’m not a believer that all of our future tax dollars should go to interest on debt or “education, medication and incarceration.” In the current form of these primarily government-controlled expenditures, this is a path leading to a dangerous imbalance of our “Freedom and Unity.” Economic freedom is an essential component in achieving and maintaining political freedom. Over the more than 200 years of our nation’s founding, too many of our fine soldiers have died for the protection of these freedoms.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you with full commitment and transparency. I promise to do my best to perform the job Vermonters have elected me to do.
Today, Labor Day, September 7, 2009, the Citizen Wells blog will attempt to cover live, a Labor Day celebration in Burlington, Vermont. There are two major reasons that I chose to cover this event. First, Senator Bernie Sanders will be there and I hope to catch his comments on health care reform. Second, Vermont Workers’ Center, a community-based workers’ rights organization will be there to promote their stance regarding health care as a human right. I hope to clarify what they mean by human right.
To watch the Citizen Wells coverage, go to this link. When I am not broadcasting live, a video will play. Remember, this is my first attempt at this and I will be flying by the seat of my pants. A right click on the screen will allow you to zoom in for a larger viewing area.
“Burlington Labor Day Celebration & Benefit Concert
September 7, 2009 – 12:00pm – 3:00pm
WHEN: 12 noon – 3pm, Monday, September 7
WHERE: Battery Park, Burlington
WHAT: Senator Bernie Sanders will join hundreds of working families for the 8th Annual Burlington Labor Day Celebration sharing in a community potluck, music, street theater and ice cream. This year’s celebration is being sponsored by the Vermont Workers’ Center, a community-based workers’ rights organization who has been building a statewide grassroots organizing campaign called the “Healthcare Is A Human Right Campaign” that over that past couple of years has been redefine healthcare as a public good. There will also be a special tribute to the contributions and struggles of working families from Jennifer Henry, the President of the Fletcher Allen nurses union and United Professions of Vermont/AFT. Music will be performed local Burlington busker John Holland and Rik & Bec, a new local duo of Rik Palieri and Rebecca Padula.
“Labor Day is a day to celebrate and remember both the work we all do day in and day out and the long struggles of working people who fought hard for the eight hour day, for Social Security, the end of child labor and even the weekend,” said James Haslam, Director of the Vermont Workers’ Center. “But more than ever, use should use Labor Day as a reminder that we need to be carrying on this tradition by organizing in our workplaces and our communities. This is a time re-commit to the current struggles for more livable wage jobs, fair retirement, strong and healthy communities, and re-defining quality healthcare as a fundamental human right for everyone.”
BACKGROUND: The Vermont Workers’ Center was started in 1998 as a workers’ rights and social justice organization, and have been involved in campaigns to improve working conditions and win livable wages in hundreds of Vermont workplaces across the state. In 2008, they launched the Healthcare Is A Human Right Campaign to build a statewide grassroots network of Vermonters committed to redefining healthcare policy to establish healthcare as a basic public good for all.
MORE INFO: www.workerscenter.org www.workerscenter.org/healthcare
802-861-4892″
From their website:
“Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign
The Healthcare Is a Human Right Campaign, a project of the Vermont Workers’ Center (VWC), aims to change what is “politically possible” in the healthcare debate through grassroots organizing and a strategic reframing of healthcare as a basic human right and the healthcare crisis as a human rights emergency.
Our Goals
Our long-term goal is a universal system in which health care is recognized as a public good and provided collectively, rather than as a commodity sold in a marketplace, and where the human right to health of all residents of the state is fully recognized, regardless of race, gender or gender identity, ability, sexual orientation, nationality or immigration status. Financing must be based on principles of universality, equity, and social solidarity, such as a single-payer system. The only legislation that has been introduced into the Vermont State Legislature for the 2009-2010 session that meets these standards are H.100 and S.88.
