Usually Right: Barker's Newsbites: Friday, August 17, 2012

Friday, August 17, 2012

Barker's Newsbites: Friday, August 17, 2012

And the friggin' guy is still going strong!

From 1974...

Fondly dedicated to ODM!

22 comments:

William R. Barker said...: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_AFGHAN_US_CASUALTIES_GLANCE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-08-16-15-28-14

At least 1,961 U.S. service personnel have been killed in Afghanistan over the course of the 11-year war.

[O]ne U.S. soldier has been killed every day this year on average.

July has been the deadliest month of 2012 for U.S. troops, with 40 killed as a result of war-related violence.

* FOR WHAT...? ANSWER ME THAT. ANSWER THEIR SONS AND DAUGHTERS, MOTHERS AND FATHERS, WIVES AND HUSBANDS, FRIENDS AND OTHER FAMILY... ANSWER THEM.

* I FEEL NO SAFER - NOT ONE TINY BIT SAFER - WITH THEIR LIVES SACRIFICED.

* AND, MY GOD, PEOPLE... MANY (PERHAPS MOST?) OF THESE KIAs WEREN'T KILLED IN FIREFIGHTS... WEREN'T KILLED PROTECTING AMERICAN LIVES OR EVEN PROPERTY. NO. MANY (MOST?) OF THEM WERE MURDERED BY OUR "ALLIES" THE AFGHANIS. MANY WERE BLOWN UP WHILE ON PATROL.

The three deadliest months of the war for U.S. troops have been in summer: August 2011, 71 deaths; July 2010, 65 deaths; June 2010, 60 deaths.

* ELEVEN FRIGGIN' YEARS, FOLKS... (*SIGH*)

* WE'VE BEEN "WAGING WAR" IN AFGHANISTAN FOR 11 FRIGGIN' YEARS. (AS BIN LADEN WAS HIDING IN PAKISTAN UNDER THE PROTECTION OF OUR PAKISTANI "ALLIES.")

* FOLKS... DECEMBER 7, 1941 (PEARL HARBOR) TO SEPTEMBER 2, 1945 (V-J DAY)... LESS THAN FOUR FRIGGIN' YEARS TO DESTROY TOJO'S JAPAN, HITLER'S GERMANY, AND MUSSOLINI'S ITALY. YET HERE WE ARE AFTER 11 YEARS FIGHTING THE TALIBAN... AND THEY STILL SEEM TO BE GOING STRONG!

In the past two years, there has also been a surge of insider attacks in which Afghans have turned their guns on their international counterparts. NATO says that 34 "international service members" have been killed in such inside attacks so far this year.

* AND DOES THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FOLLOW-UP WITH THE QUESTION, "HOW MANY OF THESE 34 WERE AMERICAN?" NO. NO THEY DO NOT.

(*PURSED LIPS*); August 17, 2012 at 10:36 AM
William R. Barker said...: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_AFGHANISTAN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-08-17-07-05-57

A newly recruited Afghan village policeman opened fire on his American allies on Friday, killing two U.S. service members minutes after they handed him his official weapon in an inauguration ceremony.

* THE PRICE WE MUST PAY? PAY FOR WHAT? WHAT IS BEING ACCOMPLISHED? I KNOW THE COST... I ALSO KNOW IT'S NOT WORTH IT. I'M BETTING MOST OF YOU READING THIS KNOW THIS TOO.

* WHERE IS THE ANTI-WAR LEFT? WHERE ARE THE PEACE MARCHES? WHERE IS THE "HEY, HEY, HO, HO, BARACK OBAMA HAS TO GO!"? WHERE IS THE "HO, HO, HEY, HEY, HOW MANY KIDS BARACK KILL TODAY?"

* POLITICS IS ONE THING, FOLKS... BUT THIS... THIS HYPOCRISY... IT'S BEYOND THE PALE.

Later Friday, an Afghan soldier turned his gun on foreign troops in another part of the country and wounded two of them, a spokesman for the NATO coalition said.

* JEEZUS...

So far in 2012, there have been 29 attacks reported on foreign troops by Afghans they are training...

Seven such attacks have come in the past two weeks alone...

[S]ix American troops [were] killed...

* MURDERED. M*U*R*D*E*R*E*D...!

...last Friday in two separate shootings in Helmand province in the south and another American [was] killed a few days previously on a U.S. base in Paktia province in the east.

* M*U*R*D*E*R*E*D...!!!; August 17, 2012 at 11:11 AM
William R. Barker said...: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/79812.html

Army suicides hit a new single-month record in July, when 38 active-duty and reserve soldiers took their own lives, according to official figures released Thursday.

The toll, up from 24 in June...

* SO... JUST CURIOUS... HOW MANY OF MY READERS STILL HAVE ONE OF THOSE MADE-IN-CHINA MAGNETIC "SUPPORT THE TROOPS" YELLOW RIBBONS ATTACHED TO YOUR (FOREIGN?) VEHICLE TO... er... SHOW YOUR SUPPORT?

* YOU DON'T HEAR OBAMA TALKING ABOUT AFGHANISTAN MUCH - DO YOU?

* YOU DON'T HEAR ROMNEY TALKING ABOUT AFGHANISTAN MUCH - DO YOU?

* HOW'BOUT YOUR OWN MEMBER OF CONGRESS? YOUR OWN U.S. SENATOR?

* WHAT A SICK, COWARDLY, IRRESPONSIBLE, SHALLOW, SELFISH COUNTRY AMERICA HAS BECOME. ALL TOO OFTEN NOWADAYS I AM ASHAMED TO BE AN AMERICAN. AT LEAST I'M TRYING TO SHED LIGHT ON WHAT'S GOING ON...

Army officials said 187 active-duty and reserve soldiers have committed suicide so far in 2012.

Last year’s total was 283.

Many of the cases are suspected suicides under investigation and have not been officially classified as a suicide, officials say, meaning the eventual final total could be higher or lower.

And the numbers Thursday do not include statistics for former service members.

“As shocking as the Army numbers are, we have no idea what the veteran numbers are,” Tom Tarantino, legislative director for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said.

Gen. Lloyd Austin, the Army’s current vice chief, said the military is focused on trying to reduce the stigma associated with asking for help and address the mental health issues facing U.S. troops after more than a decade of war.

