A College Degree Is Not A Human Right!

A College Degree Is Not A Human Right!
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

********************

Whether you want to admit it or not, there are some people who have absolutely no business going to college.

Back in the day, there were “trade schools.” There were schools where certain trades were taught. If a young person wanted to be, oh, say, an auto mechanic, the school would teach them the fundamentals and depending upon the school, much, much, more. It set the student on a path, in his or her young life that would ensure them a trade from which they could make a living, support a family, and contribute to their community. Trade schools were GOOD things.

We have all heard the stories of the high school teacher who assures certain students that they have no business attending college. We tend to recoil in horror at such presumptuousness by anyone, let alone a teacher. But wait! Have you considered the possibility that the teacher might be right? Has it occurred to you that the teacher is in a far better position than you or I to form that conclusion?

Come on, folks. We all know there are, in fact, some folks who only take up space in the classroom whether in high school or college. There are some youngsters for whom life is one continuous party. You cannot honestly believe that THEY deserve to be there, taking the place of a hard working scholar determined to learn as much as he or she can in the four, or more, years they will industriously study to better themselves and the world they occupy and contribute to society.

But in the politically correct world we live in this bit of common sense is frowned upon. In fact, to voice such a stance might get you driven from the room. You have just bumped into the great wall of “inclusivity.” We must be “fair.” We must be “inclusive.” EVERYONE MUST have a chance at a college education and, if at all possible, the government should pay for it.

Of course, when we say the government should pay for it we are really saying the taxpayers should pay for because the government has no money of its own. It takes money from us, the taxpayers and, much to our chagrin, blows it!

Very soon now, I expect to see some sort of bill introduced in our national legislature, which will insure that every American who wants to go to college will be able to do so at taxpayer expense. That is a wrong-headed idea and must be stopped before it ever becomes law. Such a law will only make academia far richer than it is now and will do little, if anything, to better educate the American populace. In fact, one can already see that postsecondary college degrees have been, shall we say, dumbed down?

Let’s face it. There are students who would do far better for themselves, and society, if they studied at a vocational school or a technical school of some variety. We always NEED trained technicians and tradesmen. Every society does.

There is, currently, no RIGHT to a college degree in America. Not yet, at least. But, left to their own devices, the dunces who currently lead our country will certainly make it so. And THAT is wrong! To insist that the taxpayers of America foot the bill for this politically correct act of “inclusivity” is also wrong.

J. D. Longstreet

159 Big Spending, Big Government Features of Obamacare

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

Hat tip to Stop the ACLU

When I read these I knew I had to share them with you my truth seekers.

Here is a list of 159 new programs, administrative boards, and bureaucracies that the Democrat Party’s healthcare bill creates:

(PS, remember that all the tax increases starts NOW, if this bill is passed, but none of the coverage starts for four years!)

