Health Care Bill, Ft. Hood, and Peaceful Muslims

From: Mutiny in Scrutiny? [Jeffrey H. Anderson] - [Or - keep the faith! This isn't over yet.]
It was always clear that the real health-care battle would be in the Senate. But what would have been shocking eight months ago is to hear that it would take until November for the Democrats to pass a bill even in the House. It would have been even more shocking to have heard that, even after a full-court-press by the White House, the bill would pass by only five votes — meaning that if just three of the 435 members had changed their minds, it would have changed the bill's fate. And it would have been shocking to have heard that 39 Democrats would jump ship.

The House bill has passed — barely and belatedly — and it is now dead. Nothing like it will ever pass the Senate. The question now is whether anything will, now that the voters have spoken in New Jersey and Virginia — and now that the exceedingly narrow margin in the House will likely invite even greater scrutiny of that which is being proposed.

[We must keep up our good work through Tea Parties, blogs, emails and letters, and meet-ups at the Capitol such as that successful last-minute one last week which was initiated by Rep. Michele Bachmann of MN. Tens of thousands of Americans put aside their lives to make a last minute trip there.]

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The New York Post's Editorial states: World leaders past and present will be in Berlin today for the 20th anniversary of the fall of communist repression's most visible symbol: the 112-mile concrete wall that split the city for more than a quarter-century. Conspicuously absent: the president of the United States, Barack Obama. Obama's folks say he's too busy to accept German President Angela Merkel's invitation to attend today's festivities It's pathetic that Obama won't be there -- and telling, as well.......

The Cold War, in this view, is an irrelevant historical relic -- an example of American paranoia and fear-mongering prolonging a conflict that could have been resolved with warm-and-fuzzy speechmaking and the soft-pedaling of political differences.

Gone, it seems, are the days when America championed freedom, led by presidents whose oratory was matched by commitment and determined action.

It's not only shameful -- but dangerous.

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Does the name William Jefferson, of New Orleans, ring a bell with you? Authorities found about $80,000 in his freezer. The Times Picayunne is reporting that Jefferson was "found guilty on Aug. 6 of 11 of 16 corruption counts, including soliciting bribes, depriving citizens of honest service in their representative, money laundering and racketeering. The charges revolved around a series of schemes in which Jefferson, who took a keen interest in African affairs as a member of Congress and was on good terms with heads of state and other influential figures on the continent, sought to help American businesses secure business deals in West Africa in exchange for payments to shell companies held in the name of his wife, his daughters and his brother, Mose. Prosecutors on Friday night issued a memorandum recommending that former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson be sentenced to between 27 and 33 years in prison. The prosecution's sentencing memorandum suggests that Jefferson, who served 18 years in Congress, may have hidden resources and "poses a significant risk of flight,'' and ought to be immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service after sentencing at the Alexandria, Va., courthouse.

"As to his flight risk, the government asserted that despite being in bankruptcy, Jefferson may have sufficient hidden resources and contacts in Africa to try to make his escape between sentencing and being remanded to prison if he has the opportunity.

"According to the memorandum, "law enforcement agents learned of several wire transfers from offshore territories into U.S. financial accounts that were either controlled by the defendant or whose proceeds were made available for his benefit.'' [And here I thought only Republicans can be rascals....]
NOW word comes that it is Jefferson's replacement in the House of Representatives who is the only [RHINO] Republican to vote for the health care bill which passed on Saturday night.
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We watched our President finally get to the business of the Fort Hood massacre, only after discussing his interface with Native American Indians, and giving a "shout out" [whatever that is - not honor, I would guess] to an incorrectly described Medal of Honor winner [it was a Medal of Freedom recipient, and it makes one wonder if he knows the difference.] In so doing, he looked devoid of emotion or indignation. Jennifer Rubin mused: "But let’s be blunt, the affected “cool” of the president is getting rather creepy as a style of governance. This was on display in an unfortunate and highly visible way this week. The president’s bizarrely inappropriate remarks after learning of the Foot Hood massacre left one puzzled, if not downright troubled. He not only didn’t seem to grasp the gravity of the situation; he didn’t seem emotionally connected to the appalling events." I will add that in this case, with all the facts not yet known by him, he at least did not say that someone involved acted "stupidly". He did infer that we Americans must not think that being an Islamic-practicing Muslim bent on terrorism had anything to do with this act, for it is a religion of peace, don't we know. Just a reminder: our President has noted in a speech that " America is one of the largest Muslim nations on earth." (We are 80th on that list.)
NBC Commentators even wrote in shock at the President's "lack of protocol, sensitivity, or even awareness of the pain the nation was feeling at that moment roughly two hours after the drama began."
A report from Texas tells of a neighbor of this man who was visited one last time on the morning of the shootings. This is what he told her: "I'm going to do good work for God." A man yells, "Allah Akbar" before unloading his weapon, after posting repeatedly on pro-terrorist web-sites for months, and had been ranting about not being forced to serve in Iraq nor Afghanistan because he objected to the purposes of the U.S. Military in those regions, but his connections to terrorism were not to be "considered," said Kevin McCoullough.

