The Kids Stole My Brain Cells

Object Lesson

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 00:58:00 +0000

Stop me if you have heard this.

Nah, never-mind!

A young ambitious liberal college student eager to show her intellectual ability went to her first class and when asked to write an essay on Socialism.
She was enthusiastic about the chance. She finally had the chance to prove the virtues of socialism and the expose the evils of Capitalism.
She worked everyday, and passed up opportunities to be with her friends to be in the library, she was even able to get interviews with experts on Socialism.   She had the essay beautifully typed.   She knew this paper was good enough to be published.   Excited about the reaction from her professor she turn in her paper.
Two weeks later she received her paper only to be devastated that she got a C.
Furious she went to her professor and shouted, "Do you know how hard I worked on this?!   I know my work is superior to the whole class!"
The professor agreed.   "You did indeed," the professor said calmly.
"So why did I get a C?!" she asked.
"Do you see the young man in the back? The one looking out the window with the pencil hanging out of his mouth," the professor asked.
"Yes! So what does he have to do with me?"
The professor then said, "Well, he is a football player he didn't do very well.   I don't even think he wants to be here.   But you did so well I simply spread your points to the rest of the class".
She furiously shouted, "BUT THAT'S NOT FAIR!"
He said, "You are correct....that''s Socialism!"

Divorce Agreement

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 16:26:00 +0000

Whether a student actually wrote this or not, the message is powerful while being tounge-in-cheek.

I hope you do not take yourself so seriously that you fail to see the underlying message.

Enjoy!

Source: Sodahead

"Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al:

We have stuck together since the late 1950's for the sake of the kids, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce.
I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has clearly run its course. Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right for us all, so let's just end it on friendly terms.
We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.
Here is a model separation agreement:
Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a similar portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy!
Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.
We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU.
Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military.
We'll take the nasty, smelly oil industry and you can go with wind, solar and biodiesel.
You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell.
You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them.
We'll keep capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street.
You can have your beloved lifelong welfare dwellers, food stamps, homeless, homeboys, hippies, druggies and illegal aliens.
We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO's and rednecks.
We'll keep the Bibles and give you CBS, NBC and Hollywood.
You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us.
You can have the peaceniks and war protesters.
When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security.
We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values.
You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism, political correctness and Shirley McClain.
You can also have the U.N. but we will no longer be paying the bill.
We'll keep the SUV's, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars.
You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find. You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors.
We'll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right.
We'll keep "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "The National Anthem."
I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute "Imagine", "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing", "Kum Ba Ya" or "We Are the World".
We'll practice trickle down economics and you can continue to give trickle up poverty your best shot.
Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag.
Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to other like-minded liberal and conservative patriots and if you do not agree, just move along.
In the spirit of friendly parting, I'll bet you answer which one of us will need whose help in 15 years.

Sincerely,
John J. Wall Law Student and an American

P. S. Also, please take Ted Turner, Sean Penn, Martin Sheen, Barbra Streisand, Alec Baldwin & Jane Fonda with you.

P. S. S. And you won't have to press 1 for English when you call our country."

And please remember - this is a blog. 8)

Watch & Spread the Truth

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 16:06:00 +0000

An example of Economic Terrorism. Watch and spread the truth.
Stop the madness.

From the Blaze:

"Revealed — The Left’s Economic Terrorism Playbook: The Chase Campaign by a Coalition of Unions, Community Groups, Lawmakers and Students to Take Down US Capitalism and Redistribute Wealth & Power."

:mad:

Diary of a Snow Shoveler

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 17:16:00 +0000

Diary of a Snow Shoveler...and former Snow Lover.

Priceless!

December 8: It started to snow. The first snow of the season and the wife and I took our cocktails and sat for hours by the window watching the huge soft flakes drift down from heaven. It looked like a Grandma Moses Print. It was so romantic we felt like newlyweds again. I love snow!

