The Obama administration issues 111 healthcare waivers
I have written a couple of posts on the Obama regime issuing several healthcare waivers to billion dollar companies so that these companies would not have to comply with the new healthcare reform law–these companies include McDonald’s, Jack in the Box and 28 other large companies–but it now seems as if the list of companies the Obama regime has granted waivers to is actually much larger than we were led to believe–or that the regime cares to admit.
Fox News is now reporting that buried deep in the Health and Human Services’ website is the report that the Obama regime has actually granted 111 healthcare waivers to large companies and unions that will exempt them from the new healthcare reform law.
It seems odd to me that the president who claimed while he was campaigning that he would not coddle Wall Street while ignoring Main Street would first bailout Wall Street at the expense of Main Street and then turn around and grant some of the largest companies in America healthcare reform waivers so that they would not be subjected to his signature legislative accomplishment.
Meanwhile small companies who cannot afford to hire expensive lawyers to fight the healthcare reform law are going to have to adhere to the law. And while these large companies are being exempted from the healthcare reform law what happens to an individual American who either chooses not to have–or cannot afford to buy–healthcare coverage? The IRS punishes them with a tax penalty. Barack Obama is coddling big business while ignoring the plight of small companies and individuals who will be unfairly hit with expenses that the large companies are avoiding. It is the small businesses and individuals who are going to feel the impact of this legislation while the big companies–who are well represented–get away without paying what Barack Obama likes to call “their fair share.”
Can someone tell me how this new healthcare reform law–with all of the companies who theoretically should be the companies that can afford the new healthcare expenses are exempted, while those that cannot are to be punished–is fair? And can somebody tell me how this law makes insurance affordable to those that already can’t afford it?
The fact that so many companies have asked for and been granted waivers to exempt themselves from the healthcare law show us how ill conceived this law was in the first place. Perhaps if anybody had bothered to read the bill before it was passed they would have seen how disastrous this bill was, but Nancy Pelosi claimed that the Congress had to pass the bill before anyone could see what was in it. So that is exactly what they did and now we are seeing what is in it, and unless you are a large company or a union member who will not have to adhere to the new law, it is proving to be a monstrosity.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to be detained at GITMO indefinitely
During his presidential campaign Barack Obama promised that he would close GITMO and end President Bush’s policy of labeling the prisoners there as enemy combatants in order to hold them indefinitely and without charges. During the campaign Barack Obama claimed that these practices were unconstitutional and he claimed that GITMO served as a recruitment tool for al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations that wished to attack America. He also made statements claiming that GITMO lessened our stature in the world and hurt the image of the United States abroad.
Two days into his presidency Barack Obama signed an executive order with much fanfare that ordered the closing of GITMO within a year, while claiming that America was taking the “moral high ground” and stating that this would “restore the standards of due process and the core constitutional values that have made this country great even in the midst of war, even in dealing with terrorism.”
School tells student to remove American flag from his bike
Cody Alicea is a thirteen year old boy and like many children his age he rides his bike to school everyday. For the last two months Cody Alicea has been flying an American flag on the back of his bike. He does this to honor veterans–including his grandfather–and he hopes to join the military himself some day.
Last week the superintendent of the Denair Middle School told Cody Alicea that the American flag was no longer allowed on school property because some of the other children were offended by the flag and the school did not want to provoke any racial tensions.
Cody fought back:
In this country we’re supposed to be free,” said Cody. “And I should be able to wave my flag wherever I want to. And they’re telling me I can’t.” Cody had to take the flag off his bike and put it in his backpack, where he kept it all week.
And eventually he won, although not in time to fly the flag on Veterans Day:
One more Veterans Day video: homecomings
As I was surfing the net today and checking out the various Veterans Day posts from my favorite blogs I was reminded of a video that I saw on The Current a couple of months ago. This was a video that is about ten minutes long and is nothing but homecoming reunions between our military heroes and their families. Many of the reunions in this video are of our heroes surprising their loved ones with their return home.
After remembering this video I had to check it out once again for it reminds us that while those that have chosen to serve this country do so at a great sacrifice to themselves, they are not alone in their sacrifice. Many of those that choose to serve leave behind sons, daughters, spouses, parents, grandparents, and friends because they believe in the cause that America is fighting for.
While our troops are in a foreign land fighting for freedom, their loved ones remain at home wondering how safe the one that left them is. Are they in danger? Are they safe? What lies around the corner? They live with these fears just as much as those that are in a foreign land. In a way it might even be tougher for them because they cannot see what is actually happening as they breathlessly await for both any news on their loved ones and the safe return of their loved ones.
Today is a day for honoring the veterans, but we mustn’t forget the families and friends of those veterans, because theirs is a sacrifice that is equal to those that are serving overseas right now, they let go of their loved ones so that we might remain free.
I have decided to post that video below, but be forewarned, it is a tear-jerker so do not watch it without a couple of tissues because you will need them. The reaction of the little girl in the very first scene–who thought her dad was still in Iraq–when she looks up and sees her dad will bring a tear to your eye. It sums up what military families give up on a daily basis.
Thank you to all the veterans and thank you to all of the families of the veterans for giving up such a big part of your life in the defense of freedom!
