Doctor Zero on HotAir.com, concerning Krauthammer on Sarah Palin... and it is a direct hit.

by Upinak

HotAir.com has an awesome secondary blog called the Green Room, submitted by the commenters who has been there for quite a while. One said commenter and dual regular blogger goes by the name of Doctor Zero.

He decided to write today, which involves the very off the wall and underhanded elitist act of Krauthammer undermining Sarah Palin via her FaceBook entries that she has been writing concerning the Health Care Reform. Doctor Zero seems to have a handle on items and is very good a having the hammer meet the head of the nail.

When I began writing for Hot Air, I never imagined I would find myself critical of Charles Krauthammer twice, after only blogging for four months. I’ve followed his work for years, and still eagerly read everything he publishes. He writes brilliantly on many topics, but he just doesn’t get Sarah Palin, or by extension her supporters… which by further extension means he misunderstands the precarious moment America finds itself in, and the opportunities that lie ahead for conservatives.

(...)

What Palin brings to the health-care debate is the energy, wisdom, and wit to make complex ideas understandable to ordinary people. Let me once again restate my admiration for Charles Krauthammer before saying, with regrettably brutal candor, that Sarah Palin had more impact on the health-care debate with one Facebook note than everything Krauthammer has written in the past year. That’s not because people are shallow, and didn’t pay attention until Palin kicked off a media firestorm. It’s because they understandably seek out leadership on complex issues, and leaders have a knack for rendering fearfully complicated issues down to their essential truths. Ordinary Americans are more eager to entertain appealing speech from an engaging personality, than sign up for a long series of dry lectures, no matter how brilliant the lecturer might be… and they don’t view their ballots as comment cards, to be completed on their way out of the lecture hall.

Every political movement needs both academic intelligence, and vital charisma. The Left has always viewed the relationship between its intellectuals and politicians as something like the production and marketing departments in a business – and whenit comes to accumulating power, socialists are all business. People like Saul Alinsky and Bill Ayers spent decades weaving the strings that control the Obama marionette. They openly wrote of their understanding that savvy merchandising would be needed to make the public accept their agenda, at least until the public no longer has a meaningful choice about accepting it. When was the last time you heard a leftist intellectual belittle a popular liberal politician, the way Charles Krauthammer treated Sarah Palin?

To read the whole blog, please visit HotAir.com via this link.

Doctor Zero and I are both in lock step concerning the put downs from conservatives around the Nation. Why? What is the point of putting Sarah Palin down due to something they never thought of? It is because they haven’t thought of it. The simple fact that they as a whole, know they are being put out with the democrats and liberals, into the boil pot and watching them all try to get out of it before the cooking begins. This isn’t just politicians, this is everyone who isn’t asking what is going on.

The public at large are all asking; even those who voted for Obama and now seem to be showing buyers remorse. But it seems to be Sarah Palin that it leading our forefront into why and it is a direct hit? The political parties all seems to be showing lack of leadership. It is time for the real leaders to stand up and charge the mobs, so those who are not leaders can get out of the way of what we all want…. Our freedom back.

Gov Palin Called It: Obama Loans $10 billion & Soros Invests $811 Million In Petrobas

On Wednesday, August 19, 2009 Governor Palin commented on Obama Sending Billions Overseas To Appease Environmentalists. She asked why we are spending billions apparently saw that something was fishy. She questioned why the US is investing even $1 overseas for energy when we have a huge need at home and the same exact energy resources available. Well now we know! Obama & cronies have guaranteed $10 billion in loans to Pertrobas for non other then to help he favorite socialist, George Soros. Soros invested $811 million in the same company becoming the largest share holder. He must have an inside source?

Bloomberg reported Obama Financier George Soros bought a $811 million stake in Petrobas Brazil SA, making the Brazilian state-controlled oil company his investment fund's largest holding. As of June 30, the stake in Petrobras, as the Rio de Janeiro-based oil producer is known, made up 22% of the $3.68 billion of stocks and American depositary receipts held by Soros Fund Management LLC, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Petrobras has since slumped 28%.

