Wow... I can tell that I was pretty preoccupied when I was reading through a bunch of this stuff. I really don't know how I managed it but I missed one of the most incredible pieces of legislation that was designed so that there was no way to be able to get rid of it...
I promise, this is copied exactly from the health care bill, page 53, lines 15 through 20.
15 SEC. 155. SEVERABILITY.
16 If any provision of this Act, or any application of such
17 provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be un
18 constitutional, the remainder of the provisions of this Act
19 and the application of the provision to any other person
20 or circumstance shall not be affected.
How can you beat that?? IF anyone challenges any part of this, and the court finds it to be unconstitutional, then that WILL ONLY APPLY TO THAT SPECIFIC ENTITY AND ONLY THAT INSTANCE!!! They have written into this a way to circumvent the balance of power. They have taken the Legislative branch power and have written in to their legislation an overthrow of the power of the Judicial branch, and the people. If there was ever a reason to turn against this, and ANY politician who votes for it, this is it. They have taken total power in their hands, and have tried to take away any power that the people could have.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Have you ever wondered...?
How many times have you had something happen and you had to “stop and think”? I know that is a phrase that we often use and a lot of people probably really do exactly that. Have you ever wondered what would happen if you didn’t do that? What would happen if you didn’t “stop and think” but actually never stopped thinking?
I have known some people in my life who I think were that way. They were never at a loss for anything and always seemed to be one step ahead of everything. I am sure that everyone has known one or two people like that. Did you ever wonder why? How were they able to always be right about anything that they took the time to study on and voice an opinion about? If they were to say “unless I miss my guess,” then you could be sure that they were right… Since you never knew of them to “miss their guess” about anything.
They just never stopped thinking… They were always paying attention to what was going on around them and never went on autopilot. They were thinking…
I have been paying attention to what was going on with the health care bill like that and so I have had people asking me how I managed to have the information that I do on it… I have not stopped thinking about it and what it is going to do. I seem to not be alone in that. According to the news today, most of us feel that way… The polls show (and I really do hate when the news people say “the polls show” because I think that they can show what they want to usually) that the majority of us are really worried about what this is going to do. A New York Times/CBS Poll (not the most conservative of organizations there…) showed that 69% of the people that they polled were worried that their care would suffer under a Government run health care program. A Wall Street Journal/NBC Poll shows that 42% of the people that they surveyed thought that this health care proposal was a bad idea from the start.
Those are some pretty significant figures. Also, when you stop and think (there’s that phrase again), they most likely are talking to people in major metropolitan areas. They may have called some people in California but most likely they were just talking to people in New York and maybe Boston and Philadelphia. Maybe only in New York… If the numbers are that significant in the major liberal stronghold areas, how are the majority feeling in the more conservative areas and in the REAL conservative areas? How about this for one more piece of food for thought… Why are some people campaigning so hard for this? IF this was a “good idea”, don’t you think that it would sell itself? If this was a good reform and was something that was going to be good for the American People, why are they working so hard to convince people that it is what they want and what they need? I keep hearing all sorts of things from the press and from the president about how great this is. I have not seen any ads really about why we don’t need it or why it is bad but the news keeps coming out… And if they have managed to keep the news about the bad things as quiet as they have, how much worse is it really? How much more is there?
We have (maybe) won a reprieve In the Health Care battle. The news yesterday was saying that it would not be until after the recess that the full vote would come up on the bill… and that may be. You have to remember that a politician said that and if they thought that they could get away from the heat and be able to change some people’s minds or votes with a few days of them NOT getting mail and phone calls constantly about it and then do a midnight vote, they will… However it turns out, DO NOT LET UP ON THEM… Keep the pressure on your representative…
If we do get the time that we may have from the recess, use it to contact your representatives while they are “at home” (if they actually come home) and talk to them face to face if you can. Make sure that they have a face to go with a name and know your opinion. But don’t count on that. Take the initiative and keep the emails and the phone calls and visits to their offices going until they do recess.
In case you are wondering why I feel the way that I do about this, here are a few things that are in the House version of the bill. In case you are wondering, yes, I have gone through and checked this stuff… Some of it you have to go back a little and see what they are referencing and some of what it will do. The page numbers are based on the PDF version of the bill that can be downloaded. Again, the link to the download is http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.3200.IH:
Here they are:
Pg 22 of the HC Bill MANDATES the Govt will audit books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!!
Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill - YOUR HEALTHCARE IS RATIONED!!!
Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill - THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits you get
Pg 42 of HC Bill - The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your HC Ben efits for you. You have no choice!
PG 50 Section 152 in HC bill - HC will be provided to ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise
Pg 58HC Bill - Govt will have real-time access to individuals finances & a National ID Healthcard will be issued!
Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Govt will have direct access to your banks accts for electronic funds transfer
PG 65 Sec 164 is a subsidized plan for retirees and their families in Unions & community orgs (ACORN).
Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Govt is creating an HC Exchange to bring private HC plans under Govt control..
PG 84 Sec 203 HC bill - Govt mandates ALL benefit pkgs for private HC plans in the Exchange
Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Govt will use groups i.e., ACORN & Americorps to sign up individuals for Govt HC plan
PG 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill - Medicaid Eligible Individuals will be automatically enrolled in Medicaid. No choice
pg 124 lines 24-25 HC No company can sue GOVT on price fixing.
Pg 145 Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into public option plan. NO CHOICE
Pg 146 Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay for HC for part time employees AND their families.
Pg 149 Lines 16-24 ANY Emplyr w payroll 400k & above who does not provide public option pays 8% tax on all payroll
pg 150 Lines 9-13 Businesses with payroll between 251k & 400k who don't provide pub. opiont pays 2-6% tax on all payroll
Pg 167 Lines 18-23 ANY individual who does'nt have acceptable HC according to Govt will be taxed 2.5% of income
Pg 170 Lines 1-3 Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual taxes.
Pg 195 HC Bill -officers & employees of HC Administration will have access individuals finance, papers and records
PG 203 Line 14-15 HC - "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax" Yes, it says that
PG 253 Line 10-18 Govt sets value of Dr's time, professional judgement, etc
PG 265 Sec 1131Govt mandates & controls productivity for private HC industries
PG 268 Sec 1141 Fed Govt regulates rental & purchase of power driven wheelchairs
Page 280 Sec 1151 The Govt will penalize hospitals for what Govt deems preventable readmissions.
Pg 298 Lines 9-11 Doctors who treat a patient during initial admission that results in a readmission will be penalized
Pg 317 L 13-20 Govt will determine what Drs. and how much ownership/investment they can own.
Pg 317-318 lines 21-25,1-3 Govt is mandating hospitals cannot expand pg 321 2-13 Hospitals have opption to apply for exception but community input required
Pg335 L 16-25 Pg 336-339 - Govt sets and mandates establishment of outcome based measures the way they want.
Pg 341 Lines 3-9 Govt has authority to disqualify Medicare Adv Plans, HMOs, etc.
Pg 354 Sec 1177 - Govt will RESTRICT enrollment of Special needs patients!
PG 425 Lines 4-12 Govt mandates Advance Care Planning Consultation- Senior Citizens end of life
Pg 425 Lines 17-19 Govt will instruct & consult regarding living wills, durable powers of atty. Mandatory!
PG 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Govt provides approved list of end of life resources, guiding you in death
PG 427 Lines 15-24 Govt mandates program for orders for end of life.
Pg 429 Lines 1-9 An "advance care planning consult" will be used frequently as patients health deteriorates
PG 429 Lines 10-12 "advance care consultation" may include an ORDER 4 end of life plans.
Pg 429 Lines 13-25 - The govt will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.
PG 430 Lines 11-15 The Govt will decide what level of treatment youu will have at end of life
Pg 494-498 Govt will define covered Mental Health services
I have known some people in my life who I think were that way. They were never at a loss for anything and always seemed to be one step ahead of everything. I am sure that everyone has known one or two people like that. Did you ever wonder why? How were they able to always be right about anything that they took the time to study on and voice an opinion about? If they were to say “unless I miss my guess,” then you could be sure that they were right… Since you never knew of them to “miss their guess” about anything.
They just never stopped thinking… They were always paying attention to what was going on around them and never went on autopilot. They were thinking…
I have been paying attention to what was going on with the health care bill like that and so I have had people asking me how I managed to have the information that I do on it… I have not stopped thinking about it and what it is going to do. I seem to not be alone in that. According to the news today, most of us feel that way… The polls show (and I really do hate when the news people say “the polls show” because I think that they can show what they want to usually) that the majority of us are really worried about what this is going to do. A New York Times/CBS Poll (not the most conservative of organizations there…) showed that 69% of the people that they polled were worried that their care would suffer under a Government run health care program. A Wall Street Journal/NBC Poll shows that 42% of the people that they surveyed thought that this health care proposal was a bad idea from the start.
