Remembering Ted Kennedy

With the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy this week, media outlets will no doubt be spending the next several days reflecting on his legacy. But to fully understand who he was and the legacy he leaves behind it would be helpful to read essays by Carl Cannon and Mark Alexander.

He definitely achieved much through his long life but he also leaves a mixed legacy behind. It is not so much a person's achievements that define them. It is their character. That is how we should probably remember Senator Kennedy.

Coping with H1N1 Flu

School is starting and officials are naturally worried about the potential of a H1N1 flu outbreak. The federal government has tried to provide some helpful advice. But buried in the memo is this brilliant little nugget on how to deal with a student infected with the H1N1 virus:

If close contact with others cannot be avoided, the ill student should be asked to wear a surgical mask during the period of contact. Examples of close contact include kissing, sharing eating or drinking utensils, or having any other contact between persons likely to result in exposure to respiratory droplets.

Kissing with surgical masks on? I suppose it's too much to ask for the kids to not kiss period.

This is your tax dollars at work.

Eric Bruntlett Makes History

He may not be a household name but he should be in the Hall of Fame after accomplishing the rarest of feats: an unassisted triple play (only the 15th ever) to end a game (2nd ever). Amazing. Click the link to see the video.

Healthcare Reform Hypocrisy On End Of Life

Ever since former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin made her "death panel" remarks on Facebook, President Obama has repeated as often as he can that the government in the proposed health care reform plan would not "pull the plug on granny".

However, there is one agency responsible for healthcare of a certain segment of the population whose actions directly contradict the President's rhetoric (Hat tip: The Corner):

If President Obama wants to better understand why America's discomfort with end-of-life discussions threatens to derail his health-care reform, he might begin with his own Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). He will quickly discover how government bureaucrats are greasing the slippery slope that can start with cost containment but quickly become a systematic denial of care.

Last year, bureaucrats at the VA's National Center for Ethics in Health Care advocated a 52-page end-of-life planning document, "Your Life, Your Choices." It was first published in 1997 and later promoted as the VA's preferred living will throughout its vast network of hospitals and nursing homes. After the Bush White House took a look at how this document was treating complex health and moral issues, the VA suspended its use. Unfortunately, under President Obama, the VA has now resuscitated "Your Life, Your Choices."

Who is the primary author of this workbook? Dr. Robert Pearlman, chief of ethics evaluation for the center, a man who in 1996 advocated for physician-assisted suicide in Vacco v. Quill before the U.S. Supreme Court and is known for his support of health-care rationing.

"Your Life, Your Choices" presents end-of-life choices in a way aimed at steering users toward predetermined conclusions, much like a political "push poll." For example, a worksheet on page 21 lists various scenarios and asks users to then decide whether their own life would be "not worth living."

The circumstances listed include ones common among the elderly and disabled: living in a nursing home, being in a wheelchair and not being able to "shake the blues." There is a section which provocatively asks, "Have you ever heard anyone say, 'If I'm a vegetable, pull the plug'?" There also are guilt-inducing scenarios such as "I can no longer contribute to my family's well being," "I am a severe financial burden on my family" and that the vet's situation "causes severe emotional burden for my family."

When the government can steer vulnerable individuals to conclude for themselves that life is not worth living, who needs a death panel?

This just goes to show in judging where the President stands on different aspects of health care reform that it might be better to pay more attention to his actions than his words.

A Way To Reform Baseball?

Not that it necessarily needs to be reformed except for getting rid of the stupid designated hitter rule in the American League. Seems to me everyone should play by the same rules. Still, this proposal does offer some interesting food for thought.

End of Life In a Nutshell

Leave it to Richard Brookhiser at National Review to sum it up:

We already know what Dr. Obama thinks about the beginning of life. Not confidence-making for the end.

Indeed.

The (In)Experience Factor

During the primaries and the general election campaign last year, the most potent argument made for not supporting Barack Obama was his lack of experience. He had never managed anything. He did not have any leadership experience. And with only two years in the U. S. Senate, he lacked sufficient knowledge of how the legislative process worked in Washington. In other words, he didn't know how to lead or to govern. Although the debate over Obamacare is far from over, this fatal weakness has been laid open for all to see in the debacle over how health care reform has been handled so far.

