Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

Thanks, Orrin

2009-12-09T10:34:00.005-05:00

Senator Orrin Hatch has written a Hanukkah song. The background is here. Thanks, Orrin.

There's a lesson to be learned here, but unfortunately the Jewish community will not learn it because it is so deep in the pocket of the Democratic Party that it cannot see the light. (Pun intended.)

Anyway, here's the video:

Israel Matzav notes: "We're still waiting for the first such venture from a Jewish or Democratic Senator."

This isn't quite of Senatorial spirit, but let's remember the "original" Hanukkah song

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Watch Massachusetts Senate Race

2009-12-09T09:15:00.004-05:00

No one gives Scott Brown, the Republican primary winner, much chance at defeating Martha Coakley, the Democratic nominee. It's Massachusetts, and it's to fill Ted Kennedy's seat.

But keep an eye on Massachusetts. It's a special election, and turnout could be low as it was in the primaries, which gives the party with the motivated base an advantage. Throw in some possible bad weather in mid-January, and anything could happen.

Brown is sending the right message:

“I’m going to win by drawing clear distinctions between myself and Martha,” he said. “I’ll bring my message to voters and let them decide if they want an independent voice in Washington watching their wallets and pocketbooks or someone in lock step with Harry Reid and the special interests who’ll raise their taxes.”

Expect Democrats to play heavily on Teddy's memory, as they have done in the health care debate. The Catholic vote could be important here. Coakley is not just pro-choice, she has made public funding of abortion a litmus test for her support of health care legislation.

So don't count this one out, yet. If Coakely wins, as expected, but by only single digits, that would be something. If Brown were to win, that would be something else.

You can donate to Brown's campaign here.

Update: Jules Crittenden's take is reasonably pessimistic, but he also points out Coakley's vulnerabilities. I still say it's too early to give up all hope.

Take a look also at Scott Brown receives GOP nomination, what does it mean? for a decidedly pro-Brown view of the race.

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Holiday Rush Towards Single Payer

2009-12-09T07:30:00.007-05:00

In recent days Democrats started floating the idea of a "Medicare Buy-In" proposal, and as of last night, there appears to be a deal, although the details are not fully known. I addressed the lack of merits in a prior post.

What is critical is that this is being done behind closed doors, with a CBO scoring being obtained before the details are released to the public. If Reid thinks the score helps, there will be a mad push to pass a bill before Christmas, in less than two weeks.

Once again, the Democrats are making clear their fear of the public. If the Democrats wanted a massive expansion of Medicare, Democrats could have rolled that out in one of the numerous committee and full House and Senate bills which have been debated for months. (The status of the further expansion of Medicaid -- above and beyond the estimated 15 million person expansion already in Reid's bill -- is unclear.)

Instead, at the last minute, we have another mad rush of the goal line. What correctly was termed the final scrum:

This brings you to the final stage, the scrum. This is the set of all-night meetings ... when all the different pieces actually get put together.
You want the scrum to be quick so that the bill is passed before some of the interests groups realize that they’ve been decapitated. You want the scrum to be frantic so you can tell your allies that their reservations might destroy the whole effort (this is how you are going to get the liberals to water down the public plan and the moderates to loosen their fiscal rectitude).

The Stimulus Bill was the model. A deal done in secret, rolled out quickly, and passed in haste out of fear of the public reaction.

Harry Reid's despicable and unapologetic use of the race card -- comparing opponents of his proposals to slave owners -- reflects this fear. The disdain for the public is palpable.

The implications will be clear. We will be on a straight path to a single payer system, and much sooner than anyone imagined just a couple of weeks ago. Ezra Klein has it right on this point about lowering the Medicare age to 55:

The national non-profits [in the proposal] are not exactly like, but not that far from, the compromised public plan in the House version of the bill. They won't be publicly run, but with the OPM regulating them tightly and carefully choosing which offerings are accepted into the market, the impact might not be that different in practice. They have the advantages of offering a single product nationally and being freed from the profit motive, both of which were key to the theory of the weaker public option. Indeed, they're like publicly-regulated utilities more than private plans....
Meanwhile, the Medicare buy-in lets people in the broader insurance market see what national bargaining power can do for individual premiums. Right now, Medicare's rates are largely hidden, as no one pays the full premiums, and so no one can really compare it to private offerings. But if the premiums become visible, and Medicare's superior bargaining power is capable of offering rates 20 to 30 percent lower than its private competitors can muster, we'll see how long it is before representatives begin getting calls from 50-year-olds who'd like the opportunity to exchange money in return for insurance as good as what 55-year-olds can get.

