The only conservative in Western Massachusetts - Email Eric Lindholm: ealindholm -at- msn -dot- com

 
Not cutting costs - The Hill: "House health bill will hike costs $289B" That's what the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) says.
posted by Eric at 9:50 PM (0) comments

 
The amateur-in-chief

Forgetting that he's the President of the United States of America, Obama committed a breach of protocol and bowed deeply to Japan's emperor Akihito. The LA Times asked "How low will he go?" and Powerline queried "Why is this man bowing?" I think the answer can be found in this quote from "The Remains of the Day":

Lewis: "You are, all of you, amateurs. And international affairs should never be run by gentlemen amateurs. Do you have any idea of what sort of place the world is becoming all around you? The days when you could just act out of your noble instincts, are over. Europe has become the arena of realpolitik, the politics of reality. If you like: real politics. What you need is not gentlemen politicians, but real ones. You need professionals to run your affairs, or you're headed for disaster!"

The answer may be more prosaic: Obama's the "change" guy so, whatever might have been the norm for 200+ years, he's going to do the opposite. The exception is creating deficits - there he's going to blow away all previous administrations.

Flashback - Hot Air: "NY Times blasts Clinton for almost bowing."

More - Memeorandum roundup.
posted by Eric at 2:34 PM (2) comments

 
Americans aren't buyin' it - Megan McArdle reveals that "the more we talk about health care reform, the less popular it gets."
posted by Eric at 11:35 PM (0) comments

 
Everything's bigger in Texas - Including the job market. According to Business Week, Texas is home to four out the the top five cities in America for job creation. The fifth is in Utah.
posted by Eric at 11:30 PM (1) comments

 
Wanna get into Princeton? Move out of New Jersey - As you know, this move came too late for me, but colleges across the nation are giving special consideration to out-of-state students because they normally need to pay a higher tuition, which then subsidizes the in-state students.
posted by Eric at 11:27 PM (0) comments

 
Freestyle - Just got back from my son's swim meet where he shaved three seconds off his 50m freestyle time, and a first place finish to boot. Nice.
posted by Eric at 11:14 PM (0) comments

 
Constitution schmonstitution - Congress plans to mandate that Americans purchase health insurance and jail 'em if they don't. Any basis in law? Well there's that "general welfare" part of the Constitution which implies that the government can force you to eat spinach too.
posted by Eric at 9:41 PM (1) comments

 
Holi-day wi-fi - PC World: "Thanks Google, but airport wi-fi should always be free." It should, since it's so critical to business, but airports can't resist sources of revenue.
posted by Eric at 9:27 PM (1) comments

 
Veterans Day



I miss my dog. When I picked her up from the kennel, she would cry and slobber all over my car on the ride home. And that was after only a week or so.
posted by Eric at 10:31 PM (0) comments

 
Obama chooses not to decide - Fox News "Obama won't take any current war options": "President Barack Obama does not plan to accept any of the Afghanistan war options presented by his national security team, pushing instead for revisions to clarify how and when U.S. troops would turn over responsibility to the Afghan government, a senior administration official said Wednesday."

I'm sure the boys in Oslo are so proud.

Flashback – Here's Jennifer Rubin, earlier today: "After delaying and equivocating, the president must, soon we are promised yet again, announce the policy, quiet the critics, regain the confidence of our allies and the Afghanistan government, and impress on the enemy that we really do mean business."

Extra – Hot Air: "Obama votes 'present'"

More – AFP reports that the U.S. ambassador in Kabul is essentially overriding the opinion of General McChrystal on Afghanistan.

And this - AoSHQ: "Smartest guy in the room."
posted by Eric at 9:37 PM (3) comments

 
Millions for Botox, but not one cent for flu shots - Real Clear Markets: "Health reform's moral hazard"
posted by Eric at 8:54 PM (0) comments

 
Best news today - CNN: "Police officer who shot Fort Hood suspect says she's 'doing well'" I had heard Officer Munley had lost a lot of blood after the shootout but now it looks like she's on the mend.
posted by Eric at 8:24 PM (0) comments

 
Just makin' stuff up, Boston-style - Remember that stimulus package that was supposed to "create or save" jobs? Not so much. Boston Globe "Stimulus job boost in state exaggerated, review finds": "While Massachusetts recipients of federal stimulus money collectively report 12,374 jobs saved or created, a Globe review shows that number is wildly exaggerated."
posted by Eric at 9:23 AM (1) comments

 
The conspiracy to keep you poor and dependent - Government-run health care is an opportunity to make Americans more dependent on the government...and that helps the statist Democrats. At least one guy let the cat out of the bag: "Confessions of an ObamaCare backer."
posted by Eric at 10:51 PM (4) comments

 
Twenty years ago - BBC News asks: "Where were you when the Berlin Wall came down?" Golly, since I was just starting my senior year at Rutgers, I was probably at the Ale & Wich with my roommates, sharing a $4 pitcher of Budweiser. If my usual jukebox selections were coming on then "I'll be Doggone" by Marvin Gaye would be playing.
posted by Eric at 7:33 PM (1) comments

 
Once the foot is in the door, expansion forever

I’m back kinda late from New York, so I'll just borrow this thought from Mark Steyn on the passage of the health care bill:

If "health care" were about health care, the devil would be in the details. But it's not about health or costs or coverage; it's about getting over the river and burning the bridge. It doesn't matter what form of governmentalized health care gets passed as long as it passes. Once it’s in place, it will be "reformed", endlessly, but it will never be undone.

The history of Social Security and Medicare and damn near every government program follows the same pattern: start small and expand later. When Social Security was started in the mid-1930's, the program collected 1% from your income along with 1% from your employer; these contributions went to fund a program to prevent poverty in old age. Now Social Security collects 6.2% of your income (12.4% for the self-employed) to fund a much healthier and wealthier senior population compared to their Depression-era counterparts.

The health care bill that just passed in the House is estimated to cost $1.2 trillion, well above President Obama's insistence that the legislation fall under the $900 billion limit. No matter: it's now blindingly obvious that Obama will sign any legislation at all to get that foot in the door. The price setting, rationed care, doctor shortage, and the exploding deficit? Those are details to work out later, after the big "win."

Extra – Opinion Journal: "The Lords of Entitlement – Every medical insurance decision will be subject to rationing by politics."

More - Minuteman: "Health care that's always a scare."

Get ready for the mass conversion - From the KC Star: "Would I have to have insurance? Yes, or pay a penalty of 2.5 percent of your income. Hardship and religious waivers would be available, and some very low-wage earners would be exempt. The requirement would begin in 2013." Whoa...what religion gets a free pass?

I think it's Ned Flanderism:

Maude Flanders: "Neddy doesn't believe in insurance. He considers it a form of gambling."

Hi-dilly ho, government intervention!
posted by Eric at 10:37 PM (1) comments