Hat tip to: Hope n’ Change Cartoons: Supreme Irony.

a sample:

“Jesus’ values” had nothing to do with what the state was supposed to do for the poor or disadvantaged. They were about what you and your religious community were to do for the poor. “Jesus’ values” were the ethics of the Kingdom, and had to do, not with generalized principles for good conduct, but for the way His disciples were to live their lives in obedience to God. Getting the government to “perform the corporal works of mercy” is a way of shifting the burden from one’s own shoulders to those of the state, and to the polity as a whole, but Jesus never expected that non-disciples would follow His commands or do His works.

Very much worth your while to read…

David Fischler dissects Anthony Stevens-Arroyo’s distortions of the Bible and Theology in the Washington Post.

a hat tip to StandFirmInFaith.com

“It’s 50-50 and no one really knows.”

“If they don’t get it done before Christmas, it’s going to get harder for them.”

“We’ll probably have a number of announcements of a ‘deal’ over the next week. Most of them will be false alarms. One of them might not be.”

“Senators Collins and Snowe are solid in their opposition to Harry Reid’s bill. Senator Snowe cares about healthcare and she is convinced that this bill does nothing to reduce costs. She believes it’s a bad bill that can’t be fixed”

“Harry Reid’s majority is fragile at best. There are serious doubts about the health and ability of both the Senator from West Virginia and the Senator from South Dakota to participate in the debate, or even to cast votes.”

Norquist gave permission for his comments to be quoted.

It’s not in crisis, but there are some areas we could improve.

There are a number of people without health insurance, perhaps as many as 47 million, or 16% of the US population. It’s not clear whether that can be reduced to zero, or even if it should. Like the unemployment rate, the mobility of American workers will inevitably result in a bit of “friction” in the system.

There is some percentage of the US population which makes a conscious choice NOT to purchase healthcare. That number might be as high as 5%.

However, one of the most obnoxious elements of the healthcare bill now pending in congress has been the proposal to stigmatize, penalize, and forcibly enroll individuals who choose not to buy health insurance.

There’s been a charge that parts of the system are characterized by greed. There are for-profit healthcare providers, and for-profit health insurance companies, and they do seek to make a profit. This is not evil. The proper check on greed is competition, not government regulation.

In fact, it is impossible to eliminate greed by regulation. You can only temper, harness, channel, and control greed by creating a market in which there are incentives for efficiency. In short, the game must be structured so that greed impels competitors to seek to lower costs so they can increase their market share.

President Obama and the Democrats have set out to do just the opposite. They are about to replace a competitive market with a government-monopoly bureaucratic system.

The problems with the health care system are the result of too little competition, too much government regulation, and a structure that lets health care consumers spend other people’s money.

The solution proposed by the President will reduce competition, add government regulation, and allow health care consumers to tap and spend the resources of the federal government rather than their own.

It will make things worse, far worse, if it is adopted.

And the American people are beginning to realize it. Let us hope that Congress figures it out as well before they enact a system that would be a huge mistake that would likely wreck both our economy and the federal budget.

Amazon has EVERYTHING!

It’s $19.95, but there might be some folks who would get some satisfaction by sending it as a gift to their favorite congress critter.

1. This is a manufactured crisis.
2. Voters know they are being lied to.
3. Voters know they were being ignored.

1. This is a manufactured crisis. Life expectancy is at an all-time high. Infant mortality is at an all-time low. The very small differences in infant mortality between us and certain Scandinavian countries may have more to do with the way we practice obstetrics than anything else. Defensive medicine, doctor convenience, and patient convenience have made the number of late pre-term births (between 34 and 38 weeks) skyrocket in the US. We need to change the way doctors practice medicine, especially the way they attend pregnancy. Adopting a national healthcare system will make these stats far WORSE, not better.

There was no crisis in healthcare. There are some problems. There are a few things that could be improved. We do need tort reform. We need greater portability. We need high-risk pools, and provisions for those with pre-existing conditions. But even taken collectively, these do not amount to a crisis. Democrats have talked themselves into believing that this is their issue and that delivering on national healthcare reform will make the grateful voters keep them in office for decades into the future. Dreams die hard.

2. Voters know they are being lied to. The President keeps asserting that he does not want a national health care system – while his advisors and those who crafted the bill have been candid that they INTEND to create a national health care system. Candidate Obama was candid a year ago in admitting that he favored a government-run, single-payer system. When this is pointed out, and the video of Obama stating his position is played, critics of the health care reform bill are accused of lying and distorting the president’s position. Note to the spin doctors: This only increases the outrage of voters. You’re not only lying to us, when we point it out, you accuse US of lying. And you’re puzzled why we’re angry?

3. Voters know they were being ignored. If Obama & Pelosi & Reid had gotten their way, there would have been NO opportunity for townhall meetings. Obama wanted this done by August 1st. Pelosi & Reid wanted this done by August 1st. They were ignoring the voters. They wish we would sit down, shut up, and let the central planners implement the most massive transformation of the American economy imaginable. We know what they were trying to do.

And now, the Democrats display a bit of faux outrage because they are being shouted at in a townhall meeting? And they’re puzzled because we’re angry?

Democrats who want to have a prayer of retaining their seat in congress will have to make a decision to buck their party leadership and the steamroller now. Those who don’t will face voters who are even ANGRIER in November, 2010.

PS: Here’s a link to the full-text of the bill (H.R.3200) online at the official US Government website, thomas.gov. The page I’m linking to has divided the bill up into sections with links that let you jump to a particular section without downloading the full 1,017 page .pdf file. Though I recommend that step to everyone as well. READ THE BILL.