Reflections From a Murky Pond

On Tuesday, September 8, 2009, President Obama gave his much anticipated – and dreaded by many American parents – speech to many of America’s school-aged children during what was for many of them the first day of their new school year.

Many Conservatives, fueled by the Obama campaign’s previous use of children (here and here), were terrified that President Obama would use his address to America’s children as a means of indoctrination and of furthering his Leftist agenda. It certainly didn’t help that the event included “lesson plans” for teachers to use in conjunction with contained exercises that instructed to the students to write “how they could help President Obama.”

President Obama’s actual speech though was utterly unalarming, surprising only in a Liberal’s repeated use of the word, “responsibility,” and focused tightly on admonishing students to stay in school and to study hard in order to succeed later in life.

President Obama’s Message for America’s Students

In fact President Obama’s speech was quite similar in content and tone to President George H. W. Bush’s 1991 televised speech to America’s students. It was actually less politically charged that President Ronald Reagan’s 1988 address to school children.

It should be noted, however, that President Reagan’s and President Bush, Sr.’s speeches drew complaints from Liberals and that Congressional Democrats, unsatisfied with merely complaining, launched a fruitless investigation into the address’ funding sources.

My Quick Synopsis of President Obama’s Speech

The government may fail you. Your schools and teachers may fail you. Your parents may fail you. None of that matters; you kids need to stay in school, study hard, and get an education. If you don’t, you’ll fail in life, you’ll fail the country, and you’ll fail yourselves.

When all is said and done, getting and using an education is each individual student’s responsibility and hardships, irrespective of their nature, source, or difficulty, are no excuse for failing to excel.

As far as can see, as long the content of the speeches is not indoctrination, such speeches are an acceptable outlet for President who wants to bolster his image or salve his ego. Who knows? They might even do a small bit of good and saving even one child from throwing away their education is worth at least the cost of such a broadcast.

The devil of course is in the details – the content of the speech’s message both spoken and implied.

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In recent public addresses, President Obama railed about the supposed “outrageous myths” surrounding his plan for Health Insurance Reconstruction, a plan that is often shilled as Healthcare Reform.

One of the things he attempted to refute was that voluntary, non-medically required abortions would be covered under ObamaCare.

From Reuters (Washington, DC):

Some are also saying that coverage for abortions would be mandated under reform. Also false.

Much like President Obama’s statements about illegal immigrants & ObamaCare, in a Rovian sense what President Obama asserted is true, or at least not completely false. There are no provisions in any of the legislation currently in play – HR 3200 being the only one of importance for now – that mandate that coverage for abortions.

This is completely true, but it is another example of President Obama’s disingenuous nuance. Even with the very narrowly passed Capps Amendment there is nothing preventing ObamaCare from effectively subsidizing voluntary, non-medically required abortions.

Obama has said in the past that “reproductive services” would be covered by his Public Option, therefor it’s likely that any new federal insurance plan would cover such abortions unless Congress expressly prohibits that action. Low- to moderate-income persons who would choose the Public Option would qualify for federal subsidies – Affordability Credits – to purchase it. Private plans offered on the proposed Healthcare Exchange that cover abortion also could be purchased with the help of such Affordability Credits.

We’re going to set up a public plan that all persons and all women can access if they don’t have health insurance. It will be a plan that will provide all essential services, including reproductive services, as well as mental health services and disease management services, because part of our interest is to make sure that we’re putting more money into preventive care.

— Senator Obama
July 17, 2007, Address to Planned Parenthood

The then-Senator Obama’s campaign spokespeople later confirmed and clarified that Obama included abortions in those “reproductive services.”

Despite any sophistry and legalism, despite any shifting funding from one column to another on the books so as to avoid violating the Hyde Amendment or the proposed Capps Amendment, which essentially applies the Hyde Amendment to HR 3200, if public subsidies are provided for the purchase of health insurance and the policies purchased cover voluntary abortions then ObamaCare will, in effect, cover said abortions and use American tax-payers’ dollars to do so.

So is the claim that ObamaCare will cover abortions an “outrageous myth?” No, but it is an oversimplification of the matter. This is very much the same as President Obama’s “outrageous myth” that ObamaCare won’t cover abortions.

On Wednesday, September 2, 2009, Rep. Baron Hill (D-IN) held a Town Hall meeting in a high school auditorium in Bloomington, Indiana. This was a good thing; it’s essential for Americans to get a first hand look at how their elected public servants think and act. Of course sometimes that essential knowledge is quite painful.

It’s My Town Hall Meeting and I Set The Rules!

I think Rep. Hill made his point very clearly. The people – that would be the People – who elected him into office are not going to tell him what to do or demand any sort of accountability from him. They are not to tell him how to run his Congressional office.

This is my town hall meeting, and I set the rules, and I’ve had these rules . . .

Let me repeat that one more time. This is my town hall meeting for you. And you’re not going to tell me how to run my Congressional office.

Now, the reason why I don’t allow filming is that usually the films that are done end up on YouTube in a compromising position.

— Rep. Baron Hill (D-IN)
September 2, 2009, Town Hall, Bloomington, IN

The arrogance of some of these creatures is nigh on overwhelming. They keep forgetting that they serve at the pleasure of the People; they do not reign – not ever while Americans will still shed and spill blood in defense of Liberty – and the People will tell them how to run their Congressional office.

Since Rep. Hill is a Democrat, it’s statistically less than useless to Christian quote scripture – Proverbs 30: 21-23 in this case – to illustrate just how reprehensible his behavior is. I’ll settle for the poetic interpretation by Rudyard Kipling.

Three things make earth unquiet
And four she cannot brook
The godly Agur counted them
And put them in a book —
Those Four Tremendous Curses
With which mankind is cursed;
But a Servant when He Reigneth
Old Agur entered first…

— Rudyard Kipling
Excerpt from A Servant When He Reigneth

On the brighter side, Rep. Hill is up for reelection in 2010 so the people of Indiana can remove him from office and replace him with someone who has a better understanding of the role of a US Representative.

Here’s a brief musical interlude by Tim Hawkins. He’s one of the few comedians these days that doesn’t rely of profanity and gross cruelty in order to make a joke. Enjoy 😉

Who Can Take Your Money? The Government Can!

This is a very funny performance and one that was very well done. It’s also a teaching song though and one carrying a lesson that Americans should endeavor to finally learn.