http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/
There appears to be extensive research back each rating. Click on the links. 51 pages, maybe 20 entries per page, of quotes from various politicians, media, and entertainment industry, and rates the accuracy, with links to back up the rating. Nicely done, and fairly good reference tool.
I know this is futile, but here is the question I sent in to White House for the “Tele-Townhall”. Since I didn’t watch it, I have no idea if it was addressed, but since no one contacted me, I presume not.
From: Jane Terry
Sent: Friday, August 07, 2009 9:53 AM
To: ‘[email protected]’
Subject: First, show us you know how to be efficient.
Let’s go with your numbers of millions people not having insurance, for whatever reason. When you add these millions to the current system (number of hospitals, doctors, nurses), it appears to me that you will have a larger demand for services than you can supply – creating the dreaded long-line syndrome that government processes are renowned for. Add to this lack of supply the consumer’s inconvenience and costly time wasted by such a system, the fact that people are in pain and in need of immediate attention, and you have an unbearable situation. I do not believe you can manage these kinds of demands. Particularly when you cannot even manage to finance a basic rebate program (cash for clunkers), or run an efficient DMV/IRS system.
Worse, the sense of entitlement that comes from Government programs (the workers) creates a lackadaisical work environment, leaving the consumer uncared for. It is one thing when you are only talking about our time and inconvenience at the DMV, DEQ, etc., but it is a much larger problem when you are talking about our health, our bodies, the vessels that host our very existence.
Frankly, based on the government’s historical performance, I do not believe the government is capable of handling this. A new enthusiastic (and well-meaning) president is not going to change how this trickles down to reality. It is foolish to entrust our health with an entity (government) that has such a losing track record when it comes to efficient systems. Congress knows this, which is why they voted against the amendment that would require they get their health insurance through the government-run plan.
What information (not rhetoric) can you possibly offer me as to how your healthcare reform is going to be different from your current inefficient systems? And if you actually believe you have an answer to this, why not first apply that answer/theory to your existing processes as a beta test, and if/when you are successful at rooting out waste and inefficiencies, THEN apply the process to something as large as healthcare reform?
In my opinion, you are exhibiting the classic errors of new management – come in and change everything, asking questions later.
Well written piece about the “administration’s grotesque mishandling of healthcare reform”, while remaining loyal to Obama’s competencies. An added plus: observations that in the Gates/Crowley episode, it was not a problem of race, but a problem of class.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/paglia/2009/08/12/town_halls/index.html
Need to do these blogs more regularly so they aren’t so long…apologize in advance for the length of this one.
Obama says he can’t figure out where all this “misinformation” is coming from. Hmmmm…. maybe if he actually read the Healthcare reform bill, he’d understand the confusion and concern. Instead, he attempts to malign those who are (rightly so) hypersensitive to having the billed rammed through, by creating an illusion that “extremists” who have “nothing better to do” are doing dirty deeds by coercing people to stage rallies – despite the fact that his own words were “go out and talk with your neighbors about this, get in their face”…. And the absolute lunacy of the Orwellian-type snitch site -flag@white house.gov. Big Brother is watching YOU! Really, how does the man look himself in the mirror each day? (couldn’t resist – snitched on the gov-blog Facts-Are-Stubborn-Things, in which Linda Douglass tries to minimize the concerns expressed by ordinary but outraged everyday citizens. I found the site inflammatory, and baseless, peddling cobbled thoughts together in an effort to present more misinformation.)
Healthcare needs reform, no doubt, but expecting the Government to run an efficient operation is like expecting me to drink the Pacific Ocean in one sitting. Put aside the entitlements that government employees have, let’s just look at supply and demand, and you have to conclude that there will be rationing. There HAS to be rationing because there is not enough supply to meet the additional 47 M demand that is coming into the system.
You want reform? Go after Tort reform. Talking with NAM (Natl Assoc Mfg) the other day – discussed Obama’s now famous gaffe about how doctors will order extra tests and do medical procedures just because they make more money at it is ludicrous. It is because the good Doctors are fearful that if they don’t cover all the bases, they will get sued. TORT REFORM!
As a manufacturer of boilers and water heaters, we get sued almost daily for asbestos. My products have never contained asbestos, we have affidavits from our suppliers testifying to this fact, yet we continue to get sued. So we have to bear the expense of discoveries, interrogatories etc, right up to the time of trial, when the plaintiff offers to drop their claim against us IF WE DO NOT pursue them for filing a frivolous lawsuit.. We see all our competition named in these lawsuits – the plaintiff’s attorneys go after anyone and everyone. Over half the time, the plaintiff cannot even prove our product was involved! Go figure!
Just in – check this out: http://www.redstate.com/absentee/2009/08/09/lets-talk-astroturf/ Advertisements seeking healthcare activists in SUPPORT of the bill, not in opposition to bill. As seen on Craigslist. (courtesy RedState). And don’t miss this one:http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2009/08/10/congresss_business_model_makes_me_cry_97352.html about the failing of Congress’ own business model.
