if there was ever a situation wherein you could say, “it’s all gone to hell in a handbasket”, i think this is it.  the Philippine National Police are looking for 79 people.  and they’re getting up to that count the more they look.

i honestly don’t know what to think about the entire thing anymore.  in any other jurisdiction, both real and imagined;  a delegation composed of women, the elderly, journalists and lawyers is entitled to some form of protection from violence.  even the most hardcore of despots will give this due recognition.  Mayor Mangudadatu chose the composition of the delegation well, he wanted to challenge the Ampatuans in the political arena, and he did not want to resort to open confrontation.  so he sent a group of people to file his CoC which would almost universally be allowed to pass through unharmed.  (unless you were batshit crazy.)  but i guess they were because not even they were spared.  and the warband that predated the area turned their attention even to folks who just happened to be on the highway at that time.  Bystanders were rounded up and subject to the same brutality.  it was an orgy of senseless, rabid, violence.

it chills me to think of how savage man can be to his fellows.  when i read the descriptions of how they mutilated the dead.  i can only think of how much of that pain and indignity they had to endure before finally dying.  it terrifies me to think of the perpetrators… were they even human at this point?  it sure does not sound like it.

and what is this fucking government doing about it?! NOT ENOUGH.  why?  because the Ampatuans are the fucking gnome’s political allies.  they were the ones who guaranteed votes for her pet candidates over the past few elections.  she was the one who allowed these warlords to amass ridiculous amounts of military might.  WHY?  because at the word of the Ampatuan patriarch, the people in their towns would vote.  for whoever he said they would.  and vote they did.  i suppose not even the most inhuman piece of filth on the face of this earth is without its merits.  and for the Ampatuans this merit was the unswerving loyalty to the Gnome in the Palace.  something she does, and continues, until NOW, to treasure.

if my military geekery serves me correctly, at around 600-700 troops, the Ampatuans have a private army the size of a modern infantry battalion.  a battalion that is probably about as well equipped as any in the regular armed forces.  and is under the sway of one family.

this situation should not have been allowed to get to this point.  but i guess someone as starved for a political mandate as the person in the palace… really needed those votes.  now these votes are drenched in blood.

and if scuttlebutt, is to be believed, they have the temerity to proclaim that this incident may now affect whether or not the 2010 elections push through?  talk about political engineering!

again… i don’t seem to be making sense.  i guess it’s just like the way things are here.

while the violence may have happened thousands of kilometres away…

i can’t help but feel violated.

shit.

Okay, so…yeah.  It’s Thanksgiving weekend.  Are you counting your blessings?  Are you cooking like a mad fiend?  I have to tell you that I am thankful for a lot of things–the health of my family, my crazy/beautiful Family of Choice, the benevolence of the Universe and, right this second, the dudes at Abstract Earth Project.  They keep our lives fun, don’t they?  Take, for instance, tonight:

Should be super yum; grimy, dubsteppy, soul-filled fun.  Let’s all give Keith and Peter hugs when we see them tonight?  kthx.

• If Joker’s not yer bag o’ fun, be sure to stop by Rotture for Fall Brawl.  No cover!  4 DJ teams, playing consecutive 30-minute sets all night long.  Rude Dudes and Holla n’ Oates and Club Crooks are some of my own local faves.  And the FOMO is getting me that I don’t get to check out Dundiggy (vs. Matt Nelkin) before the Rusko show.  Crap!  If you check it out, will you fill me in on all the fun, dancy details later?

I will be in Salem for the holiday, eating and drinking and carousing with my family for a bit.  This means I may have some time to kick it with the old Salem crew for a couple days.  Hit me up on email partymom [at] kerichang [dot] com.  Phone doesn’t work so well down there on Hidden Valley…

And Friday!  Dance those calories off at FUBAR

Everyone’s favorite team of handsome deejays will arise from all tryptophan-induced naps to bring you bangers and fun.  Bring Nathan Detroit some turkey and stuffing–I bet he’d hug you.

Saturday:

Babylon System….awww, yeah.  These are some dudes that know from sex for your ears.  Gonna be HOT.  And Boy Meets Club and BehniBubu just make it that much more appealing.  Have you been to BC’s?  I’ve been there once and I do love this little basement bar.

