1/15/2010
Most transparent… NOT!
No press conf’rence since July
Nothing unscripted.


Time for a political post, y'all!

It's now been over six months since "the most transparent administration in history" has held a press conference. That's more than half of it's existence. Sure, there have been carefully scripted speeches but no opportunity for even the very-friendly press to ask questions that Obama's team isn't allowed to carefully analyze and market test before answering. If they aren't careful people might think they are trying to hide something.

Then I read this article about an eight year old boy being harassed every time he tries to get on an airplane.

Full Story

Notice the Clinton-esque parsing of words on the government's Transportation Security Administration web site. In answering the "myth" about this eight year old boy they post "Myth: The No-Fly list includes an 8-year old boy" and then say it's false. While technically true that this boy isn't on the most restrictive "no fly" list he IS on the second most restrictive "selectee" list. The intent of the myth is that the process is so screwed up that an eight year old boy is harassed when he tried to fly with his family, which is 100% true. Exactly which list he is on is not the issue.

His family has spent seven years trying to get him cleared from this list, even having their Congressman have a Transportation Security Administration agent go with them to the airport and still this young child is patted down and the family questioned for an hour or two by agents before being allowed to board. Common sense has no place in a politically correct government.

In tying these two concepts together, that of an opaque transparent administration and a family trying for seven years to get their child off a suspected terrorist list, I come up with healthcare. Normally when the Senate and the House vote yes on similar bills there is a committee set up that hammers out the difference. These committee meetings are often available on C-SPAN or the records are available to the public. Not this time, Shamus! For some reason when it comes to the government taking over healthcare, one seventh of our economy, these meetings are being held behind closed doors and with only a limited number of participants (and all of them are Democrats). This is in direct contrast to what Obama stated on the campaign trail, that these meetings would be televised so that the public can see who is on their side (Full Story). If they aren't careful people might think they are trying to hide something. So far what has been leaked is that those people with "Cadillac" healthcare plans (such as the ones enjoyed by Congress at your expense) will be taxed to help pay for the healthcare of the great unwashed. Unless those "Cadillac" healthcare plans are part of some union negotiation, then they are exempt from the tax. (Story here The liberals I know are always talking about making things fair. How in this even remotely any other than political payback and, I might add, UNFAIR.

But if this family has spent seven years trying to get the obvious corrected (their son was barely ONE when 9-11 happened so it's highly unlikely that he was involved) and even enlisted their Congressman, imagine what will happen when our bumbling government accidentally lists you as thirty years older than you are and therefore not as eligible for that hip replacement? Or perhaps you find yourself on a list stating that you have cancer or terminally ill or diabetic? Good luck getting THAT cleared up before you kick the bucket for real. There will be so many that your ineffective Congressman will not be able to pretend to help you.

Again I have to ask why the rush to get this healthcare bill passed? Common sense indicates that if it's this healthcare bill good thing for America then it will be a good thing for America even after (gasp) careful consideration, reading the bill, and letting the American people know the details. I would seriously like to know how anyone can defend the scurrilous way our government has gone about getting this bill through. Anyone? Anyone?