The President's Speech

Well at least we don't have to claim this guy as our representative......

[FONT=&quot]'You lie': McCain calls on Wilson to apologize - TheHill.com[/FONT]

Oh.... nevermind.... he is my representative. At least he didn't throw a shoe. :shock:

Great speaker, Terrible President.

I thought the speech was pretty good. It made me happy to see the President looking forward, and not simply having to deal with the extraordinary mess he was dumped.

I think the public option is best suited for a trigger plan -- and I think that was where he was headed when he stated "in 34 states, 75% of the insurance market is controlled by five or fewer companies. In Alabama, almost 90% is controlled by just one company." These are the states where competition has given way to oligopoly and monopoly, and I've seen firsthand how that drives prices up and leaves people with dismal coverage. A trigger plan and a clearinghouse would save this country billions, and go a long way toward the kind of reform we need.

Beach SiO2 -- is that guy really your representative? I cannot believe the disrespect for the office, and for the setting, he showed. Every patriotic American should be ashamed of his conduct.

Beach SiO2 -- is that guy really your representative? I cannot believe the disrespect for the office, and for the setting, he showed. Every patriotic American should be ashamed of his conduct.

Unfortunately, he was elected to represent where I live. He is not representative of me or many people I know on both sides of the aisle. We are a strong military community who are very respectful of the office, irregardless of who is in there. I am curious as to how this will play out at home since we are not upstate SC where DeMint is strong as anti-President.

On another note, I am glad he didn't take his shoe off.

EDIT>>>>>

Now he has apologized :roll:

From Jake McIntyre --

Up until today, Joe Wilson was just another anonymous Southern Republican troglodyte Congressman, unknown to all but the poor people of South Carolina and the most serious horse race junkies.

Today, he's the hyena who disgraced himself, his party, and the House chamber by screaming "you lie!" like an 8 year-old during the President's eloquent speech on the most critical challenge facing our nation.

There's something we can do to let Joe Wilson know what we think of his childish approach to a serious problem -- we can help out Rob Miller. Rob is an Iraq War vet -- a Marine who came back to South Carolina to try and restore dignity to South Carolina's Second CD, where Joe Wilson was selling out the district by voting for unfair trade deals and corporate giveaways. Despite being a relative unknown, being outspent by a substantial margin, and a general Republican lean to the district, Rob came within just 8 points of knocking Wilson off in 2008. And we're lucky to have him running again.

Rob's a fair trade Democrat who supports the Employee Free Choice Act. He's a breath of fresh air for a state that desperately needs new leadership. And we can help him tonight, as the nation sees what an immature loser his opponent is. Let's chip in to help Rob -- with early financial support, and with the notoriety Wilson has brought on himself, we've got a chance to help send Joe Wilson packing -- and to bring maturity and decency to South Carolina politics.

Offices in Beaufort and W. Columbia. You must be proud.

From Jake McIntyre --



Offices in Beaufort and W. Columbia. You must be proud.

He is our people and we ALL love him [sarcasm off]

NPR
Rep. Joe Wilson Sorry For Calling Obama Liar During Congress Joint Session
10:54 pm
September 9, 2009
By Frank James

Rep. Joe Wilson, the South Carolina Republican responsible for the "shout heard 'round the world" at President Barack Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress Wednesday evening, has apologized for what many are calling his boorish behavior.

Politico.com has his statement:

"This evening I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the President's remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill. While I disagree with the President's statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the President for this lack of civility."
That was fast. While Wilson has gotten kudos on some conservative blogs for shouting at the president "You lie" when Obama said that illegal immigrants wouldn't be covered under his health-care overhaul proposal, he was also criticized and by Republicans too.

Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican who was his party's presidential nominee last year, called Wilson's actions "totally disrespectful" on CNN's Larry King Show and advised him to apologize.

But liberals are already using the congressman's dubious behavior for fund-raising purposes. And it's the kind of moment supporters of the president's health-care proposal could use in TV and web ads to diminish their opponents as hysterical crazies.

