Scozzafava Drops Out of New York Congressional Race

Liberal Republican (RINO in our neck of the woods) Dierdre Scozzafava has suspended her campaign for upstate New York's 23rd Congressional District seat. This should help Conservative nominee Doug Hoffman against Democrat Bill Owens.

According to Fox News, "Scozzafava's team pulled the plug on the campaign after viewing the Siena poll." Ken Spain, a spokesman for the NRCC, said Scozzafava will now release her supporters to vote for Hoffman. House Minority Leader John Boehner, Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia and NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions announced their endorsement for Hoffman shortly after Scozzafava dropped out of the race. "He is the only active candidate in the race who supports lower taxes, fiscal responsibility and opposes Nancy Pelosi's agenda of government-run healthcare, more government and less jobs," they said.

Michelle Malkin has has Scozzafava’s farewell message via 73 wire:

In recent days, polls have indicated that my chances of winning this election are not as strong as we would like them to be. The reality that I’ve come to accept is that in today’s political arena, you must be able to back up your message with money—and as I’ve been outspent on both sides, I’ve been unable to effectively address many of the charges that have been made about my record. But as I’ve said from the start of this campaign, this election is not about me, it’s about the people of this District. And, as always, today I will do what I believe serves their interests best.

It is increasingly clear that pressure is mounting on many of my supporters to shift their support. Consequently, I hereby release those individuals who have endorsed and supported my campaign to transfer their support as they see fit to do so. I am and have always been a proud Republican. It is my hope that with my actions today, my Party will emerge stronger and our District and our nation can take an important step towards restoring the enduring strength and economic prosperity that has defined us for generations.

On Election Day my name will appear on the ballot, but victory is unlikely. To those who support me – and to those who choose not to – I offer my sincerest thanks.

While we can appreciate the feelings of  Dierdre Scozzafava,  this writer is dancing up a storm.  This opens the door for Republicans and independent conservatives to win this election by voting overwhelmingly for conservative candidate Doug Hoffman and to send a message to from NY to Congress.  The message - we are coming after the rest of the liberals in Congress who are diluting out liberties and ruining our country with extreme debt.

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Tags: 2009, Congressional race, conservatives, New York, RINO To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Halloween Message from Speaker Pelosi

Up Yours America! Enjoy my nationalized health care plan. I should have been president!!! And, Reid, I'm next in line to be president after that idiot Biden. I have the BIG plane, so keep your bony fingers off of me. ~ Nancy Pelosi

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Tags: Halloween, Harry Reid, health care, Impeach Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, political satire To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Trick or Treat - Happens Every Year

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Tags: Democrat, Halloween, Gary McCoy, political cartoon, Redistribution, redistribution of wealth, trick or treat To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Who is Obama's Rasputin in the White House?

Bill Smith, Editor: Who influences President Obama? I am sure that many would like to lay claim to influencing the president. In recent days, we have had seen reports on the Obama czars. Czars may have the ear of the President but in fact, they are really carrying out the agenda of the President. Even though the czars provide insight into the beliefs, values and associations of President Barack Obama, they are not the power brokers. We already know about David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel. But who is the "Rasputin" in the White House with significant influence on President Obama, his wife and his policies? One person, Valerie Jarrett, has become a significant person of interest.

Valerie Jarrett is the Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liaison. William Wilson, President of Americans for Limited Government issued a Research Memorandum regarding Valerie Jarrett:

[W]e have spent the last ten months examining and reporting on the appointees of the Obama Administration. During this examination we have noticed a recurring theme that merits further research and exposure since it has been ignored by the media and blogs. It is the role played by Valerie Jarrett in the lives, campaigns, and the Administration of the President and First Lady.

It would be difficult to underestimate what that role has been. When Ms. Jarrett first met the Obamas they were subordinate to her both on a social and a business basis. The information that we have gathered indicates that she has served and continues to serve as a mentor to them. We believe that she is the most powerful individual in the Administration outside of the President himself.

In an effort to identify this person who may be a power behind the President, many of us are researching and seeking information relevant to Valerie Jarrett. Some initial points:

• Most of the press coverage of Jarrett has been favorable, but many are not aware of the problems in her background.
• Jarrett is feared because of her close personal relationship with the President and the power that comes from this relationship.
• Jarrett at a salary of over $300,000 a year ran a property management company that mismanaged housing units allowing conditions like sewage backups and rodent problems to occur. She commented that it is hard to manage something you don’t own.
• Jarrett was appointed to her position, which does not require Senate confirmation, early in the Obama Administration.
• Jarrett reported the following income on her financial disclosure report filed in February 2009:
  
  

Cater Clews has weighed with an opinion of Jarrett: "Simply put: Valerie Jarrett is a radical leftist with a rapacious appetite for power and wealth. In Richard Daley’s Chicago, she was the turn-to person for flexing muscles, padding pockets, and covering tracks. In Barack Obama’s Washington, she is the single advisor most responsible for both for originating and orchestrating his most brazen attempts to impose what many see as a socialist regime upon the American people."

While I cannot confirm that Valerie Jarrett is Obama's Rasputin in the White House, we do need to pay a lot more attention on her influence, efforts, and actions in the White House. You can both help and keep up on the tracking of Valerie Jarrett at STOPJARRETT.COM.

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Other posts about Valerie Jarrett:
Southside Chicago, The Home of Corruption
Glenn Beck Exposes Valerie Jarrett
White House War on Fox News

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Tags: Barack Obama, Bill Smith, Obama administration, The White House, Valerie Jarrett To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Dithering Heights

by William Warren:

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Tags: Afghanistan, political cartoon, political satire, William Warren To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Pelosi’s Health Care Plan Unveiled

Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families: Yesterday, on the steps of the Capitol, Nancy Pelosi and her liberal colleagues unveiled their healthcare plan, H.R. 3962, just in time for Halloween. And, trust me, it’s scary. Here are my thoughts on what transpired at the press conference, and the content of the bill.

• Pelosi’s press conference was an hour long, and only people on her personal “RSVP list” were allowed to attend. Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) said, “The striking thing that occurred today is when the Speaker had her announcement and unveiled their public option, she did so on public grounds in the West Front of the Capitol and frankly denied access to the public.”
• The thirty Democratic members with Pelosi at the press conference did not answer a single question from the press.
• The bill has had an extra thousand pages of statist policy added, making it nearly 2,000 pages long. Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), chairman of the House Republican Study Committee, said, “So how much takeover can you cram into 2,000 pages? By comparison, the legislation that created Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, which costs us $800 billion annually was less than 300 pages long.” What is hidden in the Pelosi bill?
• Members of Congress are not required to enroll in the government plan. The bill says that members can enroll in the public option if they want. Don’t expect any of them to do this, however.
• A 2.5 percent tax on medical devices will also be passed on to Americans. Taxes on hearing aids, heart valves and wheelchairs will all increase and will hurt Americans regardless of income.
• Under this version, working-class families will face higher health care premiums. Millions of Americans will also lose their current plans and senior citizens will see Medicare cut by $500 billion.

Folks, our worst nightmare could be coming true -- a government takeover of the healthcare industry. The word “report” appears 364 times in the bill, while “shall” is used 3,425 times. This can only mean that a lot of new mandates will be imposed.

