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Last night I watched the movie “Grand Torino”. I saw it back in February and it was one of those movies that had such a strong effect on me that I had to get it as soon as the video came out. At the time I wrote a short post about it and after watching the movie again I decided to re-post the article here.
Those of you who’ve see the movie “Grand Torino” will recognize the name Walt Kowalski as the character played by Clint Eastwood. For those of you who have not seen the movie (the language in the movie is tough but the story and the message is incredible) I do not want to give it away but Walt is a retired Ford assembly line worker and a Korean War veteran who still lives in the Detroit area house where he raised his two kids. Needless to say his neighborhood has gone through a few changes and has become a crime ridden hopeless place. Walt is a hold out from a past generation, a generation that was by and large self sufficient. He has no need or use for help from anyone. In one scene after Walt breaks up a gang fight with a shot gun, he is asked “why didn’t you just call the police?” Walt’s reply was something like “in Korea when the enemy attacked our position we could not just call the police”. There are few other great messages in the story other than the self reliance one but a message of self reliance really stands out these days.
This was brought home to me when right after seeing the movie Diana and I saw a man standing at the entrance to a grocery store holding a sign saying “I have lost everything but faith”. As we drove by, I asked Diana what would Walt have done if he lost everything? Diana said that she thought that Walt would have worked to get it all back and certainly not wait for someone else to help him. My thought was that by just sitting there, holding a sign and waiting for someone else to do something to help shows that the man had lost faith, faith in himself. It troubles me that with all the bailouts and stimulus packages our government is encouraging all of us to exchange our faith in ourselves for an unwarranted faith in the government. The powers that be want to change Americans from self reliance to government dependence.
Don’t take what I am saying to mean that we should not be concerned with our neighbors or be greedy and selfish; Americans have never been that way. Helping our friends and neighbors has always been our, we the peoples, job not that of the government. When I was a kid I remember when “I‘m here from the government and I’m here to help” was the punch line to a joke not a way of life. Remember the Pilgrims did not come to America to have a government take care of them.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Obama Will Pay For Healthcare on the Backs or Should I Say the Graves of Seniors
According to the administration Obama’s healthcare plan is essential to our economic recovery. We have been told that rising healthcare costs will bankrupt small businesses and are the driving force behind the government’s sky rocketing deficit. While it is certainly arguable whether or not all of this is true, everybody agrees that lowering the cost of healthcare is a worthy goal. The issue is how should it be done. Obama tells us that we could reduce the cost and cover more people if the government becomes more involved. I am sorry but increased government involvement and lower costs just do not go together but then again some do call Obama the Messiah.
The reality is the only way a government controlled healthcare program can reduce costs is to reduce services and this is exactly what the President is suggesting. When asked how will he pay for his plan he says two thirds of the cost will come from cutting out waste. I believe that the President considers treating seniors as waste. I know that sounds extreme but consider this, in the House bill HR3200 there is a provision that will require everyone who is 65 years old or older to meet with a practitioner at least every 5 years to discuss end of life issues. You can read this provision for yourself it is in section 1233 of the bill.
Some will say that I am reading too much into section 1233. They say it is a good idea it merely explains the options and services available to people as they near the end of their life expectancy. Interesting but I believe one of the purposes of those meeting is to discuss a senior’s “duty to die”. I know this sounds all too much like Logan’s Run but it is the way the administration is thinking. Before you say Warren you have gone way too far this time did you know that at a town hall meeting Obama actually suggested that because of someone’s age it may have been better if she would have just taken a pain pill rather than get a pacemaker! No this is not a rumor or taken out of context watch it for yourself.
Most of us don’t read The Journal of The American Medical Association so thanks to Liberty’s Army for finding a June 18th article written by Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel. In case that names sounds familiar Ezekiel is the brother of the President’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, he is also a health policy advisor in the Office of Management and Budget for the Obama administration. In his article he writes. Savings will require changing how doctors think about their patients: Doctors take the Hippocratic Oath too seriously, “as an imperative to do everything for the patient regardless of the cost or effects on others”
Obama is taking a queue from the lyrics of a song by The Who
for his healthcare plan “ I hope I die before I get old”. Well I hope the American people will take a queue from the lyrics of another Who song “ We won’t be fooled again”.
The reality is the only way a government controlled healthcare program can reduce costs is to reduce services and this is exactly what the President is suggesting. When asked how will he pay for his plan he says two thirds of the cost will come from cutting out waste. I believe that the President considers treating seniors as waste. I know that sounds extreme but consider this, in the House bill HR3200 there is a provision that will require everyone who is 65 years old or older to meet with a practitioner at least every 5 years to discuss end of life issues. You can read this provision for yourself it is in section 1233 of the bill.
