Charlotte Front and Center

Patrick Kennedy Zinged by Bishop Tobin on Receiving Communion

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It was three years ago when Bishop Tom Tobin told Rep.Patrick Kennedy to refrain from receiving Holy Communion.  Kennedy told The Providence Journal on Saturday that Bishop Tobin had also instructed priests not to give him Communion.  If you listen to Kennedy, you would think this event just happened, but Tobin was surprised that Kennedy brought it up after all this time.  Perhaps Kennedy wanted to bring his personal spiritual relationship with the Catholic Church to the public forefront now that the abortion issue will be debated in the Senate.

Let's be clear. The Catholic Church has been against abortion for its entire 2000 year history.  The Bishop was not trying to make a public statement because he considered the matter confidential.  It seems that Kennedy is the one trying to politicize the situation with health-care and federally funded abortions that are presently up for debate.

Last month, Kennedy (rehashing Obama's earlier sentiments against the Catholic Church being out of sync with modern views) attacked the Pope and American Bishops for their stand against abortion.

Bishop Tobin told CNN:

"I have no desire to continue the discussion of Congressman Kennedy's spiritual life in public," he said. "At the same time, I will absolutely respond publicly and strongly whenever he attacks the Catholic Church, misrepresents the teachings of the church or issues inaccurate statements about my pastoral ministry."

Abortion is a serious matter to the Catholic Church. Though Catholics are divided over the Church's role in politics, many believe it is the attempt by the government to use public tax payer dollars that has caused Bishops to turn against health-care in its present state.

Patrick Kennedy's attacks against Bishop Tobin will not change the fact that Catholics simply consider abortion wrong.

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North Carolina Imposes Fat Fees and Smoker Penalties

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The "Fat Tax" has arrived for North Carolina state workers in the guise of paying heavier premiums for the states insurance plan.  Smokers will face the same penalties.

Yes, there are good arguments to both sides, but lets include state workers who live risky by driving motorcycles,consuming alcohol,and those who refuse to buy organic food products.  Couldn't we go on and on?  What about the state worker who "works out" and has an increased BMI? How discouraging.

Why not use health incentives for state workers?  Let's consider using the same argument we have heard for the Stimulus Bill.  If N.C. gave state employees a health club membership, the state would save money in the long run with these workers losing weight.  We could also consider sending addicted nicotine addicts to "smoking clinics". Great things could be done for their lifestyles, and money saved...in the long run..of course.

Yet, on the other hand, nothing could bring in more money to the government than to tax bad habits.  If we think about it long enough...most anything good or fun is bad for you.  There's a lot of money to be made off of the state worker and the rest of us.

Wouldn't it be great if we could penalize our congressional reps for their idiotic thinking and over-spending?  Congress should be super-penalized for being unhealthy Ding Dongs.

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Obama Policies Do Frighten Most Americans

I was reading E.J.Dionne Jr.'s op-ed from The Washington Post which covered his views on Rep.Joe Wilson (SC), and health-care in general.

Dionne thoroughly argued his points for health-care and the attempts that Democrats have made to make sure illegal immigrants are not covered, and how abortion will hold a neutral place in the bill that will finally be presented for Obama to sign. What struck me was how his article gave way to describing opponents to health-care, and Obama policies in general as "far right" conservatives. Dionne began his assailing by quoting Limbaugh:

"This administration is not your average presidential administration," Limbaugh declared. "This is not a garden party. This is not a lecture at Harvard or any other university. We are in the process, we are in the midst of an administration that is trying to totally tear down the institutions and traditions that have made this country great."

Dionne then adds his thoughts on the Limbaugh statement: "And what evidence is there that Obama is tearing down our "institutions and traditions"? There is none, unless you see it as an affront to our traditions that we have our first president whose father was born in Kenya, or that the American people decided to elect someone other than a conservative as our commander in chief. The far right has decided that extremism in assailing Obama is no vice."

