You're Making Me Sick!

Bloomberg.com reports on the various medical reforms hidden in the Stimulus Bill, which seem to be going completely unnoticed by both sides of Congress:

Hiding health legislation in a stimulus bill is intentional. Daschle supported the Clinton administration’s health-care overhaul in 1994, and attributed its failure to debate and delay. A year ago, Daschle wrote that the next president should act quickly before critics mount an opposition. “If that means attaching a health-care plan to the federal budget, so be it,” he said. “The issue is too important to be stalled by Senate protocol.”

President Obama can warn of national apocalypse until he's blue in the face. Senate protocol is there to protect us from idiotic moves such as this. We're being given a trojan horse, and it's not all chocolates and daisies inside. We're being force-fed worms fried in dung-sauce, told its for our own good, and forced to vote for it quickly before anyone can really understand what's in there.

The president who promised us unparalleled transparency is throwing a thick cloak over everything he's doing, and it's going to cost us all very, very dearly.

Read the whole thing. If it doesn't make you sick, then you'd better hope you never get sick after it passes.

More Publicity, Please!

I followed a link from Instapundit this morning to an article in the DC Examiner about a House Democrat with a much cheaper and more targeted alternative to the POR (Pelosi-Obama-Reid) stimulus bill:

His START plan is a $170 billion “bare bones” pure stimulus approach that would put $100 billion immediately into the pockets of low- and middle-income Americans, then use the other $70 billion for basic infrastructure projects that create jobs. START requires that all funds not spent by 2010 be returned to the Treasury. START also stops stimulus spending when the nation’s Gross Domestic Product increases in two of three previous quarters, and all START payments are required to be posted on a public website.

Who is behind this revolutionary approach? Walt Minnick, the brand-spankin'-new representative from Idaho.

I had the opportunity to vote for Minnick. I listened to him talk in the debates and thought his ideas sounded good, while his GOP opponent rubbed me the wrong way. But he's a Democrat, and the last thing I wanted was more Democrats in Washington. I couldn't see him standing up to Pelosi.

I'm becoming a believer. He was one of the few Democrats who voted against the stimulus bill. And now he's prepping a much better backup plan. Keep it up, Walt, and I'll vote for you next time!

Beautiful Words

"We'd like to bring you in for an interview."

It's not until Friday, and chances are I'm over-qualified, but it's sure nice to make it this far. A little positive reinforcement goes a long way.

Lincoln With Waffles In His Hat

I had an odd dream this morning. I was back working at the department store I worked for during college, only nothing and no one looked familiar. No biggie. We then went outside for an employee picnic and before long got a softball game going. When it was my turn at bat I realized that the pitcher was Joe Biden.

And he was a lousy pitcher. No aim whatsoever. Everything (to me, at least) was more like he was lobbing artillery shells at nothing in particular. In hindsight he may have been trying to walk me (not sure why, since I stink), but I was having none of that. I kept trying to chase the pitch down to hit it, and before long struck out.

So there you go. I was struck out by the Vice President of the United States. Make of it what you will.

You Still Need to Ask?

Jennifer Rubin at Pajamas Media asks "Have They No Shame?"
A lesser-noticed development in Washington lately is that Obama has moved jurisdiction over the 2010 Census under the White House instead of the Commerce Department.

I can't think of a good reason for that. Can you? Neither can Rubin:

Had this stunt been attempted during the Bush years one certainly would have heard a hue and cry from good government groups, the media, and academics. We no doubt would have heard a chorus of opposition: “The professional public servants are being shunted aside!” And from those so aghast about attempts to suppress or manipulate voting, we would have expected the shrieks: “This is an attempt to politicize the census and stack the deck for reapportionment!” It is not hard to imagine the reaction if the Bush White House had suggested that a supposedly unbiased statistical undertaking should be directed by, say, Karl Rove.

More Support For "Do Nothing"

(hat tip: Gateway Pundit)
The Congressional Budget Office predicts the recession will end in 2009 even without the stimulus. Actually, they're even predicting the stimulus will hurt rather than help.

