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POPSTrillions Of Troubles Ahead Then there will be no way out but to create more debt in order to finance the old debt. It assures a period of economic devastation. In a last, desperate attempt, politicians at the federal and local levels will raise taxes to astronomical heights to raise revenues. And that only assures destruction of the economy. Forget the fable of economic recovery. Unless there is a change in Washington by next year's election, there will be no way to turn back.
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POPS Trial Lawyers Buy Democrats in Congress (98% of total "contributions"!)
Since Jan. 3, 2009, 581 contributions worth $1,261,023 have been made by donors identifying themselves as employees of the 15 firms (contributions by employees who did not identify their employer are not reflected in this data). Democratic candidates and committees received $1,241,978, or 98 percent of the total. The most generous of these lucrative sources of Democratic campaign cash was the Dallas-based Baron & Budd, best known for the late Fred Baron, who was finance chairman for former Sen. John Edwards' 2008 presidential run. Thus far in 2009, Baron & Budd employees have contributed $212,958 to 21 Democrats, and not a cent to Republicans. Second on the list is the New York-based Grant Eisenhofer firm, with employees contributing $184,078 to seven Democrats and no Republicans. Of the 138 total recipients from employees of all 15 of the firms, 122 were Democrats and just 16 were Republicans. The Democrats received contributions averaging more than $4,700,
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POPSGreece downgraded over high debt Europe is falling. What will the order be: 1) Greece, 2) Ireland, 3) Italy, 4) Portugal, 5) UK, 6) Spain? What could Germany and France do then, but follow. What happens then is the $64 trillion question. Hyperinflation? More deflation? Nobody knows, but they will know soon. The knowledge is liable to be depressing for believers in eternal economic growth.
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POPSHouse Attacks Fed, Treasury ... Ron Paul's Measure Approved The Fed faces a stinging backlash from legislators from both parties who argue that has too much power and too little oversight. On Thursday, the Senate Banking Committee began debating legislation that would largely remove the Fed from bank supervision over the objections of the Fed and the Obama administration. The Fed audit provision was added to pending legislation on financial regulation that the committee's chairman, Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, had planned to put to a vote Thursday. But he abruptly announced late in the afternoon that the bill wouldn't move ahead until after Thanksgiving. The reason: Ten members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the committee said they would oppose the bill to protest a lack of action to address the economic pain borne by their constituents. Although the economy appears to be growing again, lawmakers face increasing pressure in their districts to do more to boost growth and address an unemployment rate now at
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POPSDrowning in Debt This is from Ross Perot's site (remember him?). One of the comments at the site that I thought was really good: "Our dollar is backed by faith, how much faith is left? Sheesh, they’re going to run out of paper, granted it’s all electronic transfer so maybe not. But man, I just don’t see how catastrophic inflation isn’t a forgone conclusion at this point."
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POPSApproved by White House ~ Reform Media.Transform Democracy Is Dissent ‘Legitimate’? Not According to Campaign Finance Laws by Bert Gall and Robert Frommer -- Pajamas Media After the administration decreed that Fox is not a “legitimate news organization” and that people shouldn’t watch it, more people than ever are tuning in to see Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly fight back. Fundamentally, it’s because the administration’s media war against Fox is but a minor display of the tremendous power the government has to stifle speech it views as illegitimate. Much of this power is the result of long-standing “campaign finance” laws. These laws impose all sorts of restrictions on political speech, and it’s no coincidence that the most draconian of these restrictions are targeted at those who can speak the most effectively against a politician’s reelection. The most effective speakers tend to be those who can spend the most money. Corporations, many of which have lots of money, receive particularly harsh treatment under
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POPSAnd the Knives Come Out..... READ THE 26-PAGE REPORTpdf. READ KAREN IGNAGNI’S 2-PAGE MEMO TO MEMBER PRESIDENTS AND CEOs. http://bit.ly/2QirZ. KEY GRAF: “Between 2010 and 2019 the cumulative increases in the cost of a typical family policy under this reform proposal will be approximately $20,700 more than it would be under the current system.” TNR’s Jonathan Cohn -- in “Is the Insurance Industry Declaring War?” -- sees “some pretty questionable assumptions.” Excerpts below. Cohn here. THE NARRATIVE -- L.A. Times A1 tease: “An about-face by insurers: After working with the White House to overhaul healthcare, the insurance industry now plans to fight the reform effort.” TALKRADIO ALERT -- USA Today A1 tease: “Benefits in health bill not immediate: Tax credits for insurance won’t start until 2013; tax hikes to pay for changes kick in right away.” THE WHITE HOUSE FEELS “MISLED” BY THE AHIP SALVO, reports POLITICO’s Carrie Budoff Brown: “The report will drop ahead of a crucial vote on the bill . . .
