Obama recently made a deal with the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers Association, PhRMA. That will come as no surprise to you. However, this story was covered by the Huffington Post and CNN. That may surprise you.
From The Huffington Post, August 13, 2009:
“Internal Memo Confirms Big Giveaways In White House Deal With Big Pharma
A memo obtained by the Huffington Post confirms that the White House and the pharmaceutical lobby secretly agreed to precisely the sort of wide-ranging deal that both parties have been denying over the past week.
The memo, which according to a knowledgeable health care lobbyist was prepared by a person directly involved in the negotiations, lists exactly what the White House gave up, and what it got in return.
It says the White House agreed to oppose any congressional efforts to use the government’s leverage to bargain for lower drug prices or import drugs from Canada — and also agreed not to pursue Medicare rebates or shift some drugs from Medicare Part B to Medicare Part D, which would cost Big Pharma billions in reduced reimbursements.
In exchange, the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA) agreed to cut $80 billion in projected costs to taxpayers and senior citizens over ten years. Or, as the memo says: “Commitment of up to $80 billion, but not more than $80 billion.”
Representatives from both the White House and PhRMA, shown the outline, adamantly denied that it reflected reality. PhRMA senior vice president Ken Johnson said that the outline “is simply not accurate.” “This memo isn’t accurate and does not reflect the agreement with the drug companies,” said White House spokesman Reid Cherlin.
Stories in the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times last week indicated that the administration was confirming that such a deal had been made.
Critics on Capitol Hill and online responded with outrage at the reports that Obama had gone behind their backs and sold the reform movement short. Furthermore, the deal seemed to be a betrayal of several promises made by then-Sen. Obama during the presidential campaign, among them that he would use the power of government to drive down the costs of drugs to Medicare and that negotiations would be conducted in the open.”
“The deal, as outlined in the memo:
Commitment of up to $80 billion, but not more than $80 billion.
1. Agree to increase of Medicaid rebate from 15.1 – 23.1% ($34 billion)
2. Agree to get FOBs done (but no agreement on details — express disagreement on data exclusivity which both sides say
does not affect the score of the legislation.) ($9 billion)
3. Sell drugs to patients in the donut hole at 50% discount ($25 billion)
This totals $68 billion
4. Companies will be assessed a tax or fee that will score at $12 billion. There was no agreement as to how or on what
this tax/fee will be based.
Total: $80 billion
In exchange for these items, the White House agreed to:
Marine Veteran David William Hedrick, lets congressman Brian Baird have it at a town hall meeting in Clark County Washington, on August 18, 2009. Watch this great video:
“I, David William Hedrick, a member of the silent majority, decided that I was not going to be silent anymore. So, I let U.S. Congressman Brian Baird have it. I was one questioner out of 38, that was called at random from an audience that started at 3,000 earlier in the evening. Not expecting to be called on, I quickly scratched what I wanted to say on a borrowed piece of paper and with a pen that I borrowed from someone else in the audience minutes before I spoke. So much for the planned talking points of the right wing conspiracy.”
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.”
Here is another example of a so called town hall meeting regarding Obama’s health care bill. This one was in Orlando FL on August 17, 2009.
“Here’ the bottom line: It was stacked against the citizens of the 8th Congressional District. There were 126 seats in the room. They let in 31 people. The rest were stacked with people who were in a previous Democrat meeting. I was embarrassed to be in the room. I’m a Vietnam Veteran, there were World War II veterans in wheelchairs outside who didn’t get in. A lot of Democrats were allowed in, and a lot of pro-Grayson people allowed in the back door. It was (shaking head)… I was ashamed. We thought it was going to be a real Town Hall. It wasn’t. Ninety-five of 126 seats were already taken. Shame on him. Shame on him.
If the Democrats think they are going to benefit from behavior like this, they are going to be sadly mistaken come election day 2010.”
“comments:
Ashley, August 17, 2009 11:46 PM
I was outside this town hall, and I believe that it was definitely held under unfair circumstances.
Alan Grayson was able to hold a town hall meeting on short notice, and directly after a meeting (I heard it was a Union meeting, but I could be wrong) of local Democrats. Not to mention the fact that the building only had about 125 seats, in contrast to some 300,000 voters whom Alan Grayson represents.
This seems absolutely ridiculous to me. I can confirm the fact that only about 30 of the ‘regular people’ with tickets got let into the meeting. I watched a few selected people go in through back and side doors, and of course a few of the representatives of the media walk in through the parking lot.
