bnuckols

Senate panel OKs abortion bill requiring stricter standards – Houston Chronicle

One woman claimed that the standards shouldn’t be the same as an ambulatory surgical center because they do abortions on 9 year olds!

Minimal standards are considered too much by the abortion industry. They’ve fought every move to keep women and girls safe, and whip out those coat hangers every chance they get.

Women who have D&C’s after a miscarriage have them at a hospital or surgical center, not at in an office setting. But according to the abortionists, healthy mothers having abortions – or 9 year old girls – should be happy with a clinic setting.

AUSTIN – Abortion clinics would be required to meet stricter standards under a bill approved 5-2 by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee Tuesday after emotional testimony over whether the measure would protect women’s health or risk it by causing clinics to close.

“My intent in filing this bill is only to protect Texas women who undergo this procedure,” said Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, who authored the measure with two fellow doctors, Republican Sens. Donna Campbell of New Braunfels and Charles Schwertner of Georgetown.

Planned Parenthood called the measure, Senate Bill 537, a “back-door abortion ban.”

via Senate panel OKs abortion bill requiring stricter standards – Houston Chronicle.

Panel approves assault weapons ban; Cruz, Feinstein get heated – The Hill’s Video

Be very proud of our Texas Senators Cruz and Cornyn. They are fighting for rights — the right to speak, the right to read books, the right to keep and bear arms.

Watch the video! “Do they need a bazooka?” Senator Feinstein could just as well ask, “Do they need those books? Do they need all those words?”  I say, Ma’am, rights are not to be limited except to save life in the case of immediate threat.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a ban on the sale and manufacture of more than 150 types of semi-automatic weapons with military-style features Thursday in a party-line vote.

The 10-8 vote came after a heated exchange between Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who Feinstein scolded for giving her a “lecture” on the Constitution.

It’s the fourth piece of gun control legislation to make it out of committee and perhaps the one with the longest odds of becoming law, given opposition from Republicans to a new ban on the weapons.

Committee Democrats first beat back four amendments offered by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) that would have carved out exceptions to the ban. Cornyn asked for exceptions for victims of domestic violence, military veterans and those living on Southwest border states that he said were affected by Mexican gang violence.

Feinstein, the sponsor of the underlying bill, called the amendments “an effort to nip it and tuck it and create exceptions.”

Cornyn said it would Feinstein’s bill would leave citizens with “peashooters” and outgunned by criminals.

via Panel approves assault weapons ban; Cruz, Feinstein get heated – The Hill’s Video.

Florida Senate panel rejects Medicaid expansion | Modern Healthcare

Good for the Florida Legislature!

A Florida Senate committee has essentially killed Gov. Rick Scott’s plan to expand Medicaid coverage to roughly 1 million of Florida’s poorest residents.

Instead, the committee proposed Monday that the state adopt a managed care system that requires patients have a copayment.

*****

A House panel last week also rejected expanding Medicaid.

via Florida Senate panel rejects Medicaid expansion | Modern Healthcare.

Rick Perry Slams McCain, Romney At CPAC, Says They Aren’t Conservative – Patriot Update

Y’all have got to watch @GovernorPerry at CPAC this afternoon!

“The popular media narrative is that this country has shifted away from conservative ideals, as evidenced by the last two presidential elections. That’s what they say. That might be true if Republicans had actually nominated conservative candidates in 2008 and 2012,” Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas) said in his address at CPAC this afternoon.

via Rick Perry Slams McCain, Romney At CPAC, Says They Aren’t Conservative – Patriot Update.

Neuroscience, Special Forces, and Ethics at Yale | Psychology Today

What would you do?

Last month, a proposal to establish a U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Center for Excellence in Operational Neuroscience at Yale University died a not-so-quiet death. The broad goal of “operational neuroscience” is to use research on the human brain and nervous system to protect and give tactical advantage to U.S. warfighters in the field. Crucial questions remain unanswered about the proposed center’s mission and the unusual circumstances surrounding its demise. But just as importantly, this episode brings much needed attention to the morally fraught and murky terrain where partnerships between university researchers and national security agencies lie.

via Neuroscience, Special Forces, and Ethics at Yale | Psychology Today.

Hat Tip to James J. Hughes and the Institute for Emerging Ethics and Technology newsletter

Connecting the Dots on Healthcare – Hal Scherz – Page 2

Just one reason that Medicaid expansion is a bad idea. (There are more at the source.)

 

The GOP Governors who are expanding Medicaid at the behest of the federal government are helping to facilitate and accelerate this process, paving the way for full government run healthcare. Insurance companies will be unable to compete with the federal government, which is acting as both a player in the insurance market and also as the referee in the system, until private insurance companies cease to exist in healthcare.

via Connecting the Dots on Healthcare – Hal Scherz – Page 2.