I thought the speech was pretty good. It made me happy to see the President looking forward, and not simply having to deal with the extraordinary mess he was dumped.

I think the public option is best suited for a trigger plan -- and I think that was where he was headed when he stated "in 34 states, 75% of the insurance market is controlled by five or fewer companies. In Alabama, almost 90% is controlled by just one company." These are the states where competition has given way to oligopoly and monopoly, and I've seen firsthand how that drives prices up and leaves people with dismal coverage. A trigger plan and a clearinghouse would save this country billions, and go a long way toward the kind of reform we need.

Beach SiO2 -- is that guy really your representative? I cannot believe the disrespect for the office, and for the setting, he showed. Every patriotic American should be ashamed of his conduct.

The exchange system is interesting. If it's national, then it would solve the problem of areas that have bad coverage. I haven't read whether or not that's the case though.

He is our people and we ALL love him [sarcasm off]

....

Let me continue to dumb things down here....

geez, the Reps are on a roll. :roll:

however, the look Pelosi was TRYING to get on her face after the outburst, was priceless! I found that if I watched with one eye closed and one finger in front of my face, I didn't have to look at her suck on her candy and blink the only remaining moving part on her face.

Overall, I liked the speech. I loved "tort reform, (Reps going clap clap clap).....BUT!" Mr. Obama can be inspiring! Was he sincere when he did he that reach across the aisle? I detected a bit of a smirk (which I personally love that he can't help but show). Who else loves the nanny nanny booishness of the standing O and clap at each super point made? I have always thought that should be banned behavior. :roll:

As usual, Mr. K was talking to the TV Prez asking...'who's gonna' pay for this" He does have a point. I am a bit fearful that Obama is promising the government will wipe out waste. I remain HOPEFUL that a compromise is still in the works in the background.

I guess people were a little cranky about Rep. Wilson's "outburst"; his web website (Joe Wilson - Offline) is down this morning (I was going to send an email asking him how he could embarrass his mama that way, good Lord, you KNOW he was raised better than that) but I guess a few million other Americans had the same idea.

I'm appalled. Many Republicans were also appalled, and it would be a great thing if this jackass's behavior could be what returns us to civility and removes the tin hat crowd from the spotlight.

I know this sounds simplistic, but why doesn't someone just produce the text from the plan that specifically excludes illegal aliens from using "the public option" or the "exchange"? Wilson's rudeness is one thing, but is he ill-informed as well?

Here it is, from Politifact.com:

"
We read all 1,000-plus pages of the health care bill and were struck by the fact that it is largely silent on health care for illegal immigrants. Keep in mind that experts estimated there were 6.8 million uninsured illegal immigrants in the United States in 2007, out of a total of 11.9 million illegal immigrants. Right now, most states have laws on the books that require hospitals to treat severely ill people who arrive at the hospital, regardless of immigration status, and we didn't see anything that would change those laws, either.
Most illegal immigrants are also now excluded from Medicaid, the government-run health care for the poor. We didn't see anything that would change that.
One place where the bill does mention immigration status is for "affordability credits." These are tax credits for people of modest means need to buy health insurance. The credits would help them buy insurance on a national health insurance exchange. The bill specifically says that people in the United States illegally are not eligible for tax credits, on page 132, section 242."

We just had an easy exchange of information pertaining to an important item in the bill and it took less than five minutes and no exchange of insults whatsoever. How come congress can't do that?

We just had an easy exchange of information pertaining to an important item in the bill and it took less than five minutes and no exchange of insults whatsoever. How come congress can't do that?

Because neither of us is wearing tin hats or posturing for the cameras?

So, how are we going to pay for this bill to be implemented again and remain deficit neutral?

The same way we pay for everything these days.........print more money.

The exchange system is interesting. If it's national, then it would solve the problem of areas that have bad coverage. I haven't read whether or not that's the case though.

If the current rules that prevent insurance companies from competing across state lines were changed there would likely be no need for the exchange at all.