The other few hundred of us were left to wait outside to see if there may be a chance of the door opening one more time to the public. This was supposedly a public meeting, and yet only 30 people from the group outside got let in. If you had been outside the building, you’d have seen that the majority of the people there were protesting the bill. Of course, there were those who were there to provide a counterargument for the protesters, but their numbers were scarce in comparison to the amount of people in opposition to the bill.
However, despite the fact that the protesters were the obvious majority of the attendees, I later read that the majority of the people inside the meeting were actually supporters of Rep. Grayson. How does that work out? The only answer I can think of is that Grayson and company “stacked the deck”, to put it in the words of a protester outside the meeting.
I’m only sixteen years old, but I think I can read enough into this to figure out that something’s not right.”
“The hastily-called meeting was held in a relatively small union hall which limited attendance to about 120 or so members of the public. But it was held just after a regular meeting of local Democrats, some of whom stayed behind for the town hall in the scarce seats.
Outside the union hall, a frustrated crowd of hundreds of people who could not get into the hall waved signs and chanted simultaneously for and against health care.
There were so many different chants that they were unintelligible. At one point, Andy Showen, 49, of Orlando, angry he couldn’t get in, pulled on a side door until police officers stopped him.
“You’re a real hero,” he told an officer. “You just stopped me from talking to my congressman.” ”
“Others were more frustrated.
“I’ve given up,” said Carmen Simeone, a 60-year old general contractor, who opted just to protest outside. “I understand what’s going on. He’s stacked the deck.””
“Alan Grayson Town Hall Meeting – Orlando, FL – 8.17.09
This is video I shot at Congressman Alan Grayson’s Town Hall Meeting in Orlando, FL on 8/17/09. Mustering every bit of cowardice that he could, the Congressman announced the meeting just 24 hours before it was to take place. It was held at a Union Hall. The hall seats about 125 people. Just prior to the Town Hall meeting there was a Democrat meeting of some kind. Those in attendance remained for the Town Hall, thereby leaving room for only 30 or so other people who had come to attend. So, the room was stacked heavily. Listen to a Vietnam Vet (one of those who got in) describe it.
The mainstream media is reporting that Grayson’s supporters outnumbered protesters, however this is is simply not true. My estimate is that about 20% of the people there were in support, the rest were in protest. Of course, inside the building things weighed in his favor, due to the aforementioned pre-loaded room.”
This Town Hall is a Joke
“Alan Grayson – TOWN HALL MEETING
Monday, August 17, 2009
7:45 P.M.
IBEW Local 606 Union Hall
820 Virginia Drive
Orlando, Florida 32803”
Congressman Alan Grayson will be added to our new Congress Watch efforts as we evaluate and monitor all in congress prior to the 2010 elections.
“Our healthcare system needs reform. But compare the results of our system to government run health care in other countries. Are you still dying to get in line? When considering what to change, we should keep in mind an ancient medical axiom – First, Do No Harm.”
Whether it’s Orly Taitz, Phil Berg, Leo Donofrio, Mario Apuzzo or any American citizen, we deserve the protection of the US Constitution and Government officials that recognize their duty under the law. I am fed up with government officials and the MSM disregarding the US Constitution, the supreme law of the land and belittling law abiding US Citizens.
From an Esquire article dated August 11, 2009:
“What Really Happens When You Demand the President Produce His Birth Certificate?
Buzz up!You get a bunch of outrageous people — very nice people, mind you, but frustrated enough to believe anything about Obama — storming the offices of the attorney general, the secretary of state, and the FBI. At the center of it all was Esquire.com’s political columnist, bearing witness to the “birthers” for the conclusion of a two-part series.”
“Then there’s Orly Taitz, queen of the “birthers,” who brings outrageous thinking to a whole new level. This was her at the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot in Kentucky, which I touched on here last week, well before the town-hall tirades took over the airwaves. This was her four months ago, shouting over the gunfire in a thin, shrill voice:
“I am extremely concerned about Obama specifically because I was born in Soviet Union, so I can tell that he is extremely dangerous. I believe he is the most dangerous thing one can imagine, in that he represents radical communism and radical Islam: He was born and raised in radical Islam, all of his associations are with radical Islam, and he was groomed in the environment of the dirty Chicago mafia. Can there be anything scarier than that?”
At the “birther” booth, Taitz greeted her fans.”
“I made a date to accompany Taitz and a group of “birthers” on a trip the next day to the state capital, where they were going to meet the attorney general and demand an investigation into Obama’s birth certificate. A few minutes later, the man standing in the booth and passing out flyers — Carl Swennson, a computer store owner from Georgia — addressed the gathering crowd. “All right, everybody! If you are from Kentucky and you would like to be a part of a common-law jury to try and indict the usurper, Barry Soetoro aka Barack Hussein Obama, all you need to do is step forward and we will hold court here today, right now!””