So hurry up folks! Let's pass that bill soon so we can take the credit for something that would have happened anyway--unless of course the bill destroys any hope for that predicted rebound...

National Security Council Expanded

Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post has the details:

President Obama plans to order a sweeping overhaul of the National Security Council, expanding its membership and increasing its authority to set strategy across a wide spectrum of international and domestic issues.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Too soon to tell. It's a known maxim in business that "to err is human, but to really screw things up requires a committee". All I know for sure is that if this were Bush making this change there would be all sorts of protests.

Pres. Obama - Insurance Salesman

MSNBC.com is running the following lead paragraph today:

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama takes to the road this week to promote his plans for reinvigorating the economy.

Except it's not his plan. Pelosi and Reid wrote the thing, remember? So why does Obama have to work so hard to sell their plan?

I think Pelosi and Reid see Obama as a useful fall-guy. If their plan is defeated, or if it doesn't work, it'll have Obama's name and fingerprints all over it, so it'll be his poltical neck.

What gets me is that Obama is not stupid. Why is he sinking so much political capital into this?

My guess is that the Democrats--and perhaps the Republicans, too--see this issue as the battle. If the Dems win it the Republicans may be forced to roll over and sit things out for awhile. If the Republicans win it they're suddenly a party to be reckoned with again, and their minorities in Congress become less symbolic.

Both sides realize the importance of this issue. Still, it bothers me to see Obama taking the role of foot-soldier instead of general. It would be different if it were his plan, but it's not. If he's not careful he could become a lame duck before he completes his first month in office.

UPDATE:

Toby Harnden of the Telegraph has an interesting take:

After a distinctly rocky start to his presidency, he has admitted he "screwed up" and is returning to one thing in his political career that he has perfected – campaigning.
...
Already, however, he is struggling, and the product he is now selling is not himself but a near-trillion-dollar economic "stimulus" package loaded with pet Democratic spending projects that has awakened slumbering Republicans in Congress and is now supported by barely a third of Americans. In between the Indiana and Florida stops, he will return to the White House for a prime-time press conference in which he will appeal directly to citizens and seek to rekindle the magic of his campaign.

Read the whole thing for additional insight on Obama's presidency and the Stimulus Bill.

No Bleeding, No Leading

Michael Totten goes to Sderot, Israel and reminds us why Israel's response to the Gaza rocket attacks was disproportionate:

Living under Qassam and Grad rocket attack doesn't sound like much fun, but it's worse than the low body count makes it seem. Thousands of rockets have fallen on Sderot. And every rocket launched at the city triggers an air raid alert. Everyone within ear shot has fifteen seconds to run into a shelter.

Imagine sprinting for cover 5,000 times.
...
“The small number of physical casualties is not because their weapons aren't working,” he said. “The small number is because the population understands the protection guidelines. They know that they have fifteen seconds to find shelter.”
(Major Chezy Deutsch, IDF)

So the reason why the Israeli death toll was so low is not because Hamas can't hit the broad side of a barn, or they weren't trying that hard. It's just that the Israelis are very good at hiding.

Read the entire article for a reality check on what Israelis are up against. If Americans were going through this we'd be demanding Obama pull out the nukes. Yet the world expects Israelis to sit down, shut up, and take it.

Dogma Dogma Dog ma' Dog is Brown

The debate over god and religion is currently being waged on the sides of busses in London.

It started with an atheist campaign in which a sign on the sides of busses proclaimed "There's probably no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."

Several religious groups and churches have responded with upcoming ads of their own:

"There definitely is a God. So join the Christian Party and enjoy your life."
...or...
"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God."
...or...
"There is a God, believe. Don't worry and enjoy your life."

What is most interesting, however, is the response from the head of the organization sponsoring the atheistic ads.

Hanne Stinson, chief executive of the British Humanist Society, said the society supported the right of religious groups to post their messages but said the advertisements were "dogmatic and declaratory, leaving no room for reason and debate."