My response to the statement by Dionne is that he is correct in thinking that the Far Right is alarmed.  Yet it isn't just the "far right". Too many Americans are noting the dangerous ballooning of our government and deficit.  Many Americans are offended by the obvious acts of secularism by this Administration, and its nasty disdain for those who would disagree.  Many Americans know they can not rely on an unbiased press to help keep this Administration accountable. Most Americans have come to realize that our health-care system is 18-20% of our GNP, and does not need to be socialized. 

If Government runs our health-care, we will be in short a socialistic nation.  There will be no turning back once this chunk of America's industry is handed over to government. We have experienced the bail-outs and record setting government intervention.

Many Americans are frightened of Obama's Administration,not because his Father was born in Kenya, but because of Obama-care, and other policies that simply are dangerous for America's well-being.

House Democrats: Joe Wilson Needs to Apologize Again

Charles Pergram at Fox News writes that "two Apologies" from Joe Wilson(R) from S.C. isn't enough for most House Democrats: "I want Mr. Wilson to come to the floor of the House and apologize," said Steny Hoyer (D)Md.

Nancy Pelosi seems ready to move on and quite happy to focus on ramming a plan through by Thanksgiving, and Obama has so nobly accepted Wilson's apology.  Yet other democrats aren't so happy...still.

Yet it certainly seems understandable to a lot of Americans how Wilson had such a gut reaction to Obama saying illegal aliens would not be covered in his health bill. As Wilson voiced his anger,  there were many Americans who identified with Wilson.  Surely there were audible sighs of exasperation escaping into the night sky while  Obama chided and challenged so many Americans and members of Congress.  This President was referring to a great majority of Americans as being the obstacles to health-care reform.

If house Democrats are successful in "censuring" Joe Wilson it will simply draw more negative attention to Obama's stance on illegal immigrants with health-care, and the host of other "lies" we spread about Obama-Care.

British Health-Care Better for Prisoners than for Older citizens

In practically every British news head-line this morning, reasons to distrust any government run health-care are evident once again.

Prisoners are eating much better than the elderly simply because there are not enough nurses to help in feeding patients who are too frail to manage it themselves. Once again, we can see how the older citizen in America could easily be discounted by our government if found in the same situation under the proposed health-care bills making the rounds.  It is all a matter of cost, and the machinery of super-sized government is notorious for managing details-in this case, the elderly.

Under national health-care, Britain's elderly receive cold meals,or tend to be away from their beds undergoing medical tests.  Many are just to weak to assist themselves.  Nurses complain they do not have time to see that all patients eat properly. It makes you wonder what there is time for if not for "caring."

Britain's Daily Mail reports this from Professor John Edwards: If you are in prison then the diet you get is extremely good in terms of nutritional content,' he said.

'The food that is provided is actually better than most civilians have.

'There's a focus on carbohydrates, then there's the way they prepare the food, it's very healthy. They don't add salt and there's relatively little frying of food  -  if you have a burger then it goes in the oven. Hospital patients don't consume enough.

'And from the work we've done we know that people who sit round a table eat a lot more, but this doesn't happen in hospitals.'

His colleague, Dr Heather Hartwell, said fruit and vegetables were given out in hospitals 'but this doesn't mean it's eaten'.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1210109/Prisoners-better-diet-Health-Service-hospital-patients-scientists-warn.html#ixzz0PmmVOVRM

Tax Dollars Used to Blast White House E-mails on Health Care

Fox news reported the name of the source that the White House used to blast the unsolicited e-mails on Obamacare: GovDelivery.Com is the name of the private firm hired by our government, and the first paragraph on their website states:

from Scott Burns co-founder of Gov.delivery:

"GovDelivery is a Web-hosted system that is similar to Facebook or Twitter. “We’re a part of the Web 2.0 arena by default because our service is hosted, so everybody — whether it’s [the Federal Emergency Management Agency], the city of Berkley, Calif., or the British Parliament — is using the same basic platform,” Burns said.

Not coincidentally, St. Paul was Burns’ first client. “We formed a public/private partnership to roll out the service, which is very similar to that which we now provide to more than 300 government entities; that is, helping [the city] manage outbound communication with the public by e-mail, wireless devices and other types of messaging,....”

