Democrat poster-child abuse, the nutroots’ pushback, and the continued campaign to silence the Right
Update 1:40pm Eastern. Bruce Kesler discovers that, despite living in one of the highest cost areas of the U.S., San Diego, owning a modest house in a middle-class neighborhood, with substantial equity, he qualifies for S-CHIP. He says no thanks:
What could we do with an extra $10,000 a year, if we didn’t have to pay insurance premiums, and instead SCHIP and taxpayers picked up the tab? Fix-up the 24-year old house; Buy a new or recent car; Hire baby sitters and get some additional sanity from entertainment; Eat better than at Jack or the Clown; Put steaks on the table; Have a cellphone, at least for emergencies, and faster downloads; and so on.
We make choices, in favor of frugality and self-responsibility, and can thus afford to continue to pay insurance premiums.
Sure, it’s not easy being a parent, or living in a high-cost area. Sure, it would be nice to live easier. But, is that fair to other struggling taxpayers?
SCHIP should include reasonable asset tests. In all but three states, it doesn’t have any.
More: Need vs. want.
Update 1:10pm Eastern 10/10. Snort-worthy conspiracy theory of the day…The tinfoil hatters at ThinkProgress actually believes conservative bloggers were in cahoots with Mitch McConnell, whom I lambasted below. The unreality-based community really does live in a different galaxy.
Mark Steyn, presumably taking his marching orders from Mitch McConnell (snort-snort), hits the nail on the head once again:
Mr Frost works “intermittently”. The unemployment rate in the Baltimore metropolitan area is four-percent. Perhaps he chooses to work “intermittently,” just as he chooses to send his children to private school, and chooses to live in a 3,000-square-foot home. That’s what free-born citizens in democratic societies do: choose. Sometimes those choices work out, and sometimes they don’t. And, when they don’t and catastrophe ensues, it’s appropriate that the state should provide a safety net. But it should be a safety net of last resort, and it’s far from clear that it is in this case.
FastFact: The ‘C’ in SCHIP Is for Children, Except When It’s Not…
According to the states’ budget projections, 13 will spend more than 44 percent of their SCHIP funds in 2008 on people who are neither children nor pregnant women.
Michigan tops the list with 71.6 percent of its SCHIP money earmarked for adults who have no kids. In New Mexico, 52.3 percent of the state’s SCHIP dollars will be spent on childless adults.
Source: Department of Health and Human Services/CMS Data
Update 11:50am Eastern 10/10. Here’s the Baltimore Sun’s nutroots-approved follow-up piece on the Frost family, using a single, rotten comment by a stupid RedState commenter to tar all conservative bloggers as hatemongers. Interestingly, the Sun asked the Frost parents to verify their claimed income and the couple declined. Also, the Sun reported that all four of the children attend private schools, not just two. The paper is silent on when the family started receiving claimed tuition breaks and how much the family spent on private-school tuition each year prior to the accident–i.e., at a time when they chose not to buy private health insurance. The Frosts tell the Sun they put their children in the public arena to support S-CHIP. But Harry Reid didn’t exploit the children and the family merely to argue for supporting the existing federal program. Their agenda is massive, middle-class entitlement expansion under the guise of helping working poor children. Keep your eyes on the Democrat ball.
Reader Rob asks: “Why is it when the Baltimore Sun takes photos of the house they are reporters, but when you simply drive by you are a stalker? Why is it when the New York Times calls the home, it’s “for an interview” but when a blog does it for the same reason, it’s harassment?”
Answer: It’s ferocious turf protection, plain and simple.
Video bonus: Don’t miss the flashback clip of John Kerry’s health-care poster child abuse.
***
I received an e-mail from a NYTimes reporter this afternoon:
Writing about blog coverage of the SCHIP debate, including scrutiny of Graeme Frost and plan to include references to your posts. Would like comment if you’re willing. Republicans on Capitol Hill are now saying they think the Frost children are legitimate recipients of CHIP coverage.
Thanks and regards,
David M. Herszenhorn
The New York Times
Congressional Correspondent
I gave him these comments:
The bottom line here is that this family has considerable assets. Maryland’ s S-CHIP program does not means-test (correction: I meant to say assets-test>. The refusal to do assets tests on federal health insurance programs is why federal entitlements are exploding and government keeps expanding. If Republicans don’t have the guts to hold the line, they deserve to lose their seats.
I also told him this:
As for accusations about “smearing” and “Swiftboating,” I’ll repeat what I said on my blog: “When a family and Democrat political leaders drag a child down to Washington at 6 in the morning to read a script written by Senate Democrat staffers on a crusade to overturn a presidential veto, someone might have questions about the family’s claims. The newspapers don’t want to do their jobs. The vacuum is being filled. If you don’t want questions, don’t foist these children onto the public stage. Fight your battles like adults and stop hiding behind youngsters dragging around red wagons filled with your talking points.”
Here’s the NYTimes story, which actually turned out much fairer and more balanced than I expected. An excerpt:
…what on the surface appears to be yet another partisan feud, all the nastier because a child is at the center of it, actually cuts to the most substantive debate around S-chip. Democrats say it is crucially needed to help the working poor — Medicaid already helps the impoverished — but many Republicans say it now helps too many people with the means to help themselves.
The feud also illustrates what can happen when politicians showcase real people to make a point, a popular but often perilous technique.
Some Republicans are too weak in the knees to engage:
Republicans on Capitol Hill, who were gearing up to use Graeme as evidence that Democrats have overexpanded the health program to include families wealthy enough to afford private insurance, have backed off, glad to let bloggers take the heat for attacking a family with injured children.
An aide to Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, expressed relief that his office had not issued a press release criticizing the Frosts.
Oh, swell. So he feels “relief” because he doesn’t have to ask the hard questions about the continued entitlement creep approved by both big government parties? Well, wipe your brow and pat yourself on the back! Crikey.
Meantime, Nancy Pelosi seems confident that those weak-kneed Republicans will roll over:
“Democrats, including the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, have risen to the Frosts’ defense, saying they earn about $45,000 a year and are precisely the type of working-poor Americans that the program was intended to help.“
That’s what should concern every fiscal conservative left in Congress. And it is exactly why the Frosts’ financial situation is so germane–i.e., because Democrats are holding them out as “precisely the type of working-poor Americans that the program was intended to help.”
Dan Riehl has some questions the NYTimes didn’t get around to asking.
