Biggest DC takeover in history; Banks must fear govt?; Drilling deception; Govt-funded journalism

1) Health care law too costly, most say Nearly two-thirds of Americans say the health care overhaul signed into law last week costs too much and expands the government's role in health care too far, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, underscoring an uphill selling job ahead for President Obama and congressional Democrats. Those surveyed are inclined to fear that the massive legislation will increase their costs and hurt the quality of health care their families receive, although they are more positive about its impact on the nation's health care system overall. Supporters "are not only going to have to focus on implementing this kind of major reform," says Robert Blendon, a professor of health policy and political analysis at Harvard. "They're going to have to spend substantial time convincing people of the concrete benefits of this legislation." The risk for them is that continued opposition will fuel calls for repeal and dog Democrats in November's congressional elections. The bill was enacted without a single Republican vote. …When it comes to their families, they see less gain and more pain: Pluralities say it will make coverage and quality of care worse for them. By 50%-21%, they predict it will make their costs higher. …There was a strong reaction against the tactics Democratic leaders used to pass the bill. A 53% majority call Democratic methods "an abuse of power;" 40% say they are appropriate. And when asked about incidents of vandalism and threats that followed the bill's passage, Americans are more inclined to blame Democratic political tactics than critics' harsh rhetoric. Forty-nine percent say Democratic tactics are "a major reason" for the incidents, while 46% blame criticism by conservative commentators and 43% the criticism of Republican leaders. See: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-03-29-health-poll_N.htm 1a) Morning Bell: $1 Billion AT&T Headache is Just Obamacare’s First Side Effect …This past Friday, AT&T, the biggest U.S. telephone company, announced that it would take a $1 billion charge against earnings thanks to tax changes buried in the 2,300+ page bill. $1 billion. That is a full third of AT&T’s $3 billion earnings for the fourth quarter of 2009. The tax charges stem from changes Obamacare makes to the tax treatment of prescription-drug benefits for retirees. Companies used to be able to deduct part of their costs for providing drug benefits to their retirees, but Obamacare cancels that deduction. Roland McDevitt, director of health care research at Towers Watson, tells the Wall Street Journal, they “have a stream of tax benefits they are losing way out in the future.” Since companies had counted on these deductions for current and future retirees as an existing asset under the old law, accounting rules require firms to take the full loss for the change in the same quarter in which the tax law is changed. Hence Friday’s announcement to inform shareholders that AT&T’s bottom line was about to take a $1 billion hit. AT&T’s billion-dollar Obamacare headache is so large due to the size (281,000 employees) of the company. Piper Jaffray & Co. analyst Chris Larsen tells Bloomberg: “Companies like AT&T, that have large employee bases, are going to have higher health-care costs and, therefore, lower earnings unless they can negotiate something or offer less to their employees.” …And AT&T is not alone. Towers Watson estimates that just this tax change alone will eliminate $14 billion in U.S. corporate profits. That’s $14 billion less American employers have to spend creating new jobs when our unemployment rate is still 9.7%. And AT&T is not the only company informing employees that Obamacare is going to mean worse care for them. Verizon Communications, the second biggest U.S. phone company, told employees last week that Obamacare “may have significant implications for both retirees and employers.” See: http://blog.heritage.org/2010/03/30/morning-bell-1-billion-att-headache-is-just-obamacares-first-side-effect 1b) Morning Bell: Our Long National Obamacare Nightmare is Just Beginning ...The leftist majorities in Congress were incensed that America’s employers would dare warn their investors about the costs of Obamacare at the same time as the Obama administration’s national sales pitch was set to begin. So using the full force of the federal government to bully and harass America’s job creators, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) sent letters to the CEOs of Deere, Caterpillar, Verizon, and AT&T demanding all documents “from January 1, 2009, through the present” regarding “any analyses related to the projected impact of health care reform” and “any documents, including e-mail messages, sent to or prepared or reviewed by senior company officials related to the projected impact of health care reform.” Waxman intends to haul these CEOs in front of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, which just happens to be chaired by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), for a hearing April 21st (emphasis mine). See: http://blog.heritage.org/2010/03/29/morning-bell-our-long-national-obamacare-nightmare-is-just-beginning/ 1c) Companies’ Charges Prompt a Hearing Even before AT&T Inc. said Friday that it will take a $1 billion charge in the first-quarter because of the new health-care law, the issue was front-and-center with key lawmakers. Earlier this week, Caterpillar Inc., Deere & Co., and AK Steel Holding Corp. announced their own hefty one-time charges. Almost immediately, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman of California and Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, chairman of the Oversight and Investigations panel, announced plans to hold an April 21 hearing on “claims by Caterpillar, Verizon, and Deere that provisions