Blog @ MoreWhat.com

Hillary Rodham Clinton ‘officially’ released her health care plan about a week ago and has been touting it for longer than that. Her website is flooded with self-praise for the plan. One of the issues raised by critics of the plan has been cost. The Wall Street Journal’s HillaryCare’s New Clothes basically says the numbers don’t add up.

In HRC’s press release of what she calls the ‘Nevada Impact Report’ of her plan, the Kaiser Family Foundation is referenced repeatedly implying support of her claims. The editorial page from the Wall Street Journal referenced above does not agree her $110 billion is the end of the program cost and that the details are being withheld by her campaign. The Kaiser Family Foundation’s website provides some other numbers, presented below, that may be helpful as well that are not offered in the HRC press release.

The table above was taken from the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Health Care Snapshots page of their website and the data was entered into a spreadsheet to add the display of percentage increase for each country’s expenses between 1990 and 2003.

It is merely a random example of the big picture in health care. Hillary Rodham Clinton continues to speak about the benefits of her plan for all Americans. She does it in a way not unlike children who want their parents to get them a pet. All the child, in this case Hillary, can do is think of all the wonderful features of having a pet. Never giving equal time to the downside which in the case of pets is the feeding, grooming, bathing, care and attention and other tasks that come with pet ownership. Hillary on Health Care speaks to everything she believes you would want health care to be without paying attention to the downside. And the casual disregard for discussing the costs and how to pay for them is her biggest problem.

From data that is a few years old, the US spends about 2 trillion dollars on health care each year or about 15% of GDP. By now the $5600 dollar range of cost per person has probably exceeded $6000 or five hundred dollars per month. Like many other plans mentioned in the 2008 campaign, the focus is getting everyone insured and the claims by HRC in particular continues to suggest lower cost, quality health care for everyone. Forget about the options she mentions for keeping your insurance or using hers or whatever. The cost of health care and the quality of health care will not be solved by providing insurance coverage.

Of course the people and organizations she includes in her press releases will say this is a great thing. The Kaiser Family Foundation as well as all the health care ‘professionals’ she advertises will like the plan. They are all in the health care industry and any public funding of health care costs suits them just fine. Again, it does nothing to reduce the cost or improve the quality of health care. And if the cost of health care is not stabilized or reduced, the cost of Hillary’s program will rise every year like the table above and solve nothing.

Many items in the press release referenced here offer tax credits. That means you have to raise taxes elsewhere to offset the tax credit or the government’s checkbook takes a hit. Those are the kind of actions that increase budget deficits and the national debt plus put pressure on funds available for the private sector.

Another example of how things go in health care between the public and private sector is expressed in this excerpt from Health and Human Services. Private payers (primarily private health insurance and payments by individuals for co-pays, deductibles, and services not covered by insurance) funded more than half of national health expenditures in 2003, or $913.2 billion. The public sector funded $766 billion, with the Medicaid program funding 16 percent of aggregate health spending, or $267 billion, nearly equaling the 17 percent, $283 billion, spent by Medicare.

Hillary Rodham Clinton has mentioned a cost of $110 billion for her plan. The reference above from several years ago shows the public/private breakdown of paying for nearly two trillion in health care costs. Her plan will do nothing to lower costs. Her plan will do nothing for health care quality. Providing some people with health insurance will do nothing to lower the cost of health care itself. The people and the technology provide health care quality. It is not provided by health insurance.

The only reason the health care lobby, listed health care organizations or health care professionals like HillaryCare is that it provides public funds to pay for health care. Public funds in case you have forgotten are tax dollars from taxpayers. So either way the public pays for health care with or without HillaryCare. That won’t change. And the cost of that care or its quality will not change with HillaryCare either.

Lowering health care costs and raising the quality of health care provided is not being discussed. Providing health care insurance by shifting the cost of that insurance among private and public sources will solve nothing.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Hillary Rodham Clinton does her dance on the Sunday morning talk shows this September 23, 2007. C’mon, George Stephanopoulos, former Clinton Administration press secretary, is sold as an objective interviewer for Hillary Rodham Clinton. At least Tim Russert called her on a few of her statements although no grilling was to be had. That may explain some of what causes HRC to get away without defending her past. Too many people in the media have a history with her as well.

She claims to denounce anyone disrespecting those who have served. She repeatedly mentions Max Cleland and John Kerry. She diminishes any reference to MoveOn attacking General Petraeus most likely because she voted against the measure in Congress to spank MoveOn for the attack.

In one interview and nearly in the same breath she claims her health care plan will give those who want to participate coverage equivalent to Congress then describes it as similar to Congress. She also claims there will be no new bureaucracy and that it won’t be run by the government. If you are providing government funds for a program there will be government bureaucracy involved. Whether it is described as new or not is really of no significance. We all know that the private sector is more effective delivering services than the government is.

And what is David Brooks talking about when he says HRC sounded Presidential? What does anyone mean by that? It is nice if a President sounds like one might expect a President to sound. But it is much better having an effective President that is not characterized as sounding Presidential than the other way around.

