When Sarah Palin announced on July 3rd, that she was stepping down as governor, the left wing, media elites, and country club Republicans, smelled blood in the water. She's finally done it, they thought. There's no way she can recover. Maureen Dowd began a string of columns about her incompetence and folly. Even Reagan's ex speech writer Peggy Noonan declared Sarah as stupid, in one column. There was elation on every liberal network, and with some Republican pundits. It was worth noting that if this was the end of her, that every Sunday show and countless hours on cable were devoted to reinforcing that point. Instead of reporting the news of her resignation, there was an almost Faustian, celebratory dance on her grave, which may have been premature. They thought they could now label her a quitter, and then Sarah suddenly showed up on Facebook and twitter.
Rather then going to the mainstream media, which Sarah knew from her vice presidential run would edit and transform every interview and statement, she decided to go directly to the masses through the social networking, digital delivery system. And now this ex governor, that the mass media coroner had declared pulse less on July 3rd, is suddenly driving the debate. After her Facebook posting on August 7th, where she had the gall to coin the phrase "death panels," in a posting critical of Hr 3200's provision about end of life counseling, the left went apoplectic. Funny that they would even respond to a perceived corpse, but even President Obama came out to contradict her assertions. So, Sarah doubled down on august 12, with another Facebook posting, with lots of exhaustive footnotes to support her supposition. So much for Sarah being stupid, Peggy dear. Soon after, the Dems in the Senate decided to expunge that end of life counseling provision from the bill.
The political junkie that I am, demands a lot of internet searching and column reading, and it is amazing to me the inordinate amount of comments Sarah gets on her Facebook postings compared to the lefties. They see the numbers and understand the implication. And, that's the real rub from the mainstream media, and the left wing. There's a jealousy of her connection to, as they would say, "the great unwashed" that resides in fly over country. They know they're deficient of a connection to those bitter clingers, and everyday patriots, that don't want their country transformed into an unrecognizable shell of the greatness it once was. America is repelled by the elitist usurpation of everything sacred to their believes and traditions, that make America, well, America. They know Sarah won't talk down to them, or imply a superiority that demands blind allegiance and submission to a death march to socialism. Label them as you wish, but there are millions out there that believe in individualism, tradition, faith, and personal responsibility, and they're making Sarah Palin their poster child. And all I can say in response is "YOU GO GIRL!"
I was completely appalled by a story I read today regarding the interrogation of Abd al Rahim al-Nashirir, the master mind of the October 2000 bombing of the Cole. Apparently the interrogators engaged in an unauthorized interrogation technique. They actually smoked cigars in his presence and blew smoke in his face. This is an outrage. Can you imagine the discomfort this avowed terrorist must have experienced. This is almost too horrible to imagine. They actually blew smoke in his face. Imagine the tearing of the eyes he had to endure. We all know the very real danger of second hand smoke and the implications to this poor man's health. Do these interrogators not know that smoking is now banned in almost every public place in this country. Even if they were at Gitmo, they should have known better. That terrorist should be treated by the same rules and regulations that are accepted in our great country. I'm sorry, but I'm still trying to comprehend the immense horror of this injustice. After all, he only blew a 40 by 60 foot hole in the side of that navy destroyer, and murdered 17 of our sailors, and injured 39. Eric Holder must investigate and prosecute these interrogators, and of course Dick Cheney, who obviously secretly authorized this practice. I may have trouble sleeping tonight knowing that our CIA agents are engaged in such horrible practices. They actually blew cigar smoke in this poor mans face. What is our country coming to?......
{NEXT DAY}... After a restless night of little sleep, with the image of this poor man, going through this sadistic torture, reverberating in my brain, I've come to some peace. We now have a president and attorney general, that will put a stop to these abhorrent practices. They are committed to the safety and comfort of these terrorists, and we all know that by their good will, the terrorist are going to stop hating us, and turn their lives around, and become productive members of society. And, as a productive member of society between that 15 to 60 year old key demographic, if they move to this country, they will qualify for Obamacare... Thank God, some sort of reparations are due these terrorists, after having cigar smoke blown in their faces. Remember al-Nashiri only murdered 17 and injured 39.
How amusing it is when a politician gets into an unscripted situation, and makes a rhetorical comparison that backfires big time. President Obama trying to explain why private insurers would be able to compete with a public option health care plan used this analogy. And I quote,"UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, it's the post office that's always having problems." First of all it's almost incomprehensible that this clean, articulate, black man would fry up such a "whopper deluxe" of a comparison. You can tell with the hesitation after the statement, that maybe he knew he'd just produced a new Quentin Tarintino movie, "kill the bill part 4." We know his intent was to imply that private insurers could compete with a public option plan, but what he did was make a comparison that conjures up imagery that will send the public running and screaming like the stalked prey of the zombie assailants in Grindhouse.
We've all stood in those incessant post office lines when finally we reach the counter, and the disinterested postal clerk, looks at his or her watch, and wryly says, " it's my break time, got to go." What will the public option employee do at break time?
