Space Exploration - The REAL Stimulus Plan

Space

A little over 41 years ago, man first walked on the moon. For the first time in probably centuries, a human being was walking on terrain that had never been touched by a human being. And during that time, the whole world was united in watching as a man gently floated down to the surface of the moon, implanting his footprint into the dusty surface.

As we all should know, the lunar race was sparked by a call to action from John F. Kennedy. He called for man to break the bonds of Earth and move into the stars. Unfortunately he was not able to live to see that, but his call to action was answered. That call to action also brought forth economic prosperity and technological advances that are still in use today or spawned greater advances in technology. I could write a whole post on that, but Computerworld did a great article on this which I will occasionally reference. It can be found HERE.

The beauty of the 60’s space program was that it was similar to the early days of America. It is almost fitting that popular culture moved from Westerns to Science Fiction/Space. I say this because; space exploration is the wild west of now. Much like the early explorers of the Americas, whether it be the Spanish and French explorers, discovering the new lands or those on the East Coast looking for land and prosperity and exploring the “wild west”, the journey into space is the journey into the unknown.

With the journey into the unknown, there is a price. This price is an investment in the future and an investment into discovering the unknown. Much like the Spaniards of old, they invested gold into exploration of the western hemisphere. The reward, they believed, would be faster trade routes. What instead they found were lands full of riches. These riches included new foods, animals, minerals and land. Seeing the investment pay off, the kingdoms increased their investment and expanded their expeditions. These early kingdoms, Spain, France, England, etc., saw the value of investing in these ventures as they provided benefit for now and the future.

Fast forward several hundred years and we see that our government is not looking towards the future. Since mothballing the Apollo program, NASA has been asked assigned to manage flights for the delivery of satellites and to limit the true exploration to the use of satellites. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is smart to use satellite technology to act as our “scouts”, but we are not following that scouting up with additional exploration. The investment in space exploration and colonization is essential for our long term growth.

First, let’s talk turkey. Space exploration is expensive. It is really expensive. It is really, really, really expensive. That said it is completely worth it. According to Scott Hubbard of Stanford University where he is a professor in the aeronautics and astronautics department, $7 or $8 in goods and services are produced for every $1 that the government invests in NASA. Scott should know, he used to work for NASA for 20 years. Right now, NASA is set to receive just 0.52% of the overall national budget or 18.7 billion dollars. Imagine what could happen to our economy if the US Government were to initiate a true space exploration program or an aggressive lunar or mars mission. The money needed would be great, but the rewards could be tremendous.

NASA does it right when they work with various companies. They provided some “seed” money to get the various companies to solve various needs. In doing so, these companies are allowed to keep the patent on whatever they create. In 1998 a study was done on the impact of this process. Of the 15 companies that agree to participate it was found that NASA gave $64 million, these companies invested and addition $200 million and the return on that investment is conservatively estimated at $1.5 billion. This does not even include the social benefits that come from these discoveries. That means that about $23.4 dollars per dollar was generated off of NASA’s initial investment. More information on this can be found HERE

In regards to MO 1st district, McDonnell Douglas played a big part in the early space program. All of the Mercury and Gemini space capsules were actually built by McDonnell Douglas here in St. Louis. Specifically, they were engineered and built at the MD facilities just north of Lambert Airport. While I could not find any studies done to give specific impact, I would have to believe there was some. Personally I know of many former McDonnell engineers and technicians who do or used to live in the North County St. Louis area. Anecdotally, those people lived there because it was close to work.

Just think of what advances and economic stimulus the country would have if the government were to truly re-invest in space technology. All presidents have spoken with words, but few have chosen true action. An aggressive space agency would help bring major innovation to technology, bio-science, aerodynamics, and propulsion technologies, just to name a few. By letting these companies keep the patents, we could see consumer ready variations of these products in the market in just a few years. An investment in an aggressive space program, similar to what NASA received in 1966, 5.5% of total budget, would give the US space program $198 billion dollars which is less than the total committed to TARP.

This type of funding would help employ jobs at all levels and should yield substantial increases and technology.

Moving beyond the economic impact, think of the social impact that this type of program would bring. With the jobs, would come greater prosperity for many people. Using the current NASA model, many companies would be able to offer additional services. Daniel Lockney, the editor of Spinoff, NASA's annual publication that reports on the use of the agency's technologies in the private sector, said the advancements during the Apollo missions were staggering.

"There were remarkable discoveries in civil, electrical, aeronautical and engineering science, as well as rocketry and the development of core technologies that really pushed technology into the industry it is today. It was perhaps one of the greatest engineering and scientific feats of all time. It was huge. The engineering required to leave Earth and move to another heavenly body required the development of new technologies that before hadn't even been thought of. It has yet to be rivaled."

Imagine what would be created for a manned mission to Mars, or a true lunar base. We would need to create all of these things along with green, renewable energy and more importantly sustainable nutritional technology to sustain such missions.

Instead of looking to future, our government and politicians have grown short sighted. Rather than looking at investments, they are too worried about the here and the now, the special interest groups and the party politics. During the 60’s we were united on a cause of reaching where no human had gone before. When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped on the moon, all of mankind watched. It was a spectacle to behold. It was to be the first step of many. It was a promise to the future.

That promise has turned into a lie. Instead of moving forward, we have become stale. Rather than moving out the way, government has made spaceflight a bureaucracy. Rather than see the potential for jump starting innovation, we have become mired in the politics of it. In regards to blame, it is across the board. Both Republicans and Democrats have cut funding to this agency, routing it instead to their pork barrel projects or social programs.

If the government is not going to move forward, then they need to get out of the way and let private enterprise move forward. The problem is private enterprise can’t. In the United States, there is so much red tape that someone has to go through to test and launch a vehicle; it becomes nearly impossible to do it without government intervention.

While kingdoms sponsored the early exploration to the western hemisphere, it was the small groups, individuals and private industry that helped pave the way to western America. These explorers and pioneers went west to discover and lay claim to the untapped land and resources that were out there. These people/parties did so by financing projects on their own and just moving forward. It was their work that helped pave the way for the rest of the country. They were able to do so because the government encouraged them and staid out of their way. The same could be done for the space program.

By loosening up the restrictions on space flight, allowing companies access to closed military bases for storage and launch sites or even allowing limited land, discovery or mining rights for interplanetary travel, companies would be willing to invest in space exploration using their own money.

While we may not see the economic increase that a government sponsored program would bring, loosening restrictions as well as incentivizing participation would create opportunities that many companies would be willing to take the risks on.

Now, there will be some that say that this is too risky and dangerous and not worth the costs. Space travel should be limited and left to the government. To that I say this. If we had lived by those standards over all these years, we may just now be discovering the Americas.

