Our Obamacare victory message from our Health Insurance Company

My employer, Jukt Micronics, uses Aetna for employee medical insurance.
Our Human Resources Manager knew I would want to do something with this letter that Aetna sent him yesterday. 
We are about to get screwed, glued, and Bar-B-Q'd on the healthcare scam. 
Get ready for it.
 

March 24, 2010
Dear Plan Sponsor,

Yesterday, President Barack Obama signed health care reform legislation passed by the Senate in December and the House on Sunday. As a result, millions of Americans can look forward to gaining access to health insurance, a significant milestone for this country. The challenge unmet by this bill, however,is how to effectively deal with the critical issue of affordability, which has become a burden for so many people, particularly individuals and small business owners.

The phrase "The challenge unmet" is an ancient bureaucratese expression meaning "Nobody even thought about paying for it".  That would also be "the challenge unmet" if we were to give everyone a yacht, a G.M. vehicle, or even a free pony.  "The challenge unmet" in this bill is that it does nothing, absolutely nothing, to reduce scarcity of medical care.  Therefore, "millions of Americans can look forward to" costs and prices going through what one of our salespeople recently called The Next Stratosphere. 

We are aggressively working to weigh the impact of this legislation on our various businesses, customers, and members. In the meantime, the Senate is still wrestling with a “reconciliation” bill that contains “fixes” to the legislation signed by the President today.

Note the scorn quotes around the words "reconciliation" and "fixes".
In other words, the Senate believes that with enough sanitizing and cleaning and sculpting and power-washing, it will be possible to pick up this turd by the clean end. 

It is important to remember that most of the legislation will not go into effect until 2014 or later.

I remember going to hear Candidate Obama speak at Reunion Arena in Dallas, back in February of '08.  It was inspiring, even to a skeptic.  One of the phrases that Obama used was Dr. Martin Luther King's quote about "the fierce urgency of now".  Whatever happened to now?  If this thing is wonderful, why not now?  Why the fierce urgency to delay implementation until 2014? 
Election cycles, anyone? 

The details of implementing legislation can take months, even years to work through the regulatory process. Much of what Congress has passed will require additional regulations that will bring further clarity to this new law, and those regulations will truly shape the impact on consumers and employers.

"...that will bring further clarity..."
"...that will bring further clarity..."
"Those regulations will truly shape the impact on consumers and employers." 
"Those regulations will truly shape the impact on consumers and employers."
Can clarity be furthered?  Or can it only be increased or added?  Can impacts be shaped?  That sentence is so poorly written that it is almost unfiskable. 

We will continue to play an active role in the detailed discussions during the lengthy implementation process.

Translation from bureaucratese: "We've been working with Obama to divide your carcass for about a year.  We've got 30 million new customers.  You're on your own.  Keep them checks coming !"

Given what we know about the mandates and taxes included in the legislation,we do anticipate the likelihood of additional new costs.

No shit.  I now anticipate the likelihood of Polar Bears refusing to migrate southward to Miami.  I now anticipate the likelihood of compass needles pointing north.  I anticipate the likelihood of....

The longer I go with it, the worse it gets.  You anticipate things, and sometimes you think things are likely.   Anticipate the likelihood of something is like making a bet that something is probable. 

I didn't mean to become the grammar/style Nazi, but this dude is distracting me from the topic at hand, which is Obamacare.  Sheesh.  Say that the our prices are going to go up.  Speak English. 

We intend to focus our efforts in the rulemaking process to lessen the financial impact of these changes on our customers and members.

How about this: We're going to lobby for less government so you don't have to pay as much. 
There. 
Is that better?  Sometimes I get wordy, but I'm usually trying to be colorful or mildly entertaining at the same time.  Intend focus efforts process lessen impact....Christ almighty, I started this post thinking this guy was on my side. 

Aetna plays a significant role in helping both employers and individuals meet the cost challenge. Our role won’t change with this legislation. But, as a nation, we need to come together to bring greater focus on addressing the many underlying factors that are driving soaring health care costs. When the nation inevitably turns to finding ways of reducing this alarming trend, we stand ready to help.

We will continue to keep you updated as this process moves forward.

Yes.  Move the process forward.  Forward moves the progress, addressing that which is focused upon, lest challenges go unmet, not just in helping, but by playing a significant role in helping when mere helping is not enough.  Or something. 

Sincerely,

Anonymous Bureaucrat,

Vice President of Sales and Service,
Southwest Region

If you think this is confusing, verbose, and intentionally vague, go here to see the Healthcare bill.  Everyone involved in this debacle - Congressional Staffers, Insurance Execs, Legal Vultures, and Lobbyists - learned English from the same set of Taiwanese DVD player instructions.

No Corruption Here. Move Along, Please......

Move along people, nothing to see here.  Keep moving folks, keep moving, this isn't corruption.  None of this is as it seems.  You're holding up traffic.  Stop looking at this.  These are not the Droids you are looking for.  The Quid is far enough away from the Pro Quo.  No corruption here.  Totally unrelated.  Stop gawking, please, you're holding up traffic. 

Found it on Instapundit.  Picture of Officer Barbrady came from here. 

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

"Health care 'reform' passed by a Congress that hasn't read it, signed by a President who smokes, administered by an obese Surgeon General, financed by a Treasury Secretary who didn't pay his taxes, and paid for by a country that is broke - what could possibly go wrong?"

Go to The Humble Libertarian to buy the T-shirt. 

Reason magazine on the Davis-Bacon Act

Here's Reason magazine on The Davis-Bacon Act, one of the most vile pieces of legislation ever signed into law.  Until the last week, anyway. 
The Davis-Bacon Act essentially gave us the minimum wage, mostly as a way to keep minorities from competing with the white majority for certain jobs. 
An excerpt:

To make matters worse, the Davis-Bacon Act has explicitly racist origins. It was introduced in response to the presence of Southern black construction workers on a Long Island, N.Y.. veterans hospital project. This "cheap" and "bootleg" labor was denounced by Rep. Robert L. Bacon, New York Republican, who introduced the legislation. American Federation of Labor (AFL) president William Green eagerly testified in support of the law before the U.S. Senate, claiming that "colored labor is being brought in to demoralize wage rates."