Analogous to "acting stupidly", our President, in his Saturday radio address, discussed this man and his acts as fact, forgetting that in our country one is innocent until proven guilty. It seems to me that the President of the United States has prejudiced the jury..... isn't he a brilliant lawyer?
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From the L.A. Times: In response to Thursday's shooting, mosques around the U.S. denounced the violence and implemented a range of overt and subtle security measures. In the Los Angeles area, Islamic groups contacted law enforcement officials, who stepped up patrols of mosques and Muslim community centers. Awad's Washington-based group, known as CAIR, noted that it had launched an anti-terrorism petition drive and a TV ad campaign against religious extremism, and coordinated an anti-terrorism fatwa, or religious ruling, condemning extremism and terrorism. In Dearborn, Mich., home to a large Arab and Muslim community, Kassem Allie received a call Friday from a TV news reporter. Allie, a member of the board of trustees at the Islamic Center of America, called the shooting an act of "maniacal brutality."
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Investor's Business Daily weighed in on the War On Terror: The Fort Hood terrorist is being portrayed as an "anomaly," an "aberration," a "lone wolf." Sadly, he's just one of many examples of jihadist traitors in the ranks of the military.

Together they form a dangerous Fifth Column, and the Pentagon — thanks to institutionalized political correctness — is doing next to nothing to root them out .

Instead, brass are actively recruiting Muslim soldiers — whose ranks have swelled to more than 15,000 — and catering to their faith by erecting mosques even at Marine headquarters in Quantico, Va. More, they're hiring Muslim chaplains endorsed by radical Islamic front groups, who convert and radicalize soldiers.

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In the category of "you must see it for yourself in order to believe it" - From the House Committee on Ways and Means comes a letter from Dave Camp (R-MI) from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.

In response to the JCT letter, Camp said: “This is the ultimate example of the Democrats’ command-and-control style of governing – buy what we tell you or go to jail. It is outrageous and it should be stopped immediately.”

Key excerpts from the JCT letter appear below:

“H.R. 3962 provides that an individual (or a husband and wife in the case of a joint return) who does not, at any time during the taxable year, maintain acceptable health insurance coverage for himself or herself and each of his or her qualifying children is subject to an additional tax.” [page 1]

- - - - - - - - - -

“If the government determines that the taxpayer’s unpaid tax liability results from willful behavior, the following penalties could apply…” [page 2]

- - - - - - - - - -

“Criminal penalties

Prosecution is authorized under the Code for a variety of offenses. Depending on the level of the noncompliance, the following penalties could apply to an individual:

• Section 7203 – misdemeanor willful failure to pay is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.

• Section 7201 – felony willful evasion is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years.” [page 3]

[Who knows by now just what was and wasn't in the final bill that was passed, for we had no time to read it all.......]
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Do you ever wonder about what the typical law-writing, important day in Congress looks like? Well, here's a clue: "Nothing else need to be said. This is one of their THREE DAY WORK WEEKS that we all pay for. I am ready to start from the beginning by voting out all elected officials and not letting any of them stay in office for more than two terms. No more lifelong healthcare, retirement, voting in their own pay raises, taking perks on our taxes, etc.

The AP distributed a terrific photo of our Congress in action, using their computers:

House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, pictured standing, far right, speaks while colleagues Rep. Barbara Lambert, D-Milford and Rep. Jack F. Hennessy, D-Bridgeport, play solitaire Monday night as the House convened to vote on a new budget. (AP)

The guy sitting in the row in front of these two... he's on Facebook, and the guy behind Hennessy is checking out the baseball scores."