Let's see if I have this right ... We are going to jail for not purchasing health insurance. But wait, isn't that debtor's prison? Unfair to the little guy, etc.?
But we don't even investigate jihadis in the Army who are emailing Al Qaeda, giving speeches about how infidels should be killed, arguing against American policies, etc. But wait, isn't that suicide?
Thanks again, you ignorant putzes.
38 comments:
This is just a backwards, inside-out society run by upside-down politicians.
It is amazing the damage that can be done is such a short time.
Who could have predicted that the American "liberal" tradition would end in the multiple idiocies and tyrannies of leftism?
I thought we'd come through the romantic fantasies of Obamaism okay, but maybe we have only one chance in 2010 to dump this gang of monsters. If we can't reverse it then, it will have to be done by any means necessary.
I think you summed it up nicely. The Democrats care about the little guy, but if he doesn't pay for the healthcare the government is providing him (whether he wants it or not), he will be dumped in prison. And it's s first for the Republic (if we can still call it that).
The Capitol Hill folks are not our friends. And an (R) after a name is not a tag of honor in and of itself either. There are a lot of "progressive Republicans" who are every bit as big a problem as the Democrats.
Could you point to the specific language that says we will go to jail if we don't buy insurance. I have been trying to find some basis in fact about this other than the manic yowlings coming from right wing blogs and obviously biased news sources.
If you are using as your source, the infamous chain email that is making the rounds, I would hope you weren't prone to getting sucked in by something emailed you by a buddy who got it from a buddy and then did not at least try to find out if what it stated resembled anything close to the truth.
So far all I have found is that you do not have it right. Not even close.
Just call me Mr. Macawber.
MRMacrum,
You can see a copy of a note signed by Tom Barthold confirming the jail penalty here: http://www.politico.com/livepulse/0909/Ensign_receives_handwritten_confirmation_.html
Click on the highlighted word, "This."
For more recent and more substantial documentation, look here:http://criticalnarrative.blogspot.com/2009/11/obamacare-obey-pay-or-maybe-go-to-jail.html
Read it and weep.
DC, and the news I just saw. Hasan had business cards describing himself as a Soldier of Allah.
Guess that Seals the Deal ! I'm personally going to skip looking for followups by the state run media's attempts to trivialize that.
Pathetic Just isn't a strong enough word. I'm on the word hunt.
Professor Gerald Treece-Dean; South Texas College of Law.
Dean Treece said, in an interview with Texas Senator Dan Patrick/ Talk Show Host; that the government will get away with PUTTING PEOPLE IN JAIL, for not buying an insurance Policy.
But some lawyers are filing Briefs, as to the Constitutionality of this Health Care Bill. A Violation of the 10th Amendment.
I don't know the reasoning as my radio went under power lines as he spoke on this.
But it will be up to Chief Justice Roberts and The Black Robe Gang, whether or not this will be HEARD!
I suspect the civil war will start when the first person is jailed.
The basic DemocRat voter is not interested in the "little guy". Instead, he is consumed with some narcissistic goal of feeling good... even at the cost of diminished liberty for all.
Excellent discussion all. Let's be heard in Nov. 2010 and resolve to never let the Demos have control again.
Quite Right, thanks for the Macrum slap-down. He needs that ... oh, about every day.
LL,
And an (R) after a name is not a tag of honor in and of itself either. Agreed. See Scozzywhat'shername. By the way, and (I) doesn't answer the mail, either. But making first point doesn't lead to your next:
"There are a lot of "progressive Republicans" who are every bit as big a problem as the Democrats."
Really? Remember when the Republicans put Marxists in the Cabinet, did not investigate terrorists in the Army and tried to take over 1/6 of the economy and throw people in jail for not buying insurance.
And oh, BTW, we now have our first terrorist attack since 9/11 ... and shock, it came on a Democrat's watch. Bush pursued jihadis worldwide. Obama makes excuses for them.
Over 80% of Demos voted for the Pelosi bill. One out of 189 Republicans voted for it. Parties are not the end-all-be-all certainly , but to say that Demos and Republicans are the same is an utterly inane argument that the liberals on CNN and MSNBC love for conservatives to make.
Admiral, the swiftness of their power grab is testimony to the years of preparation funded by their politivcal allies and the American taxpayer. It makes me sick.
I just hope there's something to salvage in 2012. 2010 should slow the degradation process a bit...
Excellent post. Succinct. A pleasure to read.
And as Rhod points out. This blog is about pleasure.
It's hard to know for sure, but I'm betting (if the Senate passes it) the jail time will be greater than what many convicted sex offenders get.
Quite Rightly - LOL! You are a funny guy/gal. All this hysteria over the 2.5% tax that does not specifically state jail, just the typical potential IRS penalties that apply to not paying taxes in the first place? How many people get jailed for tax evasion now days? Well, I am assuming you did not read the complete letter from Barthold to the Honorable Mr Camp. The last page gives a breakdown of the numbers of tax evasion cases that were handled in 2008. Of approximately 392,000 tax cases with some kind of penalties attached, only 666 resulted in convictions and then only 498 people ended up in jail.
