Blagojevich trial, Justice Dept, Obama eligibility, World turned upside down
We truly do live in a “World Turned Upside Down.”
The ballad “The world turned upside down” was first published in 1643.
In 1649 after King Charles the First was beheaded, people declared “the world turned upside down.”
It is believed that the British played this tune when they surrendered at Yorktown.
From American Thinker.
“We truly do live in a world upside-down — whether we see it in the world of science, on the airwaves of Britain, or in the streets of America. An inversion has occurred: Ideology takes precedence over facts and lies trump truth. Even religion has undergone a radical change — and Phillips takes a brief foray into the world of “exotic” religions that seem to be proliferating at a rapid clip. But this points out the fundamental cause, as Ms. Phillips sees it, of why the world flipped around.
Judeo-Christian religions, based on the core values of Judaism, have been downgraded in our lives. The precepts that other generations have lived by have been cast aside, or perhaps cast onto the junk heap. These values are what provided a foundation for the scientific method and of rationality. Now they are disparaged by many (church attendance is almost non-existent in England). When that foundation was removed, what moved into the moral vacuum? Feelings and ideology, with a big slug of irrationality.
Paul Johnson, the English historian, wrote a fine epitaph of the final years of the 20th century that also served as a prophecy for how the 21st century would devolve:
One of the keys to understanding the twentieth century is to identify the beneficiaries of the decline in formal religion. The religious impulse — with all the excesses of zealotry and intolerance it can produce — remains powerful, but expresses itself in secular substitutes.
These are the zealots who control much of our world now and who are driving us down very perilous roads. These are the zealots that Melanie Phillips has done a superb job identifying and battling in her superb new book.”
The recent leaked emails from East Anglia University in the UK came as no surprise to me or many others who chose to question Global Warming myths and pseudo science. I have a math/science background and possibly more importantly, I am from NC and many of us have built in BS detectors. When confronted with numbers and theories that appeared absurd, I did some real research and reported on this blog. Watch the following video from a real scientist and then visit or revisit articles presented here going back to February of 2008. “Climategate: Dr. Tim Ball on the hacked CRU emails”
Frem a speech given by Keith O. Rattie, Chairman, President and CEO of Questar Corporation, on April 2, 2009, at the 22nd Annual UVU Symposium on Environmental Ethics, held at Utah Valley University. Reported here, May 15, 2009
“My perspective on global warming changed when I began to understand the limitations of the computer models that scientists have built to predict future warming. If the only variable driving the earth‟s climate were manmade CO2 then there‟d be no debate – global average temperatures would increase by a harmless one degree over the next 100 years. But the earth‟s climate is what engineers call a “non-linear, dynamic system”. The models have dozens of inputs. Many are little more than the opinion of the scientist – in some cases, just a guess.”
“Another example, water vapor is a far more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. [The media now calls CO2 a “pollutant”. If CO2 is a “pollutant” then water vapor is also a “pollutant” – that‟s absurd, but I digress]. Some scientists believe clouds amplify human CO2 forcing, others believe precipitation acts as the earth‟s thermostat. But scientists do not agree on how to model clouds, precipitation, and evaporation, thus there‟s no consensus on this fundamental issue.”
“But the reality for American consumers is that whether you buy that the science is settled or not, the political science is settled. With the media cheering them on, Congress has promised to “do something”. CO2 regulation is coming, whether it will do any good or not. Indeed, President Obama‟s hope of shrinking the now the massive federal budget deficit depends on vast new revenues from a tax on carbon energy – so called “cap and trade”. Harry Reid has promised cap and trade legislation by August.” Cap and trade, Global warming, Fact vs Fiction
From the Citizen Wells blog, March 10, 2008
“So, what is hampering our oil production. Environmental wackos. Let’s take Alaska for example. Of course, they always bring up environmental impact. But they also bring up animals like polar bears and whales. They use pseudo science of global warming and terms like may and could cause. They consistently use false data and science. I hear talk of polar bears becoming extinct almost every day when in fact their numbers have increased. Alleged receding ice will fundamentally have no impact on their numbers.” Always follow the money
From the Citizen Wells blog, March 10, 2008
“Weather Channel founder John Coleman is calling global warming a fraud and says the station he founded needs to stop telling people what to think about climate change.”
“One of it’s meteorologists suggested two years ago that weathercasters who have doubts about global warming should lose their certification. Coleman advocates suing people who sell carbon credits — including Al Gore — because the attention in the courts could, in his words, “put some light on the fraud of global warming.”” John Coleman on Al Gore Global Warming lies
From the Citizen Wells blog, February 28, 2008
“Global warming is not equivalent to climate change. Significant, societally important climate change, due to both natural- and human- climate forcings, can occur without any global warming or cooling.”
