Mar 16 2010
The Week Democracy Died In America
I think I am like most Americans right now, completely fed up with our out of control government and resigned to facing generations to pay off the liberal deficits as a result of their arrogance and failed policies. I look at the federal government (something I have admired to some degree my whole life) and see nothing but waste and a cancer eating at every living soul in this country. It has become hard to watch recently.
All I see are people who cannot barely fathom a fraction of the complexities of this modern world – from communications to science to medicine – making life destroying decisions with the skill of an idiot run amok.
We face the end of our democracy this week, as the lazy and lying politicians and their enablers inside the Political Industrial Complex (PIC: consultants, lobbyists, staffers, well connect special interests, compliant news media) refuse to let the people chose their path: either government rationed health care verses pay-as-you-can free market health care. I prefer the latter – it is an incentive to stay in school, focus your energies, avoid the laziness of drugs, computer games, self indulgence. In return for hard work not only will you succeed and have a nice house, nice car and raise a family in decent surroundings – you will also earn world class health care. It makes it my responsibility to me and my family – one I take on humbly and honorably. I do not trust it to anyone else.
On the other side is the PIC, which prefers to play god and decide who is worthy of OUR money. I don’t have the arrogance to presume so much over others. It seems the more naive you are the more insight you have into how to run other people’s lives.
What is worse is now the endless lies. To sell this takeover requires a constant flow of DC BS.
Take for example the woman with cancer President Obama and the liberals in DC shamelessly used as a prop this week. Supposedly she is a victim of our health care system. But when you peak behind the propaganda and lies you find out she has NOT been dumped from her coverage and she is NOT dying without care and support.
Natoma Canfield, the cancer-stricken woman who has become a centerpiece of President Obama’s push for health care reform, will not lose her home over her medical bills and will probably qualify for financial aid, a top official at the Cleveland medical center treating her told FoxNews.com.
…
Canfield said in her letter that while she was diagnosed with a treatable form of cancer 16 years ago, she had been cancer-free for 11 years. But she said her premiums increased by over 25 percent last year, and that with a maximum deductible of $2,500 she had to pay about $10,000 for care in 2009 — while her insurance company paid just over $900.
After learning recently that her premiums were about to increase by over 40 percent in 2010, Canfield dropped her plan, she said in the letter.
She is dying from cancer, yes. As many have before her and many will after her. Cancer is a painful way to go, but we do not yet possess the medical skills to reverse it. She is dying, nothing in DC will help her or those like her.
The lies about this story surround her medical costs – they are what they are. They have to be paid by someone. They ARE being paid by someone.
It does not matter whether she is covered from insurance, charity or Medicare. What is true is she is being required, now, to carry a lot of the burden. I feel for her, but under any solution that still must be true. She sees the bills, she feels the financial burden. All Obamacare does his hide this cost from HER – not us! Is this all this is about – hiding the cost of life sustaining care?
The woman was not dumped from her insurance, she could not afford to pay and withdrew. Â She lost her job 12 years ago and has somehow made do since then. Her cancer was diagnosed 16 years ago. Time has caught up with her and the cancer is taking hold. Her medical costs are going up. Hard facts of life.
Nothing in Obamacare can help her. Nothing. In fact, under rationed government health care she would run the risk of being rejected because she will have used up her lifetime allotment of coverage. She also would not be in a premier medical center, as she is now. And there will be no profits feeding into medical research to find a cure. Under Obamacare the current situation would look insanely marvelous.
This need to fake stories and make up lies to sell this crazy liberal scheme and confiscate our personal health care is why democracy is dying in America. Congress is despised, with less than 20% support and 75% of America in opposition. People want them fired – all of them. And yet they mindlessly continue to push for the destruction of our health care.
And to get there, they plan to destroy our constitution. Obama, Pelosi and Reid are big on talking about an up or down vote on health care. Real big. Â All they moan about is getting a vote for their proposals. Something they were free to do (and lose on) for over a year now. But that is all really a lie my friends. There will be no vote:
After laying the groundwork for a decisive vote this week on the Senate’s health-care bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested Monday that she might attempt to pass the measure without having members vote on it.
Instead, Pelosi (D-Calif.) would rely on a procedural sleight of hand: The House would vote on a more popular package of fixes to the Senate bill; under the House rule for that vote, passage would signify that lawmakers “deem” the health-care bill to be passed.