Now is the time to take action. The House will be voting on this bill soon, so I strongly encourage you to contact your representatives at 202-224-3121. Call even if you have already done so, and tell them “no” to PelosiCare. The liberals in Washington are trying to transform the United States in their Big Government image. Now is the time to turn up the pressure.

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Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) on Health Care - Calls Bill Socialization Of America

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Tags: Gary Bauer, health care, Michele Bachmann, Nancy Pelosi To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Today in Washington D. C. - Oct 30, 2009

The Senate will voting on Monday evening on cloture on the Baucus-Reid substitute amendment to H.R. 3548, the unemployment insurance extension bill.

Yesterday, the Senate voted 72-28 to approve the conference report for the fiscal year 2010 Interior-Environment appropriations bill, H.R. 2996, clearing it for the president’s signature. The bill provides $32.3 billion for the Interior Department, the EPA, and related agencies. It includes another continuing resolution to fund the government through December 18^th, since Democrats have still not passed all of the appropriations bills for the new fiscal year.

Pelosi Health Care: Yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi released her 1,990 page proposed health care bill while barring any Republicans from attending the announcement. The Washington Times reports that "House Democrats blocked the public from attending the unveiling ceremony of their health care bill Thursday morning, allowing only pre-approved visitors whose names appeared on lists to enter the event at the West Front of the Capitol.The audience at the crowded press conference included Hill staffers, union workers, health care providers and students, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who thanked them for attending."

House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence appeared on Fox News, MSNBC and CNN today to discuss the Democrats' health care bill where he calls Pelosi's health care bill a “Freight Train of Mandates, Taxes and Bureaucracy” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell commented, “This latest bill is the strongest evidence yet that Democrats in Washington are blowing past the American people and pushing ahead with a 1,990-page, trillion experiment that raises health insurance premiums, raises taxes, and slashes Medicare. Americans want common-sense reforms that lower costs and increase access. Instead, Congress has come up with yet another proposal to put more government between Americans and their doctors while spending trillions more with money we don’t have. That’s not reform.”

For those interested, Congressional Budget office (CBO) has completed a preliminary analysis of H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, and and as expected "The estimate includes a projected net cost of $894 billion over 10 years for the proposed expansions in insurance coverage. That net cost itself reflects a gross total of $1,055 billion in subsidies.

Job Losses: Politico reports today, “White House officials, under pressure from the economy's continuing job losses, plan to announce Friday that President Barack Obama's $787 billion stimulus plan ‘has created and saved at least 1 million jobs’ since he signed it in February.” But yesterday, a report by the AP found, “An early progress report on president Barack Obama's economic recovery plan overstates by thousands the number of jobs created or saved through the stimulus program.” And CBS News’ Chip Reid observed last night that “[c]ritics say if the kinds of errors found in that earlier report are repeated in Friday’s much more extensive job creation survey, it won’t be worth the paper it’s printed on.”

Today’s AP story reiterates, “The AP reviewed a sample of federal contracts, not all 9,000 reported to date, and discovered errors in one in six jobs credited to the $787 billion stimulus program — or 5,000 of the 30,000 jobs claimed so far.” Among the overstatements, the AP notes, “Some recipients of stimulus money used the cash to give existing employees pay raises, but each reported saving dozens of jobs with the money, including one Florida day care that claimed 129 jobs saved.” And “[a] Texas contractor whose business kept 22 employees to handle stimulus contracts saw its job count inflated to 88 because the same workers were counted four times.”

In addition, there have been numerous reports across the country of inflated or mistaken claims of job creation from stimulus money. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, “One contractor reported creating 4.7 million jobs, which is an ‘obvious error’ . . . .” In Virginia, the administration reported creating or saving 50 jobs in Danville, but a local manager said no jobs were actually on the chopping block. In Colorado, the administration reported creating 4,695 jobs, but The Denver Post pointed out that “the state has now downgraded that to about 830 full-time jobs created or saved.” The Arizona Republic found that 12 employees working on 3 contracts in Arizona were counted as 30 jobs.

It’s little wonder, then, that Craig Jennings, a federal fiscal policy analyst at OMB Watch told CBS News, “We have, I think, a rough estimate, at best. And at worst, these numbers are next to useless.” Thus, claims from the White House today that they’ve “saved or created” one million jobs would best be treated with a healthy skepticism, given the other administration claims about the stimulus that have failed to pan out.

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Tags: government healthcare, Harry Reid, medicare, Nancy Pelosi, Obama administration, stimulus, US Congress, US House, US Senate, Washington D.C. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Truth, Justice, and the American way

Bill Smith, Editor: Remember the Superman Comics and TV shows where we heard a line that became a classic in its day: "The never ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way." Well we need that effort today and many people and groups are stepping forward to take on important issues and to highlight people who are in fact not in support of "truth, justice, and the American way."

As such, readers will note posted articles from many different sources on the ARRA News Service. I hope everyone will use the information and share the information with others. The ARRA News Service accepts no paid advertising and charges no one for the information distributed. This is a labor of love for America. Any posted banners, links and promotions for events or causes are based upon our decision to lend free support to such an effort, cause, or candidate.

All posted material is made available to advance understanding of political, human rights, economic, democracy, and social justice issues, etc. and is distributed without cost to readers with the expressed purpose of viewing the information for research, education, and even on occasion satirical purposes. Comments by contributors or sources do not necessarily reflect the position of the ARRA (our outreach sponsor), its Officers, memberships or the editors. But being a rooted in values and principles, we try to come very close to these positions.

Please help us in this "never ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way." When you as a reader, especially those who subscribe (which is totally free), pass on articles and commentaries with our links to the stories to your friends and neighbors; you are helping in this battle. If you note a critical error or find a follow-up source and share it with us, you are helping us in this battle. When you post a comment (a link is at the bottom of every article), you are both sharing your thoughts and encouraging us in this battle. When you note an action item and get involved, you are indeed helping in this battle. Thank you!

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Tags: America, ARRA News Service, justice, truth To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Republican Leaders Seeing the Light and Going Conservative?

by Bobby Eberle, GOPUSA: There is something fascinating occurring in the state of New York. In a special election for the state's 23rd congressional district, some Republican leaders are bucking the Republican Party establishment and supporting the Conservative Party's candidate, Doug Hoffman. Polls show Hoffman surging in these closing days. The election is on Tuesday. . . .

Among Republicans, Hoffman leads Scozzafava 41 to 34 percent. Thus, Republicans in the district are identifying more and more with the candidate who is actually more Republican.

Republican leaders are starting to step forward and see the light as well.

While the NRCC-along with House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.)--have all thrown their backing to Scozzafava, grassroots conservatives have revolted against the GOP nominee, asserting that she is too liberal for them to support. Some have even called for conservatives to withhold donations from the NRCC in protest.

On Thursday afternoon, (NRCC Chairman Pete) Sessions appeared to tacitly acknowledge that Hoffman may represent the GOP's best chance to keep the Republican-held seat from being picked up by a Democrat.

