Real World Obamacare

The new year is only 26 days old and we're already seeing fallout from the not-yet-completely-implemented Obamacare.

Mrs. Nod is in her 35th week of pregnancy. Historically she delivers big babies even though she is a small woman. Even Nub, who was 5 weeks premature, weighed in at 8 pounds. The OB told her this week that due to hospital rule changes from Obamacare, they are not allowed to induce her before 39 weeks.

If that happens, we may be looking for all the pieces of Humpty-Dumpty to put her back together again. Mrs. Nod would be "dead on the prairie" if not for modern medicine, early inducement, and really big needles and thread.  We will be appealing.

Next, our family doctor provider (whom we were allowed to keep if we liked them) has regretfully informed us that due to the budget cut tricks in Obamacare (21% cut in payments to doctors) they will not be able to take any more Medicare/Medicaid patients and they will try their hardest to keep the ones they currently have.

Fortunately, we don't use Medicare/Medicaid, but if we had, we'd be hurting about now. I know our doctor is.

Another wrinkle is that the pre-tax amount I was allowed to put away in a medical FSA was slashed by about $1000. So much for saving money and managing my own costs.

These are but a few (small) examples of the ripples that "well intentioned" changes make. I fear for those with a larger stake.

Afghan Troop Surge - Cynic's Review

This week President Obama announced a 30,000 troop surge for the fight in Afghanistan. In the same speech he also announced the timetable for starting to withdraw the troops: Summer 2011.

Gee, that's a funny time. What's significant about that? Oh, yes, it's just before the presidential election season kicks into high gear for 2012.

Obama doesn't want to be known as a War President, since that's not going to fly with his liberal base. The 30,000 troops are about half of what his general requested -- which allows him to try to play both sides of the street: I prosecuted the war in Afghanistan (to the hawks), but only a little bit (to the doves).

That way, even if the war isn't done, or won, he can say he's started to bring the troops home -- always a popular move. Make no mistake, Obama wants to win: but an election, not a war.

Nobel? Puh-leze

So everyone is a-buzz with the news that President Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize. Since the voting began in February of this year, pundits from both the right and left are a bit shocked and puzzled. Obama had only been in office for one month.

It's not a partisan question to ask: don't you have to DO something before you get awarded a Peace Prize?

Maybe this explains it ...

In Norway there are no separate laws relating only to drugs. The use and possession of minor quantities of drugs fall under the provision of the Act on Medicinal Products (1992). Penalties comprise fines or imprisonment for up to 6 months.

Obama Kowtows To Unions, Slaps Tariffs On China

President Obama pandered to his base recently when he slapped tariffs on imported Chinese tires after complaints by a U.S. union. China immediately filed a grievance with the WTO. Unless both sides tread carefully, this may trigger a trade war with China at a time when they hold a majority of the U.S. debt.

Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- China is demanding talks with the U.S. and has filed a complaint to the World Trade Organization on Barack Obama’s decision to impose tariffs on tires from the Asian nation.

Obama announced duties Sept. 11 of 35 percent on $1.8 billion of automobile tires from China, acting on a complaint by the United Steelworkers union against the second-largest U.S. trading partner. China said yesterday it will begin dumping and subsidy probes of chicken and auto products from the U.S.

Can you say stupid? I'm no fan of trade with China (pass the cheap goods, please), but a global recession is no time to play protectionist politics. This can only cause more people to lose their jobs, trigger inflationary pressures, and antagonize the foreign debt holders.

But it was a union, see? Obama had to protect the base (donors, really). The union whined, Obama pandered, China threatened -- see how it works?

Every President panders, but it doesn't keep it from being any less disgusting. If you're going to pander, pander to me (all I got was this lousy t-shirt).

Trying Too Hard?

So while not exactly insightful commentary, the official Obama delegation picture with the Pope struck me as odd.

All three ladies are dressed in black veils. All three ladies look very, very uncomfortable. I'm sure it was meant as a sign of respect for the Pope, but it is conspicuous because it looks like they are trying too hard.

But then I went back and looked: it seems to be the dress code for meeting the Pontiff at the Vatican. Black veil and knee-length black dress. I think it's particularly unflattering. (Then there's Robert Gibbs: that guy creeps me out.)