in the new health care reform law could adversely affect their company’s ability to provide health insurance to their employees. These assertions appear to conflict with independent analyses, which show that the new law will expand coverage and bring down costs.” The committee wants the companies’ CEOs testify and provide evidence of the law’s projected impact. See: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/03/26/companies-charges-prompt-a-hearing/ 2) President Obama's new push meets Capitol Hill resistance The president’s push to turn health care reform into a catalyst for the rest of his agenda is getting mixed early reactions on Capitol Hill, where Democratic leaders' desire to take advantage of healthy majorities before the November elections must contend with lawmakers’ survival instincts. White House aides told POLITICO earlier this week that an emboldened Barack Obama plans to parlay his win on health care into a crackdown on Wall Street excesses, a rewrite of education and campaign finance laws and possibly a climate change bill — all before the fall's midterms. ..“If [Obama’s] saying he’s got the stride going and he’s on a winning streak and that was just the first of many things he thinks he can get through, I would actually say the opposite,” said the top aide to a member of the conservative Blue Dog Coalition. “That ship has sailed. That capital was expended on cap and trade first and health care second.” Let’s hope that’s true. The political ether is full of potentially poisonous issues for Democrats, including an overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws and legislation aimed at addressing climate change. See: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/35216.html 3) Obama Steps Up Confrontation White House Seeks to Rally Supporters With Aggressive Tone Against Opponents …On Thursday, the president challenged Republicans who planned to campaign on repealing his health-care bill with, "Go for it." Two days later, he made 15 senior appointments without Senate consent, including a union lawyer whose nomination had been blocked by a filibuster. …On Tuesday, Mr. Obama will sign what has been billed as a package of fixes to the health-care bill, approved under rules that required only a simple majority vote to pass in the Senate. That nullified Republicans' power to block it through a filibuster. Democrats attached to the bill a major overhaul of student-lending laws, which eliminated a federal subsidy for private tuition lenders, federalized most student loans and plowed the savings into expanded federal higher education aid. Republicans say the bill will destroy the private student-lending market. Mr. Alexander, the Tennessee Republican, called the student-loan move "really brazen" and "the most underreported, biggest Washington takeover in history (emphasis mine)." See: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303410404575152110331938210.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLETopStories 4) Obama Medicare pick urges 'radical transfer of power' Claims U.S. system measures patients' quality of care by 'color of their skin' President Obama's reported pick to run Medicare and Medicaid, Donald Berwick, has argued for a "radical transfer of power" in the health industry and claimed patients' quality of care in the U.S. medical system is currently measured by the "color of their skin," WND has learned. The Financial Times and other news organizations yesterday quoted an administration official stating Obama intends to nominate Berwick to take the helm of the largest medical payer in the nation – the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. …"Here is a question I often ask my students," added Berwick. "When you meet a new patient, what is the one test that you could do that would tell you how long that patient is likely to live? "Typically, students answer: 'Ask them if they smoke,' or 'Test their blood sugar.' "No," Berwick said. "Just look at the color of their skin." …Last year, Berwick authored a Harvard position paper, "What 'Patient-Centered' Should Mean: Confessions of an Extremist." The tome was obtained and reviewed by WND. "In this paper I argue for a radical transfer of power and a bolder meaning of 'patient-centered care,' whether in a medical home or in the current cathedral of care: the hospital," stated Berwick. …His conclusion: To save the health care system, it first needs to be blown up. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=133885 5) Failing US banks must fear government closure: Obama adviser Failing US financial institutions must face the credible threat of government closure if reforms are to succeed, a key adviser to President Barack Obama said Tuesday. Paul Volcker, a former Federal Reserve chairman, said reforms being discussed by Congress hit on the "essential elements" of financial reform, but that a strong government arbitrator must emerge with the power to wind down firms. WHAT?!!?!! See: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.a0b6766a9ea827cbb5a923f2763e94d1.9c1&show_article=1 6) Of pipelines and pipedreams: Obama’s drilling deception GOP Rep. Mike Pence adds: “As usual the devil is in the details. Only in Washington, D.C., can you ban more areas to oil and gas exploration than you open up, delay the date of your new leases and claim you’re going to increase production. “The President’s announcement today is a smokescreen. It will almost certainly delay any new offshore exploration until at least 2012 and include only a fraction of the offshore resources that the previous Administration included in its plan (emphasis mine). “Unfortunately, this is yet another feeble attempt to gain votes for the President’s national energy tax bill that is languishing in the Senate. At the end of the day this Administration’s energy plan is simple: increase the cost of energy on every family in America and trade