Intrusive “Census” questionnaire

A friend asked us what to do about the latest “American Community Survey,” received from the US Census Bureau. There is a possibility of a $100 to $5000 fine for not filling out the questionnaire, although I can’t find a record of anyone ever being prosecuted.

Seriously, I don’t care what sort of security or  “confidentiality” the Bureau promises, do you want to tell any stranger what time you leave your house to go to work?  And isn’t it bad enough that we already have to tell the IRS exactly how much your income was last year and exactly where it came from?

If, like me, you think these are too many questions, questions that are too personal and invasive, take the time to call your Congressman and our Texas Senators.

Representative Lamar Smith – Congressional District 21                 Washington Office  (202)225-4236       San Antonio Office  (210)821-5024

Senator John Cornyn  Washington Office (202)224-2934      San Antonio Office  (210)224-7485                                       Austin Office  (512)469-6034

Senator Ted Cruz     Washington Office (202)224-5922    San Antonio Office (210)340-2885                                                            Austin Office (512)916-5834

Cloned “Clone and Kill” Bill

I testified in front of the Texas House State Affairs Committee on Tuesday. The video is here, House State Affairs 2/20/13 (Free RealPlayer program required.) Mr. Raymond comes up at about 3:30 minutes in, and my effort starts at 8 minutes in. It’s short and sweet.)

HB 142, authored by Representative Richard Raymond of Texas’ House District 42 in Laredo, looks a lot like his HB 1829 from 2007. These are “clone and kill bills, which nominally ban cloning, but actually redefine cloning, and would force the killing of any human embryo intentionally killed by nuclear transplantation. HB 142 ignores the history of the last 6 years, and uses inaccurate terminology.

Watch this space for alternative language that would actually ban human cloning.

Diabetes Complications:New LifeEthics.org post

New on LifeEthics.org, my blog on medical technology and ethics, a post on the use of adult stem cells for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy.

Office of the Governor Rick Perry – [Press Release] Texas Ranked Top Exporting State for 11th Consecutive Year

Texas is ranked as the number one exporting state for the 11th year in a row, according to 2012 annual trade data released today by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“The fact that Texas is ranked the nation’s top exporter for the 11th year in a row further demonstrates that our strong economic climate provides a broad range of opportunities for businesses to succeed,” Gov. Perry said. “Our longstanding commitment to holding the line on taxes, keeping our workforce strong, and maintaining reasonable regulations and fair courts has led to more than a decade of leading the nation in exports.”

and …

Texas was recently named the top state to do business by Area Development magazine, and Business Facilities magazine awarded Texas as the “State of the Year” for the aggressive economic development strategies that have helped attract jobs and investment. Texas governor Rick Perry was awarded the “Governor’s Award 2012” by fDi Magazine for being the most successful in attracting new investments to the state.

 

via Office of the Governor Rick Perry – [Press Release] Texas Ranked Top Exporting State for 11th Consecutive Year.

Shooter Used Southern Poverty Law Center’s Website to Identify FRC as Target

By the way, the victim’s name is Leo Johnson.

FRC’s Tony Perkins again calls on SPLC to Stop Reckless Labeling of Christian Organizations

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Earlier today, Floyd Lee Corkins, II, pleaded guilty to three charges including a District of Columbia charge of committing an act of terrorism. The charges stem from the August 15, 2012 shooting at the Family Research Council’s headquarters.

Today’s hearing also revealed that in the interview with the FBI right after the shooting, the shooter admitted his guilt, which was captured on video. He said he intended to “kill as many as possible and smear the Chick-Fil-A sandwiches in victims’ faces, and kill the guard.” The prosecutor said they reviewed the family computer and found that he identified his targets on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s web site.

read more via Shooter Used Southern Poverty Law Center’s Website to Identify FRC as Target.

How to comment on latest IRS ObamaCare regulations

Those regulations on penalties and exemptions for not buying insurance are not “final regulations” until after the comment period, which ends May 2, 2013 and a public hearing on May 29, 2013.

The IRS publication document can be found here, http://www.irs.gov/PUP/newsroom/REG-148500-12%20FR.pdf

Here’s how to comment

1. “Snail Mail,” or old fashioned paper letters and postcards –
CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG-148500-12), room 5203, Internal Revenue Service, PO Box 7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, DC 20044.
2. Hand-deliver your comments –
“Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. to CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG-148500-12), Courier’s Desk, Internal Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC.”
3. Send comments by e-mail –
“electronically via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov (IRS REG-148500-12).”
4. In person at the public hearing:
“May 29, 2013, beginning at 10:00 a.m., in the Auditorium, Internal Revenue Building, 1111 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC.”

