CPAC - terrific!

Not recovered from CPAC – great! – even if Charles Krauthammer on Fox News called it “fringe.” It was most definitely not fringe, and all the tv coverage was about Ron Paul winning the straw poll. He won because only 30% of the 11,000 conservatives attending voted in the straw poll, so 70% of us did NOT vote, and would not have voted for Ron Paul. The Ron Paul supporters were very vocal & strident, per their template. Three days of non-stop speakers/seminars exhausted me! It was like being in a candy store, and not knowing which goody to choose – speakers like Don Rumsfeld, John Bolton, Andrew Breitbart, Ann Coulter, + several new Congresspeople – Fabulous! + stalwart conservatives like Phyllis Schlafly – all wonderful! Foreign policy seminar, Radical Islam seminar with Aayan Hirsi Ali, on and on and on. No time for lunch even in 3 days. This was my first CPAC, but hopefully not my last!

Great idea - YouCut

From Eric Cantor, House Majority Leader: YouCut – a first-of-its-kind project - is designed to defeat the permissive culture of runaway spending in Congress. It allows you to vote, both online and on your cell phone, on spending cuts that you want to see the House enact. Each week that the House is in session, we will take the winning item and offer it to the full House for an up-or-down vote, so that you can see where your representative stands on your priorities. Vote on this page today for your priorities and together we can begin to change Washington's culture of spending into a culture of savings. http://www.majorityleader.gov/YouCut/

Strained States Turning to Laws to Curb Labor Unions

Published: January 3, 2011, New York Times By Steven Greenhouse

Faced with growing budget deficits and restive taxpayers, elected officials from Maine to Alabama, Ohio to Arizona, are pushing new legislation to limit the power of labor unions, particularly those representing government workers, in collective bargaining and politics. Scott Walker, new Republican governor of Wisconsin, is threatening to take away government workers’ right to form unions and bargain contracts. State officials from both parties are wrestling with ways to curb the salaries and pensions of government employees, which typically make up a significant percentage of state budgets. On Wednesday, for example, New York’s new Democratic governor, Andrew M. Cuomo, is expected to call for a one-year salary freeze for state workers, a move that would save $200 million to $400 million and challenge labor’s traditional clout in Albany. But in some cases — mostly in states with Republican governors and Republican statehouse majorities — officials are seeking more far-reaching, structural changes that would weaken the bargaining power and political influence of unions, including private sector ones. For example, Republican lawmakers in Indiana, Maine, Missouri and seven other states plan to introduce legislation that would bar private sector unions from forcing workers they represent to pay dues or fees, reducing the flow of funds into union treasuries. In Ohio, the new Republican governor, following the precedent of many other states, wants to ban strikes by public school teachers. Some new governors, most notably Scott Walker of Wisconsin, are even threatening to take away government workers’ right to form unions and bargain contracts. “We can no longer live in a society where the public employees are the haves and taxpayers who foot the bills are the have-nots,” Mr. Walker, a Republican, said in a speech. “The bottom line is that we are going to look at every legal means we have to try to put that balance more on the side of taxpayers.” … …In the 2010 elections, Republicans emerged with seven more governor’s mansions and won control of the legislature in 26 states, up from 14. That swing has put unions more on the defensive than they have been in decades…. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/04/business/04labor.html?pagewanted=1&ref=business&src=me

Kicked out of House of Representatives

Believe it! My friend and I were actually kicked out (along with a few other people) to make way for late-comer visitors to the House of Representatives to witness the dastardly Healthcare bill passage last night. And we were threatened with hand-cuffs if we did not leave our seats. We could, however, come back into the Gallery, but we had to go to the end of the line (very long, snaked around two corridors +). Reminded me of education's "no one is a winner" mantra - all are equal - except in this case, the late-comers were the "winners." Those of us who got to the Gallery earlier "lost." Don't know who ordered this outrageous affront to taxpayers who own this House. Could it be Nancy Pelosi, who has final say re ingress and egress of House, and had to make way for all those staffers to witness her most glorious moment?