What the Sunday talk shows featuring Hillary Rodham Clinton may have missed is what the following columnist expresses succinctly in the referenced opinion column.

Who’ll make Clinton sweat?
By PHILIP GAILEY
Published September 23, 2007
So far, Clinton has not even worked up a sweat in her pursuit of her party’s nomination. She shrugs off criticism from her opponents, dodges politically sensitive questions and keeps pesky reporters at bay. Her vote for the Iraq war doesn’t seem to have cost her much support, even among antiwar Democrats. Nor has her relationship with sleazy fundraisers.

So why can’t her rivals slow the Clinton Express? For one thing, there are few philosophical differences among the leading Democratic candidates, which works to Clinton’s advantage because of her name recognition, money machine and campaign organization.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

It is about time that someone focused on the fact that both parties are responsible for the mess in Washington and that ethics reform proposals in recent months have only served late night talk show hosts. Repairing the damage done as well as improving public opinion of government is no small task and cannot begin soon enough. While it is easier for Mitt Romney to approach this subject rather than his Senate rivals with their time in Washington, others like Giuliani and a few 2nd tier candidates are not officially connected to Washington and could just as easily have brought it up. It is a subject not frequently discussed and certainly not an issue that gets addressed. Score a few points for Romney in drawing attention to it.

“Washington is busy pointing fingers, assigning blame, and spending too much money. There is too much talk and too little action,” he writes in his letter, which will appear in full page ads Monday in New Hampshire’s Manchester Union-Leader and the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call.

“The blame, we must admit, does not belong to just one party. If we’re going to change Washington, Republicans have to put our own house in order.”

Of course after hearing statements about cleaning up Washington there will be those who want to kick butt and take names or in some way have targets to ridicule rather than be concerned about actually getting the job done. Maybe that is because it helps sell papers. Here’s a brief example.

“The party expects leaders to abide by higher ethical standards as they are elected to office in Washington,” Romney said at a news conference at the Chicago Club. “I know all people make mistakes, but not all people are the president or the senator or the congressman, and we expect those who represent the country to abide by a higher level of conduct.”

Romney says he’d clean up D.C. — but who?
September 23, 2007
BY ABDON M. PALLASCH Political Reporter
To whom was he referring?

“I am not referring to anyone specifically,” Romney said. “Over the last 15, 20 years in Washington, you’ve seen a pattern of people standing before a microphone saying, ‘Everyone makes mistakes.’”

Does he mean Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho? Should he resign after pleading guilty to soliciting a male police officer for sex in Minneapolis?

Sure, give us the names. Bring up Larry Craig and pound individual examples rather than focus on the job of correcting the decay of government ethics. The witch hunt mentality may provide the single largest obstacle to cleaning up Washington. By placing true and effective methods in place to oversee government action with real transparency and enforcement the job could get done and the morbid curiosity of the public would be satisfied as those who stray from ethical standards would be held to account. The past and current effort of only placing blame as it relates to party has not been helpful. It ends up that no one is held to account except in extreme cases that benefit one part or the other and media revenues.

At the very least, Mitt Romney has introduced ethics into the campaign discussion and has given everyone a chance to address the problem before the election, not just after, as has been the case for a long time.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

09/27/2007 topic update from Michelle Malkin 

Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson’s Website, Faultline USA, DeMediacratic Nation, Right Truth, DragonLady’s World, Shadowscope, Blue Star Chronicles, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Cao’s Blog, Conservative Cat, Right Voices, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

crossposted at:
Maggie’s Notebook | Conservative Blog
FaultlineUSA
Conservative Thoughts

What would you expect from a group without the sense to understand the ‘larger issue’ they now claim as the excuse for actions denounced by anyone with a backbone? That’s right. More discussion of MoveOn since they so richly deserve every criticism directed at them. Was this said before? There are certain lines you don’t cross. And here is how MoveOn responds to their wake up call to do the right thing.

Yesterday, an organization so small its 17 employees don’t even have a central office, found itself under attack by not only President Bush, who said the ad was “disgusting,” but also by the Democratic-controlled Senate, which passed a resolution 72 to 25 expressing its own outrage. Many Democrats blamed the group for giving moderate Republicans a ready excuse for staying with Bush and for giving Bush and his supporters a way to divert attention away from the war.

In an e-mail to its members last night, the group acknowledged that the content of the ad might have angered its allies but argued that a larger issue is at stake. “Maybe you liked our General Petraeus ad. Maybe you thought the language went too far,” they wrote. “But make no mistake: this is much bigger than one ad.”

This is the single largest example of the far left fringe base of the Democratic party that is being appeased and accommodated by the likes of Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Richardson, Dodd and many other Democrats who refused to acknowledge their over the top use of an ad in a national publication and the baseless attack on General Petraeus. A man with more honor and character than MoveOn could ever hope to achieve. But then, honorable achievements is obviously not something of which MoveOn would be interested.

