My Letter To Senator Debbie Stabenow, D-MI

The following is a letter I received in reply to my opposition on 'Health Care Reform'. Following that is my response. If you don't agree, that's fine with me. I just wanted to have my say-so.



"From: Senator Debbie Stabenow senator@stabenow.senate.gov
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2009 4:44:47 PM
Subject: Re: Health Care 'Reform" and Cap & Trade

July 29, 2009


Thank you . . .

. . . for contacting me regarding your opposition to universal health care coverage. I understand your concerns.

When it comes to health care, our families and businesses are in a serious crisis. High health care costs are causing cuts in benefits and increases in premiums, adding to the ranks of the uninsured at alarming rates. But the impact of this problem goes beyond individual families. Skyrocketing health care costs make our businesses less competitive in the global marketplace and cost us good-paying jobs. We are already paying for the uninsured through overuse of the emergency room-the most inefficient and expensive way of providing care.

I believe that health care is a right, not a privilege. There is no doubt that the problems we face are complex, but there are real solutions. We can create a system that is uniquely American and shares the cost between the government, businesses, and individuals in a way that is fair and equitable. Now is the time to show the political will to tackle these issues because there is so much at stake. I am committed to working with both my Democratic and Republican colleagues on the Senate Finance Committee to find solutions to America's health care crisis.

Thank you again for contacting me. Please don't hesitate to do so again if my office can be of assistance to you or your family.

Sincerely,

Debbie Stabenow

United States Senator



DS:SM"


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow
The United States Senate • Washington, DC 20510
stabenow.senate.gov

Dear Senator,

Thank you for your reply. We differ in many areas of thought on Health Care reform. I do not believe that insurance is a right. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness are rights.

I enjoy the fact that my employer offers health care - however, I can only afford to cover myself - not my husband or college age child. I have a $1000 deductible and $1500 co-pay. For the most part, my insurance coverage is catastrophic only. My portion of the premiums if I were to cover eligible members of my family would cost nearly 1/4 of my bi-weekly take home pay. Obviously, if a mortgage is only supposed to by 1/3 of your monthly salary, then insurance premiums are nearly the price of a good-sized house.

Adding to the 'ranks of the uninsured' is the fact of a 14.2% unemployment rate - of which my husband is one. He doesn't qualify for unemployment insurance so he isn't even counted.

So, why are my premiums so high?

First, because malpractice insurance for my physicians is totally out of control due to frivolous law suits, huge legal fees and the costs associated with trying even a small case. The judge, clerks, bailiffs, secretaries, etc...all have to be paid - by me, the taxpayer.

Because of the need to cover themselves, doctors are forced to order complicated, often if not always expensive and sometimes unnecessary tests and procedures.

Every time a doctor orders a CT scan or a battery of blood tests - there is his fee (which includes the salaries of his staff, his building costs and the portion of his malpractice insurance that he must pass on to the patient), the cost to the facility to pay the personnel, the supplies, the equipment (none of which is cheap) and their own malpractice insurance costs, and usually a specialist qualified to interpret the results.

The second reason my premiums are so high: illegal residents who leech our resources in everything from medical care to education. Someone has to pay for what they use or are given. Guess who that is? The taxpayer. The insurance premium payer. The legal worker. ME.

We already send food and monetary aid to many other countries - including where many of our illegals come from. Why are we not sending them back? Why the oversensitivity to their 'plight'. I hate to say this, but my only concern right now is for MY family - not theirs.

My great-grandparents came from Italy around 1910 - on a boat - steerage class. They learned English, they got jobs, they became citizens. Why should it be any different now? When did being lawbreakers ENTITLE anyone to my money? When did it become unacceptable for me to spend my money with charities or organizations that help people at my own discretion? Why is it now the governments job?

So, Senator, I stand firm in my convictions that we don't need 'Health Care Reform', we need basic laws already on the books enforced, tort reform to stop the lawyers from destroying us while they get wealthy and to put in place the means for the insurance companies to be able to lower premiums for malpractice insurance as well as health insurance.

One more thing. Health Care in this country is the finest in the world - people from all over the world come HERE for care, not the other way around. No one in this country is ever denied medical care - it's illegal to do so - however, people without insurance put off getting care, or only do the minimum so it doesn't bankrupt them.