Now, before I get into the latest, left-wing attacks on those of us who dare to question the Democrats’ sacred political narratives, here’s my new syndicated column on Dirty Harry Reid’s poster child abuse:
A few weeks ago, Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid lured two young children to the public spotlight to help him pass a massive expansion of government health insurance. Gemma and Graeme Frost, 9 and 12 years old respectively, were severely injured in a car accident three years ago. Their parents obtained government health care through the non-
meansassets-tested Children’s Health Insurance Program in Maryland. President Bush’s veto doesn’t change that. And there’s the rub.Because liberal lawmakers cannot honestly defend their expansion plans as bona fide aid to the needy, they have surrounded themselves with the Frosts and other kiddie human shields to deflect any tough scrutiny. As they push for an override of the president’s veto, scheduled for Oct. 18, the desperate Dems will shamelessly invoke the Absolute Moral Authority kiddie card to attack their critics for “attacking the children.”
After 12-year-old Graeme Frost delivered the Democrat radio address last week, which was penned for him by Senate staffers, conservatives on the FreeRepublic.com forum and across the Internet asked the questions the mainstream media wouldn’t ask about the family’s financial situation. The couple claims an annual combined annual income of about $45,000. Neither the Democrats nor the Baltimore Sun indicate how they verified that assertion before circulating it.
What is verifiable: The Frosts own a home in Baltimore purchased for $55,000 sixteen years ago–and now worth an estimated $300,000. That’s a lot of equity. In addition, the children’s father, Halsey Frost, owns commercial real estate and his own small business, but chose not to buy health insurance for himself and his wife, whom he hired as an employee. She now apparently works freelance at a medical publishing firm, which also reportedly doesn’t offer insurance. Gemma and Graeme both attend expensive private schools; the Frosts have two other school-age children. Reid’s staff says Gemma and Graeme receive tuition breaks. But it’s not clear when those scholarships were instituted and/or whether the other two receive tuition aid as well. Moreover, Frost’s family comes from considerable means. The children’s maternal grandfather was an engineering executive. Their paternal grandparents hail from affluent Bronxville, New York, where the grandfather is a prominent facilities management consultant and chairman of the municipal planning board.
In other words: The public trough is not Halsey Frost’s last and only resort.
The accident was horrible. The children deserve much sympathy and compassion. But this family made choices. Choices have consequences. Taxpayers of lesser means should not be forced to subsidize them.
The Frosts claim it would cost them more per month than their mortgage, reportedly $1,200 a month, to buy private insurance. But insurance bloggers quickly found available plans for a family of six with premiums as low as $452/month.
“That’s almost a third of the price quoted in the [Baltimore Sun] article,” wrote Bob Vineyard at InsureBlog. “Doesn’t anyone bother to check the facts?”
When in comes to Democrat health care poster children, the answer is “No, they don’t.” Graeme and Gemma Frost are not the first political symbols to be exploited by the socialized health care pushers of the Left:
In 1996, Hillary Clinton propped up young Jennifer Bush, a seven-year-old with mystery ailments whose mother coached her to lobby for universal health care Jennifer was trotted out to present the Clintons a lucky silver dollar “to bring you good luck so everyone can have good insurance.” Jennifer’s mother was later convicted of aggravated child abuse and welfare fraud for misrepresenting $60,000 in assets on Medicaid forms.
In 2000, Al Gore propped up elderly widow Winifred Skinner to lambaste high drug prices. Gore repeated her claim that she had to pick up cans on the side of the road to pay for medicine. Dan Rather bemoaned: “She’s no child, but she belongs on a poster about high drug costs.” One problem: Winifred’s own well-to-do son, businessman Earl King, debunked those claims.
In 2004, John Kerry propped up Mary Ann Knowles, a breast cancer patient who he claimed “had to keep working day after day right through her chemotherapy, no matter how sick she felt, because she was terrified of losing her family’s health insurance?” The conservative Manchester Union Leader editorial page reported: “Knowles chose to work through most, but not all, of her chemotherapy because her husband was out of a job…She and husband John did not want to take the pay cut that would have come with disability leave, so Mary Ann kept working.”
The Democrats sorely resent that they can no longer peddle their Big Nanny propaganda unchallenged. Harry Reid is already throwing tantrums and attacking the messengers who expose their health-care poster child abuse.
Here’s a free prescription for our stunted politicians: Grow up.
The Free Republic member who first scrutinized the Frost case has a follow-up here. He concludes: “This is not a family of renters, they own not only a 3,040 SF home but a commercial property as well. I’m not faulting them for it, I’m not trying to say they are rich, I’m trying to make people aware of what types of families are CURRENTLY covered by S-CHIP so we can honestly debate if the income ceiling should be raised. Hmmmm, I really could use that new bass boat motor and the kids really would like a Nintendo Wii … maybe I’ll change my position.”
And now to the nutroots’ pushback. It’s not just Media Matters and MoveOn.org who lie through their teeth and attempt to intimidate critics through mass thuggishness. It’s militant leftist bloggers who wouldn’t know a good-faith argument if it bit them in the lip.
On Monday, I did something that has everyone from King Kos on down to the dregs (a short traveling distance, to be sure) screaming “Stalker!” What did I do? I went up to Baltimore and interviewed a tenant at health-care poster parent Halsey Frost’s place of business and drove past the Frost home. That’s not “stalking.” That’s not “harassing.” It’s reporting.
Why did I take the time to go to Baltimore? Because bloggers raised questions about the Frosts’ financial situation and made specific reference to these pieces of real estate. I did not “harass” the Frosts. I simply reported what the tenant told me and described what I saw after driving by their home. My basic reporting rebutted some impressions left by other bloggers on the right who haven’t been to these sites and assumed they were high-end luxury properties. They’re not. Moreover, I corrected the mistake that some of these bloggers made in overvaluing the house at $400,000-plus. It’s closer to $300,000.
The bottom line remains:
This family made choices. Choices have consequences. Taxpayers of lesser means should not be forced to subsidize them.
The Left is so accustomed to the stenographic servitude of the MSM, it goes bananas when we fill the vacuum. Moonbat bloggers have taken to posting my personal home information again in “retaliation.”
Why? Because they want to make an example: Challenge their narratives and you will pay.
If they can redefine simple reporting as “stalking,” they’ll have their desired chilling effect.
You can’t win with the unhinged mob. If you blog from home and don’t get your ass out of your chair, you’re a navel-gazing pontificator in pajamas who’s a wannabe journalist. If you get off your ass and get out on the street to compare what’s been written with the reality on the ground, you’ll be mauled as a “stalker” and “slimer” and “wingnut Nazi whore.” Never mind the truly unhinged and destructive tactics that the anti-war, anti-Bush Left itself has embraced and perfected.