President Obama's first mistake was that he did not lay out a vision for what health care reform should look like. He relied on the same nonspecific campaign rhetoric that led to victory last November in the election when talking about health care reform. He had convinced the public something needed to be done about health care but he hadn't made the case for specific steps that needed to be taken. Even his New York Times op-ed doesn't contain a single tangible proposal on how he will achieve the reform goals he wants to meet. By contrast, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey laid out a very sensible proposal for reform in a Wall Street Journal op-ed last week. The President could have taken a cue from someone like Mr. Mackey by providing specific proposals of what to accomplish with reform legislation.

The President's second mistake was not practicing what he preached when it came to bipartisanship. At the beginning of this debate, President Obama made it clear he wanted support for healthcare reform to be bipartisan. But instead of bringing Republicans into the process of drafting the reform legislation, he outsourced the writing of the bill to Nancy Pelosi and the House Democratic caucus. As a result, he got a bill that was chock full of goodies for their liberal supporters and controversial proposals that no one in their right mind could defend. The President then squandered precious political capital having to play defense on issues such as "death panels" and single-payer programs and flip-flops on the public option.

Now the President finds himself in a bind. His approval ratings are plummeting. The public is growing skeptical about whether they can trust him on this issue. Getting Republicans to come to the table at this point seems unlikely. Despite having supermajorities in both houses of Congress, he probably won't be able to get anything passed anytime soon as he can't keep his own party in line.

So what does the President do? Is it time to hit the reset button as some have suggested? You can't erase the past but you can move forward, can't you?

The first step for the President will be the most difficult. He has to come out and publicly admit that he has made mistakes in how he has handled health care reform. He then has to tell Congress to start over from scratch. He should bring leaders from both parties together and lay out a plan of what he wants to accomplish and be willing to listen to and incorporate ideas from both parties. There are an abundance of proposals being tossed about. The President needs to be willing to cull through them and working with Congress incorporate the best of them.

President Obama has a difficult task ahead. If health care reform is to be enacted it's going to require him to do something he hasn't had to do nor has the experience to do: be a leader. The chances of reform being enacted are directly tied to his ability to demonstrate leadership. If the President's plan does fail he has no one to blame but himself.

One More Reason to Re-Read 1984

The other day I was discussing with my oldest daugher (who will begin high school this year) what books she should be reading this fall. I offhandedly suggested George Orwell's 1984 simply because it speaks so directly to many of the issues we face today with our imperial federal government. But this article by Roger Kimball brings out another aspect of the novel I had forgotten about (which only goes to prove that I need to pick up the book and read it again.

Take time to read the article and then watch carefully how President Obama and his supporters deal with those who oppose his policies. The parallels between the novel and real life are striking.

Is Obamacare Constitutional?

I'm no lawyer and I can't say for sure but it's a fair question to ask and one that is not being debated. Robert Natelson, who is a law professor at the University of Montana, has the analysis and draws some fascinating conclusions.

A Most Unusual Baseball Game

It's not every day that you'll read about baseball being played at 3 a.m. at Yankee Stadium. But this story explains why.

Hats off to the Yankees for making this happen.

White House Issues Non-Apology Apology

The White House released a statement this evening to try to squash the controversy that erupted Thursday over unsolicted e-mails they had been sending:

The White House for the first time Sunday seemed to acknowledge that people across the country received unsolicited e-mails from the administration last week about health care reform, suggesting the problem is with third-party groups that placed the recipients' names on the distribution list.

In a written statement released exclusively to FOX News, White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said the White House hopes those who received the e-mails without signing up for them were not "inconvenienced" by the messages.

"The White House e-mail list is made up of e-mail addresses obtained solely through the White House Web site. The White House doesn't purchase, upload or merge from any other list, again, all e-mails come from the White House Web site as we have no interest in e-mailing anyone who does not want to receive an e-mail," the statement said. "If an individual received the e-mail because someone else or a group signed them up or forwarded the e-mail, we hope they were not too inconvenienced."

This is a classic non-apology apology and doesn't answer the main question which is how they managed to obtain e-mail addresses of people who did not access the White House website nor they signed up for any e-mail updates.

Since my e-mail address suddenly ended up on the White House distribution list and I hadn't signed up for anything I would still like to know how they got my e-mail address. Could they reveal which groups had submitted lists from which they got the addresses?

For an administration that promised to be transparent, it seems to be acting a lot like Big Brother to me.