Those are some pretty significant figures. Also, when you stop and think (there’s that phrase again), they most likely are talking to people in major metropolitan areas. They may have called some people in California but most likely they were just talking to people in New York and maybe Boston and Philadelphia. Maybe only in New York… If the numbers are that significant in the major liberal stronghold areas, how are the majority feeling in the more conservative areas and in the REAL conservative areas? How about this for one more piece of food for thought… Why are some people campaigning so hard for this? IF this was a “good idea”, don’t you think that it would sell itself? If this was a good reform and was something that was going to be good for the American People, why are they working so hard to convince people that it is what they want and what they need? I keep hearing all sorts of things from the press and from the president about how great this is. I have not seen any ads really about why we don’t need it or why it is bad but the news keeps coming out… And if they have managed to keep the news about the bad things as quiet as they have, how much worse is it really? How much more is there?
We have (maybe) won a reprieve In the Health Care battle. The news yesterday was saying that it would not be until after the recess that the full vote would come up on the bill… and that may be. You have to remember that a politician said that and if they thought that they could get away from the heat and be able to change some people’s minds or votes with a few days of them NOT getting mail and phone calls constantly about it and then do a midnight vote, they will… However it turns out, DO NOT LET UP ON THEM… Keep the pressure on your representative…
If we do get the time that we may have from the recess, use it to contact your representatives while they are “at home” (if they actually come home) and talk to them face to face if you can. Make sure that they have a face to go with a name and know your opinion. But don’t count on that. Take the initiative and keep the emails and the phone calls and visits to their offices going until they do recess.
In case you are wondering why I feel the way that I do about this, here are a few things that are in the House version of the bill. In case you are wondering, yes, I have gone through and checked this stuff… Some of it you have to go back a little and see what they are referencing and some of what it will do. The page numbers are based on the PDF version of the bill that can be downloaded. Again, the link to the download is http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.3200.IH:
Here they are:
Pg 22 of the HC Bill MANDATES the Govt will audit books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!!
Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill - YOUR HEALTHCARE IS RATIONED!!!
Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill - THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits you get
Pg 42 of HC Bill - The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your HC Ben efits for you. You have no choice!
PG 50 Section 152 in HC bill - HC will be provided to ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise
Pg 58HC Bill - Govt will have real-time access to individuals finances & a National ID Healthcard will be issued!
Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Govt will have direct access to your banks accts for electronic funds transfer
PG 65 Sec 164 is a subsidized plan for retirees and their families in Unions & community orgs (ACORN).
Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Govt is creating an HC Exchange to bring private HC plans under Govt control..
PG 84 Sec 203 HC bill - Govt mandates ALL benefit pkgs for private HC plans in the Exchange
Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Govt will use groups i.e., ACORN & Americorps to sign up individuals for Govt HC plan
PG 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill - Medicaid Eligible Individuals will be automatically enrolled in Medicaid. No choice
pg 124 lines 24-25 HC No company can sue GOVT on price fixing.
Pg 145 Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into public option plan. NO CHOICE
Pg 146 Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay for HC for part time employees AND their families.
Pg 149 Lines 16-24 ANY Emplyr w payroll 400k & above who does not provide public option pays 8% tax on all payroll
pg 150 Lines 9-13 Businesses with payroll between 251k & 400k who don't provide pub. opiont pays 2-6% tax on all payroll
Pg 167 Lines 18-23 ANY individual who does'nt have acceptable HC according to Govt will be taxed 2.5% of income
Pg 170 Lines 1-3 Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual taxes.
Pg 195 HC Bill -officers & employees of HC Administration will have access individuals finance, papers and records
PG 203 Line 14-15 HC - "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax" Yes, it says that
PG 253 Line 10-18 Govt sets value of Dr's time, professional judgement, etc
PG 265 Sec 1131Govt mandates & controls productivity for private HC industries
PG 268 Sec 1141 Fed Govt regulates rental & purchase of power driven wheelchairs
Page 280 Sec 1151 The Govt will penalize hospitals for what Govt deems preventable readmissions.
Pg 298 Lines 9-11 Doctors who treat a patient during initial admission that results in a readmission will be penalized
Pg 317 L 13-20 Govt will determine what Drs. and how much ownership/investment they can own.
Pg 317-318 lines 21-25,1-3 Govt is mandating hospitals cannot expand pg 321 2-13 Hospitals have opption to apply for exception but community input required
Pg335 L 16-25 Pg 336-339 - Govt sets and mandates establishment of outcome based measures the way they want.
Pg 341 Lines 3-9 Govt has authority to disqualify Medicare Adv Plans, HMOs, etc.
Pg 354 Sec 1177 - Govt will RESTRICT enrollment of Special needs patients!
PG 425 Lines 4-12 Govt mandates Advance Care Planning Consultation- Senior Citizens end of life
Pg 425 Lines 17-19 Govt will instruct & consult regarding living wills, durable powers of atty. Mandatory!
PG 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Govt provides approved list of end of life resources, guiding you in death
PG 427 Lines 15-24 Govt mandates program for orders for end of life.
Pg 429 Lines 1-9 An "advance care planning consult" will be used frequently as patients health deteriorates
PG 429 Lines 10-12 "advance care consultation" may include an ORDER 4 end of life plans.
Pg 429 Lines 13-25 - The govt will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.
PG 430 Lines 11-15 The Govt will decide what level of treatment youu will have at end of life
Pg 494-498 Govt will define covered Mental Health services
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
House Judiciary Committe Chairman John Conyers
His reasons for why he should not be reading the Health Care Bill.
Details…
Attention to detail is the key to Military Parachuting! That was what the “Black Hats” hollered at us all the time back in 1987 when I was in US Army Airborne School (Roster Number 137, Class 26-87, Alpha Company). It was/is the truth, too. Attention to detail is what keeps you alive in a VERY dangerous occupation like Airborne Infantry.
Realistically, jumping out of an airplane is NOT a safe occupation, however much fun it may be. (And I thought that it was a LOT of fun…) Just like bungee jumping and all of the other extreme sports, the danger is what gives the adrenaline rush and what the people who participate in those sports are looking for. It’s why they keep going further and further, to more and more extreme things - to keep getting that rush.
I ride motorcycles. I have been riding since I was about 9, so that is a LONG time. I also teach the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s courses. (Basic Rider and Experienced Rider Courses and soon I hope to be teaching the Sport Bike Course, as well). I think that they are good courses, very well done, and the benefits from them (reduced insurance rates, increased awareness of the risks involved and the ways to reduce and manage the risk) are well worth the time required and the effort involved.
Since I am a motorcycle rider, I am also a member of the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) because I think that it is a good organization, too. I have gotten some interesting information from them on a few things, as well…
How many of you remember the big issues that we had with the lead paint on things, and toxic chemicals in things, coming from China? The issue with the lead paint on the toys really came to a head in August of 2007, then the tainted milk in September (only in China, none ever came here) and cribs with lead based paint in October of 2007. Subsequently, Congress passed a bill called The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. Remember that? It was a VERY hastily passed bit of legislation and has had a number of ill effects because it was done so quickly… “Strike while the iron is hot” (while the voters were up in arms) before the election!! That seemed to be the deal, anyway.
If you go back and look, the ONLY injuries/deaths in this country were actually to pets, from the dog food that was being imported in 2007. I remember it because we have 3 dogs and were checking to make sure that the food, and treats, that we were feeding was OK.
Why does that matter?? What difference does it make to anything?
Well… If you look, there were some lawsuits filed against Mattel, mostly for the cost of the toys (that were voluntarily recalled and refund was offered) and for the cost of testing of blood levels in the children who played with them. No lawsuits were filed that claimed injury, death or cognitive issues. You can go to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s web site and check. It has to be publically reported. No injuries claimed or reported.
What did the new law do? First, we’ll look at what it didn’t do. Well, it didn’t make lead based paint illegal; it has been illegal since 1978 in the US. It didn’t offer any new requirements to milk or dog food where there were injuries and deaths. (None from milk in the US, but there were some in China.)
So, what did it do? What it did was to establish a new testing requirement for all products either manufactured or imported with the design or intention of the product being used by children age 12 or under to exclude the presence of lead. That is ANY product, regardless of what it is. The LOWEST figure that I have seen for the cost of the testing was about $2,500 per lot; most of the time the price has been closer to double that. Now, this is for ANY PRODUCT. Diapers, baby wipes, toys, books, stickers, Trapper Keepers, lunch boxes, wooden toys, furniture, bicycles, motorcycles, car seats, clothes, you name it… If it is manufactured or imported for the use of children, then it has to be tested… And the cost of the testing is to be borne by the manufacturer/importer. Which means that Mattel-Fisher Price and all the other huge conglomerate corporations can and will continue to have things manufactured cheaply in China (where lead paint is available) and the small manufacturing companies in the US (where lead paint it NOT available) will end up having to close down and go out of business because they can’t afford to pay for the testing.
So… What does all this have to do with anything that I was talking about earlier?? The AMA has been trying to get this law repealed, or at least amended, to get an exception to motorcycles. The cost of the testing is just about more than the cost of the little motorcycles that are designed and sold for kids and I just don’t think that any kids are going to lick or in any other way ingest a motorcycle or any motorcycle protective gear. I have been following this legal proceeding since it got started with the AMA and they have not had any success with it as yet. This is keeping a lot of people from being able to buy motorcycles and ATV’s for their kids, or, in one case, for a dealer to sell them, anyway, and try (unsuccessfully) to get arrested for it so that they could bring a legal challenge to the validity of the law. I had been thinking that surely some one of the small wooden toy manufacturers would bring a suit but they have not as yet.
And what does this have to do with anything else going on? It is just an example of what happens when Congress rushes to “throw a bunch of legislation” at something… You get garbage that doesn’t have anything to do with the perceived problem and that has a drastic impact on a lot of other things that were never a part of the problem to start with. In this case, the laws that existed at the time worked as they were supposed to and as soon as the lead paint was discovered the products were recalled, the consumers were refunded and no one was injured. However, the ripple effect from the legislation that was thrown at a non-existent problem has put small business out of business, has consolidated the toy manufacturing business into a few conglomerate corporations, and has denied the access to motorcycles and ATV’s to many kids, denying a really fun family activity.
Also, you can look at this as an example of what might come to be with the rush to get the health care bill passed. IF they can screw up something as small as this, a bill as short as this one was with dramatically fewer complications and implications as this one, how much more damage can be done by the 1,018 page monstrosity that is the health care bill? This bill will affect everyone in the United States and will affect every aspect of our daily life and our families from now on. We need to step up to the challenge and contact our Congressional delegation and tell them to SLOW DOWN. Passing this health care bill is not like passing a kidney stone, something that will be momentarily painful but will be better the quicker it is done. It is something that should be done slowly, something that we need to digest, to study, to be sure that it is done correctly, and will be a good thing if/when it is complete. Closer to a Van Gogh, a Leonardo De Vinci, a Matisse, a Monet or a Picasso than a Velvet Elvis or Poker Playing Dogs, which seems to be what we’ve been offered in this bill…
Attention to detail is the key to Military Parachuting! That was what the “Black Hats” hollered at us all the time back in 1987 when I was in US Army Airborne School (Roster Number 137, Class 26-87, Alpha Company). It was/is the truth, too. Attention to detail is what keeps you alive in a VERY dangerous occupation like Airborne Infantry.
Realistically, jumping out of an airplane is NOT a safe occupation, however much fun it may be. (And I thought that it was a LOT of fun…) Just like bungee jumping and all of the other extreme sports, the danger is what gives the adrenaline rush and what the people who participate in those sports are looking for. It’s why they keep going further and further, to more and more extreme things - to keep getting that rush.
I ride motorcycles. I have been riding since I was about 9, so that is a LONG time. I also teach the Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s courses. (Basic Rider and Experienced Rider Courses and soon I hope to be teaching the Sport Bike Course, as well). I think that they are good courses, very well done, and the benefits from them (reduced insurance rates, increased awareness of the risks involved and the ways to reduce and manage the risk) are well worth the time required and the effort involved.
Since I am a motorcycle rider, I am also a member of the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) because I think that it is a good organization, too. I have gotten some interesting information from them on a few things, as well…
How many of you remember the big issues that we had with the lead paint on things, and toxic chemicals in things, coming from China? The issue with the lead paint on the toys really came to a head in August of 2007, then the tainted milk in September (only in China, none ever came here) and cribs with lead based paint in October of 2007. Subsequently, Congress passed a bill called The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. Remember that? It was a VERY hastily passed bit of legislation and has had a number of ill effects because it was done so quickly… “Strike while the iron is hot” (while the voters were up in arms) before the election!! That seemed to be the deal, anyway.
