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Michael T. Barrett
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Sep
1
What a fantastic day!
We completed the final steps of the process this morning and by 9:30 we had the keys to the house in hand. We spent a little bit of time sitting on the front porch of the new house reflecting on the fact that everything is possible when you put your faith in God. We never had any doubt that He would help guide us through this entire process. We prayed every day and night, we had friends praying (thanks!!), and our prayers were answered.
The photo above is a simple panorama of the backyard from the deck of the house. It’s not the best photo, but it shows you how gorgeous the backyard is.
After coming back to the old house, loading a few things in the truck, and dropping them off at the new house, we stopped by our church for the noon Mass, so we could say a special thanks to God for blessing us with this new home.
This afternoon I spent a few hours calling all the utility companies coordinating them to be turned on, and while I was on the phone the boys packed about a dozen more boxes, so we decided to load them up and take them over to the house.
We got there just before 5, and we spent the evening at the new house, unloading boxes, planning furniture placement (so I know where to put everything when we bring it into the house), and then attempting to order pizza. That’s when we hit our first glitch.
We live a few miles out of the delivery radius for Papa Johns, Dominos, and Pizza Hut. That’s right. NO PIZZA DELIVERY AT THE NEW HOUSE. That might have been a deal breaker, except I do have the Pizza Hut iPhone App, so I could order the pizza and then go pick it up. No biggie, since I needed a quick moving break anyway.
As we were relaxing tonight we were already discussing the house warming party. We plan on inviting some close friends and family and enjoying an afternoon and evening with some delicious food from Iron Horse BBQ. At least that’s the plan as of right now.
Now I’m off to collapse. I have a few more phone calls to make tomorrow, then I have to figure out how my “work day” is going to be handled during the move. Until tomorrow… Zzzzzzzz…
Aug
31
We arrived at our meeting just before 11 this morning, to sign the papers, turn over a rather large check, and get the keys to our new home. It turns out, the seller hadn’t received some of the paperwork yet, so things were delayed 24 hours.
At first we were a little concerned, but then we realized it was an error on the part of the real estate agents, not the seller, so we were willing to wait another 24 hours. We came this far, the least we could do is wait it out overnight.
Hopefully everything will go smoothly tomorrow morning, and then we can schedule all the utilities and start coordinating the actual move. Maybe then my writing on everything political will resume its normal course.
Aug
30
After the seller accepted our offer on Friday evening, we were elated. We spent the weekend planning our move, trying to decide if we should rent a U-Haul truck, a PODS unit, or just truck it (literally) for a few days…
We expected to hear from the real estate agent first thing this morning, but things were delayed and met her out at the house for a “final” inspection.
I crawled under the house to check for any noticeable problems with the foundation, including cracks and mold. Everything checked out. It was all brand new. I used my ladder to get access to the attic crawl space above the garage, as well as the space above the rest of the house, and it all checked out too. In fact, everything about this house (which has been completely renovated) was in better condition than our current house was when we bought it seven years ago (and it was brand new).
We are scheduled to meet in the morning to sign all the papers and get the keys. We are extremely excited (and relieved). Thanks again for all of the prayers, there is no doubt that God took more than a few minutes to answer them.
Mar
23
Forced Health-Care Is Unconstitutional
Category: Our Nation, Politics | 3 Comments | 293 words | Print
The passage of the health-care bill signaled a change in our country. No longer are we the free people we were just a couple days ago.
Under this new plan you will be forced to carry health insurance or face a fine. You will be required to pay specific amounts for that health care. The amount you pay will be determined by the IRS based on your income. If you don’t purchase a government approved health-care plan, you will be fined and/or go to jail.
Never before in our country’s history have the American people been forced to purchase any product, be it food, clothing, insurance, or otherwise. Some people are using the “you are required to purchase auto insurance aren’t you” argument, but that doesn’t fly. Laws concerning auto insurance are state laws, not federal laws. Under the 10th Amendment to the Constitution, the federal government does not possess the authority to do this.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Health-care for everyone may sound good, but forced health-care insurance is unconstitutional at the very basic level in the Bill Of Rights.
There are a lot more issues with ObamaCare than the unconstitutionality of it, and I’ll discuss some of those over the coming week or so. For today, here are some more links about the bill.
It didn’t even get out of the gate and ObamaCare is doomed.
The ink isn’t even dry and attorneys general across the nation have filed suit against the bill.
Tomorrow is another day, and I am sure there will be 1,000 more reasons why ObamaCare will never be enacted.