That is the logical path. Increase the Medicaid rolls by 15 million as the current bill does, increase those participating in Medicare by a 10-year age bracket, subsidized tens of millions of others, and what is left before people not on the public dole demand their handout? And the necessity of going on the dole will be compelling because of the destruction of the private market which cannot compete on price with a government-run, ultimately taxpayer-backed, program.

In one fell swoop, in the dark of night in a holiday rush, Harry Reid and Barack Obama will have put us on the path to the single payer system they really want.

The fact that we cannot afford the current Medicare system, well that is just a detail. And will serve as the justification for government-determined rationing once a majority of the population is living off the government.

If Harry Reid gets this done, call him Harry Houdini, because he will have pulled a single payer system out of a holiday hat.

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No Cause For Concern

2009-12-08T16:06:00.001-05:00

Do not be alarmed. This is no cause for concern. It's not as if the government put your medical records online. And Bush probably is to blame, anyway:

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UN Climate Chief to US: "Show Me The Money"

2009-12-08T09:29:00.009-05:00

Why am I not surprised. The head of the UN's climate organization has demanded that American taxpayers "show me the money" by funding billions of dollars of climate change programs in poorer countries:

At the Copenhagen climate summit, the world’s top environment watchdog welcomed the fact President Obama will now be attending the talks but said the US target of cutting carbon emissions by 17 per cent by 2020 on 2005 levels was not high enough.
"To make up for this, he said the Americans must invest in a global fund to help developing countries cut their emissions.
“The litmus test is show me the money,” he said. “If you are going to come to Copenhagen and you are not able to deliver emissions targets at the moment along the lines the other industrialised countries have done then possibly one way you could convince the rest of the world you are serious about engaging is to finance - with a significant and credible contribution - the start up of the quick-start funding and become part of a an international financial ambition that will convince developing countries that they actually have an interest in signing a deal, rather than being taken to the cleaners as many of them have decided.”
The global fund is likely to be around $10 billion from next year, rising to $100 billion per annum by 2020.

None of this is surprising. The global climate change industry is all about shaking the dollars and cents out of our pockets. From Al Gore's profiteering off of the hysteria he has created, to the large corporate interests involved in selling "green" as a marketing tool, to researchers willing to stifle debate and tamper with data so as to justify funding, to an internationalist movement interested in transfer of wealth as a social policy, the global climate change debate is all about showing the money.

The "show me the money" line is from the movie Jerry Maguire, about a desperate sports agent willing to do anything. So fitting that the UN climate change guru now uses such a crass phrase:

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Are We Still For Regime Perpetuation In Iran?

2009-12-08T09:06:00.005-05:00

When protests over a fraudlent election spread in Iran last June, the Obama administration insisted that it needed to tread carefully so as to leave open the possibility of dialogue with the Iranian regime on the nuclear issue. The possibility of a regime change instigated not by outside forces, but by internal opposition, was left on the cutting room floor by the Obama administration's "negotiations without preconditions" script.

Those negotiations have failed miserably, as we have noted here before. The Obama administration was hoodwinked into thinking it had reached an agreement for Iran to ship its uranium abroad for reprocessing, only to have the Iranians deny that there ever was an agreement. Deadlines set by the Obama administration and European countries for Iran to cease uranium enrichment not only have come and gone, the Iranians have announced new plans for even more enrichment facilities.

Protests once again are sweeping the streets of Tehran. What is the Obama administration's excuse this time for refusing to voice support for the protesters, now that the dialogue with the Iranian regime has failed?

Are we still for regime perpetuation in Iran, and if so, why?

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Latest Health Care Wolf In Sheep's Clothing Inside A Trojan Horse

2009-12-07T19:31:00.013-05:00

The latest Democratic ploy to get to a single-payer system is a wolf in sheep's clothing hidden inside a Trojan horse.

