I am afraid to turn my computer on in the morning for fear of what might be running across the AP Wire. Here is another doozy from a guy trying desperately hard to become the next George W. Bush:
Obama to China: Uncensored Society is Healthy
Did he even have to use the term healthy? What about this?
In a warning letter to Humana, HHS said the government is concerned that the mailer “is misleading and confusing” partly because the company’s lobbying campaign could be mistaken for an official communication about Medicare benefits.
HHS ordered the company to immediately halt any such mailings, and remove any related materials from its Web site. In the letter, the government also said it may take other action against Humana, which is based in Louisville, Ky.
From David Henderson commenting on the incident:
One of the ways that governments try to “win” debates is to make debate by the other side illegal. This is what HHS is doing, at the behest of Senator Baucus. Asked on yesterday’s Face the Nation on CBS whether a “sort of meanness” had settled “over our political dialogue,” Obama said, “Right.” I’m not sure that the questionner, Bob Schieffer, knows the difference between meanness and anger. I have seen some of the former, but much of the latter, at the various town hall meetings. But here’s where Obama has a chance to practice what he preaches. He has the power to countermand HHS’s order. And HHS’s action would certainly qualify as mean. You can’t get much meaner than to threaten someone with guns. And that is what a warning letter from HHS is. Think about what would happen if Humana ignored the HHS letter and kept speaking out critically on health care. The next step would be to bring Humana to court. If Humana refused, the next step would be, literally, for the Feds to come in with guns.
…
1. It’s “potentially contrary to federal regulations” and therefore “we are instructing you to end immediately, etc.” So just the potential that it’s violating the law is enough, apparently, for Teresa DeCaro to make her threat.
2. Also, “based upon the findings of our investigation, will pursue compliance and enforcement actions.” Notice a little step missing? What if they investigate and find nothing wrong? She’s, of course, presuming the outcome of the investigation.
This all coming from a man who has said:
But I don’t want the folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking. I want them to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess. I don’t mind cleaning up after them, but don’t do a lot of talking.
