The Healthiest City In New England

    "Politicians must justify their existence in managing affairs of state. They first create the problems and then they are delighted with all the activity in expanding government and solving the very problems they created." Congressman Ron Paul.

    The city of Worcester is about to embark on an ambitious endeavor. The officials in charge promise that this endeavor will be the most intensive, comprehensive and best managed approach to getting the citizens off the couch and off the crack. It is Worcester's Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) and the goal is to make the city the healthiest in New England by the year 2020.
    Better dust off those old 8mm reels we captured from 1945 Germany of all those blond children doing gymnastics in the Bavarian countryside cause we may need some pointers here. I am glad they chose 2020 as the target date cause this is Worcester. Just a little FYI there guys.
    According to the 'acting' Commissioner Dr. Michael Hirsh, "...the evolution of the health system over the last four to five years is... still moving way too fast to be met by current economic resources."
    No kidding Einstein! Conservatives for the past four to five years have been saying that the so called Affordable Healthcare Act is anything but affordable. When Dr. Hirsh talks about an 'economic resource' what he really means is our wallets. That eye of Mordor once again sweeps the countryside looking for the next revenue enhancement.

    Just how fast are things moving?
    Director of Worc. Public Health Derek Brindisi has brought several redundant agencies together under one program so they can all be redundant together in one room. It is called CHIP and there are five high priority areas they are going to concentrate on.
   
    1: Healthy eating/ Active living
    2: Behavioral health
    3: Primary care/ Wellness
    4: Violence/ Injury protection
    5: Health equity/ Health disparities

    The plan isn't all that new either. It is already in place in the surrounding towns of Worcester herself. Private health service Common Pathways and U-Mass Memorial Hospital have worked that standard business and government partnership that we have seen time and time again. No conflict of interest here though, nothing to see here.
    The Greater Worcester Community Foundation (notice all the titles) forked over $75,000 dollars of  grant (er, our) money and hired the consulting firm Health Resources in Action. They essentially came up with this plan. After all isn't that what $75,000 is supposed to buy?
    In 2012 a CHIP Advisory Board (more titles) was formed along with seventy other organizations. Together they adopted the plan. They conducted surveys, made a nifty Facebook page with links on the city's website. They all worked really hard at being transparent.
    Here is who gets to run what.
    DPH spokesperson Nicole Valentine goes from media hack to heading up Priority #1. VP of Community Relations at U-Mass Memorial Monica Lowell heads up priority #3. 'Acting' Commish Hirsh gets priority #4. Derek Brindisi get #5. Karen Johnson gets door #2. I have no idea who she is and could care less.
    All the right people perfectly placed, carefully chosen. The office furniture should be here on Tuesday. I wonder who is overseeing all this activity? To be sure 'mandates' are soon to follow based on their 'findings'. Social Workers could soon become 'authorized' to carry out the 'findings'. Since the passing of the AHA, the failure of the Supreme Court to uphold the Constitution and a second Obama term be prepared for more of this smiley faced, well intentioned, because we care fascism.

    Currently the schools in Massachusetts are required to measure the BMI of children in the first, fourth, seventh and twelfth grades (MGL Chapter 71, Section 57 and 105 CMR 200.500). I received one of those forms and wrote "go F yourself" on it. Seriously! I did! And you should too! It is called Article 4 of the United States Constitution.
    Derek Brindisi and his band of merry medical pencil pushers are all in favor of programs like this.
One area they are concerned with is the rise of prescription drug use amongst children. 18.6% of all 17-18 year olds are on meds of one sort or another in Massachusetts alone. A large portion of those prescriptions are serotonin re-uptake inhibitors for ADHD. It has gotten so bad today that any poor kid who so much as daydreams during Algebra class could be diagnosed with ADHD. The State is empowered to enforce treatment if parents refuse to comply.
    CHIP gets into your driving habits too. Derek conjures up what I wrote about in my last blog. Financial Incentives from insurers. Insurance companies already give rewards for good driving and accident free driving but somehow Brindisi thinks more government fingers in the pie is a good thing.
".. We're looking at maybe a pilot program with local insurance providers or work with the state Legislature." Gee, thanks Derek, just what Massachusetts doesn't have enough of. More laws.
    It may just be a pilot program now but given the current trend towards socialism in America the possibility of this program becoming mandated is very real. It is what Congressman Ron Paul calls a "Moral Hazard". His use of the term "Blowback" could easily fit here as well. "... the whole notion of the safety net permeates a welfare or socialist state... with any problems that come as a consequence of unwise... personal behavior." He goes on to add, " Moral Hazard breeds dependency, neglect and sacrifice of Liberty."