"I think it's pretty clear that a person who would vote for John Boehner, support tax cuts, support growing our economy, and defeat Nancy Pelosi's tax and spend agenda will be really welcome in our conference, and I think having a person who can win that district off that message would be really good for the Republican Party," Sessions said.

Republican endorsements for Hoffman include Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, and former presidential candidate Fred Thompson. In addition, as Politico.com notes, former NRCC Chairman Tom Cole is endorsing Hoffman.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, in his endorsement, called Hoffman "the true conservative candidate in NY-23."

There is a reason that our party lost power in Washington, D.C. A lot of folks went to Congress wearing the Republican jersey, but far too many played the game like Democrats. People all around Texas -- and frankly, all around this country -- are fed up with the federal government running up trillion-dollar deficits and mortgaging our kids' future. From Obamacare to cap-and-trade, there are simply too many critical issues at stake right now to send yet another rubber stamp for this administration to Washington.

Republicans can win by sticking with a strong conservative message. That is the ONLY way to go. It shows a complete lack of vision and guts to support someone like Scozzafava who is not anywhere close to what a true Republican has been in the past. Gingrich's logic was that we need to support the likes of Scozzafava to retake the majority. At what cost? First, conservatives can win! Second, when you support the likes of Scozzafava, who get candidate who will switch parties once elected. Third, if they don't switch outright, then they block key conservative legislation. That's what we want in a "Republican" candidate?

Let's stick to conservative principles. Then we can not only win, but we can move the country forward. [Full Article]

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Tags: Bobby Eberle, conservatives, GOP, GOPUSA, Republicans To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Public Unveiling of Public Option Not Open to the Public

The public option arrives...In secret! The long-feared public option for healthcare has arrived. Nancy Pelosi unveiled the Democrats' plan to take over your healthcare this morning, and she has something to hide. If passed, this legislation will have a huge impact on the public, but for some reason the Democrats are being secretive, elusive and closed the announcement of this legislation to the public.

Is the staffer in this video practicing for manning the door of a doctor’s office under government run health care (Obamacare)?
In the video:
Question: “Where can members of the public stand?”
Answer: “All the way at the end”.
I guess we know what to expect in the future!

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Tags: health care, Nancy Pelosi, public option, US House, video To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Today in Washington D. C. - Oct 29, 2009 - the REID - PELOSI - OBAMA Halloween Health Care Nightmare!

As previously reported, Speaker Nancy Pelosi released her proposed health care bill this morning at a press conference. The bill is 1,990 pages long and contains a separate 13-page bill to repeal the sustainable growth rate caps on Medicare spending. The Bill will cost more than $200 billion and is not paid for. The bill contains the word “shall” 3,425 times.

Later today, the Senate is expected to adopt the motion to proceed to H.R. 3548, the unemployment insurance extension bill. An agreement on considering amendments to the bill has still not been worked out. Also later today, the House is expected to send over the conference report for the fiscal year 2010 Interior-Environment appropriations bill, H.R. 2996.  The bill includes a continuing resolution to fund the government through December 18^th, since Democrats have still not passed all of the appropriations bills for the new fiscal year even though we’re more than a month in.

As time goes on, more and more Americans are finding that the Obama administrations’ $787 billion stimulus bill is not living up to the promises made about it, especially that it would create jobs and would not fund wasteful projects. Yet in their attempts to vindicate bad legislation, the White House appears to be misrepresenting the impact of the bill.

Back in February, administration officials, including President Obama and Vice President Biden claimed the stimulus bill would create 3.5 to 4 million jobs.  And White House economic advisors said it would keep unemployment under 8%. Biden’s chief economic advisor, Jared Bernstein, said two weeks ago that the “jobs created or saved” by the stimulus bill “exceeds our expectations.” Yet the economy has lost 3.4 million jobs since the bill was signed, and the unemployment rate hit 9.8% in September.

And today, the AP reports, “An early progress report on President Barack Obama's economic recovery plan overstates by thousands the number of jobs created or saved through the stimulus program, a mistake that White House officials promise will be corrected in future reports. The government's first accounting of jobs tied to the $787 billion stimulus program claimed more than 30,000 positions paid for with recovery money. But that figure is overstated by least 5,000 jobs, according to an Associated Press review of a sample of stimulus contracts. The AP review found some counts were more than 10 times as high as the actual number of jobs; some jobs credited to the stimulus program were counted two and sometimes more than four times; and other jobs were credited to stimulus spending when none was produced.”

Despite the assurances from the White House, reports continue to come out detailing dubious projects being financed with stimulus money. Today, the Senate Republican Communications Center released a top 10 list of questionable stimulus projects, which includes $300,000 for mapping radioactive rabbit feces, $219,000 to study the sex lives of female college freshmen, $6 million for a snowmaking facility in the 15th snowiest city in the country (Duluth, MN), $3.4 million for a turtle tunnel in Florida, and $30 million for a spring training baseball complex for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. It’s clear that the stimulus bill has not lived up to its promised!

The democrats who brought us the failed stimulus bill and are holding in reserve the remaining funds for release in 2010 in hopes of buying American votes now bring to us nationalized health care (Obamacare). Today, we have on the table both the REID BILL and the PELOSI BILL addressing health care. Both are filled with "crapola" unacceptable to the American people and even members of their own party in both the Senate and the House.

In the coming days Americans will continue to make their voice known and both bills in their current generic form are doomed. But CITIZENS BEWARE. Passage of either of these bills in their present form is not  expected nor is it the final goal of the Democrats. While the White House would be pleased with either bill at the moment, it knows that the American public doesn't agree and many of the elected Democrats don't agree completely with the two bills. So both bills are doomed in their present forms.

But that is not the end game for Pelosi, Reid and the Chicago oriented thugs in the Obama White House. Their goal is to get on with the process: first failure then modification to get enough support for each each bill independently within their own chambers. Although different, once both bills are passed, they can either accept the other chambers bill (not expected) or they can conference on both bills to come up with a compromise bill.  but the key is they are expected to use the  "reconciliation" process to reduce the number of votes needed for passage of the final bill without amendments.

Although reconciliation was created to prevent filibustering on appropriation (funding) bills and not on bills that create new Government programs (especially the take over control of one-sixth of the U.S. Economy), the liberal Democrat leadership has said that they will use the process. Under the process, REID, PELOSI and the WHITE HOSUE GANG will again meet behind closed doors to merge the two bills making enough changes needed to garnering a simple majority of votes in both the House and the Senate. Remember the the Democrats control both the House and Senate. Dropping the 60 vote rule and ignoring any remaining Democrats of conscious, they now have a plan to force the initial structure of nationalized health care (Obamacare) on America. Expect a full court press by the biased liberal media and the White House to support this effort.

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Tags: government healthcare, Halloween, Harry Reid, medicare, Nancy Pelosi, Obama administration, stimulus, US Congress, US House, US Senate, Washington D.C. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Does that mean people should give up and not express their concerns? No, keep going to your town halls, tea parties and rallies. Keep contacting your Senators and Representatives. Let your voice be heard! For if no voice is heard, then no future change or correction will be possible with regard to the REID - PELOSI - OBAMA Halloween Health Care Nightmare! Again, Let your voice be heard!