December 9: We woke to a beautiful blanket of crystal white snow covering every inch of the landscape. What a fantastic sight! Can there be a more lovely place in the Whole World? Moving here was the best idea I've ever had. Shoveled for the first time in years and felt like a boy again. I did both our driveway and the sidewalks. This afternoon the snowplow came along and covered up the sidewalks and closed in the driveway,so I got to shovel again. What a perfect life.

December 12: The sun has melted all our lovely snow. Such a disappointment. My neighbor tells me not to worry, we'll definitely have a white Christmas. No snow on Christmas would be awful! Bob says we'll have so much snow by the end of winter, that I'll never want to see snow again. I don't think that's possible. Bob is such a nice man I'm glad he's our neighbor.

December 14: Snow lovely snow! 8" last night. The temperature dropped to -20. The cold makes everything sparkle so. The wind took my breath away, but I warmed up by shoveling the driveway and sidewalks. This is the life! The snowplow came back this afternoon and buried everything again. I didn't realize I would have to do quite this much shoveling, but I'll certainly get back in shape this way. I wish l wouldn't huff and puff so.

December 15: 20 inches forecast. Sold my van and bought a 4x4 Blazer. Bought snow tires for the wife's car and 2 extra shovels. Stocked the freezer. The wife wants a wood stove in case the electricity goes out. I think that's silly. We aren't in Alaska, after all.

December 16: Ice storm this morning. Fell on my ass on the ice in the driveway putting down salt. Hurtlike hell. The wife laughed for an hour, which I think was very cruel.

December 17: Still way below freezing. Roads are too icy to go anywhere. Electricity was off for 5 hours. I had to pile the blankets on to stay warm. Nothing to do but stare at the wife and try not to irritate her.

Guess I should've bought a wood stove, but won't admit it to her. God I hate it when she's right. I can't believe I'm freezing to death in my own living room.

December 20: Electricity's back on, but had another 14" of the damn stuff last night. More shoveling. Took all day. Damn snowplow came by twice. Tried to find a neighbor kid to shovel, but they said they're too busy playing hockey. I think they're lying. Called the only hardware store around to see about buying a snow blower and they're out. Might have another shipment in March. I think they're lying. Bob says I have to shovel or the city will have it done and bill me. I think he's lying.

December 22: Bob was right about a white Christmas because 13 more inches of the white s--- fell today, and it's so cold it probably won't melt till August. Took me 45 minutes to get all dressed up to go out to shovel and then I had to p. By the time I got undressed, p---ed and dressed again. I was too tired to shovel. Tried to hire Bob who has a plow on his truck for the rest of the winter; but he says he's too busy. I think the a------ is lying.

December 23: Only 2" of snow today. And it warmed up to zero. The wife wanted me to decorate the front of the house this morning. What is she nuts!!! Why didn't she tell me to do that a month ago? She says she did but I think she's lying.

December 24: 6". Snow packed so hard by snowplow, broke the ----- shovel. Thought I was having a heart attack. If I ever catch the son of a b---- who drives that snowplow, I'll drag him through the snow by his -----. I know he hides around the corner and waits for me to finish shoveling and then he comes down the street at a 100 miles an hour and throws snow all over where I've just been! Tonight the wife wanted me to sing Christmas carols with her and open our presents, but I was busy watching for the d--- snowplow.

December 25: Merry Christmas. 20 more inches of the !=3D@x@!x!x1 slop tonight. Snowed in. The idea of shoveling makes my blood boil. God I hate the snow! Then the snowplow driver came by asking for a donation and I hit him over the head with my shovel. The wife says I have a bad attitude. I think she's an idiot. If I have to watch "It's a Wonderful Life" one more time, I'm going to kill her.

December 26: Still snowed in. Why the hell did I ever move here? It was all her idea. She's really getting on my nerves.

December 27: Temperature dropped to -30 and the pipes froze.

December 28: Warmed up to -5. Still snowed in. The b---- is driving me crazy!!!!!

December 29: 10 more inches. Bob says I have to shovel the roof or it could cave in. That's the silliest thing I ever heard. How dumb does he think I am?

December 30: Roof caved in. The snow plow driver is suing me for a million dollars. The wife went home to her mother. 9" predicted.

