I watched some of the tortuous proceedings in the House last night, including John Boehner's speech (video and transcript here - it's good), 25 seconds of Madame Speaker's follow-up rant (wtf IS it with that woman's "heh-heh-heh" voice tic, anyway? Is that Beavis or Butthead she's channeling?), and the floor votes on the Senate Bill (219-212) and the reconciliation package. I also caught some of the commentary from Charles Krauthammer... other than that I had the teevee pretty much on mute after the premiere of the Discovery Channel's "Life" series ended (priorities, yanno?) and I switched channels to watch the the House's kabuki play on steroids. Apropos of nothing... Geraldo Rivera is still an idiot. Fox News scrapes the bottom of the host barrel on late-night Sundays... but Rivera is preferable to that asshat Blitzer or whichever twit sits in MS-NBC's anchor chair. Barely.
So... it's nearly over. The president still needs to sign the bill into law and the Republicans will fight their rear-guard action in the Senate. That said, The Fat Lady sang her aria and she's left the building. All that remains is to suck it up and wait for the myriad unintended consequences to begin rearing their ugly little heads. And watch the lawsuits being filed. All that aside, it looks like I picked a bad week to find a doctor who'll take Medicare. I suppose that's what I get for my chronic procrastination. I wonder if there's a drug for this condition? And will the gub'mint authorize it, if it does exist? So many questions... so few answers.
I knew it would pass, but the profound disappointment I'm feeling at the moment is beyond words.
ReplyDeleteGood luck finding a doctor, Buck. My parents moved to Houston a year ago, they're still driving into Austin to see their specialists because they can't find Medicare providers who are accepting new patients in the fourth largest city in the country.
Plenty of solidarity on the GOP side that wasn't quite there 24 hours ago, I'm thinkin'. There's a bright side to everything.
ReplyDeleteThere was little doubt it was going through. Now what remains to be seen is whether or not someone mounts a challenge based upon Constitutionality.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Buck...We both know the answer.
ReplyDeleteI had a nice dinner and watched NASCAR, instead.
ReplyDeleteThis is not the end of the world, I wonder if this latest Power Grab will actually make it through the Supreme Court. I'm thinking the Tenth Amendment...
It seems the Federal Government is taking over State Level Government authority, since most Insurance Companies are State specific; Aetna of Florida, Kaiser-Permanente of California, etc.
Another thing is funding; Let's say that all this comes to pass, what about the next Administration? Taxes will go up but medical coverage does not arrive until 2014.
Let us all remain free of fear and be focused on solutions.
“Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.” – Thomas Jefferson. I may not see have seen this healthcare argument from your perspective in quite the same way but the statement applies generally nonetheless.
ReplyDelete*sigh*
ReplyDeleteWe went to Pavarotti and Friends at PBS in lieu of Geraldo. That's holistic medicine for elevated blood pressure (and preventive care for the tv screen -- it kept objects from being flung threw it).
There is hope yet. It's out there in the Tenth Amendment somewhere.
But, today I need to have a full-blown worry-wallowing pity-party.
Bought a new gun on Saturday to add to our growing arsenal. Went shooting yesterday - tactical, home defense kind of shooting. Close quarters, drills, etc...
ReplyDeleteWe live in a pretty quiet, rural area. Lots of farms and open spaces, everything built on a minimum of one acre. Not a showy town by any means. We still have an annual Maple Festival to honor those in our community who produce maple syrup the old fashioned way - by hand.
And yet my intuition - which fires at 100% most of the time - is telling me that our blissful experience with security will be coming to an end.
We aren't fearful - we are preparing ourselves.
As for those asshats in Congress I think Boehner said it best when he said this:
“Shame on us. Shame on this body. Shame on each and every one of you who substitutes your will and your desires above those of your fellow countrymen.”
November 2010 is coming for them.
Do they really think that huddling up with Obama and doing whatever he wants gets them something? That's the part I don't understand.
ReplyDeleteWhatever fiasco this may or may not be, it will be NOTHING compared to November.
And I totally agree with Mr. Boehner's statement.
Boehner is our Congressman here in west Ohio Buck....he if finally growing a pair and standing up the far left loons.
ReplyDeleteHis seat has always been safe, his House leadership seems the same, let's hope come January 2011, it's the Majority Leader.
It is indeed a sad day for America. I'm sickened by the whole thing.
ReplyDeletenancy, henry, harry and the ghost of fat, drunken teddy never believed in a real, constitutional, representative Republic. It is all about the control of you, me and the guy down the block. Thank god the Attorneys General of 34 of the Separate States and the legislatures of the same are going to work. Either by court action or by enacting pre-emptive laws. The constitution has been used as toilet paper by the house and senate in the course of this so-called "health care reform" Which we know is not reform but a takeover.
ReplyDeleteKeep your powder dry and your blade sharp. 3-7-77
I'm overwhelmingly sad today. These folks do not represent us, but represent their own self interests, and what they think is "best" for those of us who comprise the unwashed masses. This is a slippery slope that we have been placed upon.
ReplyDeleteHere's what bothers me the most. A majority of Americans bought the "hopey changey" BS, and voted this clown posse into power. I'm losing faith in my fellow citizens.
I used to believe that I spent 21 years in the Navy protecting my fellow citizens. I'll be damned if I want credit for protecting the fools who brought this upon us. From now on, I choose to believe I did it for the retirement check. Just getting my piece of the taxpayers.
The mood will pass, I'm sure, but it may take a while.