What It Will Take
This will not be an easy struggle. In order to win such fundamental reform, we need a strong, statewide grassroots network that will be able to put enough pressure on the legislature and governor to force them to stand up to the insurance industry, those employers who will oppose such a system on ideological grounds, and other powerful interests vested in the status quo. This effort requires:
strong organizing committees throughout the state
diverse leadership
a mass base
What We’ve Done
Since the launch of this campaign in April 2008, the Workers’ Center has conducted a Human Rights Healthcare Survey of over 1400 Vermonters, over 95% of whom recognized that healthcare is a human right. We have held seven Human Rights Hearings around the state, in which hundreds of Vermonters have told their healthcare stories to panels of community and faith leaders. Based on the surveys and hearings, we have put together a report and video Voices of the Vermont Healthcare Crisis: The Human Right to Healthcare. And we organized one of the largest rallies for fundamental healthcare reform in Vermont history in Montpelier on May 1st, 2009.
Where To Go
Since May 1st, we have been working to:
consolidate our local organizing committees in major population centers throughout the state
deepen the understanding of human rights principles for healthcare throughout our base
strategize with local organizing committees about the best way to hold elected officials accountable to human rights principles.
If you would like to learn more or get involved in this grassroots movement contact us at info@workerscenter.org, or (802) 861-2877.
I don’t do it very often, it is hard to stomach. However, it is necessary to know what the enemy is up to. This morning I watched CNN, Communist News Network, for a few minutes and sure enough they were crafting their usual Orwellian spin on Obama’s speach to students and resistance to Obama’s health care agenda. They briefly interviewed 2 people for their opinion of Obama’s speach to students. The first was affiliated with a law school and he thought it was a good idea. The second was just a normal lady in a car from KY or TN. The intent was obvious. The silly regular American can’t possibly know what they are talking about. Once again, the elitist Orwellian approach is used.
They also mentioned health care reform and radicals getting media attention. These pious, biased, in Obama’s pocket jackasses do not get it. Well as Bill O’Reilly said on Fox News last night, Fox’s viewership is skyrocketing despite the attempts of liberals like Dan Rather to stem the tide.
Resistance to big government and government health care is real. It is a non partisan grass roots effort. The following video bears this out.
“This video focuses on the continuing grassroots tea party movement against our out of control government which is continuing to destroy our Constitutional Republic at a rapid pace.
The Taxpayer March on Washington D.C. – September 12th, 2009.”
Several days ago I contacted NC Senator Richard Burr’s office via email and telephone message. I received no response. I was inquiring about a health care forum that was scheduled for today, Tuesday, September 1, 2009. I discovered today by an internet search, that Senator Burr is part of a forum with John McCain and other Republicans. What concerns me is that they are fielding questions from “invited parties.” Senator Burr is against the Obama backed public option and that is good. However, why is Senator Burr not hosting town hall meetings for the public?
From News 14 in the Carolinas:
“McCain brings health care forum to N.C. children’s hospital”
“Sen. John McCain will join a group of fellow republican senators in Charlotte on Tuesday for a discussion on health care reform.
McCain, along with Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kent., will take questions from invited parties involved in the health care debate and discuss ways to make health care more affordable, accessible and available for American families.
The stop at Levine Children’s Hospital is part of McCain and McConnell’s cross-country tour, where they have been discussing health care and taking questions in various cities from those involved in the issue. The GOP lawmakers have challenged the plan offered by President Obama that could create a government option for health care that would compete with private insurers.
Burr’s health care plan would raise money by taxing health benefits, then use the revenue to give people tax credits to buy their own care.”
“This is a Constitutional Town Hall Meeting in Raleigh to which Senators Kay Hagan, Richard Burr, Representatives Brad Miller, Bob Etheridge, & David Price were invited but refused the invitation to…”
From Senator Richard Burr’s website:
“Issues
Reforming the Delivery of Health Care
Today, nearly 47 million people across America do not have health insurance, and this number is growing. In North Carolina alone, there are more than 1.5 million uninsured individuals.
Senator Burr believes we must make health insurance more accessible and affordable so that more families can have peace of mind that they can get quality medical care. As we search for long-term solutions, however, we must make sure people have the ability to choose their own doctor.
While some politicians support government-run health care, Senator Burr has a different approach. In order to give individuals and families choices in their health coverage and to avoid a one-size-fits-all program, we need to give people the means to purchase their own health insurance that fits their needs and the needs of their families. To address the growing problem of employees having limited or no access to employer-provided coverage, Senator Burr believes we should foster a broad choice of health insurance plans that stay with you through job and life changes so that you can access care when you need it. Americans should control their own insurance and not fear losing it with job changes.
