I am the mob

Someone put together a post called "Meet the Mob". I can see why President Obama is scared of these senior citizen mobsters. See how really really scary the mobsters are:




This may one of the scariest mobsters of all time



Okay when do the nightmares stop!

Initial Findings of Wisconsin Shares Audit Released

From Rep. Samantha Kerkman's Capitol Insight

This was certainly a busy week both in Madison and in the 66th Assembly District, which prompted me to draft a special edition of Capitol Insight to keep you better informed on what took place. First of all, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, on which I serve, held a public hearing this week to review the initial audit findings of the Wisconsin Shares program. The audit was launched early in the spring by the Legislative Audit Bureau, with additional support provided by the Department of Children and Families (DCF).

You may recall the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation back in January that ultimately revealed cases of fraud detected within Wisconsin Shares. The newspaper's investigative reporter uncovered child care "rings" in which participants who were related to each other provided care to each other's children while falsely claiming employment on their enrollment papers and other documents required by the program. Combined with other cases of fraud, these particular participants and providers cost Wisconsin taxpayers more than $13.7 million in subsidized child care overpayments during the past couple of years.

In response to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation, my colleagues and I on the Joint Legislative Audit Committee instructed the Legislative Audit Bureau to conduct a full-scope audit of the Wisconsin Shares program in two separate phases. The first phase, intended to identify cases of fraud and other loopholes within Wisconsin Shares, was completed in June and the results were presented to us by the bureau during this week's public hearing. Throughout the duration of the audit, it was discovered that in 2008 alone, between $16.7 and $18.5 million in improper subsidized child care payments were made to providers. The recipients of these payments included ineligible participants, participants with no recorded wages, and participants in possession of inadequate documentation of self-employment (such as "owning" their own daycare business). Additionally, the case reviews conducted as part of the audit's first phase determined the statewide error rate within Wisconsin Shares to be 11%, based on a random sample of 400 child care providers.

The first phase of the audit also included an in-depth analysis of the October 2008 attendance records for 50 child care providers within Wisconsin Shares. This review found 21 of the providers to be in receipt of excess payments for care they never provided while another 22 providers had submitted fabricated documents, yet were still paid by the state. The remaining five providers simply refused to submit any of their records for the audit. It is estimated that these 50 providers alone cost the taxpayers $4.0 million in improper subsidized child care payments in 2008.

The second phase of the audit is underway and should be completed by December 1, 2009. This phase will closely examine improvements currently being implemented to deter further incidents of fraud and abuse within the Wisconsin Shares program, and what further adjustments need to be made. The improvements were passed earlier this year as provisions of both 2009 Wisconsin Act 2 (the state's stimulus bill) and 2009 Wisconsin Act 28 (the state's 2009-2011 biennial budget). The adjustments we on the audit committee are looking at right now include improving provider and participant compliance with the program's requirements and improving the overall process of employment and wage verification in determining the eligibility status of prospective enrollees.

Following the enactment of 2009 Wisconsin Act 2, the Department of Children and Families created a Program Integrity Unit comprised of five staff members to monitor and detect cases of fraud within Wisconsin Shares. This unit provided integral assistance during the first phase of the audit. Upon the enactment of 2009 Wisconsin Act 28, the reimbursement rates for child care providers within Wisconsin Shares were frozen, DCF began developing a Quality Ratings System for participating child care centers, and new restrictions were placed on providers and participants of the program.

Moving forward, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee will hold another hearing on Wisconsin Shares upon the completion of the second phase of the Legislative Audit Bureau's audit of the program. At that time, I am hopeful my colleagues and I can work together in developing a reform plan that will hold Wisconsin Shares participants and providers accountable for their record-keeping and quality of child care. We need to make sure that everyone involved with Wisconsin Shares is providing accurate and truthful information when enrolling into the program and when filling out additional paperwork for taxes and other purposes. We also need to have well-trained staff monitor the program and follow a standard protocol of reporting any hint of fraud when they see it. Then, there needs to be a tough penalty issued to the individuals who are caught trying to scam the system. At a time when Wisconsin taxpayers are struggling to make ends meet in this economy, we cannot tolerate any further abuse of their hard-earned money like that which we have seen in recent years with Wisconsin Shares.

Angry Mobs

Press Conference with RPW Chairman Reince Priebus

I had the privelege of listening to a press conference given by Reince Priebus to the media is Wisconsin. Clearly some media folks have their own agendas, but that is for a different time.

What I found the most interesting is the question on everyone's mind and the question that most people will not ask is "Who are the people that supposedly have been denied health care?".

This is central to Obama's argument.

My questions:

We have heard that 50 million Americans do not have access to health care. However, nobody will name them. Are they unemployed? Are they welfare recipients? Are they illegal immigrants? Are they senior citizens?

