Martha Coakley, Single-Party Rule, and Scary Secularism

Martha Coakley, who is running for a Senate seat in Massachusetts as I write, said in a radio interview that "You can have religious freedom but you shouldn't work in an emergency room." That is, that Catholics should be prevented from working there, because this is a "church and state" issue. Well, most hospital jobs are not government jobs, and forbidding Catholics from working there would be a violation of the liberties of Catholics. Imagine if a right-winger said atheists should be banned from becoming EMTs.

There is already a shortage of health care workers, and Coakley wants to exclude Catholics, which make up 53% of Massachusetts according to exit polls from 2008? Catholic organizations provide a huge portion of the health care in the US. If Coakley loses this election, voters are sending a message that they are tired of single-party rule where politicians can spout partisan ideologies and claim they are right because "they won". I think voters want a reasonable, working government and are tired of the culture wars from both sides.

However, what really scares me is thinking about how Coakley's views could be implemented by government. Suppose the US had universal, government-run health care and Catholics were banned by law from working in emergancy rooms. How would this be enforced? If a hospital hired a Catholic, would they be fined? If they fought the fine, would someone be convicted and thrown in prison?

Here's hoping that voters have learned to ignore Obama's promises of bipartisanship and decide to take their grievances to the ballot box.

Update on the Homebuyer Tax Credit

Because of the rampant scamming of the system, Congress changed the rules when they extended and expanded the homebuyer tax credit. Now, according to this CNNMoney article, "buyers must now file documentation with their taxes -- including proof of residency, a signed mortgage statement and drivers license -- which the e-file system is not equipped to handle."

However, now taxpayers claiming the credit cannot e-file, and they can expect delays of a few months before receiving the credit. Seems like a reasonable request for the government to actually require documentation, and a reasonable burden for a taxpayer to bear in order to get $8,000.

Most Under-reported Story of the Recession?

CNBC reports "Many Firms Reluctant to Hire Because of New Taxes, Rules".

According to this article:

The prospect of increased federal and state regulation and taxes has been particularly disruptive to the hiring plans of small- and medium-sized businesses, which have historically generated about two-thirds of the nation’s jobs...

In a recent interview with CNBC.com, the [American Chamber of Commerce]’s chief economist, Martin Regalia, described a paralyzing uncertainty over policy issues, saying that many members “had adopted an attitude of survival” and "few talked about net new hiring.”

Businesses don't like to hire in an uncertain environment, and while Congress has spent much of 2009 and early 2010 debating health care "reform", employers have little guidance on taxes, energy policy, financial sector reform, and other areas Obama promises to address. Meanwhile, the administration claims they're doing everything they can to create jobs.

If only the government would take advice from the medical profession: "first, do no harm." Instead, they seem to be complicit in keeping this crisis alive longer than necessary to make sure they don't "waste" it.

Shameful Behavior at H&M's New York Store

This appalling story comes from the NY Times: "A Clothing Clearance Where More Than Just the Prices Have Been Slashed." They report this scene from the HM clothing store on 34th Street:

At the back entrance on 35th Street, awaiting trash haulers, were bags of garments that appear to have never been worn. And to make sure that they never would be worn or sold, someone had slashed most of them with box cutters or razors, a familiar sight outside H & M’s back door.

Similar clothes were also found at a nearby Wal-Mart, but a spokesman says "the company normally donates all its unworn goods to charities."

At any time, but particularly during this recession, H & M and Wal-Mart should be ashamed of themselves. "Directly around the corner from H & M is a big collection point for New York Cares, which conducts an annual coat drive."

Dave Barry's Hilarious Review of 2009

The Washington Post published "Lowlights of a Downer Year: Dave Barry on the money, madness and misery of 2009", a hilarious review of the year's events.

Some of my personal favorites:

It was also a year of Change, especially in Washington, where the tired old hacks of yesteryear finally yielded the reins of power to a group of fresh, young, idealistic, new-idea outsiders such as Nancy Pelosi. As a result, Washington, rejecting "business as usual," finally stopped trying to solve every problem by throwing billions of taxpayer dollars at it, and instead started trying to solve every problem by throwing trillions of taxpayer dollars at it.

Congress passes, without reading it and without actually finishing writing it, a stimulus package totaling $787 billion...This will stimulate the economy by creating millions of jobs, according to estimates provided by the Congressional Estimating Office's Magical Estimating 8-Ball.

The annual observance of Earth Hour is observed with one hour of symbolic energy conservation as hundreds of millions of nonessential lights and appliances are turned off. And that's just in Al Gore's house.

In other international bad news, North Korea launches a test missile that experts say is capable of hitting Hawaii, based on the fact that it actually hits Hawaii. The United States swiftly pledges to issue a strongly worded condemnation containing "even stronger words than last time."

New York is temporarily thrown into a panic when Air Force One flies low over Manhattan for a publicity photo shoot. Responding to widespread criticism, Gibbs notes that Obama inherited Air Force One from the Bush administration.

On Obama's Fatigue

The Wall Street Journal's 'Best of the Web Today' blog has this amusing bit about Obama's recent admission of feeling tired:

If Obama's tired, maybe it's because he keeps promising not to rest:
"Obama 'Will Not Rest' Until Healthcare Reformed"--headline, Agence France-Presse, May 11
"Obama: 'I Will Not Rest' Until Businesses Are Hiring"--headline, RealClearPolitics.com, Nov. 23
"Obama Says 'We Will Not Rest' Until Plotters Found"--headline, Bloomberg.com, Dec. 28
Obama was on vacation in Hawaii at the time the AP reported he was tired.

How to Waste Your Charitable Contributions

Did you know you can make a tax-deductible contribution to help pay off the national debt? According to this Yahoo Finance article, you can!

As for me, I'd rather send my money someplace more responsible....er, efficient...er, better. Donating to the government is like offering a whiskey shot to an alcoholic.

How much do votes cost?

This recent Washington Post column by Dana Milbank summarizes the "many backroom deals that were made to buy, er, secure the 60 votes needed to "invoke cloture" -- the legislative term for cutting off debate and holding a final vote." The bill itself has acquired the nickname "Cash for Cloture", while several of the provisions in the bill have their own nicknames:

Louisiana Purchase
Cornhusker Kickback
U Con
Bayh Off
Gator Aid
Handout Montana

So, how does one calculate the cost of buying these votes to the taxpayer? Is it merely the sum of these provisions, or is it the cost of the entire bill, which likely would not pass without them?

An Agnostic's Thoughts on Tithing

In this article on CNN Living, agnostic A.J. Jacobs makes a case for tithing, "the practice of giving 10 percent of your annual income to the needy."

Interestingly, Jacobs notes: "as I gave away money, I think I might have felt God's pleasure. Which is odd. Because I'm agnostic. I don't know if there's a God or not, but still I felt some higher sense of purpose. It was like a cozy ember that started at the back of my neck and slowly spread its warmth through my skull. I felt like I was doing something I should have done all my life."

This year, and in 2010, whatever your personal convictions, consider "saying thank you to the universe -- or to God or to fate or to whatever you believe in" by giving to charity!

Interesting Statistic on Party Affiliation

According to this Rasmussen article, "while Republican voters overwhelmingly consider themselves conservative, only 56% of conservative voters consider themselves to be Republicans. In other words, nearly half of all conservatives nationwide reject the Republican Party label."