As Congress works on proposals to reform health care system, Senator Burr firmly believes that any plan must:
Guarantee that every American can get affordable coverage
Demand we get more value for our health care dollar rather than imposing a new tax or passing on a new obligation to future generations
Transform the health care system so that we focus on keeping people healthy and well instead of only treating them when they are sick
Make health coverage affordable for those with pre-existing conditions
End the current discrimination in the tax code that benefits the wealthy and corporations but fails the poor and those who cannot get coverage through their employer
Guarantee that health care is accessible when people want it, where people want it
Be sustainable so that it will be there for future generations
With these goals in mind, Senator Burr recently joined with Senator Tom Coburn and Representatives Paul Ryan and Devin Nunes to introduce the Patients’ Choice Act, a bill that delivers on the shared principles of promoting universal access to quality, affordable health care, and does so without adding billions of dollars in new debt or taxes.
The Patients’ Choice Act would transform our health care system through the following key reforms:
Puts affordable coverage and choice within reach of all Americans. This is accomplished by first ending the discrimination in the tax code that rewards corporations and employers yet offers no benefit to the unemployed or those who do not have access to coverage through their job. Specifically, the Patients’ Choice Act would shift health care tax benefits to individuals and families, regardless of employment status, in the form of a tax credit worth about $2,200 for individuals and $5,700 for families. Americans would receive this benefit upfront, so they would not have to wait until they file their tax returns to get it. And Americans would be eligible for this benefit regardless of how much they pay in taxes. What’s more, under this plan, if you like the health care you have, you can keep it – but you’ll have more money in your pocket because you will still receive the tax credit.
Prevents cherry picking by guaranteeing access to coverage. The Patients’ Choice Act prevents cherry picking – when insurance companies choose to cover only healthy patients – by adjusting risk across insurance companies through an innovative reform called State Based Health Exchanges, which would be a voluntary, one-stop marketplace of insurance plans. These state exchanges — which would be open to all Americans — would offer a broad range of plans but all would be required to have the same standard benefits as those enjoyed by Members of Congress. Through this innovative reform, no individual could be turned down based on their age or health. This is because insurers who do cherry pick healthy patients would be penalized, and those that cover patients with pre-existing conditions and emphasize prevention and wellness would be rewarded.
Strengthens the health care safety net. Currently, about 40 percent of doctors and hospitals do not accept Medicaid patients because payments are so low. This means that needy moms and kids may have health coverage, but poor access to health care. The Patients’ Choice Act would remove the stigma from Medicaid recipients by giving them the ability to purchase the health coverage and care they need from any provider. We also provide simple new opportunities for automatic enrollment to help people who need coverage.
The United States currently spends twice as much on health care per person than other industrialized nations, yet we are not twice as healthy. The solution is not for the federal government to spend and tax Americans more, the answer is to get more value for our health care dollar through more choices. And this is exactly what the Patients’ Choice Act would accomplish.
Senator Burr understands the growing cost of health insurance, and as a Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, he will continue to work on solutions to this problem.”
“New deficit projections pose risks to Obama’s agenda”
“WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama’s domestic policy proposals will face the reality of skyrocketing deficits on Tuesday when officials release two government reports projecting huge budget shortfalls over the next decade.
The White House budget office and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a non-partisan arm of Congress, release updated economic forecasts and deficit estimates on Tuesday, providing further fiscal fodder to opponents of Obama’s nearly $1 trillion healthcare overhaul plan.
Many of the figures are already known.
The White House has confirmed that its deficit estimate for the 2009 fiscal year, which ends September 30, will inch down to $1.58 trillion from $1.84 trillion after eliminating billions of dollars originally set aside for bank rescues.
Looking forward, an administration official told Reuters the 10-year budget deficit projection will jump by about $2 trillion to roughly $9 trillion from an original forecast of $7.1 trillion.”
“Many economists think it is unlikely that the government can curtail spending, which means taxes would have to rise to cover the increasing costs of providing retirement benefits and healthcare to older people. That could slow economic growth.
Stanford University economics professor John Taylor, an influential economist, told Reuters Television on Friday the U.S. budget deficit poses a greater risk to the financial system than the collapse in commercial real estate prices.”
Citizen WElls 