Should you require options for your Saturday night, there’s also:

• Dr. Adam is playing Massive 13 at The Crown Room.  Big party, great cause, awesome musical guests.

• Looks like there’s something going down at 24ten–LipLocked.  Might be a hot one.  My dear friend, Bryan Zentz, is playing and, well, he is just a magician behind the decks.

Don’t forget about Sonic Jelly on at Mt. Tabor Theater Lounge on Monday
____________________________________________________________

• Solovox-a-Thon still going on.  If you want to help Portland’s favorite electronic madman partake in Black Friday so he can continue to make “phat beatz and dope jamz,” you can hand Mischief some cash at The Vortex on Thursday or PayPal it to me at kerichang7 [at] gmail [dot] com.  Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. Your generosity is absolutely heartwarming to me and positively stunning to Solovox himself.
• Huge, huge THANK YOU to Andy Sterling and k8 for helping me with my car this week and props to Beaverton Hyundai for taking care of my sweet Cruella deLuxuryCar!
• UPCOMING…DON’T MISS THIS!

• And just because:

Happy Family Tryptophan Day.  Drive safely this holiday.  I am thankful for you.

Navy SEALs Face Assault Charges for Capturing Most-Wanted Terrorist

Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.

The three, all members of the Navy’s elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called an admiral’s mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial.

Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named “Objective Amber,” told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.

Now, instead of being lauded for bringing to justice a high-value target, three of the SEAL commandos, all enlisted, face assault charges and have retained lawyers.

Matthew McCabe, a Special Operations Petty Officer Second Class (SO-2), is facing three charges: dereliction of performance of duty for willfully failing to safeguard a detainee, making a false official statement, and assault.

Petty Officer Jonathan Keefe, SO-2, is facing charges of dereliction of performance of duty and making a false official statement.

Petty Officer Julio Huertas, SO-1, faces those same charges and an additional charge of impediment of an investigation.

See also:
SEALs charged in alleged assault of detainee
Notorious terrorist captured – SEAL captors arrested!
They should have just shot him
Theater of the Absurd

Terrorist show trials in New York and now this, bad craziness, sheer madness, FUBAR.

/as Pogo so aptly put it, we have met the enemy . . . and he is us

With so many exams lined up altogether, and upto three in a day, this truly is a first hand experience of what hell must be like. Sleep deprivation, grey cells forcefully functioning to the multiple doses of caffeine and eyes deliberately stretched open. A week ends and the shitty schedule of the next is thrown upon us. And it keeps appearing more and more crapological. Yeah, thats what i like to call everything thats happening now. Its all a buttload of crap. Exams, thoughts, dreams? Ha!!! Fubar!

You Know, a Funny Thing Happened to Me…

I was thinking of my cousin’s band yesterday, He Who Dredz, who I know have a show coming up on the twenty-eighth of November, when I realized: I didn’t know at what time or where they were playing.

I thought they were playing at Pop’s. I was wrong.

Which, incidentally, is how I came to know of Fubar, in Midtown Alley, and of Firebird, in St. Louis, which I will, from now on, bring to you news of upcoming shows from both monthly.

Billed the “Best All-Ages Venue,” by the Riverfront Times, Fubar is located in in the historic district between Compton and Cardinal at 3108 Locust, St. Louis, MO 63103.

Firebird, on the other hand, bills itself as “St. Louis’ Best New Music Lounge. Firebird used to be known as Bluebird, before it closed for a few weeks in January for upgrades, and was reopened as Firebird. It is located close to Fubar, at 2706 Olive Street, St. Louis, MO 63103.

Both, while closer to Lindenwood than Pop’s, are also farther away than The Pageant, but unlike either Pop’s or The Pageant, cater exclusively (so far as the schedules say) to local and underground talent. You’re not going to see Megadeth or Skillet here, as you would at the other two.

Of course, this also means that prices are more manageable, for the Broke-Ass College Student (BACS) budget that’s usually got us up against the financial wall.

As well, it gets us away from the mainstream tractor beam that always seems to hold us in such awe. (I am, sadly, within firm grasp of it.)