It seems the White House doesn't need to keep its own fishy list, there are plenty of privately owned databases around to help take care of that. Its as if Americans are experiencing little segments of many Big Brothers ready for hire with invaluable lists of detailed information paid for by our tax dollars.

Fox also reported: "Govdelivery sent hundreds of e-mails from senior adviser David Axelrod asking supporters to help rebut criticism of Obama's health care plan circulating on the Internet. It also sent e-mails highlighting Obama's speech to the Muslim world in Cairo and the announcement of Sonia Sotomayor as a Supreme Court nominee." end quote~

Perhaps it would be understandable if public information was being sent on disease epidemics, but Axelrod using tax dollars for sheer political purposes seems unethical. Strangely enough, Scott Burns wouldn't say if he had been hired to send out Axelrod e-mails.

Why the Swastikas at Town Hall Meetings?

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Though many health care proponents would have you think that only "right wing extremists" are showing up at town hall meetings, it comes in part from a few who have carried signs with the ever-chilling Nazi swastika.  This message isn't an advertising for any "skin head movement", but is an attempt to voice genuine fear over attempts at nationalizing any private industry in this country.  Some think the symbol too strong of a message, and Nancy Pelosi is one.  Pelosi simply seemed to have the wish of injecting the image of the "swatiska" as representative of Americans who were giving strong voice against nationalized health care,cap and trade, TARP spending, and a host of other recent government actions.

When Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, he was ushered in on promises of economic reform.  The unemployment in Germany was at 6 million. By the following year, Hitler's reforms had reduced unemployment by 50%. Though, the books may have been "cooked", the fact is: Hitler got the economy moving and people working again.  In fact, the government proceeded to give German workers jobs, and if you didn't accept, you were classified as "work-shy", and promised room in a concentration camp.

Hitler introduced public work schemes, shovel ready jobs such as digging on farms to increase irrigation,building the autobahns,and planting new forests. The government took over the unions and outlawed strikes. Workers were protected and highly compensated and had a lot to show compared to any remaining on the "dole".  The German worker even had his leisure planned for him: cheap holidays, concerts, theater, hikes,lectures from the German Adult Education Office, and etc. Hitler even involved himself in the design of the People's Car, and the Volkswagen was born. The government made it affordable for everyone to buy a car with a worker purchase scheme of 5 marks a week into a government account. The government never did give people their cars. The government re-routed their money into weapons production. Who would speak out? No one. The government controlled  everything.  The German government under NAZI (National Socialist German Workers Party) control had injected millions into the economy by massive deficit spending. A massive public works project (Reichsarbeitsdienst) was started, and it rivaled anything FDR's New Deal produced. The network of autobahnens attests to the successful work. Yet due to inflation resulting from the huge national deficits, German salaries remained the same compared to salaries of 1928 when adjusted for inflation.

The promise of the German government to use the peoples money as promised, simply turned in to theft of the National treasury as it then geared its total spending towards war. The people were powerless. The German people had allowed their own Constitution to be violated to the extent they no longer had any protection and less power. Fear dominated every citizen...no one dared "speak out". 

Though (the Swastika) an unpleasant symbol for anything, has recently reared its ugly head, it simply gives a visual of how scared some citizens are of this country's direction.

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Euthanasia: Will Our Government Decide Our Fate at 65?

Though we hear many politicians snickering as they refer to rationing and joking that 'We won't kill your grandparents..', how many will absolutely promise this will not be part of government run health care at age 65?

Marie Jon at Right Side News says: "If Obama-Care is passed, the same insidious protocols - "Advance Care Planning" - will be set into place to cut the cost of his massive government health care program. Our senior citizens will receive mandated appointments for counseling that will determine if they receive minimal medical treatment or are told to go home and die".

Fear tactic? It isn't fear mongering until we have assurances and know for a certainty what is really at stake in Obama-care. Rushing such massive legislation should make us suspicious and let us know we are not headed for a mandated death sentence if one faces a serious illness at age 65.

