Monthly Archives: July 2009
Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling Elected Chair of the NLGA
At the National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) meeting in Baltimore, Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling was elected Chairman by a bipartisan group of his peers.
Bolling was elected due to his strong leadership in advancing the mission of NLGA over the past four years.
“The nation’s lieutenant governors find within the NLGA the tools to contribute at the highest level and collegiality that knows no bounds,” said Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton (D-Wisconsin), outgoing NLGA Chair. “I pass the gavel to Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling with complete confidence that his leadership will keep up on the path to progress by every measure.”
Bolling has worked on several NLGA initiatives, including the Ending Cervical Cancer In Our Lifetime initiative, along with bringing other health care issues out into the public.
“I am honored that my colleagues from across the country have asked me to serve as Chairman of NLGA for the next year,” Lieutenant Governor Bolling said. “I look forward to working with them to build on the successes of the NLGA and help build bi-partisan consensus around realistic and workable solutions to the challenges facing our states and our nation.”
How did the White House Kegger go?
This has been a question on the minds of some, as President Obama chose to have a beer summit yesterday with Henry Louis Gates and Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley. The Associated Press reports that the meeting was productive, as President Obama with his watered down Bud Light, Vice President Joe Biden sipping on his non-alcoholic brew, Gates with his Sam Adams Light, and Crowley with a Blue Moon (wise choice IMHO) sat down to place aside the arrest issue and discuss how to move forward.
The problem with the beer summit (*kegger*) is that this is not the wise choice to solve the problems or conflicts that face us. Rather, this is an issue that President Obama should have stayed out of. It is not in the President’s job description to interfere in these types of issues. He has much larger and complex issues facing him, like health care reform, improving the economy, etc. Right now, Obama has made our country look like a joke with this beer summit.
The SNL Approach to the Health Care Plan in Congress
SNL has a great way to decipher H.R. 3200, the health care legislation. H/T Fix Health Care Policy
Is Jeanette Rishell's Campaign Infringing Upon Free Speech?
This question has every right to be posed, as Jeanette Rishell and her campaign have disabled two YouTube videos due to copyright infringement. The videos in question criticize Rishell’s selection of her campaign manager, who posted pictures of used condoms on her Facebook page and including pornographic videos in the University of Rochester library, along with Rishell’s claim that she supports family values.
Rishell contacted YouTube and requested that these videos be removed, as two small clips of her campaign video were used. Greg Letiecq of Black Velvet Bruce Li, who produced the videos commented on YouTube’s decision.
“YouTube maintains a policy of disabling video content
after receiving any complaints regarding copyright infringement,
so the videos are currently unavailable on YouTube” said
Letiecq, the blogger who operates the Black Velvet Bruce Li
blog. “It is unprecedented for a political campaign to
allege copyright infringement when someone uses short clips of
their campaign videos, and this is a clear effort to stifle
criticism of her bad judgment by misusing the law.”
Rishell’s campaign is clearly infringing upon free speech, as copyright law allows for the limited use of other’s material under the “fair use doctrine.” This is true, considering that the use of this material was used for criticism. Using short clips from campaign video without authorization is allowed under “fair use” (Title 17, Section 107 of the U.S. Code).
Look at the video in question and make your own decisions on whether this was warranted.
New Poll Shows Republican Ticket Lead
WDBJ-7 reports that all three Republican statewide candidates are leading in their respective polls. SurveyUSA conducted the poll, and the results show Bob McDonnell holding a 15-point lead over Creigh Deeds. The results also show Bill Bolling leading Jody Wagner by 12 points, and Ken Cuccinelli leading Steve Shannon by 11 points.
This is good news for Republicans going into the fall.
House GOP Women hold Press Conference on Health Care
When thinking about the impact that ObamaCare would have on women’s health and the family, I just shutter knowing that it will not only impact basic services, but it will harm those with pre-existing conditions, like cancer, etc.
Recently, the GOP Women’s Caucus on Capitol Hill held a press conference addressing the direct impact that ObamaCare will have on women and children. Pay particular attention about 6:20 into the video, where Kristan Hawkins talks about how this plan will impact her son, who has Cystic Fibrosis.
Do you honestly feel ObamaCare will be the solution to the health care crisis? I don’t, and it appears that others share in this consensus.