December 31: Set fire to what's left of the house. No more shoveling.

January 8: I feel so good. I just love those little white pills they keep giving me. Why am I tied to the bed?

The Evil of Bigness

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:08:00 +0000

I read this letter to the editor the St. Louis Post Dispatch on 2/26/11. It was in repsonse to an editorial "A Worried Nation" (1/25/11).

I found the author of the letter made some very salient points.

"The editorial calms that a national debate is being conducted on false premises. But whose false premises? No one is opposed to normal local government services. What many of us strongly oppose is the bureaucratic monstrosity in Washington, D.C., masquerading as our government.

Regard the havoc Big Government has wrought on Europe, where belated attempts at fiscal discipline are being violently opposed by mobs contaminated with cradle-to-grave entitlement disease. When parents who have spoiled their children later try to discipline the children, the children consider it cruel. This applies to socialism and welfarism, a path we are treading.

St. Augustine warned of the evil of "bigness", which has plagued humanity through centuries. The evil of Big Government inflates deficits and taxes, erodes the middle class and stifles our freedoms with bureaucratic intrusion. And liberals and progressives are infected with the same entitlement disease as the Europeans.

<= my comment~ Harry Truman used this term as well. Also, like big corporations, the bigger the organization, the more layers of idiots you have running it.

The 1913 book "The Servile State" prophesied the eventual coming together of capitalism and socialism. That is what the New World Order is all about, and it will tyrannize humanity like never before.

- Jack Moran, St. Louis "

Conservative Political Activist? Become a member...

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 20:47:00 +0000

As I try to do my bit part on standing up for and supporting what I think is true and right for this country, I have come across several sites that I think are worth joining.

Please check out the following and join if you agree with their missions, activism:

Push Back Now: "News, Opinion, Truth and You." Sites, Watchdog Groups, Blogs, and more. They have a weekly free discussion/chat.

National Precinct Alliance (NPA) "is a nonpartisan constitutional conservative organization that has come together for the expressed and sole purpose of encouraging and educating American Citizens in how to take part in the political process by becoming Precinct Executive."

FreedomWorks "Founded in 1984, FreedomWorks has full time staff in ten states and over 1.1 million grassroots activists nationwide. The organization is chaired by former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey and the President is Matt Kibbe. FreedomWorks members know that government goes to those who show up, and are leading the fight for lower taxes, less government, and more freedom."

FreedomConnector Use FreedomConnector to connect with local activists, create and promote events, and to "Take America Back." It is a subset of FreedomWorks.

American Voice "is the only web site that has a 'call to action.' Currently there are thousands of Political Forums, Blog sites and what is their call to action? How many Lawmakers are reading these forums and sites? Possibly a couple however AmericanVoice is bill specific and your opinion is faxed immediately to the Lawmaker on your behalf."

Patriot Action Network (formerly ResistNet) "is the nation's largest conservative social action network, serving tens of thousands of citizens. We are united by our passion for re-establishing Constitution-based liberty and limited government through dialogue, debate, legislation and elections."