    There may be some monkey wrenches thrown into the works though. It is the funding. I am not sure where these guys plan on getting the money from. No numbers were bantered about. However, there are some interesting correlations that bare mentioning.
    First, here are some socio-economic factoids about Massachusetts.
    Business growth in the state is flat. Population has been flat to negative over the last decade. Unemployment is (statistically) 6.7% but that doesn't count the millions who fell off the grid. The dependency rate will continue to climb. Perhaps a program like CHIP  will become self fulfilling and self sustaining.
    To further the financial burden, Dr. Doolittle Deval Patrick is floating the idea of a 20% income tax hike. God only knows where that money will end up. Maybe it will go where all the tax and settlement money from Big Tobacco went. According to Stephen Shestakofsky the retired Director of the advocacy group Tobacco Free Massachusetts 99% of all the shaken down settlement money has gone elsewhere. It was supposed to go to health initiatives ans smoking 'awareness'. That was the whole point behind a 1992 referendum approved by Massachusetts voters. 40% of all raised tax money was to go into health care. That is 99% of 254 million dollars. On top of that  there was over 561 million dollars in tobacco taxes collected in 2012 alone that went up into the sky never to be seen or heard from again. Phillip Morris alone has paid over 59 billion dollars in settlements to forty-eight states. That is roughly 65 million dollars a day for Massachusetts. Only 8 million is being spent.
    CDC gives Massachusetts an F for it's anti-smoking initiatives. Director Joan E Hamlett of the Central Massachusetts Boards of Health, Tobacco and Alcohol Control Alliance--(say that three times fast and you will need a cigarette and a drink)-- has seen her budget go from 54 million in 1994 down to 2.5 million in fiscal 2012 The state has clearly mismanaged this money and is in direct violation of the will of the voters.

    Progressives are the most transparent ideology I have ever seen. Since the turn of the century into the 20's, 30's, 40's and especially the 60's Progressives have worked tirelessly right under our noses to put a smiling, happy face on raw, unbridled acquisition of power and intrusion into every facet of our private lives. We vote them in over and over and over again. Transparency!
    The efforts of Derek Brindisi are commendable and I wish him the best of luck. There is just under a billion dollars floating around out there somewhere if he can get the Bacon Hill Mobsters to open up the public coffers. The idea though, is nothing more than an offshoot of the mindset that government always needs to do more. CHIP can go into the barrios of Worcester all they want and they won't make one bit of difference. I see the personal behavior everyday at my job. You cannot legislate morality let alone personal behavior. Poverty has been and always will be. If the healthcare industry wants to help the poor and disenfranchised give them a job. Even the most menial of work will get people off the couch and put purpose back into their lives. That alone, just feeling purposeful again can improve any one's mental and physical well being.


....And That Is The Diatribe....

Representative Linsky Meets The Insurance Man

    Will Rogers may have said he never met a man he didn't like. He would have hated the Tax Man though for there is never a revenue enhancement scheme a Democrat never liked.
    Last Friday (1/18/13) Democratic State Representative David Linsky proposed an insurance scheme that would be forced upon all registered gun owners in the state of Massachusetts. He said on Friday, "...insurance companies were able to discourage smoking through the marketplace and made cars safer through the marketplace."
    The idea is to create 'financial incentives' (there's that word again) that would reduce accidents and injuries related to guns. Conveniently the word death never enters the conversation. I wonder if the good Rep had one of those " I coulda had a V8!" moments when he realized that taking all the guns away had a snowball's chance in hell of succeeding whereas the old Liberal standby of taxing something to death is a tried and true standard operational procedure with a track record of success.