“In terms of climate change and variability on the regional and local scale, the IPCC Reports, the CCSP Report on surface and tropospheric temperature trends, and the U.S. National Assessment have overstated the role of the radiative effect of the anthropogenic increase of CO2 relative to the role of the diversity of other human climate climate forcing on global warming, and more generally, on climate variability and change.”
“Global and regional climate models have not demonstrated skill at predicting regional and local climate change and variability on multi-decadal time scales.” R.A. Pielke Sr. provides a balanced view of climate science
Common sense goes a long way where I come from and the numbers and peudo science from the likes of Al Gore never made sense. I also checked some real data from time to time like summer temperatures in Antarctica.
Here is one of the better sources for information on climate change and earth facts. http://wattsupwiththat.com
I am writing this message to you as my significant other assembles Christmas packages for five elderly ladies in an assisted living facility not far from us. These ladies have no family members to care for them. This is an annual tradition at the coffee shop we frequent, the same coffee shop where I bring you so many tidings of gloom.
My lady deserves all the credit for this. She just got back from shopping and also tried to deliver an old coat for a drive for those in need of winter apparel. Just a hint for those females who bank on the best makeup, shoes and dresses. For most of us, it is still what is on the inside that matters most and she just became even lovelier.
Watching her came at a most fortuitous time for me. I had just finished reading the Ellen Goodman article about Sarah Palin and her book. Another veiled attempt to put down Sarah Palin and what is right about this country. The bane of my existence is reading about so much negativity and attacks on good people.
So, let us not forget the good in this world and that people matter. No matter what the Senate and House do, irrespective of the socialist agenda of the Obama Administration, there is good around us and a reason for us to go on and embrace what is right about this country.
Parents and citizens across the US are outraged that Obama will speak to many of the American students on September 8, 2009. The Citizen Wells blog is urging everyone to contact their state and local school officials to voice your concern about Obama imposing his agenda on our students. Adolf Hitler brainwashed the German students by indoctrinating them in the Hitler Youth. When you contact your school officials ask them 2 questions.
1. Do you plan to take part in the Obama speech presented to your students?
2. Are you going to allow opposing views?
Most citizens of the US that were not already aware of the real Obama and his past associations and agendas are awakening to the spectre of extremely radical appointments to Obama’s cabinet and especially as Obama Czars. Many are also shocked and incensed that Obama is trying to ramrod government health care down our throats in a non transparent, non partisan manner. So, why should parents be so concerned about their children listening to an Obama speech. Sounds innocent enough, right? Dead wrong.
If you are not awakening to how Obama conducts his agendas or what he is really about, consider the following. As you read below weigh rhetoric versus past performance and actions. Adolf Hitler used flowery words to seduce the German people, but his actions betrayed his motives.
Announcement of plans to speak to students
From ServiceWire.org, August 21, 2009:
“OBAMA TO DELIVER NATIONALLY BROADCAST ADDRESS TO STUDENTS ON SEPT. 8”
“The President will deliver a speech about the importance of persisting and succeeding in school on Sept. 8, the first day of school for many children across America. The Department of Education is encouraging educators, students and parents to use this opportunity to help students get focused and begin the school year strong. The speech will be broadcast live on www.whitehouse.gov at 1 p.m. EDT.”…Read more
Announcement from US Dept of Education August 26, 2009
“LEAD & MANAGE MY SCHOOL
Letter From Secretary Arne Duncan to School Principals
August 26, 2009
Please note that the time of this speech has changed to 12:00 noon eastern standard time.
Dear Principal:
In a recent interview with student reporter, Damon Weaver, President Obama announced that on September 8 — the first day of school for many children across America — he will deliver a national address directly to students on the importance of education. The President will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning. He will also call for a shared responsibility and commitment on the part of students, parents and educators to ensure that every child in every school receives the best education possible so they can compete in the global economy for good jobs and live rewarding and productive lives as American citizens.
Since taking office, the President has repeatedly focused on education, even as the country faces two wars, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and major challenges on issues like energy and health care. The President believes that education is a critical part of building a new foundation for the American economy. Educated people are more active civically and better informed on issues affecting their lives, their families and their futures.
This is the first time an American president has spoken directly to the nation’s school children about persisting and succeeding in school. We encourage you to use this historic moment to help your students get focused and begin the school year strong. I encourage you, your teachers, and students to join me in watching the President deliver this address on Tuesday, September 8, 2009. It will be broadcast live on the White House website www.whitehouse.gov 12:00 noon eastern standard time.
