Student Nondiscrimination Act of 2010 – Prohibits public school students from being excluded from participating in, or subject to discrimination under, any federally-assisted educational program on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or that of their associates. Considers harassment to be a form of discrimination. Prohibits retaliation against anyone for opposing conduct they reasonably believe to be unlawful under this Act. Authorizes federal departments and agencies to enforce these prohibitions by cutting off the educational assistance of recipients found to be violating them. Allows an aggrieved individual to assert a violation of this Act in a judicial proceeding and recover reasonable attorney’s fees should they prevail. Deems a state’s receipt of federal educational assistance for a program to constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity for conduct prohibited under this Act regarding such program.
“In a time of universal deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” George Orwell
Speaker Pelosi is attacking those who oppose Government-Run Health with more out right lies.
Jonah Goldberg responds to Speaker Pelosi’s “asininity” with the following:
Now this is a pas de trois of dishonesty, slander, and idiocy. Not only is Pelosi lying when she says protesters are bringing swastikas to these town halls, not only is she suggesting that American citizens are Nazis for having the effrontery to get in the way of Obamacare, but she’s also saying that the alleged swastikas are obvious proof that these protests are manufactured by slick P.R. gurus.
How does that work? What public-relations genius says: “Okay, we need these protests to seem like an authentic backlash of real Americans. Make sure everyone has enough Nazi paraphernalia!”
Meanwhile, Sen. Barbara Boxer insists the protests have to be fake because the protesters are too “well-dressed.” Likewise, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says this is all “manufactured anger” because the protesters — he calls them the “Brooks Brothers Brigade” — are too tastefully appointed to be authentic protesters. Apparently only filthy hippies can petition government.
This, of course, doesn’t preclude the possibility that the protesters are also Nazis; they were snappy dressers (Hugo Boss made SS uniforms, after all). But we’ll leave that there.
And who exactly is bringing violence to the health care townhall meetings? The very people accusing those who oppose Government-Run Health Care of violence.
Kenneth Gladney was attacked on the evening of August 6, 2009 at Rep. Russ Carnahan’s town hall meeting in South St. Louis County when he was approached by an SEIU representative as Kenneth was handing out “Don’t Tread on Me” flags to other conservatives.
Here is a video Kenneth’s attorney, David B. Brown:
Democrats Re-group:
Carrie Budoff Brown of Politico reports that “Top White House aides gave Senate Democrats a recess battle plan on Thursday, arming the lawmakers with tips for avoiding disastrous town hall meetings while showing them polling on popular aspects of the reform effort.”
Brown writes:
Senior White House adviser David Axelrod and deputy chief of staff Jim Messina told senators to focus on the insured and how they would benefit from “consumer protections” in the overhaul, such as ending the practice of denying insurance based on preexisting conditions and ensuring the continuity of coverage between jobs.
They showed video clips of the confrontational town halls that have dominated the media coverage, and told senators to do more prep work than usual for their public meetings by making sure their own supporters turn out, senators and aides said.
“If you get hit, we will punch back twice as hard,” Messina said, according to an official who attended the meeting.
“They are just helping us understand the fringe that is trying to mess up our meetings,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
Senators were urged to zero in on the insured, who need to be convinced that there is something in the bill for them. “The next five weeks is about closing the sale with the insured population,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said.
Axelrod and Messina also presented polling that showed the insurance reforms were popular with women and rural residents.
“There is unprecedented insurance reforms — things that have never been done,” said Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), a member of the Health, Energy, Labor and Pensions Committee, which approved its health care bill last month. “In our committee, we had to vote, and 10 Republicans voted against all those insurance reforms — every single one of them. Not many people know that but if I have anything to do with it, they will know it.”
The Senate Democratic caucus meeting followed a sitdown earlier Thursday at the White House between President Barack Obama and the six Finance Committee members who have been trying to negotiate a bipartisan bill.
The president urged the group to continue work on a compromise, but it also discussed the possibility of Democrats going it alone if the talks proved fruitless.
“If Republicans aren’t there, it could get to the point where sometime after the recess. … Democrats may have to go in a different direction,” Baucus said. “I hope not, but we have to face facts.”
But, he added, “I don’t think it will become a reality.”
The six senators met for about an hour with Obama and discussed policy issues including the expansion of Medicaid. For part of the meeting, they kicked their staff members out of the room, Baucus said. The group includes Baucus, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and Sen. Olympia Snow (R-Maine).