Emil Preiss, business manager of the New York branch of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (a powerful AFL affiliate that banned black workers from its ranks) told the House of Representatives that Algernon Blair's crew of black workers were "an undesirable element of people." The bill's co-sponsor, Republican Sen. James Davis of Pennsylvania, was an outspoken racist who had argued in 1925 that Congress must restrict immigration in order "to dry up the sources of hereditary poisoning."

The result was that black workers, who were largely unskilled and therefore counted on being able to compete by working for lower wages, essentially were banned from the upcoming New Deal construction spree. Davis-Bacon nullified their competitive advantage just when they needed it most.

Politicians do silly things when times get tough.  And when times aren't tough.  Here's some more from Reason:

More recently, the Obama administration extended Davis-Bacon via the American Recovery and Reinvestment of Act of 2009, also known as the stimulus bill. According to an All-Agency Memorandum issued by the Department of Labor, Davis-Bacon now applies to all "projects funded directly by or assisted in whole or in part by and through the Federal Government."

In other words, even projects that are only partially funded by the stimulus must obey the costly pro-union requirements of Davis-Bacon. With the economy floundering and the government apparently set on another New Deal-style construction spree, the last thing taxpayers needed were rules that force stimulus projects to cost even more.

In sum, we have a law that drives up the costs of federal projects, hurts unskilled workers, unfairly advantages organized labor, and has explicitly racist roots. It's time for Davis-Bacon to go.

But we're too humane to do it any other way. 

Libertarians For Life

I've avoided starting any abortion debates on this site for several reasons - the best of which is that I can't have babies. 
But while doing a bit of websurfing tonight, I found a blog called Libertarians For Life , whose stated goal is "presenting the pro-life case to libertarians, and the libertarian case to pro-lifers."

Their argument goes as follows: 

1. Human offspring are human beings, persons from conception, whether that takes place as natural or artificial fertilization, by cloning, or by any other means.

2. Abortion is homicide -- the killing of one person by another.

3. One's right to control one's own body does not allow violating the obligation not to aggress. There is never a right to kill an innocent person. Prenatally, we are all innocent persons.

4. A prenatal child has the right to be in the mother's body. Parents have no right to evict their children from the crib or from the womb and let them die. Instead both parents, the father as well as the mother, owe them support and protection from harm.

5. No government, nor any individual, has a just power to legally "de-person" any one of us, born or preborn.

6. The proper purpose of the law is to side with the innocent, not against them.

I learned my response to the abortion issue from Big Daddy John Spivey - It's a 10th Amendment issue that should be left to the states, and no government (i.e. taxpayer) money should ever be used to fund abortion. 
But these folks are making a liberty-based argument about the issue. 
Your thoughts?

It really is that bad, isn't it ?

I found this on Denny's site. 

Thanks to Obamacare....

Our extremist rhetoric is causing a violent ripple across America

Like many of you, I am troubled.  Deeply, deeply troubled.
 
Other people find it troubling also, and that's why we should dial it back a bit. 

Our extremist rhetoric is causing a violent ripple across America. 

Political party headquarters have been vandalized, and the President and a senator have been burned in effigy.  Police called it "a planned and orchestrated event". 

Drive-by shooters have attacked a campaign headquarters.  Thank God no one was inside.

Protesters in Florida ransacked another campaign center, stating that they "wanted to send a message". 

Dial it back, people.  Dial it back.  It's just a new law requiring you to spend your money with certain favored healthcare compnies, nothing more.  Maybe we can find a way to get past it. 

Remember: If the American news media ever start giving these violent incidents a lot of attention, it will hurt the cause.

Update from Friday, March 26th.....It amazes me when I look at my hit-counter, and see that there are SO many people out there looking at this post but not hitting the links.  Maybe I shoulda made the links sexier in some way.  Hit the links above for some hot, steamy, anti-Statist violence, people !  Get outraged !  Hit the links to see the scorn that the people now have for their superiors !  

With "Reform" like this, who needs corruption ???

Guess who has exempted themselves from The Obamacare Salvation Plan? 

Go here.  It's not just Congress. 

The AG Lawsuits And The Political Theatre Of Healthcare

My employer, Jukt Micronics, is in the middle of a huge shipping push this week, and I haven't had time to post anything of my own.  So here's another press release from Patrick Dixon and Robert Butler of the Libertarian Party Of Texas. 
If you like what you read, hit this link and send them some money so we can continue fighting the good fight.  You can also go there to get these emails and bypass me altogether..... 

AUSTIN, TEXAS - March 23, 2010 -- Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, along with attorneys general from dozens of other states, are planning to file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Democrat's healthcare bill as soon as it is signed.


"The audacity of the Democrats to pass an unconstitutional healthcare reform law is only matched by the Republicans' recent posturing as anti-government crusaders," said Patrick Dixon, Chair of the Libertarian Party of Texas. "If the Republicans were serious about their constitutional concerns, they would raise the legal argument that no healthcare spending by Congress is anywhere authorized by the US Constitution.

"Republicans passed the largest government takeover of healthcare in 30 years when they granted senior citizens an unfunded Prescription Drug benefit known as Medicare Part D," said Dixon. "The Prescription Drug benefit will cost taxpayers $727 billion in the next nine years. The Democrat's current plan will cost an estimated $950 billion over the next ten years. Both parties have dramatically increased the federal government's role in healthcare. The Republican response to the Democrats appears to be complete theater."

The Republican Party has a long history of supporting the Federal government's expansion into healthcare. In 1997, the Republican Congress passed CHIP, the largest expansion of taxpayer-funded health insurance coverage for children in the U.S. since Medicaid began in the 1960's. It was sponsored by the late Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy in a partnership with Republican Senator Orrin Hatch with the support of then First Lady Clinton. The Republican Congress repeatedly voted to expand SCHIP throughout the 2000's.

"Let's not forget that the Democrat's original plan to take over healthcare this year was copied from Republican Mitt Romney's plan for Massachusetts," said Libertarian Executive Director Robert Butler. "Apparently it's OK when Republicans reform healthcare, but when Democrat's enact a similar plan it's an 'obamanation'."

The Libertarian Party has a completely different approach to the current high prices of healthcare. Libertarians propose that all federal regulation of the healthcare industry be repealed so that prices can fall back to the market-determined prices.

Consumers do not realize that healthcare prices would dramatically drop if the government ended its monopoly of the industry. In 1910, 56% of hospitals were privately owned and for-profit; that number shrank to only 10% of hospitals in 1989, according to the late Nobel-laureate economist Milton Friedman. And this small number of private, for-profit hospitals actually hire more staff to administer government compliance than patient care.