In advance of this address, we would like to share the following resources: a menu of classroom activities for students in grades preK-6 and for students in grades 7-12. These are ideas developed by and for teachers to help engage students and stimulate discussion on the importance of education in their lives. We are also staging a student video contest on education. Details of the video contest will be available on our website www.ed.gov in the coming weeks.
On behalf of all Americans, I want to thank our educators who do society’s most important work by preparing our children for work and for life. No other task is more critical to our economic future and our social progress. I look forward to working with you in the months and years ahead to continue improving the quality of public education we provide all of our children.
Sooner or later the real agenda emerges. Revisit the following paragraph. Notice the mention of health care and “Educated people are more active civically and better informed on issues affecting their lives, their families and their futures.” This means, in everyday, non Orwellian doublespeak, that Obama and his radical associates know what is best for you and they will it explain it.
“Since taking office, the President has repeatedly focused on education, even as the country faces two wars, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and major challenges on issues like energy and health care. The President believes that education is a critical part of building a new foundation for the American economy. Educated people are more active civically and better informed on issues affecting their lives, their families and their futures.”
Obama and his radical associates’ actions speak far louder than their words.
Citizen Wells article of September 6, 2009:
“Michelle’s Boot Camps For Radicals
INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY”
“Barack Obama was a founding member of the board of Public Allies in 1992, resigning before his wife became executive director of the Chicago chapter of Public Allies in 1993. Obama plans to use the nonprofit group, which he features on his campaign Web site, as the model for a national service corps. He calls his Orwellian program, “Universal Voluntary Public Service.”
Big Brother had nothing on the Obamas. They plan to herd American youth into government-funded reeducation camps where they’ll be brainwashed into thinking America is a racist, oppressive place in need of “social change.””
“But its real mission is to radicalize American youth and use them to bring about “social change” through threats, pressure, tension and confrontation — the tactics used by the father of community organizing, Saul “The Red” Alinsky.”
“”It’s a lot of talk about race, a lot of talk about sexism, a lot of talk about homophobia, talk about -isms and phobias.”
One of those -isms is “heterosexism,” which a Public Allies training seminar in Chicago describes as a negative byproduct of “capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy and male-dominated privilege.””
“The gall of it: The Obamas want to create a boot camp for radicals who hate the military — and stick American taxpayers with the bill.””…Read more
Glenn Beck, “Obama’s radical followers”
“Obama said, quote: We have got to have a civilian national security force that is just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded as the military. Public Allies, Chicago chapter. Founding, founding member, Barack Obama. Executive director, Michelle Obama. Listen to the words in their speeches. It is all code language. It is all the language of the 1960s radicals. They have their they have their tentacles into an organization that does good things but also teaches that heterosexism is a byproduct of capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy and male dominated privilege. Heterosexism!”…Read more
Wall Street Journal Online – Obama and Ayers Pushed Radicalism On Schools
“Despite having authored two autobiographies, Barack Obama has never written about his most important executive experience. From 1995 to 1999, he led an education foundation called the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC), and remained on the board until 2001. The group poured more than $100 million into the hands of community organizers and radical education activists.
The CAC was the brainchild of Bill Ayers, a founder of the Weather Underground in the 1960s. Among other feats, Mr. Ayers and his cohorts bombed the Pentagon, and he has never expressed regret for his actions. Barack Obama’s first run for the Illinois State Senate was launched at a 1995 gathering at Mr. Ayers’s home.”
“The CAC’s basic functioning has long been known, because its annual reports, evaluations and some board minutes were public. But the Daley archive contains additional board minutes, the Collaborative minutes, and documentation on the groups that CAC funded and rejected. The Daley archives show that Mr. Obama and Mr. Ayers worked as a team to advance the CAC agenda.”
“The CAC’s agenda flowed from Mr. Ayers’s educational philosophy, which called for infusing students and their parents with a radical political commitment, and which downplayed achievement tests in favor of activism. In the mid-1960s, Mr. Ayers taught at a radical alternative school, and served as a community organizer in Cleveland’s ghetto.
In works like “City Kids, City Teachers” and “Teaching the Personal and the Political,” Mr. Ayers wrote that teachers should be community organizers dedicated to provoking resistance to American racism and oppression. His preferred alternative? “I’m a radical, Leftist, small ‘c’ communist,” Mr. Ayers said in an interview in Ron Chepesiuk’s, “Sixties Radicals,” at about the same time Mr. Ayers was forming CAC.