According to reports, "moderate" and "liberal" Democrats are proposing a massive expansion of Medicare and Medicaid as a substitute for a "public option":

Senate Democratic liberals are seeking expansion of two large federal programs, Medicare and Medicaid, in exchange for dropping a government-sold insurance option from health care legislation sought by President Barack Obama, several lawmakers said Monday.
Under the potential trade-off with party moderates, near-retirees beginning at age 55 or 60 who lack affordable insurance would be permitted to purchase coverage under Medicare, which generally provides medical care beginning at 65. Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for the poor, would be open to all comers under 300 percent of poverty, or slightly over $66,000 for a family of four.

This supposed compromise is no compromise. It's the whole ballgame, as this blogger at DailyKos recognizes:

Many progressives have been arguing for years that Medicare expansion is the smartest, most efficient way to start expanding coverage.... Would this be an acceptable substitute for a real public option? It doesn't reform the healthcare system by providing real competition to private insurers. But it would provide a model to grow on, bringing with it the possibility of eventually getting to Medicare for all, the model that many progressives have been advocating for years.

A complete victory for those who want to a single-payer system being framed as a compromise because a public option could not pass because people do not want the public option to lead to a single-payer system.

Only in this Congress could such a thing even be discussed seriously.

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A Little Relief from the Congressional Insanity: Sunday Morning Dance Party

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Harry Reid Plays Every "ism" Card

2009-12-07T13:28:00.007-05:00

Unbelievable. Harry Reid compares those opposed to Democratic health restructuring proposals to people who opposed freeing the slaves, granting women the right to vote, and expanding civil rights:

"Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all the Republicans can come up with is, 'slow down, stop everything, let's start over.' If you think you've heard these same excuses before, you're right," Reid said Monday. "When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said 'slow down, it's too early, things aren't bad enough.'"
He continued: "When women spoke up for the right to speak up, they wanted to vote, some insisted they simply, slow down, there will be a better day to do that, today isn't quite right.
"When this body was on the verge of guaranteeing equal civil rights to everyone regardless of the color of their skin, some senators resorted to the same filibuster threats that we hear today."

Sometimes the foolishness speaks for itself, so I'll say nothing more, for the moment. Let it sink in. This is the Majority Leader of the Senate.

Update: Since I said I would "say nothing more, for the moment," the posting of this video does not consitute saying anything more:

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Tea Party Yow

2009-12-07T09:32:00.006-05:00

Yow. Per Rasmussen poll just released (h/t HotAir), Tea Party Tops GOP on Three-Way Generic Ballot:

In a three-way Generic Ballot test, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds Democrats attracting 36% of the vote. The Tea Party candidate picks up 23%, and Republicans finish third at 18%. Another 22% are undecided.

Among voters not affiliated with either major party, the Tea Party comes out on top. Thirty-three percent (33%) prefer the Tea Party candidate, and 30% are undecided. Twenty-five percent (25%) would vote for a Democrat, and just 12% prefer the GOP.

Start the obligatory left-wing yows. Start the obligatory Republican establishment yows.

I think this poll shows a couple of things. First, a Tea Party (which is not actually a party) effort would hand Democrats a plurality victory, much as Ross Perot handed the election to Bill Clinton.

Second, the Republican establishment needs to understand that it has lost its base.

Third, Democrats need to understand that their policies are sufficiently unpopular that a non-organized anti-tax movement polls only 13% percent behind Democrats overall, and actually wins with independents. Think about that as Democrats prepare to push through health care and climate change taxes.

Lots of lessons all around. The one big lesson: Throw out the health care bills and start all over with a less intrusive, lower tax, more market-oriented approach.

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56 Newspapers to Sing As One About Copenhagen

2009-12-06T15:45:00.003-05:00

Despite mounting evidence that key climate researchers were less than honest, and other indications that the science is not settled, tomorrow 56 newspapers will run a common front page editorial saying we have 'Fourteen days to seal history's judgment on this generation':

Tomorrow 56 newspapers in 45 countries take the unprecedented step of speaking with one voice through a common editorial. We do so because humanity faces a profound emergency....

The graphic at right, reprinted from The Guardian in Britain, show the newspapers which will be participating. Here's what's really motivating the alarmism, from the editorial:

Social justice demands that the industrialised world digs deep into its pockets and pledges cash to help poorer countries adapt to climate change, and clean technologies to enable them to grow economically without growing their emissions.... And fairness requires that the burden placed on individual developed countries should take into account their ability to bear it; for instance newer EU members, often much poorer than "old Europe", must not suffer more than their richer partners.