What American has walked into a emergency room and been denied health care? For that matter, what American senior citizen has been denied Medicare coverage?

It is a simple question. Who and where are these folks that are refused medical care in this country? After all this is the reason we so desperately need health care reform, right?

Gwen Moore on Healthcare

You have got to love Gwen Moore's reasoning (or lack thereof) for paying for health care.

Basically she tells us that since we, as taxpayers, already pay for the health care costs of all public employees, we should just go ahead and pay all the health care costs of everyone else without insurance in America too.

No, I am not kidding. Gwen Moore actually believes this. Shouldn't regular Americans have the opportunity to pay for everybody who doesn't feel like paying for their own insurance????

See her article:

Consider for a moment all of the teachers, policemen, firemen, soldiers, veterans and municipal employees making a government paycheck. Think of all the people working in city halls, statehouses and federal buildings in Washington. These people are all government employees, and just as their salaries are paid with taxpayer funds, their health care premiums are also paid out of the public purse.

In this way, the public sector already provides good health care to workers and their families – as well as all our seniors and the disabled every year through Medicare. And this public sector insurance (like Medicare and military health care) and hundreds of state and local government agreements with private insurers accounted for 46 percent of America's total health spending in 2007.

If citizens are already footing half the bill for the good health care provided by the public sector to public employees and seniors, shouldn't they have this kind of opportunity as well if they choose? And if instead they want to keep private insurance, at the very least they should be given greater power to weigh in on their own coverage - on both the cost they pay and the quality of care that they receive.

Geez, Congresswoman Moore, I would prefer not to have to pay for every single illegal immigrant, welfare recipient, or low life who does not feel like working health care costs.

Thanks for offering me the opportunity to pay for everybody else's health care costs, but I really cannot afford it. It is really thoughtful of you to offer up my tax dollars to pay for anyone you seem fit to cover under this plan, but really NO THANKS.

Of course, Congressman Moore continues on making the same old arguments about rationed care. After all, care is already being rationed, so we might as well let the government ration us some more.

Quick question on this rationing stuff...Do you plan on covering children who are not perfect in your eyes and probably should have been aborted anyway??? For example, down syndrome children???? We already know how the liberals feel about special needs children. Just ask your leader, President Obama, about the Special Olympics children. Better yet, ask Sarah Palin. Hit piece after hit piece was written about Sarah Palin using her special needs child as a weapon.

How about our grandmas and grandpas???? How do you plan on rationing grandma and grandpa's health care???? Throwing millions upon millions of Americans on our grandparent's health care plan(Medicare) does not seem like a good idea to me. Our grandparents and parents have paid their fair share into this plan for their entire working lives, now you are going to place people on their plan who have not paid in their fair share????

Yep, quite a plan you and your president have there Congresswoman.

The video everyone is talking about

Yes, Obama is attempting to sneak a trojan horse down our throats. You have been hearing for days the panic from the White House and the Democrats. It is because of this video:

Letter after ObamaCare

This is what seniors (and special needs children) have to look forward to if ObamaCare passes.

Not So Sure - Health Care Reform - Part 2

Who would you rather have a beer with?

The gentleman concerned with helping those around him? Or the guy who thinks he's too important to care about anyone else?


He probably wouldn't give up his seat on the bus to an elderly person or a pregnant woman either. Wait, he wouldn't ride a bus, it's beneath him. Buses are only for "common folk."

H/T: NRO

Don't Mess With Paul Ryan

RedState has a posting about our congressman from Wisconsin's First Congressional District

Congressman Paul Ryan is the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee, and this clip of him schooling Katrina vanden Heuvel - one that’s been going around the blogosphere lately - is well worth watching. Ryan lays out the problems with the Democrat approach, and demonstrates vanden Heuvel’s misunderstanding of the issues superbly:



But the real surprise is not that Ryan did so well, it’s that vanden Heuvel didn’t come better prepared. Ryan has been consistently taking apart his liberal opponents for a while now.

Click here to read the entire post and to watch the montage of video clips of Rep. Ryan.

Pelosi and company tax schemes exposed on health care

Very few people have paid attention to Nancy Pelosi's payroll tax on small businesses with ObamaCare. Over and over again we have been promised by Obama that no one making less than $180,000 a year as a single or a couple making more than $250,000 a year would see a tax increase. However, ObamaCare does exactly this. Obama continues to say that he will not sign the bill if the tax increase is in the bill.

I say baloney. This is the same man that promised he would not sign any bills with pork added and he did...to the tune on 9000 earmarks.

This is the same party that chucked "PayGo" as soon as the people stopped paying attention.