Situation: FUBAR

The shows at the Fubar include:

• Tuesday, November 17, 2009: FREE Acoustic Show in Lounge, featuring Stian Skaaden, Mike Vinopal, Pat Baum, Morgan Nusbaum of The 75, Jon Dittmer, and Riley James

• Wednesday, November 18, 2009: Auternus, Latin, Lesser Key, SOMA, N.Nomurai, + guest

• Thursday, November 19, 2009: Jeff Gorski, Off Course, Katherine Knight, Action Noun Action, Hearts Like Lead, Gay Breakfast, Jesse Ives & Guests
• Friday, November 20, 2009: Slave to the MetalFest hosted by Mistress Juliya, featuring Buried Beneath, Deadlife, My Name is a Weapon, Colors From a Cannon, Call Me Goliath, Powerhead, The Ship of Fools, Compelled to Destroy, Hollowed Point Heroes, Bare Knuckle Conflict, Inimical Drive, D-Railed, and Walk of Ignorance

• Saturday, November 21, 2009: Slave to the MetalFest hosted by Mistress Juliya, featuring The Tards, Modern Counter Culture, Mans Laughter, Drag the Dead, Paradigm Grip, Seven Year Existence, Humanities Dusk, Hope Can’t Save the Dead, Ashes of Scorn, Gigglefit, and Headchange

• 7:00 p.m., Monday, November 23, 2009: Dead Swans, Mother of Mercy, Nothing On Nothing, Feeding Lies, and Head For the Mountains

• 10:00 p.m., Monday, November 23, 2009: SPEEDWOLF, Zuul, Die Wasted, and Terra Caput Mundi
• Tuesday, November 24, 2009: The White Tie Affair, Every Avenue, Stereo Skyline, Runner Runner, and The Chain Gangs of 1974

• Friday, November 27, 2009: November MetalFest featuring Shotgun/Bayonet, Invictus, Scavenger, Lyluth, and more.

• Saturday, November 28, 2009: Days of the New w/ special guests Three Fortys, Bullshed, Take a Number, and Off Course

• Monday, November 30, 2009: Broadcast the Nightmare, Corpus Christi, and Whisteria Cottage + Locals -  Divide the Past and Walk of Ignorance + 1 TBA
• Thursday, December 03, 2009: The Captain Midnight Band and The Pat Sajak Assassins, with guest

Burn, Baby, Burn

At the Firebird, the performances include:

• Wednesday, November 18, 2009: Caporetto w/Engine Orchestra, and Tilts
• Thursday, November 19, 2009: Daytrotter Presents- Ezra Furman & The Harpoons w/Rachel Goodrich and Peasant

• Friday, November 20, 2009: Anders Parker w/Jon Hardy & The Public and The Dive Poets
• Saturday, November 21, 2009: Headlights w/Pomegranates and Fractured Army

• Wednesday, November 25, 2009: Local H w/Kinch and One Lone Car
• Thursday, November 26, 2009: Grand Buffet w/Celery, Humanoids

• Friday, November 27, 2009: Lengrand w/Pirate Signal, Sleep In Sundays and Falsetto Boy
• Saturday, November 28, 2009: EARLY SHOW – Raising Kane, He Who Dredz, Icon For Hire, Pinkleef, and The Drama Score

• Saturday, November 28, 2009: LATE SHOW – Season To Risk w/Gold Tooth, and The Unmutuals
• Sunday, November 29, 2009: We All Have Hooks For Hands w/Target Market and Tarlton

• Tuesday, December 01, 2009: Holly Golightly and The Brokeoffs, Kentucky Knife Fight, TBA
• Wednesday, December 02, 2009: Big D & The Kids Table w/Sonic Boom, BAMF!, and Disturbing Lou

• Thursday, December 03, 2009: The Gorge, TBA

Remember to check both Fubar’s and the Firebird’s websites for updates to shows with TBAs or for shows that were unbooked, and thus could not be reported on.

Check back in after December 11 for more shows to see at Fubar and the Firebird for your holiday break. ‘Cause there’s nothing like sampling the local music cuisine!

Late breaking news: Halloween wins in a landslide. Reports have claimed that Wendy the Witch, Hot Stuff the Little Devil, and Casper the Friendly Ghost were all seen dancing in the streets throwing candy in the air yelling,”In yo face, b!tches! We’re Rick James!”