1. Grant program for consumer assistance offices (Section 1002, p. 37)
2. Grant program for states to monitor premium increases (Section 1003, p. 42)
3. Committee to review administrative simplification standards (Section 1104, p. 71)
4. Demonstration program for state wellness programs (Section 1201, p. 93)
5. Grant program to establish state Exchanges (Section 1311(a), p. 130)
6. State American Health Benefit Exchanges (Section 1311(b), p. 131)
7. Exchange grants to establish consumer navigator programs (Section 1311(i), p. 150)
8. Grant program for state cooperatives (Section 1322, p. 169)
9. Advisory board for state cooperatives (Section 1322(b)(3), p. 173)
10. Private purchasing council for state cooperatives (Section 1322(d), p. 177)
11. State basic health plan programs (Section 1331, p. 201)
12. State-based reinsurance program (Section 1341, p. 226)
13. Program of risk corridors for individual and small group markets (Section 1342, p. 233)
14. Program to determine eligibility for Exchange participation (Section 1411, p. 267)
15. Program for advance determination of tax credit eligibility (Section 1412, p. 288)
16. Grant program to implement health IT enrollment standards (Section 1561, p. 370)
17. Federal Coordinated Health Care Office for dual eligible beneficiaries (Section 2602, p. 512)
18. Medicaid quality measurement program (Section 2701, p. 518)
19. Medicaid health home program for people with chronic conditions, and grants for planning same (Section 2703, p. 524)
20. Medicaid demonstration project to evaluate bundled payments (Section 2704, p. 532)
21. Medicaid demonstration project for global payment system (Section 2705, p. 536)
22. Medicaid demonstration project for accountable care organizations (Section 2706, p. 538)
23. Medicaid demonstration project for emergency psychiatric care (Section 2707, p. 540)
24. Grant program for delivery of services to individuals with postpartum depression (Section 2952(b), p. 591)
25. State allotments for grants to promote personal responsibility education programs (Section 2953, p. 596)
26. Medicare value-based purchasing program (Section 3001(a), p. 613)
27. Medicare value-based purchasing demonstration program for critical access hospitals (Section 3001(b), p. 637)
28. Medicare value-based purchasing program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 3006(a), p. 666)
29. Medicare value-based purchasing program for home health agencies (Section 3006(b), p. 668)
30. Interagency Working Group on Health Care Quality (Section 3012, p. 688)
31. Grant program to develop health care quality measures (Section 3013, p. 693)
32. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Section 3021, p. 712)
33. Medicare shared savings program (Section 3022, p. 728)
34. Medicare pilot program on payment bundling (Section 3023, p. 739)
35. Independence at home medical practice demonstration program (Section 3024, p. 752)
36. Program for use of patient safety organizations to reduce hospital readmission rates (Section 3025(b), p. 775)
37. Community-based care transitions program (Section 3026, p. 776)
38. Demonstration project for payment of complex diagnostic laboratory tests (Section 3113, p. 800)
39. Medicare hospice concurrent care demonstration project (Section 3140, p. 850)
40. Independent Payment Advisory Board (Section 3403, p. 982)
41. Consumer Advisory Council for Independent Payment Advisory Board (Section 3403, p. 1027)
42. Grant program for technical assistance to providers implementing health quality practices (Section 3501, p. 1043)
43. Grant program to establish interdisciplinary health teams (Section 3502, p. 1048)
44. Grant program to implement medication therapy management (Section 3503, p. 1055)
45. Grant program to support emergency care pilot programs (Section 3504, p. 1061)
46. Grant program to promote universal access to trauma services (Section 3505(b), p. 1081)
47. Grant program to develop and promote shared decision-making aids (Section 3506, p. 1088)
48. Grant program to support implementation of shared decision-making (Section 3506, p. 1091)
49. Grant program to integrate quality improvement in clinical education (Section 3508, p. 1095)
50. Health and Human Services Coordinating Committee on Women’s Health (Section 3509(a), p. 1098)
51. Centers for Disease Control Office of Women’s Health (Section 3509(b), p. 1102)
52. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Office of Women’s Health (Section 3509(e), p. 1105)
53. Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Women’s Health (Section 3509(f), p. 1106)
54. Food and Drug Administration Office of Women’s Health (Section 3509(g), p. 1109)
55. National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council (Section 4001, p. 1114)
56. Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health (Section 4001(f), p. 1117)
57. Prevention and Public Health Fund (Section 4002, p. 1121)
58. Community Preventive Services Task Force (Section 4003(b), p. 1126)
59. Grant program to support school-based health centers (Section 4101, p. 1135)
60. Grant program to promote research-based dental caries disease management (Section 4102, p. 1147)
61. Grant program for States to prevent chronic disease in Medicaid beneficiaries (Section 4108, p. 1174)
62. Community transformation grants (Section 4201, p. 1182)
63. Grant program to provide public health interventions (Section 4202, p. 1188)
64. Demonstration program of grants to improve child immunization rates (Section 4204(b), p. 1200)
65. Pilot program for risk-factor assessments provided through community health centers (Section 4206, p. 1215)
66. Grant program to increase epidemiology and laboratory capacity (Section 4304, p. 1233)
67. Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (Section 4305, p. 1238)
68. National Health Care Workforce Commission (Section 5101, p. 1256)
69. Grant program to plan health care workforce development activities (Section 5102(c), p. 1275)
70. Grant program to implement health care workforce development activities (Section 5102(d), p. 1279)
71. Pediatric specialty loan repayment program (Section 5203, p. 1295)
72. Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program (Section 5204, p. 1300)
73. Allied Health Loan Forgiveness Program (Section 5205, p. 1305)
74. Grant program to provide mid-career training for health professionals (Section 5206, p. 1307)
75. Grant program to fund nurse-managed health clinics (Section 5208, p. 1310)
76. Grant program to support primary care training programs (Section 5301, p. 1315)
77. Grant program to fund training for direct care workers (Section 5302, p. 1322)
78. Grant program to develop dental training programs (Section 5303, p. 1325)
79. Demonstration program to increase access to dental health care in underserved communities (Section 5304, p. 1331)

