Senator Harry Reid clutches at his heart, demonstrating how nationalized health-care will give Americans permanent coronary disease, from which we will never recover.
The Snarky Files. Snarky means several things. I prefer the definition of "sharply critical." Here's my take on some news stories this past week. No real news here, just snark.
Same Sex Marriage Ad Absurdum
After losing the same sex marriage vote in Maine, gay activists have turned their attention back to California. In an effort to overturn Proposition 8, which created a constitutional definition of marriage between a man and a woman, gay activists have begun collecting signatures to put the question of same sex marriage on the California ballot for 2010.
"All eyes are on California now," said John Henning, executive director of Love Honor Cherish, a California gay rights group, and one of the leaders of an effort to gather a million signatures to place the measure on the November 2010 ballot in California. (Reuters)Funny. Didn't gay activists say "all eyes are on California" in 2008 referring to Proposition 8? Isn't that what gay activists said about Maine this year?
Apparently "all eyes" doesn't mean what gay activists think it means.
Vitriol
In an op-ed piece for the Boston Globe, columnist Jeff Jacoby asks a fair question of those who rage at US voters who turned down same sex marriage in Maine and in 30 other states:
"When will it occur to supporters of same-sex marriage that they do their cause no good by characterizing those who disagree with them as haters, bigots, and ignorant homophobes?...
Voters don’t have to be paranoid to wonder: If this is the kind of abuse that opponents of gay marriage can be subjected to now, how much more intolerance will dissenters face if gay marriage becomes the law?" (Boston Globe)It was this same vitriolic backlash from same sex marriage supporters that got involved in protecting marriage in the first place. Such aberrant behavior will only confirm what many have come to discover: Gay activists accuse and abuse marriage supporters of hate and bigotry when they themselves show hatred's true face.
What About AIDS?
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study that shows sexually transmitted disease infections continue to rise (Reuters). This is tragic news, especially considering those who are most at risk - adolescent girls and blacks:
* Adolescent girls 15 to 19 years had the most chlamydia and gonorrhea cases of any age group at 409,531.And what is the "cause" of the continued rise in these diseases? The article opines the lack of "correct" education. This, of course, refers to George W. Bush's support of abstinence only sex education.
* Blacks, who represent 12 percent of the U.S. population, accounted for about 71 percent of reported gonorrhea cases and almost half of all chlamydia and syphilis cases in 2008.
* Black women 15 to 19 had the highest rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea. (Reuters)
"We are not honestly and openly dealing with this issue and it's the larger issue of sexual health," [John Douglas, director of the division of sexually transmitted diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] said.Honesty and openness, according to the CDC, means blaming Bush and, apparently, ignoring the role of parents in teaching personal responsibility among at-risk teens and black women.
Delay in Climate Change
Global climate change was put on hold for another year...or two as world leaders duke it out over which government will win most control over laws dictating people to stop changing its weather.
U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders on Sunday supported delaying a legally binding climate pact until 2010 or even later, but European negotiators said the move did not imply weaker action. (Reuters)Considering the upcoming global climate change talks in Copenhagen, I'm banking on Denmark to rise as the new global leader.
RIP
Meanwhile, back on the home front, it appears as if the American people are finally waking up to the fact that, while global climate change may be a problem, cap and trade laws, more tax collection, and Congress are not the solution. Check out this exchange between Senator James Inhofe and Senator Barbara Boxer:
With these folks in charge of our government and such important issues as spending money and raising taxes, it's no wonder that I expect Denmark to rise to the top of the heap.
Government Intervention
With the upcoming Senate battle over the health-care bill, a lot of the arguments about basic problems with government interference into peoples' lives get thrown by the wayside. Filed in the it-could-never-happen-in-the-US basket, take a look at the next step in the UK's nanny state:
New guidance drawn up at the request of the Department of Health urges councils and other public sector bodies to “collect data” on properties where children are thought to be at “greatest risk of unintentional injury”.What this means is UK Department of Health officials will be granted the right to enter peoples' homes and search for "safety violations." (Isn't this one of the reasons the US revolted against Great Britain over 230 years ago - because of unreasonable searches and seizures?)
Council staff will then be tasked with overseeing the installation of safety devices in homes, including smoke alarms, stair gates, hot water temperature restrictors, oven guards and window and door locks. (UK Times)
But, of course, with national health-care in the US, our government could never overthrow basic constitutional principles in order to gain more control over peoples' lives. In the US, government would never do anything like fire CEOs and take over several private corporations, or start a war in Iraq, or use taxpayer money to fund abortions.
With our version of nationalized health-care, government would only conduct reasonable searches into our private lives.
Go Joe!
Speaking of the Senate health-care bill, Senator Joseph Lieberman has threatened to filibuster any bill with a public option - a move which could kill off the bill for this year. (Politico)
Give Senator Lieberman a call or an email of encouragement. This Congressional nonsense has gone on long enough. It's time to Kill the Bill.
Date Night in Congress
What's up with the health-care bill and Saturday night votes? The Hill reports that this Saturday, the Senate will vote on debating their version of health-care.
Nancy Pelosi pushed through the House version late on a Saturday night.
The only thing I can conclude about these Saturday night votes is that Congress doesn't want to interrupt congressmen and senators during the week because they're all out of the office raising campaign money from lobbyists. By Saturday night, lobbyists are all out partying their windfall fortunes while Congress meets.
Government Waste
Is anyone surprised that government spending leads to corruption and waste? ABC News apparently was when it reported that stimulus money accounting showed jobs saved or created in congressional districts that don't actually exist.
In Arizona's 15th congressional district, 30 jobs have been saved or created with just $761,420 in federal stimulus spending. At least that's what the Web site set up by the Obama administration to track the $787 billion stimulus says.ABC calls it a reporting error. The plain truth is, no one in the government really knows where and how the stimulus bill money is being spent or what effect it has on the economy. And these are the folks we want to intrude even more into our health-care?
There's one problem, though: There is no 15th congressional district in Arizona; the state has only eight districts. (ABC News)
Buyer's Remorse?
President Obama made a brilliant statement this week:
"It is important though to recognize if we keep on adding to the debt, even in the midst of this recovery, that at some point, people could lose confidence in the U.S. economy in a way that could actually lead to a double-dip recession." (Reuters)I'm impressed with our president's ability to assess and pinpoint such problems. I sleep a whole lot better at night knowing that Mr. Obama has such keen insight into government overspending.
Looking Good!
While President Obama continues to waffle on policy in Afghanistan, at least he has his priorities when it comes to our troops. Stopping on his Asian trip to bow to Japan's emperor and visit troops in South Korea, he noted:
"You guys make a pretty good photo op," the president said. (Washington Post)I sleep a whole lot better at night knowing that Mr. Obama also has his military priorities right.
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