Butler concluded, "We know that government alternatives cost more than the private sector, so decreasing cost by expanding government is a plan doomed to failure."
 

Robert and Patrick are great people, and would never, ever, post pics of a donkey screwing an elephant.  Those are my choices, and they came from  here and here and here and here and here and here. 

What's the difference between a gas station and a hospital?

Robert Butler, Executive Director of the Libertarian Party Of Texas, sent me this little gem this morning. 

We hear a lot of Republican and Democrat talking points about healthcare. As Libertarians, it's important that people understand that we have our own voice and our own solutions for the rising costs of healthcare. If you like this story, please forward it to your friends and family by clicking the Forward button below.


So, what is the difference between gas stations and hospitals?

1. Prices - The most obvious difference is price. Gas Stations have big signs advertising their prices so that you as a consumer can decide how much you are willing to pay without even slowing down along the highway. There are federal regulations that prohibit hospitals from advertising and competing based on prices.

2. Upfront Estimates - When you need a mechanic to replace your head gasket, he will give you an upfront estimate of the price. He will often give you a list of less expensive alternatives if they are available. When you ask a surgeon to replace your heart, there are federal regulations and AMA rules that prevent the distribution of price estimates.

3. Competition - If someone wants to build a Gas Station across the street from a competing Gas Station, its quite alright. If someone wants to build a hospital, they have to prove to the Federal Trade Commission that the hospital won't lower prices in the community or cause undue competition.

4. Monopoly - In the early 20th century, the federal government broke up a monopoly on oil and gasoline distribution. In the mid-20th century, they created a monopoly on hospitals and doctors because the American Medical Association said there were too many doctors, too much competition, and doctor's couldn't earn enough money.

Allow me a brief digression....Please go here and then get back to Mr. Butler's excellent email.  The AMA's monopoly is the leading cause of high healthcare costs.  Deregulating this mess would lower costs quicker than any Republicrat or Demoblican scheme ever conceived. Things are expensive when they are scarce (relative to demand).  Ending scarcity or reducing demand is the only way to lower the cost of anything.  It really is that simple.   

5. Do It Yourself - When you go to the Gas Station, you can pay someone to fix your car and fill up your tank, or you can buy what you need to do it yourself. At a hospital or pharmacy, you can't make any decisions on what medications you can take, dosage levels, or treatments. You must have the "official" opinion of a state regulated doctor.

6. Choice - When shopping for mechanics, you can decide to hire your handy neighbor, or find someone with all the latest training and certifications. When shopping for doctors, your only choice is regulated by the state.

7. Purchasing Power - When you buy gasoline, you are paying for the gasoline you actually purchase (and a little extra for the small amount of theft). When you buy healthcare, your price includes a large government imposed subsidy for those who can't afford it, thus making healthcare less affordable to more and more people each year.

So if you wanted to make healthcare cheaper what would you do? Impose more rules or less? Allow competition or create a more restrictive monopoly?

Only the Libertarian Party supports more freedom, more choices, and more competition on healthcare. The Democrats have passed their bill to create a government guaranteed monopoly on health insurance and hospitals. And the Republicans will be campaigning this year on "Repeal and Replace". Yes, Republicans want to repeal or reject the Democrats' reform, and replace it with their own rules, restrictions, and regulations. "Repeal and Replace" is not the answer.

The real answer is to make hospitals a little more like gas stations and end the government's monopoly on healthcare. Vote Libertarian; the revolution is golden. 
 
Go here to double the effectiveness of any contribution you make to the Libertarian Party. 

The U.S. National Debt Clock

It seems appropriate this morning to look at the U.S. National Debt Clock. 
Go here. 

The average citizen has a net worth of $235,000.00, and that includes all corporations, foundations, companies, and all the assets of The Evil Rich. 

The amount currently on your bar tab is $350,000.00.  

Total government bar tab per family is now at $650,000.00.   We're too fair, humane, and ethical to have it any other way.   

I have advantages that many of you do not have.  I still remember about 100 words and phrases in Mandarin Chinese, and I'm still in good enough shape to operate a lawnmower.  I'm uniquely qualified to go to China during vacations and holidays and start working off my share of this debt. 

Good luck to the rest of you.  Go here to learn how to clean a Wok. 

World-class healthcare is now guaranteed for every American

I'm not in the mood to write anything original about last night's 32 million customer gift to the insurance industry.  So here's Don Boudreaux of Cafe Hayek:

Watching tonight on television the charlatans who infest Pennsylvania Avenue gaudily pronounce their saintly motives and their deity-like powers to “guarantee world-class health care for every American” (as one creep put it to a NewsChannel 8 reporter here in DC) makes me want to vomit.


These people look like serious adults; the timber of their voices make them sound like serious adults; and their titles are ones that are assumed to be reserved for serious adults. But, in fact, these people – from Obama to Pelosi to Hoyer to Reid – are nothing of the sort.

If they really believe even a quarter of the things they say, they’re imbeciles. If they aren’t imbeciles, they’re scoundrels. No third alternative is conceivable.

Either way, they’re an utterly detestable bunch.

Watching Pelosi join arms with Civil Rights pioneers to take a victory lap around her D.C. slaughterhouse was truly nauseating. 

How the insurance "reforms" will take away our freedoms

Here's a partial list of the ways that the insurance "reforms" will take away our freedoms.  (Those scorn quotes in the previous sentence were intended as such.)  I'm scraping this from Investors.com. 

The sections described below are taken from HR 3590 as agreed to by the Senate and from the reconciliation bill as displayed by the Rules Committee.

1. You are young and don’t want health insurance? You are starting up a small business and need to minimize expenses, and one way to do that is to forego health insurance? Tough. You have to pay $750 annually for the “privilege.” (Section 1501)

2. You are young and healthy and want to pay for insurance that reflects that status? Tough. You’ll have to pay for premiums that cover not only you, but also the guy who smokes three packs a day, drink a gallon of whiskey and eats chicken fat off the floor. That’s because insurance companies will no longer be able to underwrite on the basis of a person’s health status. (Section 2701).

3. You would like to pay less in premiums by buying insurance with lifetime or annual limits on coverage? Tough. Health insurers will no longer be able to offer such policies, even if that is what customers prefer. (Section 2711).