IRS: Cheapest Obamacare Plan Will Be $20,000 Per Family | CNS News

Update 2/3/13: these are not “final regulations” until the comment period has passed. Information on comments to the IRS is appended st the end of this post.

We thought it couldn’t get worse:

(CNSNews.com) – In a final regulation issued Wednesday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) assumed that under Obamacare the cheapest health insurance plan available in 2016 for a family will cost $20,000 for the year.

Under Obamacare, Americans will be required to buy health insurance or pay a penalty to the IRS.

via IRS: Cheapest Obamacare Plan Will Be $20,000 Per Family | CNS News.

Send your comments to

CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG-148500-12), room 5203, Internal Revenue Service, PO Box 7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, DC 20044. Submissions may be hand-delivered Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. to CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG-148500-12), Courier’s Desk, Internal Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC, or
sent electronically via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov (IRS REG-148500-12).

The comment period ends May 2, 2013, and there will be a public hearing “May 29, 2013, beginning at 10:00 a.m., in the Auditorium, Internal Revenue Building, 1111 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC.”

The IRS publication document can be found here, http://www.irs.gov/PUP/newsroom/REG-148500-12%20FR.pdf. The examples begin on page 67.

Yuck factor: one man’s love affair with abortion

Why not love abortion?

Some people – many people – do experience what Leon Kass called the “Yuck factor.” For example, who wouldn’t express an instinctive distaste for the promotion of intentional, interventional and elective abortion as something for men to celebrate and the Roe v. Wade decision as an object of love?

“If they had guts,” Gutfeld said, “they would have said a child saying ‘Hi, Mom, I would have respected your right to abort me.’ ” [on Fox’s The Five Disgusted By ‘Tasteless’ And ‘Insensitive’ Ad Celebrating Roe V. Wade’s 40th Anniversary, (as reported by Mediaite).]

.

Believe it or not, this ad is not a spoof. It is a genuine effort by a well-funded pro-abortion campaign that includes Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon. The “Public Service Announcement” featuring Mehcad Brooks, a TV actor, is intended to show a man’s love of and intention to “stand by” and “fight” for elective abortion on demand.

The Center for Reproductive Rights has removed this video from their site, but for the time being, it can be seen on YouTube, Midiaite and other sites, such as Inquisitr.com.The ad also disappeared from the Hollywood Reporter’s coverage of the story.

Gov. Perry Reappoints Seven to Texas Institute of Health Care Quality and Efficiency Board of Directors

Gov. Rick Perry has reappointed seven members to the Texas Institute of Health Care Quality and Efficiency Board of Directors for terms to expire Jan. 31, 2017. The institute improves health care quality, accountability, education and cost to the state by encouraging health care provider collaboration, effective health care delivery models and coordination of health care services.

. . . Beverly Nuckols of New Braunfels is a board certified family physician. She is a member of the Texas Medical Association, Texas Academy of Family Physicians, Comal County Medical Association, and Texas Physicians Resource Council. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, and a board member and secretary of Texas Alliance for Life.

via Office of the Governor Rick Perry – [Appointment] Gov. Perry Reappoints Seven to Texas Institute of Health Care Quality and Efficiency Board of Directors.

 

Office of the Governor Rick Perry – [Appointment] Gov. Perry Reappoints Seven to Texas Institute of Health Care Quality and Efficiency Board of Directors.

This is Leticia Van De Putte, the pro-abort racist

Lest we forget, as Senator Zaffirini reminded us this afternoon, Leticia Van de Putte is a rabid advocate for Planned Parenthood. And, here’s who she was in 2003, when she ran away with the other Democrats to thwart the will of the voters of Texas on redistricting. (Edit –  She’s the one who suggested to the 82nd Legislature that traditional marriage would be strengthened if the State passed a law requiring all marriages to include “some sex.” — clarified for context. BBN)

Here’s the story I wrote in 2003, published online at the time by the Washington Dispatch and on FreeRepublic.com

Racism in Texas Politics? Exclusive commentary by Beverly Nuckols

Aug 7, 2003

From the Op-Ed pages of the Houston Chronicle on August 6, 2003:

To paraphrase one of the greatest civil rights activists of the 20th century, “We are sick and tired of being sick and tired.” Fannie Lou Hamer uttered these infamous words during her crusade in the 1960s and 1970s to encourage political participation and the right to vote by African-Americans, Hispanics and other minorities.

“We and our fellow senators are in Albuquerque, N.M., because the same important issue faces the citizens and state of Texas.”