* FUCK THIS "AFTER MORE THAN A DECADE OF WAR" CRAP. THIS ISN'T A FUCKING WAR! THE "WAR" WAS OVER THE MINUTE THE FRIGGIN' TALIBAN WERE TOPPLED AND THE KARZAI GOVERNMENT WAS INSTALLED! THIS IS THE DRIP-DRIP-DRIP OF AMERICAN TREASURE AND BLOOD SPENT TO PROP UP A CORRUPT AFGHAN REGIME AND TO OCCUPY SUPPOSEDLY "VITAL" TERRITORY FROM WHICH TO LAUNCH ATTACKS UPON IRAN IF AND WHEN IT COMES TO THAT. IF IT WERE AN ENEMY/ADVERSARY NATION DOING THIS... WE'D CALL IT IMPERIALISM... AT THE VERY LEAST AN "OCCUPATION."; August 17, 2012 at 11:37 AM
William R. Barker said...: * TWO-PARTER... (Part 1 of 2)

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/social-security-administration-explains-plan-buy-174000-hollow-point-bullets

The Social Security Administration posted a blog on Thursday to explain why it was planning to purchase 174,000 hollow point bullets.

* 174,000.... ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FOUR THOUSAND...

(*SCRATCHING MY CHIN*) (*PENSIVE LOOK*)

SSA posted a "Request for Quote for Ammunition" on the FedBizOps.gov website on Aug. 7. The request listed the commodity that SSA desired as ".357 Sig 125 grain bonded jacketed hollow point pistol ammunition." The quantity listed was "174 TH."

The SSA’s Office of the Inspector General’s said it posted a new blog on the agency’s website, “Beyond the Numbers,” “as we strive to be a transparent and accountable government organization for all of our stakeholders.

(See: http://oig.ssa.gov/newsroom/blog/2012/08/social-securitys-oig-responds-concerns-over-ammunition-procurement)

The blog states that the SSA has 295 special agents who work in 66 offices across the United States.

* DO I REALLY HAVE TO DO THE MATH, HERE, FOLKS...?!?! (174,000 ROUNDS... FOR 295 AGENTS... HOLLOW-POINT ROUNDS...???)

* BY THE WAY... I WONDER HOW MUCH AMMO THE HAVE STORED NOW... RIGHT NOW... BEFORE FILLING THIS "NEW" ORDER? (GOOD QUESTION, RIGHT?!)

* TO BE CONTINUED...; August 17, 2012 at 2:29 PM
William R. Barker said...: * CONCLUDING... (Part 2 of 2)

“These investigators have full law enforcement authority, including executing search warrants and making arrests,” the blog post states. “Our investigators are similar to your State or local police officers.

* WE'RE TALKING THE SOCIAL... SECURITY... ADMINISTRATION...!!!

“They use traditional investigative techniques, and they are armed when on official duty,” the blog post states.

* 174,000 HOLLOW POINT BULLETS...? IN ADDITION TO WHATEVER THEIR EXISTING SUPPLY IS...?!?!

Concern expressed in some media reports about the type of ammunition ordered by the agency is unfounded, the blog states, explaining that the .357 Sig 125 grain bonded jacked hollow point pistol ammunition is “standard issue for many law enforcement agencies” and is appropriate for the work agents perform.

* THIS IS TRUE.

“Our special agents need to be armed and trained appropriately,” the blog post states. “They not only investigate allegations of Social Security fraud, but they also are called to respond to threats against Social Security offices, employees, and customers.”

* UH-HUH. (*SCRATCHING MY HEAD*) AGAIN... I HATE TO BRING MATH INTO IT... BUT HOW MANY SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICES ARE THERE? HOW MANY HAVE ARMED SOCIAL SECURITY AGENTS IN THOSE OFFICES FOR A REGULAR 8-HOUR SHIFT?

* IN CASE ANYONE MISSES MY POINT... REGULAR COPS WOULD BE FIRST RESPONDERS. PROBABLY FOLLOWED BY THE FBI. COM'ON, FOLKS... WHAT'S THE REAL DEAL HERE...???

The blog also links to another post about a fight that broke out near an SSA office in Massachusetts that required action by law enforcement officials.

* REQUIRING .357 Sig 125 GRAIN BONDED JACKETED HOLLOW POINT PISTOL AMMO TO DEAL WITH...??? (HAVE THESE PEOPLE NEVER HEARD OF TASARS...??? POLICE BATONS...??? YELLING "BREAK IT UP" PRIOR TO HOLDING BOTH COMBATANTS BACK PHYSICALLY?)

“SSA is processing more applications than ever, which means more traffic in SSA office,” the blog states. “Employee and visitor safety is the highest priority for OIG, which, together with the Federal Protective Services and local law enforcement, has jurisdiction over SSA workplaces.”

* ONE... MORE... TIME: 174,000 .357 Sig 125 GRAIN BONDED JACKETED HOLLOW POINT ROUNDS... ON TOP OF WHATEVER IS ALREADY IN THE AGENCY'S POSSESSION... TO EQUIP... er... 295 OFFICERS...???

Prior to the blog being posted, CNSNews.com had asked the agency specific questions about its ammunition order. Although some of those questions were addressed by the information provided in the blog, the agency did not say why it needed 174,000 bullets and if that quantity was customary or had increased from previous orders.

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

* FOLKS... YA DON'T HAVE TO BE A CONSPIRACY THEORIST TO ASK YOURSELF ONE SIMPLE QUESTION: "DOES THIS SOUND NORMAL?"

(*SHRUG*) (*PURSED LIPS*); August 17, 2012 at 2:29 PM
William R. Barker said...: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/aug/17/unemployment-rates-rose-44-us-states-july/

Unemployment rates rose in 44 U.S. states in July, the most states to show a monthly increase in more than three years...

* CHANT IT WITH ME, FRIENDS...! "O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A!"

* COM'ON...! LOUDER NOW...! O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A!"

The Labor Department said Friday that unemployment rates fell in only two states and were unchanged in four.

(*SARCASTIC CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*

Overall, the economy hasn’t been growing fast enough to generate more hiring. It expanded at an annual rate of only 1.5% in the April-June quarter, down from 2% in the first quarter and 4.1% in the final three months of last year.

