We are making our voices heard, and we are making a difference.  Check out the photos below ~ and also watch this YouTube video ~ or this     full length video of the Town Hall!

Based on Obama’s Town Halls, one would think this plan is exactly what the doctor ordered!  There is no substitution for knowing the facts and understanding the full implications of this bill. 

Questions we should be asking: 

Cost:  how do we really cover the 1.3 trillion 10-year cost of this bill – tax increases, medicare cuts, improving efficiencies? Is it really only 1.3 trillion – most government programs are grossly over budget and eventually bankrupt.  Obama’s own example of the post office tells us private enterprise is more efficient and cost effective than a government run program. 

Rationing:  do we have enough doctors and facilities for a huge influx of patients?  Will seniors really keep the same level of care?  Will services be rationed based on a cost/benefit analysis? Does the government make these decisions?

Private Healthcare:   will we really have a choice?  What happens in year 5? Can private insurance compete with cost undercutting by the government?  Will employers switch to a cheaper, government option?  Do our officials ultimately want a single payer system?  What are their past statements?

Philosophy:  What is the attitude about beginning of life and end of life care?  Are abortions covered as “healthcare” even though not specifically addressed in the bill?  Why won’t congress agree to an amendment that specifically eliminates abortion coverage? Will seniors be counseled on the appropriate time to “exit” this life?  Should we be forced to carry health insurance, and with mandated criteria?  Why should we pay for illegal aliens to be covered?  Is health care a right under our constitution? 

The answers to these questions leads me to say NO to Obamacare.  We need to scrap this bill and start over with some common sense reform to our current healthcare system, instead of creating a new government bureacracy. 

Read this review from The Heritage Foundation.  Top 10 reasons Obamacare is Wrong for America.

Read this debate from Keith Hennessey.  Debating the President’s Portsmouth Pitch.

Read this article from Rep. Tom Price, 6th Congressional District of Georgia.

Keep contacting your respresentatives and voicing your concerns.  The latest poll numbers show that grassroots America is having an effect on this bill.  Contact the “blue dog democrats” who may be on the fence, while they are home on recess.

Read an Overview:

Click here for an overview, by section and page number, of the major issues in the document.  As said on the Liberty Counsel website, when they originally saw a review of the document, it was so shocking they didn’t believe it was accurate.  What they found in their review was alarming and thus want to share with people.

Compare With the Actual Healthcare Bill:

Click here to read the actual text in the bill – HR3200, directly from the government website.  Compare the points in the overview to the actual language in the bill and see for yourself!

A “public option” the gateway to total government takeover of healthcare?  Government access to our bank accounts?  End of life consultations and orders?  Expanded tax payer funded abortion?  Rationing of Medicare to Seniors?  Rationing determined by the government?  Enormous expense during a recession?  Funded by who?

Plain and simple – the government needs to stay out of our healthcare and our bank accounts. The government cannot effectively run Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security, which are all bankrupt.  They couldn’t run Cash for Clunkers for more than a week, without more money!  Read the Constitution ~ there is no right to healthcare.

Let your representatives know where you stand!  While they are home for August recess, attend Town Hall meetings, send emails or faxes.  The Administration is now calling us “an angry mob” or “Astroturf” ~ fake protesters organized by Republicans, just because we dare question and oppose this bill?  And now, “report fishy emails” to the White House??  The best way to counter these attacks is to arm ourselves with the facts and ask pointed questions. 

This is possibly the most destructive piece of legislation I have seen in my lifetime.

WAKE UP AMERICA!

Judge Sotomayor remained vague, wouldn’t commit to her position on a number of issues, and said whatever was necessary to get confirmed.  In other words, she lied, plain and simple. 

 1) Explaining her “Latina woman” remark – we misunderstood her?  She made this comment on several occasions over the years – not much to misunderstand about plain English.  The appeals courts are where policy is made?  That’s exactly what we’re afraid of!  It seems pretty obvious to me she fully intends to make policy once she is appointed.

 2)  She sat on the Board of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund for 12 years and never read any of the briefs they filed?  She had no idea what their agenda was as it relates to abortion?  Some of the most radical, pro-abortion ideas including tax payer funding for abortion as a “right” under the Constitution were things she was unaware of?  She has never really thought about and developed an opinion on the rights of the unborn?  How stupid does she think we are?

 3)  She couldn’t recall any gun rights cases ruled on by the Supreme Court that would establish individual gun ownership as a 2^nd Amendment right under the Constitution?  The landmark case of District of Columbia vs. Heller was just decided a year ago establishing an individual’s right to bear arms for self defense, and she doesn’t know about it? 

 This is an outrage and she should not be confirmed.  There is no reason Republicans should be “giving” her the appointment as a trade off for Souter as if it’s somehow “owed” to Obama to cooperate.  This is certainly not the tactic we have seen when a conservative judge has gone through the confirmation process, where all manner of slander, lies and ruthlessness have been unleashed.  This is an appointment for LIFE, and if she is confirmed, I believe it will be yet another betrayal of the American people for the sake of political maneuvering.

 CALL OR EMAIL YOUR SENATORS!  Click here.