4. Think you’d like a policy that is cheaper because it doesn’t cover preventive care or requires cost-sharing for such care? Tough. Health insurers will no longer be able to offer policies that do not cover preventive services or offer them with cost-sharing, even if that’s what the customer wants. (Section 2712).

5. You are an employer and you would like to offer coverage that doesn’t allow your employers’ slacker children to stay on the policy until age 26? Tough. (Section 2714).

6. You must buy a policy that covers ambulatory patient services, emergency services, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment; prescription drugs; rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices; laboratory services; preventive and wellness services; chronic disease management; and pediatric services, including oral and vision care.
You’re a single guy without children? Tough, your policy must cover pediatric services. You’re a woman who can’t have children? Tough, your policy must cover maternity services. You’re a teetotaler? Tough, your policy must cover substance abuse treatment. (Add your own violation of personal freedom here.) (Section 1302).

7. Do you want a plan with lots of cost-sharing and low premiums? Well, the best you can do is a “Bronze plan,” which has benefits that provide benefits that are actuarially equivalent to 60% of the full actuarial value of the benefits provided under the plan. Anything lower than that, tough. (Section 1302 (d) (1) (A))

8. You are an employer in the small-group insurance market and you’d like to offer policies with deductibles higher than $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for families? Tough. (Section 1302 (c) (2) (A).

9. If you are a large employer (defined as at least 101 employees) and you do not want to provide health insurance to your employee, then you will pay a $750 fine per employee (It could be $2,000 to $3,000 under the reconciliation changes). Think you know how to better spend that money? Tough. (Section 1513).

10. You are an employer who offers health flexible spending arrangements and your employees want to deduct more than $2,500 from their salaries for it? Sorry, can’t do that. (Section 9005 (i)).

11. If you are a physician and you don’t want the government looking over your shoulder? Tough. The Secretary of Health and Human Services is authorized to use your claims data to issue you reports that measure the resources you use, provide information on the quality of care you provide, and compare the resources you use to those used by other physicians. Of course, this will all be just for informational purposes. It’s not like the government will ever use it to intervene in your practice and patients’ care. Of course not. (Section 3003 (i))

12. If you are a physician and you want to own your own hospital, you must be an owner and have a “Medicare provider agreement” by Feb. 1, 2010. (Dec. 31, 2010 in the reconciliation changes.) If you didn’t have those by then, you are out of luck. (Section 6001 (i) (1) (A))

13. If you are a physician owner and you want to expand your hospital? Well, you can’t (Section 6001 (i) (1) (B). Unless, it is located in a country where, over the last five years, population growth has been 150% of what it has been in the state (Section 6601 (i) (3) ( E)). And then you cannot increase your capacity by more than 200% (Section 6001 (i) (3) (C)).

14. You are a health insurer and you want to raise premiums to meet costs? Well, if that increase is deemed “unreasonable” by the Secretary of Health and Human Services it will be subject to review and can be denied. (Section 1003)

15. The government will extract a fee of $2.3 billion annually from the pharmaceutical industry. If you are a pharmaceutical company what you will pay depends on the ratio of the number of brand-name drugs you sell to the total number of brand-name drugs sold in the U.S. So, if you sell 10% of the brand-name drugs in the U.S., what you pay will be 10% multiplied by $2.3 billion, or $230,000,000. (Under reconciliation, it starts at $2.55 billion, jumps to $3 billion in 2012, then to $3.5 billion in 2017 and $4.2 billion in 2018, before settling at $2.8 billion in 2019 (Section 1404)). Think you, as a pharmaceutical executive, know how to better use that money, say for research and development? Tough. (Section 9008 (b)).

16. The government will extract a fee of $2 billion annually from medical device makers. If you are a medical device maker what you will pay depends on your share of medical device sales in the U.S. So, if you sell 10% of the medical devices in the U.S., what you pay will be 10% multiplied by $2 billion, or $200,000,000. Think you, as a medical device maker, know how to better use that money, say for R&D? Tough. (Section 9009 (b)).
The reconciliation package turns that into a 2.9% excise tax for medical device makers. Think you, as a medical device maker, know how to better use that money, say for research and development? Tough. (Section 1405).

17. The government will extract a fee of $6.7 billion annually from insurance companies. If you are an insurer, what you will pay depends on your share of net premiums plus 200% of your administrative costs. So, if your net premiums and administrative costs are equal to 10% of the total, you will pay 10% of $6.7 billion, or $670,000,000. In the reconciliation bill, the fee will start at $8 billion in 2014, $11.3 billion in 2015, $1.9 billion in 2017, and $14.3 billion in 2018 (Section 1406).Think you, as an insurance executive, know how to better spend that money? Tough.(Section 9010 (b) (1) (A and B).)

18. If an insurance company board or its stockholders think the CEO is worth more than $500,000 in deferred compensation? Tough.(Section 9014).

19. You will have to pay an additional 0.5% payroll tax on any dollar you make over $250,000 if you file a joint return and $200,000 if you file an individual return. What? You think you know how to spend the money you earned better than the government? Tough. (Section 9015).
That amount will rise to a 3.8% tax if reconciliation passes. It will also apply to investment income, estates, and trusts. You think you know how to spend the money you earned better than the government? Like you need to ask. (Section 1402).

20. If you go for cosmetic surgery, you will pay an additional 5% tax on the cost of the procedure. Think you know how to spend that money you earned better than the government? Tough. (Section 9017).

Can anyone name anything, anything at all, where our government has stepped into something and lowered the cost? 

President Obama - Stop The Drug Wars ! !

Bryon Severns for Congress

I went to a District Libertarian Convention this morning, a meeting where we nominated and voted on candidates for various multi-county, state, and national offices. 
One of the speakers was a guy named Bryon Severns, who is running for U.S. Congress, Texas District 6.

Each candidate had a couple of minutes to give a brief bio, explain his political philosophy, and to take any questions.  Someone asked Bryon to give us his two minute "elevator speech" on the healthcare disaster that's about to descend upon us. 

Bryon didn't even have to think about it.  I don't have his exact words, but he said, in effect, "Healthcare is expensive because there is not enough supply to meet the demand.  The current healthcare proposal in Congress does nothing to increase the supply of healthcare providers.  Therefore it's a mistake."

I immediately jumped up and started applauding, the way Nancy Pelosi does when Obama takes a breath.  I mean, how long has it been since you heard someone running for public office stand up and speak the truth? 

