As we head into the Memorial Day weekend, let’s not forget the meaning of the holiday. Remember those who gave us our freedom — and those who serve to defend it everyday.

A powerful, prayerful lament for Memorial Day — honoring our servicemen and women and their families. “The Last Day in May” was written by songwriter Michael Troy (www.folkmichaeltroy.com) and is performed by Jed Marum on his MILES FROM HOME album (www.cdbaby.com/cd/jedmarum4)

DANGER: CHRISTIAN ZIONISTS MIGHT CONVERT YOU!

Jack Kemp (not the politician) writes of Jimmy Carter’s belief that it’s “a terrible error for Jews to become allied with Christian Zionists who actually desire (their) conversion or burning in hell:”

As if Jews need Carter to tell them with whom to associate. Since Carter thinks other evangelicals want Jews to convert or burn in hell, does this reflect his beliefs?

I’ve heard of this concept before (using Jews to return Jesus before converting them), but view it as pointless as blaming Jews for Christ’s murder.

I sense that if The Rapture, Jesus, or other divine event visits Humanity, it won’t matter what any of us ever believed or imagined before. I expect the Second Coming and, although I hope to be prepared, I doubt that I will be fortunate to see it in my lifetime. So I behave as well as I can and pray that He will look upon me with favor, regardless of my theological circumstances and choices. God has tested and blessed me throughout my life, so it’s hard for me to imagine that He will forsake me in death.

I love the Jewish people more than other racial/religious groups because of their perseverance, tenacity, faith, folly, courage, and success in the face of slavery, genocide, pogroms, and blind hatred. To me, the Jewish people and Israel exemplify all the richness, beauty, grace and promise of Humanity itself – more than any other people in recorded history.

I suspect that those, like Carter, who promote distrust between Jews and Christians do so for the same reason that the Sharptons, Hitlers, and Democrats pit groups against one another. Jimmy Carter, like John Murtha, Ramsey Clark, and so many other drooling political relics, should be viewed as the addled men they are, and pitied for their insanity. They cannot be happy men.

Speaking at the Prescott Bush Award dinner last night, Fred Thompson made several statements that couldn’t be more right. Here’s the one that jumped out most at me:

“Al-Qaida have a 100-year plan,” Thompson said. “We have a plan until the next election.”

This should scare the sobriety back into people. It’s troubling when the Senate Judiciary Committee rails against the NSA intercept program. Arlen Specter and Patrick Leahy should read the precedents on warrantless searches sometime. That type of political posturing is the type of thing that prevents us from developing a comprehensive long range plan to defeat al-Qaida.

He mostly targeted the Democratic majority, but said some Republicans are also to blame. He said the party has been making compromises on issues like immigration and the Iraq war over fear of losing more seats in Congress.

“I think (the American people) want our leadership,” Thompson said. “What should we do? Get our own house in order. We can’t make decisions (that are) not in the best interests of our country.”

The GOP has been making decisions in the hopes that the press and the Democrats will like them. It’s time that we sent a few shots across the Democrats’ bow and told them that they have two choices: to work with Republicans to get substantive things done or to get exposed as working against America’s longterm best interests. (continue reading post »)

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The current method of financing health care not only fails to provide incentives for safe care, it rewards unsafe care.

Lucian L. Leape, MD; Donald M. Berwick, MD

Five Years After To Err is Human

Although much has been written about the rising costs of low-quality healthcare, less is mentioned about the rewards of unsafe care.

Several books have been published on the subject, most notably Critical Condition (2005) and Who Killed HealthCare? (2007). But no one describes the unnecessary and unindicated procedures as well as Stephen Klaidman does in his book, Coronary.

Coronary describes how and why a significant number of healthy individuals are victims of unnecessary and unindicated procedures each year:

Dr. Moon was soon putting up numbers in the cardiac catheterization lab that in their own worlds Michael Jordan and Barry Bonds could hardly dream of. He was doing four and five times as many catheterizations as his peers elsewhere… He never hesitated to tell anyone who would listen that he was one of the ten best Cardiologists in the country.

Dr. Realyvasquez came in, obviously excited, and said to her, “Can you believe it? We did a triple bypass on a twenty-eight year old.”

… The possibility that his case was not anomalous – that Moon and Realyvasquez were systematically doing angiograms and bypass operations on healthy people with no indications that they needed these procedures – never even entered his mind.

Some even suggest that the uninsured are lucky because they are less likely to become victims of unnecessary or unindicated procedures. In the case of Tenet Health Systems, Melissa Davis wrote:

The “highly placed, highly esteemed” experts — hailing from the Mayo Clinic, Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania — began reviewing past heart-bypass surgeries at two Tenet facilities after one of hospitals, Redding Medical Center, came under heavy fire last year. The physicians ultimately concluded that 83% of the procedures at Redding were unwarranted. But they also determined that 59% of the bypasses at neighboring Doctors Medical Center in Modesto — a hospital overshadowed by Redding so far — were unnecessary as well.

