Stinky Senate Bill Now Sweet Masterpiece?

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While earlier in the debate most liberals vastly preferred the House version of ObamaCare to the Senate debacle, suddenly everything is rosy now that something has actually passed. New Republic senior editor Jonathan Chait goes so far as to call it a “masterfully crafted piece of legislation.” Sadly the internet has a longer memory than last night… Let’s look at how liberals viewed the Senate bill back in December.

Markos Moulitsas founder and publisher of the Daily Kos (self proclaimed “the largest progressive community blog in the United States”) tweeted:

Insurance companies win. Time to kill this monstrosity coming out of the Senate.

Howard Dean the liberal former DNC Chairman said:

This is essentially the collapse of health care reform in the United States Senate. Honestly the best thing to do right now is kill the Senate bill, go back to the House, start the reconciliation process, where you only need 51 votes and it would be a much simpler bill.

Representative Louise Slaughter of the now infamous “Slaughter Solution” wrote at CNN:

Senate bill isn’t health reform

The Senate health care bill is not worthy of the historic vote that the House took a month ago.

Even though the House version is far from perfect, it at least represents a step toward our goal of giving 36 million Americans decent health coverage.

But under the Senate plan, millions of Americans will be forced into private insurance company plans, which will be subsidized by taxpayers. That alternative will do almost nothing to reform health care but will be a windfall for insurance companies. Is it any surprise that stock prices for some of those insurers are up recently?

…Supporters of the weak Senate bill say “just pass it — any bill is better than no bill.”

I strongly disagree — a conference report is unlikely to sufficiently bridge the gap between these two very different bills.

It’s time that we draw the line on this weak bill and ask the Senate to go back to the drawing board. The American people deserve at least that.

David Broder of the Washington Post had to hold his nose over the Senate ObamaCare bill:

The health-care reform bill coming out of the Senate presents a real dilemma for spectators: How do you applaud while holding your nose?

…The taint has rubbed off on the bill.

…Liberal Democrats do not like the independent commission in the Senate bill having power to enforce savings in Medicare and the private health system. And labor does not accept the Senate plan to tax high-end insurance plans.

We’re Headed Off a Cliff If ObamaCare Passes

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Cal Thomas with FOX News has a great column on how ObamaCare will share Medicare’s waste, fraud and abuse as well as it’s shrinking coverage and ever ballooning costs.

…Democrats now readily admit that Medicare is full of waste, fraud and abuse, but they want us to believe they can run an even larger venture without throwing additional money away. Amazing!

…Addressing critics of the bill, President Obama said no one is “going to pull the plug on grandma.” They won’t have to. Grandma will be denied treatment because she will be too much of a financial burden on government. It’s called rationing. Grandma had better start working out, eating lots of oatmeal and hope she doesn’t get sick. Why do you think the president kept mentioning sick children? It’s because children are the ones who will get the most – and best – treatment. Rahm Emanuel’s brother, Ezekiel, has said government has a right to decide how many health care dollars you are worth. And if children with a lifelong taxpaying potential are worth more than grandma who is taking more from the tax pot than she is contributing, that’s too bad for grandma.

…The president promised again “you can keep your doctor.” But what if the doctor quits because he or she can’t afford to accept reduced fees mandated by government to keep costs down, while paying ever-increasing premiums for malpractice insurance to protect the doctor from lawsuits, which, by the way, is another reason the doctor did so many tests.

Companies sometimes test-market new products in regions of the country to see how well they sell. Government-run health care has been test-marketed in Massachusetts and it is a disaster. The cost of the state’s insurance program has ballooned by 42 percent, or almost $600 million. According to an analysis by the Rand Corporation, “in the absence of policy change, health care spending in Massachusetts is projected to nearly double to $123 billion in 2020, increasing 8 percent faster than the state’s gross domestic product.”

The cost of insurance in Massachusetts is the highest in the nation. Double-digit rate increases are expected again this year. Yet, President Obama claimed Saturday that under the Democrats’ plan, rates will go down. How is this possible? If Massachusetts can’t run a cost-effective health program, how can the federal government? And by the way, the only reason Massachusetts has not gone broke (but is headed there) is because Washington has conducted large transfusions of cash because it has a vested interest in protecting the illusion of Massachusetts’ success.