But instead of flooding the market with doctors, nurses, medics, and pharmacists, and instead of doing something to make entering the market with a new pharmaceutical product less expensive, what are we about to do? 

We're about to create a monster.  Here's Mark Steyn.....

Meanwhile, Obamacare will result in the creation of at least 16,500 new jobs. Doctors? Nurses? Ha! Dream on, suckers. That’s 16,500 new IRS agents, who’ll be needed to check whether you — yes, you, Mr. and Mrs. Hopendope of 27 Hopeychangey Gardens — are in compliance with the 15 tax increases and dozens of new federal mandates the Deemocrats are about to “deem” into existence. This will be the biggest expansion of the IRS since World War II — and that’s change you can believe in. This is what “health” “care” “reform” boils down to: fewer doctors, longer wait times, but more bureaucrats.  

But back to the subject of Bryon Severns.  Here's what he's got to say about the printing press abomination currently running on overdrive on Fort Worth's Blue Mound Road:

Republicans turned money into paper so they could fund war in Vietnam and outspend the Soviet Union. Now the money printer has gone digital and both major parties will “borrow and spend” until the world stops trusting our DOLLAR and changes to a different reserve currency, causing our nation to crumble like the Soviet Union.

Vote Libertarian to stop Congress from playing monopoly with our money or the next bailouts will be for states. Giving bailouts supports failing management.
Since the federal government spends, borrows and prints money without control we need to end the madness to preserve the savings of Americans. I would sponsor a bill called “Stop the Money Printing” Act of 2011. This bill would ban all federal borrowing and would ban all printing of money. As a result money will stop losing value. Without new money being printed we could feel secure that our life savings will stop getting “watered down.”

And you can go here to read Bryon's proposals for achieving a smaller government with less public debt.  This isn't a hot issue yet, but it will be.

Here's what he's got to say about the difference between Democrats and Republicans.  It's very similar to what I've often said about the Crips and the Bloods, but more to the point. 

Go here to be Bryon's friend on Facebook.  Go there.  Go ahead, do it.  Even if you live in England.  Git ! 

Want some real Change?  Want some Hope for a stable tomorrow?  Please vote for Bryon Severns for Congress. 

It's snowing on the first day of Spring in Fort Worth, TX

It's March 20th, the first day of Spring, and on the boundary line between Fort Worth and Burleson TX, we're seeing tiny little snow flurries.   

This, of course, is a sign of Global ____________. 

Grandpa Munster supports Obamacare ! !

An Unfair Comparison

Think of your best experience ever at the Department Of Motor Vehicles.  Then compare that unlikely memory to your worst experience at a Wal-Mart.  The occasional long lines or the difficulty you might have getting help from time to time. 

Think of the busiest Post Office you've seen in the past year.  Compare that to the slowest Wal-Mart (granted, a slow Wal-Mart is sort of a contradiction.) 

If you've ever done any building contracting, think of the most delightful experiences you've had with city electrical, plumbing, and mechanical inspectors.  Think of how prompt they always were for their appointments, plus or minus six hours.  Remember the what it was like navigating through their f***ing automated phone trees and getting sent to the same damn recording multiple times.  Compare that to the times you've found a Wal-Mart out of stock on anything but the hottest Christmas items. 

If you happen to work for a Wal-Mart supplier (Full Disclosure: I do), and you work in the shipping and freight end of things, did you notice some of the guys that The Teamsters started sending out from YRC about a year ago?  I bet it takes some of those guys five or six tries to back up to a handicap-stall toilet.  And yet those dangerous, low end, non-union Wal-Mart drivers can always, without fail, back up to the gates of Hell without pulling forward to straighten up a single time. 

Compare the U.S. government's response to Katrina....

....with that of Wal-Mart. 

  Then, when you're finished with all of those mental gymnastics, go here. 

Why we should all pray for Barack Obama's continued good health

Here's more from the people who want to take over healthcare, run our auto companies, take care of our retirement, stop us from emitting any carbon, and determine which groups we have to hire. 



From Hot Air:

Vice President Biden added to his lengthy list of gaffes Wednesday when he took a moment to honor the memory of the Irish prime minister’s mother — a woman who’s very much alive.



“God rest her soul,” Biden said as he introduced Brian Cowen and President Obama at a St. Patrick’s Day celebration at the White House Wednesday. …


“Wait … your mom’s still, your mom is still alive. It was your Dad (who) passed. God bless her soul. I gotta get this straight,” Biden said.


 
What a great bunch of kidders, those guys.  I wish they could take care of my health, order my food for me in restaurants, help me at four-way-stops, spell-check my blog posts, remind me not to break the speed limit, watch my caloric intake, restrain my dachshund population, make me switch to decaf, and just help me out with everything.  I need them and you need them.  You really do. 
Give them your money. 
We're in good hands.  Really.  I'm 3,000 % less concerned about everything than I used to be. 
 
The picture of the Irish Prime Minister, Barack Obama, and Obama's guarantee of non-impeachment came from here. 

You might be a Libertarian.

If you've ever waited at a stoplight and wondered how much more efficient it would be if stoplights were privatized, you might be a Libertarian. 

If you know how to pronounce the name "Ludwig Von Mises", you might be a Libertarian. 

If you think the funniest three words in the English language are "Small Government Republican", you might be a Libertarian.

If you can't see a Broken Window without thinking of a dead French economist, you might be a Libertarian.

If you've ever stood behind a podium and boasted that "Our candidate broke 5 percent !", you might be a Libertarian. 

If the audience started applauding madly, they were all Libertarians. 

If you've ever had a dream where you were locked in a room with Alexander Hamilton, a rabid dog, one gun, and two bullets, and in your dream you shot Alexander Hamilton twice....you might be a Libertarian. 

If you've ever wondered why we're spending money to have our navy defend Japan and Taiwan from China, using money that we're borrowing from....China, you just might be a Libertarian.

If you root for certain sports teams because they don't play in publicly funded stadiums, you might be a Libertarian.

If you've ever been to a Tea Party, a NORML meeting, a Gay Rights parade, a Peace Run, and helped staff a gun show all in the same month?  You're probably me.  And you're a Libertarian.   

If you think that Barry Goldwater was too soft on Communism, you might be a Libertarian. 

If you think that Karl Marx's quote "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" is a great way to encourage people to hide their abilities and publicize their needs, well, you might be a Libertarian.  (I don't know where I first heard that.  Will give attribution if someone will tell me.)