Mar
22
The Assault On Our Constitution
Category: Our Nation, Politics | Comments Off | 1,344 words | Print
Well, there you have it. 219 Democrats have made an all-out assault on our Constitution. As you know by now, the health-care bill has passed.
Since most of you still don’t know exactly what’s in the bill, why not review these 20 ways that ObamaCare will take away our freedoms. These are so important I am quoting the entire list here.
1. You are young and don’t want health insurance? You are starting up a small business and need to minimize expenses, and one way to do that is to forego health insurance? Tough. You have to pay $750 annually for the “privilege.” (Section 1501)
2. You are young and healthy and want to pay for insurance that reflects that status? Tough. You’ll have to pay for premiums that cover not only you, but also the guy who smokes three packs a day, drink a gallon of whiskey and eats chicken fat off the floor. That’s because insurance companies will no longer be able to underwrite on the basis of a person’s health status. (Section 2701).
3. You would like to pay less in premiums by buying insurance with lifetime or annual limits on coverage? Tough. Health insurers will no longer be able to offer such policies, even if that is what customers prefer. (Section 2711).
4. Think you’d like a policy that is cheaper because it doesn’t cover preventive care or requires cost-sharing for such care? Tough. Health insurers will no longer be able to offer policies that do not cover preventive services or offer them with cost-sharing, even if that’s what the customer wants. (Section 2712).
5. You are an employer and you would like to offer coverage that doesn’t allow your employees’ slacker children to stay on the policy until age 26? Tough. (Section 2714).
6. You must buy a policy that covers ambulatory patient services, emergency services, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment; prescription drugs; rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices; laboratory services; preventive and wellness services; chronic disease management; and pediatric services, including oral and vision care.
You’re a single guy without children? Tough, your policy must cover pediatric services. You’re a woman who can’t have children? Tough, your policy must cover maternity services. You’re a teetotaler? Tough, your policy must cover substance abuse treatment. (Add your own violation of personal freedom here.) (Section 1302).
7. Do you want a plan with lots of cost-sharing and low premiums? Well, the best you can do is a “Bronze plan,” which has benefits that provide benefits that are actuarially equivalent to 60% of the full actuarial value of the benefits provided under the plan. Anything lower than that, tough. (Section 1302 (d) (1) (A))
8. You are an employer in the small-group insurance market and you’d like to offer policies with deductibles higher than $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for families? Tough. (Section 1302 (c) (2) (A).
9. If you are a large employer (defined as at least 50 employees) and you do not want to provide health insurance to your employee, then you will pay a $750 fine per employee (It could be $2,000 to $3,000 under the reconciliation changes). Think you know how to better spend that money? Tough. (Section 1513).
10. You are an employer who offers health flexible spending arrangements and your employees want to deduct more than $2,500 from their salaries for it? Sorry, can’t do that. (Section 9005 (i)).
11. If you are a physician and you don’t want the government looking over your shoulder? Tough. The Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized to use your claims data to issue you reports that measure the resources you use, provide information on the quality of care you provide, and compare the resources you use to those used by other physicians. Of course, this will all be just for informational purposes. It’s not like the government will ever use it to intervene in your practice and patients’ care. Of course not. (Section 3003 (i))
12. If you are a physician and you want to own your own hospital, you must be an owner and have a “Medicare provider agreement” by Feb. 1, 2010. (Dec. 31, 2010 in the reconciliation changes.) If you didn’t have those by then, you are out of luck. (Section 6001 (i) (1) (A))
13. If you are a physician owner and you want to expand your hospital? Well, you can’t (Section 6001 (i) (1) (B). Unless, it is located in a county where, over the last five years, population growth has been 150% of what it has been in the state (Section 6601 (i) (3) ( E)). And then you cannot increase your capacity by more than 200% (Section 6001 (i) (3) (C)).
14. You are a health insurer and you want to raise premiums to meet costs? Well, if that increase is deemed “unreasonable” by the Secretary of Health and Human Services it will be subject to review and can be denied. (Section 1003)
15. The government will extract a fee of $2.3 billion annually from the pharmaceutical industry. If you are a pharmaceutical company what you will pay depends on the ratio of the number of brand-name drugs you sell to the total number of brand-name drugs sold in the U.S. So, if you sell 10% of the brand-name drugs in the U.S., what you pay will be 10% multiplied by $2.3 billion, or $230,000,000. (Under reconciliation, it starts at $2.55 billion, jumps to $3 billion in 2012, then to $3.5 billion in 2017 and $4.2 billion in 2018, before settling at $2.8 billion in 2019 (Section 1404)). Think you, as a pharmaceutical executive, know how to better use that money, say for research and development? Tough. (Section 9008 (b)).