There is not space here to debate all the issues related to healthcare.  I think we all agree that reform is needed.  But, the last thing we need is a government managed health care option.  Medicare was supposed to just be an option, which quickly became the only option.  Think about the fraud, waste and inefficiencies in that program.  The administration is adamant about getting their fingers in the health care system, and when they do they will end up controlling it.  The quality and freedom to chose our own health care destiny will be gone.  If you don’t believe me, check out some of the websites below.  Read about some of the issues in countries that have government health care.  Find out the details contained in the current proposed plan.  Make your voice heard by signing the petitions.  Attend the rallies on the 17th!!

www.patientsunitednow.com  Click on the video tab and watch.

www.joinpatientsfirst.com  Sign the Petition.

www.facesofgovernmenthealthcare.com  Watch the videos, sign the Petition.

www.freeourhealthcarenow.com  Sign the Petition.

www.ncpa.org  National Center for Policy Analysis.

Some things we do know:

The majority of her rulings that went to the Supreme Court for review were overturned.  The most recent being her ruling in the New Haven, CT firefighters discrimination suit just last month.

She has stated on more than one occasion that  she would hope a wise Latina woman, with the richness of her experiene, would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male.  She has stated that gender and national origin may and will make a difference in her judging, that personal experiences affect the facts that judges choose to see.  She has said that the appellate courts are where policy is made. 

While none of her past rulings addressed abortion rights, she was a board member of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund which pushed to expand abortion rights under her leadership.  Pro-abortion groups are in support of her confirmation.

It doesn’t sound like she’ll be a strict interpreter of the Constitution to me.  She should be asked some very hard questions, and not confirmed if the committee doesn’t get the right answers and confidence in her ability and motivations.

For more information on the issues, questions she should be asked, or to ask your own questions, click here and here .  Or check out this video clip.

The Atlanta Tea Party has now merged with the Cobb Tea Party scheduled for Friday, July 3rd at the Jim Miller Park in Marietta.   For details click on the Atlanta Tea Party Link.

Additional Tea Party events are being scheduled for July 17th at 12:00 noon in front of all congressional and senatorial offices in Georgia to specifically protest the Obama Healthcare Plan.  Stay tuned.

If you wish to express your displeasure with Simon you can write them at :

Simon Property Group, Inc., 225 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN  46204 (317-636-1600), or you can email by using this Link:

https://www.simon.com/about_simon/contact_spg/default.aspx

Simon owns the following Malls in the Atlanta Area:

North Georgia Premium Outlets, Mall of Georgia, Discover Mills, Gwinett Place Mall, Northlake Mall, Lenox Square, Phipps Plaza and Town Center @ Cobb.

In this day of misinformed, “separation of church and state” zealots, I think it’s enlightening to take a look back at the intent of our founding fathers and what was said on the subject.  Freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. 

~ In 1787 the Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance, emphasizing the need to teach religion and morality in the schools. 

~ “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports . . . and let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion . . .”  George Washington

~ Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, “there is no country in the world where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America,” and “the Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other . . .” 

~ “I believe in one God, the Creator of the universe.  That he governs it by his providence. That he ought to be worshipped. . . That the soul of man is immortal and will be treated with justice in another life respecting its conduct in this.”  Benjamin Franklin

~ “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”  John Adams

And on our National monuments:

~ “Holiness to the Lord”  is engraved on a tribute block on the Washington Monument.

~ A sculpture of Moses with the Ten Commandments is on the Supreme Court building.

~ “The heavens declare the glory of God”  (Psalm 19:1) is engraved on the wall in the Library of Congress.

~ “I pray to heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that hereafter inhabit it.”  A prayer by President John Adams carved into the stone fireplace in the White House State Dining Room.

The connection between God, the Bible, morality and government are unmistakeable . . . and God blessed this new government,  making America the most prosperous nation in history.  Why would we want to experiment with anything other than a proven formula for success?

I highly recommend the book ” The 5000 Year Leap” for a better understanding  of our founding fathers’ thoughts on religion and government.

Newt Gingrich has produced a DVD and written a book on the subject, both titled “Rediscovering God in America.”  The DVD is an interesting tour of Washington and a review of the writings of our founding fathers and the inscriptions on our buildings in Washington (a few of which are listed above).  Both the book and DVD are available on amazon.com.

The government’s plans include a government managed healthcare option, which many fear will ultimately become the only option available.  An alternative plan has been proposed by Republicans called “The Patients’ Choice Act of 2009.”  This plan aims to reduce waste, address tort reform, and move to individual managed healthcare that is affordable through tax credits and portable regardless of your employment .   Please take the time to read through it here. 

Do we really want the government managing a massive healthcare system?  Has the government ever run any program effectively? Do we want the government to pass such a bill quickly, without proper debate?  Do we remember the Stimulus Bill, which no one read because we had to act immediately or the country would fall apart? Do we know what national healthcare is like in other countries?  Do we have a “cradle to grave” mentality, or do we love individual rights and liberty? Who will pay for government healthcare given to everyone, including illegal aliens? 

Take a look at our “quote of the month” from Thomas Jefferson in the upper left corner.

Please get involved and let your representatives in Washington hear from you on this crucial issue.

Stay tuned for more information as this debate evolves.