It wasn’t even close, ladies and gentlemen. Xbox 360 gamers abandoned Epic’s sad attempt at moving up on the XBL most played charts. Epic has released yet another patch (the 5th) coupled with a Double XP weekend filled with Boomers (no, not the L4D kind). Epic made another huge blunder by choosing to go against one of America’s favorite holidays. Unbeknownst to Cliffy and crew, gamers had already abandoned Gears 2 in droves a few months after the game’s initial release. We can only guess that they were confused about Gears 2’s success because they were seen speeding around town in their newly purchased Lambos. Gamestop could not even sell enough of their used copy inventory. In fact, many retailers across North America are having difficulty unloading their stock of the “Game of the year” edition of Gears 2 leading one anonymous Best Buy employee to shout,”Screw this, I’m leaving!” Apparently, many would be consumers may have mistaken the GOTY edition to read as GTFO. Regardless, they were correct in assuming that.

Despite the myriad of FUBAR moves, Epic remains undaunted. Some have claimed that Epic still has their horse blinders on. Mark Rein has gone on record by saying that they’ll be removing them soon. Be warned and look out for the next Double XP weekend because Marcus & Delta Squad will step into the ring against Santa. Who knows, there still remains so many treasured American holidays such as Groundhog Day and St. Patrick’s Day. After all, Santa, Punxsutawney Phil, and our good friend, Lucky the Leprechaun (yes, the one from Lucky Charms cereal) are worthy enough foes that Delta Squad should be able to defeat handedly.

Or so the song goes. Change is not always bad, nor is it always good. So much though that has come about in recent times leaves one to wonder.

From Rules of Engagement that strap our troops ability to fight and win in real war. To undermining the core values of the military. To Chairborne Rangers with stars on their collars, that are political beasts and perfumed princes the leadership is, for the most part, FUBAR…

From an administration that spreads obamanure across the land, supported by those that detest America, private property, and private enterprise. With RINO coconspitators that defile the Constitution and the Bill of Rights seemingly at every opportunity.

To a Supreme Court that ignores the Constitution, and principle of law that they all swore to protect and defend.

We, as a nation, are in fact, Balkanized. We are split into factions more so than ever before. More than at the beginning, when only a small percentage of people were pro-revolution, and in favor of splitting from England. More than at the beginning of the War of Northern Aggression. More, by a long shot, than during the nineteen sixties and seventies when a revolution seemed to be imminent to many of us.

Anthony writes for the Examiner an insightful essay series. Check it out, and think about what was written.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

What are we to think and do when confronted by all that is being force fed to us? Further, if it is all so good and righteous then why is it being force upon us? Here, I think that I will paraphrase something that I paraphrased many years ago.

Second Amendment solutions for bureaucratic belligerence and official oppression? Freedom, is found on the edge of a sword, and the muzzle of a gun. Especially when the ballot box only serves to thwart that freedom.

Arduanne over at NoStockUI was looking for a Kungfu replacement, and my suggestions were eaten by the spam filter, so I’m posting them here to make sure they make it through.

Option 1: Ara Broker Tradeskills

I’ve used it and its great for tradeskills (especially if you have a c/d type tradeskill — like transmutes or cloth).

Option 2: BasicBrokerSkills

I haven’t personally used this one, but it looks like it has the same type of skills tracking that Kungfu offered.

Hope this helps!

What day is it? What’s today’s date? Is it payweek or not?

Days are flying by so fast I can’t keep up anymore. And what’s with Christmas decorations up for sale already? We still have Halloween AND Thanksgiving to celebrate!

Fubar, I’m telling you…

Till then…

So…this one time, I went to the Decibel Festival.  Thank you to Eric Pipedream, FUBAR, Latenight Renegades, Jeff and Cynthia!  We did a good job, I thinks.

(I forgot my camera in Eugene a few weeks ago so most of these pictures were taken by Eric.  Thank you, bebe!)

Latenight Renegades/FUBAR showcase at Sole Repair on Friday night.  Photo by Eric Leisy.
We raved.  It was neat.

These were the magic disappearing DJs.

But we got to meet Kilowatts because of them so it’s cool, right?

I saw the Pipedream/Perfect Cyn tag-team.  Mission ONE accomplished.  Then I bolted for Mission TWO: CASPA.  Party Mom was on the move.