Context, people, context: This is the inevitable M.O. every time bloggers and commentators on the right have challenged the Absolute Moral Authority of the Democrat poster child du jour. It happened with Cindy Sheehan. And the military recruiter-bashing thugs at Santa Cruz. And MoveOn.org. And the phony soldier saga. Crush Rush is just the tip of the iceberg. Just ask the mom-and-pop Cafe Press owners who got those cease-and-desist letters from MoveOn.org’s lawyers for daring to defend Gen. David Petraeus.
When they cry “intimidation,” they are engaging in classic projection.
This is not about The Children. It’s about the purported adults in the Democrat party leadership, the left-wing blogosphere, and the sycophantic media who can’t debate policy without flinging their peas when challenged.
Financial assets are at the very core of this debate. Schip was supposed to be a bridge to help insure children in poor families who barely missed out on qualifying for Medicaid. The Democrats are pushing the Schip eligibility level to 200, 300, 400 percent of the federal poverty line. The kids’ program is no longer just for kids and may well cover illegal aliens to boot.
Instead of sitting on the sidelines, Republicans need to force the Left out of its ideological infancy and stop this disastrous entitlement juggernaut.
I repeat what I told the Times reporter:
If Republicans don’t have the guts to hold the line, they deserve to lose their seats.
***
Reminder: The veto override vote is scheduled for Oct. 18. The stakes are high…
Sensing their best opportunity yet to overrule a White House that has stymied them on stem cell research and Iraq, congressional Democrats and their supporters have launched a campaign to override President Bush’s veto of plans to expand the popular State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
With polls showing broad support even among Republican voters to expand coverage to 4 million more children nationwide, congressional Democrats are rallying their allies publicly while speaking to their GOP colleagues privately. Supporters both on and off Capitol Hill are sinking millions of dollars into advertisements and automated “robo-calls” in the home districts of targeted Republicans, urging constituents to add to the pressure.
The veto override campaign pits a congressional majority - eager for victory on a program popular among both liberals and moderates - against conservative Republicans whose base sees the expansion as a step toward a national health plan. With the vote scheduled for Oct. 18, Democrats have given themselves two weeks to build support for a vote with reverberations likely to be felt next fall…
…The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which raises money for the House races, is targeting eight Republicans with radio and television ads. Democrats were joined yesterday by a coalition including MoveOn.org, Americans United for Change and several labor unions, which announced spots that officials said would have an impact on more than 30 Republicans.
Make sure House Minority Leader John Boehner hears from you:
Washington Office:
1011 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-3508
Phone: (202) 225-6205
Fax: (202) 225-0704
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Trackbacks
- Riehl World View
- Bill's Bites
- Liberty Just In Case - A Dialogue for the September 12th World » Poster Children: Harry’s Kids, not Jerry’s Kids
- Where is this magical 500$ insurance? « Cowardly political musings…
- Common Sense Political Thought » Archives » What Is Wrong with Them?
- Nuke’s News & Views » Blog Archive » Facts are our friends
- Dean's World
- The American Street » Blog Archive » From Phony Soldiers to Phony Needy Families
- Right Wing News
- The wealthy poor Pt. 2 at Hoystory
- The American Street » Blog Archive » The quest for Affordable National Health Care requires problem solvers not game players
- Jesus is Lord, A Worshipping Christian’s Blog » Blog Archive » Comments on Attempts to Overturn the SCHIP Veto
- JABbering Stooge :: M’F-er, I want more boycotts! :: October :: 2007
- I Know I'm Hard-Hearted [Dan Collins]
- Hot Air » Blog Archive » S-CHIP of fools
- The Strata-Sphere » Blog Archive » Conservatives Implode On Their S-CHIP Smear
- Limbaugh And The Phony Soldiers « PA Pundits . . . “the relentless pursuit of common sense”
- Pirate’s Cove » >>Americans Never Quit » Aside: Nutroots Dictionary Equates Debate With Smear
- Limbaugh And The Phony Soldiers : “7.62mm Justice” ™
- Right Voices » Blog Archive » UPDATED & BumpedTo Add Michelle And The NYT’s…The “Not So Poor” 12 Year Old Voice of SCHIP
- Sister Toldjah » On the expansion of SCHIP, weak-kneed Republicans, and far lefties who’d like to shut down the debate via intimidation
- RealClearPolitics - Blog Coverage
- Balloon Juice
- JABbering Stooge :: With Apologies to Everlast :: October :: 2007
- Think Progress » Ezra Klein challenges Malkin to an SCHIP debate.
- The Mahablog » Scum on Toast
- Texas Rainmaker » Democrats and their Phoney Victims
- Cold Fury » Child abuse
- Political Animal
- Where’s The Line? » Comments from Left Field
- Wake up America-Even crazier than Malkin-Thanks
- Coming Up: A Debate Between Klein and Malkin « The Van Der Galiën Gazette
- Don Singleton
- SCHIP: Who Put A 12 Yr Old In The Line Of Fire? at Conservative Times--Republican GOP news source.
- Balloon Juice
- Radio Left
- Right Wing Nut House » A DEBATE THAT NEVER WAS BUT NEEDS TO HAPPEN
- Ire Misplaced : The Sundries Shack
- Holy Buck, Fatman! | Now it’s personal.
- SCHIP Debate Being Derailed » Constitutionally Right
- JABbering Stooge :: Call the WHAAAAAAAAMbulence!!! :: October :: 2007
- Michelle Malkin Under Attack For Exposing Frost Family : Ian Schwartz
- When Right-wing Attacks Backfire: - Trackpads Community
- BizzyBlog » SCHIP Income Bidding Raised: $100K, $120K ….. Hey, Looks Like the Sky’s the Limit!
- Man Bites Blog » Blog Archive » Why the GOP is cracking up…
- Michelle Malkin » My reply to Respectable Liberal Blogger Ezra Klein and his fellow travelers
- Fear And Smear » Hypocrisy Will Get You Everywhere
- Hillarycare Preview: Democrats Push For Failed Policy « American Elephants
- Smart Remarks » Blog Archive » Choices, choices
- Ants and Grasshoppers « Bookworm Room
- Think Progress » EXCLUSIVE: E-mail Reveals That McConnell Staffer Propagated Smear Campaign Against Graeme Frost
- Matt Ortega » McConnell Staffer E-Mail Pushed Frost Smear Campaign
- Radio Left
- Webloggin - Blog Archive » Ants and Grasshoppers
- Democrat poster-child abuse, the nutroots’ pushback, and the continued campaign to silence the Right
- Democrat poster-child abuse, the nutroots’ pushback, and the continued campaign to silence the Right
- Michelle Malkin » Question for grown-ups: Who deserves government-subsidized health insurance?
