The ObamaCare Box

"One more thing. For those who really wanted to live like our vets do under the sewer of VA heath care, get ready. You might be getting your wish."

It seems that we have gotten ourselves into a maze without an exit. Actually, in one way I will have to give Barrack Hussein Obama credit. Whether he realized it or not, what he did with the nation's healthcare system was an act of diabolical genius. He broke it, with no fix possible. Don't think so? Watch the news or read the paper. 

Anyone with a brain bigger than a walnut could see the wheels were coming off of ObamaCare. It had started its death spiral, with costs escalating, and insurers leaving the market faster than Minnesota snowbirds headed to Florida in January.

There were still zero Republican fingerprints on ObamaCare. As President Trump said, "The easiest thing would be to not touch it and just watch it die. But that would not be fair to innocent people suffering under it." So he decided to take the biggest gamble of his young presidency - he was going to fix it by repeal and replace.

The vote was taken in the House and it barely passed. But it did and ObamaCare is now officially repealed (that is, in the House bill). Even though few have seen the replacement bill, we have been told it is still expensive. And now the lemmings are out in droves to protest Republicans who voted for this thing. And it was just announced that the New York AG was going to sue the government should the Senate also come up with a repeal of ObamaCare. What a mess.

Get the picture? The Republicans are in a box. No exit. Damned if they do, damned in they do not. If they had let ObamaCare die, and because they are in power, they would have been accused of malfeasance and voted out in the midterms. If the new legislation (should it make it through the Senate and conference) turns out to be a lemon, many Republicans could pay a huge price in 2018.

What ever happened to the guy who threw the match into the barn that started this fire? Oh, he is retired now, vacationing in Tahiti. And he needed some beer money, so he gave a speech to some Wall Street hacks and got paid $400,000. All the while, smiling like a Cheshire cat.

Get ready to hear more and more of the masses reciting the mantra, "Medicare for all!" Or to put it another way, single payer. If the House and Senate cannot find the magic bullet which can fix the unfixable, and without throwing the nation into bankruptcy, stand by for real bad news.

One more thing. For those who really wanted to live like our vets do under the sewer of VA heath care, get ready. You might be getting your wish. Never forget - this has all been brought to you live and in color, by Barack Hussein O.  

The 100 year countdown

"Sorry Dr. Hawking. I will only speak for myself on this one. I will take my chances on Terra Firma." 

Listen up Earthlings! I bring you news of great importance. And it comes from the smartest man on the planet. Our clock is ticking. Mother Earth is about to have something very nasty happen to her which would imperil all of us mouth breathers who happen to live here. Yes, the famed Steven Hawking has given us 100 years to vacate the premises - or else!

Dr. Hawking made that proclamation just like it was as easy to move from Minneapolis to St. Cloud. And we need to pull it off within the next 100 years. If we don't, bad things are in the offing. Asteroid hit, pollution, over crowding - the usual suspects. Similar to many years ago when Robert Malthus told us that population would outstrip our food supply. We were all going to die of starvation. That date came and went, and most of us still have Wheaties for breakfast.

Okay. Let's just for a second say we are going to take Hawking seriously. Where would we go? Well we did find a potential candidate last year. An "Earth like" planet. And it is right in our celestial "neighborhood". It is a planet which might be in the "habitable zone" and it circles Proxima Centauri - a scant 4 light years away. I am game - lets go!

A couple of very minor problems however. If we dug our space shuttles out of mothballs, each one could take maybe a dozen of us on this move. Plus (and this is the kicker), it would take about 150,000 years to get to Proxima Centauri. I am assuming that Dr. Hawking has taken all of this into his calculus. I guess we have some hard core inventing to do in the next century to figure out how to move over 7 billion people faster than the speed of light somewhere else in the galaxy.

One more thing about Dr. Hawking. I have read he is not in the faith. Like many scientists, his profession is his faith. People of God however, believe this planet, our planet, was created for us to dwell on. Not saying when the time is right in our future we can't explore the heavens - but this is where we live.

I read an article a few years ago talking about how our planet is one in a million. There are so many things which are "right" about Earth, perfect for us to thrive here. The tilt, the distance from the sun, the distance from the Moon, the speed at which our core rotates. The article went on and on. It was almost as if this planet was made for us. Funny how that works out.