Caspa was FANTASTIC.  Even with an MC being irritating over the top of his music.  Even better, I think was the DJ just prior: N-Type.  DAMN.  Dude was ON FIRE.

Gosh, I love dubstep…  Thank you, Keith from Abstract Earth Project.  NICE ONE.

Then the ridiculousness ensued. I hopped into a cab with Tyler Tastemaker, his friend, Matt (?) and Evan Hancock from Desiderata Productions, went to a different venue, pounded some beers and confused the volunteers enough that we got in for free.  Which was fine because I didn’t stay all that long but shhhhhhhh…tell no one.

Handy tip for the evening: if you think you’ll be peeing in parking lots behind cars, avoid fishnet tights.

Just sayin’.

SATURDAY!
We woke up on Saturday and I made the boys help me find a Sephora.  I needed eyeliner.   I’m high maintenance like that.

Photo by Eric Leisy

We wandered. Ate Thai food.  Went to Pike Street Market.  Gray got free donuts for being a self-described “monochromatic Portland faggot.”

If you are a man and sing in harmony with other men, I will probably stop to listen.

I did really <3 this. Lots and lots.  Photo by Eric Leisy

I saw some art that I liked

Photo by Eric Leisy

We saw Asians meditating.

Falun Dafa or Falun Gong–”Subversive” meditation that is illegal in China.  ASIANS ARE WEIRD.

LOOK! It’s me and Piperz in Seattle.

pensive…

And here we are with our new sunglasses, ready to hit the town.

It was another three-venue night for the Party Mom.  Neumos for Megasoid, Chop Suey for Hookerz n Blow and Little Red Studio afterparty for Mimosa.
Yum, yum and YUM.

These guys? These guys are nice guys.  Photo by Eric Leisy

Me and Gray, CLEARLY having, like, the BEST TIME EVARRRR!  Photo by Justin Dylan Renney for seattleweekly.com

Missions THREE, FOUR and FIVE accomplished.  Phew.

But then Sunday happened.  We got a phone call that we needed to pick up the djs from Friday’s showcase at 10:30 and take them to the airport.   We waited for FORTY MINUTES and eventually determined that they probably just called a cab and took off.  Whatever, guys.  It all worked out because we could help another stranded artist, Jamie, a.k.a. Kilowatts.

Best moment of the festival:
Eric–So, what name do you perform under?
Jamie–Kilowatts
Eric–Really?! I love you!
Jamie–(without skipping a beat) I love you too!

Apparently, Eric is a really big fan of Jamie’s music and was stoked to get to help him out.  We got Kilowatts to his sound check and we even had time to stop by the techno wedding!   Mission SIX accomplished.  Congratulations to Sean and Diane.

This is what happens when ravers get married.  Really Cool Visuals.  And vests.

And their reception was in a park!  Kilowatts was FANTASTIC–we listened to his cd ALL the way home…  Motherfuckin’ Gaslamp Killer is always great to watch.  His hair rocks out harder than anyone in the crowd.  We drank FP cocktails, made fun of hippies with Phidelity, extolled the virtues of EPROM with Bazooka Joe, I met Dov from Muti Music!  The sun was shining, the music was good…we had a really, really nice day.

Mission SEVEN that went unaccomplished was to find Bruce Lee’s grave….

Next time, Seattle. We have a score to settle….

Is it any wonder I’ve been resting ever since?

Clearly, however, there is no rest for the wicked. Taylor wants you to come shop at Adidas Original on NW 9th and Couch. And maybe stop by Candy around 5 for Happy Hour.

I might just need this:

or these

or even this

We’ll see…..

And don’t forget about Tuesday nights at The Crown Room

Hosted by Kellan and Avery and this week, featuring Chase Manhattan! (Apparently Chase has been finding dubstep GEMS just for us. I’ll be there. SWEET.)

Dr. Adam will also be at Tube for Tubesdays, playing a 4-hour set! OHMIGOSH! Hipsters beware: Elbow Patch is gonna get crazy tonight.

Scratch that.   It’s someone else.   DJ Rad.   So you have a choice:  kick it with Conrad and Adam at Tube or kick it with me and Chase and Kellan and Avery and some of the best damn drinks in town, poured by Carl at The Crown Room.   I’m kinda hoping you stop by to give me hugs…

Stay tuned, cats and kittens. The weekend begins on Tuesdays. We’re just warming up for this

for more details, visit Abstract Earth Project’s website: http://www.abstractearthproject.com/eoto-10-3-09/
to listen, visit their Facebook page:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/EOTO/40610857242?ref=mf They have a free download of a set from this past August.