Condemning MoveOn is the closest Congress has come to effortless bipartisan effectiveness since the performance ratings fell in the basement. Perhaps the Democratic party majority could seize the opportunity to acknowledge victory in Iraq is in this country’s best interest. Showing there is apolitical incentive to do the right thing might become contagious. Then the two parties could actually get something worthwhile completed and watch their numbers go up. Continuing to cozy up to MoveOn is not a recipe for success.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Stop the ACLU, The Virtuous Republic, Perri Nelson’s Website, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Big Dog’s Weblog, Right Truth, Stuck On Stupid, The Amboy Times, Leaning Straight Up, Adeline and Hazel, third world county, Wake Up America, Woman Honor Thyself, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Right Voices, Church and State, 123beta, DeMediacratic Nation, Adam’s Blog, Nuke’s News & Views, Phastidio.net, The Bullwinkle Blog, Conservative Cat, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, Faultline USA, Blue Star Chronicles, Republican National Convention Blog, High Desert Wanderer, Public Eye, Gone Hollywood, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Nearly in unison the Democratic party Presidential candidates promise older Americans more health and retirement enhancements. The victim search is alive and well in the Democratic party and is not lost on their candidates. Like Hillary Rodham Clinton working on her southern accent to speak in the south or John Edwards touting his poverty tour. Could it be any more obvious?

Edwards criticizes Clinton again for her close ties with lobbyists as hindering health care reform even though his money sources have recently exposed a ‘tainted lawyer’ whose donation he relinquished but kept the rest of the bundle. A fine example of do as I say, not as I do.

Clinton again reinforces the idea that her experience in health care reform makes her the best choice on the issue. That may be true if failure is what interests you. The same crew that developed her nineties initiative that failed also assembled her latest proposal. One Wall Street Journal opinion panned the current initiative. Another report indicates all the Dems health reform proposals are modeled on the Clinton plan yet Edwards claims Clinton copied his. Who cares, John, they are all flawed.

Both Biden and Richardson had nothing substantial to contribute to the discussions so they did not disappoint by not offering anything substantial. And Senator Dodd just can’t resist touting his involvement in the Family and Medical Leave Act which is not really on point. And his version of history may not be entirely accurate based on Congressional records available online.

Barack Obama may have been the most honest of all the Democratic candidates for he did not bother to show up. You have to believe a candidate chooses the most beneficial use of their time in a campaign. His strong suit is prepared speeches and not prepared debates. Seems odd since both activities are choreographed and staying on message should not be difficult but apparently Obama has trouble responding to the debate environment.

Since the Dems are repeating campaign performances this post can do the same. On supporting the troops and victory in Iraq and elsewhere plus national defense, security, border and immigration control as well as health care issues the Democratic party candidates fail miserably. The Dems being more afraid of MoveOn than disrespecting the very people who directly protect this nation is yet another current revelation that exposes their true agenda. Motivate the far left fringe Democratic party base regardless of how destructive it is to this country.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Five Democrats discuss health care in IA
By MIKE GLOVER, Associated Press WriterThu Sep 20, 10:57 PM ET

Five Democratic presidential candidates pledged during an AARP forum Thursday night to spend more on health care and bolster retirement programs crucial to politically potent seniors.

All five pledged to protect Social Security, revamp Medicare’s prescription drug program and expand home health care programs. They also promised to provide universal health care but rejected a Canadian-style single payer plan.

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Secure the Borders Linkfest

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This linkfest is dedicated to the guest worker who never left.There are plenty of illegal immigration posts on this blog.

If you’re here legally and behavin’ yo self, welcome aboard.
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We suggest using the Linkfest Haven Deluxe Trackback pinger for ease of use and time savings to catch all the festive linking activities today. Or, if you have done this less than we have, the permalink for this Open Trackback is the title link and the trackback is located near the bottom of the permalink page for this post. Just poke around, you’ll find it.

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   Faultline USA

   Says:
   September 19th, 2007 at 1:30 pm Pledging Your Moral Stand for Immigrants Rights…

   In the coming weeks and months your church may ask you to sign a pledge that you will take “a public, moral stand for immigrant’s rights.” If you oppose illegal immigration, are you ready for this faith challenge? Isn’t it possible to stand for hum…

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   Pirate’s Cove » >>Americans Never Quit » Aaar! Talki Like A Pirate Day, Mateys!

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   Right Voices » Blog Archive » Linkfest:WaPa Calls Thompson A Liar For Stating That U.S. Has Shed More Blood Than Any Other Nation To Bring Liberty

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   Rosemary’s Thoughts » Blog Archive » How NOT to move

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   Big Dogs Weblog

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   September 19th, 2007 at 3:31 pm Approval of Congress at All Time Low…

   ……

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   The World According To Carl

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   The World According To Carl

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   September 19th, 2007 at 3:49 pm Strange Video: Familjen - “Det Snurrar I Min Skalle”…

   This video is highly unusual. The footage comes from unknown (at least to me) film footage from the 1960’s (possibly) of a charismatic healing service most likely from somewhere in Europe. It’s spliced together in such a way to make it appear that …

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   Woman Honor Thyself

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   September 19th, 2007 at 4:25 pm Lars Vilks “offends” the Kvetchers…

   Hire your goon..here comes another toon!

