In The Know: Are Politicians Failing Our Lobbyists?

Video compliments of The Onion

The Best Entourage $263.4 Million of Lobbying Money Can Buy

Change.org

by Tim Foley

Published August 14, 2009 @ 11:01PM PT

An optimist sees the glass as half-full. A pessimist sees the glass, sees the water, and begins to wonder how it got there, who paid for the service, and what favor they’re going to expect in return. According to Bloomberg, the amount of money and staff supplied by the health care industries over the past six months is an order of magnitude larger than either those industries’ campaign contributions to politicians or their advertising budgets. The most colorful statistic is that there are six industry lobbyists for every member of Congress. If you’re a legislator working on health care reform, your life might have begun to resemble a Washington DC version of Entourage.

President Obama rode into town declaring that the era of special interests and lobbyists standing in the way of progress is over. Apparently, Congress didn’t get the memo, and the health care industry flat-out ignored it. The numbers are gaudy. $263.4 million in lobbying alone in the past six months. $20.5 million in political contributions to, yes, both political parties, including over $382,000 for Majority Leader Harry Reid. $320,000 for a Ferrari for Turtle, and an extra $100,000 so Kanye West’s entourage could all be wearing designer outfits. OK, I made that last sentence up. But there’s no doubt that in a year of reform, the industry that makes money off the system is livin’ large down by the Potomac.

The problem is less intrinsically the practice of lobbying and more the extreme concentration on the single issue health care. The number of registered lobbyists working for the health care industries now beats both the defense industry and the oil and gas companies — no mean feat! With that “shock and awe” exposure, troubling questions arise. After all, if throughout your day you were trailed by a salesman who was regularly reminded you of how great a beverage Coca-Cola was and how cheap it was, and occasionally handed you surveys comparing how happy people were to drink Coke vs. water, after a few days or maybe even a few hours, you might start to think, “You know, I am kind of thirsty…” You can count as “thirsty” such legislators as the House Blue Dogs and Sen. Kent Conrad, who were both mentioned by name in the Business Week article on how well UnitedHealth has protected the interests of the health insurance industry. You can probably add Sen. Max Baucus, whose staff, we’re told, “rotates weekly meetings among the various groups in the health-care debate, providers one week, purchasers a second, consumers a third.” And sadly, you can even add the White House to that list, as evinced by the leaked details of their deal to insulate the pharmaceutical industry from future negotiations for savings in exchange for their full-throated and well-funded campaign in support of health reform. (Although no one quite knows how far-reaching, binding or damaging to reform efforts that deal is, at this point.)

Many people see the provisions in the reform bill as taking it too easy on those industries that make big bucks off our health care system being so dysfunctional. There may be many reasons for this – balkiness at what could be perceived as a high price tag, an attempt to appeal to moderate Republicans, or honest concerns with the measures. But you can’t entirely discount the effect of an entire basketball team playing zone defense on every single one of our elected representatives.

The pandemic which wasn't...

It seems I’m not the only one thinking  the H1N1 panic is a creation of the Obama Administration.

Do you know anyone who has actually had H1N1?   I don’t.    Do you even know anyone who knows someone who has had it?   Me neither.

At what point do you put out a sign which reads  “Pandemic government hysterics barred from the premises”?   And we’re supposed to think the same fools who screamed PANDEMIC!!!! and couldn’t check in with manufacturers often enough to know how many doses would be available can be trusted with the management of everyone’s health care?    (Except,  of course, Congress and all federal employees,  who will continue to enjoy their taxpayer funded,  gold-plated Cadillac care.)

Now that we have Pelosi’s 1990 page epic plus Reid’s pile,  call your Congress critters and tell them NO.   Suggest they do something inexpensive and effective,  such as clamping down on frivolous lawsuits,   allowing health insurance sales across state lines, making health savings accounts easier to navigate- — you know the drill.   Get to it.

Nobel Peach Prize

A quote attributed to Newt Gingrich just about sums up the state of the Peachy Nobel Prize-Givers:
“As an American I am not so shocked that Obama was given the Nobel Peace Prize without any accomplishments to his name, but that America gave him the White House based on the same credentials.”
Couldn’t have said it any better, Genghis Genghis Newt-Khan…couldn’t have said it better myself.

Biden Announces Hybrid Auto Plant For Delaware

Obama / Biden Let Taxpayers Pay For It

Fisker Automotive a luxury auto maker is buying a closed Motors Liquidation Co. (MLC), formerly known as General Motors Corp. i.e. GM, plant in Wilmington DE. Fisker has plans to build hybrid cars at the plant. The selling price is $18 million.
Vice President Joe Biden was among those on hand to announce the potential sale of the GM plant,more…

Bombs Rock Afghanistan

A series of powerful bombs killed eight American soldiers and an interpreter in southern Afghanistan early this morning.

