Sebelius; another poor Obama selection

I have never understood the idea of NEVER putting a medical professional in the role of Secretary of Health and Human Services. Makes no sense. WHat qualifications does Daschle or Sebelius or any non-medical professional have to run a department that deals with MEDICAL ISSUES.

Pres. Obama is doing nothing different than any other president. But I just figured with Change supposedly we can believe in, maybe he would fill the role with someone who knows something about medical issues.

I guess at least we should be happy that Governor Sebilius is not a tax cheat like a good chunk of the rest of his cabinet appointments.

As for abortion...until a specific case is brought up through the courts in which a DIRECT challenege to Roe v Wade is made...there is ZERO chance of outlawing it. The only thing that matters is making sure that it is almost NEVER used. And that requires sensible restrictions and regulations to its use.

He did catch a typo which is not unusual in blogs. I meant serious and linear serial thinking of course. Also, I have no objections to this guy posting, but I do object to his continuing to write for Voices after the expiration of one year. We should not have to endure such a sicko indefinitely. Also, Baloney never answered any questions about his credentials (or even basic sources) that might validate his numerous unsupported assertions. Other posters have appropriately defined proabortion and prochoice. But, Bolano continues to rant and rave. For the record, I have worked for both Republicans and Democrats, and find Baloney an embarrassment to real conservatives who are not the thin-liped, thick-jawed, and beady-eyed crowd to which Baloney appears to belong.

I asked for Ross' credentials to support his assertions and knowledge base, but he did not provide these. I suspect he has a undergraduate degree from UMKC, and has done no series thinking then or afterwards. He has no professional credentials whatsoever or competence in straight thinking.

At first, I thought that Ross was just simple, but now I believe him to be schizophrenic as well. At 11:45AM, he noted his absence of name calling throughout his many "articles" and "posts." The article above makes most extreme and unfair accusations (name calling) as have been pointed out by Interface, facelessdrone2005, and Edith. Bolano has no objective evidence to support his assertions, and he constantly confuses terms, especially "proaboration" with "prochoice". This appears to be willful as well as evidence of an extreme vocabulary deficiency.

I believe as some have suggested that a person who once was selected (poorly in this case) for Midwest Voices should not be permitted to continue indefinitely. I have had enough of this guy.

Note to Star: Please, when Midwest Voices writers are done for their year, don't let them blog any more. They should have to post like the rest of us.

Will we be reading this reactionary for years to come?

I agree with much of your sebelius assessment, yet am excited to see her leave Kansas for the HHS position.

Her departure will allow Kansas to return to it's roots of fiscally reponsible governance. Her considerable administrative skills will serve all of us well in a non policy setting position.

She has already proven to be a top notch bureaucratic administrator. It's a win-win deal for Kansans......keep her strongest skill set in play. I wise man once said "save your ammo till you can see the whites of their eyes". Don't waste time and energy fighting this one.

Because if you try to have a serious debate on this or any other political forum, nobody pays any attention. We have become a nation of children who have little spats on the playground. Did! Did not! Serious debate is just soooooo boring! It's much more fun to flame each other. Small wonder the country is going down the tubes, we have no responsible adults to run it.

Forget the name-calling. I don't follow the logic in the lead article.

The gist of the article is that Sebelius has radical views on abortion because she is friends with Dr. Tiller. The article doesn't establish the supposed friendship, but what if it is true? Tiller isn't the nominee, Sebelius is, and friendship with Tiller doesn't necessarily mean that she even agrees with him on politics. Certainly I don't agree with all my friends on every political issue. The whole article seems to jump to conclusions.

The nomination is for Secretary of Health and Human Services, not Congressman, Senator, or Supreme Court Justice. Health care encompasses a lot more than abortion and HHS doesn't make the rules for abortion anyway. It seems to me that if Sebelius has been in charge of insurance in Kansas, and as governor, she has executive experience. Those would seem to be excellent qualifications for this Cabinet-level position as a whole. Before casting stones at anybody, I would like to know who would be a better candidate.

I think the most telling thing here is, Edith said Balano hurled insults including calling Sebelius "pro-abortion." That's quite an admission Edith. I thought liberals believed abortion was a good thing, so being pro-abortion would be a good thing, right? But by calling that an insult, you've revealed the truth. Being pro-abortion should indeed be an insult, especially to a woman. Not only that Edith, but saying someone is pro-abortion or anti-abortion is a statement of fact based on what that person -- Sebelius -- has shown and said, not an opinion. But it's clear from your comments that clear thinking is not something you engage in.

Will fit right in with the Obama administration. Especially Tiller, after all BHO advocated in the IL. Senate (one of the very rare times he didn't vote "present") to allow post-partum abortions to continue, by refusing to require medical care for babies that survive the abortion process (Infants Born Alive Protection Act). He didn't want a pediatric or neonatal Dr. to be "inconvienced" by having to come evaluate the baby and provide at least a minimum of comfort care when the mother didn't want "it" anyway.

There is no defence for people like Tiller.

He comes on with an opinion column and the only posts are to ridicule him or call him names. No arguments! Is ridicule and name-calling supposed to be an intelligent argument now? Come on, liberals - aren't you better than that?

Dear Lezzle: You are as simple minded as Bolano. Are we to believe there is one historic: "the truth"? And, your version of this truth has to be accepted by all. Of course, without any evidence on your part whatsoever. Your comments are a demonstration that mankind has not moved beyond any simian ancestors, and, perhaps, a wish that it should not.