Praise to the folks at Drudge and Naked Emperor News, for compiling clipshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-bY92mcOdk of Obama pre-presidency stating he supports, envisions, a single-pay system. This is contrary to his words today, which, from what I have seen thus far, is not unusual: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/aug/09080502.html
Another good clip from drudge, is Obama’s reversal on signature power. Although this is dated August 8 (compared to my July 22 twitter on this), see for yourself. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/us/politics/09signing.html?_r=1&hp
Just checked Twitter, and see I twittered another great link on July 23. If you go to this link (For the Record) , you’ll have to scroll to the video dated July 22, titled Barney Frank…. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?src=em&fa=PAGE.view&pageId=104618 While you are there, check out July 15th primer on the Honduras. Sums it up nicely.
Of course, now that I’ve checked Twitter, I findhttp://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=104716 which is about how the Democrats voted against being required to use Obama care. Here’s the tally sheet for how they voted:http://republicans.waysandmeans.house.gov/tallysheet/heller2.htm
If your read this July 31, 2009 op-ed, skip to bottom of first page to get to meat of Obama healthcare out-years being outed by non-partisan CBO folks. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/30/AR2009073002819.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns
Finally, getting a bit more current, in the IBD editorials this past Friday (August 7th) Ellen Goodman makes an attempt to defend the healthcare plan. Unfortunately, she yacks on and on (like I’m one to talk about yacking on and on at this point) and doesn’t get to her point until the very end. She actually makes a good point at the end ( her point being that counseling about death choices is not such a bad thing – that when in the throes of life-threatening scenarios, we will be better equipped to make informed decisions). Unfortunately, it was difficult to stomach her arrogance along the way to her point.
Finally finally – It was bad enough when US Senator Harry Reid (Nevada) said he was going to do a tele-townhall so he wouldn’t have to be faced with all the outraged citizenry (over the healthcare bill), but this is really creepy:http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/officevisit?office=436&source=20090809
Done. Caught up with my thinking…and hereby commit to post at least once a week so it doesn’t build up.
After a relatively quiet weekend, the papers are bursting with opinions, much like Mother Nature does in spring, when it sends daffodils and other delights bursting through the earth. Of course, our material is still mired in the mud…We hear headlines about how Obama has invited the “guys” (Sgt. Crowley and Prof Gates ) over for a beer. But that’s not the way I recall it…seems to me, toward the end of the press conference, Pres Obama said, as an aside, that Crowley had mentioned something about a beer at the WH. Any deductions of what that seemed to suggest had Obama back-pedaling even further, although now he’s seen the light and is embracing the idea, even promoting it as his own. The real kicker is the obscene words that flowed from Professor Gates:
So now you have Gates implying that Obama wants to use Gates’ experience as a teaching moment. hmmm. What do you think: teaching our young how NOT to challenge a law enforcment officer? Maybe about how NOT to comment on a situation when you don’t have all the facts. hmmmm, What could it be? Sure, there will be extremes – but that is not this case, this instance, this moment
And is Sgt Crowley going to cave to social pressures and go “make nice” when he has been severly wronged? Any such attempt to “make nice” would send a wrong signal to everyone who supports law enforcement organizations. Wives, childlren, teachers, pastors, small business owners, etc. We abide by the law and an officer’s authority becasue this is the basis of civility within our social structure.
On to healthcare. Great writeup in WSJ’s Notable & Quotable with Clifford Asness, writing at stumblingontruth.com. And another great column “Dr. Obama’s Tonsillectomy”. Truth is, I can’t recall the government has ever taking anything, and converted it into a model of efficiency. Ever. Feel free to correct me, but I don’t see it.
And lastly, as it’s bedtime here, I see Unions’ Labor Chiefs are doing better than the workers….hmmm. and that’s a surprise to someone? Oh yes, Let’s take one last minute to look at SEIU. Verbatim from WSJ: Union officer benefits are also far more generous than anything dues-paying workers enjoy. Consider again the SEIU, probably the country’s most powerful union. Their officers and employees get a yearly 3% cost of living increase, but SEIU members get none; officers qualify for an early pension at 50 or after more than 30 years of service, but workers can’t retire early with a pension; officers qualifying for disabilitiy retirement after a year’s service, but workers need 10 years. In the land of union retirement, some workers are more equal than others.
I watched the live coverage today as the President attempted to clarify that when he said the Cambridge Police acted stupidily, he did not intend to malign them (worsening an already sensitive issue. He needs to understand it is not about a “racial” issue, it is about the President usurping Law Enforcement’s authority)
Then he went on to say, twice, things were rantcheting up. Huh? Since when did ratchet become rantchet? It would be one thing if he just stumbled over some words, but since he did it twice, it sounds like he doesn’t know the word, or at least is not familiar with it enough to use it correctly.
