Nice Insurance Company Ya Got Here…Shame If Anything Should “Happen” To It

August 20, 2009

At The Corner, Mark Steyn has a post about a letter that Congress has sent to health insurance companies…privately owned health insurance companies…demanding information about salaries and compensation:

Doctor O’s enforcers decide it’s time to get heavy with the insurance companies:

Letters sent to 52 insurance companies by Democratic leaders demand extensive documents for an examination of ‘extensive compensation and other business practices in the health insurance industry…”

By Sept. 4, the firms are supposed to supply detailed compensation data for board members and top executives, as well as a “table listing all conferences, retreats, or other events held outside company facilities from January 1, 2007, to the present that were paid for, reimbursed, or subsidized in whole or in part by your company.”

You first. How come the compensations and perks of a vice-president in a private company are to be subject to greater public forensic examination than those of Dodd or Rangel?

They’re supposed to be representatives not rulers. George III couldn’t have got away with a letter like that.

Politico has the full story.

The bottom line here, though, is that Mark Steyn is correct. George III couldn’t get away with such a request. More to the point, it’s doubtful that Old King George would even think of making such a request even at his craziest.

This is the story of a letter, and may not get much play in the media, but it should. What we’ve got here is a government that is so consumed with its own power that it feels it can reach into privately owned and operated companies and request confidential information. For what purpose?

The reason is obvious: they are looking for dirt on these companies in order to blackmail them into supporting Obamacare. They (led by the revolting Henry Waxman) are essentially threatening insurance companies by requesting this information. The might of the Internal Revenue Service, congressional investigations, and public demonization are all unwritten in this letter but clearly hanging in the air like the sword of Damocles over the heads of the insurance companies. This is rule by intimidation; this is rule by fear. Letters like these are the rough equivalent of the Monty Python line that’s been paraphrased so many times, “Nice [blank] you’ve got here…shame if anything should ‘happen’ to it.”

Am I exaggerating? Let’s get serious. What possible purpose could the government have in demanding this information other than to gather data to be used as a weapon? Why would the government want to know about “lavish spending” except to accuse the insurance companies of living the lifestyles of the rich and famous off the backs of sick people?

It must be stressed here that the insurance companies have not been accused of any crimes, and that they are not being investigated for illegal activities. This is just a fishing expedition from the government. If they get away with this, where will it end? Will the government suddenly start demanding information from any industry opposed to a government policy? Will they send letters to private citizens demanding information about your family budgets: how much do you spend on entertainment? On food? On alcohol? When you combine this latest tactic with “pay czar” Kenneth Feinberg’s claim that he can retroactively rescind executive compensation to companies that accepted TARP money, you can see an agenda that is anti-capitalist at its worst and ferociously power hungry at its best (Michelle Malkin has details).

I truly hope the insurance companies will tell Henry Waxman to go fly a kite, but my fear is that they will do what they have so far done and bend over for the mighty Barack Obama and his rule by intimidation.


The Rat Patrol: The Tattle Tale Raid

August 18, 2009

Keep fighting the power, folks. After a large public backlash the Obama Administration has disabled the health care snitch program. Operation Go Flag Yourself was very successful, putting a strain on the White House servers and forcing the Administration to back away from this ridiculous program.

But have they really? Yes, the email address flag@whitehouse.gov no longer works, but the Reality Check web site set up by the White House is still going strong, and still gathering email addresses.

At first the White House denied sending email to anyone who didn’t specifically request those emails. That was, as they say, a crock. I know, because I have never authorized the White House or anyone else in the Federal Government to send me email, yet I received at least two from David Axelrod, and a “Dear Comrade Friend” email from Barack Obama. The White House was collecting the email addresses of anyone who sent an email to the White House, and then adding those people to third party lists to receive propaganda emails like the ones from Axelrod. This is not simply a mistake. This is a violation of SPAM laws. It’s not really surprising to me, though. The arrogance of the Administration is such that a “laws are for others” mindset is to be expected.

Michelle Malkin has more.