White House Sending Unsolicited E-Mails - Is That A Problem?

Things got a little testy at today's White House press briefing when Fox News' correspondent Major Garrett asked Press Secretary Robert Gibbs about unsolicited e-mails being sent to people who about healthcare reform:



The e-mail itself is not problematic. The White House is using this means of communication to get its message out to concerned voters. But the problem is somehow the White House is getting a hold of people's e-mail addresses. I don't have any idea how David Axelrod got my e-mail address. I don't publish the address anywhere on purpose. I don't want just anybody to have access to my e-mail address. I've never e-mailed the White House or sent anything to their flag@whitehouse.gov address because I don't want to give that information to them. But it appears they managed to get it somehow anyway.

The irony here is that if David Axelrod paid any attention to anything I've read so far about healthcare reform he would quickly figure out that I am opposed to the President's proposals.

So the question remains: how is the White House getting folks e-mail addresses and is the privacy of individuals being violated? Just how much information does the White House have and, more importantly, what are they going to do with it?

Where We're Heading in the Healthcare Debate

I agree with Glenn Beck that we haven't reached the point where eugenics is being implemented as a matter of policy. However, when you look back at history, you understand the dangers that lie ahead in the health care debate. Click on the video below to see the whole story:

One Way to Stimulate the Economy

Here's one way to stimulate the economy: buy these keychains for every member of Congress. Something tells me they could use them.

Quick Takes 7-31-09

Thanks to the miracle of advanced publishing, here are some links for your weekend enjoyment. Meanwhile I'm away from the computer for the next few days tending to some family matters.

Here's a great video: time-lapse footage of the construction of Disneyland. (Hat tip: Glenn)

One of the curious aspects of the health care reform debate is how little attention has been paid to TennCare. This article explains why universal health insurance advocates would be wise to give it a closer look.

Just another lousy photo-op. I wouldn't have accepted the invitation. I agree with Rich. At least this beer lives up to its advertising.

I'm not sure whether this is true but I'd be willing to try it out.

An argument for limited government.

Hypocrisy, lots and lots of it.

A Farewell Address worth reading again.

Good point: able to inspire but unable to lead.

More on Obamacare and end-of-life decisions.

Bookmark this site: the Joe Biden gaffe aggregator. Priceless. (Thanks to Jonah.)

How to pass the time waiting for Chuck to return. Meanwhile, Bryce (Matthew Bomer) has a promising new series premiering in October.

Today marks baseball's trading deadline. Why July 31st doesn't matter as much as you might think.

Video of the week: life-sized Mouse Trap.

Three new books worth reading on Apollo 11. Plus, how to build the guidance computer.

How to run for office.

Don't tell Shepard Smith about this story.

Founder's Quote of the Week:

"If, from the more wretched parts of the old world, we look at those which are in an advanced stage of improvement, we still find the greedy hand of government thrusting itself into every corner and crevice of industry, and grasping the spoil of the multitude. Invention is continually exercised, to furnish new pretenses for revenues and taxation. It watches prosperity as its prey and permits none to escape without tribute." --Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, 1791

Have a great weekend.

Obamacare and The End of Life

Buried deep within the 1000+ page healthcare bill is a confusing and vague provision that mandates "advanced care planning consultations" for Medicare recipients. What exactly is intended by these consultations is open to interpretation.

The provision originated from an earlier bill that was designed to encourage patients to consider hospice and pallative care as they near the end of their lives. But make no mistake, this is also about money. According to one estimate, Medicare spends $100 billion a year for care of patients in their last year of life.

Many critics are rightly concerned that the government will be dictating to patients what care they can and can't receive. The Bioethics Defense Fund is going so far to suggest that this provision is government endorsement of euthanasia.

As a matter of fact, such arguments about the cost of caring for the eldery and infirm as an endorsement for euthanasia has been tried before:



This poster appeared in Nazi Germany during the 1930's. The message reads: "60,000 Reich Marks. This is what this person suffering from hereditary defects costs the Community of Germans during his lifetime. Fellow Citizen, that is your money, too."

The arguments being made for mandatory "advanced care planning consultations" seemed to be eerily similar to the poster above. Critics of the President's health care plan have very legitimate reasons to be worried about what this provision means. Voters should be concerned also.

Healthcare Reform Is Coming! No, Wait, It Isn't!