* FOLKS... ALL THESE STATS ARE INDEED REFLECTIVE OF THE DISASTER THAT IS OBAMANOMICS, BUT WHAT'S REALLY TERRIFYING IS THAT THE WORKFORCE - THE PERCENTAGE OF WORKING-AGE ADULTS WITH FULL-TIME JOBS - KEEPS DECLINING.

* OH... AND AS NEWSBITE AFTER NEWSBITE NOTES... DISABILITY RATES KEEP GOING UP... MORE FOLKS ON FOOD STAMPS... WELFARE BEING ACTUALLY "MARKETED" BY THIS ADMINISTRATION AND DELIBERATELY GROWN...

(*GNASHING MY TEETH*)

* FOLKS... OBAMA WANTS TO DESTROY "OUR" AMERICA AND REPLACE IT WITH HIS. DON'T DOUBT ME ON THIS!; August 17, 2012 at 2:59 PM
William R. Barker said...: * TWO-PARTER... (Part 1 of 2)

http://washingtonexaminer.com/virginia-vintners-taste-the-police-state/article/2504381#.UC6X7KCQPHt

While the Obama administration is busy eviscerating private property rights at the federal level, Republican-controlled Fauquier County, Va., has decided to follow suit in its own way.

Fauquier's Board of Supervisors recently passed a winery ordinance that tramples private property rights and some fundamental civil liberties.

(*PURSED LIPS*)

The county, which is located about an hour west of Washington, calls itself an agricultural community. Its scenic, sprawling farmlands have become home to a growing number of wineries. Vintners have discovered that Fauquier's climate and rich soil are ideal for growing grapes.

Most of the wineries are mom and pop operations. Some, though, have been more creative in marketing, employing more people, and generating revenue. The county thinks such success must be punished.

At the center of all this is the county zoning administrator, a bureaucratic czar named Kimberley Johnson, whose bullying and heavy-handed enforcement tactics have resulted in calls for her dismissal by county farmers and residents. Johnson was recently the subject of a citizen-farmer "pitchfork protest" in a matter in which she fined one farmer for conducting a pumpkin carving and a birthday party for eight little girls without the proper permit.

* WELL... FROM WHAT I REMEMBER OF THE STORY THERE'S A BIT MORE TOO IT THAT THAT... (*SHRUG*)

The winery ordinance is Obamaesque, passed under the pretext that it protects the health, safety and welfare of the public. It forces wineries to close at 6 p.m. and prohibits sale of food - something that goes quite safely with a taste of wine - unless the wineries obtain special permits from the zoning administrator.

* DO OTHER BUSINESSES WHICH SELL FOOD REQUIRE A LICENSE? IF SO... (*SHRUG*)

The ordinance lists prohibited winery activities such as hot air balloon rides, farmers' markets, and mini-golf, which assuredly threaten the health, safety and welfare of the public, right?

* ARE HOT AIR BALLOON RIDES OTHERWISE "REGULATED?" (FAIR QUESTION - RIGHT?) AS TO FARMERS MARKETS... IF THEY'RE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC... (*SHRUG*)... ALL I'M QUESTIONING IS WHETHER THE SALE OF FOOD IS ORDINARILY REGULATED AND IF SO HOW.

* IN OTHER WORDS, FOLKS... I WANNA HAVE APPLE TO APPLE COMPARISONS. I'M NOT GONNA SIMPLY REACT THE RED MEAT... REACT AS THE WRITER AND EDITOR OBVIOUSLY WANT ME TO... WITHOUT SOME CLARIFICATIONS.

* TO BE CONTINUED...; August 17, 2012 at 3:31 PM
William R. Barker said...: * CONCLUDING... (Part 2 of 2)

Among the prohibited activities, the ordinance includes anything else determined by the zoning administrator "to be similar in nature or in impact to" the listed activities. That's the equivalent allowing police officers to ticket drivers for nearly anything they wish.

(*SHRUG*) YEP. IT DOES SOUND THAT WAY. (BUT, HEY... HOW EXACTLY IS "RECKLESS DRIVING" DEFINED?)

The winery ordinance comes with potential criminal penalties, yet it has weak standards of evidence and due process to protect the innocent. It's a civil liberties and property rights nightmare on its face. Chicago politics and even dictatorships mask their tyrannical abuses of law better than this.

(*CHUCKLE*) I DO ADMIRE THE WRITERS WORDSMANSHIP! (*GRIN*)

Fauquier gave its zoning czar the same type of unlimited discretion to decide whether to issue special permits to stay open past 6 p.m., to host events, and to determine entry road surface conditions. This gives the zoning administrator unfettered control over the very existence of wineries, and creates conditions under which vintners must fear her every next move.

* HMM... THIS "CAN'T BE OPEN PAST 6:00 P.M. WITHOUT A SPECIAL PERMIT" REGULATION SEEMS ONOROUS. (THEN AGAIN... BLUE LAWS OF ALL DIFFERENT STRIPES EXIST THROUGHOUT AMERICA.)

Perhaps the most offensive provision of the ordinance authorizes "private personal gatherings" at wineries. Someone obviously forgot to tell Fauquier officials that in America, we don't need government permission for private personal gatherings on our own property.

* BUT IF THE "GATHERING" IS ACTUALLY COMMERCE... (*SHRUG*)

Yet even in their contempt for the freedom of assembly and private property rights, Fauquier officials limited the definition of "private personal gathering" to owners who reside at or adjacent to their wineries, and who do not market their wine at such gatherings. This means no winery signs - no bottle labels, even, when owners hold private personal gatherings on their property, because that's marketing.

* SEEMS TO ME THE BURDEN RESTS UPON THE COUNTY TO PROVE IT WASN'T A PURELY PRIVATE GATHERING... IN OTHER WORDS, THE WINERY OWNERS SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PROVE THEIR INNOCENCE - THE AUTHORITIES NEED TO PROVE GUILT... GUILT BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT WOULD BE BEST.

The Fauquier ordinance clearly violates Virginia's Right to Farm Act, which guarantees agriculture activities of growing and selling. No county may use ordinances to inhibit these rights.

* I CAN'T COMMENT; DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THIS "RIGHT TO FARM ACT" SAYS IN IT'S ENTIRETY.

Vintners are challenging the Fauquier ordinance in courts and are seeking legislative relief in Richmond. Perhaps, though, they and their patrons should form a Wine Party, and dispel the Fauquier government officials responsible for this lawbreaking and these trespasses on private rights.