The public relations efforts to position Sebelius as the hero of health care in our time is propaganda. I would urge the nation to pay attention to the historic truth and not the Kansas City Star.

How can this guy be by-lined for Midwest Voices? He makes the wildest assertions with no evidence whatsoever. I suppose that Bolano can speak with authority on medical issues. What are his credentials?

from:
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/editorialcommentary/story/D99E7600E562DCCD8625756A008243CA?OpenDocument

The Bourne Anxiety

03/01/2009

Jason Bourne is visiting his boyhood home in Nixa, Mo., wondering why the locals pronounce it "Nixy," when his eye falls on a discarded copy of The Wall Street Journal at the Livestock Cafe. "Swiss Bank to Give Up Depositors' Names to Prosecutors," the headline reads.

Being a recovering CIA assassin, Jason Bourne pockets the newspaper so fast that the waitress doesn't notice. He throws a ten on the table and heads for the door, leaving her to call after him, "You don't want a warm-up, hon?"

In the parking lot, Jason Bourne kidnaps an elementary-ed major from Missouri State, who immediately falls in love with him and drives him to the Springfield Airport, where they make passionate love in the short-term parking lot before he pays cash for a flight to Paris by way of DFW, Raleigh-Durham and JFK, driving Jason Bourne crazy because as a globe-trotting assassin, he prefers non-stop service. The flight gives him plenty of time to read the story and ponder its implications.

"In a significant break from Switzerland's tradition of banking secrecy, UBS AG will turn over the names of about 250 account holders as soon as Thursday as part of a $780 million settlement with U.S. prosecutors."
Jason Bourne is worried. In a lockbox at the Gemeinschaft branch of UBS in Bern, he has half a billion dollars in various world currencies, 18 passports in various names and nationalities, his CIA insurance policies (worthless because of the "no assassins" exclusion) and 12 automatic and semi-automatic weapons in various hues and calibers. It's the extra-large lockbox.

And its existence is known to no one except Jason Bourne himself and a pair of discreet Swiss bankers, who know him only by a number. They give him impeccable service whenever he drops in, offering him coffee in Limoges china mugs, fresh-baked croissants and, at Christmas, a free calendar with all the dates blank. His life depends on his Swiss bank account remaining secret.

Also there is this: Jason Bourne has never paid U.S. taxes on the money in his Swiss account. He is worried. In a life full of uncertainty, the one thing he thought he could depend on was the greed of the Swiss. He has dodged the Russians, the Czechs, the French, the Germans and even rogue elements with his own agency. But the one agency he's always feared is the IRS, some auditor named Murray who could destroy everything Jason Bourne has worked for.

In this he is not alone. Federal prosecutors say UBS is hiding $20 billion in assets for what could be as many as 19,000 clients. Other Swiss banks may be hiding assets for 40,000 other U.S. citizens. Since the 16th century, Swiss banking laws have been ultra-secretive, making the banks favorites for tycoons, tax-dodging lawyers and doctors and businessmen, as well as the occasional CIA assassin. In Switzerland, tax evasion is a misdemeanor.

What happens, Jason Bourne wonders, if the new administration in Washington moves 59,000 drug users out of federal prison to make room for all the tax cheats? He shakes his head. Where are America's priorities, he wonders. What am I paying taxes for?

As a recovering assassin, Jason Bourne is irony-proof.

"Birkenfield," he mutters as his airplane makes its final approach over Jamaica Bay into JFK. I should have taken Birkenfield out in Zurich.

Bradley Birkenfield is a former UBS executive who pleaded guilty last summer of helping a California billionaire named Igor Olenicoff dodge U.S. taxes. As part of the plea agreement, he rolled over on his former employer, telling federal prosecutors that since 2002, UBS has been telling American taxpayers it wasn't required to disclose their identities to the IRS.

Jason Bourne puts his tray table into the full upright and locked position and thinks, Igor Olenicoff? That sounds like a character in a spy movie.

In New York, Jason Bourne hops Air France to Paris. The first-class cabin is full of people tapping UBS bank books on their tray tables. Every tax cheat in the country is spooked now, Jason Bourne thinks, including the spooks.

CIA assassins can't afford regret, but he can't help thinking: The first time in six centuries that Swiss regulators let one of their banks go public, and it has to be mine.

In Paris, he whacks out two elderly California billionaires for the last seat on the TGV train to Bern, where he kidnaps a University of Bern student and forces her to drive him to the bank. She falls in love with him and he tells her to wait outside, he won't be a minute, and rushes into the bank.

He presents his secret identity number, passes on the coffee and croissants and is ushered into the inner sanctum. He empties his lockbox, tossing all the money, weapons, passports and papers into a laundry bag provided by the ever-helpful Swiss. He rushes back outside, thinking he'll get the student to drive him the airport for his flight to the Cayman Islands after they make passionate love.

Jason Bourne leaps into her waiting car, but she has disappeared. In her place is a diminutive man dressed in grey. "Mr. Bourne?" he says. "My name is Murray."

You know, there should be a statute of limitations for these "MW 2008 posters" posting.

Damn, but his stupidity just stinks up this joint.

I am amused, though, that Sebelius's nomination so predictably got Balano's blood boiling. Perhaps he'll pop that overstrained blood vessel in his forehead. ;-)