Malkin Insults Ancient Japanese Art Form; Compares It To Snake Oil Bazaar

August 12, 2009

Michelle Malkin has several excellent postings today on the absurd “town hall” where President Obama lectured his Kool-Aid drinkers answered real questions from real Americans. I don’t think it’s fair to compare this dog and pony show to an ancient and revered form of Japanese drama, but then I think conservatism is a big tent philosophy and Michelle and I can agree to disagree.


None Dare Call It “Community Organizing”

August 10, 2009

There’s been an enormous amount of methane produced by the Democrats in Congress about the demonstrations that are happening at town halls across this great country of ours. The gist of the complaints is that this is not a genuine, grassroots uprising. The “Brooks Brothers Brigade” of “well-dressed” “un-American” “mobs” are being organized.

Cue scary music here.

This is nonsense on stilts, as Jonah Goldberg would say. The stilts are so high in this case, the nonsense is scraping the stars. First off, because people are being organized doesn’t mean for one single second that the emotions and outrage these people are feeling isn’t 100% genuine. Nobody is forcing these people to go. They are going voluntarily because they are angry enough to leave their homes, take time off from work, and make their presence felt. There are an enormous amount of people out there who are justifiably upset that the Federal Government feels that it is within their powers to take over 1/7 of the United States economy. They are upset with the idea of government-run healthcare, they are upset because this plan is being shoved down the throats of the citizenry, they are upset about the projected deficits, they are upset about the projected tax increases, they are upset with an unspeakably arrogant President who wants his critics to shut up and get out of his way…they are really, really pissed off about all of this. I am really pissed off about all of this.

The Democrats claim that the anger is based on distortions and lies coming from the insurance companies. Holy cow. Far from ginning up opposition to the plan, the insurance and pharma companies are at present grabbing their ankles and begging Congress to at least use a lubricant. The insurance companies, so vocal against Hillarycare in 1994 are strangely silent now. I’ve seen NO ads against Obamacare that have been paid for by insurance companies or Big Pharma. The reason is that Obama threatened them by promising he would not "offer them a seat at the table" if they ran ads oppoed to the plan. The insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies have rolled over for Obama. None of them are publicly speaking out for fear of getting "left out" of the Central Planning. Convinced that a massive reform is coming, they are trying to get on the good side by aligning themselves with the Administration and the Democrats in Congress. The line "you knew I was a snake when you picked me up" comes to mind.

And yet as far as the Democrats and their flunkies in the mainstream media are concerned, none of this upset is justified because the people who are upset took buses to get their well-dressed behinds to the town hall. This is beyond disgraceful. It’s positively Maoist. This may well be the low point of the Democratic party: insulting and belittling ordinary citizens and voters for daring to speak their minds. The punks have taken over the Democratic party.

Now, I wish the town hall protests were a little more civil. I’m not an advocate of yelling or of shouting people down. But I am also not an advocate of allowing the Democrats to get away with the BS answers they’ve been giving. When the politician starts spouting talking points and not answering questions, then I think the protesters need to call them on this. See this great video for an example of letting The Man speak with an idiocy so fluent you might think that English is his second language, but also letting him know that he’s not fooling anyone.

So since the outrage is justified and real, the only complaint the Democrats can offer is that it is organized. It’s probably true that groups like Conservatives for Patients’ Rights and Freedom Works are organizing some of the protesters. So what?

It’s been known for years that Leftist groups like MoveOn, ACORN, ANSWER, CISPES, La Raza, blah blah blah have been organizing protests for decades. Go to any Left wing protest movement and you’ll see a cornucopia of causes being espoused, all of them ostensibly falling under the umbrella of being anti-war, or pro-immigration, or whatever the cause du jour happens to be. The unions are famed for getting bodies out to protests (probably bodies that are making time and a half for their trouble). Again, so what?

It is the American way to be ticked off at your government sometimes. It is also the American way to gather others who are equally angry, head down to your local town hall or government building, and petition the government for a redress of grievances. The Democrat double standard of "dissent" being good when the President is George W. Bush and being bad when the President is Barack Obama is shameful, but not surprising.