    Here is how the scheme works.
    After you exploit a crisis in the media and get the peasants all ginned up you enact legislation. It doesn't matter one bit if the legislation or the language of the legislation has anything to do with the crisis at hand.
    Think 'earmarks', think 'pork'. Look at the Sandy Bill.
    Then there is the money. Always follow the money. Insert some tug at your heartstrings language into the bill to fund 'awarenes' programs , or 'educational' programs and never..Ever...Forget the 'victims'. This is probably the most important ingredient.
    Now all this has to be paid for. Right? Your getting warmer now!

    Still trying to find the 'financial incentive'? Me too. Check the desk drawer, maybe Linsky left it there.

    How does buying insurance for something we do not want and do not need a financial incentive? How does having my car insured give me a financial incentive? I still have to worry about all the other nuts out there on the road. They certainly don't seem incentivized. Think the illegal criminal gun owners who could care less are incentivized?
    There are only two things in the state of Taxachusetts that are not taxed. Food and clothing. Everything else on the surface of the planet Earth is fair game according to the all knowing, all seeing eye of Bacon Hill. At night the gilded dome on Tremont Street opens up and the eye of Mordor sweeps across the countryside searching for the next revenue enhancement.
    You buy a gun and it is taxed. Ammunition. Taxed. Lock-box for the gun. Taxed. Separate lock-box for the ammunition. Taxed. Permits, classes, certifications. Taxed. Taxed. Taxed.
    Now the insurance man will be knocking on your door?...Priceless..

    What's that under the couch?...Oh, I thought I saw the financial incentive roll under there.

    The incentive comes from a lower monthly premium . If you show Mr. Insurance man you performed D: all of the above, you get a discount on your bill. Apparently not forced to pay such a bill in the first place doesn't count as a financial incentive.
    It probably never occurred to Rep. Linsky that in order to obtain a firearms permit you have to perform D: all of the above anyway as per Massachusetts General Laws. It probably didn't matter anyways because we are dealing with Democrats here folks. Why enforce an existing law when they can just make up new ones.

    I am sorry Representative Linsky, but it was not the marketplace that reduced cigarette smoking. It was the weeks of Senate hearings where (after taking PAC money for decades) tobacco companies were crucified before the public. The subsequent legislation resulted in higher costs to consumers, a complete ban on all advertising, payments in the billions to (you guessed it) the victims. Tobacco was forced to fund all the awareness and educational programs to keep teens away from smoking. The result is a Federal Law that has made criminals of teenagers who smoke.
    While I am on the subject, try calling up your legislator and asking where these awareness and educational programs can be located. Good luck. They don't exist.
    Nor was it the marketplace that made cars safer. It was Ralph Nader, the EPA, the NTSB, Highway Institute and Mothers Against Drunk Driving. The rest came from government regulations.
    In fact, all regulations have managed to create is higher costs and an economic model where the big fish eat the little fish. If you can afford the regulations (that you help craft) you win. If you are a small business (who never got invited to the hearings) you go out of business. Get it?
    Lastly, lets not forget the hefty donations to your friendly neighborhood Political Action Committee. That is where the marketplace is Rep. Linsky. In Congress something somewhere is always being bought and sold.

    Which reminds me. Politicians and business' don't take a dump without an angle. I wonder what Representative Linsky's angle is?
    Glad you asked Christopher. Here is a link to his legislation.

http://natick.patch.com/articles/rep-linsky-files-legislation-aimed-at-reducing-gun-violence

    According to this other link, he rates pretty low with small business owners and is a tax and spend Liberal. SOP for most Mass legislators. His ratings with gun owners and associated groups gave him a failing grade.

http://votesmart.org/candidate/evaluations/1971/david-linsky

    In the legislation he proposes he is adamant about his reaching out to gun owners in developing this gem yet the interest groups listed above give him a failing grade while most of his associations with urban housing development and pro-life groups can't say enough about him.
    I think I just found the financial incentive.