POTUS School Marm Takes Condescending Tone

So I hear this audio clip of the President today, fresh back from his trip to Europe.

In it he's got that lecturing tone; you know, the school teacher wagging her finger at those naughty children who have been acting up in her absence. It just rubbed me all the wrong way; I don't take kindly to anyone using that tone.

"I want to put everybody on notice, because there was a lot of chatter while I was gone. We are going to get this done. Inaction is not an option. Don't bet against us, we are going to make this happen. We are now closer to the goal of health care reform than we have ever been."

What happened to respectful dialog, accommodating other points of view, blah blah blah? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Scanning Headlines

Sometimes you can get a better story by just reading the headlines.

Case in point:

• Obama: Health Care Reform Will 'Absolutely' Be Passed This Year

• Obama Leaves Door Open to Tax on Health Benefits

• Obama's Plan to Disband Bioethics Council Draws Criticism

• Obama Discusses Cutting Deathbed Measures to Save Costs

Death or taxes: your choice.

IG Fired By Obama RAT Board

Remember waaaaaay back to February? That was when we were talking about hidden provisions in the Porkulus economic stimulus package?

(Newser) – Hidden away in the $787 billion stimulus bill is a lousy provision that threatens to inject politics into the jobs of supposedly independent government watchdogs, writes Byron York of the Washington Examiner. The bill creates something called the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board—the RAT board to the few who know of it. From now on, inspectors general—investigators who check into wrongdoing at federal agencies—must clear their inquiries with the board.

"The language means that the board—whose chairman will be appointed by the president—can reach deep inside a federal agency and tell an inspector general to lay off some particularly sensitive subject," writes York. "Or, conversely, it can tell the inspector general to go after a tempting political target." It's not clear yet who snuck it in, but signs point to the Obama administration, not Congress.

It sure didn't take long to exercise that little provision, now did it? Inspector Generals are not supposed to be able to be fired without 30 days notice to prevent political tampering. Looks like we got ourselves a smoking gun here.

[Judicial Watch] A government inspector general who has exposed widespread waste in taxpayer-financed community service groups has been fired by Barack Obama after finding that one of the president’s political supporters, a California mayor, misused federal funds.

In violation of a law established to keep the watchdogs independent and free of political pressure or interference, Obama has refused to explain why he got rid of the inspector general charged with investigating the government’s so-called national service programs.

[FoxNews] [Gerald ]Walpin concluded that his firing stems from bad blood between him and the board, as well as with Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson -- an Obama supporter whom he had investigated for alleged misuse of federal funds.

Obama Defines Empathy In Justice Roberts Remarks

At least this guy tells us what he is really thinking; it's just that people aren't paying attention to what all the pretty words mean. We've gotten so used to hearing lies from politicians that we don't hear it when they tell the truth either.

The Wall Street Journal published then-Senator Obama's remarks on why he voted against Justice Roberts' confirmation to the Supreme Court. Short version: he doesn't share my political philosophy in 5% of the cases.

[WSJ] In those 5% of hard cases, ... your decisions about whether affirmative action is an appropriate response to the history of discrimination in this country, or whether a general right of privacy encompasses a more specific right of women to control their reproductive decisions, or whether the Commerce Clause empowers Congress to speak on those issues of broad national concern ..., the critical ingredient is supplied by what is in the judge's heart.

So this illuminates his decision making process for nominating Sotomayer to the Supreme Court as well. The translation of empathy is: support for affirmative action, abortion, and broad Federal powers.

Habemus SCOTUS

Today, President Obama announced his nominee for the Supreme Court Of The United States: a Latina woman. Anyone who is surprised please raise your hand. No takers? Didn't think so.

WASHINGTON – Reaching for history, President Barack Obama on Tuesday chose federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor to be the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court, championing her as a compassionate, seasoned jurist whose against-the-odds life journey affirms the American dream.

It is as yawn-inducing as it was predictable. The criteria these days are for something "historic" rather than good or great. Is she good or great? I honestly don't know, but the usual bloodletting is under way.

Irreconcilable Differences

Some people are satisfied with fair sounding words, others are more concerned with substance.