These words were written by three Houston Democrats: State Senators Rodney Ellis, Mario Gallegos and John Whitmire. They are members of a mixed-race, single-party gang of eleven Texas State Senators who fled across the border to Albuquerque, New Mexico in order to shut down the legislative process of Texas by denying the State Senate a quorum. The group, alternately called the “Killer D’s,” “Chicken D’s,”or “AlbuTurkeys”, panicked Monday afternoon, July 28th, and left the Austin Capitol Building to board two private jets provided by wealthy Texas businessmen, David Rogers, whose family owns the First National Bank of Edinburg, and Greg LaMantia, a partner in L&F Distributors for Anheuser-Busch in McAllen. They have set up camp in $150 to $200 per day rooms and suites at the Marriott Pyramid. The Chair of the 2004 Democratic Convention, who just happens to be New Mexico’s Governor Bill Richardson, immediately sent State Troopers to provide round-the-clock protection so that the Senators would be safe to make statements such as this to the media. Virtually every news article printed, and most of the television or radio reports, about the attempted-coup-by-flying-the-coop quote the flock of eleven about the races of the voters in Texas, but never a word is said about the racial diversity of their own group, much less about the divisive nature of their comments.

Senator Leticia Van de Putte, who is the current Senate Democratic Caucus, former Chair of the Texas Senate Hispanic Caucus and the apparent gang leader of the runaways, engaged in similar rhetoric when I met with her at her hotel hideout on Sunday, August 3. (I drove and stayed in a much cheaper room in the same hotel.) Senator Van de Putte admitted that her constituency in the Bexar County area will not be touched by any of the proposed redistricting maps, because the Hispanic population is protected under Civil Rights laws and locked in by court rulings. However, the Senator with the Dutch surname repeatedly talked about her interests as “Hispanic” “Latino” and “minority,” while using the term, “Anglo” to represent those who oppose her and/or any group of people that she believed I would support. The Senator didn’t know that her use of the word “Anglo” would offend me, because of her own bias. She also doesn’t know how proud I am of my Cherokee ancestry, which gave me a great ability to tan instead of sunburn, and which made my eyes as dark as hers. And she evidently prefers to ignore the fact that 44% of Hispanic voters voted for the brown-eyed Republican Governor Rick Perry in 2002.

And then later, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram contains this little tidbit:

Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, recalled that in 1993, Senate Democrats were pushing a resolution to have state judges elected from Texas House districts rather than running in countywide elections. At the time, the House had a solid Democratic majority while Republicans were winning countywide elections in many urban areas.

When the resolution came up for a vote in the Senate, most of the Republicans had left the floor, which left the body short of the 21 members it needed for a quorum.

“They didn’t leave the state; they just left the Senate,” Ellis recalled. “But they did succeed in shutting the place down, even if it was just for a day. I remember somebody asking me if it was like the Killer Bees (the nickname for the Senate Democrats who fled for four days in 1979), and I said it was more like the Killer WASPs.” (emphasis mine)

As a citizen of the State of Texas and an American, I am sick and tired of the racist comments and views of the eleven Democrat rogues who have run away to New Mexico in an act of extortion against the Governor and Lieutenant Governor who are only responding to the will of the voting majority. These cowardly partisans seem determined to divide the State along racial lines and blur their own political agenda. They have waged a campaign in the media to deliberately imply that the State’s redistricting effort is an attempt to take the votes from certain racial groups. In fact, the actions of the Democrats – now and in May when 51 Democrats hired buses to take them to Ardmore, Oklahoma – steal the power of the votes of the majority of Texans: those who voted for the Legislators who did show up for work when they were supposed to.

Beverly B. Nuckols, MD is a pro-life pro-human rights Family Practitioner from New Braunfels, Texas. Beverly can be contacted by writing to feedback@washingtondispatch.com

De Tocqueville Moment

The answer to the question I asked back in July, 2011, is “yes.”

Has the United States of America reached the Moment predicted by Alex de Tocqueville when he warned that,”The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money?”

Worse, Congress has proven that “some animals are more equal than others” and that the majority – or their representatives – can take liberty and property from the minority for the benefit of the majority. (“Life” was already infringed by abortion laws.)

Forget for a moment that nearly half of the people in the US haven’t paid income taxes for years, and in fact, 1/5 don’t pay income taxes or payroll taxes, at all. (Their taxes are “negative,” meaning they get more from the Federal system than they pay.)

“Weary” wink?

Most people who don’t pay taxes understand that it’s wrong to take from others, and that good ethics do not demand that other people give them stuff, no matter how much the “rich” have.   Nevertheless, the Golfing President from Hawaii (not Illinois) demonizes people who “only” pay 35%-40%.

That 39.6% tax rate on “the rich” will effectively be closer to 41%, since personal deductions and itemized deductions are being phased out or eliminated for those earning more than $300,000. Add in the 3.8% “the unearned income Medicare contribution tax,” and we’re creeping toward 50%.

Welcome to Newspeak.

Grover Norquist says a vote for tax increases is a vote for permanent tax decreases. (Yes, some is better than none, but let’s be honest – the Bill is a tax increase that’s not balanced by cuts in spending.)