* HEY! MORE POWER TO 'EM! I'D SUPPORT 'EM!

* HEY... FOLKS... THIS PARTICULAR NEWSBITE IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF HOW I TRULY DO HOLD MYSELF TO THE HIGHEST STANDARDS OF HONESTY AND INTELLECTUAL CONSISTENCY. I DON'T SIMPLY "ACCEPT" THE "RIGHTNESS" OF "CONSERVATIVE NEWS COVERAGE." I'M ALWAYS QUESTIONING... ALWAYS THE CYNIC!

(*WINK*); August 17, 2012 at 3:32 PM
William R. Barker said...: http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/legislature/justice-department-sues-florida-over-lack-of-kosher-meals-for-prison/1246207

The U.S. government has filed a lawsuit against Florida's prison system, saying it violates the rights of Jewish inmates by refusing to provide kosher meals.

* ARE YOU FUCKING SHITTING ME...?!?!

"The Florida Department of Corrections forces hundreds of its prisoners to violate their core religious beliefs on a daily basis," the suit claims.

* THIS IS ERIC FUCKING HOLDER'S JUSTICE DEPARTMENT! SUING FLORIDA!

The Department of Justice filed suit in U.S. District Court in Miami, claiming the Department of Corrections systematically violates the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000. Most other states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons routinely provide kosher food, the lawsuit states.

* SOUNDS LIKE THIS "ACT" IS INSANITY ENSHRINED INTO LAW!

* JEEZUS... (FORGIVE THE EXPRESSION - THE PUN)... BUT WOULDN'T YOU THINK THAT IF ANYTHING, HOLDER WOULD BE FIGHTING AGAINST THE FEDERAL LEGISLATION BASED UPON IT MAKING THE PRISON THE AGENT OF THE FAITH...?

Corrections Secretary Ken Tucker said kosher meals were limited because the agency is struggling to control its food costs.

* WELL, DUH!

The federal government says the state offers inmates many other specialty diets, from vegetarian to liquid to pureed...

* OK! ENOUGH! "VEGETARIAN" SHOULD BE "HEY... DON'T TAKE THE MEAT... TAKE THE VEGETABLES AND FRUIT!" AS TO "LIQUID AND PUREED"... SOUNDS LIKE A MEDICAL ACCOMMODATION TO ME - NOT A RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION.

* FOLKS... THIS IS HOW ERIC HOLDER USES (MISUSES) HIS POWER AND PISSES AWAY OUR TAX DOLLARS!; August 17, 2012 at 3:41 PM
William R. Barker said...: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/08/16/how-became-george-obama-brother/

* MAKE OF THIS WHAT YOU WILL.

(*SHRUG*); August 17, 2012 at 3:49 PM
William R. Barker said...: * TWO-PARTER... (Part 1 of 2)

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/us-governments-foreign-debt-hits-record-529-trillion

The money the U.S. government owes to foreign entities rose to a record $5.2923 trillion in June, according to data released by the U.S. Treasury Wednesday afternoon.

On net, in June, the U.S. government borrowed an additional $34.2 billion from foreign entities in order to fund U.S. government operations.

The U.S. government’s indebtedness to foreign interests has grown by 72.3% during President Barack Obama’s term in office.

* NOW HERE'S THE PERTINENT QUESTION: HOW MUCH DID U.S. INDEBTEDNESS TO FOREIGN INTERESTS GROW IN THE FIRST NEAR-FOUR YEARS OF THE BUSH PRESIDENCY? (AS A PERCENTAGE. APPLES TO APPLES.) AND WHILE WE'RE AT IT, SAME QUESTION RE: CLINTON... PAPPY BUSH... REAGAN... FORD... NIXON... (*SHRUG*)

Entities in the People’s Republic of China remain the largest holders of U.S. government debt.

(Entities in Japan, however, are on track to eclipse the Chinese as the top holders of U.S. government debt.)

(*PURSED LIPS*)

* FRANKLY... WHILE I'D RATHER OWE JAPAN THAN CHINA... I WONDER IF THE JAPANESE ARE BUYING OUR DEBT ALL ON THEIR OWN... THEIR IDEA... OR WHETHER WE'VE... er... MADE THEM SOME BEHIND THE SCENES "OFFER THEY COULDN'T REFUSE."

Chinese ownership of U.S. government debt hit an historical peaked of $1.3149 trillion in July 2011 and has been on a generally downward trend since then.

* AGAIN... I'D RATHER NOT HAVE CHINESE OWNERSHIP OF U.S. GOVERNMENT DEBT... BUT IT SEEMS TO ME THAT DISENGAGING INFERS A BELIEF BY THE CHINESE THAT THEY'D BETTER GET OUT WHILE THE GETTING OUT IS GOOD! IN OTHER WORDS... THEY SEE US AS BEING IN DEEP DOO-DOO AND DON'T WANNA GET INVEST GOOD MONEY AFTER BAD.

(*SIGH*)

* TO BE CONTINUED...; August 17, 2012 at 4:33 PM
William R. Barker said...: * CONCLUDING... (Part 2 of 2)

Although the Chinese maintained their place as the top foreign owners of U.S. debt in June, they are not the top owners of U.S. debt in the world. That distinction belongs to the U.S. Federal Reserve, which according to its July monthly report, owned $1.667 trillion in U.S. government debt in June.

* YEP! (SEE PAST NEWSBITES AND STAND-ALONE POSTS DEALING WITH THIS SCAM!)

As of the end of June, the total debt of the federal government was $15,856,367,214,324.44. However, of that debt, $4,812,182,369,712.78 was money the federal government owed to itself (i.e. money the Treasury had borrowed from federal trust funds such as the Social Security Trust Fund, etc.).

* "BORROWED..." (*SNORT*) "STOLEN" IS MORE LIKE IT! EMBEZZLED...? YEP! RIGHT THERE IN BROAD DAYLIGHT! FOLKS... THESE ACCOUNTING TRICK "TRUST FUNDS" ARE FILLED WITH I.O.U.'s! FOLKS... SOCIAL SECURITY WENT UPSIDE DOWN (IT NOW OPERATES ON A DEFICIT ITSELF!) A FEW YEARS BACK! FOLKS... THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BORROWS 43-CENTS OUT OF EVER DOLLAR IT SQUANDERS!