Social justice and fairness? I thought this was supposed to be about science.

Thankfully, we still have the internet, and bloggers who still care about uncovering the truth as to climate change. We certainly can't rely on the mainstream newspapers anymore, if we ever could.

Update: Maybe they share the same spiritual adviser, All As One Now.

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Tiger's Racial Rorschach Test

2009-12-06T10:15:00.010-05:00

Interesting article by AP, on reaction in the black community to Tiger Woods' extra-marital problems:

When three white women were said to be romantically involved with Woods in addition to his blonde, Swedish wife, blogs, airwaves and barbershops started humming, and Woods' already tenuous standing among many blacks took a beating.

On the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner radio show, Woods was the butt of jokes all week. "Thankfully, Tiger, you didn't marry a black woman. Because if a sister caught you running around with a bunch of white hoochie-mamas," one parody suggests in song, she would have castrated him.

"The Grinch's Theme Song" didn't stop there: "The question everyone in America wants to ask you is, how many white women does one brother waaant?"

As one blogger, Robert Paul Reyes, wrote: "If Tiger Woods had cheated on his gorgeous white wife with black women, the golfing great's accident would have been barely a blip in the blogosphere."

The darts reflect blacks' resistance to interracial romance.

That last sentence really is startling. We tend to view resistence to interracial marriage as a white racist phenomenon. If true, maybe we need to rethink our approach to racial harmony and consider factors, in addition to racial hatred, as to the sources of self-segregation:

"There is a call for loyalty that is stronger in some ways than in other racial communities," said the author of the study, George Yancey, a sociology professor at the University of North Texas and author of the book "Just Don't Marry One."

The color of one's companion has long been a major measure of "blackness" — which is a big reason why the biracial Barack Obama was able to fend off early questions about his black authenticity.

"Had Barack had a white wife, I would have thought twice about voting for him," Johnson Cooper said.

Issues of race do not seem so black-and-white, after all.

Update: JammieWearingFool and Patterico are posting on this as well.

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Sunday Morning Dance Party

2009-12-06T09:15:00.002-05:00

Hat tip to Tim Blair for this video which is sure to bring a smile to your face. As Tim puts it, "The Providence St Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon, throws down a dance challenge for Australian hospitals."

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Saturday Night Card Game (Joy Behar)

2009-12-05T18:15:00.001-05:00

This is the latest in a series on the use of the race card for political gain:

Tonight's entry is borderline "race card" but it is too good to pass up. Since someone is watching these posts very carefully, and checking things twice, I want to be clear that tonight's entry is in the nature of someone who wanted to play the race card, but could not find anyone against whom to play it.

Instead, tonight's entry reflects a mindset which is looking for racism in places and words where it does not exist. Is this the use of the "race card"? I'll let him be the judge, because he is so wise in these ways.

Tonight I bring you Joy Behar, mistress of snark and insult against everyone to the right of her, which includes most of the population. As you may have heard, Ms. Behar -- aided and mockingly abetted by Whoppi Goldberg -- has decided that the term "Black Friday" may be racist:

GOLDBERG: Oh, hello and welcome to ‘The View.’ Today is Black Friday, all day long,” And I’m going to stay black all day because of it.
BEHAR: Isn’t it a little racist to call it Black Friday?
GOLDBERG: [laughing] Well, I would have called it African American Friday, but that’s taking something away from it.
BEHAR: [still serious] But there’s a negative connotation to it? Or does it mean something else?
GOLDBERG:[patiently] No, it’s like when you make all the money – you’re “in the black.”
BEHAR: So it’s positive?
GOLDBERG: Yeah. It’s in the black, so it’s a huge great thing.
BEHAR: A lot of times, like blackmail is negative, black sheep.
GOLDBERG: Black people.
BEHAR: No, not black people.
GOLDBERG: But it used to be, it used to be.

Ms. Behar thus puts a negative connotation on "Black Friday," even though the term refers to the point at which a business turns from a loss (in the red) to a profit (in the black).

Thus, a term which uses the word "Black" in a positive manner is construed by Ms. Behar's mind -- which is on the lookout for alleged racism in every nook and cranny -- into a negative.

So if Ms. Behar takes a positive use of the term "Black" and turns it into a negative because of her tendency to view the term "Black" as a negative, does that make her a ..... well, you know. Before I go down that road, and say something he does not like, here's the videotape:

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Pre-Christmas Climate Change Surprise?

