By Paddy Notar
I need to correct a few things about this ridiculous national, healthcare bill that might pass sometime in February or March.
First off, you won't be charged $750 immediately. You will be fined up to $750 annually by the IRS, if you don't sign up. It might start sooner or later. Either way, how the hell can the IRS, who can't keep up with what's on their plate, deal with chasing people down to get what's owed in penalties?
Secondly, the House bill will pay for abortions but with a lot of red tape to go through. As if the decision isn't hard enough they want to make it even harder for a woman. The Senate wants no red tape. They don't want to discuss it now and are taking it off the table.
Third, the Senate now wants a wellness clause put into the bill. Basically, this states that insurance companies, who will run the program, can't charge you for pre-existing conditions, but can increase your premiums for not taking care of yourself. What does that mean? It means that if you have diabetes, a cholesterol count of over 200, you smoke, or you're overweight then the insurance companies can increase your premium by up to 30 percent ($2,400 for a single person or $6,400 for a family). If you don't do what they want you to do, in order to better yourself (join a gym or exercise at their discretion) then you're done. Wow! What a great country we must be when we force people to do something they simply don't want to do and penalize them if they don't do it.
This bill is a total joke and is unconstitutional. Precedent in the Supreme Court has already shown that (New York State vs. United States of America), and I'm sure they can't wait to toss it when it passes. Someone asked Sen. Begich if it was constitutional. He said that their attorneys said it was. That's comforting to know our own Senator has such a firm grasp on a bill that will change our lives.
And now that Scott Brown, the former state senator of Massachusetts, has won the U.S. Senate seat, it now gives the Republicans the 41st vote that they need to filibuster the healthcare bill, which in essence kills it. This was a vote on the administration trying to shove legislation down the throats of the citizens who simply don't want this bill at this time. This was not a vote so much for a Senate seat but a vote against the administration. Look for Democrats to pull some maneuvering to pass get the bill passed before Brown takes the Senate seat.
Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. How much do Sen. Begich and Sen. Murkowski pay for a premium and deductible with their Government insurance plan? I forgot already. That's right, it's zero! You pay for their policy. And they make $174,000 a year. If they call the system fair then why don't they live under the same one?
Enough said.
So how's the food in Girdwood? Maxine's has a pretty good menu these days. I give Kristine a lot of credit for the nice mix of wines they currently have. Nothing too expensive, just tasty. I am glad to see they took the tempura-fried rack of lamb off the menu. How do you cook a rack to a desired temperature if you're frying it in tempura? It came out looking like a broth soup with paste on the bone. Maxine's does well when they stick to simple, fresh flavors. It's also the best venue to catch music.
Coast Pizzeria has a menu that even includes the kitchen sink. It's been very good lately as it finally has consistency. Front of the house is also friendly and you don't get the “uh…uh” on the other end of the phone anymore. It was like talking to a victim of a head trauma.
I watched a car slide down Olympic Loop a week ago and almost hit a car traveling up the hill in the other lane. What wizard came up with the idea of this traffic catastrophe waiting to happen? Do you know how many skiers and little kids walk around that area? By the time a car sees who is turning the corner it just might be too late. And why the hell does it need to be a two-way road? Was Olympic Loop ever that busy?
We throw the word a “billion” around a lot. Senators say it as if our country actually has that much money, in our banks, to spend. Let's put it in perspective. A billion seconds ago it was 1959. A billion minutes ago Christ walked the earth. A billion days ago there wasn't anything with two legs walking around. But our government spends $1 billion in this country every 8 hours.
Some Senator from Louisiana wants $250 billion to fix New Orleans. That means every man, woman, and child, who lives there, could get $508,000 or every home (188,000 of them) would be worth $1.3 million each. I'd love to help, really, I would, but all of my money is tied up in Haiti, where most of the people who need it won't see a penny. The thugs will take our supplies and keep them for themselves and the black-market, while the needy starve to death. Didn't Katrina teach us that we need to do more than throw money at the crisis? Kind of like our health care problem and the war on drugs, which all lead to our bridges to nowhere.