American jobs oversees at a time when millions of Americans are looking for work.” See: http://michellemalkin.com/2010/03/31/of-pipelines-and-pipedreams-obamas-drilling-deception/ House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence of Indiana said the announcement is an attempt to cull votes for an energy bill stuck in the Senate. Pence called it a “smokescreen” because he thinks it would only include a “fraction of the offshore resources that the previous administration included in its plan.” See: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/35240.html 7) Ed Schultz Calls for 'Socialism' of Airwaves With Return of Censorship Doctrine As described by Brian Maloney at The Radio Equalizer -- Feeling emboldened by the Democratic Party's success in imposing ObamaCare on the American public, lefties are already looking for the next hot issue to shove down our throats. For MSNBC libtalker Ed Schultz, it's the airwaves that should be subjected to a socialist government takeover. Here's what envious class warrior Schultz told his equally resentful radio audience on Tuesday: SCHULTZ (initially responding to caller claiming "virtual war" between Democrats and Republicans): It is a cultural war that's taking place in America, you're exactly right. And it's being played out over the airwaves of America. And I hope the Democrats now turn to the Fairness Doctrine. It's time now for the Democrats to consider the Fairness Doctrine when you've got Rush Limbaugh out there saying, it's, we've got to defeat these bastards. He is now openly admitting that he is going to work against and campaign against the Republican, against the Democratic Party and campaign against Obama, and he is motivating people with the microphone and he's electioneering. Keep on talking, Rushsky! Hell, maybe I'll get on 600 stations too, or how many you own or whatever. The fact is, look, it's not a level playing field when it comes to the audio culture of the country. Ownership has its privileges. When you own, I will be honest, if I owned 500 stations, the Drugster wouldn't be on any of 'em. And that's just where it's at right now. But maybe we have reached the point where the Congress needs to equal it out. Equal out the audience. So much for the constitutional mandate of equality of opportunity. An impatient Schultz prefers the unconstitutional imposition of equality of outcome (emphasis mine). See: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/jack-coleman/2010/03/25/ed-schultz-calls-socialism-airwaves-return-censorship-doctrine#ixzz0jg3RXowo 7a) FCC Adviser Backs ‘Public Media’ as ‘Filter’ and ‘Megaphone’ for Govt-Funded Internet Journalism (CNSNews.com) – An adviser to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wants to see an increase in government-funded journalism and is an advocate for a “public media” that could serve as a “filter” and a “megaphone” for a network of government-funded journalists competing with other, non-government-backed reporters. The advisor, Rutgers University law professor Ellen Goodman, is a distinguished visiting scholar with the FCC’s Future of Media Project, an initiative that aims to shape government communications policy in the digital age. In official comments submitted to the FCC during the drafting of its National Broadband Plan, Goodman said that the FCC should shift from traditional local public broadcasting to a new “public media” centered on three goals: create, curate, and connect. “The Federal Communications Commission’s broadband workshops and several recent reports have documented national deficits in both the communications infrastructure and the narrative content necessary to involve the entire population in democratic decision making or to foster widespread economic and social flourishing,” Goodman and University of Pennsylvania Research Fellow Anne Chen write in the official comments. “National deficits in both the communications infrastructure and narrative content”??? More like national deficits in people who agree with radical leftists policies…How ARROGANT of this woman! …To give the public more “wisdom and knowledge” Goodman argues that the government must sponsor public media content, especially journalism, in areas “where there are market failures.” Her arrogance knows no bounds! … “As several reports have recently noted, there are increasing and worrisome market failures in the production of investigative journalism. I think James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles (whose “investigative journalism” exposed ACORN’s proclivity to further the causes of pimps and child prostitutes) did just fine without the help of the government! …Goodman dismisses any concern over government-funded journalists becoming advocates for government policy, saying that the purpose of public media was to “engage” the public in “debate” about important topics. See: http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/63564 8) Shock claim: Obama encouraged Palestinian 'resistance' Violence targeting Jews aimed at pressuring Israel into splitting capital JERUSALEM – The Obama administration has encouraged "resistance" by Palestinians to protest Israel's presence in eastern Jerusalem, a senior Palestinian Authority official claimed to WND. The senior PA official, speaking from Ramallah on condition of anonymity, said that in recent meetings with U.S. envoys to the region, the American diplomats supported and encouraged the concept of Palestinian protests to pressure Israel into evacuating eastern sections of Jerusalem. The PA official's claim follows a meeting in Jordan last week between PA President Mahmoud Abbas and George Mitchell, Obama's envoy to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At a press conference immediately following the meeting, Abbas declared the Palestinian "right" to "resistance" against Israel. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=134569