Hate Email in my inbox today... why does it always seem to reflect religion these days... Reminds me of Robert A. Heinlein's The Crazy Years just...

I am getting too many of these to respond to, so I have stopped.

I don't report them to the "Obama Police" and I don't post many of them here...
adds to the pollution level. But this one struck a note of rememberance with me.
Today, October 9, 9-11 which is now a day of rememberance like the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor for December 7, 1941. President Franklin Roosevelt called December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, for at least one generation of Americans.

If you read Robert A. Heinlein's books, you will find his "Future History 1951-2600 A.D." timeline inserted into the older editions. He sat down in 1946 and mapped out what he thought would be the Future History of the United States of America and the surrounding countries and universe. He foresaw the rise of a Religious Dictatorship in 2020 A.D. following a period of time called the Crazy Years.

We seem to be in the Crazy Years of Heinlien... the dates are just a bit off. WE seem to be bit off our rockers these days as well...

http://www.troynovant.com/Franson/Heinlein/Future-History.html

Robert A. Heinlein's Future History series developed systematically as never before the key vision of the future as complex, evolving, and filled with real people possessing concerns we can recognize and empathize with. Whatever comes will be our future and we will live in it every day.

In the thirty years between the first story's publication and Americans walking on the Moon, many of Heinlein's futuristic concepts became part of the everyday mental furniture of forward-looking people, including the teenagers and scientists and engineers and politicians and military men and voters and taxpayers who made happen the American space program.

The heart of the Future History series appeared in Astounding Science Fiction from 1939 through 1942, with another clutch of stories mostly in the slick magazines after World War II, 1946 through 1950. A couple of short stories appeared later. The 1941 novel Methuselah's Children was revised and expanded for book publication in 1958, and the longer novel Time Enough for Love appeared in 1973.


The annotated list at the link above shows only stories actually written, in chronological order within the series. For the time-lines of the characters, and Heinlein's fascinating notes for cultural background, turn to a copy of his full Future History chart. Some titles originally charted by Heinlein but never written are set during a period of religious dictatorship; he likely found these plots too negative to enjoy developing.


Freddallas


Dead On!

And it came to pass in the Age of Insanity that the people of the land
called America , having lost their morals, their initiative, and their
will to defend their liberties, chose as their Supreme Leader that
person known as "The One."

He emerged from the vapors with a message that had no meaning; but He
hypnotized the people telling them, "I am sent to save you." My lack
of experience, my questionable ethics, my monstrous ego, and my
association with evil doers are of no consequence. I shall save you
with hope and Change. Go, therefore, and proclaim throughout the
land that he who proceeded me is evil, that he has defiled the nation,
and that all he has built must be destroyed. And the people rejoiced,
for even though they knew not what "The One" would do, he had promised
that it was good; and they believed. And "The One" said " We live in
the greatest country in the world. Help me change everything about it!"

And the people said, "Hallelujah! Change is good!"

Then He said, "We are going to tax the rich fat-cats." And the
people said "Sock it to them!" "And redistribute their wealth." And
the people said, "Show us the money!" And the he said, "
redistribution of wealth is good for everybody."

And Joe the plumber asked, " Are you kidding me? You're going to
steal my money and give it to the deadbeats??" And "The One"
ridiculed and taunted him, and Joe's personal records were hacked and publicized.
One lone reporter asked, "Isn't that Marxist policy?" And she was
banished from the kingdom!

Then a citizen asked, "With no foreign relations experience and
having zero military experience or knowledge, how will deal with
radical terrorists?" And "The One" said, "Simple. I shall sit with
them and talk with them and show them how nice we really are; and they
will forget that they ever wanted to kill us all!" And the people
said, "Hallelujah!! We are safe at last, and we can beat our weapons
into free cars for the people!"

Then "The One" said "I shall give 95% of you lower taxes." And one,
lone voice said, "But 40% of us don't pay ANY taxes." So "The One"
said, "Then I shall give you some of the taxes the fat-cats pay!"
And the people said, "Hallelujah! Show us the money!"