2009-12-05T16:02:00.004-05:00

Barack Obama has changed his plans and now will be attending the last day of the Copenhagen climate change conference, which is viewed as a significant signal that some sort of "deal" may be in the offing:

A couple of hours ago, the Obama administration announced a startling shift in plans: rather than stop by the Copenhagen climate talks on Dec. 9, Obama will be going on the 18th, the final day of the meeting—a notable increase in commitment
(and political exposure) from the administration....

Coming to Copenhagen at the climax of the talks, specifically to push negotiations “over the top,” as the White House statement says, is a risky move for Obama. He’s got skin in the game now; he’ll look foolish if he rides in at the last minute and fails to broker an agreement.

If he’s willing to stick his neck out like this, Obama must be pretty confident that he can get a deal.

You now know what you will get for Christmas. The Energizer Bunny of Presidents, who just keeps going and going on his agenda to federalize wide swaths of our economy, to make us subservient to the internationalist movement, and to force his vision of a heavily regulated top-down economic model on us. (With him at the top, of course.)

Will Obama strike a deal notwithstanding Senate opposition to a cap-and-trade bill? Will Obama make an end run around the Senate by entering into agreements which he contends do not require Senate approval, or by achieving his results through the regulatory rather than legislative process?

Why can I not get that drumbeat out of my head?

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Hey Max, Do You Believe In Coincidence?

2009-12-05T09:45:00.009-05:00

In March 2008, Max Baucus (D-MT) had separated from his wife. That same month, Andrew Ramanos was in his final undergraduate semester at George Washington University, where he worked on the school newspaper, the GW Hatchet.

In the summer of 2008, Baucus started dating a former staffer, Melodee Hanes. Sometime very early in 2009, Hanes was one of three names submitted by Baucus as possible U.S. Attorney nominees. In March 2009, Hanes withdrew her name from consideration.

As of the day before yesterday, Ramanos does not appear to have broken any major story or received any considerable attention in his short journalistic career.

For the past two weeks Baucus has been causing problems for Democrats ~~by threatening, among other things, to join in a Republican filibuster if certain important changes were not made to Harry Reid's health care restructuring bill particularly on the abortion issue~~ because he does not support the type of "robust" public option and other items important to Democrats and is more conservative on the abortion issue. Baucus is one of a small number of Democrats who might join a Republican filibuster on these issues.*

Yesterday, Ramonos, writing for a blog called Main Justice, broke the story of Baucus' relationship with Hanes.

The revelation is an embarrassment for Baucus at this critical time in the health care debate, even though Baucus defends his conduct:

The disclosure comes at a critical time for Baucus, who is leading Senate negotiations over the sprawling health care bill. It remains to be seen whether the disclosure will become an unwanted distraction as the bill moves into a pivotal phase in the coming days.

And despite Baucus’ office contention that nothing was improper about his recommendation, it will almost certainly spark calls for Ethics Committee inquiries given the appearance that Baucus was assisting his girlfriend secure a top spot as a prosecutor in the Obama administration.

Baucus opposes Democrats on health care. Cub reporter breaks the story embarrassing Baucus. Someone connected to the White House or Democratic leadership drop a dime? Or mere coincidence?

Hey Max, do you believe in coincidence?

[* I changed the language in this post because it does not appear that Baucus has threatened to filibuster, but he is one of those who are on the fence]
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Friday Night Prisoner Exchange?

2009-12-04T18:20:00.004-05:00

Andrew Sullivan has called for Obama to give up his birth certificate, and Sarah Palin to give up the birth certificate and medical records of her son Trig.

Palin's book, Going Rogue, caused Sullivan's blogospheric synapses to stand still momentarily, but now they are firing on all cylinders. Since Palin's defense of Sullivan's right to ask questions about Obama's birth certificate, Sullivan has renewed his demand for Trig's as well.

I'm beginning to see where Sullivan is going with this:

A Friday night prisoner exchange. Trig's birth certificate for Obama's, with Sullivan escorting the prisoners across Checkpoint Charlie.

Now that would be interesting.

