The Weekly Enlightenment

Of course the big news was the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy. I didn't much care for Ted and disagreed with pretty much everything he did. The saying goes, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it. So I won't. My only issue is with the media. The media (and some Democrats) are trying to use the Senator's death as a ramrod to force socialized medicine down everyone's throat. As usual, by pointing out that Democrats (and more the media) are playing politics with Ted Kennedy's death, conservatives are accused of playing politics. It's not that conservatives actually are doing anything political, just pointing out what Democrats are doing. So for pointing out the truth they are accused of playing politics. Here is a short transcript from Rush Limbaugh emphasizing the point.

RUSH ARCHIVE (said by Rush months ago): If they get national health care, folks, the country as you and I have known it is over, but the failing health of Senator Kennedy, as I told you way back when, a driving force here. The failing health of Senator Kennedy is already being used as an inspirational effort or technique to get national health care on the fast track. Before it's all over it will be called the Ted Kennedy Memorial Health Care bill.

RUSH (this week): Well, they just erupted out there in the State-Run Media. They just had a cow over this, so let's go to State-Run Media. We'll go to the CBS Early Show today, Harry Smith talking with the presidential historian Douglas Brinkley about the passing of Senator Kennedy. Harry Smith said, "As we think about him, is there a way to sort of sum up what his life was?"

BRINKLEY: Well, the health care debate that we're in the middle of right now, I mean it's been a summer of town hall meetings, we're going to head into September and October, and I think the ghost of Ted Kennedy, the spirit of Ted Kennedy is going to be with that health care debate. Democrats are going to try to push universal health care through as the legacy piece for Teddy Kennedy.

RUSH: I just caught hell for saying this. I caught literal hell in the media for saying this, and here's Norah O'Donnell this morning on MSNBC. She was asked the question, "What's the impact of Ted Kennedy's passing on health care reform?"

O'DONNELL: I think there's a huge impact. Ted Kennedy asked President Obama to promise him that this would get done because, as Ted Kennedy had said, this is the cause of his lifetime.

RUSH: David Gregory, the moderator of Meet the Press had this exchange with Savannah Guthrie of MSNBC about Ted Kennedy this morning.

GUTHRIE: I wonder what you think the impact of his passing will be now on this battle. Is there a possibility that there will be some new groundswell of bipartisanship that it could be a change of tone, or does all of that pass with him?

GREGORY: This was a great cause of his life, getting health care reform. There's no question that Kennedy will still loom large as this debate moves forward.

RUSH: And this morning on CNN's American Morning the co-hostette Kiran Chetry spoke with senior political analyst Gloria Borger about the passing of Senator Kennedy. She said, "As we move forward with this health care debate, what direction does it take now in your opinion? We've seen at times it gets nasty and personal out there."

BORGER: The Democrats will continue to talk about the legacy of Ted Kennedy and try to pass some version of health care reform that Ted Kennedy would have supported and would have liked.

RUSH: Donna Brazile on CNN this morning said this.

BRAZILE: This will help to redouble the efforts of those who would truly like to see some major reform of our health insurance system in this country, and I hope that when Congress returns to work in a couple weeks they will not only remember Ted Kennedy, but also remember what he fought for. This would have been a fight that he would lead to the bitter end.

RUSH: Over at ABC the official doctor over there, Dr. Timothy Johnson, was asked by Chris Cuomo about this. "Who will take up the mantle of fairness and the right of health care? A very big fight ahead."

CUOMO: His memory will be constantly interjected into the debate and in that sense he will be a part of it.