Man is a wanderer and explorer by nature. We yearn to see what else is in store for us and what is on the other side of the mountain. Curiosity is part of our makeup. You can see it in babies. They take their first steps and immediately begin going to the places they were told not too. They do this because they want to see and know more. Space is the next frontier. It is an infinite place, filled with wonder and danger, where we can go, “what’s next.”

Those who participate know the danger they are exposed too. Those brave men and women who have died in the name of space, knew the dangers that were inherent with space travel. They knew it and went anyway. We cannot and should not try and overly protect those who are willing to go forward. We should encourage that growth and discovery balanced with safety, whether it be via a government sponsored program or private industry. I long for the day that I can sit on my sofa and watch as a human being takes steps off of some Martian lander and makes the first imprint on Martian soil.

In closing, I ask you to think about this as budgets and politics are discussed. Think about tomorrow and the greatness that could be achieved. Think about the potential that an aggressive space program could give us. And think of the promise of a future among the stars for our children. While you are doing that, watch the following videos and just think of what could be.

Now On To November

First off, I want to congratulate Robyn Hamlin on winning the primary to run against Lacy Clay. She and Martin D. Baker both had good primary showings. I talked to Martin earlier today and he wanted to "thank all of the wonderful people who helped through this adventure and will continue to support the conservative movement and true conservative candidates". Martin had more to say which I will discuss in an upcoming post

I also want to take a moment and congratulate Candice Britton on a well fought race. Candice had the tough challenge of taking on an incumbent within her own party. Candice was able to secure 19% of the Democrat vote during this primary. With few funds and a lot of hard work, she was able to do a lot. I think this shows the level of dissatisfaction voters have with the current Congress.

With that said, it is now on to November. Robyn Hamlin vs. Lacy Clay will be on the ballot for the November election in the first district. Not to be a wet blanket, but we need to now talk facts. Here are the numbers being reported for Tuesday's vote.

Name	Party	Votes	Vote %
Clay, Lacy (i)	Dem	36,762	59.549%
Britton, Candice	Dem	8,488	13.749%
Hamlin, Robyn	GOP	10,231	16.573%
Baker, Martin	GOP	4,509	7.304%
Works, Marshall	GOP	1,457	2.360%
Stone, Julie	Lib	149	0.241%
Cunningham, Robb	Lib	138	0.224%

As you can see, Lacy has a commanding lead in the vote totals. He took nearly 60% all votes coming in. I know he is the incumbent, but that means we are going to have to work harder and be even more diligent.

The public needs to be made more aware of how he is not working for the people, but instead for special interests and himself. There is enough out there to show his ineptitude. Simply look at:

• his convienent relationship with the rent to own and cash advance companies
• his desire to not be held accountable by the Congressional Ethics Committee
• the documented waste of money in this years census of which Lacy is the Congressional chairman of the committee in charge
• His support of the Federal Health Care
• The mysterious campaign payments to his sister
• His lake of ethics when it comes to taking corporate campaign contributions from companies he rallies agains.

My friends, now is the time to unite and bring down Lacy. We can bicker with one another about certain policies, fiscal reform, etc. I welcome those debates. I encourage those debates. But now is not the time for people to take their ball and go home. We have a candidate in Robyn who has the potential to bring Lacy down. We are all responsible adults who love our country and want to see it prosper. We want everyone to have the chance to succeed and fail. Lacy wants everyone to have guaranteed success by making those that have succeeded fail. We can't afford that. Let us all stand together to help and support Robyn.

Let me tell you a quick story. At my work, there is a small group of us that are all varying degrees of right of center, some more than others. On the day of the elections, a couple of people were talking about voting for Ed Martin. I was asked if I voted for Ed and I explained that I was in the 1st district. Both of them basically sighed and said," ooooh, that's Lacy Clay. You will never be able to get rid of him."

That statement right there is why Lacy continues to win. The perception is that he is a guaranted win for the Democrats. In Robyn, we have a politically active, small business owner, who can step up and talk about everyday scenarios. She can talk to the issues everyone is facing because she is facing them too. Lacy wants everyone to think he is unbeatable, so no one tries. Those that do are not able to get the support needed because everyone thinks it is a no win situation.

So, here is what we need to do.

1. Everyone needs to call Lacy Clay's office and ask for debates between him and Robyn.
2. Everyone needs to start talking up Robyn as the alternative to Lacy
3. Donate. Donate. Donate. We all need to donate either our time, our money or both. Pick up a yard sign, a car magnet or something.
4. Stay alert to what is going on. Lacy and his team will be out there robo calling or making statements about Robyn. If you hear these things or see them, pull out your cell phone and take a picture/video. Email me and we will get it out among the people.
5. Host a get together and invite Robyn or one of her staff. If you are having a big enough get together, call a Jamie Allman, Dana Loesch or Gina Louden and talk about it on one their shows.

These are just a few things that we all can do. This is our district, not Lacy's. Let's take it back for all of the people and not just a select few.

So, what do you think? Are you in?

One Week Till August 3rd - What Have You Done

It is one week till the August 3rd elections. If you STILL have not done your homework and do not know what is going to be on the ballot, click HERE to be directed to the StlToday article on what is being voted on.

While all of the measures, primaries, etc. are important, I believe there are two that are of most importance to anyone living in Missouri and specifically the first district. Those are Prop C and the Congressional House of Representatives primary. By now, I have bent over backwards to give you information on the candidates. That said, once again, here are my interviews with the three running against Lacy Clay

Candice Britton interview - HERE
Robyn Hamlin interview - HERE
Martin D. Baker interview - HERE

I will say it one more time. We HAVE to get rid of the Clay political dynasty. The Clay's have done nothing but run on their name and empty promises that the populace of north city and county continue to accept. Ask yourself one question, what has Lacy Clay done to make north city and county of St. Louis a better place. Sure, he coordinates a job fair, but that is it. He has done nothing to help bring more jobs, he has done nothing to promote economic stimulus. Instead, he is for taxation and unbridled spending. Tax the "rich" is what he wants to do.

Let me tell you who the "rich" are according to Lacy Clay. The rich are the small family run businesses all over the area. These are the franchises like the Shell stations, or the local dry cleaners, the mom and pop restaurants and sports bars, the shaved ice stands, the local electricians and plumbers, etc. These are the "rich" according to Lacy. Of course, Lacy has never really worked a job so he would not truly understand earning a living or working for his money. Instead, he sees himself as duke that can take money from lobbyist so he can pay his dues while at the same time blasting companies. Just check out these two videos.

With the first one, Lacy blasts WalMart for their employee practices

With the second one, he says he is going to keep their lobbying money anyway

This is the hypocrisy that we have in office right now. If this was a Republican, Lacy and the press would be all over this issue.

Do the right thing and vote this clown out. Let's have a November election that pits Candice Britton vs either Martin Baker or Robyn Hamlin.

