Yearly Archives: 2009
Beware the Surrender
Quotes of the Day:
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“You could theoretically design a co-op plan that had the same attributes as a public plan.” — Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services
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“Well, I think in theory you can imagine a co-operative meeting that definition.” — President Barack Obama
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Subject: Beware the surrender on the so-called “public option”
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The Big Government health care bill doesn’t have the votes in the Senate and it’s taking a beating in public opinion. The latest Rasmussen Report shows that 54% of Americans now think passing no health care reform at all is better than passing the current plan.
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The President and Congressional leaders have responded by appearing to surrender.
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President Obama claims the so-called “public option” (tax funded health insurance) isn’t crucial. They would settle for something called a co-op instead.
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Beware of politicians appearing to surrender. They’re almost always “Greeks bearing gifts.” The co-op alternative to the “public option” is a Trojan Horse.
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Michael F. Cannon sums it up perfectly:
Tuesday, August 18 Interview, No. 2
At 3 PM Eastern (2 PM Central, 1 PM Mountain, Noon Pacific) Downsize DC President Jim Babka is scheduled to appear on the radio talk show, Crosstalk, heard on 89 stations and the streaming on the Internet.Jim will be on for the hour.
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You can listen live and…
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Tuesday, August 18 Interview
Live Radio is Dynamic. Sometimes, things come up. This interview was CANCELED.
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Downsize DC President Jim Babka is scheduled to make his regular, monthly appearance on Liberty Roundtable w/ Sam Bushman & Friends, just after 10 AM Eastern (9 AM Central, 8 AM Mountain, 7 AM Pacific) on this, the third Tuesday morning of the month.
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However, Sam Bushman is traveling, and right now we’re hoping this interview will happen. We won’t know for sure until showtime.
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THIS INTERVIEW WAS CANCELED.
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The show is heard on several stations, but
Another shocking fact
Media Alert: A second radio interview for today (Tuesday) has been scheduled, and more are coming. Downsize DC is in-demand. Please check our blog regularly for listening details.
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Quote of the Day: “In 2006, Massachusetts snuck a health care boondoggle past the voters by pushing 20 percent of the cost on to the federal government and 60 percent onto private individuals and employers, according to data from the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.” — Michael F. Cannon of the Cato Institute, writing in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Subject: Another shocking fact about the true costs of the big health care bill
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But it gets worse . . .
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* The $1.2 trillion cost reported by the CBO only includes ON-BUDGET items
:::* The bill also imposes other huge costs on taxpayers that won’t be reflected in the federal budget
Monday, August 17 Interview
Downsize DC President Jim Babka is scheduled to appear with host Pete Ferrand on WRJN, 1400 AM in Racine/Kenosha at 2 PM Central time. Sadly, there’s no streaming Internet for this interview.
This One Is Short, But Shocking
Media Alerts: Downsize DC President Jim Babka is scheduled to do a talk-radio interview this afternoon (Monday), and another tentatively (likely) tomorrow (Tuesday). Details for those interviews will be posted on the DownsizeDC.org blog.
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Quote of the Day: “Democrats are using smoke and mirrors to hide the impact of their health plans. Existing estimates, therefore, reflect only a fraction of the total cost.” — Michael F. Cannon of the Cato Institute, writing in the Atlanta Journal-Constition
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Subject: The politicians aren’t telling you about all the costs
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The politicians are lying to you about the true costs of their massive health care plan.
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In fact, they’re lying to you in several ways, using fraudulent accounting tricks and sleights of hand.
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We’ll be exposing their tricks this week. Here’s the first one . . .
Have you noticed that there’s a rebellion underway?
Quote of the Day: “It is the competition of profit-seeking entrepreneurs that does not tolerate the preservation of false prices . . .” — Ludwig von Mises, “Human Action” 3rd edition, pages 337-338
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Subject: Have you noticed that there’s a rebellion underway?
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* A majority oppose the bill — 53% to 42%
:::* That’s down 5 points from two weeks ago and 8 points from six weeks ago
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The intensity numbers are even better —
The United States of Corporate Welfare
Quote of the Day: “Even in the best economic times, you won’t find an investment with a greater payoff than what these companies have been getting.” — Sheila Krumholz, Executive Director of The Center for Responsive Politics
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Subject: The United States of Corporate Welfare
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The Congressional Oversight Panel charged with monitoring the T.A.R.P. bailout scheme thinks more bailouts may be needed.
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In case you’ve forgotten . . .
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* T.A.R.P. stands for Toxic Asset Relief Program
:::* The T.A.R.P. was supposed to spend $700 billion buying so-called toxic assets from institutions that were supposedly too big to fail, but . . .
:::* After Congress said yes to this proposal the Treasury Department instead used the funds to buy stock in major banks
:::* In other words, The Toxic Asset Relief Program ended up having nothing to do with toxic assets
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It get’s worse. According to Wikipedia . . . .
Good News on the Enumerated Powers Act
Quote of the Day: “The law will never make men free; it is men who have got to make the law free.” — Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) Source: Slavery in Massachusetts (1854)
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Subject: Good news on the Enumerated Powers Act
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The Enumerated Powers Act (HR 450) would require Congress to identify the Constitutional authority for each law it passes. We think this requirement is an important step on the long road to restoring Constitutional limits and the Bill of Rights.
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When we last reported to you the bill had 32 co-sponsors in the House. Now it has
They Haven’t Quit So We Won’t Quit
Quote of the Day: “PASS Act is REAL ID 2.0” — Electronic Privacy Information Center
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Subject: They haven’t quit, so we won’t quit
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The American people don’t want a national ID card. Nevertheless, the REAL ID Act remains on the books, and the PASS Act (S. 1261) is still waiting in the wings to replace it. Here’s the official description of the PASS Act . . .
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“A bill to repeal title II of the REAL ID Act of 2005 and amend title II of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to better protect the security, confidentiality, and integrity of personally identifiable information collected by States when issuing driver’s licenses and identification documents, and for other purposes.”
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That doesn’t really tell you much does it? It sounds like the PASS Act is designed to protect you from identity theft. Some people could also assume that the REAL ID Act is being repealed, but in reality . . .