To boil down on past all the misinformation, the Democrats will let their members vote on what they wish was in the bill, but illegally bypass reconciliation by saying that means they passed the Senate bill with all the stuff they don’t like.
It is all a lie, because the Senate cannot go to reconciliation until the President SIGNS the senate bill. That mess has to become law first, then they may get around to fixing it. They will not vote, they will put on a show and then switch the bills out from under are dumb noses. How slick these people are!
Most of us are resigned to the reality DC is completely out of control and needs to be dismantled. Government now exists to please itself, not work for the people. It is still our country, and we will take it back this November. But right now all we can do is watch the fools tear it apart in their mad quest.
So bye, bye now America dies
Let the loonies run DC, now they only spit out lies
Them crooks & liars were drinking whiskey & rye, singing
This will be the day our democracy dies
This will be the day that it dies
Update: Meant to add this article on a new poll showing just how much opposition there is to Obamacare – in centrist swing districts!
Voters in key congressional districts are clear in their opposition to what they have seen, read and heard on health-care reform. That’s one of the findings of a survey that will be released today by the Polling Company on behalf of Independent Women’s Voice. The survey consisted of 1,200 registered voters in 35 districts represented by members who could determine the outcome of the health-care debate. Twenty of those members voted for the House bill in November but now may be reconsidering. Fifteen voted against the bill but are under tremendous pressure to change their vote.
The survey shows astonishing intensity and sharp opposition to reform, far more than national polls reflect. For 82% of those surveyed, the heath-care bill is either the top or one of the top three issues for deciding whom to support for Congress next November. (That number goes to 88% among independent women.) Sixty percent want Congress to start from scratch on a bipartisan health-care reform proposal or stop working on it this year. Majorities say the legislation will make them and their loved ones (53%), the economy (54%) and the U.S. health-care system (55%) worse off—quite the trifecta.
Seven in 10 would vote against a House member who votes for the Senate health-care bill with its special interest provisions. That includes 45% of self-identified Democrats, 72% of independents and 88% of Republicans.
As I said, we are resigned to this mess playing out and the people cleaning out DC in November.
Update: Today’s Health Care must read. Heck, it is the ‘must read’ of the season.
The woman has been unemployed for twelve years, has had cancer, she still has insurance though the cost went up when the cancer reoccurred last year. She has sufficient funds or someone does that she has a home and has kept it even though she has been unemployed. I’m so sorry her cancer has reoccurred, it must be devastating. But the insurance company did not drop her, her home was not for closed on, she is not bankrupt, and she is being taken care of. I’m thinking she is the poster child for the compassion of this country and the care that people get when they are in a tight spot.
A friend got a DUI, their car insurance tripled.
Social security payments remain the same as last year, drug insurance went up $30.00 a month.
Property taxes went up $200.00 this year, property values fell 15%.
LIFE IS LIKE THAT!
So, the smartest administration in the history of the world finds it hard in a country of millions of people to find a person with medical problems that is truly getting screwed. They don’t fully vet the story, and they are putting together the law. Nice.
I feel your pain. Now, I agree with you (as would any person thinking rationally). However, your love of the alleged “moderates†and “independents†is perplexing and getting in the way. The average person that fits into this category would balk at the suggestion that virtually any large government program you can name should be rolled back. It’s true that the Democrats have tried to go way too far way too fast in achieving their socialist state and average Americans are upset. They want blood, but you’re kidding yourself if you think they want what [I think] you want. Not right now, anyway. Things will have to get waaaay worse before the average citizen rises up in the manner you argue they are. Whether you like it or not, you’re taking an extreme position. Like you’ve been trying to do with the whole “climate change†debate, try to move people to that position. It’s the right one (no pun intended).
Give up on the whole “moderateâ€/“independent†thing. You’re a smart guy, but this tack makes no sense. With people of that ilk in charge, we’re all headed for the socialist utopia (i.e., societal collapse) anyway. Come join us radicals! Medicare- privatized. Social Security- privatized. The Department of Education- gone. Even public education should be largely privatized.
I know you are not a fan of the Christian Right, but it is irrelevant to what needs to be done. The message of the Republican Party should be, in a word, federalism. It is nominally the party of federalism, anyway, but it rarely makes much noise in this regard these days except in obtuse ways.