And while you’re clicking on stuff, click on this and order it: http://www.phidelity.com/blog/jadedreview/jaded-review-issue-2-now-shipping/
Funniest thing you’ll read all month.

Seems silly, but I’ve wanted one ever since I saw one, and not because it will prove to be quite useful, but because somehow, someone working for Stanley managed to get FUBAR accepted as a product name.

The Stanley FatMax Xtreme FuBar is a wrecking hammer / wrecking bar in one, and as such looks a pretty useful device anyway:

The FUBAR

This is the larger of the two versions available (it is definitely bigger in real life than it looks in the photo), and they are normally between $50 and $70 depending on whether you shop at Bunnings or Mitre 10.  I got this one on sale (new) for $15 (that sale is over now unfortunately – one of those “grab it while you can” things).

Oh, and why is FUBAR such an unusual name for a product (especially in Australia)? It is an acronym from my Navy days (and does get used elsewhere as well), and stands for “F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition” (or “Repair”, depending on context).

I can’t think of a better name for a wrecking bar.

The Governor shows how to take advantage of an enemy in retreat.  It’s known in the world of knight warfare as finding the weakness in your opponent’s armor and hitting it again and again until the threat is gone, or in chivalric terms, until your opponent raises his gloved hand after having been put flat on his back.  Only here, sensing the disarray of the Democrats, she presses on with suggestions for real healthcare reform, consistent with our American free market and our fierce desire for control over our medical decisions. 

In her latest Facebook entry, the Governor does not relent.  She argues that the Complete Lives theory espoused by Dr. Emanuel as recently at January 2009 is not consistent with the Dr.’s claim that his thinking has evolved from one of rationed care to non-rationed care.  She also presses the President to completely disavow this theory of medical ethics.  She applauds the Senate for dropping the end of life consultations requirement and calls now for an end to any approach the ends in rationed care.  Read on, for this Knight can add nothing to her war cry:

Troubling Questions Remain About Obama’s Health Care Plan

 Yesterday at 10:11pm

I join millions of Americans in expressing appreciation for the Senate Finance Committee’s decision to remove the provision in the pending health care bill that authorizes end-of-life consultations (Section 1233 of HR 3200). It’s gratifying that the voice of the people is getting through to Congress; however, that provision was not the only disturbing detail in this legislation; it was just one of the more obvious ones.

As I noted in my statement last week, nationalized health care inevitably leads to rationing. There is simply no way to cover everyone and hold down the costs at the same time. The rationing system proposed by one of President Obama’s key health care advisors is particularly disturbing. I’m speaking of the “Complete Lives System” advocated by Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the brother of the president’s chief of staff. President Obama has not yet stated any opposition to the “Complete Lives System,” a system which, if enacted, would refuse to allocate medical resources to the elderly, the infirm, and the disabled who have less economic potential. [1] Why the silence from the president on this aspect of his nationalization of health care? Does he agree with the “Complete Lives System”? If not, then why is Dr. Emanuel his policy advisor? What is he advising the president on? I just learned that Dr. Emanuel is now distancing himself from his own work and claiming that his “thinking has evolved” on the question of rationing care to benefit the strong and deny the weak. [2] How convenient that he disavowed his own work only after the nature of his scholarship was revealed to the public at large.

The president is busy assuring us that we can keep our private insurance plans, but common sense (and basic economics) tells us otherwise. The public option in the Democratic health care plan will crowd out private insurers, and that’s what it’s intended to do. A single payer health care plan has been President Obama’s agenda all along, though he is now claiming otherwise. Don’t take my word for it. Here’s what he said back in 2003:

“I happen to be a proponent of a single payer universal health care plan…. A single payer health care plan – universal health care plan – that’s what I would like to see.” [3]

A single-payer health care plan might be what Obama would like to see, but is it what the rest of us would like to see? What does a single payer health care plan look like? We need look no further than other countries who have adopted such a plan. The picture isn’t pretty. [4] The only way they can control costs is to ration care. As I noted in my earlier statement quoting Thomas Sowell, government run health care won’t reduce the price of medical care; it will simply refuse to pay the price. The expensive innovative procedures that people from all over the world come to the United States for will not be available under a government plan that seeks to cover everyone by capping costs.