Breaking News: Pelosi's Health Care Bill Released On America

Breaking News: Below is information regarding the Speaker Nancy Pelosi's health care bill that is dropping right now at Pelosi's press conference. The bill is 1,990 pages long and contains a separate 13-page bill to repeal the sustainable growth rate caps on Medicare spending. The Bill costs nearly $1 trillion and is not paid for which obviously will break Obama’s promise to Congress during his speech.

The Pelosi health care bill will raise taxes, raise health care costs, add to our national debt, hurting America's seniors, families and small businesses. One recent independent study estimated that younger Americans could see their health care premiums triple and a family of four could see their health care premiums more than double.

The bill contains the word “shall” 3,425 times. Though Steny Hoyer just said the bill was open and transparent, they prevented the American people from attending their publicity rally by checking IDs and keeping people out.

Folks -- Read the text of the bill --- >  http://health.burgess.house.gov/UploadedFiles/House_HCR_bill.pdf

Update: "Weird" fact inside the bill: Pelosi wants the federal government to regulate vending machines, to ensure everyone can see the nutrition labels on items in same before purchasing their food. Here’s the language:

VENDING MACHINES. In the case of an article of food sold from a vending machine that
- does not permit a prospective purchaser to examine the Nutrition Facts Panel
before purchasing the article or does not otherwise provide visible nutrition information at the point of purchase; and
- is operated by a person who is engaged in the business of owning or operating 20 or more vending machines, the vending machine operator shall provide a sign in close proximity to each article of food or the selection button that includes a clear and conspicuous statement disclosing the number of calories contained in the article.

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Tags: government run, health care, Nancy Pelosi, US House To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Maricopa County Arizona Board of Supervisors Attack Free Speech

Please don't mix up the letters AR and AZ. In Arkansas, the liberals are in the Democrat party which also has a dying number of Democrat blue dog conservatives. The Republican Party in Arkansas represents the conservative values and support ALL of the Constitutional rights including the 1st Amendment!

However, it seems that in at least one county in Arizona (AZ), Republicans may not represent these same values. Many across the nation recognize AZ as the home of war hero and former 2008 Republican Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain. However, many other Republicans across the nation recognize John McCain as a RINO who calls the liberal democrats his friends even though they have since his loss voted against his numerous amendments in the Senate.

Based on the Sen. McCain situation and the following story coming out of Maricopa County, AZ where some Republicans are "squashing 1st Amendment Rights", we wonder "Who are these Republicans?" Also, highlighting this event, is that Maricopa County is the home of one the most notable and revered County Sheriffs in the nation. Interested? Here is the story:

AZ County GOP Pols Squash 1st Amendment Rights

By Blue Color Muse: Usually when I hear stories about a Governmental something-or-other trampling on the 1st amendment rights of Liberty loving Americans, I think of national Democrats and their smarmy puling about the beat down they take on Talk Radio.

In what will no doubt be a visual aid for examples of “GOP behaving stupidly”, a group of Arizona Republicans (likely outmaneuvered by the lone Democrat involved), has decided that the 1st Amendment’s guarantees don’t extend to residents of Maricopa County if the people doing the speaking happen to also work for the Government.

At issue are relationships that members of the County Attorney’s office have with the media, including a few bloggers. Not all the media, however, just those beating up on the Maricopa County Supervisors County Manager’s office. Seems the Board of Supervisors has been feuding with other state departments for some time, including messing with Maricopa County’s best known government employee, Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Not only that, the same Supes squeezing the County Attorney employees have a really bad track record when it comes to things like character and integrity. The gaggle of liberal GOP Supes and the lone Dem in their midst have been accused of “wasteful spending, power grabs and criminal investigations” and there’s even a Twitter account, CorruptAZSupes.

The dispute with the County Attorney’s office got so bad the County Supervisors fired the County Attorney as their legal representative. And now the County Manager, David Smith, has decided to divert attention from his own side’s misbehaving by brow beating those pesky bloggers and their friends.

Smith sent a letter to the County Attorney’s office demanding to know who had relationships with bloggers - or else! They even specifically demand to know about activity that might have taken place on an employee’s personal time and their personal computers! Specifically named in the letter is Michael Scerbo, the County Attorney PIO, who is SUPPOSED to be in touch with the media! While there are some traditional media outlets mentioned, blogs are specifically targeted. The Sonoran Alliance, The Cactus Alliance and Intellectual Conservative Arizona are all named in the letter as being eeeeeeevil bloggers that bad County Attorney employees shouldn’t have anything to do with. . . . Read the Full Story.

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Tags: 1st Amendment, Arizona, Blue Collar Muse, GOP, Republicans To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Arkansas Health Care Town Halls with John Stossel!

Patients First bus tour in Arkansas October 29th!
Join renowned health care reporter and analyst John Stossel at one of three special events in Arkansas on Thursday, October 29th!

October 29 – 7:00 – 8:00 a.m.
Rise and Shine the Light on Health Care Forum
Confirmed Speakers : John Stossel, Tim Phillips
Texarkana Fair Grounds
Fine Arts Building
3700 E. 50th Street
Texarkana, Arkansas

October 29 – 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Health Care Town Hall Forum
Confirmed Speakers: John Stossel, Tim Phillips, Shaun Danko (Canadian small business owner), and local talk radio host Dave Elswick as Moderator
Statehouse Convention Center, Lower Level
7 Statehouse Plaza
Near Intersection of Main & Markham)
Little Rock, Arkansas

October 29 – 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Health Care Forum
Confirmed: John Stossel, Tim Phillips
Statehouse Convention Center
Hilton Garden Inn, Ballroom
2840 South Caraway
Jonesboro, Arkansas

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Tags: AFP, Arkansas, bus tour, John Stossel, Patients First To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Barney Frank--"We're trying to increase the role of gov't on every front"

They don't even try to hide it!
Barney Frank: "We Are Trying On Every Front To Increase The Role Of Government . . ."
[Warning: We are not responsible for the onset of illness from watching this video or for any damage you inflict on your computer.]

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H/T America, You Asked for It!
Tags: Barney Frank, big government, government control, socialism, video To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Today in Washington D. C. - Oct 28, 2009 - Congress Wake Up - Smell the Coffee - Enough is Enough!

Yesterday, the Senate voted 97-0 to confirm Irene Cornelia Berger as District Judge for the Southern District of West Virginia. Also, the Senate invoked cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3548 the unemployment insurance extension bill, by a vote of 87-13. Today, the Senate is now in post-cloture debate on H.R. 3548 which is expected all day unless a time agreement is reached or time is yielded back.

HEADLINES: On Capitol Hill from time to time, today is a day where the headlines tell an important part of the story: AP: “Dem Moderates Challenge Reid on Health Care Plan”; Reuters: “U.S. Senate healthcare bill draws skeptics, opponents”; AFP: "Key US Senators may balk at health bill"; The New York Times: "Democrats Divided Over Reid Proposal for Public Option"; The Washington Post: “Centrists unsure about Reid’s public option”; The Wall Street Journal: “Reid’s Push for Public Option Creates New Barriers for Bill”; Fox News: “Reid Hits Roadblocks in Bid to Pass Health Bill With Government Insurance Plan”; CNN: “Public option would lead him to filibuster, key senator says”; The Washington Times: “Reid’s public option plan splits Democrats.”