If you've ever Googled the words "John Stossel DVD Boxed Set", you might be a Libertarian. 

If you've ever broken up with someone because she wouldn't say "Federal Reserve Note" instead of "Dollar", you might be a Libertarian. 

If you've ever carried a pistol because policemen are just too damn heavy, you might be a Libertarian. 

If you not only believe that marijuana should be legalized, but that morphine sulfate should be available in five pound bags at the supermarket for a couple of bucks, like sugar... but probably in a different aisle, to avoid confusion, well, if you go that far with it, you're probably a Libertarian. 

If you've ever gone into a singles bar thinking that The Nolan Chart would be a good conversation starter, you just might be a Libertarian. 

If you own one of the rare Milton Friedman action figures, you might be a Libertarian.

And last, but not least, if you understood everything I just wrote, you might be a Libertarian. 

Go here to join the party ! !

Logo came from here.

A new E-Book to be released

There's going to be a new e-book released soon by one of my favorite libertarian bloggers. 

He's too humble to sing his own praises very loudly, so I'm doing it for him. 

The Work-Free Drugplace

From StopTheDrugWar.Org.....

The Missouri House Thursday passed a bill that would require welfare recipients to undergo drug testing upon "reasonable suspicion" they used drugs. But the Senate version of that bill, SB 607, is under sustained attack by Senate Democrats, who are filibustering it this week.

Under the bills, all work-eligible adults who received cash payments through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program would be drug tested if a caseworker has "reasonable suspicion" they are using drugs. Those who test positive would become temporarily ineligible for cash assistance, but their children could continue to receive benefits through a third party.
TANF is a federal program designed to help poverty-stricken parents provide for their children. In Missouri, more than 112,000 people get cash assistance through the program. The average family on the program gets $292 a month.
A legislative staff fiscal analysis of the Senate bill put the annual cost to the state at more than $5 million next year, and more than $6 million in coming years. Those figures represent the cost of drug testing an estimated 90,000 TANF recipients or new applicants each year and the cost of providing additional drug treatment services to deal with those who test positive.

This is one of those ridiculous sideshows that allows one of our ruling factions to show that they care about your money being wasted, while forcing the other faction to defend giving money to crackheads. 

What would happen if we broadened this proposal to cover other welfare recipients who don't fit the stereotype so well? 

Patricia Woertz, Chairman, CEO and President of Archer Daniels Midland Company, is an ethanol subsidy queen of the worst possible sort.  She has made a ton of money on the public teat.   I want Ms. Woertz (and the rest of her family) to go in for a supervised piss test before she receives another dime of taxpayer money.  She has three kids, and I'm worried about their exposure to this type of behavior. 

At my company, if a driver is involved in any accident that causes damage to people or property, they have to go in for a urinalysis.  Chris Dodd, please report for your drug screen.  We are still trying to find someone willing to test Barney Frank. 

Under the phenomenally corrupt deals within the pending healthcare monstrosity, Nebraskans will receive something called "The Cornhusker Kickback".  Mary Landrieu orchestrated something called "The Louisiana Purchase" for her Louisiana constituents.  Florida gets something mockingly named "Gatoraid".  The residents of these states need to get a test tube, get in line, and give us at least three ounces.  (Note to my Cajun friends in Louisiana: Nobody is impressed if you can supply 16 ounces.  Nobody.  Don't bother.)  This should take a while, but the results will be in the mail before the November elections, which is all that matters in any of this. 

Are you a farmer?  Are you one of the ten percent of all farmers who collected 74 percent of all subsidies amounting to $130.6 billion dollars over a 12 year period?   Get your wholesome, welfare-queen-condemning, salt-of-the-earth rear ends in line to fill up a piss cup.  (Warning: Don't bother substituting livestock urine.  It's been done before, and we know what you're up to.) 

Al Gore is trying valiantly to force you to use products and technologies developed by his partners at the venture capital firm of Kleiner-Perkins.  Well, Al, you're not going to get a cent until you can prove that you're not on crack.  Plus, there are a lot of us who are just curious. 

Seriously, why stop at the "traditional" welfare recipient?  Let's test military contractors.  Let's have every recipient of the Porkulus kickbacks go in for a urinalysis.  Want an NEA grant?  Prove that you haven't smoked weed, and good luck to you.  Are you a UAW employee, and did Obama save your job with taxpayer money?  Get in line. 

Just think....if the Missouri Republicans and I get our way, we'll soon be doing nothing but test each other. 

Welcome to the Work-Free Drugplace. 

The poster came from here. 

Walgreen's pharmacies won't be accepting new Medicaid patients after April 16th

From The Seattle Times:

Effective April 16, Walgreens drugstores across the state won't take any new Medicaid patients, saying that filling their prescriptions is a money-losing proposition — the latest development in an ongoing dispute over Medicaid reimbursement.

The company, which operates 121 stores in the state, will continue filling Medicaid prescriptions for current patients.
In a news release, Walgreens said its decision to not take new Medicaid patients stemmed from a "continued reduction in reimbursement" under the state's Medicaid program, which reimburses it at less than the break-even point for 95 percent of brand-name medications dispensed to Medicaid patents.
Walgreens follows Bartell Drugs, which stopped taking new Medicaid patients last month at all 57 of its stores in Washington, though it still fills Medicaid prescriptions for existing customers at all but 15 of those stores.

Please don't allow this to change your opinion about the need for more government involvement in our healthcare system.  Move along folks, nothing to see here.  Move along, move along.  No government inefficiency here.  Keep moving, please.  Thank you.  

Anatomy Of A Cable News Story

Warning: Adult language alert.
Another Warning: It's 100% accurate.
Final Warning: Finish your coffee and step away from the computer. This thing is funny.



Found it on Ace Of Spades.

Cedric Katesby Lives ! ! !

For about the last two years, I have been blessed/cursed with a commenter who calls himself Cedric Katesby.  He lives somewhere in South Korea. 
Go here for a sample of Cedric in action.  Cedric believes that we are causing the earth to get warmer.  I don't.  I think earth's temperature is on a natural cycle.  I believe that there was a Medieval Warm Period.  I believe that it was once warm enough to grow potatoes in Greenland.  I believe that Al Gore's "Hockey Stick" is more like a little pruning hook. 
Cedric believes otherwise.  We have argued with each other for about two years.