In regards to Prop C. I simply say this. Do you want the option to participate in Federal Healthcare plan or do you think participation should be mandatory. That is it. If you think that it should be optional, then you should vote for Prop C. I could go on and on, but the fine people over at Citizens Commission on Human Rights of St. Louis have put together a very good piece on this that you can find HERE.

In closing, in the end it is up to you. It is up to you to show up at the polls and it is up to you to vote. Men and women for the last 200 years across the great country have died for your rights. Those rights include your right to vote. Please do so and do so intelligently.

P.S - If you have already made up your mind, please consider donating your time and or money to a candidate. $5 can make a difference. Buying a yard sign or bumper magnet can help get the word out. If you have an available day and cannot afford to donate money, donate your time by handing out leaflets or working a phone bank. Please help out however you can. I can say I have. Can you?

My Interview with Martin D. Baker - Republican for MO 1st District

Wow! Lacy has got himself some competition this year. Once again I fell out of my chair when I found out that there is another candidate running against Lacy Clay. That candidate is one Martin D. Baker. After I picked myself off of the floor, I took at look at his campaign website. After reviewing it, I shot Martin an email and he agreed to an interview.

The following is an interview I did with Martin over the course of a couple of days. This is strictly an interview. I am not giving my opinion or am I commenting on anything that Martin has to say. I think it is only fair to let Martin speak his points without comment by me or anyone else. While some questions may have been rearranged for better reading, these are all his answers.

Q. Why are you running for the seat currently occupied by Lacy Clay for the 1st District of Missouri?
A. To give real representation back to the people of this district who are longing for a representative that does care.

Q. Lacy Clay claims that he represents the people of the first district. You obviously feel that is not the case. How would you go about ensuring you represent the district?
A. True Representative Access. I remember reading how a few months ago a constituent of Cong. Clay approached him at the airport and the manner in which the person was brushed off was not something that would ever happen with me. The seat does not belong to any one man or party it belongs to the people and the person who is holding that seat is accountable to the people it belongs to. I'd gladly meet with my constituents in and out of the district, id answer concerns personally as often as occasions would permit and Id have town hall forums whether congress is in session or in recess.

Q. I have heard a lot of people say that Lacy Clay does not make himself available to his constituents. This is not the first election cycle I have heard this. Why do you think he continues to get re-elected with this type of attitude and how can you change people's minds?
A. He gets re-elected because its like the Eddie Murphy movie the Distinguished Gentleman- Its the Name they know- without any serious threat to his re-election he goes through the motions shows up at the right events and coasts to another two year term. He's the old shoes you keep in your closet, they need to be replaced, but they are so familiar you keep them anyway. What I plan to do to change people's mind is to show them is now a better option.

Q. What differentiates you from Lacy Clay in your beliefs and stances?
A. I believe that my website shows where Congressman Clay and I are different but I feel the greatest disparity in belief is what we feel the role of government is....I advocate less governmental intrusion and my opponent does not.

Q. You have run for Congress before in 2008 against Emanuel Cleaver. What did you learn in that contest that applies to your running today?
A. I learned even in a Primary loss that you don't deviate from your beliefs and values and no matter the outcome hold your head high.

Q. In an election where being a political insider could be considered a detriment, are you afraid that your past political endeavors will work against you?
A. I feel my experience as a consultant does not jade me like the "insiders" are because it helps me understand the process to better serve my constituents.

Q. I have interviewed 2 other candidates for Lacy Clay's current seat. One is a Democrat and one is a Republican. There are also 2 Libertarians running. Why do you think so many people are trying to unseat Congressman Clay?
A. It is apparent on all angles of the political spectrum that Congressman Clay has lost the confidence of his constituency.

Q. What do you offer that your competition does not?
A. Fresh ideas, enthusiasm and commitment to the District and my home state.

Q. What are you going to do, specifically, to benefit the First District?
A. Serve the district through actually finding the true needs of the district, coordinating with our local leaders and our state leaders and implementing policies and ideas that will help the district as a whole and not just in certain more privileged areas. I will visit with constituents every recess and hear their needs personally not through staffers. we will have frequent town hall meetings for them to air their grievances.

Q. Are there any committees that you would especially want to participate in, should you be elected?
A. Small Business, Homeland Security, Budget, Appropriations, and Armed Services

Q. Why those committees?
A. Each of those committees affect our district in ways for example, the backbone of this district is the small businesses such as the mom and pop stores on Page, Homeland Security is affected by the crimes committed by the numerous undocumented (illegal) residents we have here, Budget and Appropriations go without saying and obviously with our close proximity to Boeing who supplies our Armed Services.

Q. It is interesting that you bring up Boeing. They have contributed a lot of money to Clay over the years through their PAC. In addition, their workers are union workers and publicly, then tend to back Democrats. How will you win over their support?
A. Its always tough when you have that obstacle but you venture anyway. Reality is that the unions support Democrats in droves, but the true matter is that most workers don't have a say in where their union money goes but on a personal level they are conservative people who are strong on national security so we wont focus heavily on the unions themselves but on its individual members. When we focus on its members instead of its figurehead leaders we once again give the focus back to the people.

Q. Illegal aliens are just as big a problem here in St. Louis as they are in other areas. Some groups call for amnesty, others call for deportation and still others call for some variation of the two. In your opinion, how do we handle this problem?
A. Illegal immigration is a national security issue, no two ways about it. There are people who practically on a daily basis go through the proper channels to gain entry and citizenship to our country at great personal and emotional strain, while others just get lucky when there is a hole in a fence or a guard looking the other way. That is unacceptable to me. Its a sad state of affairs to know we have more people investigating tax fraud then we do defending our borders from illegal incursions. We need simply put to lock down our borders. If a person wants to go the process follow the rules and regulations to gain citizenship then they would have no problem returning to their country of origin and going through those proper channels. If they don't we need to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law and return them. Not only that, we need to prosecute those who continue to employ them because its a cheaper alternative than hiring a citizen. I was told a story of a woman who had ancestors take the proverbial "slow boat" to get to our shores but had all necessary documentation ready upon entry. That is a person who wants to be here to take part in the American Dream and work for it. We cannot and should not under any circumstances reward anyone who came here under illegal or false pretenses such as overstaying a Visa.

Q. Reading your website, one of your issues struck me. You believe in removing earnings tax and replacing it with a national sales tax. Missouri is attempting to do this now. Mike Huckabee ran as president on this issue too. Do you think it will gain any attraction?
A. I certainly hope so. When Americans look at their paychecks and see more money they are inclined to utilize it to actually stimulate the economy. The time has come to give the people that option.

Q. What did you learn working with Sherman Thompson Parker?
A. I could write a book on the lessons i learned from Sherman. He is one of my political heroes who taught me that you don't give up no matter how daunting the task might look. His greatest phrase to me was a simple one...principles over politics.