   ……

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   DeMediacratic Nation

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   September 19th, 2007 at 5:00 pm Wednesday Hero…

   1st Lt. Forrest P. Ewens26 years old from Tonasket, Washing ……

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    Planck’s Constant

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    September 19th, 2007 at 5:45 pm A Salmagundi of Pirate Tales…

    Ahoy, me hearties! ‘Tis Talk Like a Swashbuckler Tide again an’ I be havin’ a booty chest a merry yarns fer ye so let`s hoist th’ mizzen whilst I spin ye th’ important tales o’ th’ tide: …

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    The Amboy Times

    Says:
    September 20th, 2007 at 12:40 am Cartoon Counter-Jihad…

    I’m not a graphic novel reader myself, but this looks interesting. JW: The main character in The Infidel, the upcoming graphic novel by the ex-Muslim Bosch Fawstin, is another ex-Muslim cartoonist. The one who is a character in the book…

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    Planck’s Constant

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    September 20th, 2007 at 1:01 am Chungs Close Shop after Roy Pearson Suit…

    They have finally had enough, Soo Chung and her husband, Jin Nam Chung, owners of a dry cleaner who were sued for $54 million over a missing pair of pants, have sold the shop involved in the dispute. …

13. 
    

    Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker

    Says:
    September 20th, 2007 at 2:09 am Avast - There be trouble a brewin’ in paradise…

    Ahoy me hardy’s- the typhoon be approachin’ ye who lives along the Ole Gulf Coast. The land of lost treasures will be mighty stirred up over the next fortnight. Arggh - the rain be a coming from across La Floride and headin’ to the bounty in the lan…

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    Conservative Cat

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    September 20th, 2007 at 2:20 am Important Safety Tip While Driving on Highway 53 North of the I-90 Tollway…

    It turns out there is a junior league hockey team called The Chicago Force operating in the northwest suburbs. This organization has nothing to do with Bruce and Nate’s favorite football team, the Chicago Force. I’m mentioning this in case……

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    Shadowscope

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    September 20th, 2007 at 4:16 am Thursday Thirteen #1…

    Since I have ditched the Thursday Thongs meme here I decided last week that I wanted to try and start participating regularly in the Thursday Thirteen. I was out of town last week and didn’t have the time to……

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    The World According To Carl

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    September 20th, 2007 at 4:17 am […] Trackposted to …… Also thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe. […]

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    Leaning Straight Up

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    September 20th, 2007 at 7:35 am Final Word: OJ…

    They arrested him, but he made Bail.   They charged him with everything but the fall of man.

    He’s not going to escape this barring some miracle, so the Goldman’s will gloat.

    My only real question?

    Be honest:  How man…

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    Republican National Convention Blog

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    September 20th, 2007 at 1:06 pm Michael B. Mukasey Biography…

    Michael Bernard Mukasey (born July 28, 1941). Mukasey attended the Ramaz School in Manhattan, graduating in 1959. His wife, Susan, was a teacher and headmistress of the lower school at Ramaz and both of their children (Marc and Jessica) attended the …..

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    Right Truth

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    September 20th, 2007 at 2:44 pm Syria voted co-chairman of the IAEA, Israel’s on the agenda…

    How crazy is this, “Syria voted co-chairman of the IAEA” — Two weeks after Israel’s alleged bombing raid in Syria, which some foreign reports said targeted North Korean nuclear material, the UN’s nuclear watchdog elected Syria as deputy chairman o…

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    Public Eye » Carter: Iran no threat

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Governor Romney on the Senate’s Vote Condemning the MoveOn.org Ad
Thursday, Sep 20, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Kevin Madden (857) 288-6390

Boston, MA – Today, Governor Mitt Romney issued the following statement on the Senate’s vote to condemn the MoveOn.org ad:

“Hillary Clinton had a choice. She could stand with our troop commander in Iraq, or she could stand with the libelous left wing of her party. She chose the latter. The idea that she would be a credible commander-in-chief of our armed forces requires the willing suspension of disbelief.”

Background On Senate Vote:

Sen. Hillary Clinton Voted Against Senate Language Condemning The MoveOn Attack On Gen. David Petraeus. “To express the sense of the Senate that General David H. Petraeus, Commanding General, Multi-National Force-Iraq, deserves the full support of the Senate and strongly condemn personal attacks on the honor and integrity of General Petraeus and all members of the United States Armed Forces.” (S. Amdt. 2934, Roll Call Vote #344: Passed 72-25, 9/20/07)

(photos added by Blog @ MoreWhat.com)

In posts published here earlier a report indicated HillaryCare II was assembled by the same team from Hillary Care I. The report also indicated no significant overhaul of Hillary Care I, which failed, and the health care proposals from other Democratic candidates were based on this same model. A post here yesterday featured an appraisal from the Opnion Journal on Hillary Care I and II emphasizing the program will require a great deal of tax increases the details of which the Clinton campaign is not disclosing. Which is to say that the Dems health care proposals are essentially the same and will cost everyone dearly for limited health care provisions.