* FOLKS... IF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CAN'T MEET IT'S YEARLY OPERATING EXPENSES WITHOUT STEALING FROM SOCIAL SECURITY... WITHOUT "BORROWING" FROM THE FED... WITHOUT BORROWING FROM THE CHINESE, JAPANESE, AND OTHERS... HOW IN GOD'S NAME WOULD YOU EVER EXPECT IT TO BE ABLE TO MEET ITS EXPENSES AND PAY DOWN THE EXISTING DEBT AT ANY TIME IN THE FUTURE...?!?!

* FOLKS... OBAMA WANTS TO INCREASE FEDERAL SPENDING EVEN FURTHER! HE PROMISES FURTHER TAX RELIEF TO THE MIDDLE CLASS AND THE POOR! IF YOU SIMPLY CONFISCATED ALL THE WEALTH OF EVERY MILLIONAIRE AND BILLIONAIRE IN THE COUNTRY THAT MIGHT PAY THE BILLS FOR A FEW MONTHS...

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*

* IS THERE ANYONE WHO CAN DO MATH...?!?!

The Treasury calls this type of debt “intragovernmental” debt. The remaining $11,044,184,844,611.66 the federal government owed as of the end of June was debt held by the “public.” This is debt in the form of Treasury securities the government is obligated to pay off in cash.

* ONE... MORE... TIME: THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS ALREADY PAYING DOWN DEBT WITH... er... NEW AND INCREASED DEBT...!!!

* DOES ANYONE SPEAK FUCKING ENGLISH...?!?! I DON'T KNOW HOW ELSE TO EXPLAIN IT...!!!

The combined $6.9593 trillion that U.S. Treasury owed both to foreign entities ($5.2923 trillion) and the Federal Reserve ($1.667 trillion) at the end of June, equaled about 63% of the federal government’s debt held by the public.

* SO THAT'S DEBT... PLUS DEBT... PLUS... er... MORE DEBT...

(*ANTICIPATING SUFFERING A STROKE*); August 17, 2012 at 4:34 PM
William R. Barker said...: * TWO-PARTER... (Part 1 of 2)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/michael-gerson-obamas-betrayal/2012/08/16/f165cc14-e7d9-11e1-8487-64e4b2a79ba8_story.html?tid=pm_opinions_pop

In the innocent, bygone days of February...

(*SNORT*) (*CHUCKLE*

...President Obama told NBC News that the campaign would get negative against him, but provided this assurance: “I think that you will be able to see how we conduct ourselves in the campaign. I think it will be consistent with how I conducted myself in 2008 and hopefully how I have conducted myself as president of the United States.”

Not since Gary Hart urged reporters to follow him around because “they’d be very bored” has an assurance been more of an indictment.

* AND BTW... YEAH... THIS IS THE WAY HE'S CONDUCTED HIMSELF AS POTUS FROM DAY ONE! (REMEMBER THAT "STUPID COP" FROM CAMBRIDGE? BEER SUMMIT ANYONE...?)

The Obama campaign has targeted and intimidated Republican donors on an Internet enemies list.

It has suggested, without evidence, that Romney may have committed the felony of falsifying Federal Election Commission documents.

It has speculated, without proof, that Romney has [illegally] avoided paying taxes.

When Joe Biden engages in racially charged hyperbole, he is awkwardly but accurately reflecting the spirit of the 2012 Obama campaign. But the most vivid accusation (made by a closely associated PAC and embraced by the campaign itself) is that Romney’s ruthless business practices were responsible for the closing of a firm, the loss of a couple’s health insurance and thus the death of a woman from cancer.

(Except that Romney wasn’t connected to the closing of the firm, the woman continued to have health insurance from another source and her cancer was diagnosed five years after the plant shut down.)

[This] represents the crossing of an ethical line.

* TO BE CONTINUED...; August 17, 2012 at 5:23 PM
William R. Barker said...: * CONCLUDING... (Part 2 of 2)

If the conduct of the Obama campaign team were universalized, candidates would no longer require any evidence to accuse one another of complicity in a death. To accept this as a new political norm would be to define defamation down.

(*NOD*)

Obama’s defenders assure us that "everyone does it."

But not everyone does this.

(*NOD*)

It is one thing to exploit a misstatement; another to exploit a tragedy.

It is one thing to mischaracterize a federal waiver; another to accuse an opponent of being the Angel of Death.

For the Obama campaign, this is not an aberration; it is a culmination. The demonization of Romney is a main element of its strategy, pursued by Obama’s closest associates and former employees, not by loosely affiliated partisan groups. Deniability is not even remotely plausible, but it doesn’t remotely matter. Even when exposed, the Obama campaign never retracts, never apologizes — convinced that the news cycle will quickly erase inconvenient memories.

* AND HE'S USUALLY CORRECT! THE FIX IS IN! COM'ON... YOU CAN'T EVEN SERIOUSLY CLAIM IT'S NOT!

It seems to be working, at least for the moment. Obama’s recent polling gains are mainly explainable by Romney’s rising negatives, particularly among independents. Even as political journalists point out distortions by the Obama campaign, they tend to praise its boldness, coordination and momentum. And each new controversy succeeds in distracting attention from Obama’s economic stewardship.

Ronald Reagan expressed distrust of government while paradoxically improving its image and standing.

Barack Obama has placed boundless faith in government while trust in public institutions has declined to all-time lows.

It is the legacy of Obama’s liberalism: expanding the state while helping discredit the political process. The Obama campaign is veering toward anti-nomianism. Since it regards its own motives as pure, it feels it can dispense with the normal rules of accuracy, civility and decency.

So we get the political methods of Spiro Agnew combined with the moral self-regard of Woodrow Wilson.

It is not an attractive mixture.

Speaking in Canton, Ohio, a week before the 2008 election, Obama said, “Some of you may be cynical and fed up with politics. A lot of you may be disappointed and even angry with your leaders. You have every right to be. But despite all of this, I ask of you what has been asked of Americans throughout our history. I ask you to believe.”

I am admittedly a sucker for rhetorical idealism. But it can’t be a small thing, a typical thing, a trivial thing, to ask for belief and then betray it.; August 17, 2012 at 5:24 PM
William R. Barker said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; August 17, 2012 at 5:45 PM
William R. Barker said...: * THREE-PARTER... (Part 1 of 3)

http://nlpc.org/cached/auto-bailout-legacy-gms-european-nightmare.html?q=stories/2012/08/16/auto-bailout-legacy-gms-european-nightmare

Three years into their forced marriage with GM, the American taxpayers have seen the value of their investment in GM deteriorate by approximately $24 billion, largely due to continuing European losses.