WSJ

Even many Democrats are revolting against Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s 5.4% income surtax to finance ObamaCare, but another tax in her House bill isn’t getting enough attention. To wit, the up to 10-percentage point payroll tax increase on workers and businesses that don’t provide health insurance. This should put to rest the illusion that no one making more than $250,000 in income will pay higher taxes.

To understand why, consider how the Pelosi jobs tax works. Under the House bill, firms with employee payroll of above $250,000 without a company health plan would pay a tax starting at 2% of wages per employee. That rate would quickly rise to 8% on firms with total payroll of $400,000 or more. A tax credit would help very small businesses adjust to the new costs, but even a firm with a handful of workers is likely to be subject to this payroll levy. As we went to press, Blue Dogs were taking credit for pushing those payroll amounts up to $500,000 and $750,0000, but those are still small employers.

ObamaCare either raises taxes by astronomical amounts or our country's deficit increases by astronomical amounts.

That is the reality of ObamaCare. Period. End of Story. Any argument, whether from the President or any other liberal attempting to tell you otherwise is covering the truth.

Don't buy it!

No healthcare vote until October?

According to the President, there will be no vote until October.

"This bill, even in the best-case scenario, will not be signed -- we won't even vote on it probably until the end of September or the middle of October," he said in a session here to muster public support for the reforms.

For those of us fighting to protect our freedoms, this could not be better news. For President Obama and the Democrats ramming this down our throats, this could not be worse news.

The President fired off every single weapon he had in his arsenal to ram this through before anyone truly knew what was in it. The President even called out his big guns, the media and could not make it happen. It was only a week ago tonight that the smartest most popular President ever had his prime time address. Surely his minions would not fail him, right?

But...but...but... the stars were aligned! How could this happen?

His fellow Democrats control everything. There is no need for Republican support on anything.

Maybe now the President and his minions in the media will actually realize that you can only fool the people for a short period of time before the folks get wise to slimy campaign tricks.

Joe, the Ignoramus

I know the VP is not ignorant. He is a dufus, but he cannot be this stupid, can he?

I am thoroughly convinced the Obama Administration has set VP Biden to the be their fall guy, making him look ignorant.

Well, the Obama Administration is sending VP Joe back out there all alone again and it does not look good.

In an op-ed in today's New York Times, Joe Biden writes:

The care with which we are carrying out the provisions of the Recovery Act has led some people to ask whether we are moving too slowly. But the act was intended to provide steady support for our economy over an extended period — not a jolt that would last only a few months.

Surely the researchers at the Obama White House(after all, it is on the WH website) must know that it was only a few weeks ago that VP Joe Biden had this to say:

we also came forward with what we're going to talk about today, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, an initial big jolt to give the economy a real head start.

Jolt, not a jolt???? Which is it?

Of course, Obama himself had this to say:

we need a big stimulus package that will jolt the economy back into shape and that is focused on the 2.5 million jobs that I intend to create during the first part of my administration. We have to put people back to work.

How ridiculous! Why would the WH do this? Send Joe right back out into the middle of this to use the same word(jolt) as they have in the past. Surely these guys are smart enough to know that someone is going to look backwards and see that a "jolt" to the economy is exactly what was promised by this administration.

Hat Tip Hot Air
NRO
Swamp Politics

Stating the obvious on Health Care Reform

Interesting article today from Kimberly Strassel at the Wall Street Journal.

All the accusations made by President pointing the finger at Republicans for his failures associated with health care reform must be a complete joke. Even worse, the Democrats in Congress are tripping along behind the President making the accusations the President is.

As Strassel points out, the Democrats control everything. In fact, they not only control Congress, they have massive majorities

How in the world can the Republicans be accused of derailing the President's reform when all it takes is a vote in the Congress to pass anything the President wants.

If he wants health care reform, he and the democrats can just pass it. It is that simple.

Kimberly Strassel, Wall Street Journal

Here’s the dirty secret behind Washington’s health-care “fight”: Democrats won everything in last year’s election.

You wouldn’t know it from the way President Barack Obama is blaming the GOP for his flagging health agenda. “There are those [read the GOP] who are advocating delay just as a desperation move to try to kill it,” complained White House budget director Peter Orszag. Republicans are working to “block health-care reform,” groused the president. “Republicans should immediately put an end to their political games,” demanded Democratic Rep. Chris van Hollen.

Indeed. The party of the left owns the White House, a filibuster-proof Senate, and a 70-seat House majority. As one House Republican aide quipped: “We could have every GOP congressman and their parents vote against a Democratic bill, and still not stop it.” All Democrats have to do is agree on something.

That they can’t is testimony to Team Obama’s mismanagement of its first big legislative project. The president is a skilled politician and orator, but the real test of a new administration is whether it can shepherd a high-stakes bill through Congress. In retrospect, the mistakes are growing clear.

continued...