    As I have stated, the legislation doesn't have to have any relation to the crisis. Just raise the money, tax the consumers till they just stop buying something. This is known as attrition. Force citizens to purchase something they neither want nor they need, then penalize them for non compliance.
    Where have we heard that one before?

....And That Is The Diatribe....

40th Anniversary of Roe-v-Wade: 50 Million Dead Babies And Counting

    Syndicated writer Gail Collins penned a phenomenal piece in last Sunday's (1/13/13) Telegram and Gazette paper. It was so well written, so well phrased that... I threw up.
    True to her standard Liberal form she lauded over the 40th anniversary of Roe vs Wade and how the SJC made this a cornerstone of women's rights in America. Never mind the fact that a woman's right to an abortion existed long before the decision was handed down, oh no, no, no the SJC had to legislate from the bench and women have been pawns of the Margarette Sanger ideology ever since.
    To date there has been well over 50 million babies murdered since that fateful day in the hallowed halls of the SJC. Hitler would have been proud. That's 50 million chances to have cured AIDS, 50 million chances for a President who isn't Obama, 50 million chances for the next Neil Armstrong, 50 million chances for...oh forget it.
    According to Gail Collins Planned Parenthood has an image problem. Ahh, ya think? So the talking heads who run the coat hanger club (in usual Orwellian Progressivism) are thinking about changing the name to be more user friendly. GOOD! Considering the fact that the moniker 'Planned Parenthood' has absolutely nothing to do with planning for parenthood. And no, they do not provide other health services to women. Just call them up and ask them if you don't believe me.
    Collins laments how various states are imposing regulations of abortion services. Some states are utilizing what Liberals have asked for in gun registration. A sort of, cooling off period to reconsider your choice. Collins claims innocent women are caught in a tangled web of regulations. Too bad. It is called the Tenth Amendment and states have the right to regulate whatever they want within their own borders. Not to worry Gail, it is not like the Constitution has gotten in the way of the Liberal Agenda before so why start now?
    She continues with a great line: " ...women do not like labels." Now there's a shocka! "... feminism, a word with a glorious history." That is unless you are a man who has lost everything in a divorce including visitation rights thanks to the language orchestrated by the National Organization of Women in our divorce laws. Is it that same glorious history that gave women immunity in The Violence Against Women Act from perjury charges when it is proven they lied about domestic violence? Is it the same glorious history that created a family court system that routinely awards custody to women over 85% of the time regardless of mental instability, marital infidelity and drug/alcohol abuse?
    I often think of my departed mother everytime I hear a Progtard moonbat bloviate about women's rights. My mother spent most of her life as a wife and mother until my parents divorced in the 70's. Suddenly she had to become a 'Liberated Woman'. She never wanted to be one because she ended up losing all her power as a wife and mother in the process. She ruled her world. No one said 'boo' in our house without her say-so. Afterward she had a difficult time finding her identity as this modern Liberated Woman. In fact, my mother never experienced sexism in the workplace from her male co-workers and bosses. Quite the opposite, they loved her, looked out for and up to her. Her female co-workers? Now that's another story.
    So when I hear some mal-informed activist blather about women's rights I want to choke a puppy. These moonbats wouldn't know sexism if it ran them over with a tractor.
  
    Collins continues with great quotes. Betty Thompson, former Mississippi director of the scrape-job industry quips: "....we're just doing business as usual." Business must be good. The abortions performed yearly are in the tens of thousands.
    For Liberals, harming the innocent goes way back in our history. Progressive SCJ Oliver Wendell Holmes has a history of court decisions surrounding his support for sterilization of the "feeble-minded" A young German prisoner wrote to the President of the American Eugenics Society and asked for a copy of his paper "A Case for Sterilization". After that German prisoner became German Chancellor and had over 50,000 sterilizations under his belt he sent the President of the AES a thank-you note. One of the AES members is quoted as saying, " The Germans are beating us at our own game!"
    But Collins saves the best for last:
    "Every time the anti-abortion movement pushes too far, it reminds us that it is because no matter how filled with moral fervor, it is basically about imposing one particular theology (nice touch there Gail) on the rest of the country. Over the long run... the public won't let it happen."