From the UK Telegraph we read current stories about their NHS: "The Government's drug rationing watchdog says "therapeutic" injections of steroids, such as cortisone, which are used to reduce inflammation, should no longer be offered to patients suffering from persistent lower back pain when the cause is not known". Another story from Britain discusses cancer drugs that could extend your life for a few months to a few years not even being mentioned to patients if the doctor knows the drug is too costly. Those suffering from chronic back pain can no longer receive pain medication, but "Instead the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is ordering doctors to offer patients remedies like acupuncture and osteopathy."

The above instances are cases of British government health care. Such cases do not inspire confidence in government run programs in our private lives. We need health care reform but genuine input is needed from all reps in the House and Senate, and Americans need to know just exactly what they are buying in to.

Is Obama Putting Senior Citizens Last in Health Care?

Any indicators coming from the government are simply scary if paying attention to how Obama is presently handling health care.  If you are over 64 yrs. of age, you are not last on the list for receiving the swine flu vaccination. In fact, you have been left off the list! 

Here is how CNS News explains the governments prioritized list:  "On its Flu.gov Web page, HHS says the government is working to produce enough vaccine for the entire population, but there will be shortages when a vaccine first becomes available – probably in mid-October. That means the “limited supply” will have to be “prioritized for distribution and administration.” end quote~ -- Pregnant women -- Health care workers and emergency medical responders -- People caring for infants under 6 months of age -- Children and young adults from 6 months to 24 years -- People aged 25 to 64 years with underlying medical conditions (e.g. asthma, diabetes)

 Where are the citizens listed over the age of 64? Was it just an oversight? If so, that sounds like typical government management.

One citizen gave a comment at CNS News on this priority list: "I believe this philosophy is beginning to permeate (sic) society and it is so wrong. I cannot remain silent and want to speak out against any discrimination against senior adults. We play a major part in society for our children, our grandchildren and many of us who continue to work and pay into the tax system the same as others".

One can see the rationing of health-care coming.  At least we know that the Eskimo myth of putting the old,unproductive citizens on an ice flow is just a story. The Straight Dope says, "Senilicide (the killing of old people) was never universal among Eskimos. It was common in some parts of their range but more so among the Inuit (Greenland to Northern Alaska) than the Yuit (western and southwestern Alaska). Even among the Inuit, some groups found the custom repugnant".

Fear mongering is taking its place in regards to health-care, but we can only judge what the government has already demonstrated, and rationing is already rearing its ugly, socialistic head.

Perhaps it is time to remind Congress once again about upcoming elections in 2010. 

Even "Light Poles" Packed in the Pork of Obama's Healthcare Plan

At least Americans are becoming aware of the hidden pork ("add-ons") being packed into Obama's health care legislation.  The pork request comes from a non-profit group known as "Trust for America's Health".  According to the Boston Globe the language in the senate bill is phrased with this non-profit group's own words which calls for “creating the infrastructure to support active living and access to nutritious foods in a safe environment.’’ The group provided examples of grants for bike paths, jungle gyms, and lighting, though the Senate bill doesn’t list those specifics.

In other words, billions will be going to communities around the country and it is called "infrastructure". 

We discussed on this blog last January a worry that Obama's stimulus bill would take advantage of "infrastructure" to be interpreted as community projects such as parks,etc.

Oddly enough, we see spending for these community projects being packed into health-care laws.  Now we hear excuses coming from Ted Kennedy's spokesman, Anthony Coley: “If improving the lighting in a playground or clearing a walking path or a bike path or restoring a park are determined as needed by a community to create more opportunities for physical activity, we should not prohibit this from happening...’’

Think about it! We have politicians that can take a light pole and relate it to health insurance!

 Bonnie Erbe reports that CNN pollsters reveal '58% of American adults are concerned major changes will result in less quality for their own present health plans.'

These 58% of our citizens are correct. No health care plan will stay the same as government requires every health plan to meet its requirements. After-all, we need to find a way to pay for these new parks and paths that get our obese citizens walking.