Then "The One" said, "I shall tax your Capital Gains when you sell
your homes!" And the people yawned and the slumping housing market
collapsed. And He said.. "I shall mandate employer-funded health care
for every worker and raise the minimum wage. And I shall give every
person unlimited healthcare and medicine and transportation to the
clinics." And the people said, "Give me some of that!"
Then he said, "I shall penalize employers who ship jobs overseas."
And the people said, "Where's my rebate check?"

Then "The One" said, "I shall bankrupt the coal industry and
electricity rates will skyrocket!" And the people said, "Coal is
dirty, coal is evil, no more coal! But we don't care for that part
about higher electric rates." So "The One" said, Not to worry. If
your rebate isn't enough to cover your expenses, we shall bail you out.

Just sign up with the ACORN and you troubles are over!"

Then He said, "Illegal immigrants feel scorned and slighted. Let's
grant them amnesty, Social Security, free education, free lunches,
free medical care, bi-lingual signs and guaranteed housing..." And
the people said, "Hallelujah!" and they made him king!

And so it came to pass that employers, facing spiraling costs and
ever-higher taxes, raised their prices and laid off workers. Others
simply gave up and went out of business and the economy sank like unto
a rock dropped from a cliff.

The banking industry was destroyed. Manufacturing slowed to a
crawl. And more of the people were without a means of support.

Then "The One" said, "I am the "the One"- The Messiah - and I'm here
to save you! We shall just print more money so everyone will have
enough!" But our foreign trading partners said unto Him. "Wait a
minute. Your dollar is not worth a pile of camel dung! You will have
to pay more... And "The One" said, "Wait a minute. That is
unfair!!" And the world said, "Neither are these other idiotic
programs you have embraced. Lo, you have become a Socialist state and
a second-rate power. Now you shall play by our rules!"

And the people cried out, "Alas, alas!! What have we done?" But yea
verily, it was too late. The people set upon The One and spat upon
him and stoned him, and his name was dung. And the once mighty nation
was no more; and the once proud people were without sustenance or
shelter or hope. And the Change "The One" had given them was as like
unto a poison that had destroyed then and like a whirlwind that
consumed all that they had built.

And the people beat their chests in despair and cried out in anguish,
"give us back our nation and our pride and our hope!!" But it was too
late, and their homeland was no more.

You may think this a fairy tale, but it's not.
It's happening RIGHT NOW

THIS really tells it like it is. After reading it -- and before you go into the bathroom to throw-up -- forward it to your friends and those you know who care about our country and what is happening to it under the rule of Commissar Obamanation.








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47 or 307 or 15% of USa are not insured...since I don't have health insurance at the moment, it just seems like there are more of us uninsured...

News Alert from The Wall Street Journal

The number of people lacking health insurance in the U.S. rose to 46.3 million in 2008, the Census Bureau reported. The figure is up from 45.7 million in 2007, amid erosion of employer-provided insurance. Still, the level remained below the peak of 47 million who were uninsured in 2006, because of the growth of government insurance programs.

The nation's poverty rate increased to 13.2%, up from 12.5% in 2007.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125259099642699581.html?mod=djemalertNEWS

President Makes His Pitch

Health Plan Cut to $900 Billion With Tax on Premium Coverage; GOP Unconvinced.
By JONATHAN WEISMAN and JANET ADAMY
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125251148557696003.html#mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama gave an emotional, sometimes contentious address to Congress on Wednesday, combining tough talk to opponents with olive branches on policy in a bid to break the impasse on revamping the health-care system.

Calling the initiative "my plan," Mr. Obama set the size of a health-insurance plan at $900 billion over 10 years, a figure smaller than versions approved in the House and fully paid for, he said, by spending cuts and tax increases. Most individuals would be required to purchase health insurance, but the costs would be mitigated by generous tax credits. Large employers would also face a requirement to offer health coverage to employees or pay a fine, while most small businesses would be exempt.

The president pledged to tackle medical-malpractice lawsuits in an overture to Republicans. He singled out his former presidential rival, Sen. John McCain, in embracing one of the Arizona Republican's health-care proposals. And he promised new cost controls that could scale back his plan if health-care inflation isn't brought under control.

But Mr. Obama chastised Republican leaders who talked of death panels. The president called it "a lie, plain and simple." He warned, "I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it's better politics to kill this plan than improve it....If you misrepresent what's in the plan, we will call you out. And I will not accept the status quo as a solution, not this time, not now."

