Feds Want To Know How Fat You Are

The Federal Government's mandate to make all medical records electronic has a lot of potential for misuse and abuse, and a will mean a total lack of control by the individual.

Most folks believe that their existing records will just be put into electronic format. Not so ...

Certain information will be mandatory - part of the electronic records whether you want it there or not. There will be electronic check lists, detailing private information that MUST be included in the records for all of us.

It came to light this week that this mandatory information will include a Body Mass Index (BMI) - a measurement that arbitrarily tells anyone who looks at it whether you are considered 'obese' or not. So, the Feds will know whether you are fat or not. You will not have a choice as to whether your record contains this information.

Patient records will not be private like they are now. Any agency or anyone with a 'need to know' will have access to your records. Federal programs will be able to data mine records to find out anything they want to about you personally, groups of people, or the population as a whole. A research institution 1500 miles away that does not know you can get to and use your patient information if they can show a 'valid reason' to the government. If you end up under a government provided insurance program (as we all will, eventually), the government will have every shred of information about your health at their fingertips. You have no control - you cannot opt out, and you will not be told if it is happening.

This is part of the government running healthcare - they will have all of your records. They will be able to look at everything while they are making a decision as to what treatment you will receive, if any. They will be able to look at your records and decide what insurance coverage you can obtain, and how much it will cost. Your records will be used by the Federal Government to tell your doctor what you may and may not receive in the way of care.

What happens if an error gets into your patient record? You are screwed, and that's a fact.

In addition, the wealth of personal information to be included in these records will make it THE target for hacking and theft. Identity theft will be rampant - the Federal Government is not exactly known for keeping electronic data safe.

George Orwell and 1984 - he missed his prediction by 26 years .....

Racism Double Standard - A Bit Different

I don't know how much national attention this has gotten, but locally, it's been big.

The University of Texas (UT) in Austin stripped the name of a prominent law professor from a 55 year old building on campus. Simkins Hall was named after William Stewart Simkins, who taught at the UT Law School from 1899 to 1929. The building was build in 1954, and named after Simkins at that point.

The building has been renamed Creekside Residence Hall. Workers were photographed sawing down "Simkins Hall' signs - signs that had graffitti sprayed on them.

The rushed manner of this renaming was due to internet research that determined that Professor Simkins had been a member of the KKK. He was an unabashed racist, and did not try to hide it. Of course, back in his day, being a member of the KKK did not carry the stigma it has in the last 40 years.

Now, I don't have any problem with this. Simkins has been proven to be a racist. It is a shame that his name graced this building in a place of honor for 55 years. Good ridance.

My problem is the double standard shown in how Simkins' name has been treated in relation to how Senator Robert Byrd's name was treated (before and after his death).

Robert Byrd (D-WV) was the longest serving member in the Senate at the time of his death. He was widely hailed as a learned, cerebral Senator. The NAACP heavily endorsed Byrd, even though he voted against the Civil Rights act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Byrd was an acknowledged member of the KKK, eventually gaining the top office of his local chapter (The Grand Cyclops).

Robert Byrd wrote to MS Senator Theodore Bilbo in 1944:

"I shall never fight in the Armed Forces with Negro at my side... Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise gain, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels , a throwback to the blackest specimin from the wilds."

My God, how disgusting is that? I don't care if he wrote it a half century before, it still is disgusting. If Byrd was a Republican, do you think he'd be forgiven those words?

According to a Wiki search, Robert Byrd has at least the following named in his honor:

31 academic, research, or technology facilites
4 commerce and community centers
4 government buildings
2 hospitals
3 recreational facilities
11 transportation related facilities/projects

In addition, there are at least 11 facilities carrying his wife's name.

My question is - why is Byrd's name not being stripped off of all of these facilities in disgrace?


I acknowledge the fact that Simkins was apparently a devout racist until the day he died. Robert Byrd publicly apologized and distanced himself from his racist past. But can he be forgiven to the point of being such a reverred figure? In my mind, the answer is no.

Legalize Marijuana?

I've heard a couple of references to this over the past couple of days, thought I'd throw in my perspective ...