Healthcare: The Atrocious Care Of Our Veterans

As Obama pushes national healthcare among many Americans who are satisfied with their present plan, we hear no follow-up about the job our government seems to be doing with our veterans.

On June 24th, the AP reported:

The chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee is calling for more centralized control of the VA medical system after recent breakdowns in cleaning colonoscopy equipment exposed thousands of veterans to the risk of contracting HIV and other infections.

A report from Fox News noted that 10,000 veterans were exposed to the AID and Hepatitus viruses and that the Dept. of Veteran Affairs is bracing for news that one of its Pennsylvannia V.A. facilities botched radiation treatments for over 100 Veteran cancer patients.

According to congressional investigations,V.A. facilities are 49 years old as compared to private sector medical facilities with an average age of 12 years.

The tales of wrong treatments being administered to our veterans because of broken and unclean medical equipment is shameful, and is due to lack of money and oversight.

In viewing our government's record on Medicare, Medicaid,and veteran's care, what assurances do we have of well-managed healthcare for all of our citizens?

Obama Suppporters: Hard Time Selling Healthcare in the Neighborhood

It was much easier for Obama's supporters to spread his "Change" campaign. What could be a clearer message than Hope and Change? Yet it's not so easy for these devoted foot soldiers who have been knocking on doors since June 6th to drum up support for government health care. Why? Obama's supporters on the ground don't know what they are talking about.  

There is no single clear message to get the Obama base excited and enthused.

David Plouffe,who managed Obama's campaign is trying to use the same strategy using social media marketing to drive policy. It certainly isn't having the same effect.  Bloomberg reports on Patricia McArdle who worked on Obama's election campaign. McArdle says she is confused and frustrated. So the "experiment" as Plouffe likes to refer to this campaign may prove to be to elusive. In short, the Obama supporters can't answer the questions coming from the regular folks. 

Obama sent an e-mail out to his supporters yesterday trying to drum up enthusiasm. The crux of the message was vague: 

The campaign to pass real health care reform in 2009 is the biggest test of our movement since the election. Once again, victory is far from certain. Our opposition will be fierce, and they have been down this road before. To prevail, we must once more build a coast-to-coast operation ready to knock on doors, deploy volunteers, get out the facts, and show the world how real change happens in America.

Unfortunately,Obama's supporters have not advanced their message from the one that was being kicked around back in January on blogs with this message: Calling for guaranteed, quality, affordable health care for all. - Endorsing the Obama / Health Care For America Now principles of health care reform that call for every American to be able to choose affordable health insurance either from their current insurer, another private insurance plan or a plan open to all...

That about sums it. Go beyond this statement with an Obama on the ground supporter,and they will tell you: I will get back to you.

Obama's Health Care Reform Shouldn't Be Rushed

No doubt health care needs major reform in this country.  Yet there are so many ramifications from over-hauling one of America's biggest  domestic gross products, it is frightening to think that it will be rushed through congress.  

Knowing the history of Congress with health-care, and the never-ending problems it would have with congressional over-sight, should make it necessary to have real bi-partisanship with time limits instituted from the very start.

As Senator Bill Frist said: "We need a good integrated system". It would seem that most Americans would think we need something sustainable.The ramifications will not be realized until after this reform is rushed through, and that is likely to be in August,2009.

English Health-Care System

Bill Frist should be closely listened to. Frist is a physician who served as Republican Majority Leader from 2003 until his retirement in 2007. He is concerned because of Tennessee's experience with "Tenncare". Shortly after it was instituted in Tennessee to give the uninsured access to health-care, it became immediately burdened with budget problems,management abuse,and endless lawsuits. 

Whether or not there is any bi-partisanship on this biggest piece of legislation to ever face Congress, there will probably be no chance of input from republicans. Any attempts to hear concerns about this legislation are met with objections being phrased as the Republicans are the party of "No". 

Frist also maintains that 'stemming the abuse of fraud' in the system would save at least $450 billion a year which is enough to insure the presently uninsured'.