As the AP story explains, “Democratic moderates who control the balance of power on health care legislation balked Tuesday at a government-run insurance option for millions of Americans, underscoring the enormity of the challenge confronting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid one day after he unveiled the plan as a consensus product.”

Indeed, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) told The New York Times, “I am pressing to get a government-run, taxpayer-supported public option out of the bill.” Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) told Fox News’ Major Garrett that if a government-run insurance plan increased the deficit, “I would have just a very hard time moving forward on something like that.” Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) explained to members of the Arkansas Farm Bureau, “A government-funded option is something that I think is not the way to go.” According to The Washington Post last week, “Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) also criticized the opt-out approach and urged Reid to leave the public plan out of the bill. ‘I applaud his effort,’ Nelson said of Reid’s attempt to find common ground. ‘But it’s too risky.’” And of course Politico reported yesterday that Sen. Joe “Lieberman [I-CT] added that he’d vote against a public option plan ‘even with an opt-out because it still creates a whole new government entitlement program for which taxpayers will be on the line.’”

Yet for all their declarations about serious problems with Reid’s health care proposal, none of these Democrats committed to voting against this proposal when it really counts, on cloture on the motion to proceed. The Hill reported yesterday, “The American people -- not to mention Senate Republicans -- will treat a vote for cloture on the chamber’s healthcare reform bill as a vote in favor of ‘the substance of the bill,’ top Senate GOPers said Tuesday. Even for those lawmakers who vote with Democrats to end debate but ultimately opt not to support the bill when it is up for a final vote, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) stressed their early support would still be treated as an endorsement of ‘a half a trillion dollars in Medicare cuts, $400 billion in new taxes and higher insurance premiums for everyone else.’” As Sen. McConnell explained, “We all recall Senator Kerry’s strained way in the 2004 campaign of explaining why he voted for [the Iraq War] before he voted against, and I think it is perfectly clear that most Americans will treat the vote to get on the [healthcare] bill as a vote on the substance of the bill.”

Reid and the White House will be leaning heavily on Democrat Senators to vote for cloture on the motion to proceed to the bill. But if they cooperate, the Senate will have lost its best opportunity to start over and change the fundamental structure of the health care reform bill from something that raises taxes, raises insurance premiums, and cuts Medicare to the kind of reform Americans truly want.

As Sen. McConnell said today, “Americans have issued their verdict. They’ve been clear. They’ve said that enough is enough. No government plan. No more debt. No more government takeovers.” Congressman Mike Pence, Chairman of the House Republican Conference, said, "At nearly $1 trillion in spending and tax increases, the Democrat health care bill is a bad deal for taxpayers, but it's a worse deal for American seniors, and senior citizens deserve to know about it. Included in the Democrat health care plan are massive cuts in what's known as Medicare Advantage; $162 billion in reductions in this popular program." Democrats who vote for cloture on the motion to proceed will be sending a signal that they aren’t listening. Congress: Wake Up - Smell the Coffee - Enough is Enough!

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Tags: government healthcare, medicare, US Congress, US House, US Senate, Washington D.C. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Lisa Benson on ObamaCare

by Lisa Benson: "Public Option - If you can find your doctor, you can keep him."

by Lisa Benson: "2 out of 3 doctors agree . . . Government doesn't know diddly about medicine."

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Tags: government healthcare, Lisa Benson, Obamacare, political cartoon To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Public Option: Trick or Liberal Treat?

Tony Perkins, FRC Washington Update: When Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) announced yesterday that he was reviving the government takeover option, people on both sides of the aisle were left wondering--what's the Majority Leader up to? Ben Pershing of the Washington Post has a few theories. The decision was either: about his home state of Nevada, where a government takeover has been pushed by liberal groups within the state; it's a trick meant to satisfy the far Left; or it's about the moderate Democrats who will be pressured to choose between their constituents and the leadership.

Any way he slices it, Sen. Reid is just short of the 60 votes he needs to pass the plan. Not only would it require a small miracle to overcome the objections of his own party (Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), and Ben Nelson (D-NE) are opposed and today Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CN) threatened to filibuster), but adding the government takeover option could crush the administration's hope for a bipartisan bill.

Although Sen. Reid tempered the plan with an "opt-out" provision for states, the plan appears to give the states more autonomy than it actually does. While leaders can opt-out of receiving government-run health care in the states, they can't opt-out of paying for it. The larger issue is that not many states could refuse the plan in their current political climate. As the Heritage Foundation points out, Democrats control both chambers of the legislature and the state house in 17 states. "In another 24, Democrats control at least one legislative chamber or the governor's mansion... That means Americans in 41 states are... guaranteed to have no choice but to endure the government-run health plan."

Of course, the irony is that Congress is already enjoying its own opt-out, since it refuses to participate in whatever plan passes. None of the leaders who vote for this watered down coverage are obliged to enroll in it. Instead Members will force taxpayers into rationed care while they kick back with VIP benefits that most Americans can only dream of.

Meanwhile, Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) is doing everything he can to ensure that the unborn aren't aborted under the legislation. On C-SPAN, Rep. Stupak talked about just how committed he is to protecting children--no matter what the political cost. "Somewhere in this process, we have to be able to vote our conscience... If this language [funding abortion] is there, many of the 40 will not vote for this bill." C-SPAN pressed, "Are you willing to proceed if it costs you your seat?" Rep. Stupak replied, "Yes... If it costs me my seat, so be it."

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Tags: Family Research Council, FRC, government healthcare, Harry Reid, Tony Perkins To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Obama's Swine Emergency

by William Warren:

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Tags: health care, political cartoon, political satire, swine flu, William Warren To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

U.S. Official Resigns as We Wait on Obama's Decision on the Afghan War

Bill Smith, Editor: The Washington Post reports that Foreign Service Officer Matthew Hoh who is a former Marine captain says he no longer knows why his nation is fighting in Afghanistan. Hoh has combat experience in Iraq, was stationed previously at the Pentagon, and has since been a civilian in Iraq and at the State Department.

The Post identified "[That] last month, in a move that has sent ripples all the way to the White House, Hoh, 36, became the first U.S. official known to resign in protest over the Afghan war, which he had come to believe simply fueled the insurgency. 'I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States' presence in Afghanistan,' he wrote Sept. 10 in a four-page letter to the department's head of personnel. 'I have doubts and reservations about our current strategy and planned future strategy, but my resignation is based not upon how we are pursuing this war, but why and to what end.'"

The Post article also identified the efforts by senior officials, including U.S. Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry, to convince Matthew Hoh to stay on advising on Afghanistan. However, in the end, Hough resigned:

"I'm not some peacenik, pot-smoking hippie who wants everyone to be in love," Hoh said. Although he said his time in Zabul was the "second-best job I've ever had," his dominant experience is from the Marines, where many of his closest friends still serve.

"There are plenty of dudes who need to be killed," he said of al-Qaeda and the Taliban. "I was never more happy than when our Iraq team whacked a bunch of guys."