"Our ads were undogmatic and funny, with the addition of the 'probably' in line with the continuing openness of humanists to new evidence," she said in a statement on the British Humanist Association Web site.

She misses the point--and her own hypocrisy. There were two prongs to the atheist's attack. The first prong, contrary to what she says, is only less dogmatic (to be truly "open" they might have said "there may be no god", whereas "probably" implies a statistical weighting that does not exist). While some religous persons might still get upset at this declaration, most would just shake their heads and move on. I'm sure most relgious people have entertained at least once the thought that there may not be a God.

No, it's the second prong that is likely to elicit objection, and is dogmatic and declaratory. It's the strong implication that religious people A) are unduly worried because of their belief in God, and B) do not enjoy their life as a result. Conversely implied is that atheists are not worried and do enjoy life. They don't seem to be leaving the door open for reason or debate on what causes this worry, even though the current economic climate, for one, seems every bit as likely a candidate.

Furthermore, what exactly is funny about calling a group of people fussy and depressed? It's only funny for people who agree with you. So the British Humanist Society ads are divisive, dogmatic, discourage reason and debate, and are intentionally insulting. Hence I also have reason to doubt Stinson's "openness...to new evidence" based on the dogmatism of her own statements.

In short, Stinson's belief seems to be "We are open-minded and clever. They are depressed, close-minded, and daft. End of discussion." She's a true humanitarian--in the culinary sense.

Now if open, respectful debate were the goal, I'd have kept the whole debate off of busses. Such advertising--on both sides--does not provide a forum for discussion. It thrusts inflammatory statements in front of people while giving them no means to respond. Other than buying an ad of their own, anyway, which excludes the average person lacking the $22,000 to splurge on legalized graffiti. This is bound to leave most people with any strong beliefs to the contrary feeling publicly attacked and helpless to respond. Neither of which is likely to endear them to one's cause or convince them to listen to you.

The BHS fired the first salvo. Stinson can defend the message of the ad all she wants, but she purposely or ignorantly fails to mention or defend the reason for the ad in the first place. What exactly were they hoping to accomplish? Funny or not, if I were to buy a bus ad that stated "People who wear red are probably covering for their own insecurity", I should not be surprised if people who like red get upset with me and ascribe uncharitable motives to my actions.

No, such unprovoked and insulting attacks (for that really is what it is) are little more than bully tactics: build camaradarie with the presumed majority who agree with you by putting down the presumed minority who do not. It is reinforcing unfair and unsubstantiated stereotypes in an attempt to establish them as truth by repetition.

So let's call a spade a spade, Stinson. You attacked a group in an attempt to demean and cow them. Your gracious support of their right to respond is both unnecessary and irrelevant. Your conceding them a right they already possess does not give you the high ground. That is only an attempt to both confirm your self-righteousness and deflect the issue.

What's more, you couldn't even support their right to a response without taking another potshot and implying that A) you won, and B) you're still right and better than they are. Why are you so insecure in your position? If you were at all secure you wouldn't have needed to buy the ads in the first place, let alone fell a need to defend them.

Unfortunately, Stinson saw, in her insecurity, a wrong that must be righted. Oh dear, oh dear! People are sad and uptight! It must be because of their belief in a god! I must save them from themselves! Quick! To the bus company! We shall win them over with a clever and carefully worded ad! Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't that make Stinson the one who needs to stop worrying and just enjoy her life?

Would it have been so wrong to have the ad simply read "Don't worry! Enjoy your life while you have time!"? Leave it up to the reader to decide what it is they really shouldn't be worrying so much about. I fail to see how that would have made the ad less effective, unless it truly was meant as an attack.

And if it was meant as an attack, that doesn't speak well for humanists. We've got enough to worry about without dragging religion into it and turning us against one another. Or is she just trying to prove that humanism can be just as devisive as religion is reported to be? If so, who needs it? To quote from Star Trek, "We need no encouragement to hate humans!"

Au contraire, my dear Stinson.