Exposure in Europe has contributed to crushing the value of GM's stock due to its chaotic and failing Opel unit in Germany.

While government, journalists and Wall Street sympathizers have given the Obama Administration and GM leadership an almost incomprehensible pass on this value destruction and massive loss (presumably due to the macro-economic nature of the crisis), it's time to call for the accountability that this new Board was supposedly going to deliver.

Overlooked is [that] the value-destroying, cash-sucking disaster that is GM Europe was packaged and ready for sale to new European buyers in 2009 before the new Obama GM Board of Directors slammed the brakes on the deal, throwing GM into its current value free-fall.

In fact, the decision to not sell the Opel operations (which has not been profitable for more than a decade) in 2009 after GM cleared bankruptcy was the very first major decision of the new Obama Board.

(Had Opel been sold, GM stock would be much higher than it is today.)

* FOLKS... DISCLAIMER... THIS IS AN OPINION ARTICLE BY A GUY WHO DOES INDEED HAVE CREDENTIALS... HOWEVER... THIS ISN'T STRAIGHT NEWS AND IT'S NOT COMING OUT OF WHAT I'M COMFIDENT IS AN "AUTHORITATIVE" SOURCE SUCH AS FORBES, BUSINESSWEEK, THE WSJ... etc.

* ON THE OTHER HAND I HAVE NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THIS GUY IF FULL OF SHIT... THAT HE'S JUST MAKING THIS UP. (YOU CAN GOOGLE HIM YOURSELVES IF YOU'RE INTERESTED!)

* BOTTOM LINE... TRUST BUT VERIFY. (*SHRUG*) I'M "TRUSTING," BUT I CAN'T SAY I'VE "VERIFIED." THAT SAID... THIS DOES FIT IN WITH OTHER THINGS I'VE READ... WITH OTHER FACTS AS I KNOW THEM TO BE. (OTHERWISE I WOULDN’T MAKE THIS A NEWSBITE!)

* TO BE CONTINUED...; August 17, 2012 at 5:48 PM
William R. Barker said...: * CONTINUING... (Part 2 of 3)

In November of 2009, the governments of Russia, Germany and the U.S. were engaged in a major international deal that would have seen the global auto parts manufacturer Magna purchasing a majority portion of GM's failing Opel unit through a combination of public and private funding coming from Russia and Germany.

* AS OPPOSED TO THE U.S. TAXPAYER!

Then-interim GM CEO Fritz Henderson made the controversial decision to simply sell the unit off. The cost of fixing Opel and ridding the company of the over-capacity was a task that would cost into the tens of billions of dollars - if it were possible at all due to the legal and political obstacles in the way.

But the "new and improved" Obama Board of Directors, working mostly at the persistent lobbying and urging of the UAW's appointee, Steve Girsky, were naively convinced that Opel was simply a rough jewel in need of some new leadership (Opel fired its third leader in as many years a few weeks ago) and TLC from the brain-trust in Detroit.

With his persuasive lobbying, the union's man Girsky convinced all but two of the Board members to vote to ditch the planned sale and hold onto this "gem" that has now contributed to the loss of about $24 billion of the American taxpayers' forced investment.

Beyond the sheer magnitude of the value losses, fixing Europe has become an all-consuming distraction that is draining GM of vital and scarce resources.

This became evident on last quarter's earnings conference call, where CFO Dan Amman ducked and weaved in answering how much of the American taxpayers' money was being lent to Opel to sustain its failing operations.

* AND THE ANSWER WOULD BE...???

And as if the misdeeds and mistakes couldn't get worse, GM tied itself up in an equity alliance with the only other automaker in the region in as bad or worse shape than Opel - Peugeot.

GM just made the shocking admission with an SEC filing that it will likely have to write-down the investment as a loss since Peugeot's stock price has also fallen off a cliff with little or no hope of recovery. How's that new and improved government leadership and accountability working for you now?

(*GRIMACE*)

* TO BE CONTINUED...; August 17, 2012 at 5:49 PM
William R. Barker said...: * CONCLUDING... (Part 3 of 3)

Another of the GM Board's major decisions around the time that they were blowing the sale of Opel was to oust Henderson from his position. Ironically, the move may have been based on Henderson's desire to dump Opel. From a Businessweek article from that period:

"One long-time GM executive told me that Henderson wanted to sell GM's long-suffering Opel unit in Europe. He thought Opel's cash drain and problems will be too much of a distraction for GM at a time when it is trying to repair the U.S. business and mind its growing overseas operations. But the board, led by Girsky, Bonderman and Ackerman, wanted to keep it. They figured that selling it off would leave GM weak in a big market like Europe. Plus, the board was dismayed that Henderson didn't get more than the $750 million that parts maker Magna was going to pay for a majority stake in Opel."

All of this leads one to ask the obvious question, "What would the American taxpayer investment look like if GM wasn't as exposed in Europe, as would have been the plan had the new 'enlightened' government and union-sponsored Board of Directors not intervened?"

While any such answer would be speculative, it is obvious that the company would be in a much stronger position today.

* AGAIN... I DON'T KNOW ENOUGH TO SIMPLY TAKE THE AUTHOR AT HIS WORD. BUT...

(*SHRUG*)

While pundits point to a weak environment in the auto sector as a reason for GM's poor stock performance, a comparison of GM to other major players in the field reveal how poorly the Obama-appointed leadership has performed and give an indication of how much stronger GM would have been if not saddled with its European anchor around its neck.

* YA, SEE, FOLKS... SEE WHAT I MEAN ABOUT THE ARTICLE MAKING INTUITIVE SENSE? (JUST COMPARE "FORD" TO "GOVERNMENT MOTORS!")

Since GM's IPO almost two years ago, the broader S&P 500 has gone up about 30%. During that period, Ford shares have gone down about 15%, Toyota up about 15%, Honda up about 5%, Nissan up about 35%, Hyundai up about 60% and Volkswagen up about 85%.

* TERRIFYING THAT A 15% LOSS (FOR FORD) PLACES IT WELL AHEAD OF GM, ISN'T IT? (JEEZUS...)