- Arena of Ideas » Blog Archive » Weekend thoughts.
- based business cruise home travel
- Michelle Malkin » Questions about the journalists on Mitt Romney’s lawn
- Hawaii Ending Universal Child Health Care After 7 Months Because Mamilies Were Dropping Private Coverage So Their Children Would Be Eligible For The Subsidized Plan | Right Voices
- Michelle Malkin » Obama’s recession remedy: Tax the poor!
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Sorry. Not likely. Why, you ask? Because at least two and most likely all three of your “points of agreement” involve the government at some level or another getting involved.
Why is it that liberals always - always-think the government has to be involved?
Government regulation almost always results in higher prices and a scarceity of the good or service being provided. No reason to think that government involvement in healthcare in any way, shape, form or fashion would turn out any differently.
I’d say you miss the mark.
I pay my own insurance. Some choose not to - they’re taking a risk. Maybe they’re doing so because they’re under an internship or whatever… but it’s they’re choice.
Legislation to control cost of premiums will only drive down the quality of care provided and further limit access to care.
I guess I’m “working class, middle class” probably (by some standards) lower class even… but I pay my own way dammit. Say “NO” to government entitlements - it’s not right to use these type programs to reduce your own out-of-pocket expenses… they’re supposed to be for temporary help; for the needy - not just a way to save you money.
I just got off the phone with Boehner’s staffer…I wonder..hmmmm…just how much does this staffer tell his boss? Are these staffers there to just listen and then toss off? Here is a bit of interesting stuff for those of us who care about this country and understand the crazy socialist left:
From sciencedaily.com the beginning of the article is of interest:
Negativity Is Contagious, Study Finds (October 7, 2007) — Though we may not care to admit it, what other people think about something can affect what we think about it. This is how critics become influential and why our parents’ opinions about our life choices continue to matter, long after we’ve moved out. But what kind of opinions have the most effect? A new study reveals that negative opinions cause the greatest attitude shifts, not just from good to bad, but also from bad to worse. … >
Nuff said?
#101 governmentdrone said:
‘Zactly!
Mr. and Mrs. Frost chose to put their family finances in the public area when they allowed the Democrats to say that Mr. and Mrs. Frost were working poor people who could not afford health insurance.
Michelle:
Don’t get intimidated by the MSM and the lefty loons.
You are a journalist searching for the facts.
The bottom line fact is that Mr. Frost is a small businessman who chose SCHIP for his medical insurance plan instead of paying premiums as low as $452/month.
Since Mr. Frost is self employed, we can assume that $ 45,000 per year is net, net, net after every possible expense is deducted as a business expense.
Payment for the nearly new Suburban.
All the expenses of the area in the family home claimed to be the home office.
Why didn’t Mr. Frost buy health insurance for his family and his employee wife and call it a business expense?
When Mr. and Mrs. Frost claim that they cannot afford medical insurance and want the American taxpayer to foot the bill, we taxpayers are entitled to know whether the SCHIP program is a taxpayer funded benefit for the self-employed and others who make the conscious decision not to buy health insurance.
I find it very annoying that when the choices Mr. and Mrs. Frost are scrutinized, the facts keeping changing. And their defenders in the MSM and on the left substitute speculation for facts.
For example,
Two children going to a private school with $ 20,000 per year tuition.
Scholarship?
The grandparents are paying?
Frostworks and Diversified Industrial Design Center LLC. are still in the Yellow Pages.
The business failed in 1999?
Mr. Frost sold the business in 1999?
Wait a minute.
Diversified Industrial Design Center LLC. owns the business property and still lists the Frost family home as its business address.
Since the story changes with each new question, a thorough reporter would get a copy of another public record: the 2004 motor vehicle accident report.
What was the cause of the accident? Black ice as claimed?
Was 5 year old Gemma in the right front seat?
Was Gemma in a car seat?
Did Gemma and 9 year old Graeme have their seat belts on?
Mr. and Mrs. Frost chose to put their family in the public area. As that great Democrat Harry Truman love to say, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”
Looking at the picture of sweet Bonnie, I had to wonder what her tats cost… Maybe this is a perfect example of misapplied resources, and seeking to avoid the consequences of your choices in life.
Nobody wants these kids to go without help–and they certainly would not have done so. Mommy and Daddy might have had to take bankruptcy, though, to pay for the medical help they recieved, but could not pay for (assuming that they could not). As an attorney, I understand that is what bankruptcy is for. It helps people who have made poor choices or had a bad turn of fortune start over, while being as fair to their creditors as possible.
drone and tiger, I obviously wasn’t very clear. Let me first ask if you agree or disagree with the following:
…health care costs in this country (including insurance) are out of control.
…whether you live or die, or are sick or well, shouldn’t be a function of how much money you have.
I’m looking for ideas, hopefully with a lean toward the private sector providing the answers. I was in no way suggesting that the government was going to provide all the answers. I’m interested in stuff that works in the real world, not ideological purity or regurgitated talking points. Like I said previously, I heard a little bit about some of Gingrich’s notions on this topic, but would be curious if anyone here could be more specific.
I don’t consider the word “liberal” to be a bad word, but I don’t consider myself to be one. Old-school conservative to you.
This sort of semantic gymnastics is exactly what allows some columnists think they can get away with writing whatever they want and hiding behind the “opinion” label. Any member of the media who puts for what he or she claims to be facts has an obligation to verify that they are accurate. To do so is prudent and professional. To fail to do so is irresponsible and arrogant.
Would you have preferred that she merely pass along conjecture unvetted, as you seem content to do with your remarks that “it’s clear that the reports of that fancy house and the private schooling were wrong,” although it is actually the opposite that is clear.
No - I would not agree that health care costs are out of control in the USA. If you take the time to go through school and become a medical professional you deserve compensation for your skills. Beats hell out of two chickens and a cow for some ointment and masked dance.
As to the effect of my money on my health - if I choose to spend it as such then YES, I think that I want to get better care. If I choose to spend the money on a motorcycle and cruise around instead, does that mean you (and the government) should have to pay my medical bills if I am involved in a single vehicle accident?