16. The government will extract a fee of $2 billion annually from medical device makers. If you are a medical device maker what you will pay depends on your share of medical device sales in the U.S. So, if you sell 10% of the medical devices in the U.S., what you pay will be 10% multiplied by $2 billion, or $200,000,000. Think you, as a medical device maker, know how to better use that money, say for R&D? Tough. (Section 9009 (b)).
The reconciliation package turns that into a 2.9% excise tax for medical device makers. Think you, as a medical device maker, know how to better use that money, say for research and development? Tough. (Section 1405).
17. The government will extract a fee of $6.7 billion annually from insurance companies. If you are an insurer, what you will pay depends on your share of net premiums plus 200% of your administrative costs. So, if your net premiums and administrative costs are equal to 10% of the total, you will pay 10% of $6.7 billion, or $670,000,000. In the reconciliation bill, the fee will start at $8 billion in 2014, $11.3 billion in 2015, $1.9 billion in 2017, and $14.3 billion in 2018 (Section 1406).Think you, as an insurance executive, know how to better spend that money? Tough.(Section 9010 (b) (1) (A and B).)
18. If an insurance company board or its stockholders think the CEO is worth more than $500,000 in deferred compensation? Tough.(Section 9014).
19. You will have to pay an additional 0.5% payroll tax on any dollar you make over $250,000 if you file a joint return and $200,000 if you file an individual return. What? You think you know how to spend the money you earned better than the government? Tough. (Section 9015).
That amount will rise to a 3.8% tax if reconciliation passes. It will also apply to investment income, estates, and trusts. You think you know how to spend the money you earned better than the government? Like you need to ask. (Section 1402).20. If you go for cosmetic surgery, you will pay an additional 5% tax on the cost of the procedure. Think you know how to spend that money you earned better than the government? Tough. (Section 9017).
I am sick to my stomach thinking of everything that will transpire because of the passing of this bill.
Mar
18
A Vote For An Unconstitutional Rule
Category: Our Nation, Politics | Comments Off | 417 words | Print
House Republicans introduced a resolution to force a vote on Louise Slaughter’s “rule”.
H. RES. __
RESOLUTION
Ensuring an up or down vote on certain health care legislation.
Resolved, That the Committee on Rules may not report a rule or order that provides for disposition of the Senate amendments to H.R. 3590, an Act entitled The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, unless such rule or order provides for—
(1) at least one hour of debate, equally divided and controlled by the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader, or their designees; and
(2) a requirement that the Speaker put the question on disposition of the Senate amendments and that the yeas and nays be considered as ordered thereon.
The vote on that resolution was held today. The resolution failed by a vote of 222-203.
That’s right. Two-Hundred and Twenty-Two Democrats feel that Article I, Section VII, Clause II of the U.S. Constitution is null and void. I know I keep re-hashing this same “argument” but the Constitution states,
Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively…
The item is not up for debate. The U.S. Constitution states that every bill that passes the House and the Senate must pass with Yeas and Nays being called. The Slaughter “rule” will deem the Senate version passed in the House, which is unconstitutional. Period.
The fact that 222 House Democrats don’t respect, let alone even know, what is written in our Constitution does not surprise me. The next couple days are going to be quite interesting, but when it comes to the Slaughter “rule”, there is nothing more to discuss.
Mar
4
Enough Already, It’s Time To Listen!
Category: Opinions, Our Nation, Politics | Comments Off | 1,000 words | Print
As you know, President Obama spoke to the American people on Wednesday. He spoke about health care. Again. During his speech he spoke about some changes in the current health care bill. You remember the current health care bill don’t you? Yeah, that’s right, it’s the one that 2/3 of the American people don’t want!
I think this was speech number 500 or something. Do I really need to see the President of the United States every day on my television? Do I need to hear his voice every day on the radio? If Barack Obama was as smart as he wants us all to think he is, he would shut up already, and he would do it now.
Let’s look at some of the things he had to say, shall we?
- He said, “The bottom line is: our proposal is paid for.”
Don’t be so sure about that. The CBO (the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office) has said that it lacks sufficient details to evaluate the President’s plan. There’s no way for him to honestly claim that this “new” proposal is paid for.
- He said, “Now, it’s true that all of this will cost money – about $100 billion per year.”