We just had an easy exchange of information pertaining to an important item in the bill and it took less than five minutes and no exchange of insults whatsoever. How come congress can't do that?

There is more to it than you found in less than five minutes. For example from CNN (Health care bill has curious coverage for illegal immigrants - CNN.com):

While the report found that federal subsidies to obtain health coverage would be restricted to U.S. citizens and legal residents, it also noted that the bill does not specify a citizenship verification system, something that critics say creates a loophole for undocumented immigrants to receive subsidies anyway.
The report, released Tuesday, "undermines the claims of the president and others that illegal immigrants would not be covered under the House version of the bill," Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, told CNN.
The bill specifically bars illegal immigrants from receiving payments, but opponents of the reform say that without verification, the system is open to abuse.

Republicans tried to include an amendment for status verification. Democrats defeated all attempts. If it were really a simple point, it would already be agreed.

Just this morning I was wondering how the government would enforce fines on illegals who don't comply with mandatory coverage. They aren't really known for following government regulations.

That outburst was disrespectful. I suspect each President has dealt with disrespectful comments/outbursts. However, we do currently cover illegals here. I would like to see some 'stops' in place regarding this.

When I travel, I ensure my plan will cover me outside the country. 'Cause if something happens, in most countries, you're looking at cash only to receive medical treatment.

There is more to it than you found in less than five minutes. For example from CNN (Health care bill has curious coverage for illegal immigrants - CNN.com):



Republicans tried to include an amendment for status verification. Democrats defeated all attempts. If it were really a simple point, it would already be agreed.

Just this morning I was wondering how the government would enforce fines on illegals who don't comply with mandatory coverage. They aren't really known for following government regulations.

But how can someone get coverage without a Social Security number? Nothing official gets done in this country without one. An illegal immigrant could not provide a genuine SSN. That would seem to be verification enough.

You know it can't be good for the Pres. when the NYT says you are heavy on the fluff and light on the substance. And yes, calling him a liar was out of bounds, and it was less than classy when the Dems boo'd Bush in 2005. The one thing I will say about him being called out as a liar is I'd hate to be in his shoes if illegals end up on the govt plan.

But how can someone get coverage without a Social Security number? Nothing official gets done in this country without one. An illegal immigrant could not provide a genuine SSN. That would seem to be verification enough.

They provide non-genuine SSN's all the time for employment.

They provide non-genuine SSN's all the time for employment.

How does that work? I really don't understand. If the employer then sends the Social Security Administration a payment for the payroll tax on the employee's behalf, using the fake SSN and the employee's actual name, doesn't someone usually catch it?

It seems like it would be one thing to provide a fake number for off-the-record low wage work in a restaurant kitchen or in the fields. It seems like quite another to become part of a computerized, automated system.

How does that work? I really don't understand. If the employer then sends the Social Security Administration a payment for the payroll tax on the employee's behalf, using the fake SSN and the employee's actual name, doesn't someone usually catch it?

It seems like it would be one thing to provide a fake number for off-the-record low wage work in a restaurant kitchen or in the fields. It seems like quite another to become part of a computerized, automated system.

Eventually they would catch it. By then the illegal would be elsewhere with another false SSN.

I worked in an office once where a contract worker that had moved on somehow had given an incorrect SSN. The IRS notified the office about 6 months after the company filed 1099's. This was well over a year after the contractor left. No forwarding address.

With actual employees, I think you would be informed that the name didn't match the number but I don't know how long that would take.

If there were an database in which validity could be confirmed immediately, it would solve most of our illegal immigration problems. I don't think Congress is at all interested in doing that. Seems I always hear that it is a violation of civil rights somehow?

But how can someone get coverage without a Social Security number? Nothing official gets done in this country without one. An illegal immigrant could not provide a genuine SSN. That would seem to be verification enough.

I know. This is baffling. However, those illegal immigrants from MX can easily obtain a Mexican Consular ID. Somehow, it works with employment, banking, etc.