From the Washington Post:

The attacks, which came one day after 14 Americans died in two helicopter crashes here, made October the deadliest month for the U.S. military of the eight-year war.

At least 53 U.S. troops have died this month, with four days left before Nov. 1 and the Taliban insurgency continuing to expand its reach and lethal tactics. The previous monthly high was 51 fatalities, in August of this year.

The U.S. military said in a statement that “multiple complex” roadside bomb attacks killed the soldiers and wounded several others. Military officials said at least one of those bombs struck U.S. Army armored vehicles, known as Strykers, in the Argandab area of Kandahar province.

From CNN:

The U.S. military suffered another day of heavy losses in Afghanistan on Tuesday as roadside bombs killed eight U.S. service members, the U.S. military said.

An Afghan civilian working with NATO troops also was killed in the attacks in southern Afghanistan, the military said.

The military gave no further details about the bombings, which it said also wounded several other service members.

The attacks happened a day after 14 Americans were killed in a pair of helicopter crashes in Afghanistan. It was the largest number of Americans killed in Afghanistan in a single day in more than four years.

With the deaths of two troops on Sunday, a total of 24 Americans — most of them military — have been killed in a 48-hour period. That makes October 2009, with 58 fatalities, the deadliest month for the U.S. military since the Afghanistan war began in October 2001.

Senator Dodd

Dear Senator Dodd and Members of the Senate Banking Committee,

Greetings,

We bailed out the banks, currently we are giving them 0% on borrowed money, our wealth, and their greed will not allow them to give the American Public a break.

This is an Act of War on the American People by the Corporate Lending Institutions.

The time has come for the US Congress to protect all American Citizens. this time bailing out the Public Citizen.

I purpose a Public Debt Relief Option:

1. The Federal Government assumes all credit card holder debt – They, Congress, have the power to cut a deal with the Banks. Since these ungrateful institutions exaggerated their needs then quickly profiting off the backs of the American People it is the least our Government can do to help make amends.

2. If a citizen owes $12k to the bank and they sign up for the Public Debt Relief the Federal Government will pay the banks $8K. Two-Thirds of what is owed.

3. The American Citizen will now no longer have a credit debt to that Bank.

4. The Credit Card is now also closed.

5. The American Citizen utilizing this public debt option now owes the Federal Government $8k plus 3% interest.

6. Monthly installments will be made, no more than 17% of net income, automatic deductions from wages optional and IRS returns kept. Late fees of 1% within the first 30 days, 3 strikes maximum.

7. By law, once the debt has been paid this transfer will not affect one’s credit rating unless late more than 3 times.

8. However, until the debt is paid in full to the Government, Banks must be regulated with a hands-off policy to that debtor.

9. If a bank or a lending institution violates this policy they will be fined the amount offered in their letter of credit invite.

10. When the economy turns around; unemployment numbers below 4%, and depending on an individual’s income, the 3% rate can go up to as high, but no higher than 8% until that debt is paid.

This is a one time debt relief option only.

Since the Banks wish to terrorize the American Public with these new and higher interest rates, plus throw all the toxic waste on the backs of our children, which they created and Congress allowed, under these heretofore stressful conditions the Banks have decided to ignite incendiary financial bombs all across the nation, thus destroying our peaceful coexistence and happiness and forcing the American People into indentured-servitude for decades to come.

It is the responsibility of the Federal Government to step in, take action and protect the American People from these Financial Predatory Terrorists.

Anything less will put the American People and the nation in grave danger and in harms way.

Senators I implore you to please act quickly!

Thank you for your time.

H1N1 a National Emergency

President Barack Obama has declared a national emergency to deal with the rapid increase in illness from the Swine Flu (H1N1 influenza virus).

From CNN:

“The 2009 H1N1 pandemic continues to evolve. The rates of illness continue to rise rapidly within many communities across the nation, and the potential exists for the pandemic to overburden health care resources in some localities,” Obama said in a statement.

“Thus, in recognition of the continuing progression of the pandemic, and in further preparation as a nation, we are taking additional steps to facilitate our response.”

The president signed the declaration late Friday and announced it Saturday.

Calling the emergency declaration “an important tool in our kit going forward,” one administration official called Obama’s action a “proactive measure that’s not in response to any new development.”