Oddly enough, Oil Online reported Pertobas has secured a loan of 10 billion in US tax dollars from Obama:

The U.S. government is prepared to provide up to $10 billion in loans to finance the development of massive hydrocarbon reserves off Brazil’s coast, a Brazilian official said Wednesday.

Obama’s national security adviser, Gen. James Jones, discussed the matter with officials this week during a visit to the South American country, Brazilian Planning Minister Paulo Bernardo da Silva told reporters. He said the U.S. Export-Import Bank already has signed a letter of intent in that regard with Brazilian state oil company Petrobras.

Coincidence or dirty politics? It looks like Obama is once again paying back his friends. I hope everyone likes the “Change.” God help us all!

Originally Posted At:

Governor Palin 4 President

Alaskan Poet, Musician, And Firefighter Dewey Whetsell Praises Sarah Palin

Dewey Whetsell a longtime commercial fisherman, veteran fire fighter and fire chief, jazz musician, and poet from Alaska penned a very nice retort to all of those who would say Sarah Palin isn't the real deal, a true leader.

Those who follow Alaska politics know these stories well, but the rest of America should understand this as well.

You can check out Dewey Whetsell's website here, the man has a very interesting life's story.

Here is Dewey's letter:

"The last 45 of my 66 years I've spent in a commercial fishing town in Alaska. I understand Alaska politics but never understood national politics well until this last year. Here's the breaking point: Neither side of the Palin controversy gets It's not about persona, style, rhetoric, its about doing things. Even Palin supporters never mention the things that I'm about to mention here.

1- Democrats forget when Palin was the Darling of the Democrats, because as soon as Palin took the Governors office away from a fellow Republican and tough SOB, Frank Murkowski, she tore into the Republicans Corrupt Bastards Club (CBC) and sent them packing. Many of them are now residing in State housing and wearing orange jump suits. The Democrats reacted by skipping around the yard, throwing confetti and singing la la la la (well, you know how they are). Name another governor in this country that has ever done anything similar. But while you're thinking, I'll continue.

2- Now with the CBC gone, there were fewer Alaskan politicians to protect the huge, giant oil companies here. So, she constructed and enacted a new system of splitting the oil profits called ACES. Exxon (the biggest corporation in the world) protested and Sarah told them don't let the door hit you in the stern on your way out. They stayed, and Alaska residents went from being merely wealthy to being filthy rich. Of course the other huge international oil companies meekly fell in line. Again, give me the name of any other governor in the country that has done anything similar.

3- The other thing she did when she walked into the governors office is she got the list of State requests for federal funding for projects, known as pork. She went through the list, took 85% of them and placed them in the when-hell-freezes-over stack. She let locals know that if we need something built, well pay for it ourselves. Maybe she figured she could use the money she got from selling the previous governors jet because it was extravagant. Maybe she could use the money she saved by dismissing the governor's cook (remarking that she could cook for her own family), giving back the State vehicle issued to her, maintaining that she already had a car, and dismissing her State provided security force (never mentioning, I imagine, that she's packing heat herself). I'm still waiting to hear the names of those other governors.

4- Now, even with her much-ridiculed gosh and golly mannerism, she also managed to put together a totally new approach to getting a natural gas pipeline built which will be the biggest private construction project in the history of North America. No one else could do it although they tried. If that doesn't impress you, then you're trying too hard to be unimpressed while watching her do things like this while baking up a batch of brownies with her other hand.

5- For 30 years, Exxon held a lease to do exploratory drilling at a place called Point Thompson. They made excuses the entire time why they couldn't start drilling. In truth they were holding it like an investment. No governor for 30 years could make them get started. This summer, she told them she was revoking their lease and kicking them out. They protested and threatened court action. She shrugged and reminded them that she knew the way to the court house. Alaska won again.

6- President Obama wants the nation to be on 25% renewable resources for electricity by 2025. Sarah went to the legislature and submitted her plan for Alaska to be at 50% renewables by 2025. We are already at 25%. I can give you more specifics about things done, as opposed to style and persona . Everybody wants to be cool, sound cool, look cool. But that’s just a cover-up. I'm still waiting to hear from liberals the names of other governors who can match what mine has done in two and a half years. I wont be holding my breath.