Reinhardt’s Journal (fee to join) "is a day-by-day, week-by-week and now happy and proud to say year-by-year journal I keep of current/recent stuff I consider worth paying attention to. There is no pop-culture, human interest or blue-collar/proletarian crime coverage in the journal. We all get enough of that in the mainstream, state-controlled media. There is no filler, no fluff, no useless trivia and no advertising although i am starting to include a little bit more humor and comprehend-able sarcasm. The journal is along the same lines as enterprisecorruption.com, but around 15-25 times the current amount of content .. and much more serious. All past journal news coverage/data including 12,000+ updates and 13,500+ comments are open and available to new and current subscribers. Reinhardt’s Journal is 99% business related and the subscription can be written off as a business expense."

~~~~

No need to become a member at this site, "The Endrun Project," but donations are encouraged! I relish the fact that I have access at my fingertips to a multitude of viewpoints. I relish the fact I still have the freedom to express mine, or share snippets of those I may or may not agree with. This site provides excellent insights and links to information not front-and-center in MSM. It also requires one to read more than 140-characters ;-).

Are Republicans & Democrats Constitutional? Just the Facts, Ma'am!

Sat, 30 Oct 2010 17:51:00 +0000

This was a newsletter I received from the Constitution Party of Missouri.

I think this was well written, and wanted to use this forum to share it with you.

Although this letter was intended for Missouri voters, the resources used to support this information are available for all States.

Are Republicans & Democrats Constitutional?
Just the Facts, Ma'am!

“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts or evidence. “ - John Adams

You may be old enough to recognize the famous line always used by Sgt. Joe Friday in ththe radio and TV drama, Dragnet, used to title this introduction. While Sgt. Friday may not have expressed himself as eloquently as John Adams, the sentiment is the same. Sgt. Friday didn’t want hype, drama and hysterics to get in the way of the facts and evidence needed to solve the crime.

Adams and Friday were both right. Facts are necessary to reach accurate conclusions.

So, I set out to research the facts that might inform, instruct and provide truth in the midst of campaign madness, hysteria, and accusations that normally accompany any election cycle. Since we are a constitutional republic (a fact) and all elected representatives swear an oath to support, protect and defend the United States Constitution, my research was focused toward that end.

I used the Freedom Index published by The New American magazine, which documents the voting records of Congress according to constitutional standards and policies in keeping with the ideas of individual liberty, as my primary resource. Using this Index, I have compiled the voting records of Missouri’s U.S. Representatives in Congress from 2003 – 2010.

While Democrat legislators are notorious for trashing the Constitution, the GOP claims to be more conservative and supportive of the Constitution. The records certainly bear out both claims, but there is a glaring inconsistency that needs to be examined in the Republican record.

According to the New American’s Freedom Index, a quarterly publication which examines the voting records of Congress according to constitutional standards, when the Republicans controlled the White House and Congress during the 108th and 109th Congresses, the Missouri GOP legislators averaged a constitutional vote only 47% of the time during the 108th Congress and 39% during the 109th.

The report goes on to show an improvement for the Republicans when the Democrats are in charge. During the 110th Congress, (with a GOP president and Democratic Congress) the GOP representatives raised their average to 56%. The figures from the 111th Congress register a substantial increase to 82%. This begs the questions - why was there a difference of 43 percentage points between the 109th and 111th Congress? Which figures truly represent the Republican Party’s philosophy of government?
While one can wonder about the answer to the questions raised, facts are still facts. And the fact is that the report reveals that neither party is committed to returning our nation to constitutionally-limited government, no matter which party is in control.

The Constitution Party is totally committed to restoring government that secures the individual’s right to life, liberty and property. We believe that nothing less than a return to constitutionally-limited government can correct and maintain the proper role of government once practiced in this nation.

Please study the following report, and then cast your vote with confidence backed by facts - not fear and emotions.

Missouri’s Freedom Index
A report on the voting records of Missouri’s Congressmen
Compiled by: Cindy Redburn, State Secretary
Constitution Party of Missouri

What Is the Freedom Index?*