This has been an on-going issue with me – his misuse of language. I have heard him use double negatives, I have heard him speak slang (during “polished” speeches), and this disturbs me. As an employer seeing college applicants who cannot write well, cannot speak well, I can’t help but wonder if the President’s misuse of language isn’t a sign of a breakdown – dummy down style – of our system. I fear it is. I have read he is well-educated, and I have to believe this, but I am beginning to question the quality of that education.
As an industrialized nation, we are continually falling behind on the educational front. We can claim “strategic innovation” as a direction for our country, but truth is, we are not producing an educated population that can build or lead innovation. Face it, our bench strength is not very deep.
Over-population can have its advantages. I have read that an advantage China’s think tanks have is that there are so many people making contributions. Couple that with a strong education, and the writing is on the wall for us (no pun intended). The old saying about winning the war without firing a single bullet may very well take place during our lifetime – on our watch. Not a pleasant thought.
From March 2008 article:
http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=10078
Wang Luolin nodded politely and smiled, then told me that his academy had 50 research centres covering 260 disciplines with 4,000 full-time researchers.
As he said this, I could feel myself shrink into the seams of my vast chair: Britain’s entire think tank community is numbered in the hundreds, Europe’s in the low thousands; even the think-tank heaven of the US cannot have more than 10,000. But here in China, a single institution—and there are another dozen or so think tanks in Beijing alone—had 4,000 researchers.
This case reminds me of the true story I am reading: “Why Just Her – Jeane Palfrey” (http://www.whyjusther.com/). It documents a gross miscarriage of justice, much much worse than what Professor Gates experienced. Unfortunately, unlike Prof Gate’s experience, no one hollered too much as Washington DC circled their wagons.
Now, with the uproar over Professor Gates’ experience, I can’t help but wonder if all the hoopla isn’t justified? At first, I was disgusted by it (pleeeeez, it was just two people being emotionally frustrated with each other, with one side clearly having the upper hand – note to self, never argue with law enforcement officers over petty things).
But the supporters’ voices are getting their point across, aren’t they? In Jeane Palfrey’s case, there was no huge outcry for the lone white woman the government threw its full weight upon. Maybe if citizens had united for her, we could have made a difference.
The book is compelling – mostly because it seems inconceivable that the government could get away with its behavior. I googled the author – he is considered a renegade attorney, and based on this book, that is probably justifiable. He’s not one to play nice when you aren’t playing by the rules.
But Gates, and all the attention over something so trivial, it’s just a shame when you consider these same people could have voiced their concerns over much larger injustices.
From Reader’s Digest:
A scientific study, published in the Journal “Neuron“, has found that multi-tasking does not make you more efficient.
Subjects were instructed to identify different-colored images while also identifying a variety of sounds. Researchers then monitored brain activity with an MIRI. When both color and sound were introduced at the same time or within a half a second of each other the brain simply delayed responding to one until the other was performed.
The conclusion was that the brain has a built-in “bottleneck” that prevents interferences caused by dueling thought processes. Some multitasking can be learned with practice (such as playing an instrument while talking). But many overlapping tasks (such as emailing while talking on the phone) are not really possible.
Lesson: You are better off completing one task before moving on to another; otherwise you compromise the integrity of both tasks.
Morgan Hosel yesterday brought to our attention the BoA vs taxpayer fiasco (see below). I understand Bank of America benefited from implied government insurance, but never signed the paperwork. And I understand the government (or customer) should benefit from taking the risk. However, if BoA didn’t sign the paperwork, that is the foolishness of the government, and the government loses.
And the Big G wants to run healthcare?
By Morgan Hosel for Motley Fool
Earlier this year, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) received an additional slug of capital from taxpayers to digest its Merrill Lynch acquisition. In addition to $20 billion of TARP funds, the bank received what’s called a ring-fenced asset guarantee on 90% of a $118 billion pool of assets.
In layman’s terms, B of A took $118 billion of dodgy assets, stuck them in a separate pile, and asked taxpayers to cover 90% of the losses after the first $10 billion. In exchange, it was to issue Uncle Sam $4 billion in preferred stock yielding 8%, plus warrants worth 10% of that amount. A month earlier, Citigroup (NYSE: C) did a similar thing on a $306 billion pool of assets.
Now here’s where things get weird: The asset guarantee was never used. Consequently, B of A doesn’t want to pay the $4 billion-plus it agreed to compensate taxpayers with. Complicating matters, it claims it doesn’t have to pay simply because it never signed the papers back in January. How convenient.
There’s no question, however, that the deal was struck. B of A’s Jan. 16 press release clearly states that the government was providing “insurance for $118 billion in exposure,” and would “pay a premium of 3.4 percent of those assets for this program.”
Regulators, feeling used and abused, are fighting for at least a portion of $4 billion as a premium for what’s essentially an insurance policy. This makes sense: There’s no doubt that B of A benefited handsomely from the guarantee, lowering its cost of capital and allaying fears that it was about to explode.
Even if taxpayers never paid out a penny, there’s an argument to make that they accepted a substantial risk, and should be compensated for it. That’s how the business of insurance works.