Q. The president gave himself a solid B+ when asked to give himself a grade. How would you grade him and why?
A. Does the President grade on a curve? I would have to give the president an F on the premise that he has forced legislation down the throats of America without truly asking them through their Senators and Representatives. He has not acquitted himself well on the international stage with his Apology Tour, which erodes international confidence in America, and he has spent away the future of America, without a plan for repaying it.

Q. What is your background? Tell my readers more about you?
A. I was born and raised in the Southeast Missouri city of Sikeston. I attended BYU-Idaho and the University of Missouri-Columbia. At Mizzou I served as a student senator for my residence hall floor. I left school to venture into the world of politics as a volunteer consultant and in the process became a parent for the first time. I'm a proud father of three daughters and one son. I am proud of the background that I got being raised by my grandmother who taught me the basic values and my father and stepmother who taught me the principles of hard work and I believe I can use all that serve the District with Honor and Pride.

Q. The St. Louis Post Dispatch appears to do what it can to protect St. Louis Democrats like Lacy Clay and Russ Carnahan. How are you going to get your name and positions out there?
A. I would hope that in seeing the groundswell of angst that has been built up against our incumbents that the PD would look to see who the people are supporting but if they don't, that's fine, they can make themselves seem they are the hired shill of the establishment and we will take out message and name out to the "streets" the old fashioned way, by being out there. I will soon be in neighborhoods in the District knocking on doors introducing myself and answering questions and concerns.

Q. Have you approached or are there any plans for you to debate Lacy Clay? If so, when?
A. I haven't approached Congressman Clay however I plan on doing so even before the primary and also inviting my opponents both from my party and our libertarian and democrat sides.

Q. In one sentence or less, what is your platform?
A. My platform is all about the people of our District-Missouri First.

As you can see, Martin has some very interesting points. Please check out his web page and reach out to him via his website, on Facebook at Martin D Baker for US Congress or twitter at @Baker4Congress.

I hope you found this as informative as I did. Please comment your thoughts on here and let Martin know what you think.

UPDATED - Union Healthcare Support = Card Check?

The unions are not happy with the Democrats right now. After helping them get elected and specifically after some unions (SIUE) helped intimidate health care opposition at town hall meetings, the administration and Senate Democrats are now calling for a tax on luxury or “Cadillac” health care plans (click here for more info on what is a luxury plan).

Why would this upset the unions, well many of the unions, in the past, have negotiated these plans for their members. This would mean that in most cases a tax would be levied on union members, not the employers. While the House has no such plan in their bill, Obama and the Senate have both recommended this plan and all indications show that the House will probably relent should the two bills be reconciled. The unions are not at the point where they are publicly coming out against healthcare, but have begun making veiled threats. According to an article in the Lipman Times,

“AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka warned the Obama administration that even
though unions will not oppose the final bill, it could impact upcoming mid-term
elections. “People could stay home. It could suppress votes,” he said”

With the 2010 elections already looking grim for the Democrats they cannot afford to have the unions not participate in the upcoming elections. Reading Trumka’s comments made me wonder what the administration is going to give to the unions so that they will endorse this plan should it be reconciled. Obama really needs this to pass considering the amount of time and effort he has put into this and if he wants to continue to roll out his agenda, he needs a Democrat controlled House and Senate. To pull that off, he needs the unions. So, what can Obama offer to the unions that would make them endorse this health care plan? Card check. If you are not familiar with card check, read this.

Indications that this is on the table have already come out. Late on January 11th in an article in the Wall Street Journal, it was written,

“Trumka predicted that legislation allowing workers to organize labor unions
more easily, dubbed "card check," would be passed in the first quarter of 2010.”

Obama is an advocate of this program, but with the economy in the tank and many business leaders against it, the Democrats have been weary to push this agenda. The US Chamber of Commerce has come out against as has Obama supporter Warren Buffett.

Card check is not something that Obama can really afford to invest a lot of political capital into. That said, he really cannot afford to have the unions fighting him on health care and take a back seat in the 2010 elections. He is going to have a very difficult fight on his hands if this comes up. The best thing for Barry may be if the House and Senate cannot reconcile the bill. He can blame it on the Republicans and moderate Democrats while at the same time not having to fight the Card Check fight. I guess we will see.

UPDATE 1/17/10
It seems that the Unions have been able to wiggle themselves out of the luxury tax without requiring Card Check. Last estimates were that this would decrease the tax from 149 billion down to about 90 billion. The question is now, will Congress ask the CBO to look over this bill and will it now maintain its "tax neutral" status as the President and Congress promised.

Another thing to watch will be the results of the Brown vs. Coakley election. If Brown wins or even comes close to winning, this will undoubtly scare a lot of blue dog Democrats and Democrats in vulnerable areas. This monstrosity may still not pass. We can only hope.

Media Biting the Hand That Fed Them

Back in October, I wrote an article on the media and the slippery slope is was on. I said at that time that the media would eventually bite the hand that fed them. Well it is starting to happen.

From C-Span admitting they were played for political purposes and then asking for open conferences.

You have Jack Cafferty of CNN ripping Obama for his lack of transparency on the healthcare debate.

And the CBS Evening News posting the following headline - Obama Reneges on Health Care Transparency.

On top of that, Madam Speaker, took a swipe at President Obama with this.

With friends like this, who needs enemies. No wonder Obama is going grey with less than a year in office.

Obama's Fog of Words

I was recently going through some headlines when one caught my interest. It was an article by Tina Brown titled Obama's Fog of War. I found it interesting on several levels because it really pinpointed things I think myself and other bloggers have been saying for quite some time. Obama is a great orator, but it seems he does not believe anything he says.

Tina said it well, when she said

I have come to the conclusion that the real reason this gifted communicator has become so bad at communicating is that he doesn’t really believe a word that he is saying. He couldn’t convey that health-care reform would be somehow cost-free because he knows it won’t be. And he can’t adequately convey either the imperatives or the military strategy of the war in Afghanistan because he doesn’t really believe in it either.

This statement really pinpoints the problem with Obama. Candidate Obama could make grandiose promises and foolishly could believe he could make them come true. Now President Obama makes grandiose promises but knows he is just being a snake oil salesman.

Words drip like honey from his mouth when he is giving a speech. As someone who studied communications, he is a marvel to watch and listen to. That said, the trained ear knows what to listen to and how to listen. It is what he isn't saying. Much like in Obama's healthcare speech to Congress in September, he said

...under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions, and federal conscience laws will remain in place...

But what he did not say, is that I will veto any plan that is brought before me that funds abortions using federal dollars. The thing is, Obama has not created or written a plan. He is letting Congress do it all and coercing those who fight it. This way, he can get credit for healthcare reform from those who want it and blame Congress for those who are unhappy with it. He new full well that abortion would be a part of it, but he wordsmithed the speech, like any good lawyer, to be as clear as fog.