Republicans in turn held aloft copies of health-care bills they have drafted in a quiet rebuke to a president who has said they have offered nothing constructive. One, Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina, shouted "lie" when Mr. Obama said his plan wouldn't cover illegal immigrants, though the Democratic bills circulating in Congress do exclude illegal immigrants from eligibility for subsidies. Mr. Wilson late Wednesday issued a statement apologizing to Mr. Obama for "this lack of civility."

Overall, Mr. Obama tried to make the case to consumers that his plan would provide more stability for those who already have insurance, and coverage for those who don't. Republicans said the plan is too expensive and will lead to excessive government control.

Obama Speech 'Robust, Uncompromising'2:05Amid speculation he would present a less contentious health-care plan, WSJ's Jonathan Weisman and Janet Adamy say President Obama delivered a mostly uncompromising speech peppered with a few olive branches.

Mr. Obama embraced for the first time a proposal to impose a fee on insurers that sell high-end plans -- a concession that could hit not only lawyers and bankers but also unions that bargained for premium health plans.

And in an effort aimed at key Republican negotiators in the Senate, the White House outlined a new pilot program to move medical-malpractice cases out of the court system and put them before expert panels and arbitrators. White House officials say the program, first floated by President George W. Bush, would be instituted by executive order and wouldn't be included in the health-care legislation.

"I don't believe malpractice reform is a silver bullet," Mr. Obama said, "but I have talked to enough doctors to know that defensive medicine may be contributing to unnecessary costs."

It was one of the few areas of the plan that Republicans praised, and it won strong endorsement from doctors, who say the threat of lawsuits drives up medical costs by encouraging defensive medicine.

"We think this is just an excellent first step," said Rebecca Patchin, board chairman for the American Medical Association, the influential doctors' group.

The McCain initiative endorsed by Mr. Obama would allow high-risk individuals to join insurance pools that couldn't deny them coverage for pre-existing conditions. That would be in effect until 2013, when a broader, federally controlled insurance exchange would go into force.

That exchange should carry a government-run "public option" that would be self-sufficient and maintained by premiums, Mr. Obama said. He acknowledged alternative ideas by opponents of the public plan, such as nonprofit cooperatives, or a trigger mechanism that would start up the public plan only in states where health costs are not going down.

"But," he added to Democratic applause and Republican silence, "I will not back down on the basic principle that if Americans can't find affordable coverage, we will provide you with a choice."

In an interview, Mr. McCain said he was glad to get a nod from the president, but said Mr. Obama must do more to win over Republicans. "I think the cost is still the key issue and how you pay for it," Mr. McCain said.

"I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last."

In one of the speech's more emotional moments, Mr. Obama read excerpts from a letter that the late Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts asked to be delivered to the president upon his death.

Senior White House officials acknowledged the stakes for the speech were high, after heated town-hall meetings and other signs of public unease emerged this summer. Months ago, the president, who has long used his oratorical skills to get him out of political trouble, planned a speech to Congress or to the nation this fall to give health care a final push, but officials said the bruising summer had nudged that address forward.

Mr. Obama decried what he called a "partisan spectacle" that hardened "the disdain many Americans have toward their own government." He added that "the time for bickering is over. The time for games has passed. Now is the season for action."

Most of the proposals the president outlined in his speech were the same changes he has championed since he launched his effort to fix the health system in March. He proposed several steps similar to what congressional committees have already approved.

These include doing away with lifetime caps on coverage and "recissions," a practice used by insurers to drop customers once they get sick. Out-of-pocket expenses also would be capped. People who don't have insurance through their employer would be encouraged to buy plans on a federally operated policy exchange, and, if under a certain income, would be given tax credits to help them afford it.

Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican the White House has hopes of winning over, complained the president didn't do enough to reach across party lines. "I understand his frustration with what had been some misrepresentations by both sides, but I thought that he could have been more conciliatory in his tone," she said.

Rank-and-file Republicans acknowledged the health-care system needs work. "It's clear the American people want health-care reform, but they want their elected leaders to get it right," Louisiana Rep. Charles Boustany, a cardiothoracic surgeon, said in his party's response to the president.