By the way, she was content to to return to AK after the national election and go to work, but the haters wouldn't let her. Now these adolescent screechers are obviously not scuba divers. And no one ever told them what happens when you continually jab and pester a barracuda. Without warning, it will spin around and tear your face off. Shoulda known better.

As we have been saying for a long time, Sarah Palin was an incredibly effective Governor, and a true servant of the people. The kind of woman who isn't afraid of whatever challenge that faces her. As she has shown in the past few weeks, she is more than ready to take on big government, like she has big oil. And if Sarah Palin could tame Exxon-Mobil, I'm sure she will make quick work of D.C.!

BTW, even though she has given Exxon-Mobil absolute fits, they were more than happy to sign on as a partner in the Trans-Canada natural gas pipeline, her crowning achievement as Governor, that Dewey mentions in his letter.

People, like myself, who have followed Sarah for some time, understand the greatness of this woman. Sarah Palin is an American leader who has what is sorely needed today: The ability to get things done, good things for the people.

As it's Saturday, I'll leave you with this awesome video:

Black Preacher Echoes Palin's Sentiments on ObamaCare

By Adrienne Ross from www.motivationtruth.com

I want to know why it's okay for President Obama to use religious talk when he wants to get a health care bill passed, but if Sarah Palin simply whispers "God," haters rant and rave that she's trying to evangelize the nation! The craziest part of that is I have never heard Sarah use politics to preach. Her recent statements have been on issues involving health care and energy. However, some people continue to attack her simply because they know she is a woman of faith.

While Sarah Palin cannot say, "God bless you" to someone who sneezes without being accused of forcing her religion on people, President Obama conducts a conference call with 1,000 religious leaders so he can try to gain support for his government health care proposal. It amazes me how easy it is for people to talk the talk when they have something to gain from it. The National Day of Prayer comes, and the president refuses to acknowledge it. He goes to Georgetown to speak and asks them to cover the name of Jesus so it won't be seen. But he lapses into religious jargon when he stands to benefit from it.

Andrea Tantaros wrote about this in an article she entitled "Obama Plays the God Card." Isn't that what politicians do? They always know their crowd, and they work that crowd to receive the desired response. Then you have a public servant, a Sarah Palin, who simply lives the life, who speaks as she does because that's who she is.

But President Obama may have gone too far this time. I'd like to believe that something didn't settle right for some of these religious leaders when he said, "We are God's partners in matters of life and death." It's this very mindset that gives people concerns about rationed health care. The government does NOT partner with God when making these kinds of decisions.

Tantaros wrote:

Further, Pastor Obama said that many were "bearing false witness" and took a shot at his opposition calling the pushback to date: "fabrications that have been put out there in order to discourage people from meeting what I consider to be a core ethical and moral obligation: that is that we look out for one another, that I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper. In the wealthiest nation on earth right now, we are neglecting to live up to that call.

I pray these leaders are smart enough to know that anyone can quote Scripture and blur the issues in an attempt to get what they want. To suggest that you are doing God's work by pushing through a health care bill that will determine who is and is not worthy of care and who does and does not have the "level of productivity" in society to warrant that care is, well, to quote Sarah Palin, "downright evil."

Bishop Harry Jackson, a minister in DC who works closely with Martin Luther King's niece, Dr. Alveda King, puts this whole health care debate in proper perspective. I encourage you to listen to what he has to say about the issue, including his own personal story about how ObamaCare would have affected his life. He also puts abortion into the mix because the truth is, although President Obama continues to say that abortion is not in the health care bill, he's being disingenuous. Obama knows what some people do not know: unless the bill specifically states that abortion is NOT to be covered, it MUST be covered. Bishop Jackson exposes how this health care bill will affect the unborn--particularly Black babies. He calls the bill as it stands "ungodly and evil." Hmmm...Seems he's come to the same conclusion as Governor Palin. Watch it for yourself below.

Palin-phernalia

By Adrienne Ross from www.motivationtruth.com

If I had a dollar for each time someone asked me why Sarah Palin resigned, I'd have, well, I'd have a lot of dollars.

Today I drove two and half hours to Rome, NY to speak at a Youth Camp at Delta Lake. As I made the journey, I was reminded of the last time I traveled that road. It was almost three months ago when I went to Auburn, NY to meet Governor Palin. Read and see pictures of that weekend here, here, and here.

