Archive for March, 2010

The health care bill passed yesterday with a 219-212 vote in the House.  All Republicans were smart and voted no along with 34 Democrats.  The bill is now on its way to the President to be signed.

Let me guess – you re-read that paragraph about two times making sure you read it correct didn’t you?  We all took civics in school, watched those silly school house rock videos, and we all are smart enough to understand how a bill becomes a law.  It goes through the House for approval, through the Senate and if approved through both goes to the President for a signature.  So how can this health care bill pass through the House, skip the Senate and go to the President for a signature?  Well it’s called: The Democrats pulled a fast ball on the American people.

What was passed yesterday was called a reconciliation bill.  What ended up happening was the House and Senate passed two different Health Care Reform bills.  In order for a bill to become a law it must get passed through the House and Senate in the same form.  At the time neither the House nor Senate wanted to take up each other’s form of the bill.  So what should have happened at this point in time was that everyone should have gone back to the drawing board and come up with something else.  That happened for about a day.  Obama got together with Republicans and Democrats and made it seem like they were trying to work out a compromise to this Healthcare Reform Bill.  I’m not sure though if any of you watched the actual debate, but I did and it was not a bipartisan meeting at all.  Nothing of what the Republicans said was heard.  So after that meeting, several deal makings later, and arm twisting by the Obama Administration, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi – the Democrats in the House got together and decided they would take up the Senate’s version of the healthcare bill.

The only problem was they didn’t have enough votes to do it.  One thing stopping the House Democrats from passing the bill was the provisions on abortion.  The White House though announced President Obama would issue an executive order pledging that no federal funds would be used for elective abortion. Well I don’t know about you but I don’t trust one word that comes out of Obama’s mouth and that promise to me means nothing. So this bill was passed with pro-abortion provisions meaning our tax dollars are going to support abortion.   But either way, the House Democrats not in favor of the pro-abortion provisions believed Obama and now had enough votes to pass the Health Care Reform, and because they passed the Senate’s version of the bill under “reconciliation” it now goes straight to the President for his signature.  The fixes that were made to the bill will go back to the Senate for approval; however under reconciliation all they need is a 51 vote majority to pass it.  Under normal circumstances it would take 60 votes to pass a bill through the Senate.  Democrats control 59 of the Senate’s 100 seats, one vote shy of the number needed to overcome bill-killing filibusters from a united GOP.   One other reason the Democrats wanted to pass this bill using reconciliation.  They knew they didn’t have the votes in the Senate to pass it normally, but they do have the 51 needed to pass it now.

So whether we like it or not, it looks like this Health Care Reform is going to be passed and put into law.  It’s going to cost over $900 billion dollars over ten years, bankrupt our state, bankrupt our entire economy, and not to mention my child who isn’t even born yet is going to get the bill footed to him or her.  I love though how the Democrats will tell you this bill is saving us $138 billion dollars.  I seriously do question if Reid, Pelosi and others got a legit education in their youth or maybe they just forgot over the years how to do simple math.  This bill is going to cost $900 billion + over the next ten years and we’re going to save $138 billion over the next ten years according to the Democrats.  900 – 138 = 762!  So our deficit is still going to go up $762 billion over ten years.  If you believe that is all this bill is going to cost.  I for one believe it’ll cost way more than $900 billion over ten years.

So with all that aside, what exactly is IN this health care bill?

Well along with the hefty price tag this bill comes with it also comes with a lot of rules and regulations. Under this bill I for one will be required to get health care, the 18 year old just out of high school who holds a part time job will be required, and the 30 year old who just got laid off and has no source of income will also be required.  Oh and if you don’t purchase health care by 2014 you will be penalized! Oh but don’t worry the government will offer you a subsidy. Oh how nice (that was meant to be sarcastic people).

Businesses that have fewer than 50 employees will not be required to cover their employees under the health care bill, but those with over 50 will be.  If they do not cover them, the company will face a $750 dollar fine per person. In some cases (depending on how large the company is) paying that $750 fine might be cheaper than offering health care.  The bottom line though is that this health care reform will hurt businesses.  I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have a job and some income coming in them no job and health care.  Companies will hire less people.  That’s the simple truth.  If you think unemployment is high in the year 2010.  You just wait till 2014 rolls around.

Now here’s what SEEMS like the good parts of the bill (hence the word seems)

From a news article on MSNBC.com: “The insurance industry, which spent millions on advertising trying to block the bill, would come under new federal regulation. They would be forbidden from placing lifetime dollar limits on policies, from denying coverage to children because of pre-existing conditions and from canceling policies when a policyholder becomes ill. Parents would be able to keep children up to age 26 on their family insurance plans, three years longer than is now the case. A new high-risk pool would offer coverage to uninsured people with medical problems until 2014, when the coverage expansion would go into high gear.”