Then East Anglia University's Climate Research Unit's emails were hacked, revealing efforts to "hide the decline" of warming.  Much nastiness was uncovered about the peer-review process. 
Then the Copenhagen Climate Change conference was a dud. 
I stopped hearing from Cedric.  Dr. Ralph, among others, wondered where Cedric went off to, and my theory was that he might have lost his funding.  I didn't think I'd ever hear from Cedric again.   
A few weeks ago, I got an email.  Cedric wanted to send me some books.  I gave him my work address, and didn't think much more about it. 

The other day, I got two large boxes of books in the mail from Barnes & Noble, compliments of Mr. Katesby in South Korea.  Most of them are about Climate Change, some are about skepticism in general (Cedric still can't believe that I'm not a religious fundamentalist) and some are about other issues where we've disagreed.  A few of them he just thought I would like !
It's the most extreme example of true dedication to a cause that I've ever seen.  I'm guesstimating that Cedric spent more than $200 on these books. 

Included are:

1) Atmospheric Science at NASA: A History

2) Climate Change: Picturing The Science

3) Doubt Is Their Product: How Industry's Assault on Science Threatens Your Health

4) Alternative Healthcare: A Comprehensive Guide

5) Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions And Misuses Reavealed

6) Creationisms Trojan Horse: The Wedge Of Intelligent Design

7) Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms The Planet, and Threatens Our Lives.

8) The Cigarette Century: The Rise, Fall, and Deadly Persistence of the Product That Defined America

9) The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

10) The Faith Healers

11) Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time

12) Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assasination of JFK

13) The Discovery Of Global Warming

A couple of things about these.  "The Demon-Haunted World" by Carl Sagan is one of my favorites, and I read it for the third time last year.  I've already been loaned to a friend.  "Case Closed" by Posner is one of the few best-selling books on the Kennedy assasination to more or less agrees with the Warren Commission Report.  (Mrs. Sepulchre is a Kennedy assasination expert, and she takes issue with many of Mr. Posner's findings.)  "The Faith Healers", by James Randi, is a Prometheus Press classic that I read soon after it was released (late 1980's?) but I look forward to revisiting it. 

It's going to take me years to read all of this stuff.  I'll probably start with the NASA title, then go to "The Discovery Of Global Warming" since those are the two most intimidating volumes. 

Cedric, if you ever find yourself in Fort Worth, TX, I owe you one.  The food and drinks are on me. 

Next topic.....Think of the person you would most like to convert to your point of view on your favorite hot-button issue.  For instance, my passion right now is freedom and liberty. 

If I were to mail 13 books to "convert" someone to Libertarianism, I would probably select:

1) Free To Choose, by Milton Friedman

2) Modern Times, by Paul Johnson

3) Mao's Last Revolution, by Roderick MacFarquhar

4) Libertarianism: A Primer, by David Boaz

5) Radicals For Capitalism: by Brian Doherty

6) Eat The Rich, Parliament Of Whores, and Holidays In Hell, by P.J. O'Rourke

7) Hamilton's Curse, by Thomas J. DiLorenzo

8) What It Means To Be A Libertarian, by Charles Murray

9) Basic Economics, by Thomas Sowell

10) Economics In One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt

11) I, Pencil, by Leonard Read

12) The Revolution, by Ron Paul

13) The Price Of Everything, by Russ Roberts

Any other suggestions? 

Cedric, thanks again for the books.  We really have missed you ! 

Photographs of the books came from the Mac/Photoshop/Photography Princess. 

Orange Punch - another good libertarian blog

Here's a libertarian blog associated with The Orange County Register. 

Orange Punch. 

A sampling, this one from Mark Landsbaum:

In their head-to-head debate Monday, Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner showed enough differences to give voters a choice. Poizner’s positions almost always were to the right of Whitman’s, but on one particular issue he not only was to her right, but he was right.


Whitman advocated “targeted” tax cuts. That’s the insidious game played by politicians, who take your money, but deign to return some on the condition you do what they want you to do.

“Targeted” is code for “approved by the government.” Certain kinds of business or personal activity, indeed, certain kinds of businesses or individuals, are rewarded (with their own money) because of what they do or who they are.


Everyone should be offended. Those getting “targeted” tax cuts should realize they have been played. The government took their money and now uses it to bribe to do what the government prefers they do. Those not getting “targeted” tax cuts should realize their money is being used to play favorites, rewarding others, while punishing them.


That’s why Poizner’s proposed across-the-board tax cuts are preferable. He’s willing to let you keep your own money and do whatever you like with it.

Heh.  Well said, sir ! ! 

These guys are church preachers, not evangelists, and should be bookmarked by the already-converted. 

The picture of the delicious looking orange punch came from here. 

INSURANCE PREMIUMS ARE GOING TO DECREASE BY 3,000% ! ! !

If Obamacare passes, premiums could fall by 3,000 %  ! ! 
Go to the 1:05 mark on this video  ! ! ! 
If we'll just let him have his way, $6,000 per year insurance policies will only cost TWO DOLLARS ! ! ! 



Let's pass it now ! !  What are we waiting on?? 

I found this on Weasel Zippers.  I will be disappointed if this turns out to be a teleprompter malfunction. 

The Cato Institute on the true cost of public education

Here's the latest Cato Institute video on education.  The link will get you to a PDF explaining the methodology used to get the numbers in the video.
If you need a standard for comparison on this, you can send a fairly low-maintenance kid to Texas A and M, one of the best schools in the state, get her in classes, buy books, rent a dorm/apartment, and keep the kid fed for around $16,000.00 per year. 
You can put a child in Fort Worth Country Day, or Trinity Valley, two of Fort Worth's finest private academies, for somewhere around $16,000.



Please allow me to counter a few objections to privatizing our school system tomorrow:

1) Private schools don't have to accept anyone who shows up (special needs kids, for example). 
Well, we're currently spending a QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS per classroom.  According to the Cato Institute, it's double that in D.C. All that money is going someplace, and it isn't to teachers.  There is some slack to be found in the savings for special schools for kids with special needs. 

2) Some parents, if given vouchers, would not make good choices for their children. 
Ok, think of the worst school choice a Fort Worth parent could make. 
The defense rests. 

The Dime Store Deity

The Photoshoppers at the New York Times have taken it to a new level.  I found it, appropriately, at Moonbattery.  Here's their latest aid to Lenten worship, a devotional icon centered on the lonely battle of He Who Now Dwells Among Us.