But this is all moot as the specific wording states several outs from paying it. Enough loop holes exist any creative accountant could drive a truck through them. This tax only applies to incomes able to pay it and if I am not mistaken only after all the other taxes have been figured out.
But go ahead and feed on the hysteria or dish it our yourself. Whatever gets you through the day.
The monetary cosequences which can result from failure to buy insurance run up to $25,000...when you fail to pay that the penalty is up to one year in jail.
This is called cause and effect. Dismissing it is simple complacency or worse.
A free people worried about the presumptions of authoritarian government are not indulging in "hysteria" when they point out the continuum of penalty to punishment?
If you ignore the possibilities you don't deserve your liberty
And when Shomari Stone (from the Seattle ABC affiliate) asked the demented crone Pelosi about the possibility of jail time, she didn't deny it. She used the favorite word of idiot liberals, and said it was "fair".
The best case is that poison and venom have turned Pelosi's brain to swill, and she doesn't KNOW what's in the bill. But then, the spiteful witch probably wouldn't care if she did.
HOLY HELL MR MA-CRUMMY,
Have you been smoking a little too much of the ol pipe stuffed with peace love and harmony?
The arrogance which fills your post is astounding.
The rest of AMERICANS don't wish to live lives jumping through tax loopholes while betting that odds are in our favor!
You may think mass hysteria is abounding...
Your presumptuous tone smacks quite the TONE OF DENIAL, and again ARROGANCE that NOTHING will ever happen....
Fool
Succinctly put DC, but just the very tip of the iceberg. I suspect you could have elaborated paragraph after paragraph of the inconsistencies of this administration. They're morons, one and all!
Well DC, that's another few sentences of pure poetry. A Democratic mind is a great thing to waste.
Hoping, indeed ... it's what they call a "target-rich environment." But these two abominations juxtaposed gives us a good summary of the Obama-Demo mind.
Wood, you almost inspired me to haiku. I agree re: Demo minds, but that's assuming facts not in evidence.
@ Unclogged Blog - Arrogance? AMERICANS in capital letters as if that somehow emphasizes your blindered view of what real Muricans think and want. And then the play on my name - Ouch - that really hurts. What are you? Thirteen years old?
If you have something substantial to say, say it. Otherwise you just feed the stereotype.
@ Rhod - Yes of course it is noteworthy that penalties for non compiance exist. But to focus on the possible when this bill is ripe for criticism in more important ways dilutes the arguments coming from the Right.
I have no love affair with this bill. I do however feel something needs to happen. The staus quo is unacceptable. Our Healthcare system is wounded and needs help. And because the Right chose to pull up stakes and not be involved in the creation of this, you are now faced with what you are faced with. The Right could have done something, but they chose to act as they have since losing the majority. Like bad children. Enjoy.
Actually, MRM, the right has (and has had) plenty of ideas about how to make healthcare better. But that misses the larger point.
Your logic is non-existent, albeit you are consistent. There is no "bi-partisanship" here. Oh, wait, using my true/correct definition there is. Never mind. Point is ... conservatives can't join in a bill that involves the govt-takeover of healthcare. There can be no negotiation.
So, we will defeat the bill. You watch. And then next November, those who pushed this will pay. You watch.
MRM:
The Conservative movement, if there is such a thing - better called popular conservatism - lost its bearings when it linked itself to broadcast entertainment.
It was more effective, and less controversial, when its thinkers expressed themselves in journals and print columns.
Since HillaryCare, popular conservatives have responded to any version of government-supported medical care with cant...mainly that medical savings accounts would solve the problems, and no one is refused medical care because those in need are never turned away by emergency rooms. As an answer to a national problem, this is/was ridiculous.
The Right let the issue slip into banality and The Left pursued the issue with energy and committment.
DC - It is exactly that mentality of payback that poisons the efforts of both sides. Frankly I am disgusted with both. I sit here too Left for the Right and too Right for the Left. Yet I know it is folks like me that tip the balance one way or the other.
And while you on the Right and those on the Left rub your hands in anticipation of possible future outcomes based on the stupidity of partisanship, the country suffers.
Rhod - I have nothing to add but good comment.
Rhod, in fairness there have been a lot more things offered than the ideas you cite from the right. Newt has been great on this issue. And a lot of us have argued that we need less govt., i.e. Medicare reform like we need Soc. Security reform, to really make hay.
I don't agree that talk radio has hurt conservatism. To the contrary, it shows that conservative thought is for common people. I think having conservatism relegated to the pages of the National Review long-term is not a prescription for making the argument to a larger audience.
We don't need pointy-headed arguments. We need will. It's not hard. Doesn't every one realize what happen in Ft. Hood. Just say it. I said it right off the bat. It's not hard.
MRM, arguing for common ground with a takeover of healthcare by the govt. is lunacy. It's like a negotiated peace with al Qaeda. It's two separate universes. We can't sign on to that. It's a fight of ideas. One must prevail.
DC, I have a post about the UN- Shall marshal resources from members.