In an interview, Mr. Boustany acknowledged Republicans had done little to address the looming problems of health care when they controlled Washington. But the Democratic approach is too big, unfocused and fraught with potential dangers, Mr. Boustany said, and he predicted Mr. Obama's speech wouldn't change many minds.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus said he intends to bring a health-overhaul bill before his influential panel the week of Sept. 21. The Montana Democrat said he will continue to work toward winning Republican votes, but he made clear he intends to move forward with or without GOP backing. "This is our moment," he said.

Under the Obama malpractice initiative, states will be eligible for grants for experiments aimed at reducing lawsuits and promoting patient safety. One idea would encourage early disclosure of medical errors, rewarded by mediating claims rather than litigating. Another effort states could pursue would require individuals to obtain an affidavit issued by experts or panels of doctors stating that the case has merit before proceeding in court.

In endorsing a tax on generous health plans, Mr. Obama risks alienating organized labor, a key ally in the debate. While that tax would be levied on insurers, "our concern is that the costs would get passed onto people who aren't the Goldman Sachs executives," said Gerald Shea of the AFL-CIO

The two potential compromises on the public plan didn't alleviate the concerns of insurers, who have been its fiercest opponents. They fear health-care cooperatives -- which would offer coverage to compete with private insurers and receive federal backing to get started, but wouldn't be run by the government -- would be exempt from the fines and regulations facing private plans.

"Government controls a lot of the spending today" in health care, said Alissa Fox, a senior vice president at the BlueCross BlueShield Association, which represents 39 independent insurers. "We don't think the solution is more government spending."

But Democrats were happy Mr. Obama was starting to lead. "I think tonight is the opening salvo of the Democrats' counterattack," said Rep. Eliot Engel (D., N.Y.). "We have been on defensive in August; today, in September, we go on offensive."

—Greg Hitt and Naftali Bendavid contributed to this article.
Write to Jonathan Weisman at jonathan.weisman@wsj.com and Janet Adamy at janet.adamy@wsj.com

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A1

Republicans Respond to Obama in Real Time

On the House floor yesterday, Americans could witness how the "nation's rapidly deteriorating discourse hit yet another low," writes Dana Milbank, of the Washington Post. The most egregious case took place when Obama was emphasizing that illegal immigrants wouldn't get benefits under his health care proposals. Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina shouted out: "You lie!"

Soon, the chamber turned into a version of High School Musical as several people could be heard murmuring "ooh," though, sadly, no one said "snap!" Wilson, who later apologized, may have stolen the show, but he was hardly the only Republican who felt the need to respond in real time with something other than clapping. House Republicans booed, hissed, and grumbled. While some Democrats may have acted a bit inappropriatedly, "the insolence by House Republicans" certainly took the cake. And it wasn't just because of their taunts, but also for their incredible callousness when Obama gave a tribute to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, arguably the most emotional part of the evening, and they decided to take out their smartphones.

Some individual members were animated throughout. When Obama said that slowing the growth of health care costs by one-tenth of 1 percent would reduce the deficit by $4 trillion, deficit hawk Paul Ryan rolled his eyes and grimaced, as if doing the calculation in his head. Republicans were also quick to laugh—a little too hard, perhaps—when Obama understated that "there remain some significant details to be ironed out."

But the guy who stole the show, of course, was Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina. When Obama said that health care reform will not cover illegal immigrants, Wilson shouted, "You lie!" Heads snapped, and the member next to him gestured for him to quiet down. Obama paused slightly and pointed, but seemed unfazed. (When the speech was over, Wilson vanished.)

So, Anything New in President's Health Care Speech?

In his much-hyped address before a joint session of Congress, President Obama didn't have many surprises up his sleeve, but he did explicitly incorporate a few new outside ideas to his plan in a clear bid to get support for his signature issue.

For the first time, the president said the legislation shouldn't cost more than $900 billion over 10 years, making it clear he has taken seriously all the warnings that Americans are particularly fearful of crossing the $1 trillion mark. After much back-and-forth over the past few months, Obama seemed to express support for the idea of taxing the most expensive health insurance policies, a move opposed by both insurers and labor unions. He also tried to reassure a skeptical public that he was serious about not increasing the federal deficit by vowing to include a measure that would require more spending cuts if the promised savings failed to materialize.