The President said in his speech at Notre Dame that despite all his fair sounding words, there is no middle ground. There is only middle ground if somebody gives up their position. The fact that the opposing views are "irreconcilable" in his words means that there is nothing that can be reconciled and therefore no touted "middle ground".

Proponents and opponents, take note.

He did say that we should speak nicely about each other, though. Big deal.

KANSAS CITY, Missouri, May 21, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Although the University of Notre Dame has defended its invitation of President Obama for the sake of dialogue on abortion, Obama's own remark Sunday that the opposing views were "irreconcilable" brought dialogue to a "screeching halt," said Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph, MO.

"I think the message of the day was this - that the President of Notre Dame said that they had invited the President of the United States and decided to honor him for the sake of dialogue," said Bishop Finn in an interview with the diocesan newspaper the Catholic Key earlier this week.

"The President got up and said that the differences that we have on abortion - namely the Catholic Church's staunch opposition to abortion and his staunch support of abortion were 'irreconcilable,'" he continued. "And at that moment, it would seem to me that the dialogue came to a screeching halt.

"Father Jenkins' expressed desire for dialogue, whether it was well-founded or justified, at that point got thrown back in his face. The President shut the door on dialogue by saying that there was not going to be any change in his position on abortion and he understood that there was not going to be any change in the Church's position on abortion.

"I am glad that Mr. Obama was so clear."

Palin's First 100 Days

A slick little piece of parody over at VDH's Private Papers is President Palin's First 100 Days. (h/t Subvet). Give it a read -- nobody likes a perpetual glum face, so you might as well laugh.

This one's my favorite:

A “dragon lady in heels” is what President Palin is, according to the NYT’s Frank Rich. “Don’t fall for this pageant nice-girl stuff. Our former beauty queen is a ward hack. Look at her nominations. Can’t Palin find anyone who has paid his taxes — or do they simply ignore that stuff in no-tax Alaska? Does ‘No more lobbyists’ mean ‘More lobbyists than ever’? Her chief performance overseer doesn’t perform too well herself — and, like Daschle, Geithner, and the rest, skips out on her taxes. When Palin brags about fiscal sobriety, it really means record deficits. In Sarahland, not wanting to take over banks and car companies translates into, ‘She already has.’ Highest ethical standards equates to ‘There are none.’ Calling herself the VA president means she’s just told vets to use their own health insurance.”

Run Over By The Healthcare Train

Today the AP reported that Nancy Pelosi of Dems & PelosiCo(tm) promised to bring a health care reform bill to the floor by August.

President Barack Obama went on TV for a third straight day to push for passage of health care legislation he hopes will extend coverage to 50 million uninsured people. Standing at his side at the White House, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi renewed a promise to bring legislation to the House floor by August.

"We've got to get it done this year," Obama said. "We don't have any excuses; the stars are aligned."

The developments underscored a quickening drive toward health care overhaul legislation in Congress.

Obama has asked the health insurers, doctors, hospitals and others who brought the much-ballyhooed — but vague — $2 trillion cost-saving idea to the White House earlier this week to produce specifics by June 1.

Once again the political Babelfish gets to translate: WOO-WOO! You hear that sound? That's a train a-comin'! You 'bout to get railroaded!!

What's the rush? Obama and Pelosi both know that people are starting to suffer from bail-out fatigue. The desire to overhaul everything in sight while racking up mind-numbing deficits is starting to wear on the American psyche. People simply cannot sustain a heightened sense of urgency over a long period of time; their emotions simply give way.

Americans should be extremely wary of anything of that scale that "must" be done "right now". Things that are rushed to be done are usually things that are done badly or shouldn't have been done at all. As much as everyone likes to gripe and complain about Congress being a model of inefficiency, there's a very good democratic principle involved in letting it be so. Debate is healthy, so that all sides get aired. Checks and balances are good for democracies; no one party or person should be able to ride roughshod over the other -- that's how despotism starts.

Stick With Plan A

We've been talking a lot about threats to conscience and health care recently, so it's appropriate to share some news of a little bit of movement towards the side of sanity -- from Illinois (of all places!), that land of proverbial corruption.

