De Russy: Democratic Media's Reporting on Health Bureaucratization a Bust

Candace de Russy is a former trustee of SUNY. She spoke at the recent Queens Village Republican Lincoln Day dinner where she received their educator of the year award. When she was SUNY Trustee de Russy stood up for common sense and standards. Unfortunately, her term expired during Governor Spitzer's brief, addlebrained governorship and she was denied reappointment.

De Russy's most recent piece on Big Journalism exposes the Democratic Party media's tendentious coverage of the Obama health care bill, which has turned Mr. Obama's once lustrous image into a laughing matter. Obama's image now is less marketable than that of Chris Collins, the New York gubernatorial hopeful who made (actually in my opinion a rather funny) joke saying that Assembly Sheldon Speaker was the third of the anti-Christs predicted by Nostradamus (the first two being Napoleon and Hitler). People who claim that Collins's joke is distasteful have to account for Seinfeld's "Soup Nazi."

De Russy notes that Michael Tanner of the Cato Institute has compared President Obama's arm twisting tactics on the wretched health bill to Tony Soprano's tactics with the gambler who owned a sporting goods outlet at the local mall. I can hear Mr. Obama saying it to Capo Paul Pelosi: "Just when I thought I was out, They pull me back in!"

De Russy reviews the lynch mob-style tactics and lies in the Democratic Party media. One comment: the MSM moniker is passe, now they are DPM, Democratic Party media. There's nothing mainstream about television news. The Internet game World of Warcraft has 11 million players, almost three times more than any TV news show has viewers (O'Reilly has 3.9 million), and the elves and monsters on WOW are better-connected to reality than the "news" on MSNBC, CNN or Fox.

Quoting Betsy McCaughey, de Russy notes that the health bill would add to the bureaucratization of medicine. De Russy notes that public employee plans were exempted from the bill's special tax on "Cadillac" plans and that Congress has failed to include itself in the public option plan.

The current bill includes provision for a rationing or "death" commission. Rationing would be a cornerstone of any public plan (it already exists in a much less totalitarian form in HMOs and other managed care options).

De Russy notes:

"And what of the president’s claim that his plan will give uninsured Americans access to the same coverage as members of Congress and their staffers? The only major newspaper to examine and publish the truth about the president’s sleight of hand in this matter is, again, the Wall Street Journal. Yes, the current bill would provide (at exorbitant cost to the taxpayer) such access to ordinary citizens, but – and here’s the catch – many of them would end up paying significantly more out of their own pocket than legislators or their staffers."

De Russy argues that the bill reveals the blatant insincerity of Soprano-Obama and quotes James Lewis in arguing that Congress should be forced to participate in any public option.

Hear, hear.

Judge Napolitano and Walter Williams on the Census

Thomas and Judith Santopietro forwarded the link to the above video. The federal government has usurped rights that ought to belong to the states and to the people.

Steve Levy for Governor II

I e-mailed three GOP activists whom I respect inquiries about Steve Levy. Two of them have interviewed Levy. As well, I had suggested to one that he ask about Levy's position on the Wicks Law. Here are their responses.

I. First, while I have not checked all of the candidates thoroughly, I have given some thought to Levy, and I certainly think that he would do a better job than Lazio. I also believe that with adequate financing that he would not drag down the rest of the ticket the way Lazio will.

Regarding the Wicks Law

Second, as a very young man, I was a commercial banker. One of my best customers , was the owner of a steel company who at times was forced, because of economic conditions, to operate in New York City. One of his fixed costs was a 15% markup to handle the graft required to operate in NYC.

A year or two later, I ended up as President of a conglomerate which included a major highway and heavy construction contractor which operated primarily in southeastern New York and the NYC Metro Area. In time I learned that the bids were all fixed, and indeed all of the estimates were done by one of our "competitors". In on the fix were all of the asphalt and concrete producers, as well as corrupt union officials who all ended up with a piece of the "action". It was my understanding that the cost to the taxpayers was normally 15% or more of the total bill!. And of course, as you know, state government contracts require the highest prevailing labor rate to be charged.