Although the United States spends twice as much per capita ($2 trillion) on health care than other industrialized nations, the World Health Organization ranks US health care quality 37th, between Costa Rica and Slovenia. If we reduce unnecessary and unindicated procedures by half (not 59% or 83%), Americans could save as much as $1 trillion in healthcare costs annually.

Until we identify and dismantle the conditions that promote the waste and dangers of unnecessary and unindicated procedures, legislators have no moral or ethical justification to force individuals or businesses to spend more. As long as we allow hospital administrators to put their dollar signs ahead of patient vital signs, healthcare quality will continue to deteriorate, and costs will continue to rise.

Tom Cole needs a different strategy than the one spotlighting 18 legislators for voting in lockstep with Nancy Pelosi. According to this article, the NRCC has purchased ad buys in 18 vulnerable House districts currently held by Democrats. Here’s more of the details:

The GOP’s cash-strapped campaign arm will launch a mix of radio ads and automated phone calls targeting 18 freshman Democrats for allegedly marching in lockstep with the speaker, a California Democrat who is regularly depicted by Republicans as an out-of-touch liberal.

It isn’t that I disagree that Ms. Pelosi isn’t worthy of ridicule. It’s that I don’t think that’s the most effective approach to take. It isn’t good enough to just be against, against, against. Frankly, I think the more effective way to highlight each legislators’ votes is by offering a positive alternative to each of the legislators’ questionable votes. Appeal to the voters with information and logic, then get out of the way. It isn’t that difficult. (continue reading post »)

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It’s impossible for me to keep a straight face when I’m reminded of Nancy Pelosi’s claim that this would be “the most ethical congress in history.” The latest reminder of that statement’s farcical nature came in an essentially straight party line vote against reprimanding John Murtha:

House Democrats rejected a Republican bid Tuesday to reprimand Rep. John Murtha, a senior lawmaker accused of threatening legislative reprisals against a GOP member who had crossed him.

Before and after the largely party-line vote, which caused some Democrats discomfort, Republicans taunted Democratic leaders about their campaign promises to run a more ethical and open Congress.

The House voted 219-189 to kill the Republicans’ motion to reprimand Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat, Iraq war foe and close ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

This reeks of cronyism in the worst way. This is proof that Ms. Pelosi is perfectly willing to turn a blind eye towards her cronies. This vote should eliminate any doubt that Democrats weren’t serious about reigning in institutional corruption from the House. (continue reading post »)

This would appear to be the case after hearing that 22 Senators Voted to approve SB 37, an interstate compact that would allocate all of California’s electoral votes to the winner of the national popular Vote. Voting was strictly along party lines, with Democrats supporting the legislation.

I have written about this several times before, expressing my concerns over this type of legislation. First and foremost is the fact that this is expressly unconstitutional. Article I, section 10 of the constitution states that no State shall enter into a compact with any other State without Congressional consent. I know of no such congressional consent, to date.

Yet, constitutionality aside, this is a bad direction for the country, and represents the willingness of California’s Democrats to sacrifice State powers in favor of federalization. The Electoral College provides a crucial balance between the popular vote and the interests of each State. The electors reflect the popular vote, but also provides a means to take the interests of individual States into account–much the same way the Congress combines popular will (the House) and State will (the Senate). (continue reading post »)

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Yesterday the SF Chronicle reported on the California Highway Patrol’s investigation into a recent traffic accident involving Senator Carol Migden (D-San Francisco). The Senator was involved in a rear-end collision on Friday, when she allegedly reached for her ringing cell-phone and did not see the car slowing ahead of her. However, there appears to be more to the story. Though the accident took place in Fairfield, several motorists over 30 miles phoned in to report her erratic driving, including running one man off the road, and hitting a median on Interstate 80.

More than half a dozen motorists made emergency calls about Migden’s erratic driving before the Friday accident, the CHP said. The rear-end collision in Fairfield, midway between San Francisco and Sacramento, injured a woman and her 3-year-old daughter, who were sent to the emergency room.
…
In her statement to police, Migden said “she did feel she brushed up against something,” Williford said, although there is no mention of that in the public statement released Friday by the senator’s office

Why did Sen. Migden choose not to include this information in the statement to the public? If she did run into something, not only does she have a responsibility to inform the public of it, why didn’t she act like a responsible citizen and stop to see what she hit?

In a statement released by her office last week, the San Francisco Democrat said the accident happened after she took her eyes off the road while reaching for a ringing cell phone.
…
Last year, Migden voted for a law that takes effect in July 2008 requiring drivers to use a headset or other hands-free device when talking on a cell phone while driving.

This is a disgrace. This is just another case of a politician saying one thing, and doing the complete opposite. What is worse is that the San Francisco Democrat is going to have taxpayers pay the bill for her dangerous and destructive driving.

Because Migden said she was on state business at the time, insurance paid for by California’s taxpayers will cover damages and any other costs, said Senate spokeswoman Alicia Trost. Had Migden been on her own time, her personal insurance would apply, Trost said.

