Archive for August, 2009

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The Ugly Truth About Canadian Health Care

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

By David Gratzer

City Journal, Summer 2007 edition
The City Journal is a quarterly magazine published by
The Manhattan Istitute 

Socialized medicine has meant rationed care and lack of innovation. Small wonder Canadians are looking to the market.

Mountain-bike enthusiast Suzanne Aucoin had to fight more than her Stage IV colon cancer. Her doctor suggested Erbitux—a proven cancer drug that targets cancer cells exclusively, unlike conventional chemotherapies that more crudely kill all fast-growing cells in the body—and Aucoin went to a clinic to begin treatment. But if Erbitux offered hope, Aucoin’s insurance didn’t: she received one inscrutable form letter after another, rejecting her claim for reimbursement. Yet another example of the callous hand of managed care, depriving someone of needed medical help, right? Guess again. Erbitux is standard treatment, covered by insurance companies—in the United States. Aucoin lives in Ontario, Canada. (more…)

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Organizing for Ammerica Reshaped to Push Healthcare Legislation

Monday, August 10th, 2009

A group that helped elect the president is being reshaped to push healthcare legislation.

By Peter Wallsten, LA Times
August 10, 2009

Reporting from Washington — To win the White House, Barack Obama and his political team built a vast grass-roots network of supporters and volunteers that came to be considered one of the most valuable assets in American politics. Their ambition after the election was to reshape the network, with its trained organizers and 13 million e-mail addresses, into a ground-level force to push the new president’s policy goals.

But now, entering a crucial congressional recess month in which Obama’s healthcare plan faces stiffened opposition, some members of the network say that the group is still figuring out how to operate. Some also say their work has been slowed by tensions over tactics, disenchantment among some core supporters and an effective GOP resistance. (more…)

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Where Have All The Journalists Gone?

Monday, August 10th, 2009

While there is much talk about “angry mobs” stuffing local health-care town hall meeting providing much grist and chaff for morning and evening TV “news” show round-table discussions, such talk in total add little if anything to real solutions to the general problem of health-care in America.

 With countless hours per week of TV time, TV news shows like Joe Scarborough’s, Morning  Joe , or Bill O’Reilly’s, The O’Reilly Factor,  these and other TV news media could become part of the solution by providing real insight into and reasoned explanations of HR3200.  I am sure that Fox News and MSNBC as two examples have access to experts on HR3200 who could come to their programs as featured guests to review the actual proposed legislation and explain the legislation in clear language for all of us to understand.  What a service Fox, NBC, ABC, and CBS—the former leader for news content—could provide!  Think about it; just 10 minutes a day in review of a portion of the proposed health-care legislation could provide all of us with information that might be used to answer many of the questions Town Hall goers and others of us have about what might become THE major historical event of U.S. history outside of the Revolution and the Civil War.  TV news, what is now more entertainment than real down to earth journalism could become part of the solution!  Joe (Mika and Willie) and Bill could provide a kind of mini Edward R. Murrow, ‘White Paper’ Report on HR3200 and in so doing step up to meet their journalistic responsibilities.

With every great freedom there is also a great responsibility.

Could it be that the people who run the ‘news divisions’ of the major networks are more interested in ratings and profits than becoming part of the solution?  Could the Joes’ and the Bills’ of journalistic theater be more interested in their personal well being rather than the hard work of digging for usable information and facts, and the root of the story?  Or is there something more politically sinister going on here as suggested by some of the political fringe Black Helicopter groups?  Only the final outcome will tell us!

D. M. Elmquist, Editor

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Taliban in Pakistan Confusion

Sunday, August 9th, 2009

Confusion surrounds Taliban in Pakistan

Sunday, August 9, 2009

ISLAMABAD – Daily News with wires

Confusion surrounds the leadership of the Taliban in Pakistan after its notorious head’s reported death and a gunbattle between potential successors to him. Despite the conflicting reports and counterclaims, Pakistani and American officials seem to convince Baitullah Mehsud was killed in CIA strike

Pakistani authorities were increasingly convinced that the notorious head of the country’s Taliban movement was killed in a CIA missile strike, the military said Sunday, as reports emerged of an apparently bloody battle for his succession.

