The Weekly Enlightenment

Scroll down for the article about a provision in the Senate bill making it unrepealable by any future Congress.

The biggest news this week was of course the Senate passing their version of the health care bill. First they overcame the 60-vote supermajority required to end debate on the bill by buying off weak senators like Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu. Even Joe Lieberman voted to end debate, which again just goes to show that at the end of the day, Democrats are still liberal. There are no conservative Democrats. Though it eventually passed with a majority in the Senate, the bills still have to go to committee to be reconciled. There is some hope though, in that the House Democrats are unlikely to vote for the reconciled bill unless it contains an abortion provision, while the Senate will have a tough time keeping Senators in line unless the abortion provision is absent.

Some quick thoughts (and quotes from others):
1. Obama said in his speech about the health care bill cutting the deficit. The only way it cuts the deficit is by paying for taxes for 10 years but only receiving the supposed benefits for 6. So in the 10 years after that, will it continue to cut the deficit? Of course that is unrealistic anyways. Harry Reid would not let anyone see the bill, and the Congressional Budget Office has to score the bill made on assumptions. If the assumptions are faulty (usually are, and in this case most definitely so), the score on the bill will be faulty.
2. In the same speech Obama said the tax cuts are responsible for buying things we can't pay for, meaning tax cuts result in fewer dollars coming into the Treasury. Of course, tax cuts increased revenue to the government (the Laffer curve), so what is Obama talking about? The Democrats always love to bring this up before they are about to hike taxes. Then we will hear media stories of how experts are shocked that revenues to the government didn't increase as much as expected (very short term it will almost always increase). As it comes to paying for things, Obama is projected to spend more in his first year than all of Bush's eight years combined.
3. Harry Reid said in his Senate speech that 2 Americans die every 10 minutes because of our broken system. But the bill wouldn't go into effect until 2014, meaning it is okay with Democrats to supposedly let 420,840 people die because of our health care system (12 per hour x 24 hours x 365 days x 4 years) until the bill finally goes into effect. Which, as we all know, the government will be able to prevent death with their vast knowledge of business and the marketplace.
4. Most politicians have zero expertise in fixing anything or even running a business. Yet in areas like global warming, we are told we must trust the experts (experts meaning only those who agree with Democrats). By that logic, we should not trust them to do anything, correct? Their only expertise is politics.
5. Also we keep being told (by Harry Reid mostly) that we will simply love the Senate health care bill, yet he would not let us see the bill. If we would love it, why not let us see the wonderful bill and end all opposition to it?
6. We were also told when government was deciding the pay of bailout companies that of course it would not mean the government could do that to anyone else. Well, in the Senate bill that we could finally see after they voted on it, it turns out the government was going to regulate the pay for CEOs of insurance companies. Do we live in the Soviet Union or the United States?
7. Thomas Sowell: "Global warming" hysteria is only the latest in this long line of notions, whose main argument is that there is no argument, because it is "science."

MUST READ
* What should outrage everyone about the Senate bill is that part of it is unrepealable by this Congress or any future Congress. Again, Soviet Union or the United States?
* We are so foolish for not realizing that government can just pass a law and all will be fixed. So, as the author here points out, why not just make poverty against the law?
* Remember this when you hear about moderate or conservative Democrats.

What Media Bias?
* I always love posting these. The Media Research Center's awards for media bias.
* Wonder if this, a Democrat changing parties, will get as much coverage as if the reverse were true.

Experts Stunned Again
* GDP gets revised downward. I don't like bad news, but this surely can't come as a shock every time.

Silly Liberals
* Another hate crimes hoaxer pleads guilty.