How about the extension of unemployment benefits for another year or, better yet, retro-active tax benefits for those who use trains, buses, trolleys or trams to go to work? $230 per month for tickets and another $240 or more per month for parking!

Another “back door tax” resulting from the Bill passed by the House and Senate over the last 2 days is a delay in tax refunds. Since many who were taxed under the Alternative Minimum Tax won’t know their real tax rate for 2012 until mid- February or so, they can’t file and can’t get their money back from the IRS.

Obama flies back to Hawaii, Proves that majority can take your property

11:30 p.m. ET – Obama will depart the White House late Tuesday, the White House announced, to resume his vacation in Hawaii. He left his family on the island earlier this week, putting his vacation on hold and returning to Washington to deal with the fiscal cliff negotiations.

via Latest updates: House approves fiscal cliff bill – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs.

NY Newspaper Draws Flak for Map of Gun Owners – Updated

The purpose of the Second Amendment is not the delivery of bullets, knife blades, or the force of blunt objects. Its purpose is to prohibit Congress – the Government – from infringing on “the right to keep and bear arms.” Those arms are for the purpose of ensuring a “free state,” wherein we the people live freely without fear of the government or other bullies threatening our inalienable rights.

In the same way, the First Amendment doesn’t guarantee that anyone else will receive your speech. It does, however prohibit limits on your speech by Congress, as long as you don’t harm someone else.

None of our inalienable rights trump the inalienable rights of others. No one may freely use their gun to infringe on the life, liberty or property of another person — it’s only to be used in defense of rights. The same thing goes for the right to free speech and press. If your expression causes harm to another person who is not threatening you or anyone else, then you should be liable, whether you are guilty of yelling “fire!” in a crowded theater, or of publishing names and addresses of law abiding people who are minding their own business.

Unfortunately, members of the Press don’t understand the harm their speech can cause others:

The Monday article in The Journal News was headlined “The gun owner next door: What you don’t know about the weapons in your neighborhood,” and was in response to the Dec. 14 school shooting in Newtown, Conn.

“Do you fools realize that you also made a map for criminals to use to find homes to rob that have no guns in them to protect themselves? What a bunch of liberal boobs you all are,” wrote one reader.

The sentiments were echoed by another, who wrote, “How dare you guys. You have just destroyed the privacy of these law-abiding citizens and by releasing this list, you have equated them to that of sex offenders and murders. These are law-abiding gun owners, they are no danger to anyone except for criminals. And with this information you have made them targets for both criminals and anti-gun lobbyist who I am sure are going to treat them like monsters. I hope you are sued for infringing on the privacy rights of every single one of these citizens you have just put in harm’s way.”

One reader, in an attempt to “turn the tables on the Journal and see how they like it,” posted the home addresses of the newspaper’s president, top editors, and the reporter who wrote the story.

The gun registration information, which is available to the public, was obtained by The Journal News through a through a Freedom of Information Act request.

On Tuesday, in an article written by Journal News Reporter Randi Weiner, the paper defended its decision to post the addresses of handgun permit holders across Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam Counties, the northern suburbs of New York City where the paper is read.

“We knew publication of the database would be controversial, but we felt sharing as much information as we could about gun ownership in our area was important in the aftermath of the Newtown shootings,” Weiner quoted CynDee Royle, editor and vice president of the newspaper. “People are concerned about who owns guns and how many of them there are in their neighborhoods.”

Royle said that a freedom of information request seeking the specifics on how many and what types of weapons were owned by people in the above mentioned counties was denied.

via NY Newspaper Draws Flak for Map of Gun Owners.

Note: I’ve added the links to the NewsMax article, which didn’t have what I consider important information. A thank you “Hat Tip” to the blog, “For What It’s Worth,” for one of the links and for being resourceful!

It’s Time for Media Control – Derek Hunter

Remind anyone that claims that the Second Amendment is no longer valid that the press didn’t have the ability to instantaneously publish all over the world. There was no sound recording and certainly no video recording. Will they accept the same limitations to the First Amendment that they want to place on the Second?

Be sure and read the first comment at the site of this article!

Was there anything about the Sandy Hook massacre the media got right on the day it happened? In their rush to be first, they ignored their obligation to be right. Nearly every detail they disseminated Friday was wrong, even down to the name of the killer. Their desire to sensationalize had them shoving microphones in the faces of children who couldn’t possibly comprehend the events of the day. This was just the latest example of how out of control and dangerous the media has become, and it’s time government did something to protect us.

You’re probably asking yourself, “What about the First Amendment? Freedom of the press means we can’t regulate them, right?” Technically, yes. But since they, en masse, want to ignore the Second Amendment, to claim since it was written in a time of muskets, it is outdated and doesn’t apply to new guns, let’s apply the same to the First.