The Republican Party platform should say that at the federal level, it doesn’t care what people do across a whole spectrum of issues. If you want gay marriage in your state, go ahead; if you want third trimester abortions, go ahead; if you want a single payer healthcare system, go ahead. If you want a 72% income tax rate, go ahead. It’s up to the people in YOUR state to work that stuff out.
To all social conservatives: don’t rely on the federal government to help you out in terms of “defense of marriage†or abortion or anything. If the federal government steps into those issues in your favor, they can just as easily (and justifiably) step in against you in these matters or against you in other matters. You’ll need to fight these battles at the state and local levels.
Washington just needs to STAY OUT of it.
Cochino, I AM a centrist moderate. I would not vote for Obama, nor JD Hayward (or that matter Ollie North – went with the Dem).
If you want allies, stop acting as if your is the only superior view. It could be argued the far right, in going too far, opened the door to this mess in the first place.
You need majorities to govern. Piss off the center and you don’t govern.
This ain’t rocket science dude. Americans are centrists – Reagan centrists.
AJ,
Your thinking is wide of the mark. The “center†doesn’t exist, at least not the way you think of it. Most of the people in the “center†have at least some views that other people would consider “extremeâ€. This includes you. I know people, for example, that are pretty middle of the road (I think) on a number of issues you discuss regularly on your blog (including climate change, unfortunately), but they are in favor of gay marriage. That’s not a centrist position. I prefer to talk about positions on issues, not about people. Your “centrist†only exists in the abstract.
“Americans are centrists – Reagan centristsâ€. That’s a weird statement, one I don’t have time to deconstruct right now. Certainly, he had many views that were “extreme†by the standards of the time. He convinced many people that some of his approaches were the right ones (notably, he didn’t get very far with abortion, however).
Cut out all of the “centrist†crap. Chopping the federal government down is going to take extremists. And, again, I mean extremists on that issue.
Now, I think you’re right about the average American being a centrist on the issue of government size and scope. But you are most definitely not one of them. And all of the compromises over the decades, trying to find middle ground, have gotten us right where we are today. The “centrists†are as much to blame as the leftists. They slow the process down at times, but they keep us on the same path. It’s time to get off of the path, now. Join us!
Cohino,
Sorry mate, but you’re delusional. I exist, as do the majority of people that exist center-left to center right. Unless you were brain dead the last few election cycles you would know it is whoever has the center’s support wins. And the more support you get the bigger the landslide.
Sorry mate, but your massaging your own ego and I am just not interested.
You have gone beyond failing to impress.
[…] HT: the very depressed AJ Strata. […]
“I look at the federal government … and see nothing but waste and a cancer eating at every living soul in this country.”
Well it took you a long time and a lot of provocation, but you’ve finally gotten to where we’ve been for a long time now. Congratulations!
And I suggest an old chinese proverb to any who think that change from where we are should be gradual and incremental – “When you must cut the tail off a dog, it does not hurt any less if you cut if off an inch at a time.”
Even Lawrence O’Donnell is against what the democrats are doing.
And that is saying a lot!
Man the phones today, tomorrow, Thursday and Friday. It DOES make a difference. Tell them we cannot afford this. We will hold them personally responsible as they KNOW the TRUTH.
And lastly, tell the moderates fence-sitters (if there is such a thing) that the democrats are going to GET RID OF THEM ANYWAY. Why sell you souls for the radicals?!
[…] in pushing this un-Constitutional piece of crap through without a vote, then AJ Strata is right: The Week Democracy Died In America: We face the end of our democracy this week, as the lazy and lying politicians and their enablers […]
[…] The Strata-Sphere – The Week Democracy Died In America […]
So…… the country is gonna be run by the far left or far right… just depends on who the centrists are pissed at and how they’re voting today… as in, which way is the wind blowing. See what the centrists got for us now?
Hopefully the Supreme Court will make the Legislative branch obey the Constitution.
Are you serious with that stuff?
Cochino,
Here is how I define a Centrist.
1. A Centrist is someone that I might disagree with on any of several issues but is willing to work at resolving those issues in a legal manner. A Centrist is someone who believes in the rule of law. That is, for example the real problem with the abortion issue. Not that the moral components of the problem are not a problem but that liberals used the courts to short-circuit the system of creating laws.