The State of California is preparing to vote on Prop. 19, the legalization of marijuana use.

They've already passed laws making it very easy to produce and dispense marijuana for 'medicinal' purposes. What a joke. Any pothead that wants to get some can get a sympathetic 'doctor' to write them a presecription - the California NORML organization even has a directory of doctors who will fill this 'need'. In all of the video and pictures I have seen of 'medical' marijuana operations and use in California, I have never seen anyone who looks remotely like a patient. Every single one of them is a refugee from a Cheech and Chong movie.

Potheads still claim that pot has medicinal purposes. That's a stretch - the only thing it can do is dull the senses and help relieve some pain. I recognize that is a legitimate use of the weed. However, the thousands of 'patients' in California don't all have terminal cancer. I would imagine that about 95% of all the prescriptions written out there have no medical basis whatsoever.

The whole left coast is on track to legalize the stuff. Once that happens, it will start moving eastward.

I have a question.

Smoking cigarrettes has been deemed to be an evil health risk. Tobacco has been demonized (rightfully so) to the point where tobacco use is rally shrinking. The Federal Government long ago deemed tobacco to be a public health risk, and has enforced many regulations and taxes on it, trying to make it go away. I hate cigarettes and tobacco. It took my father from me, and will take my mother from me in the near future.

Smoking marijuana is worse for the health than tobacco. Anyone who has smoked a joint knows how badly it affects the lungs. Why isn't the Federal Government attacking marijuana on this basis? All the people in California who think cigarettes are bad for you and should be banned - why in the hell do you think marijuana is any better?

Update - So now, the fighting has come out front and center between the potheads and the 'corporates' and 'feds' who want to control and tax legal weed.

Oakland's City Council is looking at awarding 4 licenses to pot growing factories to be located within Oakland. Each license is to cost $211,000 in annual licensing fees, and hand over 8% of their revenue as tax to the City. These are wholesalers - the indivudual retail outlets that sell the weed would also pay fees and taxes. The City is expecting to receive over $3,000,000 from the sale of pot within its city limits. Anyone growing pot other than the 4 factories will be subject to arrest and fine. So, the potheads who are growing weed in 3 rooms of their 4 room house are going to be put out of business. Not exactly what they expected, is it? By the way, how many seriously ill patients must there be in Oakland to support 4 large scale factories' worth of production? Medical use only ... right ...

The City of Berkely adopted measures to tax pot growing facilities, mandate free pot to low income users, employ organic only growing procedures, and force the purchase of 'carbon offsets' for the large amount of electricity that pot growers use.

The City of Long Beach is going to require any 'medical' marijuana dispensary in its city limits to use only pot that was grown within the city limits. They aren't trying to reduce the amount of marijuana sold - no, they want to reduce the amount of non-Long Beach grown marijuana sold. By the way - Long Beach has more than 90 medical marijuana dispensaries operating currently. That's a whole lot of seriously sick people in a city whose population is under a half million folks. Good grief, 3/4 of their residents must be in the hospital dying ...

How could there be any doubt in one's mind as to why California is the most F***ed up state in America?

An Example of Government Run Healthcare

Amnesty International released a report today detailing the horrific condition of North Korea's health care system. The report is shocking, and details outrages such as amputations without anesthesia.

How about that for a shining example of government controlled health care?

The Grim Reaper (IRS) Approaches ...

As part of his tax cut package, President Bush cut the Death Tax way back. Otherwise known as an estate tax, the elimination of this tax allowed folks to keep much more of their inheritance during this past decade. Family owned businesses stayed in the family, rather than being liquidated to satisfy the government's thirst for money.

The Death Tax has always been an evil creation of the government. For the Feds to come in and tell you that they own a percentage of your inheritance is just plain wrong. In almost all cases, what they are taxing has already been subject to taxation, in some cases several times over.

The far left wants the Death Tax back - they love the revenue it brings in, and they love the fact it punishes the 'rich' - another form of the redistribution of wealth that they are so fond of.

The Bush tax cuts expire at the end of this year, unless Congress reinstates them. If nothing is done, the Death Tax will come back, and revert to its pre-Bush tax cut levels. In other words, folks who inherit substantial estates will lose 55% of the estate to the Federal Government.