Some will say that I am reading too much into section 1233. They say it is a good idea it merely explains the options and services available to people as they near the end of their life expectancy. Interesting but I believe one of the purposes of those meeting is to discuss a senior’s “duty to die”. I know this sounds all too much like Logan’s Run but it is the way the administration is thinking. Before you say Warren you have gone way too far this time did you know that at a town hall meeting Obama actually suggested that because of someone’s age it may have been better if she would have just taken a pain pill rather than get a pacemaker! No this is not a rumor or taken out of context watch it for yourself.
Most of us don’t read The Journal of The American Medical Association so thanks to Liberty’s Army for finding a June 18th article written by Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel. In case that names sounds familiar Ezekiel is the brother of the President’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, he is also a health policy advisor in the Office of Management and Budget for the Obama administration. In his article he writes. Savings will require changing how doctors think about their patients: Doctors take the Hippocratic Oath too seriously, “as an imperative to do everything for the patient regardless of the cost or effects on others”
Obama is taking a queue from the lyrics of a song by The Who
for his healthcare plan “ I hope I die before I get old”. Well I hope the American people will take a queue from the lyrics of another Who song “ We won’t be fooled again”.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Obama calls doctors a bunch money grubbing parasites
I listened to the President's talk about healthcare July 22. The thing that I remember most is that he basically called doctors a bunch of money grubbing parasites that put money ahead of their patients needs. He said, “You come in and you've got a bad sore throat, or your child has a bad sore throat, or has repeated sore throats, the doctor may look at the reimbursement system and say to himself, you know what? I make a lot more money if I take this kid's tonsils out." He blames it on the system?? Nonsense and even if it was the system his plan will not change this, unless he is going to compensate the doctor the same regardless of whether the doctor does a tonsillectomy or gives him a throat lozenge. He must apologize to all doctors immediately!!!!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
History Shows Us the Truth About Obama’s Healthcare Plan
Obama’s healthcare plan is the biggest most sweeping government program since social security. The President has been out trying to win over support for this program. He has been telling us how essential it is to our economy and making many promises as to what it will do for us. Obama has made five promises for his healthcare plan:
1. Participation is voluntary
2. It will cost less
3. It Will cover everybody
4. You can keep your current doctor
5. It will not add to the deficit
All this may sound well and good but these are merely promises. Obama has often been compared to FDR so let’s see what history can teach us about FDR’s big new program. When Franklin Roosevelt introduced his proposal for a new program, Social Security, he promised five things:
1. Participation would be completely voluntary
2. Participants would only pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their income.
3. The money that participants elected to contribute would be tax deductible
4. The money put into the social security program would only be used to pay social security benefits. The money would not be used to pay for any other government programs
5. Social security benefit payments would not be taxable income.
I don’t need to tell you as you all ready know not a single promise was kept and the future solvency of the Social Security program is very much in doubt. Oh you say this time it is different the Democrats are in charge and they would never let anything happen to our healthcare plan. Every one of the social security promises were broken by the Democrats. Oh but how can this be I thought the Republicans were the ones taking away social security? And there you see the real reason Obama and his party are pushing so hard for the healthcare plan. It will create an even larger dependent class that they can lie to and scare them into keeping them in power.
1. Participation is voluntary
2. It will cost less
3. It Will cover everybody
4. You can keep your current doctor
5. It will not add to the deficit
All this may sound well and good but these are merely promises. Obama has often been compared to FDR so let’s see what history can teach us about FDR’s big new program. When Franklin Roosevelt introduced his proposal for a new program, Social Security, he promised five things:
1. Participation would be completely voluntary
2. Participants would only pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their income.
3. The money that participants elected to contribute would be tax deductible
4. The money put into the social security program would only be used to pay social security benefits. The money would not be used to pay for any other government programs
5. Social security benefit payments would not be taxable income.
I don’t need to tell you as you all ready know not a single promise was kept and the future solvency of the Social Security program is very much in doubt. Oh you say this time it is different the Democrats are in charge and they would never let anything happen to our healthcare plan. Every one of the social security promises were broken by the Democrats. Oh but how can this be I thought the Republicans were the ones taking away social security? And there you see the real reason Obama and his party are pushing so hard for the healthcare plan. It will create an even larger dependent class that they can lie to and scare them into keeping them in power.
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