2. A Centrist is someone who believes in freedom and individual responsibility. There should be consequences for your actions, deeds and beliefs. This is not just a law enforcement issue though crime and punishment play a big part in it. I think one of the reasons you see such flagrantly goofy individuals in places like the UK and Japan is because of the nanny state. You can be a loser who dresses up like a vampire or ragdoll and not starve. If those places did not tacitly encourage that type of behavior by not requiring idiots to work for a living they wouldn’t dress like that.
3. A Centrist does not use inordinate amounts of coercion in dealing with others. I may not support homosexuality. But as long as Gay man isn’t recruiting my children it is their right to be wrong. This same rule applies to people who practice various religions or hobbies I am not fond of. I allow them to do their thing because they allow me to do mine. I am free to convert them and they free to evangelizes me. That does not mean I believe all such activities are equally valid or true.
4. A Centrist is someone who realizes that they might not always have all the answers. That is what is so frustrating about liberals. They can never seem to learn from their mistakes. It does not matter how often a welfare system fails they think they can make it work.
5. A Centrist is someone that believes that while there are times that government must step in there are many other times when the government overtly or inadvertently becomes an oppressor that severely limits personal freedom. A P.J. O’Rourke said: “I don’t want government that works; I want it to stop working.”
6. A Centrist is, in short; some one who is willing to find agreement on essentials and allow a diversity of oppinion in other matters. When it comes to government a Centrist is someone who supports an adequate military, equal and color blind enforcement of the laws, equitably laws (Notice I didn’t say fair), supports the rule of law, believes in personal freedom that is extensive but not unlimited.
7. A Centrist does not believe in the perfectability of humanity through human means. We are never going to solve all the problems Sometimes we jut do the best we can. But, we can keep from making things worse
This was off the top of my head. I could do better if I thought about it
Fai Mao – nice job!
And a centrist is a sceptic who think for themselves. Make a sound argument, don’t demand blind allegiance!
AJStrata
Listen, I don’t get on here to be confrontational or argumentative. That’s really not my thing. But I do want to be constructive since this whole “centrist†thing seems to be important to some people at this site, most notably AJ. But I certainly don’t want to be accused again of “massaging my own egoâ€. I understand what you are trying to do, but after reading your centrist manifesto (if I can be so bold), I’m more confused than ever.
1.“A Centrist is someone that I might disagree with on any of several issues but is willing to work at resolving those issues in a legal mannerâ€. You can’t be saying that only “centrists†care about following the law, are you?
2.“A Centrist is someone who believes in freedom and individual responsibility. There should be consequences for your actions, deeds and beliefs.†I like this one, but it’s kind of a rip-off since it’s a core belief of modern conservatism, too.
3.“A Centrist does not use inordinate amounts of coercion in dealing with othersâ€. I’m not sure what you’re accusing liberals and conservatives of doing here.
4. “A Centrist is someone who realizes that they might not always have all the answersâ€. This one’s a red herring. I know many people of the decidedly far left persuasion who definitely do not believe they have all of the answers. Hey, come to think of it, I don’t think I always have the right answers, either. I must be a centrist!
5. “A Centrist is someone that believes that while there are times that government must step in there are many other times when the government overtly or inadvertently becomes an oppressor that severely limits personal freedom†This is too too vague; I can think of the hard right-winger and the firey liberal both believing in this one, but for very different reasons.
6. “A Centrist is, in short; some one who is willing to find agreement on essentials and allow a diversity of oppinion in other matters.†I don’t know what this one means, exactly.
7.†A Centrist does not believe in the perfectability of humanity through human means.†O.K. You’ve eliminated socialists on this one, but the rest of the political spectrum is most definitely in (most especially AJ’s dreaded Christian Right).
As far as I can tell, this “centrist†is a person who thinks of himself/herself as a “centrist†(this is essential, because if you don’t think of yourself as a centrist, you can’t be one). Apparently, by definition, all of their opinions (whether they are held by a majority of people or not) are “centrist†opinions. They assume that every common sense opinion they have (e.g., they don’t think it’s O.K. to shoot someone who disagrees with them on a political issue) is peculiar to people of their ilk. In fact, their common sense results from their inner “centrism”. Am I catching on?
Thank you Sir!
I reworked this comment a bit and posted it here.
http://faimao.blogspot.com/2010/03/classical-liberal.html
“Obama Is a Stranger in a Strange Land”, think about this title for a second, I think it explains Obama’s disconnect to everything I think of as uniquely American.