Democrats love this - they don't have to do anything and this tax increase will happen. They'll say 'Oh, we didn't do it ...'.

Republicans, and some moderate Democrats are trying to get this addressed in Congress, but they are being stonewalled by Reid and Pelosi. All the Democrat leadership has to do is delay any effort to reinstate the cuts, and they succeed.

Two examples I heard today really brought this into focus.

First, a family owned lumber mill in Alabama, worth $50,000,000. When the elderly owner dies, his sons, will have to pay the Federal Government $27,500,000 in cash in order to keep their business. If they don't sell the business to pay the tax bill, the government will sieze the business and sell it, taking all of the proceeds. Approximately 500 people employed by the business will lose their jobs.

Second, Yankee Owner George Steinbrenner. If he had died on Jan. 1 of 2011, his heirs would have had to sell off the Yankee franchise in order to pay the Feds their cut.

Who in the hell could ever think that either of these situations is fair? Answer - far left Democrats, those running our government, who want this to happen.

Goodbye, Mr. Bond ...

It appears that money is going to do what Dr. No, Blofeld, Goldfinger, Number 1, and a whole host of other baddies couldn't ... kill off James Bond.

The 23rd Bond Film was in pre-production when the producers pulled the plug. MGM, the studio that has footed the bills for the Bond films, is broke, and facing bankruptcy. The producers didn't want to get into the middle of the film and have to shut down. "License to Thrill" has either been cancelled or postponed, depending upon what internet site you look at.

The uncertainty means that it is not a given that Daniel Craig will be back as 007. There are already rumors floating around that the producers are lining up the 'next' Bond - names run the range from folks that have never been heard of to Will Smith (yes, a black, American James Bond ... WTF?). I hope this is not true - Craig is the closet to Ian Fleming's book character since Connery.

My favorite Bonds, for no particular reason;

1) Sean Connery, no doubt about it

2) Daniel Craig

3) Roger Moore

4) Pierce Brosnan

5) Timothy Dalton

23) George Lazenby

You know, I hate to put any politics in this, but it really wouldn't surprise me if Obama tried to get himself cast as Bond .....

Obama's DoJ AWOL Again - Part II

Meet self named King Shamir Shabazz. This is the leader of the New Black Panthers in Philadelphia. This is the man who was caught on camera trying to intimidate white voters during the 2008 election. This is the man Eric Holder decided not to prosecute for the intimidation, when the case was a slam dunk guilty verdict. This is the man who continues to spit out the most vile racist hatred you've ever heard.

If this man were white ... and if he was spitting out this vile hate speech over and over ... and if he was trying to incite violence based soley upon race ... Obama, Holder, the Congressional Black Caucus, and every other Democrat worth his title would be front and center on TV demanding his arrest, conviction, and immediate incarceration. Obama himself would be leading the charge - as he has done so in the past. But Shabazz is black, and we hear nothing ....

So, why is King Shabazz still walking the streets? Why isn't he in a Federal Pen serving time for voter intimidation? Why aren't Obama and Holder publicly, loudly denouncing him? Why isn't he in court facing charges of hate speech, and inciting violence?

You know the answer ... people spitting out this hate are being encouraged by the Obama Administration's refusal to denounce and/or prosecute them. By his inaction, Obama is endorsing their statements - whether he wants to or not. Now, to be clear - I don't expect Barack Obama to say these things - but I do expect the President of the United States and his Department of Justice to prosecute clear violations of the law, no matter what the race of the offender.

There are people out there, unfortunately, of all races and religions who are just as vile, just as evil as Shabazz. They should all be treated equally. No one should be allowed to do this. Federal Laws prohibit this. I don't care if you are white, black, purple, green, whatever ... The fact that he has apparently got a pass because of his skin color is just as heinous an example of racism as the man's speech itself.

Obama's DoJ - AWOL Again

So, while Eric Holder dreams up more phantom charges to sue Arizona over, we have a real Federal crime that's been known, and now proven, and continues to be ignored.