But many Afghans, he wrote in his resignation letter, are fighting the United States largely because its troops are there -- a growing military presence in villages and valleys where outsiders, including other Afghans, are not welcome and where the corrupt, U.S.- backed national government is rejected. While the Taliban is a malign presence, and Pakistan-based al-Qaeda needs to be confronted, he said, the United States is asking its troops to die in Afghanistan for what is essentially a far-off civil war.

The concerns expressed by Hoh shine light on the topic that has remained in the shadows -- why did neither the Soviets (Russians) nor the British win in Afghanistan. Even a desk jockey blogger knows from National Geographic and prior media specials that this rugged nation is made up of people who do not trust outsiders even if those outsiders believe they are there to help. Hoh's positions also highlights General Stanley McChrystal’s points and the decision as yet to be made by President Obama in response to the General's request.

The Afghans are fighting us and our allies because we are outsiders; the Afghans do not trust outsiders even if they are Afghans from a village in another Mountain valley. Anyone who has spent time in Appalachia or the Ozarks can appreciate this situation.  The result: in Afghanistan our troops are reduced to fighting them because obviously they are fighting us. After eight years, shouldn't we have located the terrorists? How much does it take to buy information from a people in a poor nation? Our real enemies seem to have understood this dynamics when they choose to hide in Afghanistan.

The present situation is not the military's fault - they were ordered to go and they went. The present situation was and is the fault of bureaucrats and leaders who failed to consider both the culture and geography of a region and to both plan and act accordingly. Regardless of the past, we now are waiting for President Obama, who is unskilled in the art of war, to make a decision about General McChrystal's request for troop deployments and military support in Afghanistan.  Dear Lord, help us and our faithful warriors who serve in harms way!

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Today in Washington D. C. - Oct 27, 2009 - Reid Placates Liberals & Hopes Other Senators Will Ignore Their Constituents

Update: Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) said today she is still waiting to see a compromise health care bill headed for the Senate floor, but she would have difficulty supporting any legislation that includes a government-funded insurance option.

The Senate voted 87-13 to bring the unemployment insurance benefits bill to the floor which may give people running out of unemployment insurance up to 20 more weeks of federal aid.

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The Senate will begin consideration of Irene Cornelia Berger to be District Judge for the Southern District of West Virginia. Will vote at 2:20 PM on the nomination.

Negotiations continue over an agreement on amendments to the unemployment insurance extension bill, H.R. 3548. If an agreement is not reached, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to the bill at 5:30 and vote on cloture on the motion at 6 PM.

The Washington Post: “Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid announced Monday that he will include a government-backed insurance plan in the chamber’s health-care reform legislation, a key concession to liberals who have threatened to oppose a bill without such a public option. Reid’s decision was a reversal from two weeks ago, when the Nevada Democrat appeared inclined to set aside the idea -- among the most divisive in the reform debate -- in an attempt to avoid alienating party moderates.”

Also. in the Post, Dana Milbank takes Reid to task for this decision. “For Reid, it was an admission of the formidable power of liberal interest groups. He had been the target of a petition drive and other forms of pressure to bring the public option to the floor, and Monday’s move made him an instant hero on the left. . . . Reid, facing a difficult reelection contest next year at home in Nevada, will need such groups to bring Democrats to the polls if he is to survive. . . . As Democratic aides described it, the moment had less to do with health-care policy than with Nevada politics -- and one vulnerable senator’s justifiable fear of liberal anger. . . . “But, there were a few problems with the leader’s solo move. He shifted the public pressure from himself to half a dozen moderates in his caucus. And he defied the Obama White House, which had hoped to keep a bipartisan patina on health-care reform by maintaining the support of Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine).”

Indeed, The New York Times notes, “Mr. Reid lost the one Republican who had given Democratic efforts a tinge of bipartisanship, Senator Olympia J. Snowe of Maine. . . . ‘I am deeply disappointed with the majority leader’s decision to include a public option as the focus of the legislation,’ Ms. Snowe said.”

“Then there was the small matter of lacking the votes to pass the public option,” Milbank observes. “‘Do you feel 100 percent sure right now that you have the 60 votes?’ CNN’s Dana Bash inquired.” Well, according to The New York Times, “Aides said Monday that he appeared to be short of that goal, lacking firm commitments from several members of the caucus.” And The Washington Post points out that “[d]oubts remain about whether he has the votes to guarantee passage . . . .”

Certainly, prior statements from a number of more moderate Democrat senators would lead one to believe that Reid would have difficulty rounding up votes for a government-run insurance plan. And, the AP reports today that Arkansas Democrat Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor are “undecided” on Reid’s proposal.

However, Democrat senators have been back in the Beltway for 8 weeks now. When they were last at home, constituents made their dislike for a government-run insurance plan known. With Democrat leaders pushing for one anyway, Americans must be wondering if Democrats have forgotten their previous assurances that they don’t favor such a plan. Will Democrat senators stand with the liberal groups that Harry Reid is trying to placate, or with their constituents?

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Tags: government healthcare, medicare, US Congress, US Senate, Washington D.C. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Sarah Palin leads Washington Post List of GOP Standard Bearers

by Chris Cillizza, Washington Post: Sarah Palin's decision late last week to endorse the Conservative Party candidate over the Republican nominee in a special U.S. House election in Upstate New York is the latest example that the former Alaska governor's allegiance is to her conservative principles rather than the party's edicts.

"Republicans and conservatives around the country are sending an important message to the Republican establishment in their outstanding grassroots support for Doug Hoffman: no more politics as usual," Palin wrote on her Facebook page. She also cited President Ronald Reagan's belief that "blurring the lines" is not the way to rebuild the party and added: "The Republican Party today has decided to choose a candidate who more than blurs the lines, and there is no real difference between the Democrat and the Republican in this race." . . .

Palin joins former senators Rick Santorum (Pa.) and Fred Thompson (Tenn.) and former House majority leader Dick Armey (Tex.) in Hoffman's camp. Among those who have endorsed Scozzafava is former House speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.). . . .

GOP standard-bearers Speaking of Palin, where does she rank in terms of influence within the party? (Hint: high.) Here's a look at the 10 (well, 11) most influential GOP politicians:
10. Bob McDonnell . . . [Candidate for VA Gov]
9. Rep.John Boehner/ Sen.Mitch McConnell . . . [House and Senate GOP leaders]
8. Rep. Pete Sessions . . . [Chair NRCC]
7. Michael Steele . . . [RNC Chairman]
6. Sen. John Cornyn . . . [Chair NRSC]
5. Gov. Haley Barbour . . . [MS Gov., Chair Republican Governors Assoc.]
4. Mike Huckabee . . . [Former AR Gov., ran for 2008 GOP Presidential nomination, popular radio and TV shows]
3. Mitt Romney . . . [Former MA Gov. ran for 2008 GOP Presidential nomination]
2. Gov. Tim Pawlenty . . . [MN Gov., "establishment's buzz candidate"]
1. Sarah Palin . . . [Former AK Gov., 2008 GOP VP Candidate, "Wonder Woman," Principled Conservative, draws big crowds, New Book "Going Rogue" went No. 1 even though not be released until Nov. 17]
[Full Article: Ideology trumps party for Palin]

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Tags: GOP, Republicans, Sarah Palin, Washington Post To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Public Reid's Option = No Option - Government Bureaucrats Will Decide Your Health Care

Gary Bauer, campaign for Working Families: Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid announced this afternoon that he intends to force a vote on the government-run “public option” because his private discussions with fellow senators indicate there are nearly 60 senators willing to support it in one form or another.

