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POPSObama's Health-Care Gamble Amazingly this is coming from Newsweek's Howard Fineman. He goes on to say: "The effort to jam the bill through Congress made the public dubious. Most Democrats voted for a version of the bill on the first round without having read, let alone digested, its thousands of pages. As the Christmas Eve vote approached, desperate last-minute stocking stuffers appeared in the small print, such as a $1.2 billion payoff to the state of Nebraska that secured Sen. Ben Nelson's reluctant vote." There's much more and it's indeed very telling. Get a grip Capitol Hill and "start over". Nobody wants it as is.
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POPSConservatives Have To Get Their Act Together
Remember the 3 biggies we are battling in 2010 Republicans and other conservative groups must focus and find candidates that not only can compete and do well in debates and the media but who really do have integrity, a commitment to our constitution and courage to serve. Anyone can find a pretty person and great speaker. Every tyrant I can think of through out our last 100 years was a sensational PR wizard and speaker. America must put a wall of protection against Fundamentalist Islam It is high time America does more than ‘review’ homeland security and watch lists. We must boldly define the enemy as Fundamentalist Islam, taught here and throughout the world. Once we find the courage to declare publicly the truth about the enemy we must then decide vividly and in media to go after Islamic clerics, known Islamic training camps in the US, Islamic agencies that work against our country and Government, ID sleeper cells and their allies. Laurie Roth http://bit.ly/6ok5Ls
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POPSMost Ethical Democrats Evah! of course, its all just a simple accounting error (as long as you are a Democrat). However, if you weren't a member of Congress this kind of thing would put you in line for Prison stripes
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POPSOVER POPULATION. Can We Continue to Ignore It? It is the achilles heel of democracy~ no one is likely to vote for a politician that might tell you how many children you can have, but if there are no leaders to tackle the problem then would we rather rely on natural causes to regulate the human population? Like so many things, the longer it is ignored the harder its going to be to deal with. I believe the problems of resource abuse and population could both be addressed by a willingness to realise when we have enough~ enough clothes, or enough cars, enough houses, or enough children. And then stop acquiring more.Some believe that if contraception was available to every woman, that alone would prevent the population from increasing, as the indigenous populations of developed countries are often found to be in decline. But that still requires the ability to say 'Enough' ~ is enough....
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POPSRepublican Attorneys General in 13 States Threaten Lawsuit Over Health Care
The 60-39 vote marked the third time in as many days Democrats posted a supermajority needed to advance the legislation. The letter was signed by top prosecutors in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington state. All are Republicans, and McMaster and the attorneys general of Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania are running for governor in their respective states. Last week, McMaster said he was leading several other attorneys general in an inquiry into the constitutionality of the estimated $100 million deal he has dubbed the "Cornhusker Kickback." Republican U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint of South Carolina raised questions about the legislation, which they said was amended to win Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson's support. "Because this provision has serious implications for the country and the future of our nation's legislative process .....
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POPSWill GOP Call to Repeal Health Care Bill? Repealing the health care bill, however, would take more than winning back a few congressional seats. Just as the Republican minority in the Senate has stalled the current health care debate, a Democratic minority could do the same to any repeal measure unless Republicans were able to pull together at least a 60-vote majority. The GOP would also have to overcome the strong majority Democrats now have in the House. Even if they were to win both chambers back, President Obama could veto any repeal measure at least through 2012. "Anyone who thinks they'll be able to repeal ObamaCare is kidding themselves," Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, told the Washington Independent. "If they want to stop it, they need to stop it now."
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POPSCross The River, Burn The Bridge by Mark Steyn
There is no reason on earth why Nebraska should be the only state in this Union to have every dime of its increased Medicare tab picked up by the 49 others. So either that privilege will be extended to all, or to favored others, or its asymmetry will be balanced by other precisely targeted lollipops hither and yon. Whatever happens, it’s a dagger at the heart of American federalism, just as the bill’s magisterial proclamation that the Independent Medicare Advisory Board can only be abolished by a two-thirds vote of the Senate strikes at one of the most basic principles of a free society " that no parliament can bind its successors. These details are obnoxious not merely in and of themselves but because they tell us the truth about where we’re headed: Think of the way almost every Big Government project bursts its bodice and winds up bigger and more bloated than its creators allegedly foresaw. In this instance, the stays come pre-loosened, and studded with loopholes.