DC Protest Nov. 5

By Barbara Howey, in Washington,DC Washington, DC. Thursday, November 5. This was not fun. Compared to the 9/12 protest, which I attended, this protest was deadly serious. At the 9/12 protest, people were laughing, joking, smiling, meeting new people, a party-atmosphere. Not so with the 11/4 Healthcare Reform protest. At this protest, we Patriots were packed in like sardines on the grassy area below the West steps of the Capitol. I could not even make my way up to where my friend - another Patriot (a small business woman in Novato) who had taken the red-eye the night before, and flew out of DC that afternoon at 4pm, was standing. She managed to fight (politely, of course) close to the front of the crowd. So many signs, so many TALL people, so much earnestness was sobering. This crowd realized what was at stake if this dastardly Healthcare Reform bill that the Dems so love is passed. The people I met were from all over the States, but it seemed quite a few were from Texas. Michelle Bachman gave a brief speech, as did Mark Levine, and Jon Voight. Of course, many of the Republican Representatives had to get their few seconds of fame, so the speeches went on and on. About 1.5 hours after the start, I, and quite a few others, started leaving. I met up with my Novato friend in the security line of the Rayburn Bldg, where I was going to deliver a reasoned letter written by my husband to Nancy Pelosi's office (see below). Of course, the intern in Pelosi's office was...young, but smiling. She offered us House Gallery tickets. So, we ran off to the House Gallery to view the boring minutea of inconsequential, bureaucratic details - again, some Reps getting their 30 seconds of fame. I can't even remember the subject. It certainly was not Healthcare, or I would have listened. My Novato friend had to dash to Reagan Airport, so I ran to the Senate bldg to hand my letters to Boxer and Feinstein. From Boxer's office, I got Senate Gallery passes. Off I went to sit in the (Rogue's) gallery for 2 hours, watching all those Senators, Republicans and Democrats, pat each other on the back. Hail fellow, well met!

*****

Dear Congresswoman Woolsey,

Thank you for e-mailing me a copy of H.R. 3962. After starting to read it I discovered it was 1,990 pages long. YIKES! And I thought Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” was long at 1,168 pages. At least that was entertaining!

This only strengthens my resolve to tell you how much I do NOT want government controlled health care. I am a senior citizen and I am not ready to give up my freedom of choice; Or the quality of my health care. The quality of my health care can only be diminished by the resulting inevitable rationing if government run health care is implemented. I do not believe this is the "American Way." Neither do I believe it is consistent with the revered American traits of individual personal freedom and responsibility.

I believe a better way to provide affordable, quality health care for all is by making well-considered incremental changes because polls consistently show that the majority of citizens are satisfied with their existing health care coverage and choices. A good start would be to reform what I believe are two of the most pressing issues; pass Tort reform legislation and allow the free market to deliver real competition by authorizing the sale of Health Insurance across State lines.

Women’s health care is particularly important. A recent poll by the Independent Women’s Forum reports three out of four women surveyed (74%) consider their own health care as good or excellent. Only 40% would want even slight modifications to their own health care, and 35% would leave their health care as is. Furthermore, 64% of the women surveyed would rather have private insurance than a government-run plan and 61% do not support the individual mandate. Women also oppose the rush to pass a bill. Only 16% rate health care as their top issue and two thirds (67%) don’t want something passed that is poorly crafted. And this poll was taken before the swine flu vaccine shortage. This poll can be seen at www.iwf.org.

In contrast, the currently proposed radical restructuring of the entire health care system for the country is being rushed through the House of Representatives without allowing adequate time to read, much less debate, the proposed bill in order to even begin to understand this complex legislation or its consequences. Rather than promoting competition, I believe the proposed government-run health care plan will ultimately diminish competition, and result in government-run monopoly, runaway costs, and rationing; Or worse, denial of care.

Why do I believe this? For starters, because under the government-run program Politicians and Bureaucrats will control health care choices and decisions, Not Individuals and their Doctors. The proposed program is a vast expansion of government that goes far beyond the existing Medicare program; the same program that currently results in an estimated $68 Billion in losses from Fraud, each year!

I thank you for your attention. Fred Howey Constituent and Taxpayer

cc: Senators Boxer and Feinstein, Congresswoman Pelosi