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Birth Certificate Controversy Just What The Doctor Ordered For Dems

2009-12-04T14:30:00.010-05:00

Andrew Sullivan called for Barack Obama to release Obama's full birth certificate:

It is not my job as a journalist or yours as a citizen to take public officials on trust. They are not to be trusted, whoever they are. It is our job to demand all the evidence we want or need. I know the electronic record is legit. I have no doubt that Obama has every constitutional right to be president. I think the Birthers are nuts. But there is no reason on earth that the original cannot be retrieved and shown....

Obama promised total transparency. Where is it?

Sarah Palin, in response to a question during an interview, said it was alright for people like Sullivan to ask such questions, even though she was not and had not questioned Obama's citizenship herself.

Strange thing, this internet. Sullivan's other and continuing obsession is whether Trig Palin really is Sarah's son. Yet Palin is defending Andrew Sullivan's right to ask conspiracy questions. Talk about no degrees of separation.

Yes, Obama supporters have maneuvered the political sphere to the point that some questions cannot even be asked, not even by Andrew Sullivan. It is what it is, so focus on what we can deal with.

For the record, again, I want to focus on the mountain of paper Obama wants Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi to push through the Congress which will wreak havoc on our economy, narrow our liberties, and ruin our health care system. Better get through these next few weeks, or we'll have to deal with the consequences for our lifetimes.

Focusing on the single piece of paper in storage in Hawaii, which the State of Hawaii already has certified exists and shows Obama was born in Hawaii, makes it more likely that Obama's mountain of paper will land on our heads.

I'd say this controversy is just what the doctor ordered for Democrats.

Update: See, Andrew Sullivan appreciates that Sarah came to his defense:

But I am grateful that Palin herself has now said that the attempt to get independent factual evidence of factual claims made by politicians as a central part of their campaign appeal and platform is legitimate. Of course it's legitimate. It's called journalism and accountability.

But as we have discovered, those two elements are no longer very common among journalists and politicians. They are all infotainers now.

Somehow I don't think we've heard the end of the Trig business from Andrew, although I doubt it will generate as long a thread at Memeorandum.

Added: Wow, that didn't take long. The electrons had barely ceased doing what ever electrons do on my update, when Andrew Sullivan proclaimed:

Palin Puts The Trig Question Back On The Table

I think I know where Sullivan is going on this. A prisoner exchange: Trig's birth certificate for Obama's.

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Not Related Post (but I put a lot of time into it and no one wants to link):
Thomson Reuters Public Option Poll Details Obtained - Exclusively Here

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Thomson Reuters Public Option Poll Details Obtained - Exclusively Here

2009-12-04T12:35:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Thomson Reuters issued a press release regarding the results of a poll which it says showed that 60% of Americans support a "public option."

Needless to say, this poll is being used by supporters of a government-run plan to pressure Congress. SEIU even used the poll to claim that Republicans were engaging in "Health Care Busting." The punch line of the poll is being picked up throughout the blogosphere and electronic media. The Hill termed the poll "important" but only linked to the press release, not the actual polling questions and data.

But past experience shows that polls on the public option can be highly misleading in the way the questions are framed. For example, when Consumers Union polled on the public option, it prefaced its questioning with a highly positive description of a public option designed to achieve positive answers. A CBS/NY Times poll similarly phrased the question in a manner designed to portray the public option as positive, and a prior CBS/NY Times poll on health care reform used skewed sampling. A WaPo/ABC poll on health care also used skewed sampling.

How the questions are asked, what information is given prior to the questions, and who was polled, can make a huge difference. Only by seeing the questions (and any prefatory information) and the data set can the merits of the poll be evaluated.

So I searched for a copy of the questions and data backing up the Thomson Reuters poll, but could not find a publicly available link. Yesterday afternoon I e-mailed the person designated by Thomson Reuters to respond to inquiries regarding the poll, and requested either a public link or a copy of the questions and data set.

I received a response today, and Reuters provided me with the specific question asked, and a break down of responses by various categories. This information is embedded below. They also provided the sample via e-mail, which breaks down as follows:

Republican – 857
Democrat – 971
Libertarian – 54
Independent –
791
Other – 47

I have not yet received information in response to my request for the the full series of questions and prefatory information, and I'll update this post if that information is received.