In Rome, I was introduced to a fellow conservative, and we began a conversation about politics which included some sharing of my recent month-long trip to Alaska. He asked if I had ever met the governor, and when I told him I had, I got the question I have been asked all too often: "So why did she resign?"

The first couple times I was asked that question, I broke into a lengthy explanation. I no longer do that. Instead, I respond with some questions of my own.

The first one is, "Did you see her resignation announcement?"

When I hear, "Yes," as I did today, I move on to my second question.

"What did she say?"

Here they explain to me what Governor Palin said. Then they look at me, and I know they're expecting something more. There's a Yeah, but what's the REAL reason? kind of silence. I was reminded of this today.

I have experienced this several times, and at first I didn't get it. As far as I was concerned, Governor Palin made herself quite clear during her press conference. I have since come to a conclusion for the apparent difficulty to take her at her word.

People are so accustomed to politicians who speak out of both sides of their mouths that they cannot wrap their brains around the existence of a person who calls it like it is. That person, of course, is Sarah Palin. They heard what she said. They fully understand what she said. However, something simply won't let them believe what she said, so...they're waiting for the real story.

"No, that can't be it."

"Okay, but what else?"

"No...really."

This is their reaction to a person like Sarah Palin because most have never seen a politician like her. One definition of politician is "a schemer who tries to gain advantage in an organization in sly or underhanded ways." Although there are other more honorable definitions, this is the one we have come to believe. We expect the usual political paraphernalia: a forked tongue, a wandering eye, and a hidden agenda--and usually we are not disappointed. The result? Distrust and/or an unfulfilled desire to discover more when there's nothing more to discover. I suppose it's understandable. After all, how often does someone step into the political arena who says what she means and means what she says? Where do we find a person who is willing to sacrifice a title and a position of prestige because it's the right thing to do for her state? When was the last time we encountered someone who would exchange the governor's mansion for Facebook freedom? In fact, "self-sacrifice" and "politician" in the same sentence is oxymoronic, isn't it?

Enter Sarah Palin--the same Sarah Palin who took on her own Party in the state of Alaska, desiring simply to boot out corruption, the same Sarah Palin who is nothing if not the antithesis of "politics as usual." She came armed with paraphernalia some have not come to expect from politicians and therefore could not recognize in her: the simple truth.

But some of us do get it--and we like it.

"Death Book": Total Non-Fiction: A Post by Conservative Girl with a Voice

Have you all heard of the "death book"? Believe it or not, before all this talk of "death panels" was brought to the forefront, the "death book," although in order to be politically correct was entitled "Your Life, Your Choices" already existed. The 52-page document, originally published in 1997 by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), was developed as a way to cut costs in terms of the health care our brave veterans would receive once they returned back home. Once the Bush Administration learned of this document, they ordered the VA to stop using it for not only health reasons, but moral issues as well. In the August 18th edition of the "Wall Street Journal," is an op-ed written by Jim Towey regarding the "death book."
Towey is an amazing individual who fights on the side of life. He created the document entitled "Five Wishes," which is the most widely used living will in America (over 13 million in national circulation). According to Towey, his document contains "no standard bias and does not withdraw or withhold medical care" unlike the controversial "death book." It also meets all the legal requirements in 43 states, and unlike the lengthy 52-pages of the VA's so-called "end-of-life" planning document, Towey's document is only 12 pages. In his op-ed, Towey writes the following:

"After a decade of observing end-of-life discussions, I can attest to the great fear that many patients have, particularly those with few family members and financial resources. I lived and worked in an AIDS home in the mid-1980s and saw first-hand how the dying wanted more than health care—they wanted someone to care."
Thank God for people like Jim Towey. Like the late Princess Diana, Towey knows the simple gestures like holding a sick person's hand mean so much. Personally, This couldn't be more true. The hardest decision my family ever had to make was the decision to put my grandmother into a convalescent hospital because we could longer care for her ourselves. She had a feeding tube and needed around the clock care. Although my grandmother was in pain and had many hardships, she did not quit the fight to live, and my family was with her every step of the way. It was the little things that meant the most to her. The visits, the talks, the time spent with her. When my grandma passed away, my mom and grandpa were there holding each of her hands. While my grandma may have been in pain, she did NOT want to go until God called her home. I will never forget the time I spent with her. The joy on her face spoke volumes to me. Whenever any of her family entered the room, it just made her day. Grandma loved life and fought hard to the very end. As a born-again Christian, she went when it was God's time for her to go, not the government's.

