Obama Has A Proposal

Barack Obama will unveil his additions to the health care takeover plan he hopes to ram through before the next election. The New York Times reports:

President Obama will propose on Monday giving the federal government new power to block excessive rate increases by health insurance companies, as he rolls out comprehensive legislation to revamp the nation’s health care system, White House officials said.

This is an interesting concept that involves more government involvement in private industry so we need to add something to the plan.

The insurance companies have to be given power to block excessive tax increases by the US government.

Turn about is fair play and it seems that if government is going to regulate private business then it is only fair to have private business regulate government.

You see, the government does not like the idea of insurance companies raising rates to cover costs but has no problem raising taxes to cover its costs, many of which are unnecessary or wasteful. If we had reform that took away some of the things that cause insurance increases, many of which are the result of government rules, then the costs would go down.

Obama might be on to something. But instead of harassing insurance companies he needs to channel his energy toward government and its oppressive tax scheme.

Unfortunately he will not see this because he is interested in government involvement in all aspects of the private sector and our lives.

Big Dog

Gunline

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GM CEO Gets Lots Of Money For A Bad Job

So can anyone tell me how it is that Obama and his radical minions are able to tell banks and financial institutions that received bailout money what their executive compensation can be but can’t do that for GM? Government Motors (formerly General Motors) received lots of taxpayer money and failed to pay it back but now its executives are getting big money.

General Motors Co. CEO Ed Whitacre will receive a salary of $1.7 million this year, plus stock awards that will bring his total pay package to $9 million at a later date, the automaker said Friday.

In a surprise announcement, GM also said former CEO Fritz Henderson has been rehired as a consultant. Henderson, who was forced out of the job in December, will work 20 hours a month and will be paid $59,090 a month, the company said. Yahoo

Obama and his buddies at ACORN can rail against executive pay and Barney Frank, the Banking Queen, can scream about limiting pay for executives of ALL companies but they seem to be silent over the huge CEO compensation at GM.

How can it be that Obama will scold CEOs for how much they make and tell us that those who ran the company into the ground should not be paid well (as if it is his decision to make) but his car company can spend money on huge executive compensation? How can that be?

Private companies in America need to tell Obama and Frank and the rest of the radicals in DC to mind their own damn business and to stay out of the private sector. The easiest way to do that is to stop ALL donations to politicians. After that a simple letter telling Congress and Obama to shut the hell up and mind their own business should suffice.

Government does not belong in private industry and if the pols in DC don’t like it then that is just too bad.

They keep screwing around and there are plenty of countries that are much less expensive to do business in.

How would members of Congress like to explain why a bunch of jobs in their districts and states went away because of government meddling?

No matter what, these people at GM do not deserve any of this money until the taxpayer is completely repaid. We own that company and we should get paid first. Of course, the rules are a little different for Obama and his supporters (like the UAW).

So let us do ourselves a favor and ignore GM. Don’t buy any of their vehicles and let’s put them out of business. They should have failed some time ago and we propped them up as Obama took them over. Now his CEO is getting big money.

Bankrupt them once and for all so they can go under and something else can take over.

Big Dog

Gunline

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They Will “Nudge” You To Be Skinny

Cass Sunstein, the “Regulatory Czar” in Hussein’s little cadre of tinpot dictatorettes he surrounds himself with, is merrily on his way to putting his crackpot theories into effect, which means that you too could be sued by an animal near you. Admittedly, he will use this ridiculous proposition to go after the meat producers in this country, with the end result that they would be forced out of business, or at the very least, taxed into the poorhouse- either way, it would mean that the price and accessibility of meat, whether it be beef, chicken, fish or other, would be ridiculously high priced if available at all.

Chief among the personnel who oversee the regulatory process is the administrator of an unheralded office within the White House’s Office of Management and Budget called the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). The administrator is also known as the “Regulatory Czar.” Earlier this year the President nominated Cass Sunstein to run this office. Sunstein’s nomination is now pending before the full Senate. A vote on his nomination is expected next week.