A senior U.S. official also said Washington believes Pakistan Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud is dead, and the militant ranks are roiled by dissension. (more…)

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Hate Crime Bill against Constitution

Sunday, August 9th, 2009

By Nat Hentoff

Nat Hentoff, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, is a nationally renowned authority on the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights.

Added to cato.org on July 31, 2009

This article appeared in the Pasadena Star News on July 30, 2009.

THROUGHOUT the Bush-Cheney creation of a society under surveillance and unprecedented government secrecy, I have often praised Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., for resisting that administration’s penchant for degrading the Constitution. But on July 16, he proudly watched as the Senate passed his “hate crimes” bill (the Matthew Shepard Act) that is the biggest expansion of federal hate-crimes laws since 1968 – providing extra prison time to committers of violent acts perceived to be based on sexual orientation, gender identity or disability (adding to the previous classifications of race, color, religion or national origin).

On the Senate floor, John McCain, R-Ariz., cut to the unconstitutional core of this bill and all such “hate crime” legislation. Leahy’s bill, as of this writing, the president is eager to sign.

Said [John] McCain: “Our legal system is based on identifying, capturing and punishing criminals, and not on using the power of government to try to divine biases.” In opposing what James Madison condemned as “thought crimes,” McCain added: “Crimes motivated by hate deserve vigorous prosecution, but so do crimes motivated by absolute wanton disregard for life of any kind.” No matter against whom. (more…)

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Expanding Double Jeopardy

Sunday, August 9th, 2009

By David Rittgers

David Rittgers, an attorney and decorated former Army Special Forces officer who served three tours in Afghanistan, is now a legal-policy analyst at the Cato Institute.

Added to cato.org on August 7, 2009

This article appeared in National Review (Online) August 7, 2009.

Welcome to a new age of double jeopardy. The hate-crime statute just passed by Congress expands the potential for federal prosecutions to chilling new levels, and even creates the possibility of retrials for crimes that have already been ruled on by state courts. In one fell swoop, lawmakers have virtually ensured legal proceedings that obviously violate the Bill of Rights and this, for some reason, is being widely hailed as a triumph of justice.

The lack of rigorous debate over this policy is ominous. In the Senate, the hate-crime legislation was not even adopted as a stand-alone measure, but as an add-on to another bill. This relative stealth aside, the flourish of the president’s signature pen will radically redraw the boundaries between state and federal jurisprudence. (more…)

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Understanding the Times

Friday, August 7th, 2009

What does it mean to say that someone is a liberal?  What does it mean to say that someone is a conservative?  What does it mean to say that someone is a progressive?  Can a liberal be to some degree a conservative while also being a liberal?  After all, what are Blue Dogs anyway?   Can someone be a conservative while also being to some degree more liberal?  What is John McCain politically? Is he a liberal conservative, or a conservative liberal?  Can’t conservative be just as progressive as liberals?  Or, is there something about progressivism that is mutually exclusive of conservativeism?  Was not President Lincoln a Conservative while also being a Progressive?  And what about Libertarian’s, what does it means to be a Libertarian and where do Libertarian’s fit into the political fabric?  Congressman John Paul seems like a likable guy.  If he is a Libertarian, Libertarianism can’t be all that bad, or is it?  And what are Democrats or Republicans anyway?  Are Democrats and Republicans some sort of sub-category of homo-sapiens?  I think President George Washington is rolling in his grave!

Forgive me if it seems as though I have failed political elementary school, but if words have meanings and meanings have words, then I think one should know what these words mean.  What does it mean to be a Liberal, a Conservative, a Progressive, a Democrat, a Republican, a Libertarian, or for that matter a Socialist, a Communist, or even a religious fundamentalist?  Perhaps you know what it is that you think and believe, and perhaps you know why you believe and think as you do, but I do NOT; at least I don’t think so at times!  So it is with the thought in mind of seeking answers to these and other questions needing answers if I am to know what it is that I think and believe and why I think and believe what I do.  I invite you to follow along with me in my journey as I Observe and Examine our national heritage and the events of the times in order that I might better understand the times. 

D. M. Elmquist

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Hello world!

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

Welcome to The Observer-Examiner. The Observer-Examiner is a WordPress powered website now under construction. Look for our Now Open annoucement coming soon.

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