The plan the President is touting is going to be very expensive, create more bloated government bureaucracy, and in the end, won't help the average patient. By the way, the term 'deficit neutral' is not only a lie, but actually quite silly.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my point of view.

Sincerely,

Jennifer, RN

Questions on Health Care Reform

There are more in the article.... REALLY GOOD ONES!!! Enjoy.

clipped from spectator.org Questions I Never Asked Obama Here is a list of questions that reporters wanted to ask President Obama about health care reform at Wednesday night's press conference but were afraid to ask: 1. Why are American taxpayers subsidizing premiums of millions of union members and healthy Americans who already have health insurance at a cost of about $6,000 per person? 3. Why should American taxpayers pay for the health insurances of millions of illegal immigrants? Shouldn't there be a better way to provide people who are here illegally basic care? 4. Why are American taxpayers paying $10 billion for the health care costs of retirees of big corporations? 5. You talk about using health care reform to control the deficit. But if we targeted help to people who need it most, wouldn't that help? 7. You also say doctors will decide how they should practice medicine. So who will decide, the panel of experts or my doctor? famous line from Raiders of the Lost Ark *Looks dangerous. You go first.*

Doctors Demand Apology From Obama

Of course, no one in the media is reporting this in favor of focusing on the 'race issue'.

The news conference on Wednesday night lasted an hour. Many things were said - but still no actual facts or figures. We still don't know what the "PLAN" looks like or will actually cost.

We DO know that Obama has no problem speaking out of turn on topics he knows nothing about. Like the 'acted stupidly' comment, he misrepresented and maligned another group in America - Doctors.

In truth, I don't mind him making ridiculous statements. They prove that he is ill-equipped to tackle these issues and uninformed about the facts.

I'm tired of all the liberal cheer-leading... I want the truth.

Is the health system in trouble? Yep.

Is government run health care the answer? Let me introduce you to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

My answer is Nope.

clipped from freerepublic.com Pitching government control, President falsely accuses doctors of conspiring to make children sicker “President Obama should be ashamed of himself for trying to scare Americans into supporting his government takeover of medicine by falsely accusing doctors of making children sicker. I have never heard a more disgusting or blatantly phony conspiracy theory. We treat our patients with the respect, care and concern you will never find in Obama’s government-run rationed care bureaucracy,” said Dr. Kerr. “On behalf of my colleagues, I respectfully ask President Obama to apologize for such a slanderous lie and ask him to stop engaging in sickening conspiracy theories to push his government-run scheme. These cheap scare tactics are beneath the dignity of the office of The President and perfectly illustrate why more and more Americans are losing faith in Barack Obama.”

Words A Matter Of Public Record

"Earlier this year, Mr. Obama assured us that most of the stimulus money "will go out the door immediately." But it hasn't. Only about 7.7% of the stimulus has been spent in the six months since its passage, and more of it will be spent in the program's last eight years than in its first year. So now the president claims he said something different. "We also knew that it would take some time for the money to get out the door," Mr. Obama said in his weekly radio address on Saturday.

One problem with Mr. Obama's stimulus bill that is rarely talked about is that it will force a huge, and likely permanent, increase in discretionary, domestic spending. That portion of federal spending was $393 billion in President George W. Bush's last budget. Democrats immediately raised it to $408 billion for this fiscal year and now face the question of whether to make the stimulus a one-time expenditure or a permanent spending increase."

clipped from online.wsj.com The President Moves the Economic Goalposts So what's a president to do when the promises he made about his economic stimulus program fail to materialize? If you're Barack Obama, you redefine your goals and act as if America won't remember what you said originally. That's a neat trick if you can get away with it, but Mr. Obama won't. His words are a matter of public record and he will be held to them. "You'll see the effects begin almost immediately." Now it's clear that those promised jobs and growth haven't materialized. Mr. Obama never said if his stimulus were passed things might still get significantly worse in the following year. "I think my initial measure of success is creating or saving four million jobs." the stimulus's $787 billion would "go directly to . . . generating three to four million new jobs." unemployment rate would top out in the third quarter of this year at just over 8%. There are 2.6 million fewer Americans working than there were on the day Mr. Obama was sworn in.

Not Surprised At All...

And where Michigan goes, the nation will follow. If you doubt that statement, wait 2 years... that's the approximate lag time.