About here I reached for the TUMS.

80. Grant program to promote geriatric education centers (Section 5305, p. 1334)
81. Grant program to promote health professionals entering geriatrics (Section 5305, p. 1339)
82. Grant program to promote training in mental and behavioral health (Section 5306, p. 1344)
83. Grant program to promote nurse retention programs (Section 5309, p. 1354)
84. Student loan forgiveness for nursing school faculty (Section 5311(b), p. 1360)
85. Grant program to promote positive health behaviors and outcomes (Section 5313, p. 1364)
86. Public Health Sciences Track for medical students (Section 5315, p. 1372)
87. Primary Care Extension Program to educate providers (Section 5405, p. 1404)
88. Grant program for demonstration projects to address health workforce shortage needs (Section 5507, p. 1442)
89. Grant program for demonstration projects to develop training programs for home health aides (Section 5507, p. 1447)
90. Grant program to establish new primary care residency programs (Section 5508(a), p. 1458)
91. Program of payments to teaching health centers that sponsor medical residency training (Section 5508(c), p. 1462)
92. Graduate nurse education demonstration program (Section 5509, p. 1472)
93. Grant program to establish demonstration projects for community-based mental health settings (Section 5604, p. 1486)
94. Commission on Key National Indicators (Section 5605, p. 1489)
95. Quality assurance and performance improvement program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 6102, p. 1554)
96. Special focus facility program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 6103(a)(3), p. 1561)
97. Special focus facility program for nursing facilities (Section 6103(b)(3), p. 1568)
98. National independent monitor pilot program for skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities (Section 6112, p. 1589)
99. Demonstration projects for nursing facilities involved in the culture change movement (Section 6114, p. 1597)
100. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Section 6301, p. 1619)
101. Standing methodology committee for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Section 6301, p. 1629)
102. Board of Governors for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Section 6301, p. 1638)
103. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund (Section 6301(e), p. 1656)
104. Elder Justice Coordinating Council (Section 6703, p. 1773)
105. Advisory Board on Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation (Section 6703, p. 1776)
106. Grant program to create elder abuse forensic centers (Section 6703, p. 1783)
107. Grant program to promote continuing education for long-term care staffers (Section 6703, p. 1787)
108. Grant program to improve management practices and training (Section 6703, p. 1788)
109. Grant program to subsidize costs of electronic health records (Section 6703, p. 1791)
110. Grant program to promote adult protective services (Section 6703, p. 1796)
111. Grant program to conduct elder abuse detection and prevention (Section 6703, p. 1798)
112. Grant program to support long-term care ombudsmen (Section 6703, p. 1800)
113. National Training Institute for long-term care surveyors (Section 6703, p. 1806)
114. Grant program to fund State surveys of long-term care residences (Section 6703, p. 1809)
115. CLASS Independence Fund (Section 8002, p. 1926)
116. CLASS Independence Fund Board of Trustees (Section 8002, p. 1927)
117. CLASS Independence Advisory Council (Section 8002, p. 1931)
118. Personal Care Attendants Workforce Advisory Panel (Section 8002(c), p. 1938)
119. Multi-state health plans offered by Office of Personnel Management (Section 10104(p), p. 2086)
120. Advisory board for multi-state health plans (Section 10104(p), p. 2094)
121. Pregnancy Assistance Fund (Section 10212, p. 2164)
122. Value-based purchasing program for ambulatory surgical centers (Section 10301, p. 2176)
123. Demonstration project for payment adjustments to home health services (Section 10315, p. 2200)
124. Pilot program for care of individuals in environmental emergency declaration areas (Section 10323, p. 2223)
125. Grant program to screen at-risk individuals for environmental health conditions (Section 10323(b), p. 2231)
126. Pilot programs to implement value-based purchasing (Section 10326, p. 2242)
127. Grant program to support community-based collaborative care networks (Section 10333, p. 2265)
128. Centers for Disease Control Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
129. Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
130. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)