The information provided by Thomson Reuters was very interesting. The question was not as simple as the press release made it sound: "60 percent of Americans believe a public option should be included in final healthcare legislation." Here is the question:

For this next section, please rate the statements using a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 means "Strongly Disagree" and 5 means "Strongly Agree". The higher the number, the more you agree with the statement. You can use any number in between. (READ AND ROTATE)

6a. The quality of healthcare delivered in our country will be better 12 months from now.
6b. It will be easier for people to receive care they need 12 months from now.
6c. The value of care delivered will be better 12 months from now.
6d. The total amount of money your family spends on healthcare will decrease 12 months from now.

7a. Do you believe a "Public Option" (like Medicare for everyone) should be included as part of the final legislation that Congress passes into law?
a. Yes
b. No
c. DK/NS
d. Refused

A few points. In the question, the "public option" was described as "like Medicare for everyone." Needless to say, none of the public options that are or have been under discussion fit that description.

Second, whereas the other question allowed people to rank the strength of their feelings on a scale of 1-5, the public option question did not provide for any level of nuance. You're either for it or against it or not sure.

Third, in the results according to Thomson Reuters, 59.9% answered "Yes" and 40.1% answered "No." Does that mean that no one (or at least fewer than one-tenth of one percent of people) didn't know or were not sure? That strikes me as very strange.

The result is that this poll, like so many others, is not what it seems. I do not suggest any bad intent on the part of Thomson Reuters, but why not try other questions which presented the public option in a less rosy context? For example, why not ask:

Do you believe a "Public Option" (like Medicare for everyone) should be included as part of the final legislation that Congress passes into law if it meant you had to wait for medical procedures?
Do you believe a "Public Option" (like Medicare for everyone) should be included as part of the final legislation that Congress passes into law if it meant you had to give up your private insurance?
Do you believe a "Public Option" (like Medicare for everyone) should be included as part of the final legislation that Congress passes into law if it meant that government ran the entire health care system?

The question as phrased in the Thomson Reuters poll was not neutral, which seems to be a persistent problem when it comes to polling the public option.

Thomson Reuters PULSE Public Option Survey Question and Data

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Related Posts:
Lying About The Public Option With Polls
Consumer Reports' Specious Stand On Health Care Reform

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I Cannot Believe What She Just Said

2009-12-04T07:43:00.008-05:00

Did you hear what she just said? And it was all recorded, so she cannot deny it.

There she goes again. You know who I'm talking about, and what it was. The thought of her in Washington, D.C., when we have such serious issues to deal with. Does anyone consider her a serious candidate for high office again?

I will not repeat what she said, because I do not want to participate in spreading it around.

All the details are here, if you really need to know.

You know, she's said silly things before. So it could not have been that she misspoke, or was inartful. Because serious candidates never say things, and then need to clarify.

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CBS' Dave Ross: Conservatives Hate Cops

2009-12-03T20:14:00.002-05:00

Dave Ross is a commentator for the CBS Radio Network. You probably never heard of him, and neither had I until today. His voice, though, sounded really familiar.

Ross apparently has a morning show in the Pacific Northwest, but comes on the air nationally for CBS only to give a short rant in the middle of the program you actually wanted to hear.

Ross' rant today, which I listened to in the car tonight, was one of the most extreme cases of a strawman argument I've heard in a while. Using the shooting of Seattle policemen as a backdrop, Ross tried to score cheap points against conservatives.

Here's Ross' pitch: "The overarching theme of talk radio is government sucks. It fails at whatever it does. And yet in the wake of Sunday's massacre of the four police officers outside Seattle, the community has come together to tell a very different story."

Ross constructs a classic all or none argument. If conservatives are against a massive expansion of government into every aspect of our lives, then conservatives must be against all aspects of government including the police. Therefore, conservatives hate the police, suggests Ross.

The fact that conservatives are the biggest supporters of the police means nothing to Ross. The strawman argument sets up a fictitious extreme, which then easily is knocked down.

Listen for yourself:

How pathetic. Dave Ross, shorter.

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Related Posts:
"Some Say" Obama Is A Shorter
Government Must Control Everything or Nothing

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Honduras Follows The Law

2009-12-03T15:52:00.007-05:00

The Honduran Congress voted not to reinstate Manuel Zelaya pending the duly and recently elected President Porfirio Lobo taking office in January. That vote is consistent with the accord resolving the crisis.