    Isn't being a Liberal wonderful. You are always right, always looking out for the women and the children and if anyone disagrees with you, has a religious conviction or just plain could give a rat's ass about what you think; they are extremists and wrong and the 'public won't let it happen.'
    Hitler would have been so proud.


....And That Is The Diatribe....

"This Town Needs an Enema!"

    Fiscal cliff! Everyone got a moving buddy? Be sure your tray tables and seat backs are in the proper position and please keep your hands in the vehicle at all times. Hang on, sorry folks the ride is experiencing technical difficulties, thanks for paying so much attention when you all knew we would just F this thing up anyway.
    Then Congress votes themselves a pay raise during this whole debacle. I want to know how many of the so called "Tea Party" had there hands  in on that midnight madness sale? Maybe it was slipped into the Sandy Relief Bill somewhere at the bottom of page 1,387. God knows they never read these things anyway.
    I have pretty much had it with these clowns. I have heard that Scott Brown voted for this fiscal package (here's your package right here Scott) and is ready to affix his doomed next campaign to the Feinstein gun bill. I think it is time for a 2013 version of Bastille Day, the sooner the better.

    We cannot say that our government isn't transparent. Disagree? Allow me to point out a glaring truth.
    For it is alarmingly (trans) apparent that these tools do whatever they want to do right in front of our faces. We see it. We complain about it. Nothing is done about it. Then, we re-elect them to do the same shit all over again... See? Total Transparency.
    Benghazi? Nothing will be done (oops! There goes Hillary onto the floor).
    Fast and Furious? Executive priveledge. Can't testify. Why can't Holder have an accident also? One that involves a safe falling from the sky.
    Obamacare? We were all warned, it was voted on anyways, now companies are scrambling to move to China and close their doors in the wake of crushing nuclear economic winter.
    Illegals stealing ID's, pouring across the border? Amnesty.
    We can all see how wonderful a job the EU is doing running Europe, hell that place is just a bastion of economic growth and personal liberties! Now, America is emulating it in every way possible.
    Total Transparency!

    Now, there is one bright spot, one shining beacon of hope.
    They're coming for our guns!
    I was talking to a cab driver in the city. This guy ran with gangs years ago. I told him point blank; " You think the gangs in the cities are going to turn the guns over that easy?" He chuckled and agreed with me. I continued; " I am going to sit on my front porch with a cooler full of beer and watch the Humvees roll past as they head to 'The Hood' and wait for the staccato of open gunfire and urban warfare. Hell, I'll even turn my living room into a makeshift hospital for you guys. The gangs will hand the cops and the military their hats when that day comes."
    I was serious! We should consider some negotiating with these guys in preparation. We're gonna need 'em! Think about for a second, they have lots of heavy ordinance, they know the neighborhood and can call up hundreds of able bodied volunteers with one text message. Maybe give some of the leaders a cabinet position or something after the smoke clears. Couldn't be any worse than the criminals who run this outfit now could it?
    At least these guys have some honor. They show respect when respect is given and won't cross you once a deal is made, their life depends on it if they renege
    They could also be of use in the post revolutionary security situation. God knows the cops cannot be trusted (as a group only, individuals will defect to our side). Just make it clear that medical and fire personnel are to be left alone and given help if needed. Keep an eye on the sky too because you know the Feds will be flying in drones to Hellfire Missile the friggen place.

    I sure hope our military leaders tell the Feds to screw when the order is given to round up the American people and the guns. I wonder if the Oligarchs on Pennsylvania Ave have considered this scenario. It sure would toss a monkey wrench into the works if a battery of Patriot Missiles and Abrams Tanks are positioned on various Worcester hills to DEFEND the city instead of invading it. We should paint a giant middle finger on the Holy Cross football field so it can be seen from the air.
    For this is MY city. I may get down on it but I live here and I love it here. My kids are here and I will be damned if the Feds think they can roll in and take it over. This town is insane, totally F-ing insane, I know, I live here and they have no idea what they are up against.

    To arms America! A call to Arms! We all knew this day would come. Are you ready?..... Are they ready?

....And That Is The Diatribe....