The only way to stop this is to stop the idiots in Washington as well as the idiots at the state level.... both parties. In this country we can all vote. Shamefully, only a small portion of the population gets off their asses and votes.

I firmly believe that if you don't vote, you can't bitch. I vote.

clipped from www.wzzm13.com Michigan unemployment spikes to 15.2% LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Michigan's already high unemployment rate jumped 1.1 percent in June, hitting 15.2 percent. State officials say the latest jobless rate was 7.1 percentage points above the state's June 2008 rate of 8.1 percent. Rick Waclawek of the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives said Wednesday that "a large drop in manufacturing jobs" caused by restructuring in the auto industry accounted for much of the rise. General Motors and Chrysler shed jobs as they went through bankruptcy. The national unemployment rate in June was 9.5 percent.

Things That Make You Say, "Huh??"

When did it become acceptable to just walk in front of a moving car in a parking lot?

When did it become acceptable to bitch and yell in order to get your way? When did rudeness become OK?

When did it become acceptable to 'fib' or 'fudge a little' or outright fabricate a lie for any ole reason?

When did keeping the incorrect change become 'their problem'?

When did ignoring a person's feelings become OK?

When did it become acceptable to DEMAND 'rights' that weren't earned?

When did lack of personal responsibility and accountability become acceptable because someone is 'disadvantaged'?

Who the hell decided the definition for 'disadvantaged'?

Why do we need so many warnings and labels and signs to 'keep us safe'? Didn't your parents teach you ANYTHING?

When did the 'public's right to know' become more important than personal privacy - regardless of a job?

When did it become 'fair' to base any decision - for or against - on skin color?

Every once in a while, I hear things on TV, deal with people at work, or even just while out and about, that make me say, 'HUH?'. I was raised when children were seen and not heard, spanking was discipline, grounding meant doing extra chores every waking moment, and 'chores' were done in order to 'earn' an allowance. As a teen, I was expected (even though I'm female) to give up my seat on the bus to an older person, to help people and be polite. I waited for traffic, not the other way around. I worked hard for my salary - I didn't wait for the government to take care of me.

Some days, I wonder if I lived on a different planet...

In my humble opinion, I firmly believe that the worst thing to happen to the raising of children was Dr. Spock. I also believe that the worst thing to happen to personal responsibility/accountability was the first lawsuit won for someone doing something stupid (i.e., the woman that sued McDonalds for spilling hot coffee on herself and won).

You may not agree with me. You may agree. Unfortunately, the world has changed - and not for the better. I just felt the urge to wish for better.

Bill O'Reilly: Bill's Column - Don't Say That

Bill O'Reilly: Bill's Column - Don't Say That

Shared via AddThis

Word usage. Remember 'far out' and 'groovy' and 'cool'? Kids usually come up with new words, or ways of using words that sound like gibberish and require translation for adults. Then something odd happens: adults start using the words and phrases. Yeah, we're 'hip'.

So, we become an embarrassment to our kids and they change up the language - again! As adults, we're always behind the times - unless you're a musician. Have you ever noticed that no matter how old a drummer or singer gets, he uses the latest lexicon?

Bill's column is timely and worth the read. Enjoy. And then, clean up your language!

Ciao

Isn't This A Little Bass Ackwards?

Someone PLEASE explain this to me:

Illegals who have a job - crack down on them and the companies who hire them, but don't STOP illegals from getting into the country or send BACK the ones that commit crimes or drain our social services.

Yeah - long sentence. Still, it's a fair question. The administration keeps looking for new ways to spend our tax dollars and still can't fix anything.

California is crushed under the burden of illegals leaching on the system. They know where the illegals are, but won't send them back. Instead, the government wants to take the productive illegals and punish them and their employers?

We call that Bass Ackwards. And stupid.

clipped from www.foxnews.com Obama Administration Launches Investigation Into Companies That Employ Illegal Immigrants WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration launched investigations of hundreds of businesses around the U.S. Wednesday as part of its strategy to focus immigration enforcement on the employers who hire illegal workers. President Barack Obama has said his administration's strategy for stemming illegal immigration would focus on employers who hire illegal workers. "This nationwide effort is a first step in ICE's longterm strategy to address and deter illegal employment." The I-9 audits are certain to cause concern among employers who have complained that identifying illegal workers is fraught with problems, from recognizing fake identity documents made to look authentic to risking violating anti-discrimination laws. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has said investigations will focus on businesses that knowingly hire immigrants who cannot legally work in the U.S.