Make no mistake; GM is vastly underperforming the industry, despite an influx of approximately $50 billion of taxpayer funds.

In addition to U.S. taxpayers anteing up, Canada put in over $10 billion and GM was relieved of about $28 billion of bondholder obligations as UAW claims were protected.

That's an improvement of almost $90 billion to the balance sheet and the company still lags the competition!

* AND THE AUTHOR FAILS TO ADD IN "TAX FORGIVENESS" ACCORDED "THE NEW GM!"

(SEE: http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/23/news/companies/gm_bailout/index.htm)

GM's performance is an embarrassment to its Obama-appointed leadership and an indication that the Administration has not fixed the underlying problems there. Worse yet, when a possible solution to one of the biggest overhangs, GM Europe, was on the table, the new leadership nixed the deal. And now an unstable management team, which seems to be constantly reshuffling as it tries to find direction, does not inspire confidence.

Unfortunately for the taxpayers, it appears the damage is done and the ability to pull out a recovery is all but passed. There is no reason to continue the market-timing gamble that sees taxpayer money risked on a company that should be allowed to sink or swim on its own, without government input.

It's time to simply cut the losses and dump taxpayers' remaining stock and end this failed experiment once and for all.

* I AGREE.; August 17, 2012 at 5:49 PM
William R. Barker said...: * THREE-PARTER... (Part 1 of 3)

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/314261/spending-716-billion-twice-grace-marie-turner

In 1997, the [Gingrich] Republican Congress passed, and President Bill Clinton signed, the Balanced Budget Act (BBA), which gradually reduced payments to Medicare providers as part of a plan to reduce overall federal spending.

* RE-READ THAT A COUPLE TIMES. NOW... READ THE NEXT PARAGRAPH. (YEAH... A COUPLE TIMES. I WANNA MAKE SURE YOU'RE "GETTING" IT.)

The key to the policy is the Sustainable Growth Rate, which requires the government to adjust payments for physician services each year so that growth in Medicare spending does not exceed the growth of GDP.

* THIS IS WHERE THE "GRADUAL" COMES IN! (READ THE TWO PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS AGAIN IF NECESSARY...)

But Medicare’s fee-for-service model works at cross-purposes with this policy, and incentivizes doctors to bill for more and more services, driving up Medicare spending to higher levels year after year.

* GET IT? AS THE GOVERNMENT SAYS "WE'LL PAY YOU LESS FOR PERFORMING 'WHATEVER'" THE DOCTORS SAY, "OK... FINE... THEN WE'LL UNBUNDLE 'TREATMENT' INTO 'SEPARATE SERVICES' AND BILL SEPARATELY TO MAKE UP FOR THE LOW-BALL 'INITIAL' REIMBURSEMENT!"

* FOLKS... THINK GOVERNMENT RUN SUPERMARKETS. IF THEY WEREN'T ALLOWED TO MAKE A DECENT RETURN ON FOOD SALES THEY'D START ADDING "FEES" FOR EVERYTHING FROM "CART RENTAL" TO "CHECK-OUT SERVICES" TO "BAGGING." CHRIST, PEOPLE... YOU SEE THIS IN BANKING... YOU SEE THIS IN AIRLINE TRAVEL... YOU SEE THIS WHEREVER THERE'S HEAVY GOVERNMENT REGULATION!

* NOW... READ ON... AND SEE ANOTHER POLITICAL WRINKLE IN ACTION!

* TO BE CONTINUED...; August 17, 2012 at 6:49 PM
William R. Barker said...: * CONTINUING... (Part 2 of 3)

[E]ach time the payment cuts are about to be triggered, doctors swarm Capitol Hill to get Congress to postpone them. At first, the payment cuts would have been just 1% or 2% (if doctors hadn’t succeeded in killing them).

* KEEP READING... KEEP READING...

But over time they have accumulated, and now doctors would be paid 27% less for treating Medicare patients if the originally intended cuts had gone into effect.

And the cuts would continue in perpetuity[!]

* FOLKS... HAVE YOU SEEN CONGRESSIONAL SALARIES CUT? HAVE YOU SEEN GOVERNMENT SALARIES CUT? HOW WOULD OBAMA AND THE PRESS PORTRAY IT IF INSTEAD OF TELLING DOCTORS THEY HAD TO EAT A 27% CUT IN PAY IT WAS UNIONIZED WORKERS - PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR - BEING THREATENED WITH GOVERNMENT MANDATED REDUCTIONS IN PAY...?!?! HMM...???

Doctors say these payment reductions would cripple their practices and make it difficult for them to see Medicare patients, especially since Medicare already pays doctors less than private plans.

* FOLKS... MEDICARE PATIENTS WOULD END UP GETTING FUCKED!

* HEY... FOLKS... IT'S NOT JUST BLACK FOLKS WHO CAN NO LONGER BE ENSLAVED... (*PAUSE*)... IT'S DOCTORS AS WELL! THE FEDS CAN PLAY WITH REIMBURSEMENT RATES ALL THEY CHOOSE... BUT IF THE DOCTOR REFUSES TO ACCEPT LOW-BALL REIMBUSEMENT THEN THERE'S NOTHING THE GOVERNMENT CAN DO TO FORCE HIM OR HER!

* HEY... FOLKS... THE FEDS CAN TELL ME THAT THEY'RE ONLY WILLING TO PAY ME $80 TO DRIVE A GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE TO NEWARK AIRPORT. FINE. I'M NOT GONNA DO IT! MY RATE IS - WITH TIP - $160. (MAYBE I'LL NEGOTIATE TO A LOWER RATE FOR SOMEONE... MAYBE I WON'T... BUT THAT'S *MY* DECISION. BOTTOM LINE, THE GOVERNMENT CAN'T "FORCE" ME TO SCREW MYSELF AND IT CAN'T FORCE DOCTORS TO SCREW THEMSELVES!

The American Medical Association wants a permanent “doc fix” that would end the threat of these cuts, and the fix was the main demand the AMA made when it was at the negotiating table over ObamaCare.

The White House promised the fix, but reneged at the last minute.

The doc fix was yanked from the bill, largely because of its $208 billion price tag.

Last month, following the Supreme Court’s disastrous decision about ObamaCare, the Congressional Budget Office recalculated the ten-year cost of the health-overhaul law to determine what the court’s decision would mean to the overall cost of the law.