“We set off in a flotilla of cars. When we got to the state office complex an hour later, it took less than ten minutes for us to get badges and pass through security. A man named George Wilding, the manager of Kentucky’s Public Corruption Unit, led us to a conference room. A few minutes later, we were joined by Bob Foster, Kentucky’s Commissioner of Criminal Investigations.
Then Taitz began to talk, and she did not stop for 15 solid minutes: Obama forged this and his campaign forged that and these are his false addresses and here’s something very strange that Justice Scalia told her at a book signing and here are the 500,000 signatures collected by WorldNetDaily magazine demanding an investigation…
Finally Wilding held up a hand. “Let me just stop you right there. What applies to Kentucky?”
One of the citizens starts showing him documents. “This is clearly his school record that shows that he was a citizen of Indonesia…”
“I don’t understand what that has to do with the Kentucky attorney general’s office,” Wilding repeated.
“He was on the ballot here in Kentucky,” Taitz said.
“That was a federal election. There are federal-election laws. The FBI investigates those. So I believe that your best venue and jurisdiction lies with the U.S. district court and the FBI.”
That’s when Taitz lost it. “I can see that you are hell-bent on doing absolutely nothing,” she said, eyes flaring. “You want to pass the buck.”
“No ma’am. I’m trying to follow the law.”
“I’m going to the FBI and not only reporting Obama, I’m going to report you for refusing to investigate crimes. You have a duty to investigate those crimes! Why are people paying salary for this whole office of attorney general of Kentucky?
To do nothing?”
“I think we’re finished,” Foster said.”
“But Taitz wasn’t finished. She marched her troops straight over to the secretary of state’s office and did the exact same presentation all over again. Then she headed to the FBI to do it a third time. And the whole time, she never stopped talking:”
“But like I said — and this is important to emphasize — all of Taitz’s followers seemed like very nice people. Even Taitz had her good side on the rare occasions when she stopped talking for long enough that it could come out. I saw it when she talked about her three sons, or joked about how glad her husband was to get her out of the house. But there was fear and sadness in all of the “birthers,” and a sense that things were surely coming to an end. And they were willing to believe anything bad that anybody said about Obama, no matter how or implausible or unfair.
After I read the article and discerned the attitude of the KY officials, I had had it from the jackasses. So I decided to review KY law and I quickly put up a YouTube video. The attitudes of elected officials and judges in this country increasingly sickens me.
The US Constitution rules.
Kentucky oath of office administered to Secretary of State:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of this Commonwealth, and be faithful and true to the Commonwealth of Kentucky so long as I continue a citizen thereof, and that I will faithfully execute, to the best of my ability, the office of Secretary of State according to law; and I do further solemnly swear (or affirm) that since the adoption of the present Constitution, I, being a citizen of this State, have not fought a duel with deadly weapons within this State nor out of it, nor have I sent or accepted a challenge to fight a duel with deadly weapons, nor have I acted as second in carrying a challenge, nor aided or assisted any person thus offending, so help me God.”
Quote from jackass above:
“No ma’am. I’m trying to follow the law.”
From the Kentucky Statutes:
“118.176 Challenging good faith of candidate.
(1) A “bona fide” candidate means one who is seeking nomination in a primary or election in a general election according to law.”
“(2) The bona fides of any candidate seeking nomination or election in a primary or general election may be questioned by any qualified voter entitled to vote for such candidate or by an opposing candidate by summary proceedings consisting of a motion before the Circuit Court of the judicial circuit in which the candidate whose bona fides is questioned resides.”
“118.195 Inspection of nomination papers.
All nomination papers filed under KRS 118.165 and 118.365 shall at all times be subject to inspection by any person.”
“118.305 Persons entitled to have name on ballot — Certification of names of candidates — Eligibility of candidates defeated in primary — Notification of vacancy in elective office.
(6) The names of candidates for President and Vice President shall be certified in lieu of certifying the names of the candidates for presidential electors.”
118.325 Nomination by parties by convention or primary election.
(2) The certificate of nomination by such a convention or primary election shall be in writing, shall contain the name of each person nominated, his residence and the office to which he is nominated, and shall designate a title for the party or principle that such convention or primary election represents, together with any simple figure or device by which its list of candidates may be designated on the voting machines. The certificate shall be signed by the presiding officer and secretary of the convention, or by the chairman and secretary of the county, city, or district committee, who shall add to their signatures their respective places of residence, and acknowledge the same before an officer duly authorized to administer oaths. A certificate of the acknowledgment shall be appended to the certificate of nomination. In the case of electors of President and Vice President of the United States the certificate of nomination shall state the names of the candidates of the party for President and Vice President.”