We've all been shocked and wondered why the disgruntled postal employee, suddenly decides his AR 15 is a little dusty and enacts a rampage not even Tarintino can duplicate. "Going Postal" is of course the verb used to describe that kind of Hollywood imagery. Will a new verbiage become vogue when the disgruntled government health care worker decides he or she needs to enact revenge on the unsuspecting public, by shooting up her patience with lethal injections.?We can call this "going druggy." But then again maybe they're just doing their job. Perhaps Sarah was right!
Imagine your male doctor wearing shoulder length hair, an unkempt beard, funny grey shorts with black socks, while he sadistically orders you to bend over while lubricating his latex gloved hand. We can only hope your public nurse doesn't take a 15 minute break when retreating to the back, to look for your transplant organ, while your chest is laid bare.
There is one thing the post office does very well. Every year they have a food drive and encourage all postal customers to leave food near their mail box, which the carrier picks up and then donates to the local food banks. Our local public health provider could encourage their patients to donate kidneys, livers, hearts, or other body parts, that would be transplanted in that key demographic, 15 to 60 year old productive members of society. Talk about a food drive. That scene would make Quentin Tarintino envious, and I'm sure he'd buy the movie rights.
President Obama is up to his old campaign tricks to try and revive his health care initiative, which is on life support. I can hear Rahm Emmanuel screaming, "clear, with defibrillator in hand." Trouble is a new and massive health care overhaul can't be sold by political rhetoric and overblown promises. It's one thing to convince an, eager for change public, that this energetic political neophyte is just what the DOCTOR ORDERED. But, it's much harder to convince an increasingly skeptical public that this administration is to be trusted to give ORDERS TO DOCTORS.
Americans are used to hearing unrealistic promises like, I will not raise your taxes, but we'll increase government services. We know that primarily, the top earners, which most of us will never be, will be stuck holding the bag when the promise is inevitably broken. But, when we hear, we'll insure 47 million more, with better care, at a lower cost, we recoil. When the numbers don’t add up on health care, we have a gut feeling, that the infirmed and elderly will be the sacrificial lambs, and we’re all going to be one or the other some day. Our primal instinct of self preservation demands an honest debate, with honest numbers.
As the dog days of summer heat up, so does the debate over health care? Apparently the administration is concerned that the town hall protests are being organized by right wing extremists and insurance companies. I won't concede there's an organized campaign to send people into these meetings, but, so what if there is? Remember, we just elected a relative novice to the highest office in the land, and if I remember correctly, his campaign, was replete with assertions that his community organizing past was a resume enhancement for the Top dog position. How ironic, that the organizer in Chief's health care extravaganza is being shot full of holes by mom and pop protesters.
I guess it's fair to ask what's firing up gramps and granny, because if you study the videos they are engorged with aging Americans. Well if you look into the debate, the sticking point, besides the public option, is the whole end of life scenario. Seniors are rightfully outraged about some of the rhetoric coming out. President Obama in his health care infomercial, made a fatal mistake, when asked a question by Jane Sturn, whose 100 year old mother was initially denied a pacemaker by one doctor, before another OK'd it. She's now 105. She asked about the criteria for providing elderly care. The president responded by first talking about wasteful tests and getting them out of the system, and then said this, and I quote, "at least we can let doctors know, and your mother know, that you know what, this isn't going to help. Maybe you would be better off not having the surgery, but taking the pain killer." First of all, the implication is, that bureaucrats will be making, or at the least counseling, on life and death decisions, because of cost, or a persons worthiness to society. One of the advisers to the president on this issue, is Ezekiel Emmanuel, the brother of Rahm, and he has written extensively, and made flow charts, showing who should and shouldn't get care in the event of shortages. And, of course the very young and unproductive, and the very old and unproductive, don't fair well. Well, if government takes over health care there will be shortages, and rationing would be inevitable.
All this conjures up images from the movie, Schindlers List. Remember the concentration camp populous, being stripped naked and running before their nazi abusers, and the fit and productive were separated from the old and feeble. Women would cut their fingers, and rub blood on their cheeks to appear healthier, and therefore more productive. Now I'm not suggesting that our government is going to round up the feeble and elderly and gas them, but the idea of giving them the pain pill and, adios amigos, is not much better. Let's also not forget the end of life counseling, that is proposed in the bill. Will we see elderly women putting rouge on their face to appear healthier when their government appointed counselor comes a knocking? You may snicker, but the fear the elderly have of a bureaucrat deciding their fate, rather than doctors and family, can be horrific.
Remember we're all becoming more elderly with every step we take, therefore this should concern us all. What ever happened to the America that honored their seasoned citizens, with respect and dignity. We didn't look on them as unproductive, and a burden, but those we could go to for life's lessons, because of their history and experience.
Maybe this is the natural progression in a society that devalues, first the life of the unborn, because they may be an individual or family burden, and now our seasoned citizens, because they may be a collective burden. America, we should be ashamed. And Mr. president, before you continue on this path you're taking this country, I have one word of advice. RESPECT YOUR ELDERS!