You want it liberals, go get it.

You wanted this government, Democrats. Your special interests, unions and Move On.org bought and paid for this government. Now it is yours. Not George Bush's or the Republicans. You own the entire flaming turd bag known as our state and federal government. Now grow up and act like big boys and girls and take responsibility.

Democrats, when that flaming turd bag explodes and splatters all over the American people, it is your fault. You own it all!

Have a nice day.

Barack Obama's (not my mother) - Parody

But...but...but....the stars have aligned

I cannot believe that the President of the United States decided that it was appropriate to make the reasoning behind his hard core drive to pass a massive take over of America's health care system by stating that the "stars had aligned".

The stars are aligned???? We have just got to pass this darn thing right NOW!!!! Why? Because the stars have aligned!

Can you imagine the reaction to President Bush if he had dared to say this???

Why did you invade Iraq at this time President Bush?

Because the stars had aligned and you know how long it takes to get things done in Washington...

Liberal media heads would have been spinning so fast they would have popped right off! Ping! Ping! Ping!

Anyway, even though the stars have aligned, health care will not pass before the August Recess, per Harry Reid.

Senate Democratic leaders on Thursday abandoned plans for a vote on health care before Congress' August recess, dealing a blow to President Barack Obama's ambitious timetable to revamp the nation's $2.4 trillion system of medical care.

That statement has got to stink less than 12 hours after Obama alerted us all to the stars aligning.

5 questions for Obama by Sen. DeMint

Below are the top five questions Sen. DeMint would like the president to address:

1. If the major provisions of the health care bills will not kick in until 2013, four years from now, why the rush to pass a thousand-page bill before the August recess, a bill you admit that you haven’t fully read yourself?

2. You have said your health care bill will cut costs and not increase the deficit. But, independent analysis by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office contradicts both claims, saying it will raise costs and increase the deficit by $240 billion in the first ten years. What independent analysis will you provide that supports your claims and refutes CBO’s?

3. You have repeatedly said that your health care bill allows any American who likes their current employer-based plan to keep it. But the most comprehensive independent analysis available, by the Lewin Group, contradicts your claim and found your bill will force over 80 million Americans to lose their current coverage. Will you provide independent analysis to refute this study?

4. Your own record in the Senate reveals you spent years voting against nearly every reform to make health care more affordable and accessible, but this week you said that opponents of your plan are “content to perpetuate the status quo, [and] are, in fact, fighting reform on behalf of powerful special interests.” Which specific elected officials will you cite that have proposed to keep the status quo, and is that how you characterize the opposition of the 52 Blue Dog Democrats in the House and the moderate Democrats in the Senate?

5. Yes or no question: Will you guarantee pro-life Americans that, under your plan, they will not be forced to subsidize elective abortions?

What are you willing to bet these questions won't be asked?

Not So Sure - Health Care Reform - Part 1

H/T Sykes

Democrats Have Rescued the Economy?

“Madam Speaker, American families and small businesses are hurting. The economy has been hurting, but this morning in previewing the President’s speech tonight, our former colleague, the President’s Chief of Staff, said this: ‘[W]e rescued the economy.’

“Now, I’m sure that the 9.5 percent unemployment rate that we have in our country today and from most economic experts on its way up don’t believe that we’ve rescued the economy. The 11.1 percent unemployment rate that we have in Ohio, I’m sure those people are looking up today wondering, wait a minute, the President is going to say we rescued the economy? I don’t think so.

“Not only has the stimulus not worked and the economy not been rescued, the President continues to promote policies that will create more unemployment in America. The national energy tax that went through this House last month will cause millions of Americans to lose their jobs over the next 10 years, at 2.5 million per year. And we’re debating the health care plan, the government takeover of health care, which according to the President’s council of economic advisor’s model will cost five million more Americans their jobs.

“I don’t believe that the economy has been rescued. I yield back.”

House health bill makes private medical insurance illegal

Page 16 of the House bill states:

"Except as provided in this paragraph, the individual health insurance issuer offering such coverage does not enroll any individual in such coverage if the first effective date of coverage is on or after the first day" of the year the legislation becomes law.

So people who currently own private individual coverage won't be able to change it. Anyone who loses their current plan (usually through their employer) will NOT be allowed to buy individual plans from private carriers.

How is this "If you like your current health-care plan, you can keep it"?

So after this bill is passed no one will be allowed to buy individual private insurance.

Children on their parents' individual plans will not be able to purchase their own plan when they move out. How is that "keeping your current health-care plan"? It's not. It's just another lie Obama and the democrats are spewing to get ObamaCare rammed down our throats.