Unless you work on regulatory matters involving the federal, government you are probably not aware that OIRA exists. However, the office has tremendous influence on the number and scope of regulations that come out of the various federal agencies. The office acts as the gatekeeper vetting both final regulations that become law as well as proposed regulations.

~snip~

Some of Mr. Sunstein’s views are troubling to say the least. He is on record supporting rights for animals including giving standing to private persons to sue on behalf of animals under existing laws. He has also stated that he believes there should be more regulation in the area of animal rights.

This is slippery slope to say the least. What will happen if he is presented with a regulatory situation where he is free to “follow the law” as well as advance his own personal views at the same time? And what if he uses the power of this office to influence the law he then eagerly follows?

blog.getliberty.org

Yeah, no kidding- to say that this geek’s views are troubling is akin to saying that hell is warm. The position he is being appointed to is regulatory, which means that he will be overseeing virtually everything, not just the food you eat (which would be bad enough), but everything that the Federal government can regulate, and they can regulate a lot.

If he is confirmed by the Senate, Cass Sunstein will be, in effect, one of the most powerful men in the government. He could push through regulations that punish certain groups, whether they be energy groups, ranchers and farmers, water rights advocates, virtually everything that affects your everyday existence and your ability to earn money and thrive.

Thrive is a word people do not use enough, as they have become blase about “thriving”- we as a nation have come to expect to “thrive”- if Sunstein has his way, you won’t be doing too much of that good old- time thriving anymore.

Given Sunstein’s troubling statements and advocacy, he should not be confirmed to run OIRA. The Senate should vote down his nomination.

And in so doing, it should send a clear message to the President that a nominee with radically leftwing views concerning issues like animal rights should not be in a position where he has the opportunity to craft laws, rules, and regulations that could plunge the livestock industry into a litigation abyss from which it may never emerge.

blog.getliberty.org

If you like burgers, steaks, or really any meat, this has to trouble you- there will be no Burger Kings, or Mickey Ds, or really any fast food. But beyond that, you will not be allowed to hunt, or fish ( he hasn’t addressed what happens to the millions of overpopulated wildlife who will starve to death, slowly, if they are not kept in check, or stunted fish who will overpopulate our lakes), but that is just the beginning. 

Will you even be allowed to eat veggies? That is a question you might ask John Holdren, who believes even trees have rights, ( and by extension, broccoli and squash- can they sue in court if they were brutally picked?). He is another of Nobama’s advisors. Where does he dig these nutjobs up? Did he really think that these were smart people while he was smoking a blunt?

You’d have to figure our “Reviled Leader” had to be on drugs in order to pick this many loons- and by simple association, he must be right up there too. So we have a drug-addled Resident, who appoints crazy people to positions of power, and they are going to starve us by regulating the Breadbasket of America out of business.

How’s that “Change” workin’ out for you?
Blake
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It’s Springtime For Hitler

Actually, this post is not as bright and funny as the farce The Producers, by Mel Brooks- this is just about the same old mundane dictatorial powers that any old power- mad Socialist would have, indeed, this has already been done in this hemisphere. As we have seen, Hugo Chavez has taken over the media in his country, all the better to keep “his” country on “his” message.

Apparently it’s like the new x-box- every little dictator now wants this, and Hussein is no different, To hell with those pesky little amendments, especially the first one- you know, the freedom to speak freely, to assemble, religion, all that jazz- well, we really don’t need that do we? Especially if people are going to be critical of the Resident- his feelings get hurt so easily.

Internet companies and civil liberties groups were alarmed this spring when a U.S. Senate bill proposed handing the White House the power to disconnect private-sector computers from the Internet.

They’re not much happier about a revised version that aides to Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, have spent months drafting behind closed doors. CNET News has obtained a copy of the 55-page draft of S.773 (excerpt), which still appears to permit the president to seize temporary control of private-sector networks during a so-called cybersecurity emergency.