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POPSDemocrats Go to War With the public option dead for now, the left is launching attack ads against centrist and Blue Dog Democrats—and Rahm Emanuel, the poster child for Netroots betrayal.
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POPSObama raise drone attacks
The obscenity of this policy is seldom mentioned. " the drone attacks have backfired. As he told The New Yorker, "Every one of these dead non-combatants represents an alienated family, a new revenge feud, and more recruits for a militant movement that has grown exponentially even as drone strikes have increased." And because of the C.I.A. program's secrecy, Mayer writes, "there is no visible system of accountability in place, despite the fact that the agency has killed many civilians inside a politically fragile, nuclear-armed country with which the U.S. is not at war." The New Yorker further reports the Obama Administration has also expanded the sphere of authorized drone assaults in Afghanistan. An August Senate Foreign Relations Committee report said the Pentagon's list of approved terrorist targets held 367 names and included some 50 Afghan drug lords "who are suspected of giving money to help finance the Taliban," Mayer reports. She quotes the Senate report as stating, "The
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POPSDemocrats work to finalize health legislation Does anyone else believe that the big rush to pass this Health Care Bill is because some of these Congressmen know they may not survive the 2010 election? And am I the only one who trusts the "health insurance industry" more than I trust Washington? It certainly has not been listening to it's constituents.
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POPS "None Of Our Business" … CNSnews.com has confirmed that “the actual final text of the legislation will be determined by Reid himself , who will consolidate the legislation approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the still-unapproved legislation from the Senate Finance Committee. Reid will be able to draft and insert textual language that was not expressly approved by either committee.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will write the final version of Obamacare to be considered in the Senate with no input from the American people.. Then the House rubber stamps the Senate bill and rushes it into the President’s hands: The final step in this plan is for the House to take up Obama care, without amending the legislation, and then sending that bill directly to the President for his signature.
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POPSNo Cap on Government Control of Healthcare Rules! SENATE: PUBLIC OPTION STILL ALIVE! The Senate's version of healthcare reform is slated to be voted on by the Finance Committee on Tuesday. But the House bill has already been approved by several committees and is sure to play a major role in any conference by the House and Senate to reconcile the bills those bodies pass. Newsmax.TV's Ashley Martella noted that under the House bill, physicians would be drafted into the public option, a provision Dr. Blaylock has earlier called "conscription." This bill "is virtually a draft because it says all physicians are automatically in the public option unless they opt out, and the opt out mechanism will be later determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services," Dr. Blaylock said. "Well, we don't know how difficult it will be for physicians to opt out. Will there be penalties, fines, taxes, etc.? Because that's all left up to the Secretary."
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POPSInsurance Industry Audit Says Insurance Premiums Will Increase Faster with Senate Baucus Bill America's Health Insurance Plans engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to examine the impact of four components of the health reform bill being proposed by the Senate Finance Committee as introduced. These include: # Insurance market reforms and consumer protections that would raise health insurance premiums for individuals and families if the reforms are not coupled with an effective coverage requirement. # An excise tax on employer-sponsored high value health plans (or "Cadillac plans") that in a few years could also raise premiums for some moderate value plans. # Cuts in payment rates in public programs that could increase cost shifting to private sector businesses and consumers. These changes are expected to more than offset the potential reduction in cost shifting resulting from providing coverage to the uninsured. # New taxes on health sector entities that are likely to be passed through to consumers.
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POPSHave you seen the ObamaCare bill? Mikulski blocks "Read the Bill" rule Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) used procedural tactics this week to block an amendment offered by Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) to require all bills to be posted on the Internet 72 hours before they are considered by the Senate. It is outrageous -- but perhaps not surprising -- that a U.S. Senator would oppose such a modest proposal for transparency. Watch the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwZz7h6tmFY&feature=channel TAKE ACTION! Contact Sen. Mikulski and tell her you're not happy she opposed the 72-hour "Read the Bill" rule. And please don't let her office tell you the amendment was not germane. The Senate adopts amendments every day that aren't germane and this one was no different. Mikulski's number is (202) 224-4654 and you can email her here. http://mikulski.senate.gov/Contact/contact.cfm
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POPSObamacare 'Wrap-Up' Guts Conservatives Amendments The wrap-up amendment expands powers granted to a brand new Medicare Commission endowing these bureaucrats with the ability to raise premiums on Medicare prescription drug coverage at will. Democrats had worked out a deal with hospitals in secret negotiations over the summer to exempt them from the extensive plans for cuts in Medicare rates. This “carve out” would exempt hospitals from these reductions but the CBO estimated the provision would add $11 billion to the overall cost of the bill. No problem for Dems, just rack up another $11 billion in stealth cuts to Medicare for an offset. Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) offered an amendment that was agreed to in the committee markup without objection to shield veterans from increases in the cost of their medical care and reductions in access to treatment. In the wrap-up amendment, Democrats voted to gut the veteran protections, without the customary consultation to the amendment’s author, reducing the amendment to mere . . .