While the discussion of cutting health care costs is at the forefront of the Obama Administration's health care debate, it is important to note that in cutting the costs will come the reduction in care received. Perhaps the "death book" is best at foreshadowing this. According to Towey, Obama "will quickly discover how government bureaucrats are greasing the slippery slope that can start with cost containment but quickly become a systematic denial of care." It is important to note that this document had been used prior to the Bush Administration's suspension of its use. During the Clinton Administration, this document was used as the "preferred living will" in VA nursing rooms and hospitals. Just last year, the VA's National Center for Ethics in Health Care wanted the document's practices to be once again put into use. How dare the government come in between veterans, their families and their doctors? Decisions concerning one's life should be up to the individual and his/her family, not the government.



Our veterans should be treated with the upmost respect and honored for all they have done to serve our great country. When they come home, they should be given the best care and treated honorably, for it is the least we can do for all they have done for us. Yet, instead of treating them this way, the "death book" seems to help our good veterans determine if their lives are worth living anymore. The main author of the document is none other than Dr. Robert Pearlman who is the chief of ethics evaluation for the VA National Center for Ethics in Health Care. Perhaps the most disturbing thing about Pearlman is his support for physician-assisted suicide as well as his calls for the rationing of healthcare. So let me get this straight: The same man who supports physician-assisted suicide and rationed health care is author of a book that is being used to help veterans make end-of-life decisions? Not only is this deeply disturbing, but it is morally offensive to think that our good men and women are being guided in their decision making with a book that was written by a man who seems to condemn life, not value it. As I was researching for more on this document, I could not believe what I found. Although this book is entitled "Your Life, Your Choices," the information in this document is anything but the patient's choice. Towey describes some of the most frightening, disturbing aspects of the book. He describes the book as a "push poll"of sorts, which "presents end-of-life choices in a way aimed at steering users toward predetermined conclusions...." The book gives 21 different scenarios, asking "users to then decide whether their own life would be 'not worth living.'" Here we have the world's most brave men and women, who fought in and survived circumstances that I cannot even begin to imagine, and they are going to be quizzed about how to die? I don't know about you, but I guarantee these brave men and women who fought for our country want to live and die with dignity, not be told how they should die. They are fighters, not quitters. You are not going to believe some of the scenarios that are laid out in this book. Towey lists some of the most disheartening: "The circumstances listed include ones common among the elderly and disabled: living in a nursing home, being in a wheelchair and not being able to 'shake the blues.'" Towey mentions another section of the book, which asks: "Have you ever heard anyone say, 'If I'm a vegetable, pull the plug'?" What this very question implies is hard to stomach. The sick scenarios do not end with this question. Towey also reports others scenarios: "There also are guilt-inducing scenarios such as 'I can no longer contribute to my family's well being,' 'I am a severe financial burden on my family' and that the vet's situation 'causes severe emotional burden for my family.'" These very scenarios are not only morally troublesome, but downright evil. How dare the VA treat our vets this way? Furthermore, how dare the Obama Administration allow this book back into practice. This very book is a death sentence to our good men and women. This book seems to imply that our vets should feel guilty if they want to remain alive, enjoy life and die a natural death. They have made enough sacrifices in serving our country, leave them alone- enough is enough. President Obama and his administration have NO right playing God.