There's not a lot I can add to my prior posts, and these commentaries from around the web:

HotAir: Honduran Parliament to Obama: Pound sand
Fausta's Blog: Honduras Congress will NOT reinstate Zelaya
La Gringa's Blog: Honduras Congress: We have complied with the Accord
The End Zone: Viva Honduras?

Now the question is, will the Obama administration honor the accord it helped instigate, and the free and fair elections?
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Comparing Obama To Brezhnev

2009-12-03T07:45:00.004-05:00

Not by me. A comparison between Barack Obama and former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev is suggested by a blogger at Crooks and Liars, using this graphic to attack Obama's decision to increase U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan.

The Soviets invaded Afghanistan to help prop up a Communist military regime as part of the Soviet's longstanding goal of dominating Afghanistan as a gateway to the Middle East.

The Crooks and Liars' blogger asserts that the Soviets thought the invasion was "what the Afghan people wanted." But in fact the Soviet invasion had nothing to do with any real concern for what the Afghan people wanted, just as the invasions of Hungary and Czechoslovakia were not out of concern for what those peoples wanted. A good discussion of the Soviet Afghan invasion is here.

There is no legitimate comparison between the Soviet attempt to prop up the Communist military government it had installed in Afghanistan, and the U.S. response to the 9/11 attacks. By removing the repressive Taliban regime and its al-Qaeda elements, the U.S. responded to a direct attack and the likelihood of future attacks. A restoration of Taliban rule would be a direct threat to the U.S., not to mention a blow to the Afghan people.

There are legitimate criticisms of Obama's strategy and speech to be made. But snide comparisons of Obama's decision on troop levels to Brezhnev's decision to invade also are not legitimate.

But then again, perhaps that blogger would prefer an Afghanistan which served again as a base for worldwide terrorism and attacks on the U.S. at home and abroad. Although it would be harder to write snark about that.

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Small Man On A Big Stage
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AARP Rides To Obamacare's Rescue, Again

2009-12-02T19:36:00.006-05:00

Congratulations Senior Citizens. Your self-appointed advocate, AARP, has intervened again in favor of Democratic health care restructuring proposals:

As the Senate prepares to vote on a controversial Medicare funding amendment to the $848 billion health care bill, the seniors lobby has weighed in with a letter affirming it supports the proposed $460 billion in cuts to the program.

Since Monday, the Senate has been debating an amendment by Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain to strip the Medicare cuts -- which are being used to offset other costs in the bill, such as providing government subsidies to help low- and middle-income families buy health insurance.

The AARP, which has supported the health care effort, said in a letter today that it believes the money can be found in Medicare by targeting waste and abuse.

The vote on the McCain amendment has not yet taken place. I'll update this post when the vote takes place.

In the meantime, read my prior posts on the insidious roles played by tax-exempt organizations, such as AARP and Consumers Union, in raising taxes on the rest of us.

Update: Not surprisingly, AARP was successful in convincing the Senate Democrats to defeat the McCain amendment.

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AARP Prepares To Sell Out Seniors

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Do Unto Taxpayers As Geithner Had Done Unto Him

2009-12-02T12:30:00.002-05:00

Via the TaxProf, GOP Introduces Geithner Penalty Waiver Act:

Congressmen John Carter (R-TX) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) yesterday introduced the Geithner Penalty Waiver Act, requiring that the IRS assess the same penalty against U.S. taxpayers that came forward in the UBS tax fraud investigation as paid by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for failing to pay taxes on his IMF income -- zero.

Also known as the:

"'Do Unto Taxpayers As Geithner Had Done Unto Him' Penalty Waiver Act."

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A Clintonian Defense of Our Nixonian President
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Taxing Your Mere Existence

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Tiger Hit On Head By Himself

2009-12-02T10:40:00.011-05:00

From Mr. Privacy:

I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.

Although I am a well-known person and have made my career as a professional athlete, I have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means. For the last week, my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives. The stories in particular that physical violence played any role in the car accident were utterly false and malicious. Elin has always done more to support our family and shown more grace than anyone could possibly expect.

Next time Mr. Privacy wants privacy, he should remember that sexting is not "off the record." [Added: Leaving voice messages asking your mistress to expect a call from your wife, doesn't help either.]

Does this close the case on the use of a golf club? He lied to us before, so why should we believe him now?

Update: My wife feels I missed an opportunity here to title the post "Tiger Caught by Tail." But Jake Tapper already took credit for that line, so I'm late as usual.

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