Sorry Dr. Hawking. I will only speak for myself on this one. I will take my chances on Terra Firma. When I got up this morning and went out to retrieve the paper, the sun was coming up, the birds were singing, and the grass was greening. So why sir, would we ever want to leave this place? This big blue marble is just fine for me, thank you.

Walking off a cliff for healthcare...

"Here is the bottom line as I see it. ObamaCare has changed the landscape - maybe forever. We allowed Santa Clause to come in and tinker with the gears."

This is going to pain me to say this. You can't cure stupid. And this time, the stupid runs deep on my side of the political street. Why? Health care. The "new" vote is supposed to happen today. To repeal ObamaCare and role out this new...."something or other". But the new "something or other" might be more like an Edsel, than a Cadillac.

So what is wrong with this picture? Some thoughts:

• Our side made great headlines with teasing Ms. Nancy when she said, "We need to pass this bill to know what is in it." In other words, don't worry about the fact that nobody has read it. The Ryan bill will now have the same issue. Released last night to the House at 8 pm, with no CBO scoring, and voting today. This sounds like Pelosi 2.0 rather than Ryan 1.0.
• Even though Ryan (with the President's help) think they have "whipped" the necessary votes in the House, it will still be a cliff hanger. As soon as the vote is taken on this thing, the vote becomes history. And when the bill gets to the Senate (and if Senate rules are kept), it does not have a snowball's chance to get 60 votes. So the Senate bill coming back to the House will be like night is to day. 
• One might say, "Gosh - what is the hurry? It is only May 4th." You are going to love this answer. Vacations. Yes friends, after just getting back from a two week hiatus, the House and Senate are ready for another break. So they wanted to have the House vote done and approved so they would not meet a maelstrom when they got home to their districts.
• Someone else might ask, "Would it not be more prudent to wait until the CBO scored this bill?" The real answer is a resounding, YES! But the political answer is "no". Why? If it gets a bad CBO score (which many think it will), some of the more timid votes might peel away and then the vote will go down in flames. 

Here is the bottom line as I see it. ObamaCare has changed the landscape - maybe forever. We allowed Santa Clause to come in and tinker with the gears. Rather than a cost containment program, it became a cost shifting one instead. The escalating costs of health care are either popping up in unsustainable premiums, or added to our $20T (and growing) debt.

With the countries demographics showing an aging population, the cost of medical care will keep escalating. And with a fear of doing any type of cost containment, the choices for where to put these costs are very limited. They will either be born by the patient resulting in a crippling financial burden, or the kept the way they are under ObamaCare - sky high premiums and soaring debt.

The Republicans are walking into this boxed canyon with eyes wide shut. By sundown today, ObamaCare could easily morph into Ryan Care. Anyone who votes for this mess will be walking off a cliff healthcare reform. The only problem is, the word "reform" seems to be left out of this picture. 

Its the demographics stupid!

"The local paper can tell us that the Governor and his pet trains are more popular than sliced bread and canned beer. Big whoop. It means nothing. In 'realville', neither are popular. Both need to be replaced."

I will borrow and modify the once famous line from James Carville. Remember? "Its the economy stupid!" That became a classic line in the Clinton days. It was meant in a somewhat impolitic way to get everyone's attention focused on what was important back then - the economy. 

Today, there were some results published of polls taken in Minnesota concerning the Governor and light rail. The Governor it seems, has made a tremendous recovery from his Senate days, and now has a sky high popularity. And the paper believes Governor Dayton will use his new "celeb status" to beat the stingy old Republicans over the head to get what he wants. Like funding for light rail.

Speaking of which, the polls also showed the majority of Minnesotans want more choo-choo trains. Really? How does that work when very few will ever use them? Well the answer might lie in the demographics used for these polls. Why do demographics matter that much? To paraphrase James Carville, "Because, it is all about the demographics, stupid!"

I would love to see the results of those polls in the county in which I live. Or even the counties directly to the north and west of me. Why? Because up here, Dayton is about as popular as a deer tick. And light rail? Why should people living up here be forced to pony up for this "toy", when very, very few will ever ride it? 

In the manner of fairness, the paper admitted the polls taken in Hennepin and Ramsey were a lot more skewed than the ones further out state. Why? Many in those two counties are lower income and pay little or no income tax. So government becomes nothing more than a "Santa Clause". Give little or nothing in, get lots out.