How’s about my medical insurer being able to refuse me coverage based on my choice to ride? Should they be required to insure me? Should I pay the same rate as everybody else? What about the multiple vehicle accident with an “at fault” uninsured motorist… government pays my health care and “pain and suffering” or is that my responsibility to pay for underinsured coverage?
Everything in life is a choice. Be responsible for yourself, save and insure against the day you are injured.
Because sooner or later it happens to us all…
Ragspierre: The left will call you a right wing nut. Those tats would not have paid for even one month of health insurance.
Children aren’t pawns.
Why is this such a difficult concept to grasp?
dakine: Sorry I don’t agree with any of your three statements.
“Health Care is too expensive” Too expensive for whom? Travel to the moon is too expensive as well. I find it interesting that you are able to judge what is too much versus what is “just right”
“Our elected officials must….”. If history is any indication, with the success rate of politicians fixing problems over the past 50 years or so, I don’t want them fixing anything.
“We need some kind of safety net..” I do not see anywhere that health care is a right. I don’t disagree that it might be nice - but NEED is not the correct word.
dakine, health care costs are out of control in part because consumers demand unlimited access to the most costly technologies and drugs for conditions that aren’t illnesses. For example, many people with high cholesterol that could be controlled with diet and exercise instead want to fix it with a pill, and of course they want their health insurance to cover it. If we didn’t have first-dollar coverage, we would realize that it makes more sense to eat healthier and exercise more than it does to take medication that costs hundreds of dollars a month. But because the costs are camoflauged as insurance premiums (or government-paid benefits), we are comfortable being free-spenders. Then we wonder why the costs are so high.
Talking about health care costs is a CHANGE in the argument lefties…
It is this simple concept. If you are of median income you should be choosing to pay insurance costs yourself as I do. I do not have a plasma TV nor a car payment. Why should I be asked as a responsible citizen paying for my 2 daughters health insurance to pay for some NON-responsible citizen to have health care? Shifting the cost from non-responsible to responsible people does not solve the fact that it is expensive.
That is a whole different argument and one that is solved with market place solutions which is ANOTHER concept lefties don’t get. Health costs have not been market driven for decades and have ballooned in costs because of leftists solutions and policies. You are the problem and now you want to fix it by requiring responsible people to pay for irresponsible people.
Michelle,
You referenced a list of states abusing SCHIP money: “Michigan tops the list with 71.6 percent of its SCHIP money earmarked for adults who have no kids.” However just as stunning is the fact that 92% of the SCHIPS money that Minnesota gets goes to adults. Yes, 92%!!! If the press was really for the people they would tell us this. Instead they do everything to cover it up.
“Having government pay for more people to have health insurance is like bleeding a patient to heal them, or drilling a hole in the head to aleviate a headache.”
Agreed.
I’ve been saying for years, regarding the damage the liberals have wrought with their programs of the last 40-45 years, that their spend, spend, spend attitude/Weltanschauung can be summed up as, “Hey, my house is on fire…! Quick, more gasoline!”
Or, it is like Curly drilling a hole in the rowboat to let the water out. (Sorry…couldn’t resist it.)
Ragspierre: Can you explain to me how it’s fair to me as a creditor when somebody doesn’t pay me for good or services which I rendered? My employees paychecks don’t care if the customers made bad choices. The employees just want to be paid. Of course, the employees also want to know why the company sold stuff to those who might be a credit risk. Actions have consequences. Attorneys seem to forget this little detail.
I get to the party late due to the time zone but:
Yes Blues, a $55,000 loan with zero down and say a high rate of 12% interest would be a monthly payment of $565.74 per month for 30 years.
Oh yeah, Michelle, you’re amazing. Shows how lazy the MSM actually is. You ever come to Hawaii, I’ll buy you lunch.
Hmmm, dakine, you’re an attorney, do you think litigation has raised the cost of health care in this country?
Point number one: I don’t think I would call them “out of control” - yet. More than they need to be? Probably, but then again, I agree with T.t.Tiger to an extent. Med school is expensive, and quite frankly with today’s litigious climate (as well as the uncertainty over the move toward socialized medicine) doctorin’ can be a risky business to be in.
If they are “out of control” I tend to blame lawyers who sue over EVERYTHING, which has the effect of pushing malpractice insurance through the roof, and the advent of the government “encouraged” introduction of the HMO.
Back in the old days of “Major Medical” coverage, rates were reasonable and everything was covered. Problem was, people didn’t like all that darn pesky paperwork they had to fill out. So the insurance companies started looking for ways to make things simpler for their customers, while at the same time looking for a way to increase THEIR profits. Problem was, they needed some new regulations to be able to establish these new “Health Maintenance Organizations”. Nothing a little lobbying couldn’t cure, and viola! the birth of the HMO.
Point number two: You’re right. It shouldn’t. And the last time I looked, it wasn’t. People can’t be turned away for health care based on the ability to pay (or not pay). Does that mean that you can insist that your local plastic surgeon be compelled to do that liposuction on you? No. But it does mean that if you need vital healthcare - you are going to get it.
The thing that most people don’t realize is that even if you can’t afford to pay your bill in one or two payments, there are alternatives: There are several fine charitable organizations who routinely work with hospitals in this country to pay bills that patients either can’t or won’t pay. All you have to do is ask at the hospital’s billing department. Also, any hospital will be glad to work with you to establish payments - ones you can afford. And speaking of “afford” most health care providers, particularly hospitals, are willing to negotiate on bills. “Gee, I really don’t want to pay you $50 for that water glass. How about $1. And since I didn’t ask for or use a bedpan, you can take that off the bill.”
The problem is that most people simply aren’t aware of the alternatives - or simply don’t want to pay their bills (uh yeah, this happens a LOT!).
Best way to get costs under control? Loser pays system for lawsuits, as well as some self imposed ethics on the part of lawyers - after all, what in the world is wrong with telling someone “You have no case”? Also, get rid of HMO’s, PPO’s, etc., and get back to the system of “Major Medical” insurance coverage.
Or better yet, quit buying insurance altogether and return to the old days of “saving”. You might be surprised at just how little a doc or hospital might be willing to charge for something if you pay them in CASH. After all, if you aren’t using the middleman, they won’t have to either.
dakine:
I’m baffled by your question? “…whether you live or die, or are sick or well, shouldn’t be a function of how much money you have.” Exactly what do you propose it be a function of? (sorry for the bad sentence) Political party affiliation?