Our senior citizens are right to be wary of this health care bill. Medical care at the end of life accounts for 80 percent of all health care. When care is rationed, that is naturally where the cuts will be felt first. The “end-of-life” consultations authorized in Section 1233 of HR 3200 were an obvious and heavy handed attempt at pressuring people to reduce the financial burden on the system by minimizing their own care. Worst still, it actually provided a financial incentive to doctors to initiate these consultations. People are right to point out that such a provision doesn’t sound “purely voluntary.”

In an article I noted yesterday, Charles Lane wrote:

“Ideally, the delicate decisions about how to manage life’s end would be made in a setting that is neutral in both appearance and fact. Yes, it’s good to have a doctor’s perspective. But Section 1233 goes beyond facilitating doctor input to preferring it. Indeed, the measure would have an interested party — the government — recruit doctors to sell the elderly on living wills, hospice care and their associated providers, professions and organizations. You don’t have to be a right-wing wacko to question that approach.” [5]

I agree. Last year, I issued a proclamation for “Healthcare Decisions Day.” [6] The proclamation sought to increase the public’s knowledge about creating living wills and establishing powers of attorney. There was no incentive to choose one option over another. There was certainly no financial incentive for physicians to push anything. In fact, the proclamation explicitly called on medical professionals and lawyers “to volunteer their time and efforts” to provide information to the public.

Comparing the “Healthcare Decisions Day” proclamation to Section 1233 of HR 3200 is ridiculous. The two are like apples and oranges. The attempt to link the two shows how desperate the proponents of nationalized health care are to shift the debate away from the disturbing details of their bill.

There is one aspect of this bill which I have not addressed yet, but it’s a very obvious one. It’s the simple fact that we can’t afford it. But don’t take my word for it. Take the word of Doug Elmendorf, the director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. He told the Senate Budget Committee last month:

“In the legislation that has been reported we do not see the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the trajectory of federal health spending by a significant amount. And on the contrary, the legislation significantly expands the federal responsibility for health care costs.” [7]

Dr. Elmendorf went on to note that this health care legislation would increase spending at an unsustainable rate.

Our nation is already $11.5 trillion in debt. Where will the money come from? Taxes, of course. And will a burdensome new tax help our economy recover? Of course not. The best way to encourage more health care coverage is to foster a strong economy where people can afford to purchase their own coverage if they choose to do so. The current administration’s economic policies have done nothing to help in this regard.

Health care is without a doubt a complex and contentious issue, but health care reform should be a market oriented solution. There are many ways we can reform the system and lower costs without nationalizing it.

The economist Arthur Laffer has taken the lead in pushing for a patient-center health care reform policy. He noted in a Wall Street Journal article earlier this month:

“A patient-centered health-care reform begins with individual ownership of insurance policies and leverages Health Savings Accounts, a low-premium, high-deductible alternative to traditional insurance that includes a tax-advantaged savings account. It allows people to purchase insurance policies across state lines and reduces the number of mandated benefits insurers are required to cover. It reallocates the majority of Medicaid spending into a simple voucher for low-income individuals to purchase their own insurance. And it reduces the cost of medical procedures by reforming tort liability laws.” [8]

Those are real reforms that we can live with and afford. Once again, I warn my fellow Americans that if we go down the path of nationalized health care, there will be no turning back. We must stop and think or we may find ourselves losing even more of our freedoms.

[1] See http://www.scribd.com/doc/18280675/Principles-for-Allocation-of-Scarce-Medical-Interventions
[2] See http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/14/white-house-adviser-backs-off-rationing/
[3]See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hsqzSKuC44
[4] See http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=N2M0ODk0OTNkZjkwNGM4OGMyYTEwYWY3ODUzMzFiOTc=
[5] See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/07/AR2009080703043.html
[6] See http://www.gov.state.ak.us/archive.php?id=1094&type=6
[7] See http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/07/cbo-sees-no-federal-cost-savings-in-dem-health-plans.html
[8] See http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204619004574324361508092006.html

- Sarah Palin