RUSH: Senator Robert Byrd, Democrat, West Virginia, the only Senator to have served longer than the late Senator Kennedy mourned his friend today, saying his heart and soul weeps. Senator Byrd said that he hoped health care reform legislation in the Senate would be renamed in memoriam of Kennedy. "I had hoped and prayed that this day would never come," Byrd said in a statement. "My heart and soul weeps at the loss of my best friend in the Senate, my beloved friend, Ted Kennedy. In his honor and as a tribute to his commitment to his ideals, let us stop the shouting and name calling and have a civilized debate on health care reform which I hope, when legislation has been signed into law, will bear his name for his commitment to insuring the health of every American." Nancy Pelosi has pretty much said the same thing: "Kennedy health reform dream will be real this year." So I predicted this. Well, anybody could have predicted this. We know these people like the back of our hands. (interruption) Well, it doesn't matter. I predicted it, and I caught all kinds of grief for it out there. And here's Gregory Meeks, Democrat, New York, on CNBC Squawk Box talking with Carl Quintanilla, who asked if Senator Kennedy's memory would play a role in the health care debate. Gregory Meeks said, "Yeah, his memory definitely will. We hope his death will cause us to sit down like never before. That would be a fitting tribute to Senator Ed Kennedy." That's from Gregory Meeks. It didn't take long. Now, when I think of dealing with the entire health care debate here, I think the experiences of Senator Kennedy are actually somewhat instructive. The left is exploiting his death and his legacy, and they're going to do it, which I predicted, to push health care through.

***END OF RUSH***

It is quite clear the media are simply cheerleaders for Obama rather than the objective unbiased people they claim to be.

Anyways, a couple other things I wanted to mention. Democrats (and their mouthpieces in the media) continue to claim the health bills won't cover illegals and won't cover abortions. Yet the Democrats specifically blocked amendments that would prohibit it. Why? If it didn't cover them, those amendments would certainly calm fears about that and give opponents less ammunition. They are specifically left vague to be fulfilled at a later date. Given Democrats' natural fondness of both illegal immigrants and abortion (not to mention they always include illegals by mentioning the 47 million number), it is common sense to conclude those will be covered. Democrats can never be open and honest about their true intentions, or their proposals would be rejected outright by the American people.

The second thing is that many people think regulation has no costs attached to it. This isn't true of course. Not only does it require lawyers, sometimes hiring of outside attorneys, but also a legal and litigation staff. I should know since we have that where I work. Of course we are big enough to be able to afford them, so we can spread our costs over a greater number of transactions than someone just starting out. All large companies know that regulation benefits them. It keeps competition down. There are always costs to every economic decision.

MUST READ
* This is very disheartening. Coddle the terrorists, prosecute those who kept this country safe. Of course Obama is feigning ignorance. Attorney General Holder reports to Obama. If Obama didn't want it to go forward, it wouldn't go forward.

Health Care
* Why should we trust the government when their projections were wrong before?
* It is all about power. Not to worry, Obama is used to this from his Chicago days.
* Yet another wonder of socialized medicine.

War on Terror
* I hope Cheney continues to come out swinging like this. The administration seems to be more focused on waging war against the CIA and conservatives like Rush Limbaugh than they do against our actual enemies.

Silly Liberals
* Another fake hate crime perpetrated by the left. No doubt to try to taint the townhall protests around the country. Not that the right is immune from perpetrating fake crimes.
* Can the government run anything? They have a pretty poor track record.

Protecting Liberty
* Shariah law can come here. It is already happening in Britain.

Basic Economics
* Without profit, there is no competition or incentive.

The Weekly Enlightenment

Sorry this one is so late. My brother and his girlfriend came to visit me and I wanted him to stay an extra day so I didn't get this done within the normal time frame I would have.

President Obama is simply exhausting to follow. This is a general trend with leftists as well. Everything is political and anything is an excuse to inject politics. They are relentless as well. Never stopping.

One always hears about Democrats needing to repackage their message. While health care reform is very unpopular (Obama's version of it), Democrats maintain they only need to repackage their message. Which makes it so that it is the voters' fault for not understanding. In the nice version. In the not-so-nice one, it means voters are too stupid to know what Democrats were saying. If they truly understood, Democrats claim, they would be on board.

MUST READ
* Democrats keep attacking those who produce. This time they are going after insurance companies.
* Big companies love big government.
* Can someone tell me how this is possible? Democrats have supermajorities in both Houses of Congress as well as the Presidency. Amazingly even after being soundly defeated last year (and many on the left claiming the GOP was dead), the GOP apparently holds limitless power.
* Most people probably wouldn't have a problem with a secret terrorist assassination program even if it were true.
* What happened to the anti-war movement? I've noticed this before as well, but it dropped off the radar once Obama became President. Either no one is protesting or the media dropped their coverage of it.