We all knew that the Democrat vote machine created enough votes to get Al Franken into the Senate. However, thanks to the Minnesota Majority, a conservative group, we now have proof. A thorough canvasing of Minnesota voter roles turned up that 341 convicted felons, who cannot legally vote, turned in votes for Franken, primarily in the mainly Democrat controlled area of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Those votes were counted as legal.

Franken was awarded the Senate seat by a margin of 312 votes.

This is voter fraud on a major scale. It is grounds to remove Franken from the seat and put Norm Coleman in it - where he belongs. This is a Federal crime.

I guarantee that if this had been reversed, if Franken had lost to Coleman under the exact same circumstances, Eric Holder, Obama, the DoJ, and every Democrat in Congress would be shouting bloody murder. The DoJ would have armies of invesigators, subpoenas, warrants, and press conferences in motion. All of the mainstream media would be up in arms, calling for justice to be served and Franekn seated.

But, what we hear is silence. If anyone in theWH press pool bothers to ask about it, Robert Gibbs (the best Presidential spokesman ever - just ask him) would just shrug it off as something that doesn't matter, just another attempt by Republicans to illegaly stall Obama's glorious agenda.

Someone in Minnesota needs to file suit to have Franken's election overturned due to voter fraud, and lets get it fast tracked to the Supreme Court. Waiting for Eric Holder to do anything about it is futile.

Photo credit AP

Donald Berwick - The End Of Medicare?

It has become crystal clear why Obama used a backhanded recess appointment for Donald Berwick. Donald is Obama's choice to head Medicare/Medicaid, a post that has been vacant since 2006. This man would have faced his own words over and over if he had actually faced a Senate confirmation hearing.

Donald is a big believer in Socialized medicine. He has been singing its praises, along with criticizing the United States, capitalism, free markets, and earned income to anyone who would listen over the years. He actually has been recorded saying that redistribution of wealth is necessary for success. He has stated on the record multiple times that he believes in rationing healthcare, and the right of the government to decide who gets what treatments.

If these statements had become public during his confirmation hearings, not a single Republican would have voted for his confirmation, and a good amount of Democrats would have shied away from him as well.

Why is this important? Medicare and Medicaid are going to become the most important pieces of healthcare in the United States under Obamacare. The two programs are supposed to insure 30 million more people, while seeing their income slashed in order to make Obamacare 'deficit neutral' (which is an outright lie, by the way). This man will be in the most powerful position in Obamacare - the guy who decides how much money is spent on who, who is covered, how they are covered, what treatment is rationed, etc.

If you were scared of 'death panels' under Obamacare - this is the guy who actually thinks such panels are a good idea.





Update - the recordings and writings of Dr. Berwick that have come to light since his back room coronation have confirmed my fears, and lay out a clear indication of how this man will rule. And make no mistake - he will rule. He will be the King of Obamacare. He, and those he hires, will decide who gets healthcare, how much healthcare, who provides the healthcare, and how much is paid for the healthcare. This man is on record time and time again saying he believes that healthcare has to be rationed; that decisions about healthcare can only be made by the government - not the individual and not the doctor. This is frightening. Everyone in the healthcare industry in this country should be scared out of their wits - this man wants to tell you what kind of medicine you will practice, where you will practice it, and what you will provide to your patients.

Every citizen of this country is going to be impacted by this man. He will have more say in your lives than anyone short of Obama himself.

Now, I admire Dr. Berwick for one thing. He has not tried to hide any of this. He is very forthcoming about what he believes and what he will do. He's not trying to hide anything.

What is truly disturbing is that Obama purposely avoided Senate confirmation hearings for this man, because he knew that Dr. Berwick would be candid under questioning. There is no way he would have been confirmed had his stances come out.

As a Presidential appointee, he can't be gotten rid of by anyone but the President. So, we are stuck with this man until January of 2013, at least. What can happen is for the next Congress, under Republican control, to enact legislation stripping his office of power somehow.

Something's got to be done. The worst predictions about Obamacare are going to come true, even though the Liar-In-Chief assured us we were just paranoid obstructionists.

Bad Spy, Bad Spy ...

Meet Anna Chapman, busted Russian Spy ....

