Thoughts On A Sunday

Sunny weather has returned to Lake Winnipesaukee, though temperatures are still a but below average for July. Now that the sun has returned to the skies, everything is growing like crazy, meaning a lot of work weeding and mowing needs to be done around The Manse. Prior to that was too wet to mow and the cloudy conditions meant that grass and weeds weren't growing all that fast. The same was true down at the farm where BeezleBub works. Now that the sun is out the crops are finally growing at rate that allows for decent harvests.

I'd like to say we've also had a chance to make it out on the lake, but other things needing doing take precedence. Hopefully we'll make it out later this week.

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Last month I linked to a post at neoneocon about how Massachusetts RomneyCare was a preview of what Obamacare would be like.

Now the Wall Street Journal is taking a look at it as well and it doesn't like what it sees.

In a rational world, the prognosis for ObamaCare would wait on the evidence in Massachusetts, given that the commonwealth's 2006 program closely resembles what Democrats are trying to do in Washington. If the results were widely known, it might be dead on arrival.

Frankly, it isn't working well at all, costing far more than the original estimates and people using it have been gaming the system to the detriment of the insurance companies.

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Taking a look at another government run health care system - Medicare- shows it isn't working well either, driving many doctors and medical practices to stop accepting it.

We often are asked in our practice, “Why don’t you accept Medicare?” The immediate answer is simple: we cannot afford to. We opted out of Medicare because the service won’t pay for phone consultations, won’t pay for email consultations, barely pays for an office visit, and does not pay nearly enough to cover a house call.

All of these services are critical to our medical practice. Medicare would require us to hire too many staff, as well as require us to do too much paper work and administration. I cannot afford to invest in either and still manage to operate in the black. Medicare has too many regulations and rules; we can’t understand a lot of them, and frankly, Medicare doesn’t seem to understand them most of the time either. If I would accepted Medicare, then they have the right to audit our notes and then fine us for non-compliance for infractions that are not readily clear.

This is the kind of system Obama and the Democrats in Congress want to impose upon us.

Madness!!

(H/T Instapundit)

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As Bruce tells us, in most of the United States you are presumed innocent until proven guilty, while in Massachusetts you are presumed guilty until you pay up.

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File this under the heading of What the hell were they thinking?

The organizers of the Bristol, Rhode Island Fourth of July parade have banned Tea Party members from future parades because they had the gall to distribute copies of the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution from their float this past Fourth..

There seems to be a disconnect between the meaning of the holiday and freedom of speech, at least as far as Bristol, Rhode Island is concerned.

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It's apparent Obama is scaring the hell out of small businesses, making them feel they are “doing business in a climate of fear, almost clandestinely, as if engaged in espionage rather than commerce.”

Such are the new policies and taxes coming out of the Obama Administration.

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Via neoneocon: A non-conservative journalist is fair to Sarah Palin and lambastes his colleagues for playing fast and loose with the truth and overtly taking sides during the 2008 elections.

In the 2008 election, we took sides, straight and simple, particularly with regard to the vice presidential race. I don't know that we played a decisive role in that campaign, and I'm not saying the better side lost. What I am saying is that we simply didn't hold Joe Biden to the same standard as Sarah Palin, and for me, the real loser in this sordid tale is my chosen profession.

He'll get no argument from me on that score.

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There's also this from Conservatives 4 Palin, comparing the musical Wicked to Sarah Palin.

Let's face it, we now live in a country that is very much like Oz. Our present leader is considered by many to be an infallible "Wizard"---one who can correct all ills and fulfill all needs from behind the facade of his teleprompter machine. He lives in a beautiful, rich, "emerald-like" city full of falsehoods, politics and elitism---a far cry from the regular munchkins and lesserlings that inhabit the majority of the country. At the same time, he and his liberal cronies are waging a war against conservative ideals (in the musical, the Wizard is persecuting all the talking animals of the country to unite the people against a common "enemy") and this war leads into an actual "witch hunt."

As conservative principles come under attack--a major tenant of conservatism being less government--the need for people to stand against big government grows daily.

Enter our hero: Governor Sarah Palin.

As the saying goes, Read The Whole Thing.

(H/T Pirate's Cove)

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The Left is at it again, targeting another private citizen for destruction in an effort to smooth the way for Supreme Court nominee Sotomayor.

Will this become the modus operandi of the Democrats from now on?

(H/T Pirate's Cove)

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Has the Huffington Post thrown Iranian democracy bloggers under the bus? According to this, they have.

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Is it possible liberals are learning to like the idea of a flat tax? It appears to be the case, at least in California.

But do they like the idea because it will provide a more stable revenue source, or because it gives them the opportunity to do away with a lot of business expense deductions and supposedly increase revenues?

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If you'd like a detailed report about why Sarah Palin is stepping down as governor, Matt Continetti has a lengthy article at Weekly Standard.

One factor in her decision was the over-the-top personal attacks on her and her family. It's one thing to go after the politician, but generally the family, particularly children, are off-limits. But not this time.

Unable or unwilling to grasp her true accomplishments and character, the media shoehorned Palin into a ready-made caricature of the know-nothing Christian PTA mom who enters politics because of "those damned lib'ruls." The reality is far different. Palin is a savvy and charismatic politician whose career has been filled with courageous stands against entrenched authority. Ideological or partisan attachments do not concern her. She has her flaws--who doesn't?--but they should be measured against her strengths. Instead the media ignored the positives and colluded with Palin's adversaries to reduce her to a cartoon.

Over time, the attacks on Palin--on her character, intellect, appearance, femininity, and family--clearly got to her. One associate told me that, after the election, Palin made a habit of listening to talk radio, attempting to track what pundits were saying about her. Her Momma Grizzly instincts came out whenever her sons and daughters were mentioned.

In late June, an Alaska Democratic blogger pasted the face of a pro-Palin radio talk-show host on the body of Palin's son Trig. The governor's camp released a withering statement, saying, "The mere idea of someone doctoring the photo of a special needs baby is appalling. To learn that two Alaskans did it is absolutely sickening. .  .  . Babies and children are off limits." The blogger backtracked. She said she only had intended to ridicule the talk show host, like that made any difference. "What if I hadn't responded?" Palin said. "Well, then, the criticism would be, can't you stand up for the special needs community?" The constant bickering and shifting standards rankled her. "Well, enough is enough," she said. "I would like the opportunity to speak up and speak out."

In situations like that she was definitely stuck in a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' situation.

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee (which is a long way from Alaska), where late spring weather has arrived, the need for air conditioners has not come about, and where we're still waiting for real summer to arrive.