You’ve Had a Good Innings..

Mark Steyn:

"But from your point of view, what counts is not whether the model’s sustainable but whether you are. I am certainly in favor of reform. I would support a Singapore-style system of personal health accounts — and Singapore, for Mayor Bloomberg’s benefit, has the third-highest life expectancy in the world. But, under any government system that interjects a bureaucracy between you and your health, the elderly and not-so-elderly get denied treatment. And there’s nothing you can do about it because, ultimately, government health represents the nationalization of your body. You’re 84, 72, 63, 58, you’ve had a good innings. It’s easy for him to say. And even easier for his army of bureaucrats."

OK. So maybe this is the Quote of the Day:

Instapundit:

"I don’t think the Obama Administration took over GM. I think GM took over the Obama Administration."

Quote of the Day...

Jillette on “Is Dissent Still Patriotic?”

"“Dissent is the highest form of patriotism” is so last year. This year, snitching is the highest form of patriotism."

Ah! Some perspective, perhaps?

A matter of style...

Camille Paglia:

But who would have thought that the sober, deliberative Barack Obama would have nothing to propose but vague and slippery promises -- or that he would so easily cede the leadership clout of the executive branch to a chaotic, rapacious, solipsistic Congress? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whom I used to admire for her smooth aplomb under pressure, has clearly gone off the deep end with her bizarre rants about legitimate town-hall protests by American citizens. She is doing grievous damage to the party and should immediately step down.

...There is plenty of blame to go around. Obama's aggressive endorsement of a healthcare plan that does not even exist yet, except in five competing, fluctuating drafts, makes Washington seem like Cloud Cuckoo Land. The president is promoting the most colossal, brazen bait-and-switch operation since the Bush administration snookered the country into invading Iraq with apocalyptic visions of mushroom clouds over American cities.

I just don't get it. Why the insane rush to pass a bill, any bill, in three weeks? And why such an abject failure by the Obama administration to present the issues to the public in a rational, detailed, informational way? The U.S. is gigantic; many of our states are bigger than whole European nations. The bureaucracy required to institute and manage a nationalized health system here would be Byzantine beyond belief and would vampirically absorb whatever savings Obama thinks could be made. And the transition period would be a nightmare of red tape and mammoth screw-ups, which we can ill afford with a faltering economy.

As with the massive boondoggle of the stimulus package, which Obama foolishly let Congress turn into a pork rut, too much has been attempted all at once; focused, targeted initiatives would, instead, have won wide public support. How is it possible that Democrats, through their own clumsiness and arrogance, have sabotaged healthcare reform yet again? Blaming obstructionist Republicans is nonsensical because Democrats control all three branches of government. It isn't conservative rumors or lies that are stopping healthcare legislation; it's the justifiable alarm of an electorate that has been cut out of the loop and is watching its representatives construct a tangled labyrinth for others but not for themselves. No, the airheads of Congress will keep their own plush healthcare plan -- it's the rest of us guinea pigs who will be thrown to the wolves.

Quote of the Day:

Via Taranto:

Whereas Obama seems to think the country owes it to him to accept ObamaCare because he was kind enough to agree to be our president, Bush actually made an effort to persuade the public--including the opposite party--that his plan for Iraq was a good idea. The effort was very successful: Congress authorized the use of military force with strong bipartisan majorities, and by early 2003, public approval of the plan was in the 70% range.

Slapping the Camel's Nose...

Megan McArdle:

"I was writing about my deeper opposition to the entire project of providing, paying for, or otherwise guaranteeing health care. Since for most people on the left, this is akin to declaring that I would like to take up killing orphans in my spare time, I outlined why I think that this is morally correct even if you take the liberal set of initial values, and don't place any moral weight on taxation or other coercive action by the state. I have voiced my various practical objections to the particular options on the table at various moments. But the main thing is that I don't want to give the government a greater role in health care markets. Nay, not even if all the other countries . . . well, all the cool countries, anyway . . . are doing it. To the liberals proclaiming that, unlike those of us in the conservative or libertarian camps, they are practical people just seeking the best way to make us all better off, I say: I think your utilitarian calculus is badly wrong."

I really do love this woman....

Who Is This Guy?

JustOneMinute:

"The president has a problem. For, despite a great election victory, Mr. Obama, it becomes ever clearer, knows little about Americans. He knows the crowds—he is at home with those. He is a stranger to the country’s heart and character."

He's really the guy who hangs out with the university crowd that, for the most part, looks down on the great majority of the population.

New Poster Reveals the Ugly Face of Racism...

Real Clear Politics:

"This is ugly stuff. By superimposing Obama's face over the likeness of Tinky Winky this new poster creates a subtly coded, highly effective racial and political argument. Forget socialism, this poster is another attempt to undermine the President by drawing on deep seated stereotypes against blacks, foreigners, and gays. It's disgusting."

Just can't wait....

Townhall:

"I know this post is long. But the stories are worth repeating. Because the issue is big, and it's complex, and it has unintended, and intended consequences. Our elected representatives don't want to read the bill, because they don't want to know, or hear about those consequences. Or because they do know, and they believe those consequences are perfectly acceptable, in the name of increased control of our choices, and our lives. I won't pretend that the US health care system is perfect. It's not. But it's a hell of a lot better than what exists in Canada. And anyone who tells you different is either lying, or just plain wrong."

Madam Speaker is such an idiot...

Pelosi finds dissent un-American… now.:

"In sum, Speaker Pelosi is quite tolerant of disruptive protests, so long as they are on the Left. And if Pelosi is not the person most responsible for trying to shut down democratic debate on healthcare and other vital issues, she is certainly in the front row of the team photo. Is there a word for that?"

Is there anything WORSE for your eyes than constantly reading from a computer screen?

As Classrooms Go Digital, Textbooks May Become History

The Orwellian Universe of Mr. Obama

GayPatriot :

“If an ‘astroturfing’ campaign gets real people to show up at events stating their real views, isn’t it … community organizing?“ Now that conservatives are organizing communities of concerned citizens in much the same manner Barack Obama did when once a recent transplant to the Windy City, well, the Democrats (and their allies in the MSM) just can’t fathom the notion of their ideological adversaries expressing their grievances in much as they have done for the better part of the last eight years.