1,018 Pages of Horror: The House Health Care Bill
Common Sense from a Common Man has a great recap of the House Health Care Bill. This is the same bill that certain Congressmen do not want to read, and the one which the Obama Administration claims will be the all-out, save all solution to the health care crisis. Tertium Quids first reported about this yesterday, as the author of Common Sense from a Common Man tweeted about all 1,018 pages of the bill and the details that would place us under more government control.
For example, here are some of the interesting highlights of the bill:
- fleckman: PG 1018 States give up some of their State Sovereignty. #tcot #sgp
- fleckman: PG 942 Lines 22-25 More Govt? Offices of Surg. Gen. -Public Health Svc, MinorityHealth, Women’s Health #tcot #sgp
- fleckman: PG 936 Govt will develop “Healthy People & National Public Health Perform. Standards” Tell me what 2 eat? #tcot #sgp
- fleckman: Pg 770 SEC 1714 Fed Govt mandates eligibility 4 State Family Planning Svcs. Say abortion & State Sovereign. #tcot #sgp
This bill is like a little shop of horrors that will compromise our liberties and further impose nanny state regulations. If you are angered by some of the things listed in the bill (special thanks to Common Sense from a Common Man for bringing this bill out for everyone to read), call your Congressman and demand that they stand strong for your rights to quality health care without compromising your liberties.
Tonight, FRC Action will be holding a live webcast at 8:30 p.m. This webcast will feature Rep. Mike Pence (Ind.), Sen. Jim DeMint (S.C.), and other experts, who will be available to answer your questions about the health care bill. You can ask them via Twitter @FRCBlog, Facebook (on FRC Action’s Fan Page), or via e-mail.
Virginia ranked as Top State for Business
CNBC has rated Virginia as the top state for business. This marks the third time that Virginia has received this award.
Virginia offers lower corporate, income and sales tax rates for business. Additionally, the quality of the work force, cost of doing business, and the support for innovation.
Following Virginia, Texas, Colorado, Iowa, and Utah all ranked as great places for business.
Can Bureaucracy Decide What is Best for Health Care?
Health care reform is something that is needed, but solutions can be found without threatening the free market or pressuring people to place aside their current coverage, which they are satisfied with or provides the right amount of coverage for their needs to being covered by a government run plan, which does not provide the options available for quality care. The current health care proposals are being decided by bureaucrats, who do not understand how this will impact small businesses and those who will stick with their current coverage, while the rest of America will be forced into the government run insurance plan.
One of the best op-ed pieces that brought this question into perspective was found in Reason Magazine. John Stossel makes a good point in his op-ed piece, The Arrogance of Health Care Reform, that many politicians and bureaucrats have no idea how the markets work, while forcing more government control over our lives. Stossel also made a great point that many of those in Congress and within bureaucracy have never been small business owners, which makes them unable to understand how the free market, free enterprise system works when it comes to health care. Case in point, Congressional Research Service created a demographic makeup of Congress only to find more former politicians and lawyers leading in Congress.
“Politicians and bureaucrats clearly have no idea how complicated markets are. Every day people make countless tradeoffs, in all areas of life, based on subjective value judgments and personal information as they delicately balance their interests, needs and wants. Who is in a better position than they to tailor those choices to best serve their purposes? Yet the politicians believe they can plan the medical market the way you plan a birthday party.
Stossel’s assessment is spot-on. When it comes to health care reform, the best thing would be to create legislation with the free markets and what “We, the People” want. Universal health care that compromises the high quality of care in America is not the right solution.
So, Creigh Deeds Admits He's Open to New Taxes
At the Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia today, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds admits that he is open to incorporating new taxes to pay for transportation. When pressed by reporters on whether he would raise taxes for improving roads, he said that everything would be on the table. How comforting to know that under a Deeds administration that we would be paying additional taxes, especially in this economy, where many people are struggling to make ends meet.
When the Republican candidate for Governor, Bob McDonnell was asked if he was planning to raise taxes to improve transportation. McDonnell made it clear that he would not raise taxes. At least, we know who will be looking out for the taxpayer here.
Deeds also came out and said that he supports card check legislation. Virginia is a right to work state, and if card check is passed by Congress, the freedom to choose whether or not to join a union would be compromised. McDonnell is against card check.
Here are some other highlights from the debate today.