Our good men and women come home with enough to deal with, and now the government wants to dictate who among them lives and dies? All our vets should have to worry about is spending their later years surrounded by their friends and family, enjoying life. After all they have done for us in sacrificing and defending or liberty and freedom, the least we could do is allow them the dignity and respect they deserve, but instead the government is treating them like second-class citizens, making them feel guilty for taking a breath. Towey is definitely right when he writes: "When the government can steer vulnerable individuals to conclude for themselves that life is not worth living, who needs a death panel?" Towey is exactly right. Once the goverment has control of the lives of vulnerable individuals, when is the line drawn? What is the definition of a life worth living? I can tell you that those soldiers who come home after fighting tooth and nail with sheer grit and determination know what it is to fight and WANT to live- They don't want to be thought of as being burdens to society because they are NOT burdens! One of my favorite sentences from Towey's article comes when he writes: "One can only imagine a soldier surviving the war in Iraq and returning without all of his limbs only to encounter a veteran's health-care system that seems intent on his surrender." So true. Our soldiers are taught to fight and be strong, yet this book is going against everything they have fought so hard for, everything they train for before they go into battle. The information in this book is basically a contract of death for our veterans. The men and women at Walter Reed who are going through intense physical therapy just so they can take another step, lift their arms to give their loved ones a hug, or learn how to adapt to life in a wheelchair need hope and optimism, not fear and guilt. They need to feel that the VA and their president respect them and care for them, but with a book like this in place, it is hard for me to believe that they really do care.


In Towey's op-ed, he discusses the period between 2007-2008 in which the "death book" was updated, and an interesting point Towey found is that in an effort to update the information, no faith groups or disability rights advocates were consulted. I wonder why? Perhaps this is because this book goes against everything they have worked so hard to advance: An individuals right to life and dignity. Yet, how ironic that the only source listed in the new version as a resource on "advanced directives" is the Hemlock Society, which so conveniently has since been renamed to the sugar-coated "Compassion and Choices." I don't know how this group defines "compassion," but everything they have done to contribute to this book is far from compassionate. Now, the men and women who risk their lives are the TRUE beacons of compassion. I'd like to know if Dr. Pearlman and the members of this so-called "Compassion and Choices" group would volunteer to join the armed forces and risk their lives for a cause greater than self? I wonder how they would feel if they were in a nursing home or hospital, having someone guide them through the scenarios listed in the "death book"?


Many assume the "death book" will not be presented to a patient until they are elderly or disabled, which is bad enough, but did you know that just last month (July 2009), the VA directive according to Towey has instructed its primary care physicians to "raise advance care planning with all VA patients and to refer them to 'Your Life, Your Choices.' Not just those of advanced age and debilitated condition—all patients. America's 24 million veterans deserve better." You betcha they do! These men and women are heroes and should be treated as such; instead, they are referred to a book on planning death. Shame on the VA! Shame on you, President Obama!


Just as Sarah Palin brought the discussion of the "death panels" to the forefront, I know it is just a matter of time before she discusses the "death book," and I encourage her to do so expediently, so that we can put an end to this horror. Sarah was so accurate when she said the following regarding the "death panel":

"The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care.... Such a system is downright evil."

The same classification can be used to described the "death book," for it too is evil! We have a president who says he wants veterans to have the best care possible, but how is this possible when he wants to cut the costs of care. When you cut the costs of care, you are reducing the value of the care itself. Towey concludes his heart-wrenching piece by writing the following:

"If President Obama is sincere in stating that he is not trying to cut costs by pressuring the disabled to forgo critical care, one good way to show that commitment is to walk two blocks from the Oval Office and pull the plug on 'Your Life, Your Choices.' He should make sure in the future that VA decisions are guided by values that treat the lives of our veterans as gifts, not burdens."

A thoughtful statement from a thoughtful man who values life. Our vets deserve the best care money can buy! Why would we want to put a price tag on the value of care they receive? Giving them the best care is the least we could do for these men and women, these TRUE American heroes who have fought so hard so that we may live a free and prosperous life full of endless possibilities. President Obama, if you respect our brave men and women as much as you claim to as their commander and chief, put an end to the use of "Your Life, Your Choices" by the VA NOW because this book does nothing but go against everything our brave men and women have fought so hard for.



(I'm a Conservative Girl with a Voice!!! Visit my blog and become a follower: http://conservativegirlwithavoice.blogspot.com Thanks)

Sarah Palin To Barack Obama: No Health Care Reform Without Legal Reform.