The First Amendment was written in a time of movable type printing presses and quills, not 24-hour cable news channels and the Internet. Using the media’s logic, the First Amendment doesn’t apply.

I’m not suggesting we should simply outlaw any media outside of print, but if we can limit the Second Amendment however we like, we can do the same to the First.

via It’s Time for Media Control – Derek Hunter.

Ad guru reveals why he sold Hamptons estate – m.NYPOST.com

Jerry Della Femina says what so many of us have been thinking:

I made the investment while Obama might have been in high school or smoking dope in college or whatever he was doing. He didn’t make the investment; I did. He didn’t take the risk; I did. He didn’t improve the house; I did. And then in the end, he’s saying I must pay him more.

I always was happy to pay my fair share of taxes. I’m careful to pay every single penny on my taxes. I don’t have any money offshore. But the fact is that at this stage the general feeling in the country is, “You have it, give it to us.”

And I worked too hard to get it. I spent too much time, working too hard, to get it. Where was President Obama when I was working until 1, 2 in the morning and basically not spending as much time with my kids as I would have liked to? Where was he when I worked on Saturdays and Sundays?

Well, he’s here now. And what he’s saying is: “OK, you made the money, now you have to pay your fair share.”

I think my fair share can be what it’s been all along.

I work hard and I pay my taxes. No matter what the administration.

This is an administration that is spending more money than any administration in history. To spend more money, they need more money.

That’s where I object.

It’s a case of a president who really wants to redistribute wealth.

via Ad guru reveals why he sold Hamptons estate – m.NYPOST.com.

“The Bush Tax Cut Issue in One Chart”

Share this information!

“George W. Bush and supporters of the tax cut said federal revenue would go up after passing the cuts and it appears it did. In fact, federal receipts reached Clinton-era levels without Clinton-era tax rates in 2006, not long after all the cuts went into effect (passed in 2001 and 2003, they were tweaked with in 2005). Bush passed a tax cut as stimulus in 2008 and Barack Obama’s trillion dollar stimulus package in 2009 included some type of tax cuts as well, but does that chart look like a revenue problem or a spending problem?”

via The Bush Tax Cut Issue in One Chart – Hit & Run : Reason.com.

Review & Outlook: It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad ObamaCare – WSJ.com

30 day review and comment, dump of regulations, and still no one knows what we’re dealing with, come January 1st:

 

To take one example, for the better part of a year states and groups like the bipartisan National Governors Association and the National Association of Medicaid Directors have been begging HHS merely for information about how they’re required to make ObamaCare work in practice. There was radio silence from Washington, with time running out. Louisiana and other states even took to filing Freedom of Information Act requests, which are still pending.

Now post-election, new regulations are pouring out from HHS—more than 13,000 pages so far and yet nuts-and-bolts questions are still unanswered. Most of what we know so far comes from a 17-page question-and-answer document that HHS divulged this week, though none of the answers have the force of law and HHS says they’re subject to change at any moment.

HHS is generally issuing rules with only 30 days for public comment when the standard is 60 days and for complex regulations 90 days and more. But the larger problem is that HHS’s Federal Register filings reveal many of the rules were approved in-house and ready to go as early as May. Why the delay?

****
In other implementation hilarity, no fewer than 18 Democratic Senators and Senators-elect came out last week against ObamaCare’s $28 billion tax on medical device sales—and not just the usual penitents from Massachusetts and Minnesota. The list includes Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin and Patty Murray.

“With this year quickly drawing to a close, the medical device industry has receive little guidance about how to comply with the tax—causing significant uncertainty and confusion for businesses,” they write about the tax most of them voted for.

The last entitlement to get off the ground was President Bush’s Medicare prescription drug benefit. Those rules were tied up with a bow by January 2005, giving business and government nearly a year to prepare—and that was far simpler than re-engineering 17% of the economy. No one knows where the current magical mystery tour is headed, especially not HHS. via Review & Outlook: It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad ObamaCare – WSJ.com.

Mental Illness and the Second Amendment

The recent killings have exposed a lack of ability on the part of family, doctors, mental health professionals and the legal community to determine in advance of their crimes that the men who murdered were a danger to others.

When there was evidence of mental illness – as in the case of the Virginia State and the Colorado movie theater killers – there was no legal way to protect others from harm.

This is where our State lawmakers should focus their energies.

I’m not sure about the legal precedent – maybe it’s the “every dog gets a bite” theory. (Remember the movie, “Minority Report?” There’s still a healthy belief in free will in our society.)

Physicians are trained to evaluate the evidence not only of our treatments, but of our screening and tests. Is there a way to diagnose and treat those who are a danger to others before they hurt someone? Are our markers for who is a danger to others sensitive enough?