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POPSMinus Public Option, Obamacare Still Stinks not those ineligible for assistance ― or outright thieves. Grassley proposed that individuals show government-issued photo identification when applying for Medicaid or SCHIP: the State Child Health Insurance Program. On a party line vote, Democrats killed Grassley's measure and helped the undeserving snatch everyone else's hard-earned tax dollars. ― Democrats enshrined waste, fraud, and abuse when their party-line vote squelched Texas Republican John Cornyn's amendment to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid. ― Democrats torpedoed Idaho Republican Mike Crapo's amendment to block any Medicaid expansion that imposes unfunded mandates on the states. ― Kansas Republican Pat Roberts tried to secure flexibility and choice for Americans with Health Savings Accounts, Flexible Savings Accounts, and other financial instruments that foster personal responsibility. He tried to remove a draft provision that prohibits reimbursing such accounts for purchases . . .
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POPSInsurers Fight Public Health Plan
The worst-case scenario from the insurance industry's standpoint? The government mandates individual coverage, but also creates a public plan offering consumers a better deal, and drawing them away from the private companies. When nine of 10 Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee sent a letter to President Obama on June 8 opposing the public-option plan, they argued that such a move could destroy private insurers. "Washington-run programs undermine market-based competition through their ability to impose price controls and shift costs to other purchasers," they wrote. "Forcing free market plans to compete with these government-run programs would create an unlevel playing field and inevitably doom true competition." The nine signers have received $2.6 million from HMOs/health services and health and accident insurers to their candidate committees and leadership PACs since 1989. Of them, Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) ranks 11th among all current members of Congress to get $$.
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POPSLanguage In Healthcare Bill: "Arcane," "Confusing," "Hard Stuff to Understand,"" "Gibberish," "Incomprehensible" Thus far, however, the committee has not produced the actual legislative text of the bill. Instead the senators have been working with “conceptual language”"or what some committee members call a “plain English” summary or description of the bill. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), who sits on the committee, told CNSNews.com on Thursday that the panel was just following its standard practice in working with a “plain language description” of the bill rather than an actual legislative text. “It’s not just conceptual, it’s a plain language description of the various provisions of the bill is what the Senate Finance Committee has always done when it passes legislation and that is turned into legislative language which is what is presented to the full Senate for consideration,” said Bingaman. Read full article, transcript and video >>> http://www.eyeblast.tv/public/checker.aspx?v=GdkUaGkUkU But Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who also serves on the committee,
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POPSIntroducing The Swiftboat Network A new ploy to hide behind the corporate curtain to allow wealthy individuals unlimited expenditure in spinning any election. Sickening. See all the details at the source. Democratic elections are dead, and the sheeple will be baying low. Of course, were a protest to be mounted, we could count on the Pittsburgh Police to bring law to the land in a hurry.
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POPSSo Much For Health Care Reform Anybody following the money on this issue knew we'd never see any real progress, and now that's been confirmed. Corporations pay to keep health expenses high, so that's where they'll stay for yet another administration. This has been going on for six decades.
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POPSSenate Panel Foils Public Preview of Health Bill Moreover, two Democrats, Sens. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia and Charles Schumer of New York, are seeking to add a public insurance option to the bill. Such a plan is favored by many liberals but was substituted with nonprofit insurance cooperatives in the bill. The committee opened its second day of work on the bill after a clash over costs on Tuesday. Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa and other Republicans want to change the bill's mandate for individuals to have health insurance, which they say would be a burden on some people. Baucus altered parts of the bill on Tuesday in a bid to gain support from both sides. Key changes included cutting the maximum penalty for families that don't get health insurance, to $1,900 from $3,800 a year. Health-care economist Len Nichols of the New America Foundation said he thinks Snowe's trigger amendment may help get some other Republicans on board with the broader bill. But at least one Republican leader criticized the idea.
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POPSRight, so tell me again how the "free market" is the best way to manage health-care delivery An editorial from 2007 shows how research into three promising anticancer drugs has been abandoned. The reason is that the compounds on which the drugs are based cannot be patented (melatonin, for example), which means that pharma companies are unlikely to turn a profit. Understandable, from the perspective of the pharma companies, but unconscionable, from the perspective of cancer patients.
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