Barack Obama edited a report to justify his drilling moratorium in the Gulf following the BP oil spill
This story is now a few days old and I apologize for not getting to it in a more timely manner, but I feel that this is too big of a story to not write about even if I am a little late in doing so. What story am I talking about? I am talking about this article which claims that Barack Obama “edited” a report on the safety of drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico following the BP oil spill in an attempt to justify his six month drilling moratorium in the Gulf.
The latest complaint from scientists comes in a report by the Interior Department’s inspector general, which concluded that the White House edited a drilling safety report in a way that made it falsely appear that scientists and experts supported the administration’s six-month ban on new deep-water drilling
Veterans Day 2010
At eleven o’clock in the morning, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, the Treaty of Versailles was signed, bringing the Great War, the war to end all wars, WWI to an end. November 11th is known throughout most of the world as Armistice or Remembrance Day, but after WWII there was growing sentiment in the United States that November 11th should be a time to honor all veterans. In 1954 President Eisenhower signed a bill that turned Armistice Day into Veterans Day, declaring it a national holiday.
To borrow a phrase from President Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, “it is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.”
Today is a day for honoring all of our veterans: those that fought and died, those that fought and lived, those who did not fight, those that have served during war and those that served during peace, those that have served in the past and those that are serving now, whether in combat or at home, whether near or far.
Everyone who has ever put on the uniform of the United States and those that are wearing the uniform of the United States are all my heroes. I love you all and I respect everything that you do to secure my freedom and the freedom of my family and of my friends.
You will never know how much I appreciate what you do and have done for the greatest country in the world and there is no way that I can possibly thank you for all that you do and for everything you have given up to serve the country. Please accept these videos as a small token of my appreciation.
During the 2010 election cycle the media tried desperately to portray the Republican party as a party in disarray. The media continually tried to portray the Tea Party as being a negative for the Republican party by making the claim that the Tea Party was splitting the party and a civil war within the party was imminent. This civil war was supposed to lead to the Democrats’ victories in November as the Tea Party split the vote and unintentionally sent the Democrats back to the Congress.
We now know that there was no splitting of the Republican party–sure the Tea Party cost the Republicans two seats, but there was no civil war–the party was united in their message and made historic gains in the last election. But while the media was building up this potential civil war they completely ignored the party in which a civil war was already brewing–the Democrat party.
While the media claimed that the Republican party was splitting up they continued to ignore the fact that many Democrats were not only trying to distance themselves from the president and his policies, but were also trying to distance themselves from Nancy Pelosi.
During the campaign several Democrats claimed that while they voted for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House once before they would not vote for her again if they were sent back to Congress. This should have been a clear sign to the media that the Democrat party was splitting and facing a civil war, but they were too focused on creating an artificial civil war in the Republican party to notice what was happening right under their noses in the Democrat party.
And now we are learning that there may still be deep divisions within the Democrat party; several Democrats are asking Nancy Pelosi to step aside to let someone else become the minority leader.
New Hampshire Senator-elect Kelly Ayotte moves to ban earmarks
In what this article calls New Hampshire Senator-elect Kelly Ayotte’s first official action, she has joined 10 other Republicans calling for the outright ban on earmarks.
A letter to the GOP Senate leadership says Ayotte and the others will support a rule change placing a moratorium on earmarks when the GOP Senate Conference meets next week.
Here is what my new senator had to say about this issue:
Ending earmarks is an important first step toward getting our fiscal house in order. These special pet projects have become a symbol of Washington’s ‘pay-to-play’ culture that must be stopped, and that’s why I’m moving quickly on this urgent priority,” said Ayotte.
“Eliminating earmarks will help bring accountability and transparency to how federal spending decisions are made, while simultaneously imposing greater budget discipline.
Paul Ryan wants to privatize Social Security
Paul Ryan–the man who will be the House Budget Chairman when the new Republican led Congress is sworn in–wants to privatize Social Security! At least that will be the battle cry from the Democrats over the next two years if Paul Ryan moves forward with his Social Security plan.
According to this article, Paul Ryan will introduce a plan that would allow Americans to choose to allocate some of the money they are already paying into the Social Security system to private retirement savings accounts instead. Under his plan Americans would be allowed to invest up to 5% of the money they are already paying into the system into investment plans that the people actually own. By 2042 the total amount of the FICA taxes that Americans would be able to privatize would rise to 8%.
Governor John Lynch pulls one last fast one on New Hampshire voters
Last June Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, John Broderick, announced his retirement. Sensing the Republican wave that was about to sweep over the state New Hampshire Republicans called on Governor John Lynch to delay naming a new chief justice, claiming that the people should be heard before a decision is made on John Broerick’s replacement.
Governor Lynch claimed that this was too important of a post to be left vacant for the five months preceding the election and declared that he would name a replacement as soon as possible. As of this date he still hasn’t made a decision as to who will replace the outgoing Supreme Court justice. And according to this Union Leader editorial, it is not coincidental that while the governor claimed he could not wait until after the election he did anyway. It appears as if there is a reason behind the governor’s delaying tactic.
Here is the editorial, reprinted in full:
America's Watchtower 