The TUMS stopped working so I took some Pepto Bismo. It didn't help.

131. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
132. Food and Drug Administration Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
133. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
134. Grant program to promote small business wellness programs (Section 10408, p. 2285)
135. Cures Acceleration Network (Section 10409, p. 2289)
136. Cures Acceleration Network Review Board (Section 10409, p. 2291)
137. Grant program for Cures Acceleration Network (Section 10409, p. 2297)
138. Grant program to promote centers of excellence for depression (Section 10410, p. 2304)
139. Advisory committee for young women’s breast health awareness education campaign (Section 10413, p. 2322)
140. Grant program to provide assistance to provide information to young women with breast cancer (Section 10413, p. 2326)
141. Interagency Access to Health Care in Alaska Task Force (Section 10501, p. 2329)
142. Grant program to train nurse practitioners as primary care providers (Section 10501(e), p. 2332)
143. Grant program for community-based diabetes prevention (Section 10501(g), p. 2337)
144. Grant program for providers who treat a high percentage of medically underserved populations (Section 10501(k), p. 2343)
145. Grant program to recruit students to practice in underserved communities (Section 10501(l), p. 2344)
146. Community Health Center Fund (Section 10503, p. 2355)
147. Demonstration project to provide access to health care for the uninsured at reduced fees (Section 10504, p. 2357)
148. Demonstration program to explore alternatives to tort litigation (Section 10607, p. 2369)
149. Indian Health demonstration program for chronic shortages of health professionals (S. 1790, Section 112, p. 24)*
150. Office of Indian Men’s Health (S. 1790, Section 136, p. 71)*
151. Indian Country modular component facilities demonstration program (S. 1790, Section 146, p. 108)*
152. Indian mobile health stations demonstration program (S. 1790, Section 147, p. 111)*
153. Office of Direct Service Tribes (S. 1790, Section 172, p. 151)*
154. Indian Health Service mental health technician training program (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 173)*
155. Indian Health Service program for treatment of child sexual abuse victims (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 192)*
156. Indian Health Service program for treatment of domestic violence and sexual abuse (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 194)*
157. Indian youth telemental health demonstration project (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 204)*
158. Indian youth life skills demonstration project (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 220)*
159. Indian Health Service Director of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment (S. 1790, Section 199B, p. 258)*

*Section 10221, page 2173 of H.R. 3590 deems that S. 1790 shall be deemed as passed with certain amendments.

(Courtesy of the Senate Republican Policy Committee)

By now the Pepto Bismo failed and my dinner returned to the world.

If these don't sicken you, I don't know what will.

How Many States Plan To Disarm?

How Many States Plan To Disarm?
A Gun Ban in the US is Impossible
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
**********************
Text of the 2nd amendment to the US Constitution:
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

What part of “SHALL NOT” do the gun control advocates NOT UNDERSTAND?