Sorry Ed but I have to disagree on this one. While Maryland doesn’t do an assets test, that’s part of the problem. Letting the Feds expand this thing (we probably agree) is even more wasteful because Maryland doesn’t do an assets test, and because Michigan gives 92% to adults and so on. No one would be picking on the Frosts if they hadn’t been willing to be the poster family for the Dems. But the lack of an assets test is a germane issue.
#105 slp, you raise some very interesting questions. It’s not hard for a small business owner to make some questionable deductions to reduce taxable income. I think Mr. Frost could end up very sorry he opened his finances to public scrutiny.
Ezra Klein wants to debate Michelle. He just couldn’t resist throwing around some infantile comments though while issuing his challenge. It is had to debate a 5 year old and quite often you simply have to tell them “Because I’m the adult, and I said so”
From the top o’the page…
‘Zactly!
You could easily be right, since I am not an expert on the cost of tatooing.
On the other hand, health insurance…expecially for catastrophic events as we are discussing here with this family…only costs a few hundred dollars per month. Maybe less.
It’s not a rip. MM is a pundit/blogger who writes from a conservative viewpoint. She is not interested, nor should she be, in writing an objective story. That’s not what pays her bills.
Playing investigative reporter here didn’t turn up any new information. And though the term “stalking” is stupid in this context, the field trip to Baltimore didn’t really reveal anything. It just opened her to criticism. Criticism which is fair. Just because I know where a politician lives doesn’t mean I can call them up or ring their doorbell and ask them questions. That’s best left to journalists whose credentials can get them that interview or get them through that front door.
Hello Rusty, hello….it’s clear the reports of that fancy house were wrong in part and precisely because Michelle drove by and had a look - and then reported that it was not a fancy house.
And who ares if she is employed by a newspaper or not, or whatever your definition of “reporter” is. If she finds facts and “reports” them, is that not de facto the same thing - and off-topic?
And who says she’s not interested in an objective story? And what is your definition of objective - one you agree with?
John Stossel
The amazing Rusty the mind reader.
Tell me Rusty, what am I thinking right now?
Hint: bottom of 100
A number of posters have cited the high cost of health care as the underlying costs of high medical insurance premiums. Yet, as long as doctors, hospitals, labs and other providers can bill third parties instead of the patients themselves, they will be tempted to pad their fees.
Need vs. want (as referenced at the top!)
Geez, I’m sorry. Is this a conservative blog or not? Are her columns not conservative? How about her books, one of which is a collection of idiot liberals?
I honestly don’t see how saying this blog isn’t a source of objectivity is a controversial or mean-spirted statement. It’s beyond obvious.
And there is no shame in trying to collect facts to support one’s position. But a private, non-journalist, doing so to another private citizen is dangerous. If I went to MM’s home or office to try to score an interview or check out the house, then I’d be rightly derided for my actions.
That he possibly suffers from a crainial/rectal inversion?
are being conservative and having the ability to be objective mutually exclusive traits?
in re: Rusty
People, please don’t feed the troll.
And now Rusty, since you insist on trolling, and even doing so completely off-topic, would you please go away and let the adults talk?
Actually, that is the surest way to make sure you are going to get pre-approved talking points rather than real investigative reporting. What you suggest is more like entertainment reporting rather than investigative reporting. Most reporters famous enough for the average American to know their name became so precisely because they DID NOT use their credentials to get through the FRONT DOOR, even though many of them had the credentials to do so. Instead, they got through the back door and got the real story which wasn’t available at the front door. Also, I don’t know many famous reporters or writers who were heralded because they were objective. In fact, most had a clear agenda whether they be from colonial times, civil war era times or current times.
No. Unless you’re a Mets fan. =)
Judging by your previous posts, I’m assuming you meant to ask: are being liberal and having the ability to be objective mutually exclusive traits? (Statement implies you can be one or the other but not both).
Sorry. Just had to do it. After all, what self-respecting Cardinals fan could resist getting in a jibe at a Mets fan? =)
Rusty:
You don’t have a namesake from the Seinfeld episode where Kramer fed him a can of come cheap beans do you?
haha ‘drone. after this season, we met fans deserve all the shots we get.
i worded it that way because (my bias is gonna show here) conservatives by their very nature tend to be more objective about what’s going on in the world around them and try not to delude themselves with that old saw ‘the ends justify the means’
and i wanted rusty to answer that question; didn’t specifically address it to him, but that was who it was meant for.
Michelle, ABSOLUTELY RIGHT-ON THE MONEY!!!.
My family NEVER went without health insurance. Even if that meant that my mother had to go to work part time or my dad had to eat crap constantly at a thankless job. We always had food on the table, a roof over our heads and we ALWAYS had healthcare. My father would have never taken a job without that nor would he ever dream of not purchasing it – or asking for government handouts.
We never had the fancy cars other people in our neighborhood had. We never went to Hawaii as a family vacation, rather we went camping in Tahoe, and most of my clothes (as well as those for my two sisters) were hand-me-downs or from the Goodwill. And here I am, still alive.
My parents really busted their butts to be sure that they gave us what was NEEDED and moderated their wants. We struggled growing up, my parents were young and the bay area is not an inexpensive place to live. They sacrificed a lot, and never complained about it.
To think of young parents (like mine) in a similar situation now days…making responsible decisions for their family, prioritizing needs in front of wants, and giving up the little “extras” and then being forced to then pay for those who are irresponsible and not willing to do the same is just not right.
I do, however, feel bad for the kids. But I do wish their parents had more sense to begin with.
metsfan:
no offense intended. I just couldn’t resist engaging a mets fan one-on-one. And I know what you mean about this season - the Cards got hot last year at just the right time, but if you couldn’t see this season coming for them, you just plain weren’t looking.
Frankly, I was a little disappointed to see the Mets finish like they did. That kind of collapse is supposed to be the exclusive property of the Cubbies.
Sorry all for going OT.
“Frankly, I was a little disappointed to see the Mets finish like they did. That kind of collapse is supposed to be the exclusive property of the Cubbies.”
Or of the Philadelphia “Folders” of the early 60s.
Slightly OT: Dakine - uhhmmm, do you find this at all relative to ambulance chasing attorney’s suing doctors and insurance companies?
Anybody hear Rush today, when he was talking about this issue in terms of himself, Michelle Malkin, and Mark Steyn?
Not bad company, Michelle.