Sounds good huh? People can no longer be denied based on pre-existing conditions, insurance companies can’t cancel your policy if you become sick and hey I could still be on Dad’s health insurance till I’m 26.  HOWEVER – hence the word seems – remember?  Those requirements and rules are going to raise the cost of premiums, medicine, and medical practices. So yes sounds nice on paper but in reality – covering those people are going to cost a lot more money.

So this health care bill DOES NOT lower the cost of health care in America. It’ll raise taxes by half a trillion dollars and the other half trillion to pay for this bill will be taken out of Medicare.  I’ll remember when my son (or daughter) turns 18 and realizes how much he has to pay for a health care bill he wasn’t even alive to know about when it passed – that it was the Obama Administration and those 219 Democrats that handed my son (or daughter) the bill they and their kids will be paying off for the rest of their lives.

Oh and just so you all know, on the November ballot in Arizona there is going to be an initiative called the Arizona Health Care Freedom Act. If passed, it will allow residents to opt out of any federally mandated health insurance program or plan. So I urge you all to VOTE YES in November on that initiative!

Sarah Markham

Well the Arizona Legislature has yet again decided not to make texting while driving illegal. It’s a battle that has been going on at the state level for over a year now. I can in a way see why some don’t want a law on it. I don’t like the government interfering in my life either. If I want to wear a seat belt, I’ll wear one. If I don’t, well my loss now isn’t it? What is me not wearing my seat belt going to hurt anybody else but me? Just so you all know – I always wear my seat belt, but still my point is how is me not wearing my seat belt going to affect you? However, it’s just plain common sense though. You’re driving in a car – wear your seat belt. We shouldn’t need a law on it. Not texting while driving should be common sense too; however the concept and outcomes of such an action does have different consequences than ones of not wearing a seat belt. The actions of not paying attention while you’re driving because you’re texting your friend back, could cost the life of another person. Don’t text while you drive – it SHOULD be common sense! If what you have to say is that important, why not try calling them? If you remember what it’s like to actually have a real conversation with a person. I have to say though, I have tried texting while driving. VERY hard & I don’t recommend it. I completely see why it causes accidents. So it should be common sense – don’t text and drive; however, it’s not because I have tons of friends who will text me while driving. I always tell them not too, but they do it anyway. So it’s not common sense to some. So maybe we do need a law on it. I actually see a more valid argument for having a law on banning texting while driving over requiring a person to wear a seat belt. Maybe if people used common sense though the idea of texting while driving wouldn’t need a law attached to it in the first place. I’m just saying …

Sarah Markham

The Census is very important. The 2010 Census just might be the thing that turns Mohave County into 5 Supervisory Districts, what could get Mohave County more federal money for more developmental projects, it could be what adds 9 new House Seats to California, and it could drastically change the outcome of some political races for the next 10 years. Yes the 2010 Census is VERY important!

However, I do think far too much is being spent on advertising for it. Our economy is in a recession and the Census Department is spending tons of money on unnecessary advertising. I might be able to grasp spending advertising for TV commercials. Again the Census is an important document and we need to make sure ALL LEGAL residents are counted, but why in the world does the Census Bureau need to pay for a damn advertisement at Movies Havasu and Ultra Star Theaters? Huh? Seriously? That’s pushing it AND a waste of our tax dollars!

But what REALLY ticked me off is what I heard today – we’re counting illegals in the 2010 Census? WHAT? The Census is FAR too important! It’s a document we base our entire political redistricting off of for TEN YEARS!! We SHOULD NOT be counting illegals!! We should be counting legal residents of the United States of America! Illegals are NOT apart of this country, should go back to whatever boat they came from or wall they jumped over, they should not be concerned in ANYTHING especially given ANY opportunity to get on OUR welfare and they should NOT be counted in the 2010 Census!

This is just ridicules – “the U.S. Census Bureau, Thomas Mesenbourg, told CNSNews.com that the bureau intends to work with community organizations to make sure every illegal alien in the United States is counted in the 2010 Census.”

What?! Now this is ONE thing no matter WHAT political affiliation you are – you SHOULD be pissed as hell about!

This Census is FAR too important to the future of this country to include illegal aliens in it!

The majority of people DO NOT want illegals in this country – so if you are illegal and reading this – GO BACK to whatever country you came from! And next time – think about coming here the legal, right way! And maybe then we’ll get along!

Sarah