The AP reports that Sangamon County Circuit Judge John Belz has issued a temporary restraining order against the State that prevents it from forcing pharmacists from issuing the emergency contraceptive/abortifacient Plan B, the so-called "morning after pill", if they object on religious grounds.

Two pharmacists in Illinois took their case all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court who ruled in December that their case must be heard. The case stems from a rule by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2005 ordering all pharmacies to dispense the pill without exception.

The main antagonists in the case are Barr Labs, who makes Plan B (of course, since they stand to make a lot of money by its unfettered sale), and (who else) Planned Barrenhood.

[FoxNews] Since 1997, lawmakers in 28 states have introduced bills to protect a pharmacist's right to say no, and four states now permit pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions based on their personal beliefs. Seven states and Canada allow pharmacists to dispense Plan B without a prescription.

Previously, the Food and Drug Administration has ruled that Plan B can be made available over the counter to women over 18 years, but by prescription only for minors. The Obama administration has reversed that through their surrogates in the FDA, making Plan B available to minors without a prescription.

Critics within the FDA called delays on the previous policy "politically motivated" -- completely and hypocritically missing the point that the Obama administration's abrupt policy reversal in pushing the drug to minors was also politically motivated, just in the opposite direction.

Oh -- but your kids still can't get an aspirin at school.

Everyone's Murmuring

As we entered the office we were visiting, the TV was on low showing the news. The coverage was of President Obama's visit to the Queen of England.

The low level international gaffes are starting to pile up, and people are starting to murmur.

The President gave the Queen an iPod with footage of her 2007 visit to the U.S. and some music -- but she already has one and everyone knows it. First Lady, Michelle Obama, hugged the Queen: a minor breach of protocol.

Earlier last month, Obama gave Prime Minister Gordon Brown a set of DVDs with the wrong region encoding and confused England with the U.K. and vice versa. At the beginning of his tenure, Obama sent the bust of Churchill back to the U.K.

Secretary Clinton asked who painted the miraculous picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico (although her office later tried to spin it that she was looking at a replica and not the original). Earlier this year Clinton gave Russia a gift of a red reset button with the wrong Russian word printed on it after "working hard to come up with the right word".

Today, President Obama actually bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia. Hello? The President of the United States does NOT bow to foreign dignitaries. We are cordial and polite, but we don't acknowledge the superiority of ANY other country to ours. Our soldiers only wear the colors of our own country; we fly our flag higher than all else; we salute with the edge of our hands, showing our unbeaten strength; the language of international business is English; and the world trades in U.S. dollars (still!).

We are (still!) the world's only superpower. Many forces threaten our hegemony, our leadership and prestige. We risk giving it away in ways large and small with these international blunders and disastrous economic policy. Regardless of political affiliation, the country deserves both to be respected and to show (proper) respect to others.

The former junior Senator from Illinois needs to fire whoever is currently in charge of international protocol -- if anyone.

The Guys' Take On The News

The news is national or international -- but I live right here, and so do you. That is to say, we are real people, not just headlines.

I talked with "the guys" tonight about the news and they had personal perspectives on it.

Regarding the current flap over Notre Dame giving an honorary degree to President Obama and inviting him to speak at commencement, one guy is a huge Irish fan and his brother is an alum. He said he's not watching any more games, and his brother said the University isn't getting another dime from him until they rescind this invitation and honorary degree.

Another guy is a Navy engineer who said it is very possible the latest sub bump accident with a ship in the Strait of Hormuz could be a result of simply getting too close to each other and getting "sucked together". He said his group did some testing and modeling on it after the last accident. Physics, man.

Liberalism, Intolerance, and Despotism

Some days I have the attention span of a gnat, just like the majority of the American political landscape; other times I can dredge up stuff from my personal "wayback" machine with astounding clarity. In this case we're only talking about four months.

Three is a magic number which tends to trip my internal filter mechanism and I say: I've seen this before. The latest instance of this happened when I noticed voices in the Church speaking on the same theme from three different corners of the world: the relationship between liberalism, intolerance, and despotism.

The first instance happened when Pope Benedict XVI was commenting in a letter sent to Italian philosopher and senator Marcello Pera on his latest book Why We Must Call Ourselves Christians: Liberalism, Europe, and Ethics.