This time, the US Supreme Court has been asked to decide if the states have the right to take your guns away. We’re talking about the state governments – not the federal government.

The “gun grabbers” have not given up. Oh, no! They are “true believers,” choosing to believe in the myth and the fairy tale that if you take people’s guns away America will be a safer place. They believe this in spite of the facts out there for everyone to see.

See, those stubborn facts tell a different story. Those facts tell us that when you mandate by law that citizens must give up their guns, law-abiding citizens will do it. They won’t like it. They will grumble and fuss, but in the end -- they will give them up. On the other hand the citizens who do not abide by the law will not give up their guns and, as a result, a huge power shift occurs. Power is snatched from the hands of the law-abiding citizens and given to the government and the outlaws…. but I repeat myself. Next comes anarchy.

I’ll make a prediction here. If the time ever comes in America when the government, state or federal, forces the citizens to give up their guns and the bad guys begin their reign of fear, a cottage industry will spring up all across the land. It will be an industry turning out homemade firearms. Soon that will turn into a full-fledged black market where underground illicit firearms factories will be created to meet the demand from citizens seeking protection for their homes and their families.

There is something very important the elite in this country do not know. That is -- just how easy it is to produce a firearm. Even “yours truly” produced homemade firearms while still a student in high school. I even had a single shot 22 caliber “zip gun” (made by me) sewn inside the sleeve of my black horsehide leather jacket! No Joke! I was serious then -- and I am serious now.

A fellow student produced a handgun so powerful it blew a nice fat, round, hole through the side of his father’s barn. And we were KIDS! How sophisticated do you think a couple of high school kids were about the intricacies of producing firearms?

The point is, just like prohibition, a ban on firearms in the United States will back fire and it will create more problems than ever expected by the gungrabbers and/or the government whether that government is state or federal. And mark this: neither a state government nor the federal government will be able to handle it.

Let us say, hypothetically, of course, that a state government decides to ban guns within that state. How long do you think it will be before thriving gun smuggling operations are set up to meet the demand for guns in that “gun-free” state? I’d give it hours. Maybe the leaders of the gungrabbers have not thought about this – but you can bet the ATF has!

Understand this. Banning guns in the United States is impossible. It cannot be done, except on paper. The citizens of this country will be armed.

The Supreme Court will, more than likely, hand down their decision before June of this year. The American citizens have already made their decision. They WILL have guns – one way -- or the other.

J. D. Longstreet

Demonizing for political gain

Commentary by James H. Shott

When you want to generate a lot of support for some political program, a common ploy is to create in the minds of those whose support you seek the idea that somebody is mean, evil, wicked, bad and nasty.

The demon in the effort to impose greater government control over our health care is health insurance providers, who are attacked for all manner of improper and/or self-serving behavior, both imagined and real. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, leading the charge, calls the insurers “villains,” but speaks in generalities and fails to show evidence of actual “villainy.”

We’ve heard the criticisms of health insurers, and some of them have done bad things. However, people in every industry and type of business occasionally do bad things, so insurers are no worse than anyone else.

The most questionable of these allegations is that the insurance companies do horrible things to their customers, such as dropping someone’s coverage when they have a serious illness; rejecting coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, or charging them higher premiums; and imposing large rate increases, in pursuit of excessive profits.

Last August Dr. Mark J. Perry, professor of economics and finance in the School of Management at the University of Michigan at Flint, demonstrated that health insurers like Cigna, Aetna, and WellPoint, had a profit margin of just 3.3 percent, ranking last on a list of 86 business categories.

People often mistakenly judge whether a company makes excessive profits by how many dollars it made. But what really is important is how much money it kept from what it collected from selling what it produced: profits divided by revenue. A multi-billion-dollar profit figure isn’t really meaningful without knowing how much revenue the company had. A company with $13.2 billion in profits and $400 billion in revenue achieved only a 3.3 percent profit margin. You can get a 3.3 percent return on your money by investing it in a three-year CD, even in today’s depressed market.

