Not really funny
What a wonderful Christmas Day surprise — newspaper headlines proclaiming that the Senate has given President Obama a health care victory. In keeping with the spirit of Christmas giving, then Obama's victory must be a victory for the people.
Let's see. A victory for the people would be tort reform, which would save 5-10 percent of our health care costs annually. Nope, the trial lawyers don't want reform, so we get a lump of coal under our national tree for the people. Sorry.
Well, surely all people then will get health coverage. Well, no. This gargantuan bill only covers a little over half of the uninsured, and that doesn't start until 2014. Well, that's only another five years, they can't get sick. Looks like another lump of coal for the people.
A victory for the people sounds like we'll save some money. Well, no. In fact, if you have a nice plan already, you may get to pay an additional 40 percent excise tax just because you've done well. So everyone else will get to contribute more, too; well, except for the unions who are exempt and the state of Nebraska, which gets free Medicaid that the other 49 states get to pay for.
And don't forget the Medicaid sweetheart deals for Vermont, Nevada and Massachusetts. What a wonderful gift for them but a lump of coal for the rest of us who didn't have Senators smart enough (according to Harry Reid) to work their own state deals (unless of course you count the 5,200 earmarks in the last spending bill). Looks like another lump of coal for us other poor people.
Well, golly, surely our national health care costs will go down, especially since Obama just recently said we'll go bankrupt if we don't pass a plan. Finally, (I say) here's our present. The Congressional Budget Office says we'll save $132 billion over 10 years. I like this present.
Oops, the cost to roll out health care is more than $2 trillion over the next 10 years. Let's see, subtracting $132 billion from $2 trillion doesn't feel like saving. Another major lump of coal for the people.
There's even more in this health care victory to celebrate, but I'm getting depressed with all the coal under my tree. But wait. I can use coal to heat my house. Oops, sorry. Under the proposed Cap & Trade bill, I can't afford to buy a carbon offset and I can't burn the coal because I'll add to my footprint. What a victory for the people.
You know, if all this wasn't so sad for what America used to be, this piece would be really funny. Merry Christmas.
Gary Miller
Whitefish
Health care dealing
I am not encouraged by Sen. Jon Tester's vote to pass legislation which, opposed by 60 percent of our country according to the most recent polls, will cause Montana residents to fund the bribes the Senate authorized to get the following votes:
¥ Sen. Mary Landrieu, of Louisiana — $300 million, as boasted by her on the Senate floor, for Hurricane Katrina victims.
¥ Sen. Chris Dodd, of Connecticut — $100 million to fund a medical school that was inserted by Sen. Harry Reid, in the manager's amendment without hearings or votes of any kind, as a bonus, to a threatened colleague who is trailing all opponents in elections polls
¥ Sen. Bill Nelson, of Florida — Millions to exempt three heavily Democrat counties that surround Miami from Medicare cuts that will be imposed on the rest of our nation
4. Sen. Ben Nelson, of Nebraska — Millions to fully fund Nebraska's portion of Medicaid expenses in perpetuity.
Hmmm? It looks like a bribe. It walks like a bribe. It smells like a bribe.
Sen. Tester, you are reminded that this is not your money that you're spending. It's ours, or if borrowed from China and elsewhere, the obligation to repay it will be passed to generations yet unborn. Dame Margaret Thatcher said it best: "Socialism always fails when you run out of other people's money." But I digress.
How do our senators justify these payments (bribes' in exchange for benefits that are not available to the residents of Montana and the other 45 states that must pay the bill?
I hope Sen. Tester will accept my challenge to respond to the single question posed. Try hard to explain to the people of Montana.
Bill Burg
Whitefish
Health care a lump of coal
Merry Christmas from our senators, Max Baucus and Jon Tester.
Thanks to them, we Montanans now have to pay for Nebraska's Medicaid in perpetuity, in addition to our own, since our two brilliant elected officials went silently along with the blackmail scheme of Sen. Ben Nelson for his health care vote.
Oh, but wait, we got more. Seems Ole Ben also got Mutual of Omaha and Blue Cross of Nebraska exempted from the new insurance company tax that will be imposed on all Montana companies.
And, ho, ho, ho, we Montanans get even more from Baucus and Tester.
Sen. Mary Landrieu, of Louisiana, managed to wrangle more than $300 million in federal funds that we Montanans will now have to help pay.
But wait, the gifts just keep coming. Sen. Chris Dodd, of Connecticut, got $100 million for a hospital in his state and, you guessed it, we Montanans will be helping to pay for that, too.
Oh, but the joy just keeps rolling in from Baucus and Tester. Like the $5 billion Florida flim flam engineered by Sen. Bill Nelson to grandfather in hundreds of thousands of Floridians enrolled in Medicare Advantage. Of course, we Montanans are not grandfathered and will, of course, help pay the bill for Florida.
Lastly, Sen. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, got $600 million in Medicaid money for his state while we got the lump of coal.
Thanks, Sen. Baucus and Sen. Tester, for the gifts that just keep on giving and sticking it to us Montanans. Let us hope you like our gift come your election time.
Herb Harris
Whitefish
Who are the warmongers?
In recent weeks, Presi-dent Obama has ordered the armed forces of the United States to commit acts of war against the sovereign nations of Yemen, Pakistan and Somalia. Numerous women and children have been killed or maimed as a result.
None of these actions was specifically authorized by our Congress nor approved by the United Nations. None of them are consistent with the President's doctrine of "preemptive defense."
In addition, he has deployed nuclear-capable bombers to Diego Garcia, Marine and Special Forces units to Djibuti and naval vessels to Sao Tome. Finally, he has directed the military to engage in actions viewed as provocations and threats by nations with whom the United States is at peace, such as Venezuela, Iran and North Korea.
Had any of these steps been taken 12 months ago, Congress would have demanded investigations and impeachment, the media would have been on fire with condemnation, and MoveOn.org and Code Pink and their ilk would be throwing firebombs in the street.Their current silence is deafening.
Can their be any doubt as to who the real warmongers and facists are now?
Bill Fitzpatrick
Whitefish