Health Care
* Canadians are ready to reform their system, which has been held up as an example of how health care reform can work.
* It is easy to foresee what government health care would evolve in to. We already have examples.
* Coulter is right. Best way to lower prices is to make insurance companies compete. Too bad Obama's lies are propagated by the media without any question.
* Any threat against the President should be taken seriously, though the media was silent when the threats were against Bush.

Giving Up Liberty
* The Brits are already giving up liberty under the guise of political correctness.

Environmentalism
* Many environmentalists don't seem to understand it is technology and capitalism that allow more civilized life possible as well as not polluting as much.
* Environmentalism for the hardcore is not about truth. It is about power and control.

The Weekly Enlightenment

So much was going on this week, but the big debate is still about health care. Democrats have still been cancelling townhall meetings, not advertising them, and stacking them with supporters. Obama has been trying to rally support and showing that without the teleprompter he is not as smooth a speaker and not nearly as convincing. Here is Obama saying free market companies are doing fine, but it is the Post Office in trouble. If the Post Office is having trouble (despite having laws against private companies for certain types of mail), why should we trust government to run anything else? Beyond that, supporters are still being called Nazis, suggested they are wearing swastikas, and acting like a mob. The only ones making references to Nazis are Nancy Pelosi and actual Democrats. Rush Limbaugh responds to Pelosi and the media acts like Pelosi never said anything and Rush is comparing Obama to Hitler (he isn't of course). With the mob-like behavior it is Obama supporters, not opponents, who are using thug tactics. Also amazing is that Democrats thought disruption and mob-like behavior was just fine when it was Bush who was President.

Obama has also been saying how the current system is breaking. If so, why would you allow people to keep their current plan?

Obama also isn't serious about reducing costs because if he were, he would be suggesting tort reform as well. It shows how wedded to trial lawyers he is, as well as the Democratic party.

Must Read
* Are we really supposed to believe Obama doesn't want a single payer system? That's what he wanted back in 2003.
* Government intervention always limits someone's liberty.
* The media is being so blatant supporting Obama, they are dropping any pretense (they ever had) of objectivity. Dissent is only patriotic when a Republican is in office.
* It is going to be cheaper for employers to drop their employees on the public health plan. So the end result will be millions on the public option.

Health Care
* Courtesy of Chuck Norris, there will be home visits for newborn parents in the health care bill. Whose values will be taught?
* If organizations are already being forced against their will, what will happen when the monstrous health care bill is passed?
* Obama keeps saying one thing and doing another thing. How can we trust him?
* According to Rahm Emanuel's brother, doctors take the Hippocratic Oath too seriously. Rahm Emanuel is chief of staff for Obama and his brother is an adviser to President Obama.

Taxes
* 7 myths regarding taxing the rich.

Basic Economics
* We never learn from our mistakes when it comes to government programs.

The Weekly Enlightenment

The biggest news this week was the townhall protestors. Democrats have been going home for the August recess and holding townhall meetings to try to persuade people that government-run health care (which is an inevitability) is a good thing. People are responding negatively and the Democrats don't know how to respond. They were given basic talking points and they just aren't working. So, Democrats are responding both ways they always do: avoiding the debate altogether and calling the opposition names. Many Congressmen are holding tele-townhalls where they control the audience or not having the townhalls at all. They were already not publicizing the events very well and I wouldn't be surprised if some have been canceled already. The other response is name-calling. The protestors are Nazis, stooges of insurance companies, liars, and possibly un-American (purported New York Times editorial by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer calls townhall protestors un-American). They really DO fashion themselves as kings and queens and us the subjects.

Great analogy in the WSJ regarding economic reporting touting slowing job losses: "We’d like to thank all of our readers who’ve written in to ask how our diet is going. Very well, thank you. Between the beginning of April and the end of June, we gained only 2 pounds, compared with a 4-pound gain during the first three months of the year. So our weight is definitely improving." It's the same thing with President Obama and job losses. Wait until the tax cuts expire.

Not much for articles this week but Obama tries to keep the focus on him and his policies, which, he is very skilled at.

