Only A Test

**Update: 1200 In Colorado Springs; Fort Collins, Colorado Springs See Hundreds Rally Against ObamaCare, Outnumber Pro-Obama Factions

**Update 3--Media bias? Colorado Springs Gazette ignores the anti-ObamaCare rally completely

**Update 2--Americans for Prosperity has video and several more photos up from the Colorado Springs rally

**Update 1--Approximately 1000-1200 anti-ObamaCare rallyers showed up in Colorado Springs, easily eclipsing the incredible turnout in Denver yesterday (video); tons of photos from the rally; 9NEWS has more from Fort Collins

Continued from yesterday's overwhelmingly successful anti-ObamaCare rally in Denver:

Hundreds more in Colorado Springs rallying against government-run health care, where only a "handful" of ObamaCare supporters showed up--photos/video from the rally on the way.

NoCOPolitics attended the earlier Fort Collins rally as hundreds voiced their opposition against government-run health care, outnumbering pro-Obama supporters 3-1; slideshow of the rally is up at the Coloradoan:

Hundreds Attend Anti-Obama Care Rally In Denver

Hundreds (500-700) attended yesterday's anti-ObamaCare rally in Denver during the lunch hour.

**Update 8--Hundreds more in Colorado Springs rallying against government-run health care, where only a "handful" of ObamaCare supporters showed up

**Update 7--Hundreds attend rally against government-run health care in Fort Collins, outnumber pro-Obama supporters 3-1; slideshow of the rally is up

**Update 6--speaker highlights:







**Update 5--Joshua Sharf captured revealing pics of the decidedly underwhelmingly attended pro-Obama rally later in the day, featuring supporters sporting union-made signs and t-shirts; Face the State has an update on Michael the Hutt of ProgressNow doing a little projection of his own, Kim Jong-Il style; the geniuses at ColoradoPols can't count.

**Update 4--Instalanche, sweet! Thanks Glenn.

**Update 3--Face the State has a comprehensive report and a slideshow of the rally, and estimates that upwards of 700 attended.

**Update 2--Obama's supporters are staging their own rally at 6pm in Denver, and there is already a planned counterprotest:

What: Socialized Healthcare Counter-Protest

When: July 28, 2009 6:00 PM

Where: Colorado State Capitol Building
Colfax & Lincoln West Steps of the Capitol Bldg
Denver, CO 80203

The White House's own activist group "Organizing for America" is holding a rally in support of nationalized health care at the Colorado State Capitol this evening, July 28th. A coalition of 9/12 and Tea Party groups is banding together to form a counter-protest from 6pm to 7pm!

If you were unable to make the rally against socialized medicine at lunch today, this counter-protest is a way to make your voice heard and to let the politicians and the anti-liberty groups know we oppose what they are trying to do.

Because anti-liberty activists may very well try insult us or force confrontations with us, it is VERY important that we remain civil and professional - don't sink to their level!

Obama's astroturfers (unions/SEIU) vs. true grassroots, should be fun! Obama's union thugs supporters better hope for a larger turnout than their own counterprotest earlier today:


The large contingent of Obama Care supporters rally across the street.

**Update 1--Democrat Rep. Diana DeGette (CD 1), who represents Denver, puts forth the ObamaCare line:

Perhaps DeGette should take the time to listen to her constituents. And read the bill . . .

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Denver Post:

"This is not the kind of health care change we want!" shouted Jeff Crank with Americans for Prosperity, which organized the rally. "We demand something different."

Instead, protestors advocated for tort reform to cut down on malpractice costs and making health insurance "portable" from job to job.

Crank said national health care reform proposals being debated in Congress call for rationing care. He told those at the rally to think of the hot dogs and T-shirts as liver transplants — "if we run out, we run out."

CBS4Denver had pre-rally coverage (video).

Photos are up (click to enlarge)--


Co-sponsored by the Independence Institute and Americans for Prosperity.


Sentiment was strongly against President Barack Obama's plan.


Ominous.


Rationing is a primary concern.


The posters were creative and not mass-produced.


Just a portion of the large crowd gathered, probably 500 or so.


Major media outlets were there as well.


Ari Armstrong of FreeColorado.com argued that government is responsible for getting health care into this mess in the first place.


Health care choice vs. government control.


But but but . . .


Where there are cameras, ProgressNow's paid hack Michael Huttner is sure to be weaseling his way through the crowd.


Jon Caldara, President of the Independence Institute, demands that elected officials, you know, actually read the bills they are expected to vote on.


The large contingent of Obama Care supporters rally across the street.


Winner for best use of props and allusion to pop culture of the day!


The rally wraps up and the crowd enjoys complimentary food.


Sums up the mood and message of the day.

Obama’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009: What You Don’t Know May Kill You

By Julian Dunraven, J.D., M.P.A.

Honorable Friends:

Yesterday, the people of Denver demonstrated that they have far more sense than their Congresswoman does when 700 of them rallied on the State Capitol steps to voice their opposition to President Obama’s health care bill.