And I suppose Dan Rathergate IS a journalist?
Michelle wrote a great piece. She writes the side of the news the MSM WILL NOT cover. So, the MSM are all journalists and MM is not. Can you not give credit where credit is due?
*taps fingers on desk knowing that was a stupid question
P.S. Maybe Michelle needs a middle name like Sue. Then she too can be MSM and then have credibility in the closed eyes of trollish commenter’s.
$45K is the working poor? I make much less then that and need roommates to make ends meet. What does that make me?
AOL news blasting Michelle:
Here
On their front page no less. MSM throwing a pitty party over the poor kids reading Dimocrap talking points.
Jim M:
Excellent post, Jim! I have taken the liberty to “bold” and italicize parts of your post, because I think some of your exquisite point should be stressed. Hope you don’t mind.
Another thing I would like to see is any Republican, not just “bringing up,” but pro-actively fighting for the fact that our “unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is, in fact, granted by our Creator and not by Congress! And that nowhere in the U. S. Constitution does it anoint Congress with the power to provide a better life, (more) liberty (than someone else), and certainly not to guarantee happiness. The right to pursue happiness means the right to work and to better ourselves as we see fit, in the process of achieving a better life for ourselves, all within the broad realm of L-I-B-E-R-T-Y, which, by the way, does not encompass enslavement to those who won’t!!
Er, Rusty, Michelle is a journalist; more often than not, an investigative journalist. Of course we’re willing to give a listen to a recount of your trip to Iraq as an investigative journalist. Maybe you got pics of the ever-elusive “burnt mosques” and the “burning Sunnis”.
.
“Private citizens” do not inject themselves into the forefront of a national debate and hop in front the media via radio addresses, TV and the press. Once they do, they relinquish the private citizen status, at least - if not especially - in the area on which they go public.
This is only “dangerous” to the fringe left who have to explain why people who make bad choices on how they spend their money should be given a free ride. The Dems just picked an awful “example” to go public with in this case and got called on it.
Actually, AOL is carrying a NYT story, Soap - here it at NYT.
Capitol Feud: A 12-Year-Old Is the Fodder
Castairs - SOL!
purplepeep
Yep, you are right. I like the AOL headline:
“Injured Boy Under Attack”
Not the Dimocraps tactics under attack (which is fact) but the injured boy is being attacked. But, hey, it is in the NYT so a journalist, who is probably NOT a liberal, reported the piece.
The old media is trying to buggy-whip the new media to death.
Yeah, I suppose “Questions raised about asset requirements for SCHIP program” just isn’t a sexy enough headline.
Their alternative headline was probably “Evil Monsters Torture Sick Child”.
This is another effort by the Dhimmicrats to socialize medicine in this country.
It will not stand if we fight it.
This issue is relevant to about 8 million truly needy Americans.
The facts have been lost in the debate.
Michelle Malkin hit it on the head with her imagery of kids with red wagons loaded with Dhimmicrat talking points.
This is the biggest vote buying boondoggle ever.
Hopefully, American taxpayers are vigilant and cut throat about this looting of the treasury.
Enough is enough.
Another interesting phenomenon we are seeing with the the hystrionic reaction to Michelle’s and others work is that the MSM and our elected representatives abhor accountability.
We got a very good glimpse of that in the relatively recent efforts to pass no illegal left behind. Despite the villification of those that oppose illegal immigration, the people held their representatives accountable. And it worked. But no sooner had the clamor died down, they tried again. And again.
Fast forward to today. We are supposed to take everything trotted out to us at face value and as gospel. The MSM and Congress have had it that way for so long, they have fits of wailing and gnashing of teeth when anyone tryies to hold them accountable for what they are saying.
The Bush National Guard story. Doctored photos from the war. The string of deceit behind the democrats poster children for healthcare. The buried intel report from Haditha. And on and on.
Think about it. At no time in the past has either Congress or the MSM been taken to task for their words. Now that it is occurring, they don’t know how to act or react. So they keep spinning the same lies with more volume.
In many respects, the internet has unschackled people from the information blackout imposed by the MSM and our electorate. They are in a new age of accountability, and they do not like it one bit.
The MSM is slowly choking to death on its incompetence, outright lies and
hidden agendas. The severely underestimated the intelligence of the American people, believing the MSM had a perpetual monopoly on thought.
Politicians can no longer hide from their past. Reports of those Klan rallies are available in an instant. And they can no longer hide their voting records from the public. The politicos seem truly perplexed that voters have the ability for independent thought, which is a far cry from what all that lobbying money is telling them. Next thing you know, people are going to expect them to keep all those campaign promises.
I love it.
One more thing - Al Gore, thank you for inventing the internet!
Some good info, and a generally pretty civil and grownup discussion regarding a tough issue. There are more than a few very smart and well-informed folks around here. Couple of things:
…yes I’m a lawyer, and yes, I agree that lawyers are part of the problem with rising healthcare costs.
…more competition in both the health care industry in general and the health insurance industry specifically makes a great deal of sense to me as a way to bring costs down. Anybody know how to make this happen?
…a couple of folks claimed that health care costs and insurance premiums are not out of control. You guys are living in a different world than I am. My premiums have skyrocketed and every HR person I’ve ever spoken to constantly complains about the cost of providing health insurance to employees. Lots of companies (especially smaller ones) have cut way back on this benefit or cut it out entirely.
…conservativesRus, if I’m understanding your position correctly, that’s pretty selfish and cruel to be quite frank.
…just for the record, the Constitution makes no mention of a Creator or God or Buddha or Allah or any other god.
Dakine - No, the Constitution may not mention a Creator or God but the Declaration of Independence sure does and so do many of the writings of the founding fathers of this country. They didn’t check their beliefs at the door when they assembled to form this government.
Ok, fine. Then you agree that MM was wrong to object to people publishing her address since, by your definition, she isn’t a private citizen? Personally, I find that reprehensable, but if that’s your opinion I hope you’re consistent with it.
Also, great catch by Ezra Klein:
Link here.
Michelle,
Thanks for a well researched and supported read and for taking the time to make a personal observation of the terrain. Keep a clear eye out for those that might stalk you from the unhinged sector of society. As we say here all good fighter pilots always check their 6. This information really got everybody going. I read some really good discussion points.
iamsaved, true of course, but I think the accuracy of your comment really underscores the founders’ decision to specifically exclude such words from the Constitution. I’m also sure you know that several of the founders skewed toward non-belief.