Here is a really interesting paragraph:
“118.581 Nomination of candidates by State Board of Elections.
The State Board of Elections shall convene in Frankfort on the second Tuesday in January preceding a presidential preference primary. At the meeting required by this section, the board shall nominate as presidential preference primary candidates all those candidates of the political parties for the office of President of the United States who have qualified for matching federal campaign funds. Immediately upon completion of this requirement, the board shall transmit a list of all the nominees selected to the Secretary of State and shall also release the list to the news media.
Effective: July 14, 1992″
118.591 Nomination of candidate by petition — Qualification of candidate through filing of notice of candidacy.
(5) In lieu of the petition requirements of subsections (1) to (4) of this section, a candidate may qualify to appear on the presidential preference primary ballot of his political party by filing with the Secretary of State, no later than the last Tuesday in January preceding a presidential preference primary, a notice of candidacy signed by the candidate and either of the following:
(b) Evidence that, by the filing deadline, the candidate’s name is qualified to appear on the presidential preference primary ballot of his political party in at least twenty (20) other states.”
“118.995 Penalties.
(1) Any person who violates any of the provisions of KRS 118.136 shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(2) If the Secretary of State violates any of the provisions of subsection (4) of KRS 118.215, he shall be guilty of a Class D felony.
(3) Any person who violates subsection (5) of KRS 118.176 shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(4) If any county clerk violates any of the provisions of subsection (5) of KRS 118.305, he shall be guilty of a Class D felony.
Effective: July 13, 1990”
“119.285 Irregularity or defect in conduct of election no defense.
Irregularities or defects in the mode of convening or conducting an election shall constitute no defense to a prosecution for a violation of the election laws.”
Correct me if I am wrong, but there may be some grey area in KY law regarding presidential elections.
Glenn Beck tells it like it is regarding the Obama health care plan, AARP and Nazi like policy influencers like Ezekiel Emanuel and Cass Sunstein. AARP is not being honest with their members. Aside from the spectre of out of control spending of a government controlled health care plan, we are entering a new phase reminiscent of Joseph Mengele of the Nazi Regime. Beck presents statements from Ezekiel Emanuel and Cass Sunstein, both part of the Obama camp.
Ezekiel Emanuel
“When implemented, the complete lives system produces a priority curve on which individuals aged between roughly 15 and 40 years get the most substantial chance, whereas the …youngest and oldest people get chances that are attenuated…The complete lives system justifies preference to younger people because of priority to the worst off rather than instrumental value.”
Cass Sunstein
“I urge that the government should indeed focus on life years rather than lives. A program that saves young people produces more welfare than one that saves old people.”
“A sobering video that describes the healthcare plan and what you can expect under government healthcare as explained by Rep Michele Bachmann on the floor of Congress.”
“AARP officials walk out of meeting, refuse questions concerning ObamaCare from angry seniors
Watch this must-see video! AARP supports government controlled health care!
August 7, 2009
Dear Tricia,
Senior citizens who went to a meeting sponsored by AARP were left to themselves after the AARP hostess walked out. The seniors were trying to get answers concerning ObamaCare and why AARP would support a government controlled health system that many believe would lead to euthanasia and rationing of health care.
Why would AARP, the nation’s largest seniors group, supposedly working for the elderly, support an ObamaCare bill? Here is what Dick Morris, former advisor to President Clinton, said: “The interest groups that usually speak up for the elderly, particularly AARP, are in Obama’s pocket, hoping to profit from his program by becoming one of its vendors. Just as they backed Bush’s prescription drug plan because they anticipated profiting from it, so they are now helping Obama gut the medical care of their constituents.”
Like the National Education Association, AARP has been taken over by liberals. With millions of members, AARP is using its clout to push ObamaCare on the elderly, even if it includes euthanasia. AARP supported homosexual marriage by opposing Prop 8 in California.
Take Action!
• Send your e-mail to AARP. If you are a member, do what the lady in Dallas did — cancel your membership. AARP is going to use membership dues to help push ObamaCare.
• Forward this information to others so they can see how AARP is spending their dues in promoting ObamaCare.
• American Seniors Association (ASA) is an alternative we suggest you check out. AFA does not officially endorse ASA, but simply offers it as an alternative to AARP. We think you’ll be pleased with what you see.
Thank you for caring enough to get involved. If you feel our efforts are worthy of support, would you consider making a small tax-deductible contribution to help us continue?
Sincerely,
Donald E. Wildmon,
Founder and Chairman
American Family Association Donate with confidence to AFA
(gifts are tax-deductible)”
Citizen WElls 