Compare that margin to more profitable business groups, like beverage producers/brewers at 25.9 percent, wireless communications at 11.1 percent, and general entertainment at 6.8 percent. If health insurers are mistreating customers for high profits, their strategy is a failure.

Most business decisions have a fundamental economic reason behind them, even large rate increases like WellPoint’s 39 percent hike in California. Fox Business Channel’s Stuart Varney explained this in the “Back of the Book Segment” on Fox News’ [begin ital] The O’Reilly Factor [end ital] recently in a segment titled “Making money off people’s illness.” "There's a recession in California and 800,000 [new participants] have gone onto Medicaid [roles],” he said. “Doctors who treat Medicaid patients lose money on every patient, and they transfer that loss to privately insured people,” which raises the insurer’s costs and creates the need to raise rates.

The title of that segment, “Making money off people’s illness,” indicates that the often- sensible Mr. O’Reilly believes health insurers are behaving immorally. But think about it: if you are in a business that deals with illness, you have to make money to stay in business and pay your employees. You must therefore make money off people’s illness. Millions of Americans are guilty of this “crime,” and we should be thankful for that. This is an example where emotion impeded clear thinking, and when this occurs people are easily taken advantage of by demagogues like Nancy Pelosi.

The Government Accounting office informs us that in 2008 the median number of insurers in individual states was 27, although that varies from a low of eight or fewer in three New England states to a few dozen in other states, and that the five largest insurers provide 75 percent or more of the policies nationwide.

Consider that there are 1,262 companies in the United States that provide health insurance, according to the business information provider, Manta. However, insurance companies are licensed by each state individually, which means that every health insurance provider might be faced with 50 different sets of criteria in order to qualify to sell to everyone in the U.S. That, and widely differing population numbers, explain why some states have dozens of providers and others have only a handful, and also why the largest companies are able to adapt to such a wide and varied set of rules, and smaller companies cannot.

Obviously, it would improve the cost and performance of health insurers if we could foster greater competition among them, and surely if we freed up all 1,262 companies to sell to anyone in the country, the variety of plans and cost levels that would emerge would satisfy the needs of the vast majority of Americans, and do so at much lower costs than we have now.

Since the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (supposedly) protects state sovereignty against encroachment from the federal government, Congress cannot mandate uniformity of requirements for health insurers. However, that does not preclude a federal recommendation of sensible requirements that states can voluntarily adopt.

This is a vastly superior solution to health insurance reform than the destructive government takeover now being jammed down our throats by a blind, deaf and ideologically controlled Congress.

Cross-posted from Observations

ObamaCare LIVES!

ObamaCare LIVES!
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

Like Dracula, ObamaCare seems to crawl away when the light of day threatens only to climb out of its coffin at moonrise.

To paraphrase the famous line from the movie “Jaws”: “Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…” We can say: “Just when you thought it was safe to breath free…” ObamaCare twitches.

It looks dead. But is it? Poke it with a stick and see if it moves. Hold a mirror beneath its nostrils and watch for condensation. If this were the TV series “CIS” or “NCIS” we’d punch a spike thermometer through its abdomen, and into the liver, to determine time of death – if any.

Sadly, I have to report, that ObamaCare is NOT dead. Weakened, yes. Nigh unto death? Yes. Dead? NO.

I am still convinced the democrats will get some form of ObamaCare thru both house of the Congress and on the President’s desk before Spring -- probably a lot sooner, actually.

The house has some serious problems with the bill as written. Speaker Pelosi KNOWS she cannot get it through the House in its current configuration, so she is hoping the Senate will configure a bill the House dems can agree so she can get it passed on her side of the building. Then on to the President for his signature and -- Walla! ObamaCare is the “Law of the Land.”