In what was seen as a particularly strong bid to gain support from Republicans and doctors, Obama also said his administration would begin pilot projects to test potential ways to decrease the number of medical malpractice cases. In addition, Obama mentioned Sen. John McCain by name when expressing support for his proposal to create a mechanism where people with pre-existing conditions could get coverage until the broader insurance exchange would be implemented. These two initiatives seem to make it clear that the administration is ready to make a familiar argument that "the final bill would be bipartisan not because it garners Republican votes but because it contains Republican ideas," notes the NYT.

Student Debt Grows Dramatically - WSJ.com

Student Debt Grows Dramatically - WSJ.com: CLICK TO READ THE ARTICLE

"Students are borrowing dramatically more to pay for college, accelerating a trend that has wide-ranging implications for a generation of young people.
New numbers from the U.S. Education Department show that federal student-loan disbursements—the total amount borrowed by students and received by schools—in the 2008-09 academic year grew about 25% over the previous year, to $75.1 billion. The amount of money students borrow has long been on the rise. But last year far surpassed past increases, which ranged from as low as 1.7% in the 1998-99 school year to almost 17% in 1994-95, according to figures used in President Barack Obama's proposed 2010 budget.
The sharp growth is 'definitely above expectations,' says Robert Shireman, deputy undersecretary of the Education Department. 'But we're also in an economic situation that nobody predicted.' The eye-opening increase in borrowing is largely due to the dire economic environment, which is causing more people to seek federal loans, he says.
The new numbers highlight how debt has become commonplace in paying for higher education. Today, two-thirds of college students borrow to pay for college, and their average debt load is $23,186 by the time they graduate, according to an analysis of the government's National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, conducted by financial-aid expert Mark Kantrowitz. Only a dozen years earlier, according to the study, 58% of students borrowed to pay for college, and the average amount borrowed was $13,172."

The Importance of Willingham’s Story

The Importance of Willingham’s Story
http://www.texasobserver.org/contrarian/comments/the-vacation-is-over
posted on September 7, 2009 at 2:49 PM

Business was slow last week for the Contrarian -- and by slow, I mean nonexistent. I was on vacation all week. But, alas, that's over, and I'll be posting regularly again this week.

While I was away, the Cameron Todd Willingham case became national news. Willingham, as most of you probably know by now, was executed in 2004 for allegedly killing his three children in a 1991 house fire in North Texas. Most arson experts believe he was innocent. I've been following the Willingham case while working on an investigative series about people wrongly convicted of arson.

This week's New Yorker features a 16,000 word story on Willingham by David Grann. Lots of fascinating detail in the piece. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/07/090907fa_fact_grann?yrail
Grann hits on many of the problems with Texas' criminal justice system. (He also has a wonderful and spot on description of Gerald Hurst, an Austin-based arson expert I've been working with for my own stories.)

Grann was interviewed about the story on NPR's All Things Considered last week. You can read the transcript or listen to the audio here.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112488253

(During the interview, host Robert Siegel was kind of enough to give a shout out to my arson series in the Observer.)

The Willingham case is certainly important, especially for those campaigning against capital punishment. Texas -- of all places -- may become the first state to admit executing an innocent man.

But the Willingham case is closed. It's too late, I'm sad to say, to save him. There are other wrongly convicted people sitting in prison at this very moment whose cases need public attention. In that sense, I hope the national publicity over the Willingam case will inform people about the flaws in the criminal justice system and especially the problems with forensic arson cases.

Hurst believes that faulty arson forensics may have sent hundreds of innocent people to prison. There are nearly 800 Texans serving sentences for arson related crimes.

Those include Curtis Severns -- the Plano gun shop owner serving a 27 year sentence in federal prison for a crime he almost certainly didn't commit. Read his story here.
http://www.texasobserver.org/article.php?aid=3002
And Ed Graf -- a case Hurst describes as perhaps even more flawed than the one against Willingham. (The third story in the series will be out in our October 3 issue.)

It's too late for Willingham. But perhaps the power of his story can help save many others.