TWITTER

Well, I'm trying something new: Twitter.

When I started my blog, I thought it was very cool, very new.

I was already an avid emailer, and used IM with ease. Hand written letters and cards were never my forte, but I could always type.

Then came MySpace. Interesting way to keep up with the kids, faraway friends and family. It was a good way to share pics, stories and rants.

Then I joined FaceBook. Now this was more my style! Real names, real updates for family and friends! I could respond to what others were posting and even chat if I happened to catch them online. My youngest son still won't add me as a 'friend' because he thinks it should have stayed a college only program... but I'm wearing him down. My friends are even divided by category: "Kids", "My Generation", "Family", etc.

So I keep hearing about Twitter. I'm bored last night, so I joined. Don't really understand the hype, but I get that you can send 'updates' via texting - which I'm not good at, and via the computer - which I am good at. (I'm sure Joe will find many gramatical errors in that sentence).

I elected to add Twitter to my blog (which isn't followed regularly, but I do know it's seen) and I may add the app to FaceBook. I haven't added my phone, mostly because I'd have to pay for each text message and until I get a phone with a QWERTY keyboard, it would take too long to update by phone.

Anyway, I'm not sure Twitter will be something I'll enjoy, or if it will just fall by the wayside... Either way, technology moves so quickly that the next 'New' thing will be months old before I catch on.

This getting old stuff is a bitch.

"Obama Scoffs" and We Suffer

This guy is NOT an economist, an insurance expert, has no degree in human resources or even a business administration degree. He is a lawyer.

Yes, he has access to experts, but many of his policies seem rudimentary and naive. High school kids taking statistics classes understand that what he proposes won't work.

People really need to wake up and stop this government take over of the private sector. This has to stop or the America we know will cease to exist.

clipped from news.yahoo.com GOP: After big fed spending 'Where are the jobs?' WASHINGTON – Republicans concerned about the Obama administration's big spending on economic stimulus, energy and health care are asking, "Where are the jobs?" "Unemployment has soared above 9 percent. And now the president admits that unemployment will soon reach double digits. "After all of this spending, after all of this borrowing from China, the Middle East, our children and our grandchildren, where are the jobs?" he said. president expects the nation will reach 10 percent unemployment within the next few months. "Democrats are pushing a government takeover of our health care system that will cost at least a trillion dollars. government reports that indicate millions will lose their current health coverage and millions more will lose their jobs if the Democratic plan is adopted. Obama scoffs at predictions that his plans to offer a public plan as an alternative will harm the private insurance industry

Tax and Spend Doesn't Work When People Are Out Of Work

clipped from www.foxnews.com Americans Increasingly Skeptical of Obama's Pledge of Fiscal Discipline as Deficit Grows - A New York Times/CBS News poll shows 60 percent of Americans do not believe the president has a strategy to reduce the deficit. - A Wall Street Journal/NBC poll says 58 percent of Americans want the president to make controlling the deficit a higher priority than a speedy economic recovery. $38 billion for the State Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization between 2010 and 2019 $787 billion fiscal stimulus bill $75 billion homeowner stability program $125 billion "place holder" of additional financial stabilization funds (if needed) $22 billion for Cap and Trade program in 2020 "All the rhetoric and all the happy noises that can come out of Washington cannot disguise or replace the higher interest rates that we're going to be facing at some point the markets are going to insist on serious fiscal responsibility and Washington will not be able to talk its way out of that

1,600,000 jobs lost vs 150,000 jobs 'saved'

So. Are you working? How about your spouse? Your grown children? Your parents? Do you have a 'recession-proof' job? Are you a nurse that can't find work? How about an auto mechanic? Maybe the restaurant you worked at closed. Or some large manufacturer that depends on the auto industry. How about a bank? Oh, wait, they got money, so you're probably still working...

We have lost 10.6 TIMES the number of jobs 'created' or 'saved'. And in the process we have bankrupted our children and their children and pretty much destroyed the basic American Dream.

How's that 'change' workin' for ya?