While I have no knowledge as to current conditions in the "highway" business, I suspect that the same conditions prevail to this day.

II. As a member of the State GOP Committee and more importantly a VERY concerned resident of this state, I am supporting Steve Levy. He met with us two weeks ago and I was very impressed.

As a resident, and putting all politics aside, I have no faith that Lazio or Cuomo would do anything to turn this state around. I believe Levy is our only hope to get us back on track. Without him I am certain that in 2014 when my youngest daughter graduates from high school I, too, will be leaving for greener and cheaper pastures.

My honest two cents.

Follow Up (after I stated that I was afraid that Levy might appoint Democratic staffers)

I agree that the fact that he’s a Democrat is worrisome, but rumor has it ... (deleted on request)...

I also liked Chris Collins, the Republican County Executive from Erie County, but his dreams of the governorship imploded after some anti-Semitic remarks. Too bad because he was a great candidate and has taken a hard line approach to government and turned things around in Erie County. He would have been a terrific candidate for the GOP, but he apparently suffers from foot in mouth syndrome like too many wannabe politicians!

III. I did have a chance to question him on a mouthful of issues including Medicaid waste and fraud and the mammoth public unions that control the state. He answered the Medicaid question adequately and although pressed for time...I did get to ask him if he would repeal Wick's Law. His answer to this was most comprehensive. He gave a detailed explanation of Wicks Law, similar to your description...He said he would fight to repeal Wicks and has been advocating for the same. He gave an example from his tenure in Suffolk of negotiating a contract with public construction unions I believe, where Wicks was suspended, and they did not have to abide by it.

Although I did not agree with him on 100% of the issues, he was upfront and honest and did not try to squirm and conceal some of his more "liberal" leaning agenda, such as promoting the US to take the lead in a "Green Revolution" (it's in his plan to reform the state economy on his website) to provide a boost to the economy which he believes is the next revolution following industrial and information technology, for which we gave him hell! I respect him more for talking straight and not being disingenuous about his disagreeable issues. All in all, I would support him as a man who excels and has a proven track record on fiscal issues like balanced budgets and standing up to special interests and public sector unions. I believe he has the ability to beat Cuomo and I want to ask others who feel the same to write to State Chairman Cox pronto and their County Chairmen of both the Conservative and Republican Parties, since he needs their lines in order to win.

I haven't heard any others except for Rick Lazio and one other fellow who recently dropped out. But I believe I have a good knack for spotting good people...I have also recently seen some other candidates who have impressed me, such as Michael Faulkner running for Congress in Harlem against Charlie Rangel, and Dan Maloney running in CD#4 (Nassau)against Carolyn McCarthy. There are more than a handful of other impressive figures who I believe have the integrity not to cave in to special interests, (like unions, wall st, etc.) that have impressed me. But I could be wrong on them.

However I believe there are the beginnings of a new type of leader emerging among Tea Party, Repub. and Libertarian circles. People who identify with the Constitution and have taken the plunge and are going into politics to serve their country and the people, since they have seen the ruin that radical Marxism and political cronyism can bring to our great nation through our current crop of leaders, and yes, I'll admit it, past Republican presidents and congresses as well are just as guilty.

Grigsby (d. 1890, RIP) Said It All

Contrairimairi (h/t David) sent me these photos of an Indiana gravestone. N. Grigsby was a great American. I found a history of the 10th Indiana Cavalry of which Grigsby was a veteran on Civil War Archive.com. It was organized in Columbus, Vincennes, Terre Haute, New Albany and Indianapolis, mostly during the first few months of 1864. It saw action at Richland Creek and Pulaski, Tennessee, the siege of Decatur (October 1864), the siege of Murfreesboro (December 1864), and the Battle of Nashville (December 1864). It pursued Confederate General John Bell Hood to the Tennessee River December 17-28. It fought in Mobile, Alabama in April 1864. It besieged Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely and captured Mobile the same month. "Regiment lost during service 1 Officer and 20 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 4 Officers and 157 Enlisted men by disease. Total 182."