Insurance Salesman Salesmen

Just how many insurance companies are there in America? I'll tell you in a few more days. Ever since I refreshed my profiles on the job sites I've been getting an endless stream of emails and phone calls from people who have--supposedly--read my resume and are convinced I have everything it takes to be a successful insurance salesman.

They must be referring to my other, super-secret resume--so secret I don't even know about it.

I'm in IT, for crying out loud! Name me one aspect of IT that would tell any reasonable person I've got great potential in sales? Aren't IT people supposed to be geeks and nerds who got into the field because we wouldn't have to interact with people that much?

Each of these job sites have "premium upgrades" you can pay for to enhance your visibility. How about a premium upgrade to make your profile invisible to insurance companies? I'd be sorely tempted to pay up.

I'm tempted to call one of these people and ask them "Just what was it on my resume that caught your attention." Anyone want to bet me they've never even read it? Their emails are always very complimentary, but always lacking in specifics. And invariably they ask me to send them a resume. They could get my resume from the job site if they really wanted it.

**Sigh** I hate job hunting.

We Have Nothing To Fear But Fear Itself

Fear sells. We all know that. Salesmen especially. I've had salesman after salesman, selling vitamins to vacuums, use fear to peddle their product. Our environment is poisonous, and our food is losing its nutrition value. We need super-vitamins to survive. There are dustmites everywhere, and they'll kill you! Buy our vacuums. When people don't already have a need for something, create that need. Fear sells.

So what do you do if you're the candidate of hope and you've got a major expenditure to sell? Drop the hope, pump up the fear:

"A failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe."
-- President Obama, Feb. 4.

Catastrophe, mind you. So much for the president who in his inaugural address two weeks earlier declared "we have chosen hope over fear." Until, that is, you need fear to pass a bill. (Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post)

The lead story on MSNBC.com today is jobs: Worst Job Loss Since '74. Meanwhile the Dow is up 174 points. Wall Street has taken a nasty beating, so I don't know why they would be unduly optimistic at this point. But if you look over the last six months you'll see the markets have largely flattened out. We're bouncing around between 8000 and 9000. We've spent about four months in that range now. This would seem to suggest a bottom.

In short, things may be poised to start getting better. So act now, before the Democrats lose this golden opportunity! Pay no attention to the good news coming in. Things are BAD! Trust us on this! We're the politicians that, through our economic ineptitude, brought you this recession in the first place! We KNOW what we're talking about (this time)!

I've said it before. Now could very well be the time for our leaders to boldly stand up and do nothing!

I Can't Afford To Take That Job

Here's an angle on the economy I hadn't considered: Because of the housing bubble, people can't afford to move to where the work is.

More than one hundred thousand Americans have just lost their jobs. According to psychologists who study happiness, that is the most miserable experience many people will ever endure. Getting back to work is the best medicine. For thousands of workers and their families, getting back to work means packing up and heading to a new gig in a new town. But many will find it difficult even to consider a move. Because it's tough to sell a house you could never really afford in a town now bleeding jobs.

Patriotism Vs. Business

It's easy to be hard on companies who accept bailout money and still continue their lavish ways.

However, correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't there a bunch of other banks who were asked to accept bailout funds even though they didn't want them, just to help with a) protecting the anonimity of some of the other banks, and b) to stimulate the economy?

So if you're one of these banks that took money they didn't need, and now you're being told you have to abide by certain rules, including some that didn't exist when you accepted it, doesn't this actually interfere with their successful operation?

In other words, no good deed goes unpunished. This should make anyone else who wants to be helpful in the future think twice.

UPDATE: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon criticizes the restrictions and makes a few good points:

“Pay got a little exuberant, and there were some legitimate complaints,” Dimon said. “But I don’t think the president of the United States should paint everyone with the same brush.”

New York-based JPMorgan, the second-largest U.S. bank, doesn’t have so-called golden parachutes or retirement packages, and all top executives must retain 75 percent of their stock- based compensation, Dimon said.

This is essentially government micromanaging businesses. Yes, there needs to be some concession from bailed-out institutions, but I don't think the Federal Government is a good candidate to determine how business should be run. After all, this is the group that has posted losses that make the banking sector look successful by comparison. And whose top officials don't feel obligated to pay taxes.