Sarah Palin has just hit on the one issue Obama and his death cult do not want to discuss, and that is tort reform. Out of control lawsuits, sky high malpractice insurance, and doctors running more tests than needed, just to cover their tails, is all part of the single largest expense in American health care that can easily be remedied.

Tort reform is key. To "fix" healthcare, without major tort reform, would be like going in to do open heart surgery on someone, but not actually working on the heart!

We all know the stories of the trial lawyers who have gotten rich with bogus lawsuits. One of the most egregious practitioners of these phony baloney lawsuits is newly minted baby daddy John Edwards. Edwards became a multi-millionaire ambulance chaser by specializing in suing on behalf of children with cerebral palsy.

Edwards, a shyster deluxe, even went so far to "channel" unborn babies during his courtroom antics. Thanks to this one unscrupulous attorney, malpractice insurance went through the roof, many doctors quit their specialties, or went bankrupt.

But even worse, cases of cesarean birth dramatically increased, as Edwards used his greed, and junk science to convince people that natural childbirth was the culprit and cause of all of these cases of cerebral palsy.

Now besides the extra costs involved, having a cesarean birth is dangerous for the mother, as infections can easily set in, and of course, recovery is longer. But who cares, John Edwards sure has a nice house, doesn’t he!

This is just one guy who cost hospitals, doctors, and insurance companies hundreds of millions of dollars during his career. There are lawyers like him all over the country just waiting for their next payday.

Turn on the television. If you watch for any length of time, you will see dozens of ads from big law firms actively seeking defendants for all sorts of cases. Not saying all of them are bogus, but when you see people resorting to advertising nationally for victims, you have to wonder just how big the problem truly is or isn’t, and conclude it’s all about the Benjamins!

Of course, another issue people overlook in this, is the fact that lawyers are so busy chasing high profile, big paydays, that many cases that are real get shoved aside because they won’t make the attorney a huge payday. Small cases don’t add a new wing to the family compound!

As a Texan, I can say that tort reform works. Texas passed major tort reform years ago, capping damages one could get for "pain and suffering." They also beefed the medical boards to investigate doctors suspected of having issues.

The result? As Sarah points out, thousands of doctors have moved to Texas. This has had a huge impact, especially in rural areas. Where there were once shortages of doctors, now there is coverage.

I live in a hospital town, we are home to a hospital that started out in a log cabin, which is still on the grounds, that has grown into a regional system of hospitals and clinics, and even has it’s own health care insurance plan.

Seeing a doctor here is an easy, very friendly process. Even though the complex is huge, the effort is to make sure every patient has their own regular doctor who is able to meet their needs. Very user friendly.

It is also a teaching hospital and is part of the Texas A&M system.

This is what happens when government is responsible, then gets out of the way.

I agree with Sarah Palin 100% on tort reform. For Barack Obama and the rest of his communist party to talk about "health care reform" without tort reform is beyond ridiculous, and it borders on criminal.

Of course, we all know that actually "reforming" health care is the last thing on these people’s minds. This is all a big power grab, and an attempt to completely usurp the Constitution of the United States. Anyone who has actually read HR 3200 knows that monstrosity is nothing more than a gateway to a complete communist state. It is a liberty and freedom stealing document that needs to be burned!

Lets get serious and get behind Sarah Palin. No tort reform, no health care bill.

Here is Sarah’s statement from Facebook:

No Health Care Reform Without Legal Reform:

President Obama's health care "reform" plan has met with significant criticism across the country. Many Americans want change and reform in our current health care system. We recognize that while we have the greatest medical care in the world, there are major problems that we must face, especially in terms of reining in costs and allowing care to be affordable for all. However, as we have seen, current plans being pushed by the Democratic leadership represent change that may not be what we had in mind -- change which poses serious ethical concerns over the government having control over our families’ health care decisions. In addition, the current plans greatly increase costs of health care, while doing lip service toward controlling costs.

We need to address a REAL bipartisan reform proposition that will have REAL impacts on costs, and quality of patient care.

As Governor of Alaska, I learned a little bit about being a target for frivolous suits and complaints (Please, do I really need to footnote that?). I went my whole life without needing a lawyer on speed-dial, but all that changes when you become a target for opportunists and people with no scruples. Our nation’s health care providers have been the targets of similar opportunists for years, and they too have found themselves subjected to false, frivolous, and baseless claims. To quote a former president, "I feel your pain."