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POPSObamaCare Sparking 10th Amendment Action in Seven States
Graham has been all over cable news today visibly angry about the vote-buying by Reid that secured the votes of Senators Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, as well as possibly other senators as yet unknown. DeMint has also been active, especially on the issue of the Reid amendment's provision seeking to bar future congresses from changing even a single word of Section 3403 on the Independent Medicare Advisory Board (IMAB). The IMAB will become the federal health care ground zero under Obamacare if it becomes law. Ed Morrissey at Hot Air has a link to DeMint's floor speech on the issue and additional information, analyses, and links. Nelson's deal with Reid has attracted the most attention because it exempts Nebraska from paying its share of Medicaid expenses in perpetuity. Medicaid expenditures are among the most expensive federal mandates on state governments, and the Obamacare bill will significantly increase costs
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POPS The Senate Postmortem other Republican moderates or deal-makers who earlier this year were prepared to compromise. Some 18 Senate Republicans voted to more than double the size of the children's health insurance program in 2007 over the opposition of President Bush, and Mrs. Snowe and Messrs. Grassley and Hatch and others have long joined with Democrats for health-care subsidy expansions that most Republicans dislike. The GOP had no choice but to oppose this plan or completely abandon its principles. Read full WSJ post @ http://bit.ly/7lW0QL
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POPSHealth Care Bill Could Face String of Legal Challenges “I don’t believe Congress has the legal or moral authority to force this mandate on its citizens,” Ensign said in a statement, raising what’s known as a “constitutional point of order.” Such procedural challenges are rare and typically lead to a vote. The non-profit Fund for Personal Liberty, as well as a Virginia-based group called the 10th Amendment Foundation, already have threatened to file suit in federal court over this issue if the health care bill passes. The Constitution allows Congress to tax, borrow, spend, declare war, raise an army and regulate commerce, among other things. Proponents of the insurance mandate point to the Commerce Clause in arguing that Congress is within its rights to require health insurance and dismiss such potential legal challenges. But foes say the across-the-board requirement is too broad.
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POPSWhen Sleight of Hand Is Used to Pass an Unpopular Bill by Michael Barone
prohibiting slavery in territories north of Arkansas and substituted popular sovereignty -- territory residents could vote slavery up or down. We cannot say with assurance that the Kansas-Nebraska Act was unpopular -- Dr. Gallup didn't start polling until 81 years later. But the results of the next election were pretty convincing. The Republican Party was suddenly created to oppose the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the 1854-55 elections transformed the Democrats' 159-71 majority to a 108-83 Republican margin. Democrats didn't win a majority of House seats for the next 20 years. Nor did the Kansas-Nebraska Act settle the issue it addressed. Pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers fought it out in "bleeding Kansas," and Douglas felt obliged to break with the Democratic administration and disown election-stealing by the pro-slavery side. The issue roused a former congressman named Abraham Lincoln to re-enter politics, and he beat Douglas in the popular vote (but not in the legislature)
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POPSHoliday Protesters Leave Scrooge McCaskill Lumps of Coal For Her Obamacare Vote (Video) Protesters Gather for a Second Time Outside Claire McCaskill’s Office 2009 December 23 by DanaLoesch Protesters leave coal for McCaskill. A hundred or so protesters gathered outside of Sen. Claire McCaskill’s University City office during their lunch hours for the second time in two weeks to protest McCaskill’s continual lack of representation. The overwhelming majority of Missouri (and national) voters oppose Harry Reid’s senate fauxcare bill, yet McCaskill is eager to play the part of the rubber stamp and help pass it in the senate " and even complains about having to do so on Christmas. This is what she wanted! The Dana Show http://bit.ly/8Y3bN1 McCaskill Joker Posters Pop Up All Over Jefferson County! Sharp Elbows StL: http://bit.ly/4LLwCa
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POPSThieves Vote To Continue Locked Door Deals, Midnite Votes & Bribes For Votes Senate democrats today approved the practice of bribery and vote buying. “Democrats have truly hit the bottom on their reckless pursuit of a government takeover of health care. The Democrat majority just voted to retain the culture of corruption in Congress. Just two years ago, Democrats bragged about draining the swamp, but now they’re endorsing political bribery. This is Washington at its worst.” Senator Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska), who secured a special earmark for his state that forces taxpayers in 49 states to fund Medicaid in Nebraska, first voted against the ban on trading earmarks for votes but switched his vote before the final tally. Senator DeMint responded, “Senator Nelson, unfortunately, is trying to have it both ways, he was for trading his vote for earmarks before he was against it."
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POPSDigg Screws Members | Goes rel "no follow" In a disturbing trend among many SB sites, Digg is apparently trying to keep all the link juice for itself, saying it will only allow links to go do follow if a certain number of user votes. The problem with that is we all know that vote rings make it possible for many undeserving links to get votes at Digg. So how can Digg vouch for Huffington Post, when the rumor is they have paid voters, etc.?
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POPSTHEN...GO HOME AND GET A JOB! Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, server your term(s), then go home and back to work. 4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan just as all Americans. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work. 5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. A. Compensation for elected and appointed officials shall be subject to a vote of the people. Only those not directly or indirectly employed by the government shall be allowed to cast a vote. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, serve your term(s), then go home and back to work. 6. Congress looses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathe
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POPSSenate passes healthcare overhaul This victory is mandatory step for creating more just and prosperous society. And public option is still not "off the table". So common sense is always "prevailing" in the final end...