Good News? Maybe.

Daschle feels the heat, gets out of the kitchen. I'm still waiting for Geithner and Rangel. I'm not holding my breath.

And frankly I'd feel a bit better about all of this if it was Mr. "I will change the way Washington does business" Obama calling for their withdrawal. But no, he fully supports them. It's up to THEIR consciences to get the better of them. But I guess what likely got to Daschle was Nancy Killefer's withdrawal over a mere $1000 tax lien. His sin was 128 times that.

Republicans in the Senate at least managed to block $25 billion in more spending being added to the Stimulus, though I note the total has somehow grown to $885 billion. And this would be more comforting if Minority Leader McConnell hadn't pledged to make sure the bill passes in the end.

Audit Them All!

I'm not the only one upset by all the tax cheats in the administration. A comment on Instapundit is calling for a moratorium on audits for the middle-class for a year. Others are calling for an audit of all public officials.

That's a great idea! Just Geithner and Daschle owed more in taxes than I make in three years. You want to bolster the government coffers? Shake down the "public servants" who are obviously making boat-loads of money while dodging boat-loads of taxes.

Let's deploy our auditing assets where they can do the most good--and save a bundle on transportation costs!

Either that, or we launch a tax revolt. No taxation without reciprocation!

Show-me State

Megan McArdle addresses her commenters who claim it should be up to the opponents of the Stimulus to prove it won't work.

Her response:

Let's recall that the evidence for this kind of stimulus working in this kind of situation basically rests on a single instance (World War II)--the other two times it was tried (Japan in the 1990s and America in the 1930s) the economy basically rolled along in the doldrums for the rest of the decade.

Proponents say that that's because there wasn't enough stimulus, which is possibly true, but not really satisfying, because first, how do we know this package is enough, and second, that leaves us with a belief in the virtues of stimulus that is essentially non-falsifiable. We might as well move macroeconomic policy to the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives.

Amen, Sister!

As I keep saying, this isn't about Stimulus, it's about "Getting Our Way--Finally!" It's not a recession to these guys. It's Christmas!

The Senate was supposed to inject some sanity into the bill. Instead they're injecting more spending. At this rate our only hope is that they get this thing passed and signed before it gets any bigger.

I applied for a job with a government contractor yesterday. I hope I get it, as the government seems to be the one industry that is NOT cutting back.

Draining [Into] the swamp of Gov't Corruption

Weren't the Democrats going to clean up Washington? Oh, they're setting the bar on ethics, all right. As low as they can get it.

RepublicanAmerican has a round-up of "honest mistakes" from the Democrats that would get you or me sent to prison, but gets them cabinet posts and senate seats.

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Rules!

As mentioned before I will be laid off from my job in two months, so I've been doing a lot of thinking about how to further my career. And then it hit me--the one critical thing I can do to improve my marketability:

Don't pay my taxes.

It would be the first step in a glorious political career. Then I can join Geithner, Daschle, Rangel, et al, in running the country and making rules for everyone else to follow.

Is there anyone left in Washington with any moral fiber?

You Won't Hear This Anywhere Else

Michael Totten has been in Israel lately, and reports on an interview with Palestinian journalist Khaled Abu Toameh, who offers a fresh, apolitical viewpoint on Israeli-Palestinian relations. Based on what he says, it sounds like the Bush Administration really screwed up in that area. Yes, Hamas is a terrorist organization, but he feels that when they won the election and we refused to accept them--and worked to undermine them by backing the corrupt Fatah movement--we showed ourselves as hypocrits and only bolstered Hamas' position.

Read the whole thing. It provides a lot of context we never hear about in the West because it doesn't "fit the narrative".

We need journalists like Michael Totten. I'm losing my job soon and had to cancel my subscription for now, but I'll promote him as much as I can in the mean time. If there is ever such a thing as the truth, you're more likely to learn it from Michael Totten than any mainstream media outlet.