Andrew Ian Dodge on the first British Tea Party

Go here to read my buddy Andrew Ian Dodge on the first British Tea Party event. 

In both of these interviews, (Daniel) Hannan was keen to assure people that no tea would be harmed in any way. American observers found the fact that a tea party event in the UK was being planned both ironic and amusing. However, the problems discussed were as serious as the ones with which American tea party attendees are concerned: high taxes, bloated government, and fiscal irresponsibility.

I'll say it again....there is very little difference between what is screwed up here, and what is screwed up in Britain.  Ditto for what works well. 

Libertarians of the world unite !   You have nothing to lose but your unnecessary overhead ! ! 

Representative Travis Childers of Mississippi needs to hear from you

Go here for a list of the Blue Dog Democrats who are most likely to be swayed away from supporting Obamacare. 
This is an important time.  Start calling them NOW. 
There are no Texans on this list, but since I have a lot of readers in North Mississippi (land of my birth) let's all call this guy.....

Travis Childers (MS-01)

DC Address: The Honorable Travis W. Childers
United States House of Representatives
1708 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-2401
DC Phone: 202-225-4306
DC Fax: 202-225-3549
Mississipians can go here to send Rep. Childers an email. 
 
He seems to have basic sense, and represents a right-leaning district.  Greg Davis is the name of the Republican most likely to defeat him if he supports Obamacare. 

Obama Akbar ! ! !

Found this on Hot Air:

As Rich Lowry said on "Meet The Press" the other day, Nancy Pelosi's going to channel Ataturk and his famous order of the battle of Gallipoli: "I don't order you to attack, I order you to die."

A rant

If I have to hear one more politician talking about how their spending bill will create jobs, I'm going to go stark raving mad.  I think that in the last week, I've heard it on NPR, Fox, CNN, MSNBC, and in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 

Jobs aren't created by forcing people to surrender their money so it can be used by some other favored group.  Jobs are created by trade.  People trade their skills, their time, their expertise, or their bodies for money.  If someone values your skills, time, expertise, or body more than they value their money, they'll offer a swap.  I'll give you x amount of dollars in exchange for x amount of your time. 

Unless government intervenes, these trades only happen when both parties believe they're getting the best end of the deal. 

The only way to increase these trades, their frequency, and the number of parties involved, is to lower and/or eliminate barriers to these trades.  Stop punishing people who succeed via trade.  Stop government munchkins from injecting themselves into these trades as middlemen.  Allow people to trade all over the world without penalities. 

Some employers take huge risks when they try to create something.  They sometimes lose everything that they've invested, unless, of course, the government steps in and covers their losses (type "bailout" into the top left corner of this site). 
I repeat, entrepreneurs can lose everything if when they aren't successful.   At what confiscation rate should government punish their occasional successes?

End of rant.  Thanks for listening. 

Quangos try to kill you.

You may have heard about a controversial healthcare plan lurching its way through the U.S. Congress? 

Well, go here for more enlightenment.  "Middle Aged Dad", a British guy who commented on some of my earlier posts about Obamacare, is a little pissed.  (His message to us is "Run for your lives, while you still can ! The Quangos are gonna get you !  Run, for God's sake !  It's THE QUANGOS !") 

A Quango is a British derogatory term for any group financed by the government that is not actually part of the government.  [qua(si) n(on-)g(overnmental) o(rganization).]  We'll soon be calling our insurance companies Quangos.  General Motors is now a Quango.  Archer Daniels Midland might as well be a Quango.  Noted con artist Al Gore wanted to be a Quango, but I think we may have prevented it. 

"Middle Aged Dad's" post on his miserable experience with Socialized Medicine had a comment from someone who runs the National Death Service blog.  (Get it?  Get it? In England their Obamacare program is called The National Health Service?  Like, if we implement Obamacare over here, it'll be truly screwed up beyond recognition, and then we'll nickname Obamacare after someone or something that's totally screwed up?  Oh.  Wait.  We've already done it.  Maybe someone can think of something worse.) 
Anyway, if you have any warm and fuzzy feelings about socialized medicine, go to the National Death Service blog, and hit a few random posts. 

Middle Aged Dad has a fairly limited blogroll, but among the honorees is someone named Mark Wadsworth, who declares that "England Is Not A Museum".   Mr. Wadsworth is running an online poll about the Keynesian mulitiplier effect.  There is only one correct answer, and that would be number 3.  Go there.  Take the test.  Hit option 3. 

Happy Saturday morning to everyone.  I'm through surfing for the day.  Gotta go to work.

Ok, I lied.  I was looking for a funny picture to illustrate Britain's National Health Service fiasco, and came across this poster.  This is a serious poster.  It was designed by non-comedians, who weren't trying to be funny. 

1)  Just how pissed off are the Brits, if they have to put up posters warning against abuse of National Death Service staff? 
2)  Go here for the blog post where I found the poster.  If you don't have time for that, just note the multi-culti "We Are The World" NHS staff, as compared to the nasty, ethnocentric colonial masters and warlords on the right. 

Christ almighty, we're in trouble. 

Government Motors vs Toyotas that discriminate against the elderly

You may have witnessed the Government Motors Board of Directors grilling the upper management of Toyota a few days ago.   

Here's Theodore Frank, writing in The Washington Examiner.  It seems that the Toyotas with the accelaration problems tend to discriminate against the elderly. 

In the 24 cases where driver age was reported or readily inferred, the drivers included those of the ages 60, 61, 63, 66, 68, 71, 72, 72, 77, 79, 83, 85, 89—and I’m leaving out the son whose age wasn’t identified, but whose 94-year-old father died as a passenger.

These “electronic defects” apparently discriminate against the elderly, just as the sudden acceleration of Audis and GM autos did before them. (If computers are going to discriminate against anyone, they should be picking on the young, who are more likely to take up arms against the rise of the machines and future Terminators).
But Toyota is being mau-maued by Democratic regulators and legislators in the pockets of trial lawyers—who, according to the Associated Press, stand to make a billion dollars from blaming Toyota for driver error.
And that is before hundreds of past run-of-the-mill Toyota accidents that killed or injured people are re-classified in future lawsuits as an electronics failure in an attempt to win settlements against the company.

So why are G.M.'s owners so enthusiastic about orchestrating a full-blown witch hunt against Toyota?  Well, after saving G.M. and Chrysler from bankruptcy, and taking a bazillion dollars in donations from the UAW, it probably seemed like the most logical step.