So what can we do? First, we cannot have health care reform without tort reform. The two are intertwined. For example, one supposed justification for socialized medicine is the high cost of health care. As Dr. Scott Gottlieb recently noted, "If Mr. Obama is serious about lowering costs, he'll need to reform the economic structures in medicine—especially programs like Medicare." [1] Two examples of these "economic structures" are high malpractice insurance premiums foisted on physicians (and ultimately passed on to consumers as "high health care costs") and the billions wasted on defensive medicine.

Dr. Stuart Weinstein, with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, recently explained the problem:

"The medical liability crisis has had many unintended consequences, most notably a decrease in access to care in a growing number of states and an increase in healthcare costs.

Access is affected as physicians move their practices to states with lower liability rates and change their practice patterns to reduce or eliminate high-risk services. When one considers that half of all neurosurgeons—as well as one third of all orthopedic surgeons, one third of all emergency physicians, and one third of all trauma surgeons—are sued each year, is it any wonder that 70 percent of emergency departments are at risk because they lack available on-call specialist coverage?" [2]

Dr. Weinstein makes good points, points completely ignored by President Obama. Dr. Weinstein details the costs that our out-of-control tort system are causing the health care industry and notes research that "found that liability reforms could reduce defensive medicine practices, leading to a 5 percent to 9 percent reduction in medical expenditures without any effect on mortality or medical complications." Dr. Weinstein writes:

"If the Kessler and McClellan estimates were applied to total U.S. healthcare spending in 2005, the defensive medicine costs would total between $100 billion and $178 billion per year. Add to this the cost of defending malpractice cases, paying compensation, and covering additional administrative costs (a total of $29.4 billion). Thus, the average American family pays an additional $1,700 to $2,000 per year in healthcare costs simply to cover the costs of defensive medicine.

Excessive litigation and waste in the nation’s current tort system imposes an estimated yearly tort tax of $9,827 for a family of four and increases healthcare spending in the United States by $124 billion. How does this translate to individuals? The average obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN) delivers 100 babies per year. If that OB-GYN must pay a medical liability premium of $200,000 each year (which is the rate in Florida), $2,000 of the delivery cost for each baby goes to pay the cost of the medical liability premium." [3]

You would think that any effort to reform our health care system would include tort reform, especially if the stated purpose for Obama’s plan to nationalize our health care industry is the current high costs.

So I have new questions for the president: Why no legal reform? Why continue to encourage defensive medicine that wastes billions of dollars and does nothing for the patients? Do you want healthcare reform to benefit trial attorneys or patients?

Many states, including my own state of Alaska, have enacted caps on lawsuit awards against health care providers. Texas enacted caps and found that one county’s medical malpractice claims dropped 41 percent, and another study found a "55 percent decline" after reform measures were passed. [4] That’s one step in health care reform. Limiting lawyer contingency fees, as is done under the Federal Tort Claims Act, is another step.

The State of Alaska pioneered the "loser pays" rule in the United States, which deters frivolous civil law suits by making the loser partially pay the winner’s legal bills. Preventing quack doctors from giving "expert" testimony in court against real doctors is another reform.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry noted that, after his state enacted tort reform measures, the number of doctors applying to practice medicine in Texas "skyrocketed by 57 percent" and that the tort reforms "brought critical specialties to underserved areas." These are real reforms that actually improve access to health care. [5]

Dr. Weinstein’s research shows that around $200 billion per year could be saved with legal reform. That’s real savings. That’s money that could be used to build roads, schools, or hospitals.

If you want to save health care, let’s listen to our doctors too. There should be no health care reform without legal reform. There can be no true health care reform without legal reform.

- Sarah Palin

[1] See http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204409904574350370729883030.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[2] See http://www.aaos.org/news/aaosnow/nov08/managing7.asp

[3] Id.

[4] See http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/new_laws_and_med_mal_damage_caps_devastate_plaintiff_and_defense_firms_alik/print/

[5] See http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/OpEd-Contributor/Tort-reform-must-be-part-of-health-care-reform-8096175.html