A Congressional Scorecard based on the U.S. Constitution rates Congressmen on their adherence to constitutional principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, national sovereignty, and a traditional foreign policy of avoiding foreign entanglements. The scores are derived by dividing a Congressman’s constitutional votes (pluses) by the total number he cast (pluses and minuses) and multiplying by 100.

The following information on Missouri’s United States Congressmen was taken from the Freedom Index Reports for the 108th, 109th, 110th and 111th Congresses.

111th Congress
Democrat-controlled Senate, House and President

House of Representatives
Republicans
Akin - 86%
Graves - 86%
Blunt - 83%
Emerson - 73%
Luetkemeyer83%

Democrats
Clay - 8%
Carnahan - 0%
Skelton – 18%
Cleaver - 10%

Senate
Republicans
Bond - 63%
McCaskill - 18%

110th Congress 2007 - 2008
Republican President and Democrat-controlled Congress

House of Representatives
Republicans
Akin - 74%
Graves - 58%
Blunt - 56%
Emerson - 38%
Hulshoff - 53%

Democrats
Clay - 18%
Carnahan - 20%
Skelton - 10%
Cleaver - 15%

Senate
Republicans
Bond - 41%
McCaskill - 20%

109th Congress 2005 - 2006
Republican-controlled Senate, House and President
House of Representatives

Republicans
Akin - 43%
Graves - 46%
Blunt - 33%
Emerson - 34%
Hulshoff - 41%

Democrats
Clay - 49%
Carnahan - 33%
Skelton - 35%
Cleaver - 34%

Senate
Republicans
Bond - 49%
Talent - 48%

108th Congress 2003 - 2004
Republican-controlled Senate, House and President

House of Representatives
Republicans
Akin - 64%
Graves - 47%
Blunt - 38%
Emerson - 39%
Hulshoff - 45%

Democrats
Clay - 33%
Gebhardt - 36%
Skelton - 43%
McCarthy - 31%

Senate
Republicans
Bond - 53%
Talent - 53%

How constitutional is your representative or senator?

Time period covered 2003 – 2010

Republicans
Akin – 66%
Graves - 59%
Blunt - 53%
Emerson – 44%
Luetkemeyer/Hulsholf – 56%
Bond – 51%
Talent – 51%

Democrats
Clay – 27%
Carnahan/Gebhart – 22%
Skelton – 27%
Cleaver/McCarthy – 22%
McCaskill – 19%

A Closer Look at the 109th Congress

The average House score for the 109th session was 48 percent: the Senate was 53 percent. In Missouri, the averages were even lower (see report on the 109th Congress above), Republicans came in at 39 percent, while the Democrats scored only one point behind at 38 percent: a dismal and disappointing record for both parties.

What was the nature of the legislation that led so many congressmen to ignore their oath of office to vote in accordance with the Constitution?

On the international scene, two free trade agreements, CAFTA and the Oman Free Trade Agreement, along with legislation introduced by Ron Paul to withdraw from the World Trade, and two bills regarding reforms and decreasing funding for the UN.

Republicans in Missouri totally supported both free trade agreements and rejected the withdrawal from the WTO. Blunt was the only Missourian to oppose the decrease in funding to the UN.

On the home front, Republicans supported all Labor-HHS-Education and Agriculture Appropriation bills and all voted to reauthorize the Patriot Act.

Ron Paul introduced an amendment to defund the National Animal Identification , which was rejected by all Republicans in Missouri.

*The Freedom Index is published quarterly by the New American Magazine. All information in this report may be verified at The John Birch Society under the Action tab; then choose downloads.

Voters' Research Tools from OpenCongress and Grassfire Nation

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 21:43:00 +0000

From OpenCongress:

"We're a non-profit and non-partisan public resource, independent from Congress and any political party.

To find who your current senators and representative are, use our zipcode look-up tool.

RaceTracker- See who the candidates are, learn about their positions, and get a snap shotof the fundraising race. This is a collaborative wiki project, so if you have information about a particular candidate, this is a great place to add your knowledge and share it on a fully-referenced, free and open-source platform.
AdTracker- In the wake of the Supreme Court's "Citizens United" decisionallowing outside groups to spend unlimited money on campaign ads, it's moreimportant than ever that we have transparency in how these ads are affecting the election and exactly how they're funded. AdTracker is a wiki project for tracking and watching all the ads in congressional races across the country and providing background info who's sponsoring them. It provides a unique view into the advocacy work of low-profile independent political groups.
VotingRecords - We typically find out about candidates' voting records when they are being spun by their competitors, but on OpenCongress it is possible (and easy) to look at the actual vote data yourself. From your senators' and representative's profile pages, click the "Votes" tab and search for any topics you're interested in. Looking at the actual data gives you a more accurate picture of how your lawmakers really voted on the issues that matter to you. To find more votes, check out our one-of-a-kind listing of HotBills by Issue Area.