Two different headlines from the same day illustrate the fundamental issues of the healthcare reform debate:

Blue Dog Democrats Announce Deal on Healthcare Reform

Key Senate Aide: Healthcare Reform Deal Not Imminent

The real reason that there is no quick solution coming is threefold: no one can agree on what exactly needs to be reformed, no one can agree on a solution, and the government is trying to provide the solution.

First, what needs to be reformed? It all depends on who you ask. Talk to a liberal Democrat and they will tell you that we need to have universal health insurance. Or that we need to do something about the uninsured. Or that we need to reduce the influence that insurance companies have over medical decisions.

Talk to a conservative Republican and they'll tell you we need to get the government out of the business of providing health insurance (or at least streamline the current programs). They'll tell you that we need to eliminate waste in Medicare. They'll also talk about reducing overall costs.

Who's right? There's an element of truth in both sides of the argument. But there is no consensus on exactly what issue(s) need to be reformed thus the wide disagreement on how to solve the problems.

This brings us to the second point which is that without agreement on the problems you can't find consensus on solutions.

To make matters worse, President Obama is running around pitching a plan without specifics. No one really knows what his proposed solution might be or what he thinks the extent of the problem really is because he doesn't come right out and tell anyone. He's been acting as if people will just do what he wishes because he asks them to. Perhaps he would be better served to slow down, listen to all sides in this debate, and figure out what the right steps are to take rather than trying to cram his agenda down the throats of voters. If polls are any indication, voters do not like what they are hearing from the President.

Finally, there is the issue of government involvement in the delivery of health care. Despite the fact that it has been proven repeatedly that government cannot fix every problem, Democrats still want to have government take over health care. Voters do not like that idea and understand what a disaster such a system would be. Most of the proposals so far make the government bureau overseeing health care look like the Office of Circumlocution from Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit:

The Circumlocution Office was (as everybody knows without being told) the most important Department under Government. No public business of any kind could possibly be done at any time without the acquiescence of the Circumlocution Office. Its finger was in the largest public pie, and in the smallest public tart. It was equally impossible to do the plainest right and to undo the plainest wrong without the express authority of the Circumlocution Office. If another Gunpowder Plot had been discovered half an hour before the lighting of the match, nobody would have been justified in saving the parliament until there had been half a score of boards, half a bushel of minutes, several sacks of official memoranda, and a family-vault full of ungrammatical correspondence, on the part of the Circumlocution Office.

This glorious establishment had been early in the field, when the one sublime principle involving the difficult art of governing a country, was first distinctly revealed to statesmen. It had been foremost to study that bright revelation and to carry its shining influence through the whole of the official proceedings. Whatever was required to be done, the Circumlocution Office was beforehand with all the public departments in the art of perceiving--HOW NOT TO DO IT.

While the news channels may drone on about how healthcare reform is about to be passed it doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon. The longer the debate drags on the better as it is far better to stick with the current system we have no matter how flawed it may be rather than to rush through a package that will only make the situation far, far worse.

Preview: The Prisoner

AMC unveiled a nine minute preview for their remake of The Prisoner, starring Jim Caviezel as Number 6 and Ian McKellan as Number Two. Check it out. It looks like it will be a fabulous series.

Why I Am Not On Facebook (or Twitter)

A few months ago I started a Facebook page at the urging of a couple of friends. Having heard so much about the service I decided to check it out. It was also partly an experiment for my kids' sake as they were asking me about getting their own pages.

A couple of months ago I took it down. It's not because of any specific problem I had with it. It was really more a matter of not having time to keep up with it.

The fact is that I am pretty busy and while I am interested in what's going on in the lives of folks on my friends list it was just taking far too much time to keep up with. Maybe I'll go back one day. But the longer I leave my account deactivated the less likely I am to reactivate it.

Meanwhile, I've never seen the attraction of Twitter. I know it's all the rage these days but it doesn't seem to have any benefit. Like Facebook, it seems like something that takes a lot of time to keep up with. And that's more time than I have on my hands at the moment.

I'd be interested to hear from those who use either Facebook or Twitter regularly. What do you like or dislike about it?

In a related item, check out the video below on how Twitter can kill you:

President Obama Overexposed?

Gee, you think so?



The possibility that the President's overexposure is hurting his message is not the big news story. The big story is that it took the media so long to catch on.

Hat tip: Hot Air