It seems to me that Obama is more worried about being a politician than he is doing the right thing. Looking at past presidents, like them or not you could say the following:

• With Carter, you had caring. He was far from the best president but he did care
• With Reagan, you had courage of conviction. Some would say he went to far to carry out those beliefs, but he had it.
• With Clinton you had feeling. Clinton really did have a passion for what he believed in. I disliked many of his policies, but you did get a sense that he was doing them for what he felt were the right reasons.
• With W. Bush you had principals. There are many who do not agree with those principals, Bush always showed integrity.

What do you have with Obama? Other than marvelous words, where is the substance of character. Will Obama's legacy be one of the ultimate politician?

Quick Hits and Random Thoughts

While I am looking into something that could be BIG or nothing at all, I just thought I would post some random thoughts and quick hits.

• What happened to waiting 72 hours before voting on bills. Wasn't it Nancy Pelosi who complained about rushing bills to a vote? I do not care what side of the aisle you are on, all bills should wait 72 hours before a vote. This was not a national security or wartime issue.


• So, if, and that is a big IF, healthcare gets to Obama's desk and he signs it, how long will it be before it goes before a Federal Court on the basis that it is unconstitutional? To see my opinions on this, click here.


• Do you know how your Congressman and Senator will vote if the UN Rights of the Child treaty comes up for ratification? If you are not familiar with this, you should be. Read more here. The President has already stated he is for it.


• Is Fox News and the Murdoch news empire becoming the new leader in making and leading news? Just something to think about.
  
• This is old news, but was recently brought up to me, why is it OK for the US to aide Brazil in offshore drilling in Brazil, but not assisting US companies in drilling offshore of the US?


• Will easing the creation of nuclear power plants be enough to get some Republicans to vote for Cap and Trade regulation. Just a thought, just because it gets easier does not mean environmental fascists will not file junk lawsuits to try and block the building of them.


• Have you ever noticed that the government, which is made up of a lot of lawyers and trial lawyers, does a damn good job of protecting trial lawyers? Just a thought.


• And finally, this is a sign I saw this weekend at a car wash in Hazelwood, MO off of Howdershell Rd. I am contacting the owner to see if I can do a quick interview to get his thoughts, as a small business owner, on Cap and Trade, Healthcare and Lacy Clay. If you are in Hazelwood, stop by and get your car washed and support this small business.

H1N1 = Political Points?

My family and I just go over the H1N1 flu. We are all fine, but I will say that it was not fun. It was certainly not the plague that the government is making it out to be. Having lived through it and survived (note the sarcasm), I had to wonder; why is the government making such a big deal of this.

Let me start off by saying, I do not blame the media on this one. While we all know that the media is the lap dog of this administration, they are covering a story, pure and simple. In this case, the government is feeding the story to the media.

Anyway, so I have to wonder, why is this such a big deal. The H1N1 flu is similar to the standard flu types that we have all experienced. You get the muscle aches and fever. In some cases you do get some of the stomach issues. The additional thing with this strain is that in some cases you get a cough, kind of like a chest cold. If you are the type of person that is prone to bronchitis or pneumonia, then it could turn into an infection and lead to some real issues. As with any type of flu, as long as you get your rest, drink plenty of fluids, take Tylenol for the fever and aches and pains you should be fine. As always, don't just trust me, consult your medical professional as not everyone will react the same way. In our case, we were able to deal with this without the intervention of a doctor and without prescription medication.

One evening, after the kids were in bed, my wife and I were sitting on the couch recovering from the day and still recovering ourselves. We were watching the news and hearing all of these government officials talking about the Swine Flu and how this is a national emergency and how there were all of these deaths. My wife looked over at me and said, "This is such bull sh!t. It was not anything worse that any other flu I've had." I looked at her and said, "It's because the administration wants a win."

You see, here is the thing. The Obama administration does not look really good right now. The shine and luster is fading away. This man who claimed he was going to bring hope and change has not really done either. Add to that a Congress that really cannot seem to do the right thing to save their lives, and you have a very wary American public. So what do you do? You pull a page out of the movie "Wag the Dog". What the administration is doing is trying to get everyone in a panic. If you get everyone freaked out of H1N1, then you have their attention. You then get everyone from the head of Health and Human Services to Elmo, telling you how to cough into your sleeve and to wash your hands. Once you have everyone's attention, you then show all of the wonderful things the government, i.e. this administration, is doing to protect you from this "pandemic". There still has to be deaths to keep people's attention, so the government supplies those numbers as well as the number of people believed to be infected. Then, once everyone has received the vaccination and the number of infections and deaths related to this go down, we will hear how the government stepped in, rushed a vaccine, kept the public informed and saved the day.

With this, you have just built trust. Now that you have built said trust, they can then start asking for you to trust them with a "public option" or "cap and tax" or any number of things. Folks, lets get some things straight, many of the numbers they are handing out are based upon assumptions. Except for deaths, the tests that are being done to test for the flu are not testing specifically for H1N1, the are just testing for the flu since this is the dominant strain right now. The CDC admits this. Add to that, that many of the people who have died from this flu, have done so due to pre-existing conditions or due to not seeking doctor's care.

I will say right now that much like any illness, H1N1 is no laughing matter and should not be taken lightly. Anyway that gets sick from this or any type of flu should take care of themselves and see the advice of a medical professional if necessary. If you feel you need to, call or see your doctor, go to an urgent care facility or just go to your local Walgreens Take Care clinic. That said, do not let the administration turn this into something they can use for political points. Call their bluff if necessary. The blogs and the media are already talking about how this is going to be so much worse for the uninsured. Don't' believe me, just google "H1N1 uninsured".

Quick Thoughts

What does it say about the president when the world leaders that are the most vocally supportive are also some of the most tyrannous despots in the world?

Why is it that the Democrats will not endorse the Wyden-Bennett amendment which will do what the President committed to and allow people freedom of choice of their health care plan?

How many "Czars" does Obama need? I am all for delegation but isn't 34 a little much?

If Michael Moore hates capatilism so much, why is he worth over $50,000,0000? Isn't it capatalism that helped him make all of his money?

What would our country be like if the Democrats of today were in the Senate and House back in World War II? Would they have demanded we get out because the war was going on to long and too many people were dieing?

Do you have any additional thoughts?

HR 3200 = Unconstitutional

For some time now, pundits have asked the question," does the federal government have the right to mandate healthcare?" Those who advocate it, compare it to requiring a license and insurance to drive. The problem with this argument is, you are not required by law to drive. There are many people who do not have car insurance as they do not own a car or drive. For that matter, there are many people in major metropolitan areas that do not even have a drivers license.