This was in my email this morning, fowarded to me by a friend. I hope he didn’t send it to anyone else, lest he be accused of trying to organize a community. Note the line about members of Congress being physically assaulted. I’m inclined to think that it’s simply just another bald-faced lie. According to an article in Roll Call, the president of the Democratic freshman class claimed he spoke to "at least one" Congressman who was physically assaulted. Frankly, I don’t believe him but if I’m wrong and he can present this phantom, unnamed Congressman I will stand corrected and forcefully condemn any violence done. You know, like the violence done by union-organized thugs against town hall protestors. But now, simply immerse yourself in the swamp gas of hypocrisy:

All throughout August, our members of Congress are back in town. Insurance companies and partisan attack groups are stirring up fear with false rumors about the President’s plan, and it’s extremely important that folks like you speak up now.

So we’ve cooked up an easy, powerful way for you to make a big impression: Office Visits for Health Reform.

All this week, OFA members like you will be stopping by local congressional offices to show our support for insurance reform. You can have a quick conversation with the local staff, tell your personal story, or even just drop off a customized flyer and say that reform matters to you.

We’ll provide everything you need: the address, phone number, and open hours for the office, information about how the health care crisis affects your state for you to drop off (with the option of adding your personal story), and a step-by-step guide for your visit.

According to our records, you live near Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office in , NY.

Sign up now to visit Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office in this week.

(Not your representative, or think there might be another office that’s easier for you to get to? Click here to find a different office.)

As you’ve probably seen in the news, special interest attack groups are stirring up partisan mobs with lies about health reform, and it’s getting ugly. Across the country, members of Congress who support reform are being shouted down, physically assaulted, hung in effigy, and receiving death threats. We can’t let extremists hijack this debate, or confuse Congress about where the people stand.

Office Visits for Health Reform are our chance to show that the vast majority of American voters know that the cost of inaction is too high to bear, and strongly support passing health reform in 2009.

Don’t worry if you’ve never done anything like this before. The congressional staff is there to listen, and your opinion as a constituent matters a lot. And if you bring a friend, you’ll have more fun and make an even greater impact.

Click below to sign up for an Office Visit for Health Reform:

http://my.barackobama.com/OfficeVisit

Wherever you live, these visits matter: Many representatives are pushing hard toward reform, and they are taking a lot of heat from special interests. They deserve our thanks and need our support to continue the fight. But those who are still putting insurance companies and partisan point-scoring ahead of their constituents must know that voters are watching — and that we expect better.

Earlier this week, the President wrote that "this is the moment our movement was built for" and asked us all to commit to join at least one event this month. This is the way to answer that call, and rise to the challenge of this moment together.

Thank you for going the extra mile when it matters the most,

Mitch

Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America

Amazing, isn’t it? Dig the name of the organization. "Organizing for America." Wow. I can’t wait for Barbara Boxer to stamp her little feet and petulantly complain about this. It’s going to be a long wait, I know. Apparently, "community organizing" is only good for the goose.


Further reading: Michelle Malkin analyzes Pants-On-Fire Pelosi’s contribution, has video of Rep. Niki Tsongas trying desperately to explain why the plan is good for you, but Congress should be exempt, and also points out this hilarious page from Dana Loesch. Gateway Pundit has video of Rep. Russ Carnahan dodging and weaving with all the moral equivalence he can muster around the reality of union punks beating up people. Hot Air has video of a Democratic congressman berating a doctor who had the temerity to ask a question.


The Chicago Way

August 7, 2009

From The Politico:

Senior White House adviser David Axelrod and deputy chief of staff Jim Messina told senators to focus on the insured and how they would benefit from “consumer protections” in the overhaul, such as ending the practice of denying insurance based on preexisting conditions and ensuring the continuity of coverage between jobs.

They showed video clips of the confrontational town halls that have dominated the media coverage, and told senators to do more prep work than usual for their public meetings by making sure their own supporters turn out, senators and aides said.

And they screened TV ads and reviewed the various campaigns by critics of the Democratic plan.

“If you get hit, we will punch back twice as hard,” Messina said, according to an official who attended the meeting.

From The Untouchables:

They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That’s the Chicago way!

And now the word is out that the unions will be supplying thugs members to the town halls. This is what happened yesterday in Tampa, when members of the Service Employees International Union showed up. What a shock: violence erupts. Michelle Malkin has more on SEIU.

I’m beginning to think Michelle Bachmann was correct: