A swell groundswell
A swell groundswell...
“President Obama promised to get the people more involved in government and--though this probably wasn't what he had in mind--that has certainly happened.” Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit blog hits the nail on the head
He continues, “With Tea Party protests and town hall questions, Americans are exercising their First Amendment rights to a degree not seen in decades...what's bringing people out is spending, taxation, and overreaching government...”
His commentary followed the huge assemblage in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 12. As he noted, it didn’t just spring up. Instead, “The protests began with bloggers in Seattle, who organized a demonstration on Feb. 16, 2009,” as bailouts and stimulus packages got underway.
I got my first whiff that something big was happening, ratchere in Stafford, Va. As I later wrote to an old friend--even older than I--who had been to his first Tea Party and loved every minute, where a mere 500,000 had just flooded Washington:
“Yes I missed the big one on 9/12, but earlier, on July 4, I decided to mosey down to our Courthouse. A tiny notice in the local paper the previous day had told of an area Tea Party being organized. The first such event I ever attended, it came as a huge shock when I got there. I had supposed maybe a smattering of 100 participants would show up. Afterwards, two separate disinterested estimates placed the crowd at 500 or better.
“I recognized only two acquaintances in the crowd. The rest were my neighbors in the county, but of the nonpolitical sort...who don’t seem to show up at county supervisors meetings or political rallies. No, these folks came mainly as couples, and some with children. They were enthusiastic, friendly, and bearing signs that were mostly nonpolitical but definitely against big gov’t. I had never heard of the speakers, save one who was a state delegate.
“The organizer told me they had signed up over 480 participants shortly after noontime, for later contact, I presumed. I didn't know of him or his co-organizer, both recent military vets and local residents.
“I was greatly and favorably impressed. Something was happening.” And then came the overflowing town halls in August.
Against that kind of momentum, President Obama is holding a Sunday talk-show gabfest to keep hawking a health care reform package that appears to be falling apart as we speak. The problem is, what he has said repeatedly so far sounds exactly the same as we have heard him parrot many times in recent weeks. Maybe the game is over but he’s still in the on-deck circle swinging his bat.
As I see it, the health care bills’ problems are that they still virtually ignore what any MD will tell you is a royal and costly pain: Ambulance chasers Any hope of getting costs under control would thus seem to be futile. Obama hasn’t persuaded anyone yet to my knowledge that costs won’t balloon under the reform proposals.
Besides, why not fix the government’s existing health programs before tackling tougher tasks? The Council of Economic Advisors has estimated that as much as 30 percent of Medicare spending is unnecessary for improving health outcomes.
The trouble is, you cannot depend on the bureaucrats to be so innovative. After all, they have some of the best jobs around, particularly during this recession. According to the Cato Institute, federal civilian employees have an average compensation package (wages plus benefits) that doubles the average in the private sector. Furthermore, that disparity has increased over the last eight years. (By the way, of AARP’s new list of 50 top employers for folks over 50, nearly half are nonprofits and gov’t agencies.)
And now, just as a breath of fresh air arrives with the revelations of ACORN’s illegal monkeyshines, here comes the Administration’s appeasing of Russia and dumping on our Czech and Polish allies with its missile give-up ploy.
How about a Halloween T ea Party?
(Author's note: My newspaper now insists I focus strictly on local subjects, although my interests are much broader. So I am composing Blurbs not only for the paper but also for Internet readers.--Ben Blankenship)
“President Obama promised to get the people more involved in government and--though this probably wasn't what he had in mind--that has certainly happened.” Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit blog hits the nail on the head
He continues, “With Tea Party protests and town hall questions, Americans are exercising their First Amendment rights to a degree not seen in decades...what's bringing people out is spending, taxation, and overreaching government...”
His commentary followed the huge assemblage in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 12. As he noted, it didn’t just spring up. Instead, “The protests began with bloggers in Seattle, who organized a demonstration on Feb. 16, 2009,” as bailouts and stimulus packages got underway.
I got my first whiff that something big was happening, ratchere in Stafford, Va. As I later wrote to an old friend--even older than I--who had been to his first Tea Party and loved every minute, where a mere 500,000 had just flooded Washington:
“Yes I missed the big one on 9/12, but earlier, on July 4, I decided to mosey down to our Courthouse. A tiny notice in the local paper the previous day had told of an area Tea Party being organized. The first such event I ever attended, it came as a huge shock when I got there. I had supposed maybe a smattering of 100 participants would show up. Afterwards, two separate disinterested estimates placed the crowd at 500 or better.
“I recognized only two acquaintances in the crowd. The rest were my neighbors in the county, but of the nonpolitical sort...who don’t seem to show up at county supervisors meetings or political rallies. No, these folks came mainly as couples, and some with children. They were enthusiastic, friendly, and bearing signs that were mostly nonpolitical but definitely against big gov’t. I had never heard of the speakers, save one who was a state delegate.
“The organizer told me they had signed up over 480 participants shortly after noontime, for later contact, I presumed. I didn't know of him or his co-organizer, both recent military vets and local residents.
“I was greatly and favorably impressed. Something was happening.” And then came the overflowing town halls in August.
Against that kind of momentum, President Obama is holding a Sunday talk-show gabfest to keep hawking a health care reform package that appears to be falling apart as we speak. The problem is, what he has said repeatedly so far sounds exactly the same as we have heard him parrot many times in recent weeks. Maybe the game is over but he’s still in the on-deck circle swinging his bat.
As I see it, the health care bills’ problems are that they still virtually ignore what any MD will tell you is a royal and costly pain: Ambulance chasers Any hope of getting costs under control would thus seem to be futile. Obama hasn’t persuaded anyone yet to my knowledge that costs won’t balloon under the reform proposals.
Besides, why not fix the government’s existing health programs before tackling tougher tasks? The Council of Economic Advisors has estimated that as much as 30 percent of Medicare spending is unnecessary for improving health outcomes.
The trouble is, you cannot depend on the bureaucrats to be so innovative. After all, they have some of the best jobs around, particularly during this recession. According to the Cato Institute, federal civilian employees have an average compensation package (wages plus benefits) that doubles the average in the private sector. Furthermore, that disparity has increased over the last eight years. (By the way, of AARP’s new list of 50 top employers for folks over 50, nearly half are nonprofits and gov’t agencies.)
And now, just as a breath of fresh air arrives with the revelations of ACORN’s illegal monkeyshines, here comes the Administration’s appeasing of Russia and dumping on our Czech and Polish allies with its missile give-up ploy.
How about a Halloween T ea Party?
(Author's note: My newspaper now insists I focus strictly on local subjects, although my interests are much broader. So I am composing Blurbs not only for the paper but also for Internet readers.--Ben Blankenship)