Health Care Bill and Its Ramifications; The Overpowering EPA and A Lead Bullet Ban; Cash For Clunkers Cost Us Taxpayers $24,000 Per Car Sale

As we consider our choices in this November's election, we should revisit the passage of this Congress's premier legislation: the health care bill. Thirty five years ago, someone I know drew this artwork, which turns out to be a good diagram of the rules, laws, and provisions of Obamacare. Following is part of an Editorial in the Washington Times this March] 
President Obama declared that the new health care law "is going to be affecting every American family." Except his own, of course.
The new health care law exempts the president from having to participate in it. Leadership and committee staffers in the House and Senate who wrote the bill are exempted as well. The law is intended to affect "ordinary Americans," according to Vice President Joe Biden (who - being a heartbeat away from the presidency - also is not covered), not Washington insiders.


Last year, Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, spearheaded efforts to have all Americans included in the plan, but he ran into heavy opposition from unions representing federal workers - the same unions that were pro-Obamacare stalwarts. In September, the Senate approved a scaled-down amendment that covered members of Congress and their staff. When this provision later emerged from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office, the leadership and committee staff loophole had appeared. A move in December by Mr. Grassley and Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican, to close this loophole and to extend the law to senior members of the executive branch - including the president, vice president and Cabinet members - was blocked by Senate Democratic leaders. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/23/obamacare-for-everyone-but-obama/
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The costs of ObamaCare,  that many of us warned about, are already being felt in several states that voted for Barack Obama and the best part is the first victims out of the shoot are the unionized public employees.
In Iowa state employees using Blue Cross/Blue Shield are paying up to 11.2 percent more in premiums for the same or less health care thanks to the provisions of ObamaCare. The State of Iowa will pay an additional $17 million to cover its employee’s medical insurance as well.
In Washington State, another Obama stronghold, unionized State employees will have to ante up increased healthcare insurance premiums.  Starting January 1st some will be paying 50 percent more for what they had before ObamaCare. http://www.exposeobama.com/2010/08/26/obamacare-already-jacking-up-rates/?utm_source=Expose+Obama&utm_campaign=9a01010d13-EO_08_26_20108_26_2010&utm_medium=email
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The Atlanta Journal Constitution: This is a very different picture [from the Congressional Budget 0ffice, now that it is too late.] Imagine two scenarios of a lawmaker who was on the fence last March [on the health care bill]. He or she is a Blue Dog Democrat, or a Democrat from a fiscally conservative red district, and is deeply concerned that the legislation may be fiscally responsible. He is presented with two different statements from CBO:
1. “CBO says these bills will reduce the budget deficit by $124 billion over the next decade.”
2. “CBO says these bills will increase federal entitlement spending by $401 billion over the next decade, and will increase taxes by $525 billion over that same time period, for a net deficit reduction of $124 billion.”
These are very different statements. Both are true. CBO said only the first when Members were looking to understand the fiscal impacts of this legislation. This failure by CBO is important both because they failed to fully inform legislators and because that lack of information may have affected how some Members voted. [I'm compelled to add that the CBO MUST work with the scenario they are given, for the Dems structured their question to the CBO with this intended outcome in mind, as many pointed out at the time].   http://blogs.ajc.com/kyle-wingfield/2010/08/25/obamacare-bending-the-cost-curve-upward/?cxntfid=blogs_kyle_wingfield
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From NSSF: [Cass Sunstein promotes EPA ban on ALL lead bullets.  Since the only other kind of bullets are "armor-piercing", which is also frowned upon, this could just outdo bullets, and therefore, guns.....   Or, the ammo you will be able to get will be wildly expensive.....  Change you can believe in to "fundamentally transform America?  And, of course, without the input, debate and votes of Congress, as the EPA was given, by our Supreme Court unassailable power. A citizenry without guns is ripe for the overtaking.]
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF):  All Gun Owners, Hunters and Shooters:
With the fall hunting season fast approaching, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
under Lisa Jackson, who was responsible for banning bear hunting in New Jersey, is now
considering a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) - a leading anti-hunting
organization - to ban all traditional ammunition under the Toxic Substance Control Act of
1976, a law in which Congress expressly exempted ammunition. If the EPA approves the
petition, the result will be a total ban on all ammunition containing lead-core components,
including hunting and target-shooting rounds. The EPA must decide to accept or reject this
petition by November 1, 2010, the day before the midterm elections.
Today, the EPA has opened to public comment the CBD petition. The comment
period ends on October 31, 2010.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) -- the trade association for the firearms,
ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry -- urges you to submit comment to the EPA
opposing any ban on traditional ammunition. Remember, your right to choose the ammunition you
hunt and shoot with is at stake.
The EPA has published the petition and relevant supplemental information as Docket ID:
EPA-HQ-OPPT-2010-0681.

By Susan Jones: (no, not the one I know....)
Environmental activists are pressing the Obama administration to ban the manufacture, processing and distribution lead shot, bullets, and fishing sinkers under the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, but hunting and Second Amendment groups say the EPA lacks the authority to do so, for starters. 
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Free Republic divulges: The Democrats' "Cash for Clunkers" program had one major impact on the market: it raised prices almost $2,000 per car in a way that disproportionately hurts the poor. And Obama's Green Left advisers could not be happier.
The automobile industry authority Edmunds.com has found used car prices are up 10.3 percent over last summer. The average used vehicle costs $1,800 more than it did one year ago. The price hike is even greater for larger vehicles. Warner Todd Huston of Gateway Pundit has the details. (Also h/t to Mass SNAFU.)

The program (which most Americans opposed) cost $3 billion. In the end, taxpayers shelled out $24,000 per car sale generated. A study conducted at the University of California-Davis found even the environmental benefit cost us “at least 10 times the ‘sticker price‘ to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.” http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2578201/posts?page=1
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From PoliticsUSNews: [Earth to Nancy Pelosi: "Words" which could incite are being spoken by those on the LEFT! Are you teary-eyed yet?]  One of Washington's principal supporters of the Tea Party movement, former GOP Majority Leader Dick Armey's FreedomWorks, has been receiving death threats and profanity-laced phone calls as it gets involved in the fall elections. The number and intensity have reached such heights that the organization is leaving its downtown location near the FBI and moving to a high-security building near the U.S. Capitol.
"FreedomWorks and Dick Armey receive dozens of threatening and harassing calls and E-mails each day. Many imply violence and use of weapons," spokesman Adam Brandon tells Whispers. "As we get closer to the election we expect the harassment to increase."
He says that FreedomWorks will hire additional security, meaning less money for its election-eve, get-out-the-vote, or GOTV, campaign. "Unfortunately, we may have to use resources for security guards that we would rather use for GOTV," he said. http://politics.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/08/25/tea-party-group-hit-with-death-threats
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