So, the FBI catches 10 Russian sleeper spies. The Russians complain that they're not spies, they're just US citizens. Couple of days later, all 10 plead guilty, and are immediately whisked away to the airport for a US paid trip back to Russia. They are released with no punishment, supposedly in a spy swap deal with the Russians. WTF is going on?

If these people were guilty, they should have been in jail, and under interrogation for a long time. Prisoner swaps take a long time to work out. The four people coming to the US in exchange for these spies aren't even US citizens - they're Russian political prisoners. WTF?

Here's the deal. Obama wants this to go away quickly and quietly. He's been on his knees in front of Putin and Medvedev since before he took office. He is doing everything he can to be chummy with his Russian brothers - after all, they invented the type of Socialism/Communism that Obama dreams of forcing upon us. Obama in no way wants to embarass the Russians with any more news coverage than is absolutley necessary. This is why his spokesmen have been referring to this as an unimportant matter. This is why Obama could not allow these people to come to trial, or to allow them to make any public statements that would inflame the situation.

The four people coming to the US are inconsequential to what is going on. They were thrown in, probably by the Russians, to give some cover to help Obama get these ten out of the country as soon as possible. Obama's administration probably didn't even know the four existed.

These ten spies are on their way out of the country as we speak. I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me if they were in first class seats courtesy of the US Government.

This is just another bizarre case of Obama acting like Suckup-in-Chief trying to please our enemies (or not so good 'friends'), while insulting and endangering our allies. What an embarrassment this man is ...

I guess we should thank our lucky stars this didn't happen under Clinton. Ms. Chapman would have been an old lady before Slick Willy released her from his private interrogations ....

The Lebron Saga - I Don't Care

The hyped up drama of where Lebron James was going to sign as a free agent has, quite frankly, bored me to death. I don't care where this overrated ego-maniac ends up.

An hour long prime time special on ESPN just to announce where he is going to sign? You've got to be kidding. ESPN has certainly done all it can to build up the hype. The best part of the special was where they cut to footage of Cleveland fans burning James' jersey, and asking him to comment.

It was a very telling moment when James made the announcement - saying he was going to South Beach to play with Wade and Bosh. NOT Miami, NOT the Heat - but South Beach - high dollar party capital. That's the overriding factor. The team doesn't mean a damn thing. James kept involving his 'mama' as having approved of all of this - I'm pretty sure that mama would love to ditch Cleveland for a South Beach hi-rise condo.

It was widely reported a couple of months ago that James, Wade, and Bosh had met, and had multiple conversations about all of them ending up in Miami. The goal was to create a 'super team' that would win multiple titles, then they would split up and go to seperate teams. Supposedly, they were willing to take smaller salaries (smaller is a relative term) if the three of them could become a package - the rings were what they were after.

I almost feel sorry for the people of Cleveland, who thought this man was their property - their salvation. Guess what Clevelanders - you just got a taste of sports business reality.

If owners, coaches, or ANYONE associated with any NBA team had even remotely done something like this, the NBA would have jumped all over them. As it was, Mark Cuban, the owner of the Mavericks, was fined $100,000 by the NBA for mentioning the obvious - that his team would be interested in James. At least two others were fined by the NBA for like comments. The NBA calls it collusion, and tampering.

However, if the athletes do it, it is perfectly fine. They can get together and plot and plan all they want - they can say pretty much anything they want to, and the NBA is perfectly fine with that.

That's just wrong. The players can manipulate the teams and the NBA in any way they want to, while everyone else has a straight jacket on? That's Bullshit ....

As for King James and his 'dynasty' in Miami - I hope they fall flat on their faces. They should not be rewarded for this kind of manipulation. I think I won't have long to wait for that - there's only one ball ont he floor at a time, and three prima-donnas fighting for it won't build a champion, that's for sure.

All pretty disgusting ...

Update - NBA Commissioner David Stern fined the Cavs owner $100,000 today, for the angry letter he sent to Cavs fans after James' defection. The letter was pretty over the top, but the fine was uncalled for. I guess you just aren't allowed to criticize the 'golden' boys of the NBA - the guys who sell all the jerseys and sneakers.