The new version would allow the president to “declare a cybersecurity emergency” relating to “non-governmental” computer networks and do what’s necessary to respond to the threat. Other sections of the proposal include a federal certification program for “cybersecurity professionals,” and a requirement that certain computer systems and networks in the private sector be managed by people who have been awarded that license.

“I think the redraft, while improved, remains troubling due to its vagueness,” said Larry Clinton, president of the Internet Security Alliance, which counts representatives of Verizon, Verisign, Nortel, and Carnegie Mellon University on its board. “It is unclear what authority Sen. Rockefeller thinks is necessary over the private sector. Unless this is clarified, we cannot properly analyze, let alone support the bill.”

news.cnet.com

This is troubling, but not unexpected, given the way the Resident is mangling all our other freedoms, in the name of  “an emergency”- ooooh, Uncle Hugo would be soooooo proud- little Barry is growing up- it’s just soooooo cute when dictators learn to take away their first liberties. Did anyone get a picture?

The Rockefeller proposal plays out against a broader concern in Washington, D.C., about the government’s role in cybersecurity. In May, President Obama acknowledged that the government is “not as prepared” as it should be to respond to disruptions and announced that a new cybersecurity coordinator position would be created inside the White House staff. Three months later, that post remains empty, one top cybersecurity aide has quit, and some wags have begun to wonder why a government that receives failing marks on cybersecurity should be trusted to instruct the private sector what to do.

Rockefeller’s revised legislation seeks to reshuffle the way the federal government addresses the topic. It requires a “cybersecurity workforce plan” from every federal agency, a “dashboard” pilot project, measurements of hiring effectiveness, and the implementation of a “comprehensive national cybersecurity strategy” in six months–even though its mandatory legal review will take a year to complete.

The privacy implications of sweeping changes implemented before the legal review is finished worry Lee Tien, a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco. “As soon as you’re saying that the federal government is going to be exercising this kind of power over private networks, it’s going to be a really big issue,” he says.

Probably the most controversial language begins in Section 201, which permits the president to “direct the national response to the cyber threat” if necessary for “the national defense and security.” The White House is supposed to engage in “periodic mapping” of private networks deemed to be critical, and those companies “shall share” requested information with the federal government. (“Cyber” is defined as anything having to do with the Internet, telecommunications, computers, or computer networks.)

news.cnet.com

You know, I hate to say I told you so, but I surely did. This is what happens when you give idiot children matches- you shouldn’t be surprised when your house burns down, and here and now, the possibility exists in a dramatically more “real” fashion than ever before. 

First you have the “Diversity Thug” wanting to silence Talk Radio, which he will extend to TV (just watch)- and now a new law to shut down the internet in case of an (wonderfully vague) “emergency”- sounds a lot like the “denial of services” attacks Russia made on Georgia, crippling their communications before Russia attacked that country. 

But this is our own country- who are they afraid of? Who are they planning to attack? 

“The language has changed but it doesn’t contain any real additional limits,” EFF’s Tien says. “It simply switches the more direct and obvious language they had originally to the more ambiguous (version)…The designation of what is a critical infrastructure system or network as far as I can tell has no specific process. There’s no provision for any administrative process or review. That’s where the problems seem to start. And then you have the amorphous powers that go along with it.”

Translation: If your company is deemed “critical,” a new set of regulations kick in involving who you can hire, what information you must disclose, and when the government would exercise control over your computers or network.

The Internet Security Alliance’s Clinton adds that his group is “supportive of increased federal involvement to enhance cyber security, but we believe that the wrong approach, as embodied in this bill as introduced, will be counterproductive both from an national economic and national secuity perspective.”

news.cnet.com

Yep- it’s coming- totalitarian control. It will be slow but steady- you will hardly notice when they wrap the coils of oppression around you. The groundwork is beginning- brought to you by “progressives” from both sides of the aisle. You might think I am delusional- some of the liberals that come here certainly will, but then they refuse to see the evidence in front of their own eyes, and that’s great for them.

Until the day where they do not agree with the Resident and his minions.

By then it is too late.

Blake
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