That brings us to the current story. While many members of the GOP are not doing this country any favors with their positions on amnesty, visa quotas or other immigration and border control issues, the Democratic party candidates are of the same thinking on immigration as they are on health care. Clinton, Obama and Edwards are all in favor of amnesty. This should not have been difficult to notice with pandering to the open borders crowd by Democratic party candidates.

Add the two issues above with the Democratic party’s obvious position on national defense and security including their position on surrendering in Iraq and you have three exceptionally good reasons to vote for someone other than a Democrat. Some of their statements on immigration are in a report from the Hill.com

The campaigns of Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.) say their candidates will seek comprehensive reform, a phrase that sometimes implies a guest worker program, as soon as they get to the White House.

Former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.), speaking at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) political action conference Monday, said: “We’re going to ensure that every single person living in the United States of America has a completely achievable path to American citizenship so that they don’t live in the shadows.”

..’that sometimes implies a guest worker program’ is putting it mildly. And what John Edwards does not appear to understand is a path to citizenship already exists. If you follow the rule of law before, during and after entering this country the path to citizenship will be right there in front of you. Which might cause someone to ask why the open borders crowd feels compelled to let everyone just walk right in without any controls. If a prospective immigrant is not satisfied with the procedures involved in obtaining citizenship they are welcome to take their business elsewhere. If one does not possess the discipline to follow through with immigration legally, what does that say about their character and the risk to this country by letting them just walk in on their terms?

There you have it people. Again, the point is these are three very good reasons to reject the Democratic party.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson’s Website, The Virtuous Republic, Rosemary’s Thoughts, DeMediacratic Nation, Big Dog’s Weblog, Right Truth, Shadowscope, The Amboy Times, Leaning Straight Up, Conservative Cat, Faultline USA, Right Celebrity, Wake Up America, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Republican National Convention Blog, Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker, The Yankee Sailor, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Had Congress and a large portion of the American public consistently, and without wavering, supported the mission in Iraq from the beginning and withheld criticism until after victory, the ‘enemy’ would not have been encouraged to continue.  Say all you want about why the US military is there but the fact remains they are.  And there is a better than even chance if the necessary support from home had been there, that same US military would be home by now, with victory.

So the point is that those who have adopted the left antiwar theme contributed in whole and in part to the difficulties faced in Iraq.  Senator Warner’s change of vote may be proof of that.  Not running for re-election may have given him the opportunity to vote his conscience rather than political strategy.

The White House’s big breakthrough came yesterday morning, when Warner announced that he had reconsidered. “It’s a change of vote for me,” said Warner, also a former Navy secretary, who will retire next year after completing five terms. “I recognize that.”

Some have said this proposal was an end around the Democratic party’s failure to convince enough GOP members to support surrender again.  It sounds wonderful to give troops a break from combat but not when it really is intended to speed depletion of available troops and thwart victory once again.

That the antiwar crowd continues their destructive message and attempts to convince others their actions support the troops is beyond comprehension.  Unless you understand the antiwar theme is a self-fulfilling prophecy.  If you can convince enough unsuspecting citizens that you have peaceful or humanitarian intentions the scam will work.  Make enough noise not supporting a war effort and you effectively support the other side, also known as the enemy.  Give the enemy enough incentive to continue a war and you have the self fulfilling prophecy.  If you say the war cannot be won, that we are losing and you support surrender the ability to win is at least hindered or delayed.

That is why the war in Iraq and any future war must be conducted like Desert Storm in 1991.  Get it done before the fringe left antiwar crowd has the opportunity to object.  While there are virtually no comparisons to be made between the 1991 war and the current conflict(s) with the exception of military forces being involved, with trends in terrorism the rules of the game have changed.  Therefore defending this country has just become much more difficult as the antiwar left will always have more time to launch opposition to that defense now that the instant war is less likely.

The ‘war on terror’ whether referring to current armed conflict or future events has complicated national defense options.  In past ‘conventional’ war scenarios armed conflict took place between two or more countries.  Terrorism has blurred the geopolitical nature of war.  Rather than accept the terrorist notion of armed conflict and allow complicit nations to escape responsibility for their involvement, a new method for evaluating national defense options should be adopted.

Every terrorist was born within a geopolitical boundary.  And every terrorist is a resident of some nation.  The national defense options should be based upon which nations produced the terrorists responsible for any act of terror perpetrated against another country.  The nation attacked by terrorists has the right to retaliate against the nation(s) who produced those same terrorists. Perhaps then nations who sponsor terrorism will understand their is a price for them to pay for such behavior.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Ah, takin’s it easy again. It is nice when someone else provides a pleasant rebuttal to Hillary Rodham Clinton touting Hillary Rodham Clinton. HRC’s HCII is so preposterous as to inflict upon the American people the largest insult to the collective intelligence as may ever have been witnessed. Oh, no, that’s right, this is the late summer rerun of Hillary Care I. This sequel must be designed to pay off lobbyists favored by HRC and voters who have not payed attention or are too young or too old to remember early nineties with any precision.