Then, we need to address treatment of the individuals, themselves. is there effective treatment?

The mental illness of these very few individuals doesn’t change the right of everyone around them to defend – and to prepare to defend – themselves. If there isn’t a reliable marker or treatment for the individual, is there justification for “treating” the entire population by infringing on the right guaranteed in the Second Amendment?

History in Australia, China, and other countries where  limits on gun possession are strong – or in Switzerland or Israel, where a large percentage of citizens are armed – does not support the efficacy of disarming law abiding citizens as a means to make everyone safer.

Those who question the right to keep and bear arms need to read about the Founders’ purpose in ratifying the Bill of Rights in the first place and review the process for amending the Constitution. If the right of the People to defend ourselves against any aggressor has changed, there is a Constitutional means to repeal the Second Amendment.

In the meantime, deciding who does and who does not have the right to keep and bear arms is equivalent to deciding who is and who is not “the People.” I don’t believe we want to begin a movement to base any limit – any infringement – on that right, any more than we want to limit the rest of the Bill of Rights.

Map: Approved women’s health program providers in North Texas | Dallas-Fort Worth Breaking News – News for Dallas, Texas – The Dallas Morning News

Note that the providers are up to date and much more widespread than the few PP clinics. The numbers of patients served in 2011 are all before the new program was established along with the outreach by DSHS to contract with more doctors and clinics.

The dots represent approved state women’s health program providers as of October, such as clinics or private physician practices. Many have more than than one doctor at the location.The color designates the number of Medicaid Women’s Health Program clients the provider saw in fiscal 2011, the most recent year data is available.

via Map: Approved women’s health program providers in North Texas | Dallas-Fort Worth Breaking News – News for Dallas, Texas – The Dallas Morning News.

New Payroll Tax Marriage Penalty Under ObamaTax (for the “rich”)

Just in time for all those same-sex newly-weds in the state of Washington, the Obama Administration and Democrat-pushed ObamaCare taxes will kick in, taxing married couples as one for the first time since Social Security and Medicare taxes were instituted as “payroll taxes.”

From the New York Times:

Among the most affluent fifth of households, those affected will see tax increases averaging $6,000 next year, economists estimate.

The NYT article advises us all, that since our employers may not (!) know how much our spouses make, we need to make sure our employers take out enough taxes each pay period or to begin making extra estimated payments on our own.

Geithner says Obama “absolutely” won’t deal

Are you all ready for increased taxes and continued borrowing of 40 cents or more on every dollar the Federal Government spends? Looks like that’s where we’re headed:

President Obama’s lead negotiator in the “fiscal cliff” talks said the administration is “absolutely” willing to allow the package of deep automatic spending cuts and across-the-board tax hikes to take effect Jan. 1, unless Republicans drop their opposition to higher income tax rates on the wealthy.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in an interview with CNBC that both sides are “making a little bit of progress” toward a deal to avert the “cliff” but remain stuck on Obama’s desired rate increase for the top U.S. income-earners.

“There’s no prospect for an agreement that doesn’t involve those rates going up on the top two percent of the wealthiest,” Geithner said.

via White House ‘Absolutely’ Willing To Go Off The Fiscal Cliff – ABC News.

And it’s not just tax increases for the “rich,” either (those, including small business owners, who earn over $200,000 a year). Obama wants carte blanche to unilaterally raise spending and the debt ceiling.

Obama, speaking at a meeting of 100 CEOs, warned Republicans that he would not accept a so-called “doomsday” deal that extends tax cuts for middle-income earners before the end of the year but nothing more.

Blowin’ Smoke: Willie Nelson and the Constitution

I’m in the middle of reading Willie Nelson’s latest book, the semi-biographic stream of consciousness, Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings from the Road.

I enjoy the stories about his life and family, but I’m continually irritated by his confused comments on politics and ethics.

It really knocks me for a loop when I encounter someone like Mr. Nelson, who has obviously thought long and hard about certain issues but doesn’t seem to understand the basics of ethics or logic. Because he doesn’t know *why* some things are right and others are wrong, he ends up proving one of the homey proverbs he quotes in the book: if you don’t stand for something, you’ll end up falling for anything.

I love to hear Willie Nelson and his songs. My husband and I went to see his band play at the Majestic Theater in San Antonio last January and were very impressed by the Nelson concerts — both of them. Lukas Nelson’s band, Promise of the Real, opened for his father and sons Lukas and Mikah joined the Nelson family on the stage.

It’s tempting to reference Laura Ingraham’s book, Shut Up and Sing, along with the theory and demand behind it. Just because a person is a great singer, songwriter and guitar player, doesn’t mean he’s a great person, much less that he’s a great philosopher or thinker. It certainly shouldn’t mean that his philosophy should be given greater weight than that of other people because of his celebrity and access to the press.