If the Gov. takes over Health Care (1-sixth of the economy),and the USA is a member of the UN, does the UN (World Health Organization) take over our health care?
Pres.Bubba surrendered National Parks and Rivers to the UN (World Heritage Organization).
DC - Had the Right decided to engage in honest effort at the beginning, maybe the government option would never have made it as far as it did. Improvements could have been made that were not so sweeping or with as much of a government hand involved.
But from the beginning this important issue was never given any consideration other than to use it to tear down the Left. And while the Right may indeed win back the Majority in Congress, it will be the country that suffers in the long run because both sides will have been too busy fighting each rather than doing the job they were hired to do.
DC, the thing that became to the Reagan Revolution was accomplished without talk radio. The Conservative "movement" began after WWII, with Buckley as its leader, along with a few former communists and libertarians; a lot of arguing and hard work and struggle by people who felt themselves to be outsiders. It was a victory of ideas, not entertainment.
Buckley became a manneristic bore and his conservatism foundered on the shoals of elitism...the place where barnacles like Frum, Brooks and Brookheiser thrive.
The problem I have with the popular conservatism you support is that it's often wrong on the facts and lazy (Hannity), and it aggravates the class distinctions that divide liberal and conservative today. "Ideology" today is mostly a division of social taste, ambition and attitude. This is a bad thing for a republic like ours...a normal thing, but not good.
Practically all of Limbaugh's schtick, when he isn't making his ridiculous predictions (when history is too complicated) is to hammer his caricature of a "liberal" as the hothouse screwballs many of them are, but even statistically they compose a small portion of those who describe themselves as liberal.
Not all liberals are like Bill Ayers, or Kos or Kennedy. You can't win a war of ideas when you're main idea of your enemy is a stereotype.
At the top of my list of complaints is that conservatism is NOT AN IDEOLOGY, as I've said before - and our talk radio personalities don't get that. Conservatism is a frame of mind, a temperament.
Ideology is about adapting reality to your view of reality, which involves power and coercion and government. Liberalism is an ideology, a clockwork philosophy that attempts to make individuals conform to its preferred patterns.
I listen to the same folks you do, but don't see them the same way.
Wow, that's an interesting take, Rhod. We could talk a long time about this. The few words here won't do it justice.
For most of talk radio, I agree somewhat with your point. For Rush, no. Sure he is entertainment, but he is factual and idea-driven. That's why I have listened to him for 20 years. He invents talking points, rather then parroting them.
But ... maybe we are talking semantics here ... conservatism is about ideas. I know you agree with that. That's the core of who we are. Thus, we get to "how we approach the world'. I approach the world as I do because of my ideas (ideology, if you want to call it that). I would think most all conservatives would agree.
As for the growth of the conservative movement, I would argue that America has been largely a right of center country always. The growth of conservatism in the 1980s was really due to Reagan tapping into the same people who are now listening to talk radio and revere him still.
After Reagan's time, Rush took that mantle up. The power of both Reagan and Rush is that they tapped into common people and expanded the reach of conservatism. Buckley was influential on some levels (including Rush ... he has talked about this a lot), but the pointy-headedism that you reference is never going to win the battle in a practical way -- i.e., votes and real reform. There seems to be a strange juxtaposition in your argument with the National Review types there but arguing that conservatism is not an ideology.
A while back you were chiding Newt as our "house intellectual". This is the gist of what I was saying then: We don't need intellectuals. This is a centerpiece of conservative thinking. We need will and courage to stand up and do what we know is right. We need the ability to say it with some clarity (i.e., Reagan, Rush, and Newt ... there haven't been many others. Note: The ones who can speak have really made a difference.) Common knowledge and experience are greater than a room full of Harvard experts. People like Sarah Palin will prove this over and over, if given the chance.
Again, I am not doing this topic justice . Maybe we can have a blog joust-off, all in good fun.
Remember that people get fired up and mobilized in various ways. I know you know this.
MRM, you are in fantasy-land. Pelosi won't even allow Republicans to attend the meetings. Read this. It's even in the MSM.
And in the Senate ... have you heard of the "Gang of 6"? I didn't support their efforts but they were trying to come up with some compromise.
Go look up what moderate Democrat Ben Nelson (not even up for election next year) has to say about the House Bill.
Like most moderate/indy types, you are mouthing MSM talking points. Go try this with Katie Couric's audience -- both of them.
We can't do this topic justice in this medium.
Pointy-headism means that he who holds a complicated idea is somehow virtuous and unassailable because he holds it.
I can sum up my belief(s).
Maybe I should begin with telling you what I disbelieve. I disbelieve in progress as the mainspring of good public life, I disbelieve in the "pursuit of excellence" as a philososphy, I disbelieve in helping "people be all they can be" as the object of ideology, and I disbelieve in any ideology that advances material comfort and "prosperity" as the main ambition of the individual.
Conservatism that absorbs these ideas is simply progressivism.
Someday we should do dueling posts.
Oh, Rhod ... all those disbeliefs. You're such an ideologue.
I disbelieve you said that.
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