One of the participants questioned said she really liked Dayton because he "taxed the rich". It would be a shocker to this lady to know how many higher income young people as well as retired people have fled this state for that very reason. But then again, it is not her ox which is being gored.

Here is the bottom line. I live out here in "realville". Many of friends also live in "realville". Many of the representatives in the Minnesota House and Senate represent people from "realville". We know taxes are too high in this state. It is driving away business (and people). Dayton is responsible for those high taxes. It was his idea. And many of us hold him personally responsible. Even though is he not running in 2018, we will hold the next DFL nominee personally responsible.

My take? It has been bad here for so many years, many have become used to it. It has become the new norm. The status quo. If people in Minnesota could live for a few years in Wisconsin, South Dakota, Texas, Nevada or Florida and then come back here, the polls would tell a different story. 

The local paper can tell us that the Governor and his pet trains are more popular than sliced bread and canned beer. Big whoop. It means nothing. In "realville", neither are popular. Both need to be replaced.

Stay tuned for better news. Our next Governor will be a fixer - a mechanic. You won't need a phony poll to tell you things are good - each and every day you will be living it.

A return to the corn field...

"In any event, don't lose too much sleep that we have not yet fortified our grid. We are getting closer to having a good defense against the Norks. That is, if we can catch everything they might throw at us." 

I think I have mentioned this before. While in the Naval Reserves, I also had a civilian job. The first 25 years of that civilian career was working in the Defense/Aerospace Business. And the majority of that time was spent working on either the AEGIS Program or the VLS Program which fed off the AEGIS weapon system. Truthfully - it was quite a ride.

It started in the late seventies, when I worked on the AN/UYK-7 Standard Shipboard Computer at Sperry Univac. One of the applications was this new whiz-bang thing called "AEGIS". Although not on any ships at that time, it was being developed at an RCA facility in Moorestown, New Jersey. This sleepy little town about 20 miles outside of Philadelphia had a mock up of what a AEGIS Class Cruiser would look like (from the superstructure up), a Cruiser. And they plunked it down in the middle of a corn field. Many back then called it the "Cruiser in the corn field".

My career progressed and I was hired by Control Data. Control Data built the AN/UYH-3 for the AEGIS combat information control system. As luck would have it, in 1982 I picked up RCA as a customer. They were the prime contractor for the combat information system which our product was part of. I had the chance to travel to Moorestown a few times to see the now famous "cruiser in the corn field". And I toured it more than once.

Some might read this and ask, "So what? What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?" Not much however. But I would respond this way - it might have a lot to do with the price of victory in North Korea. 

Back to AEGIS for a moment. Life went on. The AEGIS weapon system was put on the USS Ticonderoga and then more and more Cruisers and the new class of Destroyers. The Vertical Launch System was employed into the system and fit together with AEGIS like peanut and butter. The 80's passed, the 90's passed, and the new millennium took roots. All the time, the AEGIS/VLS system became better and more capable. And now today, we have a system which can do just about everything. 

Thus enter the AEGIS Ashore Program. Rather than building a new platform on a $22B Zumwalt Class Destroyer, we can put the weapon system in a clearing at a fraction of the cost. In other words, we are back to the Cruiser (or Destroyer) in a corn field approach.

So what the heck is the AEGIS Ashore Program? In short, it is a return to the corn field. It is AEGIS without the ship. It is the AEGIS System which is tied into our GBMD Program. That would be our Ground Based Missile Defense Program. The Navy is taking the best of the AEGIS Program, tying it in with our nation's GBMD Program, and letting that be part of the grid which protects us. 

Will it work if the North Koreans decide to launch? I sure hope so. After working on the HOE (Homing Overlay Experiment), I know we have many layers of protection. My biggest fear however, is the North Koreans could get lucky. And if they do, we get unlucky - and fast.

But every month which goes by without a launch, we become better prepared. We have lasers almost ready to do, rail guns almost ready to go, AEGIS Cruisers and Destroyers which are ready to go, as well as our already established GBMD Program. 

In any event, don't lose too much sleep that we have not yet fortified our grid. We are getting closer to having a good defense against the Norks. That is, if we can catch everything they might throw at us. If one gets through and our grid is porous, it will be Good Night Irene - for a long, long time.

  

Paralyzing Fear!