H/T to The Wall Street Journal’s Opinion Journal for saving anyone interested in getting the word out the time and tedium of assembling a review of HCII.

HillaryCare’s New Clothes

Different means but the same political destination.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT

No liberal reform would be complete without repealing the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003; Mrs. Clinton would foot the bill for her plan with this tax increase. The rest of the estimated $110 billion per year in new government spending would be achieved by “modernizing” health-care delivery and “promoting wellness,” though this $35 billion in savings is speculative, if not fanciful. Further tax hikes would be required: That $110 billion is a back-of-the-envelope calculation, and Team Hillary is keeping the specifics in its pocket.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

According to the 2008 Rasmussen Daily Tracking Poll, Fred Thompson received quite the lift in numbers within a few days of his official announcement to run for President. There appears to be no rock star mania forming in the days since which is not a surprise. What is also not a surprise is the reaction to his candidacy by various sources including the main stream media. The two accounts below are tame reports of Fred Thompson visiting his hometown as his campaign begins in earnest, post announcement.

Fred Thompson Gets Warm Welcome
Associated Press
September 15, 2007 9:03 p.m.

LAWRENCEBURG, Tenn. — Fred Thompson has made his hometown of Lawrenceburg the site for his first public appearance in Tennessee since announcing his bid for the presidency.

Fred Thompson gets warm welcome in hometown
WBIR-TV, TN
Fred Thompson returned to his hometown Saturday for his first Tennessee event since announcing his presidential candidacy. Thompson greeted friends and …

Then comes the not too subtle report from the New York Times about a Thompson stop in Florida. Make sure you offer one pro-Thompson quote from one member of the audience. Then try to invent a gaffe over a small talk comment. Bring up earlier lame criticism of the candidate and rerun it. Leave an unsuspecting reader with as bad an impression of the candidate as you can. This from a newspaper made recently famous for plagiarizing staff and the inability to use restraint and weigh first amendment rights against national security.

Sparse Schedule for Thompson on Trail
By JULIE BOSMAN
September 16, 2007
LAKELAND, Fla., Sept. 15 — At his second campaign stop of the day on Friday, just after 2 p.m., Fred D. Thompson was deep into a riff on the benefits of high-quality American health care.

Aside from media reports and opinions on candidates there is always the less than reassuring numbers from all the various polling data about the coming election. Together with the poll mentioned at the top of this post, Angus-Reid and AP submit polling data that Thompson is in a GOP field of candidates with no front runner. The Democratic party opposition would like everyone to believe this is good news for them. You could also draw the conclusion that it is real early yet and the GOP candidates offer voters a larger contingent of appealing choices.

Republicans 2008: Giuliani 34%, Thompson 22%
September 16, 2007
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Rudy Giuliani is holding on to the top position in the race for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in the United States, according to a poll by Opinion Dynamics released by Fox News. 34 per cent of respondents would support the New York City mayor in a 2008 primary.

AP Poll: GOP Presidential Race a Toss-Up
By ALAN FRAM – 1 day ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — White men, conservatives, evangelicals and other pivotal blocs are divided among the Republican Party’s leading contenders for president, leaving the race for the 2008 GOP nomination highly fluid, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll.

A report from WaPo begins by discounting Fred Thompson and alleging the GOP field has flaws to overcome in order to distinguish a front runner. Stating the GOP race is more competitive now seems an obvious conclusion and more plausible than the flawed theory proposed by WaPo or vaguely disclosed sources. Then next several paragraphs from WaPo mostly ‘diss’ the GOP.

Once they stop dissin’ the field, some interesting strategy views are expressed. One saying the Romney camp has nothing to win right now based on an early state strategy while Thompson hopes to survive Iowa and NH and then win in the South.

Another Entry, but Still a Jumbled GOP Race
The Top Contenders, All Seen as Flawed, Struggle for a Message
By Dan Balz and Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, September 16, 2007; A05

The contest for the Republican presidential nomination remains without a clear front-runner in a field of candidates still scrambling to find a message.

With the Dems you get Hillary Rodham Clinton or Hillary Rodham Clinton. With the GOP the choice is still open. While Giuliani is the most liberal of GOP candidates, all of them offer more strength and less social whining than their Democratic party counterparts. While many like to sneer after the 2006 midterms, the Congressional approval rating being lower than a term limited President’s do not guarantee left victory for the White House in 2008. Fred Thompson’s entry to the race has at the very least increased the ability to hone the conservative view and more carefully define which of several GOP candidates can best deliver the solutions this country needs.

BTW, here are a few facts about Fred Dalton Thompson that should be free of debate…..