Over the course of 10 years, that $100 billion per year will add up to $1 trillion in costs. Costs he just claimed were “paid for”. If that cost is paid for, that means your taxes are going up and you haven’t even started paying for the new health care you’re going to be receiving yet!
- He said, “Finally, my proposal would bring down the cost of health care…”
Wait. How can you bring down the cost of health care, when you’re paying $1 trillion for it before you even know what the actual costs are going be? Remember, he said it would cost $100 billion per year and the CBO hasn’t been able to verify anything about the proposal!
Many non-partisan experts, within the CBO and the Obama Administration itself have said the Senate bill will raise premium costs for families on the individual market by an average $2,100 and raise national health spending overall. So which part of those facts show his proposal “brings down the cost of health care”?
- He said, “I don’t believe we should give government bureaucrats … more control over health care in America.”
His “new” proposal creates more than 160 new boards, commissions and programs. Billions and billions (probably $100 billion) in wasteful government bureaucracy firmly planted between you and available health care.
It’s no secret that I disapprove of President Obama, but just once I would like to believe something, anything, that comes out of his mouth once he starts to make a statement. Heck, even when he starts with the words “Good Afternoon”, it usually isn’t. Have you seen the economy lately?
If his speech was meant to “rally the American people” he needs to fire his speech writers and spokespeople, immediately. All he has done is rehash all of the same aspects of a health care bill that the American people have already said they don’t want. During the presidential campaign, he made a comment about “lipstick on a pig”. If this isn’t the biggest pig to be painting lipstick on, I don’t know what is.
In addition to the cosmetic surgery he performed on the horrible health care bill, President Obama has made it clear he intends to have it pushed through Congress using reconciliation which requires a simple majority in both the House and the Senate.
By doing so, every member of the Senate and every member of the House up for re-election, who vote to pass the bill this way, will face intense scrutiny from the voters in November. My bet is less than 25 percent of them will keep their jobs. That is, if the bill ever makes it way back to the House floor at all. Steny Hoyer says they don’t even have a bill yet.
Democratic leaders are contending with a host of undecided lawmakers who want to see the fine print before making a decision. Hoyer said final language and a cost estimate should come back from the Congressional Budget Office by the end of next week.
“At this point in time we don’t have a bill,” Hoyer said. “It’s a little difficult to count votes if you don’t have a bill.”
Once again, our Congressional leaders are pimping a bill no one has seen yet. It hasn’t even been written, yet the President has spoken to the American people encouraging them to support whatever it is that they may write in the future.
The President wants Congress to act before he leaves on his trip to Asia on March 18th. Both Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer say it’s “doable”. I don’t think so, neither does Howard Dean.
Passing the healthcare proposals before Congress will “hang out to dry” every Democratic incumbent running for reelection this fall, Howard Dean said Thursday.
Dean, a physician by training who’s a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), said that Democrats in Congress — and President Barack Obama — would do themselves more harm than good by passing the current healthcare bill.
How long can the Democrats ignore the will of the American people even when their own party members begin speaking out against the bill? It won’t be much longer, I can guarantee you that.
It’s time to start over. Toss out the current bill, sit down at the table to discuss the real issues, and put together a real health care proposal that makes sense.
If the Democrats don’t see this is the best way to move forward on health care, it’s time to vote them all out of office.
It’s time to get leaders in those seats who know how to listen to the American people.
Jan
5
Harry & Nancy Are Drunk With Power
Category: Opinions, Our Nation | Comments Off | 375 words | Print
Did you see the headlines today?
Dems look to skip formality on health bills
Democrats Reid, Pelosi ponder crafting Obama’s final healthcare bill behind closed doors
Did you read any of the stories with those headlines?
Democratic leaders are looking to forgo a formal, public conference to merge the House and Senate’s health care overhaul bills, giving Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the White House free rein to hammer out the final measure behind closed doors and thwart Republican efforts to stymie it.
The maneuver gives Democratic leaders the ability to quickly work through hundreds of differences between the 2,000-page bills and to keep control over the deals they will need to make on politically touchy topics such as abortion, taxes and Medicare cuts.
You read that correctly. Rather than allowing a conference committee to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill, Scary Harry and Nanny State Nancy are planning to keep the negotiations behind closed doors, out of the public eye, and away from any scrutiny by the American public.
It wasn’t all that long ago that Harry Reid was against that very idea. The year was 2006.
They rushed the bill through votes in the House. They called the Senate into session at one o’clock in the morning to pass their version. They refused to allow enough time for people to read the entire bill before bringing these votes, many of which were on amendments which members of Congress hadn’t even received a copy of. But don’t you fret. Nancy Pelosi says there has never been a more open process.