CompareVotes - In this election more than in most, independence from party leadership is considered an especially important trait. Our head-to-head vote comparison tool gives you a view of party loyalty that you can’t get elsewhere.Compare the voting records of any two senators or representatives to see how often they vote with their colleagues and on what votes in particular theyagree or disagree.
Billsponsorship - In addition to vote records, it's important to look at the bills your incumbent candidate has proposed. From senator and representativeprofile pages, click the "bills" tab to browse or search allsponsored and co-sponsored bills. Even more than votes, the bills lawmakers support are indicative of their overall vision and ideology.
Money- Last but not least, take a second to look at your candidates' campaign fundingsources. Time and again it's been show that campaign finances are directly related to how members of Congress vote. Click the "Money Trail" tab on your senators' and representative’s profile pages to see which industries and special-interest groups have donated to them. This is who they'll likely owe favors to if elected to Congress in the next session.
If you need help finding out where to vote on Nov. 2nd, try this simple tool from Google and the New Organizing Institute.

From Grassfire Nation and ResistNet:

-Grassfire Nation is a networking website that serves more than one million grassroots conservatives across the nation.

-ResistNet.com is the official social network of Grassfire Nation. ResistNet is a place where citizens can resist -- in a peaceful, patriotic way -- the efforts to move our nation away from our heritage of individual liberties toward “brave new world” of collectivism. ResistNet is designed to give citizens a new level of networking resources to organize the Patriotic Resistance.

Note: Membership sis required (free) to access the tools.

"Grassfire Nation Update

Pre-Election Resources For Grassfire Nation Members

We have put together some key resources for every Grassfire Nation team member to help you as you head to the polls.

Resource #1: Pre-Election Primer
Grassfire Nation's Steve Elliott and Ron De Jong just posted a special Pre-Election Primer for all our team members. The Primer also includes a special contest in which you can guess the Election Day winners.
Resource #2: Three Charts You Must See Before You Vote!
We have posted three charts that you must see before you go to the polls. See must-see charts, as highlighted by syndicated columnist Deroy Murdock.
Resource #3: Voter Fraud Alert!
Worried about Voter Fraud? Our ResistNet team has compiled all the resources you need to identify and report any fraud you encounter at the polls.
Resource #4: Latest Polling Data
Want to know how the House and Senate races are shaping up?Go to the ResistNet home page and scroll down until you see "Battle For the House" and "Battle For The Senate":
Resource #5: YOU!
The fact is, YOU are the key to what happens on Election Day.

Divided We Fall

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 18:22:00 +0000

It seems as a nation we are more divided than ever. Is it a case of the media and politicians sensationalizing it? If not, will we be able to tear down these new walls, heal, re-learn how to compromise, and sometimes just agree to disagree?

It was that not long ago that we could actually discuss politics, religion, etc, without assuming it would only end in a heated debate, peppered with personal attacks.

I think outside influences ~ media, politicians ~ are driving that fear, focusing negatively on the differences, encouraging the 'us vs. them' mantra.

The more we are led to believe that the gap is larger than the size of the Grand Canyon, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. In that gap a wall will be built that is longer and taller than the old Berlin wall.

I want the America were we were not afraid to speak our opinions, our feelings, and knowing it is okay to agree to disagree. Compromise means focusing on common ground, a give-and-take process ~ it's not a power play, finding ways to force others to sacrifice their needs via intimidation, belittling, and bullying.

I think that what made our Nation strong, what made us survivors, is an individual internal drive that is morally-just, peppered with a live-and-let-live philosophy, and only imposing on others via laws/legislation a conformity when not doing so prevents the individual from life, liberty and a pursuit of happiness. That 'happiness' is not guaranteed, of course, but no one should prevent another from pursuing it.

Enabling that pursuit should not trample, though, the rights of another.

We are, and should continue to be, a republic in terms of a representative democracy. We should not be ashamed of or try to hide the fact that the "majority of Americans (76%) identify themselves as Christians, mostly within Protestant and Catholic denominations" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States). I believe that most of us, too, know and wont impose those religious beliefs on each other. We only reject those religions that infringe upon what we believe are our basic rights as human beings, and/or, as mentioned above prevents the individual from life, liberty and a pursuit of happiness.