THOMPSON, Fred Dalton,
born in Sheffield, Ala., on August 19, 1942;
attended the public schools in Lawrenceburg, Tenn.;
graduated from Memphis State University 1964;
received J.D. degree from Vanderbilt University 1967;
admitted to the Tennessee bar in 1967 and commenced the practice of law;
assistant U.S. attorney 1969-1972;
minority counsel, Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities (“Watergate Committee”) 1973-1974;
special counsel to Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander 1980;
special counsel, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations 1980-1981;
special counsel, Senate Intelligence Committee 1982;
member, Tennessee Appellate Court Nominating Commission 1985-1987;
actor;
elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in the November 8, 1994, special election to fill the unexpired portion of the term ending January 3, 1997, left vacant by the resignation of Albert Gore, Jr.;
took the oath of office on December 2, 1994;
reelected in 1996 for the term ending January 3, 2003;
not a candidate for reelection in 2002;
chair, Committee on Governmental Affairs (One Hundred Fifth and One Hundred Sixth Congresses; One Hundred Seventh Congress [January 20, 2001-June 6, 2001]);
resumed acting career.
(source: senate.gov, biographical guide)

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson’s Website, Rosemary’s Thoughts, DeMediacratic Nation, Right Truth, Big Dog’s Weblog, Inside the Northwest Territory, The Meat Scale, Nuke’s News & Views, The Amboy Times, Cao’s Blog, Pursuing Holiness, third world county, Faultline USA, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, The Pink Flamingo, Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker, Dumb Ox Daily News, Right Voices, CatSynth.com, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

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This is an open trackback linkfest. It happens every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Each linkfest is open until the next one starts. Trackbacks will be on the frontpage in a post called MoreWhat Matters each Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. The Secure the Borders theme is intended as a reminder to all for obvious reasons. If you have any suggestions, criticisms, questions or just feel the need to communicate, trackback or let us know in the comments. If you want to be added to Z’ Blogroll, register and/or inquire to make arrangements. The Honor Roll is reserved for blogs viewed as special by this blog’s owner.
JIHAD stands for Jesus I Have A Deathwish.

This linkfest is dedicated to the guest worker who never left.There are plenty of illegal immigration posts on this blog.

If you’re here legally and behavin’ yo self, welcome aboard.
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This will qualify as an emergency action alert.  While Congress has been back in session for a couple of weeks after their undeserved month long summer vacation, they now feel it is time to consider more amnesty legislation.  The left is looking for more victims and future fringe left voters through their amnesty agenda, again.  Conservatives will be criticized for being cruel to po’ lil ol’ illegals who do not have the ability to follow the law.  Toughen up and call your Senators anyway to tell them amnesty is a bad idea anytime.  Senate amendment 2237 to be attached to the Defense Appropriations measure will give away the house to children of illegals.  Enough with the chain amnesty and other similar attempts to circumvent existing law.  Some links are provided here since there is no sense reinventing the wheel especially when timing is critical and this blog is a bit behind the curve right now.  Had been paying too much attention to 2008 politics and dropped the ball on monitoring Congress since their vacation.  Maya culpa. Read on.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

Shamnesty Watch: Keep the heat on the DREAM Act…Only 18 Senators have committed to voting no

The DREAM That Just Won’t Die …
The text of the bill has also been included in various other immigration-related bills, including the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, which was approved by the Senate and the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, …

Change Amnesty To The Dream Act And It’s Still BS
17 Sep 2007 by Peejz
lawmakers in Congress are poised to slip the DREAM Act (Senate Amendment 2237 text here) in during consideration of the Department of Defense authorization bill (HR 1585) this week. Numbers USA has the lowdown. …

Today’s Villains: Dick Durbin and Dianne Feinstein
by todd anthony
First, “An effort by Illinois Democrat Richard Durbin to grant amnesty to illegal alien students under his ‘Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act.’ This bill would ‘grant legal status to illegal aliens who …

remember this compelling display of……

1. 
   

   Conservative Cat

   Says:
   September 17th, 2007 at 3:14 am College-Level Current Events Debating Blues…

   One advantage of working with Bruce is that he’s very good at finding information on the web. Unfortunately, his children are frequently unable to take advantage of his skills, because the academic world lives with a completely different mind-set. For…

2. 
   

   Right Voices » Blog Archive » Open Trackback: The Gathering Of Eagles Get A Big Fat 0 To The Anti War Protestors 189

   Says:
   September 17th, 2007 at 3:30 am […] Trackposted to ….. thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe. […]

3. 
   

   Leaning Straight Up

   Says:
   September 17th, 2007 at 7:52 am OJ heads for the big house…

   Some OJ thoughts.

   First, the past.  Great athlete, OK actor.  Whoopee.

   The infamy:  Did he kill his wife?  Honestly I don’t know, even if It seems likely.  First of all, from a legal perspective, he was found not gui…

4. 
   

   Big Dogs Weblog

   Says:
   September 17th, 2007 at 2:28 pm Democrats; Terrorist Approved…

   ……

5. 
   

   Planck’s Constant

   Says:
   September 17th, 2007 at 4:47 pm Bad News for OJ Las Vegas is mostly white…

   At least this time this old has-been sports clown admits he was actually at the crime scene. Will someone kindly do the right thing and put this buffoon away for long enough so that we can be spared the indignity of having to see his face again?…

6. 
   

   DeMediacratic Nation

   Says:
   September 17th, 2007 at 4:48 pm “Helping the Poor, Saving the Environment, Fight…

   An interesting piece on Dr. Mohamed El Baradei appears in The NY Times today:……

7. 
   