I believe that requiring healthcare is a major infringement on our rights. In addition, penalizing someone for not having healthcare is an infringement on my rights. I believe that the US Government requiring to know whether or not I have healthcare not only goes beyond Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution, but also goes against my right to privacy. The federal governement has the right to census, but no where does it state that it has the right to know my level of health care coverage. I should have the choice whether or not I have healthcare.

If you want to be well armed in this debate, I recommend you read an article in WSJ by David B Rivkin JR and Lee A. Casey titled Mandatory Insurance Is Unconstitutional. Of all the articles and pundits I have heard on this subject, this one is probably the most succinct and the easiest to read.

A Letter to Lacy

My friends, after much consideration and in an attempt to restore civility to politics, I have sent another email to Lacy Clay. Based upon the information that was sent to me on Thursday, I felt it was worth it. Below, is the exact letter that I sent to Congressman Clay. I hope he does respond. If he does, as I previously committed to, I will post his response here.
Congressman Clay,

Let me introduce myself. I go by Middle Class Joe and I am a North County blogger at http://middleclassmadashell.blogspot.com/. I was just made aware that your sight was having some issues so I am resending you this letter in hopes that you will respond.

I have some very simple questions for you that I would like answered. Seeing as your my representative, I want to ensure that you are representing me and the many people like me in North County and not just my peers in the city.

OK, to the point, here are my questions:

Question 1. We have already lost the Ford plant and many jobs at and around Lambert due to cutbacks at American airlines. I read on your press releases that you backed the "cap and trade" bill. Are you not worried about how this bill will effect industry in St. Louis, especially some of those companies in areas you represent like Boeing and if this bill is so needed, then would you be willing to sponsor an amendment to any future bills or sponsor a new bill that would require the Federal Government be held to the same standard for carbon output as all companies? Please explain your answer in detail.

Question 2. You released a statement stating that you support President Obama and would prefer a public option. My question here is simple. Would you be willing to sponsor an amendment to require that all government employees including current and retired Congressional and Senate members be required to give up their current healthcare plan and move over to the public option should one be created? It is my belief that if the public option is so good, it should be good enough for everyone up to but not including the President and Vice President. My fear is that many companies
will see that the 8% payroll fine will be cheaper to pay than to carry healthcare benefits, therefor forcing more people to lose their insurance and have to go to a public plan.

Today is 9/12. 8 years ago today, it did not matter if you were a Republican or Democrat. The only thing that mattered was you were an American. At this time we threw out partisan politics and worked together to throw aside our differences to come to a fair consensus on the issues. I believe we are in need of that type of
bipartisanship again.

I am a fair person. As I see it, you are my elected representative and I have a right to know what and how you are thinking. Even if I disagree with you, at least we can have an honest debate. Maybe you can show me where I am wrong, and maybe I can show you where you are wrong. We have to be willing to listen to one another.
That is something that is not occurring anymore. Right now, I am offering an olive branch.

I look forward to reading your response.

What do you think?

Obamacare Speech

So the president spoke for 48 minutes. Hmmm. Well, I have to say that I was not all that impressed. This man had a great opportunity to try and bring two sides together, instead, he dictated terms. Instead of listening to the American people, he has chosen to listen to the astroturf few who had to be professionally organized by unions and his own Organizing for America. This is a sad state of affairs.

I could break this speech down and write column inches on what was wrong with it, but honestly, I am in a fairly good mood and will break down some points, both good and bad.

Let's start with the good:

1. It appears that the blatant public option is gone. True, they are going to try and back door it in using the co-op plan, but for now it is gone as far as the president is concerned. This was mainly done for political points and to take the LBJ approach of "having a half a loaf instead of no loaf at all"
2. It appears that the administration is at least thinking about some sort of tort reform. OK, I know he never came out and said it, but it is my belief, and it could be my good me blurring me, that he knows this has to happen and he is gently entering into this. He knows he can get some big points on this one and look like he is crossing the isle if he enacts it. Believe me, Obama wants to be re-elected and what better way to tell a cynical public that he has then point to a win here down the line.
3. He stood up to the progressives and told them they cannot have everything. Believe it or not, this is big. As long as he continues to take this stance in private as well as public, good things could happen.

Now for the bad

1. The speech was way to damn long. This should have been cut by at least 15 minutes. As O'Reilly says, there was a lot of bloviating going on here. There was no need for the Ted Kennedy reference nor the Bush bashing. I saw that as nothing more than a way to temper any bad feelings that the progressives may feel for being told behave.
2. Great, you are going to have a co-op, but why not let it be private co-ops. A government run co-op can come to no good. Take a look at the mess that was created with Medicare D and implementing that. Even though private insurance is handing the plans, it is all part of Medicare D and was/is confusing as hell. This could be done much easier by allowing private groups meeting certain Federal guidelines to create regional or state co-ops that can do the same thing.
3. Why no cross state insurance competition. This does not make any sense. Axelrod goes on Fox and says that the Federal government cannot do this because it would contradict with state policies but the Federal government does this kind of stuff all of the time.
4. The numbers just do not add up. Obama states that they are going to cut fraud and waste in Medicare and that will save money. Why hasn't this been done already. Also, he is going to fine companies 8% of their payroll costs if they do not offer health insurance. It is obvious that Obama has never run a business as decent health insurance costs are way more than 8%. Most companies could make a profit by dropping healthcare benefits and pay the fine. Obama states that he is not going to pay for care for illegals, yet illegals make up part of the 47 million that do not have health insurance.
5. I know people in the healthcare industry who KNOW how healthcare plans work. I picked up the phone and called each of them separately after the speech and asked if they had watched. They had. I asked them if there is any way that an insurance company would drop someone for not stating they had gall stones if they did not know about it. The answer across the board was emphatically no. There had to be much more to this than what Obama states. I also asked them about the claim regarding acne keeping a woman from getting a mastectomy. They both said no, the only thing that may have caused a delay is if this woman was on some sort of medication that would have caused irreparable harm in conjunction with a chemo treatment that would be performed after the mastectomy. Other than that, no one could think of any reason this woman would have been delayed or refused. One of these professionals flat out said that this was BS and probably something made up by a astroturfer at a pro healthcare rally. I do not know if that is the truth, but it would not surprise me.
6. Why hasn't Obama listened to any of the GOP's proposed plans. He mentioned taking on McCain's proposal for a "hardship insurance" and that is great. There are a lot of others out there. He failed to mention anything they have offered or retort any of it. By doing so he is hurting himself among the informed independents that voted for him.
7. Obama lied during the speech. Not any overt lie, but the kind of lie where you omit the opposing facts or state only the facts that meet your needs. As a parent, these are the type of things we tell our kids not to do. Kudos go to rep Joe Wilson R-SC for calling him on it. publicly.

I could say more, but I really do not think I need to. I came up with this in about 15 minutes and God knows I could go on much longer if need be.

I would love to hear more from you.