Can we go backwards just to get that United States of America restored so we can all move forward without fear or shame of expressing our beliefs?

Not all Kittens & Sunshine for HCR Kicking in Today

Thu, 23 Sep 2010 15:32:00 +0000

Plenty of hype has been broadcast about what goes into affect today, 9/23/10, regarding the health care reform law - Patient Protection and Affordability Act (PPCA). This should be tempered with reality.

It's not all kittens and sunshine.

The biggest negative news being reported is actually a side-effect of the new law: The big-name health insurance companies that have announced they will not be selling new individual child-only plans, due mostly to the no-exclusion requirement based on pre-existing conditions. This does not apply to plans through one's employer, or existing individual plans.

However, much is not being broadcast ~ specifically about those plans obtained before March 23, 2010, the day the health reform bill became law. These are what the PPCA consider 'grandfathered plans.'

So, rather than 'blog' what you do know, I will relate what you may not know regarding existing insurance plans in effect prior to March 233rd.

What are the exemptions for grandfathered plans?

Grandfathered plans are exempt from the requirements to cover preventive care at no cost to the customer, allow patients to select their doctors, charge equally for emergency rooms visits that are in and out of network, and be subject to an independent-party appeals process.

Grandfathered individual-market plans are also exempt from the restrictions on annual benefit limits and from the requirement to cover people under 19 with pre-existing conditions.

The following benefits in your grandfathered plan will not be required to change:

Annual Coverage Limits: The annual dollar limits on your health coverage will stay the same. Health reform sets minimum annual dollar benefit requirements on new policies, but they're not required for Grandfathered plans.
Cost-sharing for Preventive Services: The provision of the PPACA that requires insurance companies to provide certain recommended preventive services without cost-sharing requirements do not apply to Grandfathered plans.

How does a plan lose grandfathered status?

It significantly cuts or reduces benefits.
It raises Co-Insurance charges.
It raises Co-Payment charges.
Exception: Grandfathered plans will be able to increase those co-pays by no more than the greater of $5 (adjusted annually for medical inflation) or a percentage equal to medical inflation plus 15 percentage points.
It cannot significantly raise deductibles.
Exception: Grandfathered plans can increase these deductibles by a percentage equal to medical inflation plus 15 percentage points. In recent years, medical costs have risen an average of 4-to-5% so this formula would allow deductibles to go up, for example, by 19-20% between 2010 and 2011, or by 23-25% between 2010 and 2012.
It cannot decrease the percent of premiums the employer pays by more than 5% Employer Contributions (the percent of premiums the employer pays).
It cannot add or tighten an Annual Limit on what the Insurer pays.
A Plan that does not have an annual dollar limit cannot add a new one.
Exception: They are replacing a lifetime dollar limit with an annual dollar limit that is at least as high as the lifetime limit.
Employer cannot change Insurance companies.
Exception: If the employer switches plan administrators or to collective bargaining agreements.

How will this drive up general Health Care costs?

A forecast recently released by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) projected that national health expenditures will increase by an average of 6.3 percent a year between 2009 and 2019 (cumulative). For example, if company expenditures cost $500,000 in 2008 (for ease of calculation), by 2019 the company would be spending $979,119 (a net increase of 52% from 2008 ).

Health care spending (individual vs company outlay) in the above estimate) is expected to rise by 5.1 percent in 2010 and 4.2 percent in 2011, according to the forecast. In 2014, when many of the major health reform provisions take effect, health care spending is projected to rise 9.2 percent, which is 2.6 percentage points higher than what was projected before health reform.

For example, let's say you spent $15,000.00 in 2009. Subsequent years spending would be $15,765 in 2010; $16,427 in 2011; jumping to $19,477 in 2014 (a net increase of 23% from 2009).

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I am sure there are more caveats to the items from the PPCA that went into effect today. After all, it was almost 2,000 pages long. Rules are continually being written by the DHS, and most of those that passed the law earlier this year had not read it. Nancy Pelosi did tell everyone, though, the bill would have to be passed to know what was in it ~ and she thought nothing was wrong with that!