BTW, the unemployment rate in Michigan is expected to hit near or at 20%. Hope it's better where you're living.

clipped from news.yahoo.com Obama promised Monday to speed federal money into hundreds of public works projects this summer, vowing that 600,000 jobs would be created or saved. his fresh promises were largely political theater: The jobs goal was set a month ago, and the list of projects Obama announced were already in the pipeline. poll found that 41 percent of those surveyed disapproved of Obama's handling of the deficit, his highest disapproval rating on any subject polled. government reports have shown the economy has lost more than 1.6 million jobs since Congress approved funding for the program in February. administration's predictions that unemployment would rise no higher than 8 percent already have been shattered. Just how much of an impact Obama's recovery program had on the pace of job losses is up for debate. Obama has claimed as many as 150,000 jobs saved or created

All Medications Have Risks

Health care providers have known for a long time that one of the safest medications available still had its risks. Liver damage.

The liver is the detoxification plant of the body. Without it, you can't live. People in general disregard the liver - who thinks about sewage treatment plants on a regular basis? Until it doesn't work, it's out of sight, out of mind.

A huge consequence of this 'safe' medication is teenagers who 'attempt' suicide by overdose with acetaminophen. They don't realize the damage caused to the liver is a life long result of a short-sighted action.

Personally, I and many other health professionals hope that stronger warnings will bring these risks to the general public and maybe save some people severe, life-long (or life-short) pain and suffering.

clipped from www.msnbc.msn.com FDA recommends acetaminophen warnings NEW YORK - A Food and Drug Administration report released Wednesday recommends stronger warnings and dose limits on drugs containing the painkiller acetaminophen, citing an increased risk of liver injury. "There is extensive evidence that hepatotoxicity (liver toxicity) caused by acetaminophen use may result from lack of consumer awareness that acetaminophen can cause severe liver injury," the working group report said. "Consumers may not be aware that acetaminophen is present in many over-the-counter combination products, so they may unknowingly exceed the recommended acetaminophen dose if they take more than one acetaminophen product without knowing that both contain acetaminophen," the report said. The recommendations also call for limiting the maximum adult daily dose to no more than 3,250 milligrams, limiting tablet strength for immediate release formulations, and limiting options in liquid formulations for children.

Sounds Like We Should All Re-Read the Constiution

clipped from www.foxnews.com Tenth Amendment Movement Aims to Give Power Back to the States Fed up with Washington's involvement in everything from land use to gun control to education spending, states across the country are fighting back against what they say is the federal government's growing intrusion on their rights. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. -- U.S. Constitution, Tenth Amendment At least 35 states have introduced legislation this year asserting their power under the Tenth Amendment to regulate all matters not specifically delegated to the federal government by the Constitution. The government has gone too far. Enough is enough. "If the states are serious about returning the federal government to its historical origins, they're going to have to do more than pass resolutions. They're going to have to turn down money and litigate."

An Opinion I Agree With....The USA

The internet needs to remain a place of open knowledge, free speech and uncensored information.

Most of the world has some form of censorship imposed on it's citizens. In the US, the MSM feeds us what they think we 'need to know' (hence the over-coverage of Brittney and Lindsey) and puts their own spin on the important stories (such as Gitmo).

The internet allows us to sort, digest, and learn and form our own opinions. If a body, like the UN, takes control of domain naming, etc... we may lose that ability.

As a citizen of a free country, I'm not willing to give up my rights to appease countries that don't respect them.

clipped from www.cbsnews.com Who Controls The Internet? In order to please our European allies and our Third World critics, the Obama administration may be tempted to surrender one particular manifestation of American "dominance": central management of key aspects of the Internet by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Other countries are pushing for more control. Internet domain names (such as www.google.com) are managed hierarchically. At the top of the hierarchy is an entity called IANA, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, operated on behalf of the Commerce Department. The U.S. government therefore has the ultimate authority to review or revoke any decision, or even to transfer control of IANA to a different operator. Domain names sometimes present political questions. Which side in a civil war should control Pakistan's Internet domain? Should Israel's .il be suspended as punishment for its being an "Apartheid state"? What about Taiwan's .tw if China announces an attempt to "reabsorb its wayward province"?

Not Only In Texas....ALL ER's Abused

"Frequent Fliers"

They are why, when you or your family member is hurt or really sick, it seems to take forever to get some help. They overload an already overloaded system daily. If you were to check, you'd find that ambulance companies transport many of these people also...because they know that if they arrive via EMS, they get right in - a warm cot, maybe some food and lots of attention.