The CBO concluded that the cuts to Medicare now total $716 billion over 10 years — chiefly because the ten-year window is moved three years into the future and, as health costs grow every year, so does Medicare spending.

(The law contains other Medicare payment reductions as well.)

The president’s plan to “save” Medicare relies primarily on paying doctors and hospitals less and less by keeping in place the 1997 trajectory for spending cuts. According to Medicare actuaries, this would mean that 40% of providers eventually will either go bankrupt or stop seeing Medicare patients altogether.

(*SHRUG*)

* GREAT FUCKING PLAN, HUH?!

* TO BE CONTINUED...; August 17, 2012 at 6:50 PM
William R. Barker said...: *** OOPS! SCREWED UP! IT'S ACTUALLY GONNA TAKE ME FOUR SEPARATE POSTS TO GET THIS SUCKER OUT! SO...

* CONTINUING... (PART 3 OF 4!)

To make sure that these spending targets are met, ObamaCare creates the dreaded Independent Payment Advisory Board to enforce the cuts — and even more if needed.

* THE PROBLEM BEING... (*DRUM ROLL*)... SLAVERY IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL! (YES... EVEN IF THEY CALL IT A TAX...) (*SMILE*) AT LEAST I HOPE SO!

The IPAB puts the thumb screws in the ObamaCare strategy, because the law makes it nearly impossible for Congress to override the board’s orders and shields the board’s decisions from judicial review — and patient input.

* HOW MANY TIMES MUST I SAY IT? SINCE THE FEDS CAN'T FORCE DOCTORS TO WORK FOR WHATEVER IS OFFERED... (*SHRUG*)

* FINALLY... (*SIGH*)... THERE'S THIS, FOLKS...

ObamaCare counts the same Medicare "savings" twice — once to allegedly extend the solvency of Medicare, and again to pay for ObamaCare's massive new subsidies for private health insurance through the exchanges.

* HEY... FOLKS... THIS AIN'T WHAT "CONSERVATIVES" ARE CHARGING... THIS IS WHAT THE FRIGGIN' OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT MEDICARE ACTUARIES REPORT! (READ ON!)

Medicare actuaries have chastised the administration and its allies in Congress for this double-counting.

Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius was asked about the double-counting during a congressional hearing last year. “Are you using [the Medicare "savings"] to save Medicare or are you using it for health reform?” asked Representative John Shimkus (R-IL).

“Both,” Sebelius answered.

* FOLKS... YA CAN'T MAKE THIS SHIT UP!

If ObamaCare were repealed, we would be protecting taxpayers from this dishonest trick of counting the Medicare savings twice.

(All of these numbers, by the way, represent reductions in the rate of growth of Medicare spending, not actual cuts. Medicare spent $549 billion in 2011 and is projected to spend $809 billion in 2018. In any family budget, that definitely is not a cut.)

* TO BE CONTINUED...; August 17, 2012 at 6:52 PM
William R. Barker said...: * CONCLUDING... (Part 4 of 4)

So what about the claims that House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan also cuts Medicare by $716 billion?

Ryan’s budget follows current law. The BBA Medicare-payment reductions are federal law, and his budget necessarily uses federal law as a baseline.

* BUT... THEY'RE... NOT... REAL...!!! (BUT, WAIT! ROMNEY TO THE RESCUE!) (YEAH...! I'M BEING SERIOUS!) READ ON...

Mitt Romney says that if he is elected, he will eliminate the cuts. That’s actually a realistic promise, because that is what Congress does every year anyway. But this promise also will provide added incentive for a “permanent doc fix,” the Holy Grail of the AMA.

(*CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)

So here’s the bottom line: President Obama leaves the $716 billion in Medicare reductions in place, and he spends the money again to create a vast new ObamaCare entitlement program.

Paul Ryan doesn’t double-count this money.

* BUT HE DOES BASE HIS CALCULATIONS UPON BULLSHIT FICTIONAL CUTS...

(*SHRUG*)

Ryan's budget leaves the BBA Medicare payment cuts in place, but also creates a plan to make the program more efficient by injecting market forces through competition and consumer choice.

* RYAN'S OLD PLAN! HIS CONGRESSIONAL PLAN! ALL THAT WENT OUT THE FRIGGIN' WINDOW THE MOMENT ROMNEY BECAME THE NOMINEE AND CHOOSE RYAN AS HIS RUNNING MATE! IT'S NOW ROMNEY'S PLAN WE HAVE TO ASSESS... THE OLD RYAN PLAN NO LONGER HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING AS FAR AS DOUBLE-COUNTING OR NOT DOUBLE-COUNTING THE MONEY GOES.

* DO... YOU... UNDERSTAND...?!?!

Ryan’s premium-support model would require health plans to compete for the business of future seniors by offering better benefits at lower prices. Seniors would be guaranteed coverage because Medicare would fully cover the premium costs of the second-lowest-cost plan or the cost of traditional Medicare, whichever is lower. Those who are older or sicker, or have lower incomes, would get additional help.

* YES. THIS IS ALL STILL VIABLE. (AGAIN... IT'S PAST CALCULATIONS BASED ON THE DOC FIX HAPPENING THAT ARE NO LONGER VALID... THAT FRANKLY WERE NEVER VALID!)

The market model has been proven to work in the Medicare Advantage and prescription-drug programs.

* YES! YES IT HAS!

Three Harvard researchers published a study in The Journal of the American Medical Association examining how premium support would have worked if it had been in effect in 2009. They found that, nationally, the benchmark plan bid an average of 9% below traditional Medicare costs.

Further, the Part D prescription-drug program in Medicare is saving taxpayers money and giving seniors better benefits. Seniors can choose the drug plan that offers them the best benefits at the lowest prices, and these smart shoppers have brought the cost of the program 42% lower than expected when the drug benefit was created in 2003.

It’s now a choice between the Romney-Ryan market-based model and ObamaCare's double-counting and price controls enforced by an unelected, unaccountable board charged with paying doctors less and less, to the point that 40% of them [may] drop out.

Let’s have an honest debate about which of the two visions actually would sustain Medicare, and has the best chance of getting the federal budget on a more sustainable track.

* YES...! YES...! YES...!; August 17, 2012 at 6:55 PM

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Friday, August 17, 2012

Barker's Newsbites: Friday, August 17, 2012

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