The fact is that Mr. Nelson is a leader and he influences a large number of people. It’s a shame it’s not for the right reasons.

In this book, Mr. Nelson praises the Occupy Wall Street protests, says he agrees with Warren Buffet “that it just ain’t fair for people like us to have all the advantages,” and states that the Second Amendment shouldn’t apply to today’s weapons because they aren’t designed for hunting, only for killing people. His religious comments are mostly just silly ramblings.

However, the cause Mr. Nelson is best identified with – and the one for which it would be simplest to correct his logical errors – is the legalization of marijuana. He writes about his founding of the “TeaPot Party” in the book. Mr. Nelson’s reason for legalizing marijuana is simply that people want to smoke it and there are other legal substances that are worse. And he proposes a Statist’s plan as flimsy as his utilitarian ethic: “Tax it, regulate it and legalize it!” to raise money for the Government:

 It’s already been proven that taxing and regulating marijuana makes more sense than sending young people to prison for smoking a God-given herb that has never proven to be fatal to anybody. Cigarettes and alcohol have killed millions, and there’s no law against them, because again, there’s a lot of money in cigarettes and alcohol. If they could realize there is just as much profit in marijuana, and they taxed and regulated it as they do cigarettes and alcohol, they could realize the same amount of profit and reduce trillions of dollars in debt.

Nelson, Willie; Friedman, Kinky (2012-11-13). Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings from the Road (p. 20). William Morrow. Kindle Edition. (accessed 12/03/2012)

It might surprise some people that I – the self-proclaimed “hot air under the right wing” – agree that marijuana shouldn’t be illegal to grow, own or use. I base my belief on a plain reading of the US Constitution. How on Earth can our Federal government outlaw a plant that literally grows like a weed and doesn’t require manufacturing or processing to use? In fact, my theory as to why the plant is illegal is because it would be hard to regulate and tax.

Or maybe not.

Back in the mid-1990’s, I attempted to grow a traditional herbal medicine garden and ran into trouble obtaining Oriental poppy seeds, Papaver somniferum. Most of the orders I placed were cancelled, so I started doing some research. I learned that the Clinton Administration was raiding gardens and arresting people for growing and sharing the seeds of heirloom plants passed down from their mothers. This was in spite of the age-old use of the plants in gardens and herbal medicine, as well as the ready availability of food grade fertile Oriental poppy seeds for cooking and baking.

The more I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that the Federal government’s “War on Drugs” is not Constitutional and it’s not conservative. I agree with Mr. Nelson that this “war” is a costly abuse of government that strengthens organized crime and too many American freedoms have fallen as collateral damage. But the reason is not because people want to abuse drugs or because the Government could make money off the taxes. It’s because there’s no justification for outlawing a plant in the Constitution.

This is what happens when we the People don’t know our own Constitution and allow our Legislators to habitually pass abusive laws:  the infringement of our inalienable rights.

Sinking Economy? Obama says sink it faster

Hitting the debt ceiling, borrowing 40 cents of every dollar we spend, and about to go over the “fiscal cliff” if a compromise isn’t worked out. The Obama strategy is to spend more, borrow more and pretty much sabotage the “bipartisan” deal.

How grand is that?

And who does the New York Times blame?

via Republicans Balk at Obama’s Short-Term Stimulus – NYTimes.com.

The Obama administration is arguing that the sluggish economy requires a shot in the arm, and it included tens of billions of dollars of little-noticed stimulus measures in its much-noticed proposal to Congressional leaders last week. But Republicans have countered that the country cannot afford to widen the deficit further, and have balked at including the measures in any eventual deal.

Read it and weep (and pray): US liability is $86.8 T

Maybe they could tax all lottery winnings at 100%?

The actual liabilities of the federal government—including Social Security, Medicare, and federal employees’ future retirement benefits—already exceed $86.8 trillion, or 550% of GDP. For the year ending Dec. 31, 2011, the annual accrued expense of Medicare and Social Security was $7 trillion. Nothing like that figure is used in calculating the deficit. In reality, the reported budget deficit is less than one-fifth of the more accurate figure.

Why haven’t Americans heard about the titanic $86.8 trillion liability from these programs? One reason: The actual figures do not appear in black and white on any balance sheet. But it is possible to discover them. Included in the annual Medicare Trustees’ report are separate actuarial estimates of the unfunded liability for Medicare Part A the hospital portion, Part B medical insurance and Part D prescription drug coverage.

As of the most recent Trustees’ report in April, the net present value of the unfunded liability of Medicare was $42.8 trillion. The comparable balance sheet liability for Social Security is $20.5 trillion.

via Cox and Archer: Why $16 Trillion Only Hints at the True U.S. Debt – WSJ.com.