CAC translated Mr. Ayers’s radicalism into practice. Instead of funding schools directly, it required schools to affiliate with “external partners,” which actually got the money. Proposals from groups focused on math/science achievement were turned down. Instead CAC disbursed money through various far-left community organizers, such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (or Acorn).
Mr. Obama once conducted “leadership training” seminars with Acorn, and Acorn members also served as volunteers in Mr. Obama’s early campaigns. External partners like the South Shore African Village Collaborative and the Dual Language Exchange focused more on political consciousness, Afrocentricity and bilingualism than traditional education. CAC’s in-house evaluators comprehensively studied the effects of its grants on the test scores of Chicago public-school students. They found no evidence of educational improvement.”
“Mr. Ayers is the founder of the “small schools” movement (heavily funded by CAC), in which individual schools built around specific political themes push students to “confront issues of inequity, war, and violence.” He believes teacher education programs should serve as “sites of resistance” to an oppressive system. (His teacher-training programs were also CAC funded.) The point, says Mr. Ayers in his “Teaching Toward Freedom,” is to “teach against oppression,” against America’s history of evil and racism, thereby forcing social transformation.”…Read more
Obama, Ayers and Mike Klonsky
Meet Michael Klonsky, Obama’s “social justice” education expert.
“With what little media oxygen there has been sucked out by the largely uninformative discussion of Ayers (and his wife and Weather Underground ally, Bernadine Dohrn) — in which the mantra “unrepentant terrorist” has been a pale substitute for the critical matter of the Ayers’s ideology that Obama plainly shares — much has been missed. Significantly, that includes another key Obama contact, Mike Klonsky.
Here’s what you need to know. Klonsky is an unabashed communist whose current mission is to spread Marxist ideology in the American classroom. Obama funded him to the tune of nearly $2 million. Obama, moreover, gave Klonsky a broad platform to broadcast his ideas: a “social justice” blog on the official Obama campaign website.
To be clear, as it seems always necessary to repeat when Obamaniacs, in their best Saul Alinsky tradition, shout down the opposition: This is not about guilt by association. The issue is not that Obama knows Klonsky … or Ayers … or Dohrn … or Wright … or Rashid Khalidi …
The issue is that Obama promoted and collaborated with these anti-American radicals. The issue is that he shared their ideology.
Klonsky’s communist pedigree could not be clearer. His father, Robert Klonsky, was an American communist who was convicted in the mid-Fifties for advocating the forcible overthrow of the United States government — a violation of the Smith Act, anti-communist legislation ultimately gutted by the Supreme Court. In the Sixties, Klonsky the younger teamed with Ayers, Dohrn, and other young radicals to form the Students for a Democratic Society. It was out of the SDS that Ayers and Dohrn helped found the Weatherman terrorist group.
Klonsky took a different path, albeit one that led inexorably to a new partnership with Ayers, which Obama mightily helped underwrite. Upon splitting off from the SDS, Klonsky formed a Maoist organization, first known as the “October League,” which ultimately became the “Communist Party (Marxist Leninist).”
Klonsky was CP(ML)’s chairman. He was so highly thought of by Mao’s regime that he was among the first Americans invited to visit Communist China. When he was feted there in 1977, a year after Mao’s death, the communist leadership hailed Klonsky’s party as “reflecting the aspirations of the proletariat and working people.””
“After getting his doctorate, Klonsky eventually made his way to Chicago and hooked up with his old SDS comrade (and self-professed “small ‘c’ communist”) Bill Ayers. Together, they co-founded the Small Schools Workshop in 1991. The goal — as Ayers has repeatedly made clear, most prominently in a 2006 speech before Hugo Chavez at an education forum in Caracas — is to bring the same Leftist revolution that has always galvanized them into the classroom.
The concept may be called small schools, but Klonsky and Ayers uniquely grasp the force-multiplier effect. In a small class, the teacher preaching the “social justice” gospel that American capitalism is a racist, materialist, imperialist cauldron of injustice can have greater impact on the students he seeks to mold into his conception of the “good citizen” — and on the teachers he is teaching to be preachers. Writing trenchantly about how this system of “critical pedagogy” short-changes the basic education needs of disadvantaged children, the City Journal’s Sol Stern observes that theorists like Klonsky and Ayers:
nurse a rancorous view of an America in which it is always two minutes to midnight and a knock on the door by the thought police is imminent. The education professors feel themselves anointed to use the nation’s K-12 classrooms to resist this oppressive system. Thus … teachers [are urged] not to mince words with children about the evils of the existing social order. They should portray “homelessness as a consequence of the private dealings of landlords, an arms buildup as a consequence of corporate decisions, racial exclusion as a consequence of a private property-holder’s choice.” In other words, they should turn the little ones into young socialists and critical theorists.”…Please read the entire article
Report from Fox News September 02, 2009
“Critics Decry Obama’s ‘Indoctrination’ Plan for Students”
“A suggested lesson plan that calls on school kids to write letters to themselves about what they can do to help President Obama is troubling some education experts, who say it establishes the president as a “superintendent in chief” and may indoctrinate children to support him politically.”