If you think this is an abuse of taxpayer dollars, I urge you to contact her, as I have done.

Capitol Office
State Capitol, Room 5114
Sacramento, CA 95814
Marin/San Rafael District Office
Marin Civic Center
3501 Civic Center Drive, Room 425
San Rafael, CA 94903
San Francisco District Office
455 Golden Gate Ave
Suite 14800
San Francisco, CA 94102
(continue reading post »)

Totally unnoticed. Maybe it was the immigration bill, the War in Iraq, Anna Nicole Smith, who knows why the media never mentioned that Senate Democrats passed a bill with the largest tax increase in history. They will now be able to spend $200 billion more. That means families and businesses will have $200 billion less. That means Americans have $200 billion less in freedom. Every dollar of taxation is a dollar less of freedom.

Now the bill goes to the House. Will McNerney, who ran against Pombo as a “conservative” on taxes, vote against it and protect the folks in his District? If he votes for the tax increase, he can never explain away the vote. Note that they “only raise taxes on the rich and on dividends.” Of course, the rich invest to create jobs. This means $200 billion worth less of jobs. This means retirees will get $200 billion less in pensions. This means economic dislocations. You can’t tax the rich, without making everyone else poor. But the Democrats love the poor–that is why their policies are meant to hurt so many.

What do you think, would you vote to tax the rich? Write your thoughts directly on the web site for all to see and discuss. Please pass this article to your friends and families, let them know what the media won’t tell them–a Democrat tax increase is coming. Click here to read the complete Robert Novak article.

—

Steve Frank is the publisher of California Political News and Views and a Senior Contributor to CaliforniaConservative.org. He is also a consultant currently working on gambling issues and advising other consultants on policy and coalition building.

Read more of his work here or at his blog.

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In Honor of Capt. Brian Freeman, U.S. Army

Do you live in Riverside County, California? Then you may be aware of the radio station Q103.3 Classic Rock. Each year they hold a Charity Golf Tournament. This year Q103.3 is pleased donate the proceeds from our 5th annual Golf Tournament to the surviving wife and children of a Temecula soldier who was killed in action while serving his country in Iraq. Capt. Brian S. Freeman, a resident of Temecula, Calif. He first entered the Army Aug. 21, 1995, at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

Upon graduation in spring of 1999, he joined the active-duty Army for a five-year tour. He completed his tour in spring of 2004 and transferred to the Inactive Ready Reserve. Freeman’s military awardsincluded two Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” device, Army Service Ribbon, Iraq Campaign Ribbon, Combat Action Badge, Air Assault Badge, Parachutist Badge and the Marksmanship Qualification Badge. He was a former member of the Army World Class Athlete Program who competed in bobsled and skeleton with the U.S. national team in 2003.

He won a bronze medal as a four-man sled brakeman at a 2002 America’s Cup race. On a personal note, he was a kind, loving husband and a wonderful father. He worked for KB Homes out of the Temecula office. In September 2005, he began mobilizing in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was assigned to the 412th CA Battalion during the spring of 2006 and deployed to Iraq shortly thereafter. In the spring of 2006, he was deployed to Iraq to act as a liaison between the military and local Iraqis to help rebuild civic institutions in the Shiite holy city of Karbala. He quickly established strong relationships with the governor and citizens of the area. Not only did he help obtain more equipment and training for the Iraqi security forces and additional funding for renovation projects, but he developed personal bonds with those he worked with. When his interpreter died in the line of duty, Freeman helped secure death benefits for the family, and condolence payments that had been previously turned down. He also made arrangements for a Karbala police officer’s son to travel to the United States for heart surgery. Capt. Freeman, was captured and killed in Iraq, Jan. 20th 2007.

He left behind a wife, Charlotte, and two children Gunnar, age 3, and Ingrid age 1.

Q103.3 will donate the proceeds from this year’s golf tournament to Charlotte Freeman, through the non-profit organization “All from the heart.”

This is one of those rare events in life where you can come out; have a great time golfing with on-air personality Jeff Gonzer, advertise for your business, and help one of Temecula’s own families through their time of crisis.

Call KTMQ at 951-296-9050 for information regarding sponsorships. (Website)

Player entry fee $103.00 per person, which includes lunch, golf (4 man-scramble), and dinner

Date: June 15th, 2007
Registration and Lunch: 12 noon
Putting Contest: 1:00PM | Shotgun Start: 2 PM

—

Cross-posted at Rightfielder

Author’s note: Capt. Freeman did have concerns about the Iraq War. He met with John Kerry and discussed troop levels, funding, etc. Though he had reservations, he reported for duty, served faithfully, and died a hero’s death for his country. He was in the process of enlisting with the United States Coast Guard. I have met his widow personally and she is very grateful for support during this time of hardship. This is where we conservatives can put teeth into President Bush’s slogan “Compassionate Conservatism.”

CaliforniaConservative.org is proud to support this event.

Please Digg this story with the button below and tell others about this special event

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