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 2, 2008 (Zenit.org).- At the heart of liberalism is the Christian image of God, and rediscovering that is the key to overcoming the current crisis of ethics in Europe and the world, says Benedict XVI.

"With irreproachable logic, you show how liberalism loses its base and destroys itself if it abandons this foundation," he added.

"This has generated what is known as the phenomenon of anti-clericalism, and anti-clericalism has generated another: what in the book I call 'secular equation,' namely, 'liberal equals non-Christian.', [Pera said.]"

The second instance came from the Australian Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell in an address at a conference in Oxford on "Varieties of Intolerance: Religious and Secular."

LONDON, MARCH 12, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Modern liberalism has strong totalitarian tendencies, according to the archbishop of Sydney.

"Some secularists seem to like one way streets," he added. "Their intolerance of Christianity seeks to drive it not only from the public square, but even from the provision of education, health care and welfare services to the wider community. Tolerance has come to mean different things for different groups."

The cardinal noted how particularly in the United States, members of Church organizations are facing more and more legal obstacles when it comes to following their consciences.

Following close on the heels of that, "USCCB President Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago, warns that President Obama is moving towards despotism in removing conscience protections from medical providers who choose not to provide abortion services" (H/T: Thoughts of a Regular Guy by Paul, just this guy, you know?:

On Friday afternoon, February 27, the Obama Administration placed on a federal website the news that it intends to remove a conscience protection rule for the Department of Health and Human Services. That rule is one part of the range of legal protections for health care workers—for doctors, nurses and others—who have objections in conscience to being involved in abortion and other killing procedures that are against how they live their faith in God.

As Catholic bishops and American citizens, we are deeply concerned that such an action on the government’s part would be the first step in moving our country from democracy to despotism.

Anybody noticing a trend here?

It may have been obvious from the start or not, but societies tend to follow broad movements; once started, thoughts and attitudes roll on under their own momentum (or constant agitation from a vocal minority) until something radical shifts its course.

Intellectual, political, and religious beliefs have practical consequences in real life. That is why totalitarian regimes shoot the dissidents even for their own private thoughts. Thoughts lead to action.

The fight to legitimize gay "marriage" is not simply a case of civil rights or "live and let live" -- it is about reshaping the entire culture; it would require sweeping changes in law, finance, education, politics, and even impinge on freedom of religion.

The rescission of conscience clauses in public law is a transparent attempt not only to silence the practice of religion in the public sphere but also to compel doctors and health care workers to be complicit in the crime: It is not enough for you to let us kill -- you must pull the trigger, wield the knife.

So it's a fight and make no mistake. And yet to return to the words of our Holy Father: At the heart of liberalism is the Christian image of God, and rediscovering that is the key to overcoming the current crisis.

By ourselves, we are nothing -- but we are not alone. Christ crucified was as alone and abandoned as a man can be: Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? (Mark 15:33-34,37-39 RSV) Now Christ is resurrected, and we will never need be alone again. So although it may seem that now "there was darkness over the whole land", yet we will persevere.

For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. (1 Cor 1:22-25)

A Sticky Dickey-Wicker

CNS reports:

On Wednesday, only two days after he lifted President Bush’s executive order banning federal funding of stem cell research that requires the destruction of human embryos, President Barack Obama signed a law that explicitly bans federal funding of any "research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death."

The provision was buried in the 465-page omnibus appropriations bill that Obama signed Wednesday. Known as the Dickey-Wicker amendment, it has been included in the annual appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Human Services every fiscal year since 1996.

How ironic. This is definitely a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing. In this case, it's hard to feel bad about it -- although I'm sure the President is a little embarrassed if anybody other than CNS and Fox News has reported on it. Now unless they rush to reverse themselves, it will be in effect until the end of the fiscal year, September 30.

It's little flubs like this that just make my point for me: omnibus bills are bad. It's bad governance. An Omnibus bill can be defined as a legislative bill which provides for a number of miscellaneous enactments or appropriations. In plain terms, this means "a kitchen sink bill". This is how legislative pork gets passed -- buried in attachments, riders, and amendments to a larger spending bill that "must" get passed.