I have no clue as to how, exactly, they will accomplish this feat, but, I am satisfied that they will. Now is not the time to be complacent. We must keep up the fight against ObamaCare.

Even more importantly, the Republicans ought to crying loudly and clearly that should ObamaCare pass into law, the battle cry for the campaigns between now and the Mid-term Election, this November, and beyond, will be “REPEAL OBAMACARE!”

Democrats need to understand this is no threat. It is a promise. They need to understand they vote for ObamaCare at the expense of their political careers.

Few things have inflamed the American anger quite like ObamaCare and the Democrats insistence on ramming it down the throats of Americans. Yet the far left understands that this is their best chance to grab all the power that government control of the nation’s healthcare will gain them. They are willing to go for broke even if it means losing their hold on the Congress -- as they surely will. It doesn’t matter. They are the “true believers” and they are in charge.

No, dear reader, Obamacare is NOT dead -- not by a long shot.

ObamaCare is, after all is said and done, not about healthcare. It is all about power. If ObamaCare passes into law, the socialists will maintain their power over your life, and the life of every American, even when they are out of power in the Congress!

Some Republicans get it. Senator Lamar Alexander, of Tennessee, said over the weekend: “"People are saying, 'We don't want it.' The Democrats are saying, 'We don't care, we're doing it anyway.' The Democrats will try to jam this through, and the rest of the year we're going to be involved in a campaign to repeal it."

At this moment, however, we need to expend our energy on killing ObamaCare. If that fails the republicans should switch immediately to a campaign to repeal it.

Be aware, however, the dems do not believe the republicans have the intestinal fortitude to mount a campaign to repeal ObamaCare. In fact, they are counting on it. It helps them justify the political massacre of their party at the polls this coming November.

J. D. Longstreet

Israel WILL Strike Iran ALONE -- If It Must!

Israel WILL Strike Iran ALONE -- If It Must!
“NEVER AGAIN!”
A commentary by J. D. Longstreet
*********************
I have seen the “talking heads” on TV and I have read the reports by liberal, progressive, reporters and commentators in the US and from around the world assuring their readers and viewers that Israel will not attack Iran without the United States.

There is only one thing wrong with that view. It is ALL WRONG.

Unfortunately, they are judging Israel as if Israel was one of their countries or even the US. There is a HUGE difference between the country of Israel and the European countries and even the US (under its current leadership). That difference? Israel has GUTS!

The international mainstream media, in my opinion, is simply trying to convince Israel NOT TO ATTACK IRAN. They are trying to control events the way they would like them to unfold rather than the way they KNOW they are going to unfold.

Look, we have been telling you, for at least two years now, that when Israel is ready, and the time is right, Israel will mount an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. And they will do it with, or without, America’s help and with, or without, America’s blessing.

Israel is fighting for its life, for its very existence. Israel’s leaders know that the Obama Regime is no friend to Israel -- at all. They get it! They understand that even though most Americans do not. Therefore, they do not trust the American president, or the military and intelligence services under Obama’s command. As a result, they are NOT sharing their full intelligence on Iran with the US for fear of its, somehow, making its way into the hands of Israel’s enemies. In my opinion, that is just good thinking.

Then there is the fact that the Israeli people live with death every single day. They no longer fear it as Americans and Europeans do. They understand they may be called upon, as individuals, to lay down their lives for their countrymen, at any moment, and they are prepared to do that, again, unlike many Americans and/or Europeans.

Israel also understands what it means to be a free nation, a free people, and they understand that freedom is not free and it requires nourishment from time to time with the blood of Israeli patriots.

The Israelis understand that it is much better to die on their feet fighting, like men, than to live on their knees as slaves to some Islamic fanatic.

Yes, Israel’s back is to the wall. They will fight. They will attack Iran with everything they have, including nukes, if they feel it is necessary, and nothing the Obama Regime can say, or do, will stop them.

Poor Israel -- out there all by herself. Just Israel … and … God.

J. D. Longstreet