Primary care docs don't want them - no money in it. Mental Health services are underfunded and overwhelmed. So the answer? How about instead of raising taxes, we get rid of a bloated HHS system and spend the money on actually helping these people?

clipped from news.yahoo.com 9 patients made nearly 2,700 ER visits in Texas AUSTIN, Texas – Just nine people accounted for nearly 2,700 of the emergency room visits in the Austin area during the past six years at a cost of $3 million to taxpayers and others, according to a report. The patients went to hospital emergency rooms 2,678 times from 2003 through 2008, said the report from the nonprofit Integrated Care Collaboration, a group of health care providers who care for low-income and uninsured patients. The average emergency room visit costs $1,000. Hospitals and taxpayers paid the bill through government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, Kitchen said. Eight of the nine patients have drug abuse problems, seven were diagnosed with mental health issues and three were homeless. Five are women whose average age is 40, and four are men whose average age is 50, the report said, the Austin American-Statesman reported Wednesday.

How True..... How Sad.

clipped from my.yahoo.com

WTF????

Personally, I think the builders/owners can call it anything they like....but as a normal American, it will always be the 'Freedom Tower' to me. This Tower isn't about "one world"... it's a reaffirmation of our Freedom.

What amazes me is that they would think the old name would be more palatable than Freedom Tower. It's like naming a child the same as one who died previously....ghoulish.

clipped from news.yahoo.com Outcry after new Ground Zero tower loses 'Freedom' NEW YORK (AFP) – The owners of the skyscraper being built at Ground Zero ran into controversy on Friday with the decision to strip the building of its patriotic unofficial name "Freedom Tower." The Port Authority announced that the planned 1,776-foot building, now barely above its foundations, will instead be known by the same name as one of the twin towers destroyed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks: One World Trade Center. "It's all about marketing, all about PR, all about them making money," Regenhard told AFP. "The Freedom Tower isn't going to be One World Trade Center, it's going to be the Freedom Tower," he said in comments broadcast on NY1 television. "I think One and Two World Trade Center are sacred names which should never be used again," said Pataki.

Finally! Something I Can Support Obama On

What better use for our National Guard then to Guard our NATION?

This could stop not only the violence, but the illegal immigrations from Mexico, the drugs themselves and stop arms from leaking out.

This is a WONDERFUL idea!

clipped from www.foxnews.com Obama Considering Deploying Troops to U.S.-Mexico Border President Obama tells regional reporters it is "unacceptable if you've got drug gangs crossing our borders and killing U.S. citizens."  President Obama says he's considering whether to deploy National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, after Texas Gov. Rick Perry made an urgent call fort 1,000 more "boots on the ground" to deal with the growing violence.  The top Republican on the House of Representatives' appropriations committee criticized the Defense Department on Tuesday for not making the situation in Mexico as big a priority as Afghanistan.  Rep. Jerry Lewis, a Republican, said the situation in Mexico is far more important than Afghanistan at this point. "We need to raise this to a higher level," Lewis told The Associated Press.  Perry said late last month that he was asking the Department of Homeland Security for extra resources and troops.  Obama suggested to regional reporters Wednesday that he's taking a cautious approach.

Quotable Quotes

If you were expecting quotes from the movie "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Next", sorry to disappoint. As long as you're here however, why don't you explore - take a look around my blog and let me know what you think.
Thanks!
Jennifer

If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.
-Mark Twain
Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress.... But then I repeat myself.
-Mark Twain
I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
-Winston Churchill
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
-George Bernard Shaw
A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money.
-G. Gordon Liddy
Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.
-James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)
Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.
-Douglas Casey
Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.
-P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian
Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it . If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
-Ronald Reagan (1986)
I don't make jokes... I just watch the government and report the facts.
-Will Rogers
If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free!
-P.J. O'Rourke
In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.
-Voltaire (1764)
Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you!
-Pericles (430 B.C.)
No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.
-Mark Twain (1866 )
Talk is cheap...except when Congress does it.
-Larry Nevels (2008)
The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.
-Mark Twain
What this country needs are more unemployed politicians.
-Edward Langley, Artist (1928 - 1995)

A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.
-Thomas Jefferson