Ominbus bills are collections of economic flotsam -- stuff that almost nobody wants and can't get passed on its own merits. My Senator, Jim Webb (D-VA), had the nerve to write this to me:

I was pleased to work with colleagues from both sides of the aisle to put this plan into place within a set of targeted parameters for economic renewal.

His cohort, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), fed me the same shovel-ready load of rubbish.

Moving forward, I will continue to work for Virginians to ensure that the funds in the stimulus package are directly targeted to job creation and "shovel ready" initiatives.

Really? This porkulus is "targeted"? Maybe it's targeted in the same way that a Gatling gun is targeted: if we just spray bullets (or money) in a wide enough swath, we just might hit something.

Phooey. Omnibus anathema sit.

Morally Unserious

Charles Krauthammer, a journalist and longtime advocate of federally funded stem cell research, criticized President Obama's address last week at the signing ceremony for overturning the Bush executive order on stem cell research.

Obama's address was morally unserious in the extreme. It was populated, as his didactic discourses always are, with a forest of straw men. Such as his admonition that we must resist the "false choice between sound science and moral values."

This is not just intellectual laziness. It is the moral arrogance of a man who continuously dismisses his critics as ideological while he is guided exclusively by pragmatism (in economics, social policy, foreign policy) and science in medical ethics.

The irony in the statement, of course, is that Obama is deeply ideological. (One could make the didactic statement that pragmatism is iself an ideology.)

Pragmatism, as a tendency in philosophy, signifies the insistence on usefulness or practical consequences as a test of truth. -- Catholic Encylopedia

Pragmatism is a philosophical movement that includes those who claim that an ideology or proposition is true if it works satisfactorily. -- Internet Encylopedia of Philosophy

His influences can be seen in personal and public sources such as Communist party member Frank Marshall Davis (the poet and mentor in Obama's book), political fundraisers with Bill Ayers, Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky, "Call to Renewal" liberation theology with the Rev. Jim Wallis, black nationalist liberation theology from Jeremiah Wright, socialized medicine aka "universal health care", abortion on demand, war philosophy, the philosophy of Reinhold Niebuhr, and so on.

All of these things are definitively ideological; that they are orthogonal to a number of his predecessor's views is undeniable -- but they are ideological. The tools and methods that he employs to implement that ideology may be labeled pragmatism -- a label Obama loves -- but it's still his world view in favor of someone else's.

It does no good to claim, "If a tree falls in the forest, it's because my predecessors had an unscientific belief that it would."

Porkulus Rumbles On

In once sense, the Obama administration and the current liberal Democrat power pyramid should be commended at least for being consistent.

They believe in big government and big spending in matters social and economic -- and are giving it to us in spades. (President G.W. Bush gets the non-coveted Blynken Raspberry award for going against his party's small government principles by giving us TARP in the first place.)

Only the gargantuan proportions of the trillions of dollars spent by the recently passed TARP and ARRA so-called stimulus bills could make the Senate giving final approval to a $410 billion spending bill to fund most of the federal government for the remainder of the year look small.

Visualize trillions of dollars here for some perspective.

• President Obama said that "At this particular moment, with the private sector so weakened by this recession, the federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back to life."
  
• Secretary of State Clinton stated: "Never waste a good crisis ... Don't waste it when it can have a very positive impact on climate change and energy security."
• Barack Obama’s health care plan follows the Democratic template—an emphasis on dramatically and quickly increasing the number of people who have health insurance by spending significant money upfront.
• Obama rescinds conscience rule, funds ESCR and overseas abortions.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday she is open to introducing a second stimulus bill, but it's too early to determine the size of such a package and the timing on another major economic measure.
• A Virginia Senator Jim Webb email states "This economic recovery package is designed to swiftly drive money into our struggling economy. While this legislation is an important step, other measures must be adopted to restore the health of our economy. These include appropriate reforms of our banking and financial systems, tax fairness, and measures to place the nation on a long-term path to fiscal responsibility. "
• Virginia Senator Mark Warner's email states "The Recovery and Reinvestment Act is but one component of a three-part plan to restore our economy. We still have important work to do to address the foreclosure crisis and shore-up the real estate market and we also must take steps to repair our banking system."

The hits just keep on coming -- and it's only been 50 days.