Why isn't Stern fining James and Bosh and Wade for collusion and tampering?

It is nice, however, to see Stern fine someone other than Mark Cuban ...

Democrat FUBARs Of The Week

Obama and his minions have given us a lot of WTFs this past week or so. There are so many, I'm just going to highlight them:


1) Obama has directed the head of NASA to change the main focus of the organization. Now, NASA is tasked with making the Muslim world feel good by praising their incredible, critical contribution to space exploration. So, in less than a year, Obama has stripped NASA of its primary mission, made it a slave to the Global Warming scam, and now an appeaser to the Muslim world. Two questions. First, does NASA report to the President, or Congress? Who does it take direction from, who controls its budget? Second, if there wasn't enough money for NASA to do its primary job, why is there enough money for it to do someone else's jobs?

Congress ought to be blowing a gasket over this. Charles Bolden, head of NASA, ought to be screaming at the top of his lungs, and resigning in protest. (His background would indicate that he would do the honorable thing.) Instead, Bolden has become an Obama koolaid drinking lap dog.

I truly feel sorry for the thousands of folks who have worked for NASA. To lose your mission, to lose your job, to lose you life's work because of the lunatic ravings of Obama has got to be painful. To see him make a joke out of the Agency has just got to make them sick ...


2) Joe Biden, proclaiming to the world during his summer tour of Iraq and Afghanistan that Obama's policies won the war in Iraq. Of all the ignorant, self centered, sickening, arrogant statements this fool has made over the years, this might be the worst. I think God was trying to get him when he spoke that crap, by directing rocket attacks against the Green Zone while Biden was there.


3) Obama's DoJ, for filing suit against Arizona over the immigration flap. I welcome this suit, which I figure will be fasttracked to the Supreme Court. Any ruling made in a lower court will be meaningless. Eric Holder's filing actually is good in one respect. It narrows the scope of the argument to whether Arizona can usurp Federal law. The suit claims that only the Federal government can make any law regarding immigration or border enforcement, that Arizona has no authority under the Constitution to pass their law. There are no mentions of racism or rights violations in the suit - mainly because there haven't been any, since the law is not in force yet.

The Supreme Court, I predict, will vote 5-4, straight down Conservative/Liberal lines, in favor of Arizona. I may be surprised, however. If they do what they are supposed to, they will rule strictly on the Consitutional issue - Federal vs. States Rights.


4) Obama's DoJ, again. Remember those Black Panthers who were filmed intimidating voters during the 2008 election? Remember Holder ordering the dropping of charges against the two? Someone who was on the inside has come forth and states that there was pressure from Holder himself to drop the cases, because the defendants were black and the 'victims' were white. Racial politics, in other words, played out at the highest levels in the land. Most everyone with half a brain presumed this was what had happened - now someone who was involved has given sworn testimony that it did indeed happen. That's a felony - and anyone involved should be removed from their position and prosecuted, including Holder, if it goes that high.


5) Bill Clinton, who during services for Robert Byrd, tried to make excuses for Byrd's considerable involvement with the KKK. Clinton said he just did it so he could win election. Yeah ... well, even if that is true, that makes it right? Imagine the firestorm if President Bush had said something like this about a recently passed Republican Senator - my God, there would be calls from the left for his lynching! (Of course that can't happen, since no Republican Senator was a Grand Cyclops in the KKK).


6) Obama has decided to bypass the Senate and appoint Donald Berwick to oversee Medicare and Medicaid. Under all accepted procedures, this position requires confirmation of the Senate, as do most appointments. Berwick has been criticized by GOP for his love of the British socialist healthcare system, and would certainly be questioned at length about it. Because he loves Obamacare, and Obama doesn't want to risk the GOP and a few Democrats blocking the appointment, Obama is pulling an end run. Berwick was nominated back in April, to fill a post that had been vacant for 4 years. Obama has carefully waited until Congress was out of town for the July 4 holiday to pull this fast one.


You know, you couldn't write a script filled with this many idiotic ego-maniacs. I can't think of a single author who could conjur up a cast that would rival this bunch of stupid morons.