If you go back and look, the ONLY injuries/deaths in this country were actually to pets, from the dog food that was being imported in 2007. I remember it because we have 3 dogs and were checking to make sure that the food, and treats, that we were feeding was OK.
Why does that matter?? What difference does it make to anything?
Well… If you look, there were some lawsuits filed against Mattel, mostly for the cost of the toys (that were voluntarily recalled and refund was offered) and for the cost of testing of blood levels in the children who played with them. No lawsuits were filed that claimed injury, death or cognitive issues. You can go to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s web site and check. It has to be publically reported. No injuries claimed or reported.
What did the new law do? First, we’ll look at what it didn’t do. Well, it didn’t make lead based paint illegal; it has been illegal since 1978 in the US. It didn’t offer any new requirements to milk or dog food where there were injuries and deaths. (None from milk in the US, but there were some in China.)
So, what did it do? What it did was to establish a new testing requirement for all products either manufactured or imported with the design or intention of the product being used by children age 12 or under to exclude the presence of lead. That is ANY product, regardless of what it is. The LOWEST figure that I have seen for the cost of the testing was about $2,500 per lot; most of the time the price has been closer to double that. Now, this is for ANY PRODUCT. Diapers, baby wipes, toys, books, stickers, Trapper Keepers, lunch boxes, wooden toys, furniture, bicycles, motorcycles, car seats, clothes, you name it… If it is manufactured or imported for the use of children, then it has to be tested… And the cost of the testing is to be borne by the manufacturer/importer. Which means that Mattel-Fisher Price and all the other huge conglomerate corporations can and will continue to have things manufactured cheaply in China (where lead paint is available) and the small manufacturing companies in the US (where lead paint it NOT available) will end up having to close down and go out of business because they can’t afford to pay for the testing.
So… What does all this have to do with anything that I was talking about earlier?? The AMA has been trying to get this law repealed, or at least amended, to get an exception to motorcycles. The cost of the testing is just about more than the cost of the little motorcycles that are designed and sold for kids and I just don’t think that any kids are going to lick or in any other way ingest a motorcycle or any motorcycle protective gear. I have been following this legal proceeding since it got started with the AMA and they have not had any success with it as yet. This is keeping a lot of people from being able to buy motorcycles and ATV’s for their kids, or, in one case, for a dealer to sell them, anyway, and try (unsuccessfully) to get arrested for it so that they could bring a legal challenge to the validity of the law. I had been thinking that surely some one of the small wooden toy manufacturers would bring a suit but they have not as yet.
And what does this have to do with anything else going on? It is just an example of what happens when Congress rushes to “throw a bunch of legislation” at something… You get garbage that doesn’t have anything to do with the perceived problem and that has a drastic impact on a lot of other things that were never a part of the problem to start with. In this case, the laws that existed at the time worked as they were supposed to and as soon as the lead paint was discovered the products were recalled, the consumers were refunded and no one was injured. However, the ripple effect from the legislation that was thrown at a non-existent problem has put small business out of business, has consolidated the toy manufacturing business into a few conglomerate corporations, and has denied the access to motorcycles and ATV’s to many kids, denying a really fun family activity.
Also, you can look at this as an example of what might come to be with the rush to get the health care bill passed. IF they can screw up something as small as this, a bill as short as this one was with dramatically fewer complications and implications as this one, how much more damage can be done by the 1,018 page monstrosity that is the health care bill? This bill will affect everyone in the United States and will affect every aspect of our daily life and our families from now on. We need to step up to the challenge and contact our Congressional delegation and tell them to SLOW DOWN. Passing this health care bill is not like passing a kidney stone, something that will be momentarily painful but will be better the quicker it is done. It is something that should be done slowly, something that we need to digest, to study, to be sure that it is done correctly, and will be a good thing if/when it is complete. Closer to a Van Gogh, a Leonardo De Vinci, a Matisse, a Monet or a Picasso than a Velvet Elvis or Poker Playing Dogs, which seems to be what we’ve been offered in this bill…
Monday, July 27, 2009
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