Let me remind you again what the public option is all about. President Obama has said that the public option could force insurance companies to be “honest” and lower costs by having to compete against the federal government. Today, Reid repeated those claims. But, as the AP “fact check” report makes clear, the insurance industry is not reaping “obscene” profits. The real goal is to bankrupt the insurance companies, putting them out of business, thereby making the government-run public option the only option.

Honest advocates of the public option admit that it is the vehicle through which they will achieve government-run socialized healthcare. Read this column and watch the video at the end. And if you need more proof of the public option Trojan horse, watch this video of Barney Frank saying that the public option, with its “strength and power,” is the best way to get a socialized single payer system.

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Washington News Observer: Sen. Tom Coburn, M.D. Says Government Bureaucrats Will Decide Your Health Care [Video]

Sen. Coburn Soundbites:
"What will happen, ultimately, is you will move to a public option which will decrease the number of people with private insurance, number two it'll raise the cost of those that are left with private insurance, and ultimately a government bureaucrat will decide what kind of health care you get."
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"I don't know whether a final package whenever it finally comes out of conference will have a public option but if it is that's the start to single payer."
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"Nobody knows what's in the bill. The bill came out of help committee and created 88 new programs. If you think the federal government isn't going to be involved in your health care with 88 new bureaucracies you've got another thought coming because this is a government centric run at health care rather than a patient centered run at health care."

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Tags: Gary Bauer, Harry Reid, nationalized healthcare, Single payer system, WNO To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Rasmussen: Most Americans - Obama Stimulus Has Not Helped the Economy

Rasmussen Reports: Questions linger about the effectiveness of the $787 billion economic stimulus plan proposed by President Obama and passed by Congress in February.
Did the Stimulus Help the Economy:
31% No Hurt the Economy [last month 28%]
29% No Impact
  3% Don't Know
33% Yes  [last month 36%]

The Economy in General:
- Skepticism is highest among those earning $20,000 to $75,000 per year.
- 72%  of Republicans and 57% of unaffiliated voters worry about too much government action
- 70% of Democrats fear that it will do too little
- Those earning $40,000 to $100,000 annually have the highest level of concern about the possibility of too much government response.
- 67% oppose a national sales tax on all goods and services
- 38% of voters say cutting the federal budget deficit in half in the next four years should be the Obama administration's top priority
- 23% of voter say health care reform is most important.

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Tags: Barack Obama, Rasmussen Poll, Rasmussen Reports, stimulus, the economy To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Another judicial radical - Obama appointee says rulings depend on race

Washington Times Editorial — Another day, another Obama nominee who doesn't appear to love America. Another nominee who thinks the United States is inherently racist. Another nominee who thinks that judges should let their "ethnic and racial background" have an effect on how they conduct their trials. President Obama's radicalization of American government needs to be stopped.

In this case, the nominee is Northern California federal district court nominee Edward Chen, forwarded by the Senate Judiciary Committee to the full Senate last Friday on a party-line vote. Mr. Chen is currently a federal magistrate in San Francisco, and a lawyer long active with the American Civil Liberties Union before that. Judge Chen's words speak for themselves. . . . To quote and paraphrase Sen. Charles E. Schumer from another occasion, this man's attitude "doesn't even whisper 'judge.' " Instead, it yells out that he is a biased radical willing to impose his own politics from the bench. Judge Chen should not be confirmed. . . . [Full Editorial]

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Tags: Activist Judges, federal judges, nominations, Obama administration To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Gallup: Conservatives Outnumber Moderates and Liberal

Gallup: Conservatives continue to outnumber moderates and liberals in the American populace in 2009, confirming a finding that Gallup first noted in June: 40% of Americans describe their political views as conservative, 36% as moderate, and 20% as liberal. . . .

The 2009 data are based on 16 separate Gallup surveys . . . Conservatives have been the dominant ideological group each quarter, with between 39% and 41% of Americans identifying themselves as either "very conservative" or "conservative." Between 35% and 37% of Americans call themselves "moderate," while the percentage calling themselves "very liberal" or "liberal" has consistently registered between 20% and 21% -- making liberals the smallest of the three groups. . . .

Changes among political independents appear to be the main reason the percentage of conservatives has increased nationally over the past year: the 35% of independents describing their views as conservative in 2009 is up from 29% in 2008. By contrast, among Republicans and Democrats, the percentage who are "conservative" has increased by one point each.

Americans Also Moving Right on Some Issues {based on annual change):
- Too much government regulation of business & industry: from 38% to 45%
- Labor unions have less influence in the country" from 32% to 42%
- Keep laws governing the sale of firearms the same or making them less strict: from 49% to 55%
- Americans favoring a decrease in immigration: from 39% to 50%
- Want government to "promote traditional values" verses no values: from 48% to 53%
- Consider themselves "pro-life" on abortion: from 44% to 51%
- Believe global warming problem is "exaggerated" in the news: from 35% to 41%

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Tags: 2009, conservative, Gallup Poll, liberal, Moderate, poll To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Today in Washington D. C. - Oct 26, 2009 - Media Call's Gov't Plan A "Mirage" & Examines Medicare Fraud

The Senate reconvenes at 2 PM today. The next votes will be on Tuesday, when the Senate will take up another district judge nomination, Irene Berger for Southern District of Vest Virginia, and vote cloture on the motion to proceed to a bill to extend unemployment insurance, H.R. 3548.

As Sen. Harry Reid enters the second week of closed-door negotiations to cobble together a bastardized new health care reform bill, the Left continues to demand that it include a government-run insurance plan. This was a bad idea when it was floated earlier this year and it remains so. Today, this is acknowledged by writers for The Washington Post who relate that the program it’s supposed to emulate, Medicare, which is hardly a model for efficiency.

Robert J. Samuelson observes, “In reality, the public plan, also known as the public option, is mostly an exercise in political avoidance: It pretends to control costs and improve access to quality care when it doesn't. . . . The public plan's low costs would be artificial. Its main advantage would be the congressionally mandated requirement that hospitals and doctors be reimbursed at rates at or near Medicare's. These are as much as 30 percent lower than rates paid by private insurers, says the health-care consulting firm Lewin Group. With such savings, the public plan could charge much lower premiums and attract lots of customers. But health costs wouldn't subside; hospitals and doctors would offset the public plan's artificially low reimbursements by raising fees to private insurers, as already occurs with Medicare. Premiums would increase because private insurers must cover costs to survive.”