Must Read
* Obama is trying to quash free speech. But, let's say Obama's motives are pure. If a conservative ever gets in office, what would happen? According to liberals, a conservative would abuse this power and spy on American citizens, encouraging people to spy on one another. So why is it a good idea to even start something like this? It's one thing I will never understand. Any policy or thing I believe I always put the shoe on the other foot. If the reverse were true, would I support it?
* Apparently the protestors are wearing swastikas according to House Speaker Pelosi.
* It is the goal. I don't know how many times we have to tell people, but this is what it is all about.
* And in case, you still don't believe me, in Obama's own words.

Silly Liberals
* Which side is continually trying to deny free speech rights to others?
* All this for a mythical belief in global warming.

What Media Bias?
* If this were Bush, do you think the media would tout "slowing" job losses, or would they use it to show how the President was misleading people into thinking the recession was over?

The Weekly Enlightenment

The big uproar the past couple of weeks is the Henry Louis Gates issue. Basically Gates (who is black) came home and couldn't get into his house so he forced it open. A passerby called police thinking it was a break-in, and Gates became belligerent. He was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. President Obama, acknowledging he didn't have all the facts, nonetheless condemned the police, saying they acted stupidly. Gates turned it into a racial issue since the arresting officer was white. The other two officers, one black and one Hispanic, back up the white officer's story. For one thing, it is something Obama should never have been involved in. Second, since he didn't have all the facts he shouldn't have said anything. Third, even with the beer at the White House, Obama still didn't apologize. Why not? He was obviously wrong in speaking out prematurely, but even more wrong not owning up to it. He tried to switch gears saying it is a teachable moment about race. No it wasn't. It was about trying to exploit a situation he had no business saying anything on in the first place. This prompted Brit Hume of Fox News to comment, "This president who travels the world apologizing for his country couldn't quite apologize for himself."

Some media outlets saying recession is over (unemployment is still going up and other economic indictors aren't looking as good, but for argument's sake). Then can't we cancel the stimulus money that hasn't yet been spent? I've heard as low as 6% of the stimulus has been spent. Then we should also put to rest the notion that somehow the government can spend its way out of the recession. Not that we didn't know that already, with Japan's stagflation and that we couldn't spend our way out of the Great Depression, but fine. Sometimes we have to repeat history a few times to finally get the picture.

Great point on redstate.com - Lasik and plastic surgery are getting cheaper, and they're the ones where free market conditions actually apply.

MUST READ
* Dodd and Conrad got sweetheart deals . Didn't Democrats say they were going to have the most ethical Congress in history? And where is the Democratic leadership demanding they step down? Would this stand if these were Republican senators?
* We are finally having a discussion on race (though we've been talking about it for decades), but now Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder are silent. Why?
* This is scary. How does Obama propose to do that? Have a bureaucrat in every doctor's office? Obviously the conclusion is inevitable. If doctors will get penalized for not being able to treat bad patients, why would they take on bad patients at all? It is the exact same thing as doctors opting out of taking Medicare patients.
* Obama keeps saying his opponents are playing the politics of fear, but that is exactly what Obama is doing. When he's not blaming Bush.
* This has to give one confidence if government is going to run health care.

Health Care
* 5 freedoms you will lose under the current plan in Congress.
* Remember this when liberals hold up Medicare as a great example of something the government can do right.

Silly Liberals
* The House Judiciary chairman sees no point in actually reading the bill before voting on it. Interesting. Perhaps the bill is too complex then.

Silly Republicans, Kind Of
* The Obama birth certificate argument for many is that they hope he wasn't a US citizen by birth, and therefore wouldn't be eligible for the Presidency. That's why I haven't covered it. Not that it isn't important, but just that we have bigger fish to fry. My issue with it was that Obama promised to be open (unlike Bush) and bring in change, both of which are not true. It's about honesty. One other problem is that liberal bloggers try to perpetuate it and make it seem as if it is a bigger deal than it actually is.

What Global Warming?
* It was always a farce that there was a consensus. Yet, it is still nice to see things like this.

Miscellaneous
* Hatred of Israel is from a misunderstanding of economics. Ignorance is an expensive commodity.