“He encouraged us to continue with the effort and we talked about what policies are better than some others, and how we should keep working through the August recess,” Baucus said. “We may reach a point though where have to take stock when we get back. At that point, if things are going great, fine. If not then we may have to go in some other direction.”
Snowe said they told Obama there would be no hiatus in their talks through the break, and they agreed to assess their progress in September.
“He is concerned about timelines throughout the fall,” Snowe said. “And he didn’t issue, frankly, any timelines, which I think we also appreciated. He understands there needs to be flexibility, but he obviously knows that time marches on. So he just wants to see what the standing will be at that point so he knows how to proceed himself in moving forward.”
Furthermore, Health Care for America NOW! (HCAN) has prepared a “Playbook For Thwarting Town Hall Protesters” for its fieldworkers. You can find it here:
Cindy Horsell of the Houston Chronical reports that “Physicians jammed a town hall meeting in The Woodlands on Thursday, expressing fears about the cost and effectiveness of a health care reform bill that could come up for a vote in Congress as early as September.
U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, hosted the meeting attended by about 90 physicians at Memorial Hermann Hospital-The Woodlands.
“The bottom line is that doctors don’t want socialized medicine — another flawed health care system like Medicare. They don’t believe it will lower the costs or improve quality,” Brady said. “Medicare is already going bankrupt and not quality care. It also shifts medical costs onto other paying customers. It needs to be fixed first.”
The bill is designed to insure 94 percent of all Americans (excluding those covered by Medicare, which kicks in at age 65) and would cost an estimated $1.5 trillion over 10 years. The revenue to pay for it would come from $544 billion over the next decade in income taxes on single people making more than $280,000 annually and couples making more than $350,000 annually; $37 billion in business taxes; $500 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid; and sizable penalties paid by individuals and employers who don’t obtain coverage.
“I am very concerned about what this will cost us in terms of dollars,” said Dr. William Parker, the chief medical officer where the meeting was held. “Before this week, they did not tell us any details of the plan. We’ve had too little time to read, digest and discuss something that will be such a major overhaul of the health care system.”
U.S. Rep. Gene Green, a Democrat who represents a blue-collar area from Baytown to Denver Harbor east of Houston, has held four meetings on the health care plan and received mixed reviews.
“There seems to be an organized Republican effort to have people come to a Democrat’s town meeting and dominate the discussions,” Green said. “Some have admitted they don’t live in my area. This has never happened to me before.”
He plans to hold more meetings and only admit those who live in his district. Green said many citizens seem to have misconceptions about the plan. He said it will be a boost for his lower-income district, which has many more uninsured residents than The Woodlands.
“This plan will provide health care for 223,000 of the 243,000 who have no health care plans in my district,” he said.
Those of us who oppose government-run health care must remain vigilant in asking the tough questions. We must do so with cooler heads than those who support it. We must be informed and accurate and avoid emotional argument.
Republicans on the Joint Economic Committee, led by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX), developed the following chart to expose the truth about the Democrats’ health care plan to the American people. Click image to enlarge.
House Republicans, led by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) and House Republicans on the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), today outlined a chart detailing the bureaucratic nightmare of the House Democrats’ health care plan. The chart, which Brady detailed in a presentation to GOP leaders today, identifies at least 31 new federal programs, agencies, commissions and mandates that accompany the unprecedented government takeover of health care in America. House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement today:
“This chart depicts the health care nightmare that House Democrats have planned for families and small businesses. This isn’t reform; it’s a recipe for disaster that will lead to higher health care costs, lower quality, rationed care, and bureaucrats making medical decisions instead of doctors and patients. Families shouldn’t have to answer to shadowy Washington bureaucrats when they’re seeking health care treatments for themselves and their loved ones.
“If this isn’t bad enough, this new maze of government bureaucracy will be funded by a new small business tax that will cost more American jobs. During a time of economic recession, the last thing Congress should be doing is punishing small businesses that create a majority of the jobs in this country. If Democrats are serious about job creation and real health care reform, they’ll scrap this plan and start working with House Republicans on solutions the American people want. Republicans have offered a plan to reduce costs and expand Americans’ access to quality care – without a small business tax. I want to thank Rep. Brady and House Republicans on the Joint Economic Committee for their work in exposing the truth about what the Democrats’ plan means for families and small businesses.”
NOTE: Republicans on the Joint Economic Committee, led by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX), developed the following chart to expose the truth about the Democrats’ health care plan to the American people.
![Glenn Beck - States Test the 10th Amendment [1 of 2] - May 7, 2009](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/W_Lv0Nfvkvo/default.jpg)