C-SPAN wrote a letter to congressional leaders Tuesday asking that TV cameras be allowed to film negotiations to reconcile the House and Senate versions of healthcare reform legislation.
But Pelosi said Congress has already been transparent throughout the process.
“There has never been a more open process for any legislation,” Pelosi said at a press conference.
If you get too nauseated you can fast forward to the 7 minute mark to hear her ridiculous remark.
Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are drunk with power and it’s only a matter of time before they kill someone. It’s time to pull them over and make them pay the consequences.
Dec
23
Two Days Before Christmas
Category: Opinions, Our Nation | Comments Off | 460 words | Print
Here we are just two days before Christmas and the U.S. Senate is still debating health care reform with the final vote for passage coming around 8:00 am tomorrow morning. Harry Reid keeps saying that the reason they are debating the bill in the middle of the night and right up to Christmas day, is because of the Republicans. He forgets that we all know he, as Majority Leader, sets the Senate schedule, and he alone decides when legislation hits the floor. In other words, this is his way of punishing everyone because he thinks the Republicans are pooping in his Post Toasties. Grow up Harry.
Just thinking about the health care bill makes me angry, which is exactly why Scary Harry made sure that debate on the bill ran right up to the Christmas holiday. Too many people are traveling to visit family. They’re trying to enjoy the season, and they don’t want to listen to all this negativity or even think about the horror that will come if this bill actually makes it through the entire process.
On a more optimistic note, Rich Lowry writes about five reasons the health care bill might not pass. Personally I think there are a few more reasons than the ones he chose to focus on. His five include public revulsion (which hasn’t stopped Scary Harry, Nanny State Nancy, or The Failed One® yet), the abortion funding issue, and more.
Some other reasons the bill might not make it include the fact that Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), the chairwoman of the House Rules Committee has gone on the record to state that Congress should scrap the bill and start over. It turns out Democrats aren’t supporting the bill either. As their base erodes, so will any effort to pass the horrific legislation. It’s already a given that most Democrats up for re-election in 2010 (in the House and the Senate) face an uphill battle because of their support for the bill.
To make matters worse for every Democrat in the House (as the entire House is up for reelection in 2010) is the fact that The Failed One® is now thinking about postponing health care talks until February. This will keep health care reform on everyone’s mind well into the months leading up to the election. Those opposed to this bill and running for office couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas present from President Obama.
That’s it from me tonight. I have a few things I need to get done around here, and I need to get up early tomorrow for the senate vote (although I am pretty sure we all know the outcome of the vote).
Nov
18
Two Thousand Seventy Four Pages
Category: Opinions, Our Nation | Comments Off | 392 words | Print
Scary Harry Reid released the brand new Senate health care reform bill. I’ve added it to the source document list to the left, and I will begin reading it sometime tomorrow. According to early reports, the bill will cost $849 billion over 10 years, and will reduce the deficit by $127 billion over that same 10 years.
$127 billion dollars sounds like an awful lot, except it’s not. Not really. The federal deficit for October 2009 alone, was $176 billion. Think about it. The Senate version of health care reform will reduce the deficit by $1.058 billion per month for 10 years. If we have more months like October 2009, the deficit will still rise by more than $174 billion every month.
The next time you hear someone brag about this bill “reducing the deficit” just slap them in the face with the facts and watch the blood drain from their face.
The Senate health care bill is being introduced as an amendment, in the form of a substitution, for House Resolution 3590. HR 3590 had absolutely nothing to do with health care before this substitution.
Early reports indicate that this substitute HR3590 contains a 40% excise tax on health care plans which are in excess of $8,500, an additional 0.5% Medicare tax on wages in excess of $106,800, and additional fees for manufacturers of certain drugs and medical devices. The bill also raises taxes by $370 billion over 10 years, and it doesn’t stop there. The Senate health care reform bill allows for taxpayer-funded abortions through the public health insurance plan and the health insurance “exchange”.
In short, the Senate bill will raise premiums, raise taxes, and cut benefits. You can read the Congressional Budget Office score of the bill (PDF), for more information on the costs of this version of health care reform but remember one thing. The bill they scored for this report (HR 3590) will not be the same bill (therefore their score of the bill will no longer be valid) once it passes. It is sure to “evolve” before any final vote comes to the Senate floor.
Like I said at the beginning of this post, I will begin my review of the substitute to HR3590 tomorrow evening. Until then, get reading. Don’t make me do it alone.