One other comment on the “journalist” point. I could be wrong, but I think Michelle is a self-described “point of view” journalist. Nothing inherently wrong with that, but of course, she is then, by definition, biased in her “reporting” (sorry, way to many commas in that sentence).
In all this mess one thing not mentioned is bothering me. The kids were injured in a car crash. Were the Frosts uninsured/under-insured? Seems to me that the Frosts have made quite a few poor parenting decisions. From auto insurance to health insurance, and they want the taxpayer to make up for their mistakes.
Has anyone suggested posting their address? At least you don’t agree with that tactic either. I think the point was that there are legal differences between being a private citizen and a public figure. (One of the lawyers here can explain if they wish, I’m not a lawyer.) Once they (in this case) chose to be at least limited public figures, they opened themselves to be questioned about their circumstances. That’s a far cry from publishing their address so that others can go annoy them (or worse.) Michelle drove down a public street to see if in fact they lived in a fancy house, discovered they did not and wrote that they didn’t in order to correct those who thought they did. Sounds objective to me.
What is sad to me is that they chose to make their children public figures as well. Fine for an adult to make that choice, but maybe not the best choice for the kids. But that leads to “journalists” (by your definition) running the “objective” headline that a 12 year old was under attack from the right. All the comments I have seen have been concerning the family and the claims made by the parents - not attacking the boy. And no one would even know who he is had the parents not trotted him out for the Dems. And it’s a dopey tactic anyway since he would be covered by the Bush version anyway.
dakine: You didn’t answer my question - what shall be the determining factor in who gets what level of care?
Klein carefully limits the debate scope only to the legislation itself.
All the side issues it impacts are no fire zones in his rules.
A worthless endeavor if he is going the hamstring the issue so much.
He might as well only want to discuss which font the legislation is printed with.
Ok folks go read this for how California handles their program
I Could Qualify For SCHIP!
I just phoned California’s SCHIP program, Healthy Families, and found that my family could qualify.
This is the scenario I laid out:
· Husband, age 62 (which I’ll be in 2-years), collecting early Social Security; Wife, age 41;
· Two minor dependent children, ages 2 and 7;
· Currently covered under self-paid individual health insurance (incidentally, costing about $10,000 a year, HMO, with $35 doctor visits and 30% co-insurance payments for other services, formulary Rx’s $20 generic and $35 brand);
· Mutual fund capital gains of $50,000 and ordinary dividends of $30,000;
· Earned income of $2289 a month by wife at job without medical benefits. (My wife is not currently working, being a house-mom.)
Thus, even though having substantial liquid assets, saved through a lifetime of scrimping in order to fund retirement, I would qualify for California’s Healthy Families SCHIP program. Assets and unearned income (e.g., Social Security, capital gains, ordinary dividends) do not count against SCHIP qualification.
http://www.democracy-project.com/archives/003491.html
Rush Limbaugh referenced Michelle Malkin several times on his program, validating her reporting skills which have exposed the Democrats, left, liberal scamming and scheming. She is top notch and should not blink at all.
LOL, Rusty, I suppose it is easier if you make up quotes from others and then respond to them.
Again you are wandering lost in the dark forest of RustyRelativism and desperate to divert attention from the actualities. The Dems embarrassed themselves yet again in offering up this varation on the “Jessie MacBeth Example” type posterchild. They got caught trying to pass it off and so diversion is obviously of the utmost necessity to them.
But I will assist in clearing up your confusion here, Rusty.
Investigative journalists investigate persons and items which become prominent in the news - especially where the person(s) intentionally do so, as in this case. No journalist is to be attacked because of who s/he is, but the story can be judged on it’s merits. You and others are terrified at answering the many questions this story brings up. Being unable to debate the merits, shooting the messenger is all that’s left, I suppose.
The Frosts even refused to let the Baltimore Sun - a liberal newspaper that’s pulling for them - have a peek at their 2006 tax returns. Now, there’s something for more investigation.
As for the moronic link, it’s absoltely meaningless. Unless anybody can cite where Michelle had asked for public assistance. Otherwise, nawww.
The Dems just made another whopper of a mistake by choosing a quite comfortable family as an exsmple of what those of us who are less well off should financially support. I should be in such dire poverty as Mr. Frost. I can’t imagine what the working poor - the real poor - must think of his demand they subsidize his ongoing bad financial decisions by taking even more of their paycheck away from them.
A “reporter” is anyone who wants to call themselves that. There is no certifying body administering tests or set of skills which need to be mastered before you become one. Even Rusty could be a reporter if he was so inclined.
You are comparing apples and oranges, and calling them both pears. A “journalist” can be a reporter, but a “reporter” is no more than that: someone who reports. The reporter goes to the scene, takes down all the facts (who, what, where, when, and why), and writes a “report” on those facts. Period. A journalist, on the other hand, may also go to the scene and do basically the same, but a true journalist has the added capability (with training and a high level of experience, not to mention at least a few active brain cells), that most simple reporters do not have, of dissecting the story, analyzing what happened, investigating and researching the particulars, and even scrutinizing the people involved. The jobs are as dissimilar as the difference between a typist from the steno pool and the Executive Secretary. But their commitment must both be entrenched in high ethics and inscrutable honesty.
Michelle is one of the best you can find anywhere! She is a true journalist in the fashion of “old school” journalism. She has a syndicated column (reporters do not have “columns”; they have “articles” — there is a difference!) and has authored a number of best-selling books. Of course she writes her own opinion! Whose opinion would you have her write? She has more than earned that privilege. Probably the biggest reason she has such a huge following is that we know she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty. She’s not afraid to get down in the trenches and truly investigate until there is no more information, good or bad, to be found! We, her millions, follow her because we trust her. Read Michelle Malkin and you read the truth, thoroughly researched and intelligently evaluated.
As a lawyer, you should know to get your facts straight before you open your mouth.
— newspaper brat, 65 years
Whoa there leepro…hold your horses cowboy. First of all, I said a few comments up that I think Michelle is very good at what she does. I’m no expert, but I believe she is part of the new breed of internet “reporter”, “journalist”, or whatever the correct term is, who engages in what has been coined “point of view” or “advocacy” journalism. Is that not correct? She blogs on subjects that interest her and does so to advance a particular point of view. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, and I don’t think she claims to be doing otherwise. How do you like them apples leepro?
A point worth repeating:
The Frost family is covered under the existing SCHIP program.
The proposed changes would add even more childless adults with higher incomes who decide not to buy medical insurance.