Also, on a seperate note. No big surprise but no update from Lacy Clay. Since I am in a good mood, I am going to give him through the night. If nothing, I have a few new things to say.

Thank You & A Question for Lacy Clay

I want to thank all 10,000 plus of the new visitors to my site for stopping by. I thank each of you for taking a few minutes of your day to stop by.

I have to give a huge hat tip if not a bow to Instapundit for linking to me with my post on Lacy's response. I would also like to take a moment to recognize some special visitors to my website.

Unfortunately I cannot blow these up any large, but it appears that I now have visitors from the US House of Representatives, the US Senate, the Department of Homeland Security, the FCC and the US Dept. of Justice just to name a few.

So Lacy, this is directed right at you since I think you and your staff are paying attention now. You did not respond to my emails or calls. I am getting word from countless others that you pulled the same thing on some of your other constituents. As I previously reported here, you refused to have any town hall meetings. So I have one question for you. If you have the cajones, you will answer it here on this sight. You can email me and I will post your response unedited for the world to see. Or better yet, post a comment with this post to allow the public the chance to talk to you since they never got one during your recess.

My question is:

You have stated countless times in press releases and speeches that you want to, and I am paraphrasing here, affordable health insurance to everyone. You are a proponent of HR 3200 as well as the plan known as cap and trade. As a Congressman would you be willing to set carbon limits on all government entities including the Congress, the Senate and the President as a whole and all of their flights, trips, motorcades, etc. and would you be willing to amend HR 3200 so that all government employees and current and retired House and Senate members would fall under the same health care plan as the normal public. In essence, would you be willing to back bills that bring your level of care and your carbon footprint down to those of us who are not elected officials. I look forward to hearing your response within the next 24 hours.

Hit Them Were it Hurts - An Update

My friends, I have been diligently working on collecting a list of corporate and PAC donations to all Missouri Democrats in the House of Representatives as well as those to Robin Carnahan. I must say the findings are very interesting. As you would guess, the unions are BIG donators to these guys and for some of them, make up a majority of their campaign fund donations, but insurance companies and healthcare related groups have donated a nice tidy some to these candidates.

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE - This group has donated $5000 to Robin Carnahan and $3500 to Lacy Clay

AFLAC PAC - This group has donated $1000 to Cleaver, $1000 to Russ Carnahan and $1500 to Lacy Clay

EXPRESS SCRIPTS INC. POLITICAL FUND (A/K/A EXPRESS SCRIPTS PAC) - This group has donated $1500 each to Clay and Russ Carnahan

AMERICAN DENTAL ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE - This group has donated $1000 to Skelton and $5000 to Russ Carnahan

There are also several smaller donations to various campaigns by hospital associations.

Looking at this makes me wonder. Why would groups that make money on healthcare choose to put their PAC dollars behind campaigns that are out to completely change healthcare. It makes you wonder, is there something in this bill for them? It is something I am going to have to look into.

What do you think?

FOUND - Lacy Clay

Thanks to the good people over at Missouri Political News Service our Congressman has been found. Where was he that he could not attend to the needs of his constituents? He was in Ghana with several other Congressman to help. According to Ghana Business News, he is part of a delegation that is there to "encourage trade and investment between Ghana and the United States". The Congressman is working hard on these trade and investment relations, staying at plush seashore resort that runs $275 - $590 a night. I am sure, Congressman Clay is so concerned with our tax dollars that he is bunking up with the other members of this delegation.

And who else is in this delegation? None other than Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee (D) of Texas, Congressman Steve Cohen (D) of Tennessee, and Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D) of Wisconsin.

Clay's peers have all had the time to have town hall meetings during the recess, yet for some reason, this trip must have taken up all of his time. We know what happened to Shelia Jackson Lee at her meeting. Maybe that was her travel agent on the phone instead of the "Healthcare hotline" she claims it was.

I am so glad to see that our Congressman from St. Louis is taking it easy on our dime, not meeting with his constituents. He did go out and get a tour of Highway 40 at one point during the recess, so at least we know that he set foot on Missouri soil at some point and time. During that video he said he was going to forgo healthcare meetings so he could meet with the people of St. Louis. OK Congressman Clay, who are you meeting with? Are you SO busy with meetings that your staff cannot respond to calls and emails? We need to get this bum out of office.

The Problem with H.R 3200 America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009

I have seen quite a bit of traffic lately going into my article on True Healthcare Reform. Specifically, people have come to it trying to figure out why people are against healthcare reform.

Let me first say, I do not think anyone is against healthcare reform. I believe everyone agrees that the system needs some changes. That is just an undeniable fact. When you hear about polls stating that people believe we need healthcare reform, they are agreeing to that generic statement. What I and many other people have a problem with is the way that healthcare reform is currently taking form.

There are some basic principles of the system that are what cause a lot of grief. Sometimes it is not what is exactly in the bill, but what roads it will make us go down. I understand that there are different version of the House bill, so I am not going to talk about all of the proposed amendments and will stick with H.R 3200.

Here are some of the concerns I and others have with this bill:

1. You cannot have an entity participate and create the rules. If the government is one of the active players who can offer insurance, they will have an unfair advantage over all other insurers. Anyone who has ever worked with the government is well aware of a nice little clause they place on all of their contracts. This clause is called “Most Favored Nation”. What this clause basically states is that no entity can get a better price than the government. That means that even if another insurer sends more patients to a doctor, hospital, etc. they cannot get as good of a discount as the government. This gives the government an unfair advantage compared to other insurers. Add on top of that, that there is no requirement that this government sponsored/public plan make money, the government does not have to worry about shareholders, profitability, etc. The only requirement is that the plan is deficit neutral. With everything I said here being true, how can a for profit or even a non for profit company compete with a government entity that always has the upper hand. Add to that, the government can and does change the rules when it sees fit. If you just look at Medicare Part D, the government is changing the way it pays for prescriptions so that they are guaranteed to pay a lower reimbursement for drugs than its non Medicare competitors. Just so you know, Medicare prescription coverage is not the largest insurer out there, so they are not getting the best price because they bring the most customers to the table.


2. Government oversight is a big concern to a lot of people. The idea that a government entity could choose the best treatment based upon an unknown set of codes is problematic at best. Right now, doctors use standards that are set up by professional organizations made up of practicing peers. Insurance companies use a similar standard made up of licensed nurses (who have worked in offices and hospitals), doctors (who have worked in offices and hospitals) and management within the insurance company. There is no guarantee that the government will do the same. If the current standard is any indication, this board would be made up of academics that have never practiced or have not practiced in over 15 years as well as bureaucrats. This is where the whole concept of the death panel Sarah Palin has talked about came from. When President Obama states that he questions the logic of giving a new hip to a terminal cancer patient, that sounds all well and good, but it is what he is not saying that is important. Like many people, I have had and known people who had terminal cancer and were given 6 months or less to live. These same people wound up living for 3 or more years. Randy Pausch is a perfect example of this as he was given 3 to 6 months and lived a year. Randy gave what may be one of the best lectures ever in The Last Lecture. Based upon things Obama has said, a person diagnosed with terminal cancer would cease to get treatments. In other words, a panel would judge your worth and determine if you are worthy of having money spent on you. I do not think anyone wants the government making that determination. That is a slippery slope that a government can go down and one that leads to allusions of Logans Run.