The president said we should support the health insurance bill out of “a sense of neighborliness and community.” When I was growing up, that meant you, not government, helped your neighbor. Government was a last resort, not a first resource…

Jobs will be lost because of this bill. Already, Caterpiller Company is laying-off workers because it estimates the health care bill will cost the company $100 million… – FoxNews

Financial Analyst Predicts 50-60% Income Taxes With ObamaCare

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Jim Cramer of CNBC’s Mad Money, co-founder of TheStreet.com (provider of financial commentary, analysis and news) and the “Bottom Line” columnist for New York magazine made a prediction on MSNBC’s Morning Joe recently: steep tax increases because ObamaCare will “break the budget”.  Not only will income taxes as much as double, capital gains tax will sky rocket from 5-15% currently to 50-60%.

Remember capital gains is not just a tax on the rich but anyone with an investment account such as Baby Boomers scrambling to save for retirement or little old ladies living off their invested life savings.

He goes on to mention that since he pays state income tax as well, that ObamaCare will mean he get to live off of 35% of what he makes and the government will get 65%.  That’s fair – right?

Cramer also recently had a nice segment on how the spirit and the tax code has always historically supported Tax Avoidance (recently called unpatriotic) it is Tax Evasion that is both illegal and possibly immoral.  An important difference apparently lost on some simple minded elected officials.

Lenovo Mini Wireless Keyboard Review

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lenovo-remote.jpgI just got my hands on the new mini keyboard from Lenovo today.  Targeted at HTPC setups, this wireless wonder solves the problem of needing full PC controls in a remote form factor.  But does it work as well as one would hope?  Mostly.

Overall

The overall feel of the device is nice.  It fits in your hand as you would expect from  a well made remote.  The underside is a soft matte plastic that I wish they had continued on the top of the device.  The shiny black plastic around the trackball isn’t nearly as supple and quickly accumulates fingerprints (see pic below).  At 126 grams with batteries the device is noticeably lighter than a Tivo remote (164 grams).  The fact that you don’t need a driver disk is another bonus.

Wireless

The Lenovo N5901 uses 2.4G wireless promises up to 10 meters of range, and in my testing I had no problems at 23 feet or even at 27 feet through a wall.  At 35 feet and through two walls the controls would work sometimes. Needless to say, if your media room is larger than this thing’s range – you can afford a much more elaborate solution.  The fact that the micro transmitter fits inside the battery compartment is a nice touch especially if you are using this for on-the-road power points instead of sofa surfing.

Keyboard

Levovo is famous for keyboard quality and this mini is no exception.  The keys are straight off any good texting device, and provide solid feedback when thumbing away.  However, since this “media remote” is targeted HTPC use, I would have like to see back lighting on the keys.  Which would come in handy during dimly lit movies.  The media buttons across the top are a welcome addition.  The orange button launches your “my computer” window – good for easy DVD access or an extra HD filled with media.

Trackball

This is the most disappointing part of the otherwise top notch package.  The trackball seems cheaper than the rest of the device.  The feedback is just a tad off.  It can both seem too jumpy when clicking a link and too slow when moving around the screen.  Again this isn’t a huge issue, it is just not a smooth as you would expect.  Another problem is that trackball is too tall. (see pic below)  It is too easy when right clicking to hit the track ball and move the curser. (Lefties would have the opposite problem)  A slightly larger trackball sitting lower probably would have reduced this problem.  And the Lenovo eraser nub may have been the best solution.  Though it may have been price considerations that left that off the table.

lenovo-remote-back.jpg lenovo-remote-finger-prints.jpg lenovo-remote-side.jpg

Conclusion

Is the Mini Wireless Keyboard perfect? No. However considering the other options on the market, you’d be hard pressed to find a better solution anywhere near the $60 list price. Watch for a coupon from ThinkPads.com and it becomes an easy decision.