“Obama’s critics say the lesson plans and the president’s calls for a “supportive community” are troubling on many levels.
“In general, I don’t think there’s a problem if the president uses the bully pulpit to tell kids to work hard, study hard and things like that. But there are some troubling hints in this, both educationally and politically,” said Neal McCluskey, associate director of Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom.
Among the concerns, McCluskey said, is the notion that students who do not support Obama or his educational policies will begin the school year “behind the eight ball,” or somehow academically trailing their peers.
“It essentially tries to force kids to say the president and the presidency is inspiring, and that’s very problematic,” McCluskey said. “It’s very concerning that you would do that.””…Read more
Michelle Malkin on Obama’s speech to public school students
Once again, we are reminded by history, something our teachers should be aware of, of attempts to control the minds of our young people. Adolf Hitler created the Hitler youth, brainwashed them and encouraged them to turn in their parents for non doctrine behaviour. George Orwell watched Nazi Germany play out and incorporated the brainwashed Hitler youth into the children of “1984.” We cannot afford to let history repeat itself again. Speak up against this mind control attempt. The future of our children and this country is at stake.
I just got off the phone with the NC Board of Education. I asked them 2 questions about the Obama speech to school students scheduled for September 8, 2009.
1. Will the state of NC participate in this?
2. Will opposing opinions be allowed?
The answer to both questions is that this will be handled at the local level. In NC this means the county school boards or other local governing body.
I am requesting that all NC citizens contact their local school boards, ask the above questions and voice your concern about allowing Obama to influence your children.
I am also requesting that citizens in other states contact your state board of education and find out what their policy is and likewise voice your concerns.
Exercise your First Amendment Rights and protect our children and our country.
I have never gotten so much satisfaction assembling an article as I did producing this one. This article is the culmination of efforts of concerned Americans across this country and certainly those that participate on this blog. A special thanks goes to commenter JoyceAZ, who cared enough about this country to travel to the Las Vegas Tea Party, take photos and write a report. Thank God that she did. The story was barely touched by the local media in Las Vegas and the Main Stream media nationwide.
“CW, We arrived at the park 8:45am. This area was large. The parking lot filled up by 10:30. People were coming and going for 2-3 hrs. People were very warm and friendly. WE WERE UNITED. The people were from Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho…… (licenses plates that we noticed).
All day long people gave each other the thumbs up. We The People are UNITED IN OUR MARCH TO WAKE UP THE GOVERNMENT.
We just want to be heard. Our Freedoms are being tread on. OUR FLAGS SAY: Don’t Tread On Me. We will not be UNHEARD.
We did not see any riots. No screaming, yelling or fighting. We did not see any opposition,….. ACORN, SEIU, or other pro-Obama voices.
Several cars stopped and ask us what was happening,…. as they had not heard of this project on the local tv channels. I told them that it was 98% created thru the internet and twitter and such. The NEWS MEDIA is DEAD! Even those would stop and go sign up for information on OUR PROJECT.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal quoted that the count was 800-900. I truly feel is was much larger than that. The parking lot was filled at all times….. people would be waiting for a parking spot. People arriving faster than leaving.
I don’t think I would be exaggerating to say it was closer to 1500+. I am sending a few articles from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. They have some interesting articles about dirty harry. He is not very popular at this time.
JoyceAZ”
I hope that the actions of JoyceAZ were as inspiring to you as they are to me and will inspire more people to take action. We cannot depend on the modern day media to do so.
I sang the song that plays in the video when I was young.
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.”
I was fortunate to be in Wilmington, NC today, Saturday, August 22, 2009 and honored to speak with a group assembled for a tea party to protest government run health care, socialism and abuse of the US Constitution.
From the Youtube video I just posted:
“I was fortunate to be in Wilmington, NC at the right moment to film a Tea Party protest
of the government health care plan, socialism and big government in general.
These were friendly, average Americans that were not paid to be there and were not
bussed in. I was honored to be there and speak with these fine Americans.
God bless them all.”
Citizen WElls 