"Many of us out here in the hinter land would rather see us die on our feet than live on our knees (legislatively). We really thought with the swamp drainers we would see this starting this year."

We have all heard of it. A few of us have seen it. In fact, some have experienced it. Fear. Absolute, fear. Fear so strong, we freeze. Like a deer in the headlights. We get so scared that we cannot function. What does this have to do with anything you might ask? I think we have just witnessed paralyzing fear in the $1.1T budget bill which is heading for law.

Fear of what? The dreaded government shut down. Even though (if the truth be known), should the government shut down, and the press did not report it, very few people would know. But the press WILL report it, and they will report it to be the next worst thing to Armageddon. Plus (and this is where the fear really becomes palpable), the stingy old Republicans WILL be the ones to blame! Regardless of facts, because they are not the Party of Santa Clause, they WILL bear the brunt of the blame!

How bad is this bill? For starters, it probably could have been put together by Democrats. In fact, here is the tell tale sign. Both Chucky Schumer and Ms. Nancy are giving this bill "high praises". They then had the gall to say, "This is how to put together a bipartisan bill". In other words, once the Republicans put their principled positions back in the closet and act "Democrat Light" again, it was a piece of cake. 

If this makes it though conference and then to the President's desk for signature, it will fund our bloated government until September. In other words, until the end of the fiscal year - which by the way, is now seven months old. And many of the targeted things for deletion we heard from a chorus of voices on the campaign trail, turn out to be not targeted after all. If this was to be death for many of those programs, I guess there is life after death.

Now that the Republicans have caved on the budget, what is in the on-deck circle? My guess? ObamaCare 2.0. What? You mean the "repeal and replace" has been replaced? Yup. Just like in poker, when every year during the Obama Administration a bill was submitted to repeal ObamaCare and then vetoed, this year the republican's hand was called. And the Republicans did not even have a pair of deuces to show. So, it looks like Congress is going to try and resuscitate the patient. In other words, fix the very sick ACA. 

One more thing. The high hopes I had for a transformational tax change, are starting to look like the mirage on the horizon. We will end up with just a bit more tinkering around the edges of our current flawed tax code. Big whoop.

Many of us out here in the hinter land would rather see us die on our feet than live on our knees (legislatively). We really thought with the swamp drainers we would see this starting this year. All I can see is miles and miles of the Dismal Swamp. And yes, it is looking more and more dismal.

The most hated Conservatives...

"The next time someone asks if you are a conservative or hold conservative values, think of the original definition of the word. For most on the right side of the street, it should be an easy answer. If it is not an easy answer, it might be time for some soul searching." 

When you read much of the press these days, there are very few kind words to say about conservatives. In fact, much of the opining about conservatives is out and out brutal. Selfish, troglodytes. Backward thinking neanderthals. The opposite of change agents. Stuck in the mud. And hated. Yuck!

Part of the problem with how conservatives are portrayed today is definitional. Somehow many on the other side of the political spectrum (including most of the press) think conservative means to conserve ones money by paying fewer taxes. Now that is not a bad concept at all, and I am sure not going to besmirch it. However, that is not what conservationism is all about. 

It is not a new term. Not even uniquely American. It goes back centuries and across the Atlantic. Some say it had its roots in the French Revolution. In any event, conservatism is to "protect and conserve" (based on the Latin derivation of the word) "inherited traditions and customs." Or to put it in more modern terms - motherhood, church and apple pie. 

In fact, conservatives are not even anti-change. They embrace change if it is organic and does not violate "inherited traditions and customs." By the way, during the last last election, some ran on the platform of "burning it all down, and starting over!" That is not the way a traditional conservative thinks. However, to "drain the swamp", so we can get back to "protecting and conserving our inherited traditions and customs" is fine with me. I believe it to be in line with conservative thinking.

Here comes a key point as I understand it. Most conservatives also believe in absolute truth. Many believe in the authenticity and sanctity of the Holy Bible. Most if not all believe in "originalism" with our Constitution and Bill of Rights. In other words, certain documents are sacrosanct. Not subject to updating to be with the times. And that is the great divide with current day liberals and progressives.

The next time someone asks if you are a conservative or hold conservative values, think of the original definition of the word. For most on the right side of the street, it should be an easy answer. If it is not an easy answer, it might be time for some soul searching.