3. Why does this have to be passed so quickly? It sounds great to say that you want to get this passed quickly so every American can be covered. That is completely bogus. To put together a working program to cover a country and population this size, you must take your time and ensure that there are not loopholes. President Obama promised as a candidate, transparency and committed to showing the forums and discussion on C-Span. Where is the transparency? The whole program has been rushed through. Congressmen admit that they have not had a chance to read it, yet Nancy Pelosi and the like want to vote on it immediately. Why? This does not make sense. It is as if they do not want everyone to know what is in the bill. Why not take the time to put together a good bill that everyone can read and reflect upon. This is not a national emergency. We are not in a state of crisis. Many Democrats argued that the Patriot Act was rushed through Congress before everyone had a chance to review it.


4. Why is the standard they asked for during the Bush Administration any different now?
   No one can seem to agree with what is in the bill. If you blog, read the papers and watch the news like I and many Americans do, you will find that anytime a Congressman or Senator get off of talking points, they say things that are contradictory from their peers. Today alone Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren was caught on video admitting that one of the proposed House bills would require the public plan cover abortions, when others state that is not the case. Which is it? President Obama states that you can keep your insurance if you want to, yet on page 16 of the latest version of the healthcare bill it states that no new policies can be enacted after a certain date. Read the bill which you can find here. Which is it. As I stated earlier, why does it have to be passed so quickly, especially when those that are voting on it do not even know what it says.

Let us have a civil debate. I know President Obama promised healthcare reform. We all want to see some sort of healthcare reform, but it does not need to be rushed through. Put together something that patients and healthcare providers can work with. Put together a plan that works piecemeal, with stop gaps. We are talking about a program that would be bigger than any other healthcare plan in the world. Let's do it right the first time.

No More Town Hall Meetings?

This is coming from FoxNews.com. Per their website, they are showing that none of the Democrats in MO are holding any more town hall meetings in St. Louis. Right now the only ones that are planned in Missouri are Claire McCaskill's on 8/10/09. Those are:

• Three Rivers Community College, 2080 Three Rivers Boulevard, Poplar Bluff, MO at 02:30 PM
• Southeast Missouri State University, 1230 First Street, Kennett, MO at 09:00 AM

That's it, nothing from Lacy Clay, nothing from Russ Carnahan. If these guys are holding them, they are not publicizing them. I have calls into Lacy Clay's office asking if he is having any. I was told that a representative would call me back. Let's see if he will actually do it.

Updated 8/11/09

Lacy Clay has yet to call or email me back. I called his office again and was given the run around asking if I was a constituent. I am beginning to think that maybe he is not going to have any public forums. Unfortunately it does not look like anyone is going to run against him, so maybe he figures he has no need to.

We need someone to run against this man and expose him for the fraud that he is. Much like Russ Carnahan, Lacy Clay is running on his father's name and the fact that his district was re-districted so that those in the North County are lumped in with North City and get stuck with someone who does not care to represent all of the area he serves.

Real Health Care Reform

I keep hearing Nancy Pelosi (NP) and Barack Obama (BO) talk about how the American people want health care reform and they have the poll numbers to back it up. Sure, everyone wants health care reform and if you have a phone poll that asks the simple question, "Do you want health care reform," most people will say yes. If you ask, "Do you want government run and regulated health care," a majority of the people would say emphatically no.

I worked in health care for several years and saw first hand some of the waste. Here are a couple of things, I believe can be done that would fix the problem.

1. Lawsuit tort reform - BO says he thinks people should have the right to sue negligent doctors. No one is going to disagree with him, but there has to be lawsuit reform. Lawyers are advertising left and right trying to get people to participate in lawsuits against doctors and hospitals. Turn on the TV some afternoon and you see several commercials in an hour asking, "Was your child born with cerebral palsy? If so, you may be able to receive compensation due to negligence on the part of your doctor." Make suing a doctor, hospital and any health care practitioner more difficult. Make the plaintiff's lawyers have to pony up the money if the lawsuit is found frivolous. Place caps on lawsuit rewards. Many times doctors, nurses, pharmacists, etc. are following the recommendations that the various medical organizations have put in place for testing, procedures, etc. Placing caps on lawsuits for those healthcare providers that follow the recommendations will be a win win scenario for everyone. Doctors and hospitals will be able lower their costs because insurance fees will not be nearly as high. They will not have to play the Cover Your Ass game and perform multiple tests to get the same diagnosis. I know BO has recommended a government standard for tests, etc. and I really do not have a problem with it, although it is creating a bureaucracy where none is needed since all of the medical associations have these standards. If it will mean lawsuit caps, I am all for it, but you cannot set the standards unless you are going to set caps and penalize these lawyers who file frivolous lawsuits.


2. Do a better job of going after Medicaid and Medicare fraud. On average, of all claims filed for Medicaid, 10% are fraudulently. That 10% is a low number as some states like Florida and California have seen as much as 20 - 30% depending upon the estimates. Between 3 - 20 % of Medicare spending is fraudulent. That is billions of dollars wasted yearly. Go after these people. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money, well in this case spend a little money to save a lot. Think of it as a safe; you have to buy the safe to store the money in. There is a reason that the government does not go after these people. If they did, they would have to put them in jail. I am also sure we would hear cries from various groups that it targets minorities, the poor, whatever. I do not care. Get the FBI, Secret Service, the police, whomever it takes, to go after these people. If they are small time, take away their Medicaid and fine them. If they are big time, freeze their assets and put them in jail. It is as simple as it sounds.


3. Allow small businesses to group together as co-ops across state lines and have private insurance bid on their business. If you want make sure a lot of people have access to insurance, allow small businesses to get the group rates that are available. The more people that a group can bring to an insurance customer, the lower the price per person. This is simple and effective.


4. Reward companies the promote healthy living. Many companies do things to promote healthy living. Many companies that self insure, will give insurance premium discounts to those employees who are non smokers. Reward companies that offer those plans. If you start rewarding companies for offering these types of perks, they will see the rewards of lower insurance bills, have healthier more efficient employees and will be more likely to invest more money into additional health programs.

These are four plans that I have come up with on my own. NP, BO and Harry Reid are all supposed to be such smart people. Why is it that all of their ideas require the government to run everything. Apply government regulation to those that look to profitize on malpractice, go after those that are abusing the system and reward those that want to offer insurance.