   DeMediacratic Nation

   Says:
   September 17th, 2007 at 6:19 pm All You Need is Love?…

   The 9/11 commemoration speech from Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick according to Mark Steyn included this beauty,…

8. 
   

   Right Truth

   Says:
   September 17th, 2007 at 6:30 pm Israel testing Syria and Iran…

   According to the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton, the air strike into Syria this weekend was a war test for a strike against Iran. According to estimations, the invasion targeted storehouses with nuclear materials made in North…

9. 
   

   Wake up America-School Terror Threats

   Says:
   September 17th, 2007 at 8:17 pm School Terror Threat-…

   Investigators released the postcards with the threatening drawings on them Monday in hopes of generating leads in the case. Officials said that the postcards are made up of various and traditional themes, and each one has a distinctive hand-drawn car…..

10. 
    

    123beta

    Says:
    September 17th, 2007 at 9:46 pm Barry’s Balls…

    Fashion designer Marc Ecko revealed himself as Saturday’s winning bidder in the online auction for the ball that Bonds hit last month to break Hank Aaron’s all-time home-run record. Now, he is taking votes on what the fate of that ball will be. “I …

11. 
    

    A Few Shiny Pebbles

    Says:
    September 17th, 2007 at 11:56 pm I Cry for Thee, Venezuela…

    I feel a lot of sympathy for the people in Venezuela under Hugo Chavez’s rule. In “Venezuela’s Chavez May Take Over Schools”, by Ian James, he writes: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened [. . . . that a]ll schools, public……

12. 
    

    Woman Honor Thyself

    Says:
    September 18th, 2007 at 12:30 am MSM notices the Muz ThreaT?…

    “It’s not denial. I’m just selective about the reality I accept.”

    ……

13. 
    

    Big Dogs Weblog

    Says:
    September 18th, 2007 at 12:51 am What Did This Student Do Wrong?…

    ……

14. 
    

    The Amboy Times

    Says:
    September 18th, 2007 at 2:00 am Terrorists at the Border…

    This has always been one of my peeves, a wide open border that somehow magically filters out potential terrorists. Not just because that is the easiest way for terrorists to get in the U.S., but the way this story is…

15. 
    

    Nuke’s News & Views » Blog Archive » Cadbury’s drumming gorilla

    Says:
    September 18th, 2007 at 4:05 am […] Trackposted to……. thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe. Bookmark to: […]

16. 
    

    Nuke’s News & Views » Blog Archive » He’s not the only one

    Says:
    September 18th, 2007 at 4:06 am […] Trackposted to ….. thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe. Bookmark to: […]

17. 
    

    Conservative Thoughts

    Says:
    September 18th, 2007 at 5:09 am Mitt Calls On United Nations to Dump Ahmadinejad…

    Mitt Romney nails it….
    In a strong letter dated September 17th, 2007 addressed to Secretary Ban-Ki Moon, Mitt Romney calls on the United Nations to dump Iranian President Ahmadinejad and revoke the invitation to address the General Assembly. He …

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    Blue Star Chronicles

    Says:
    September 18th, 2007 at 5:19 am Muslim Terrorists are Thankful for the Help of Cin…

    Terrorist: ‘I thank Sheehan from the deep of my heart’…

19. 
    

    Blue Star Chronicles

    Says:
    September 18th, 2007 at 5:39 am Iran’s Ahmadinejad is Coming to the United Nations…

    Iran’s President Ahmadinejad is coming to the United Nations. Remember when he was there last year? He spoke openly to those there about his apocalyptic vision. He told the West to convert to islam or be killed. He calls for the purge of liberals and….

20. 
    

    Adam’s Blog

    Says:
    September 18th, 2007 at 6:20 am Values Voter Debate Post-Debate Show…

    Post-Debate analysis of the Presidential Debates with one of the candidates and Bryan Fischer of the Idaho Values Alliance.
    Popularity: unranked [?]……

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    Rosemary’s Thoughts

    Says:
    September 18th, 2007 at 7:59 am I finally did it. I bought a site!…

    They put the 3 points on the scoreboard, and the game was won. It was over. People started on their way home. But wait!

    What is this? They’re taking the points off the board! What is happening? The Raiders have to try again. Why? What is the penal….

22. 
    

    Republican National Convention Blog

    Says:
    September 18th, 2007 at 12:42 pm Can consumers be confused into buying?…

    researchers found that by presenting a confusing sales pitch to consumers and then restating the pitch in a more familiar way, they were able to increase sales of a candy bar in a supermarket,…

23. 
    

    Right Voices

    Says:
    September 18th, 2007 at 3:12 pm OPEN TRACKBACK: “Allah is our goal; the Messenger is our model; the Quran is our constitution; jihad is our means; and martyrdom in the way of Allah is our aspiration.”…

    H/T to Bryan for the link to the Muslim Brotherhood’s long term goals in the US, which include replacing the Constitution with sharia law.
    Amid the mountain of evidence released in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial, the most provocat…