Meanwhile, Fred Hiatt, the editorial page editor for The Washington Post (and hardly a conservative fellow-traveler) explores  in an op-ed today the political and practical consequences of a government insurance plan like the ones being designed by Democrats. Hiatt writes that such a plan “allows Democrats to make their base happy, to bash the unlovable insurance companies -- and to claim to be taking care of cost control, too, by ensuring competition in the marketplace. . . . . [I]f, as seems likeliest -- and as House legislation mandates -- the plan uses government power to demand lower prices from hospitals and drug companies, those providers may lower quality or seek to make up the difference from private payers. Private companies would have to raise their rates, so more people would choose the public plan, so private rates would rise further -- and we could end up with only the public option and no competition at all.”

Liberals and some Democrats have recently been touting a government plan by trying to claim it will be like Medicare, with some going so far as to deem it “Medicare Part E.”  Samuelson explains, “The promise of the public plan is a mirage. Its political brilliance is to use free-market rhetoric (more ‘choice’ and ‘competition’) to expand government power. But why would a plan tied to Medicare control health spending, when Medicare hasn't? From 1970 to 2007, Medicare spending per beneficiary rose 9.2 percent annually compared to the 10.4 percent of private insurers -- and the small difference partly reflects cost shifting.”

And then, of course, there is the fraud. President Obama and others have acknowledged the existence of “waste, fraud, and abuse,” but an investigation by “60 Minutes” for CBS is truly stunning: “[Medicare] provides a rich and steady income stream for criminals who are constantly finding new ways to steal a sizable chunk of the half trillion dollars that are paid out each year in Medicare benefits. In fact, Medicare fraud - estimated now to total about $60 billion a year - has become one of, if not the most profitable, crimes in America.” Asked by correspondent Steve Kroft if “the Medicare fraud business bigger than the drug business in Miami now,” top Justice Department prosecutor Kirk Ogrosky responded, “I think it's way bigger.”

Kroft interviewed a man who was busted by the FBI for Medicare fraud and discovered that fraudsters set up multiple fake companies to bill Medicare for non-existent services. “Once the crooked companies get hold of the patient lists, usually stolen from doctors' offices or hospitals, they begin running up all sorts of outlandish charges and submit them to Medicare for payment, knowing full well that the agency is required by law to pay the claims within 15 to 30 days, and that it has only enough auditors to check a tiny fraction of the charges to see if they are legitimate.”

CBS writes, “Asked why it has taken Medicare so long to figure out they were being scammed, [Attorney General Eric] Holder told Kroft, ‘I think lack of resources probably. And then I think people I don't think necessarily thought that something as well intentioned as Medicare and Medicaid would necessarily attract fraudsters. But I think we have to understand that it certainly has.’”

These harsh realities say a lot about what a government-run insurance plan is likely to become over time and why it’s a bad idea and why there remains bipartisan opposition to it in Congress.

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Tags: election fraud, government healthcare, medicare, US Congress, US Senate, Washington D.C. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!

Message to Republican Leaders: Get a Clue!

The ARRA News Service has published articles in an attempt to get the attention of Republican leadership. For example:
- Republican Voters Say GOP Reps in Congress Out of Touch
- Introducing The Restless Grassroots

The base is growing because a majority of Americans are conservative and those who may have been diverted in 2008 to vote for a historical event, the first black president, are quickly returning to their conservative roots when confronted by the the consequences of their vote. The Republican Party stands to benefit by this growing base. However, the leadership (or at least the perceived leadership) continues to take actions which "kick the stuffing out" of its base.

Now more than ever, it is time that the GOP leadership listen to its base. We want victory but not compromise of our conservative beliefs, principles, and platform. It was not Republican beliefs and principles that lost in the last election. It was Sen. John McCain who lost, and he would have lost by more if Sarah Palin had not been added to the ticket. The days of compromising with liberals is over because even the word "liberal" has been co-opted by something far worse - socialism. And this new sinister socialism has audaciously lashed out and attack the American people on many levels as evidenced by recent actions by the Obama administration.

A recent events in Florida showed how the Florida Republican Party leadership has been taken over by a narrow minded individuals. Their State Chairman kicked out conservative republican libertarian party members including at least one County Republican Chairman from the Florida's Republican party for exercising their rights to support a Republican primary candidate other than the Chairman's choice for US Senate. Where is the RNC Chairman in speaking out on this Florida issue?

Bobby Eberle in words from The Loft in GOPUSA adds to the continuing discussion and sends another "Message to Republican leaders: Get a Clue!"There are certain times in the cycle of politics when the party in power is so bad that the opposition doesn't need to do much to win. In 1994, the approval ratings for Congress were terrible. Republicans, led by Newt Gingrich, put together the Contract with America, and presented a strong, conservative message to the voters. In that election year, not a single Republican incumbent lost, and the Republican Revolution began.

Now, Republicans face similar opportunities. Led by Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid, these ultra left-wing radical want to transform the country (Obama's words) into a socialist nation, complete with government control over health care, banks, the auto industry, and more. So... how are Republican leaders responding? A recent Rasmussen poll shows that Republican voters don't like what they are seeing, and recent actions by the Republican Party show that they don't have a clue on how to turn this country around.

In a new Rasmussen Reports poll, a staggering 73% of GOP voters say that Congressional Republicans "have lost touch with their base." Whenever a poll shows a majority rather than a plurality on a particular question, one should take notice. But 73%? Republican leaders shouldn't just "take notice," they should stop what they are doing, listen, and get their act together! [Additional info from this Rasmussen Report]

This is absolutely pathetic, and it comes at a time when the Democrats are overreaching in their plans for socialism and Americans are ready to get rid of them. As noted in another Rasmussen poll:The GOP advantage over Democrats increased from two points to five in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot. Forty-two percent (42%) would vote for their district's Republican congressional candidate while 37% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent.The "generic ballot" question is a great indicator of the trend and attitude of the country. It is not specific to any particular candidate. Democrats had a sizable lead over Republicans on the generic ballot going into last year's elections, and now Republicans have gained the upper hand. Again, this is due to the terrible job that the Democrats have done.

How is the Republican Party establishment responding to all of this? Well... first we have speech after speech by Republican leaders saying how we need to "broaden our message" to "reach more people." I have heard a number of these speeches, and they never touch on the fact that we simply need to do a better job of sticking to our conservative positions and education Americans on what those positions are.

Just look at what is happening in the special election for New York's 23rd Congressional District. The candidate supported by the Republican Party is Dede Scozzafava. As the blog New Majority notes: Across the country, Republicans are scratching their heads and wondering, "How in the world did we end up with Scozzafava?" How did the GOP pick someone who is in favor of card check and had been approached by the Democrats to be their nominee? How did the Republicans in upstate New York choose a candidate who, according to one rating system, is more liberal than 43% of New York State Assembly Democrats?Scozzafava is supported by the National Republican Congressional Committee. They are still planning to pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into the race. A race in which there is a solid conservative running. New York's Conservative Party is supporting Doug Hoffman. Hoffman has garnered the support of former House Majority Leader Dick Armey. He has recently just received the endorsement of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Hoffman is also being supported by former presidential candidate Fred Thompson and Rep. Michelle Bachman of Minnesota.

The Republican Party needs to get a clue. The backlash that is hitting the Democrats right now is because they have overstepped. They mistook a nation that was frustrated with big spending and corruption for one that wanted to embrace a hard turn to the left and socialism. This nation is a conservative nation. What can't Republican Party leaders see that?

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