The President has been working hard in recent weeks to persuade us that such opposition is unfounded. In his recent prime time press conference, he soothingly told us that this legislation would help reduce the costs of health care. He went on to assure us that we would all be able to keep our current health care plans and would not be forced onto government programs. In conclusion, he promised that health policy would be free from congressional meddling, as it would be overseen by a nonpartisan committee of medical experts whose recommendations would have to be accepted or rejected in their entirety by Congress. He said all of this with a straight face. None of it is true.

As a former Constitutional Law instructor, Mr. Obama knows that Congress’s legislative authority cannot be limited in such a way. Had Mr. Obama actually read the text of the bill, he also would have known that it allows people to keep their own health care plans only so long as they stay with their current plans. If they try to change their plans, they are indeed forced onto the government’s program. He certainly knew, though, that the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, Douglas Elmendorf, estimated that the bill actually increases costs of health care and enlarges the federal deficit by billions of dollars.

Denver Representative Diana DeGette, apparently a very credulous person and far too busy to read the 1000+ pages of the bill for herself, has taken the President at his word and maintains that there is a need to pass the bill immediately. Unfortunately, the arguments she uses to support the urgent need for legislation are rooted almost entirely in myths about our health care system; myths Dr. Clifford S. Asness easily and entertainingly debunks in his essay, “Health Care Mythology.” Fortunately, the American people are not so easily duped.

Money Morning and Stephen Hyde both point out some of the most egregious financial problems with this bill. As Hyde asserts, “The bill requires virtually all employers to offer minimum health benefit plans that far exceed anything most of them offer today.” This will necessarily increase insurance costs. As Money Morning shows, it also has a more devastating aspect. Under the legislation, any business that cannot afford to provide the extensive coverage the bill requires will be taxed up to 8% of its payroll. This will almost immediately result in severe wage reductions and layoffs as businesses attempt to defray that cost. This hardly seems like the best idea as the nation struggles for economic recovery. Yet, this is not the worst the bill has to offer.

Peter Fleckstein (aka Fleckman), has diligently combed through the legislation and assembled a brief, line-by-line cheat sheet. His full analysis, “The HC Monstrosity-All 1,018 Pages,” can be found at his blog. While somewhat cursory, Mr. Fleckstein successfully highlights some alarming details in the legislation. To list just a few, the bill provides for:

• Nationwide government access to our private healthcare and financial records, as well as our bank accounts.
• Exemption from judicial review of the prices government sets on health care.
• Government wage controls over physicians, as well as limitations on physician ownership of hospitals and other health care providers.
• Mandates for end of life care and consultations without benefit of legal counsel.
• Government interference in marriage counseling and childcare.
• Government appointed standards and rationing for what treatments we may receive.
• No private option if you leave your current insurance carrier.

These are just a few of the many devilish details hidden within Mr. Obama’s Affordable Health Choices Act. It seems unlikely that any sane person, after reading this bill, could support its passage. That may be exactly why Mr. Obama and the Democratic leadership in the House and Senate wanted to push it through so quickly.

The American people need to know the horrors contained within this bill. Health care represents 20% of our economy. That economy is now suffering a soft depression. If we truly desire health care reform, we deserve much better than what Mr. Obama is offering. This bill’s financial aspects alone have the potential to drive us into an unbearably hard depression, to say nothing of the damage it does to personal liberties. We cannot afford to make such massive changes to such a large portion of our economy with so little knowledge or time to review. All concerned Americans should contact their congress people and demand an end to this abominable and irresponsible legislation.

Betsy Markey On Health Care: A Tea Party Rally

Fort Collins Tea Party organizers will urge CD-4 Rep. Betsy Markey to vote against President Barack Obama's plans for socialized medicine "government-run, single-payer health care" at noon on Saturday, June 13th at Washington Park behind the Fort Collins City Hall building.

**Update--Entire Town Hall Video Posted; John McCain Health Care Town Hall Meeting In Denver

Closing statements (the controversial statements about Iraq and oil, skip to 5:00):


**Update 2--MSM reports coming in--"Americans are hurting today"; "McCain, in Denver, decries '100 years in Iraq' ads"





**Update--videos posted:

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:


Part 4:


Part 5:


Part 6:


Part 7:


A look around, Sen. McCain exits:

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So much for the "liberal activists" that were supposed to disrupt the event, although the leftosphere is blowing a gasket over McCain's comments on oil and Iraq . . .

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Where in the world:

What--Colorado Health Care Town Hall, Denver

When--May 2, 2008 8:00 a.m.

Where--Robert E Loup Jewish Community Center
350 S. Dahlia St.
Denver, CO 80246

CU-Denver's Study Abroad: Venezuela Health Care Revolution!

Moonbattery creeping into business schools: in an email from CU-Denver (UCDHSC), an elective study abroad course offering that takes students to the glorious health care revolution currently underway in Venezuela--courtesy of one Hugo Chavez:

Travel Study Course

Venezuela: Venezuela's Public Health Revolution

This course will count as a free elective or as an international elective in the MBA (regular or health administration) or MS International Business programs.

January 4-20

Cost: $3,100

Application deadline October 12, 2007

Details and application at the link below:

http://studyabroad.cudenver.edu/TS/Student/Winter%202008/Venezuela.htm

The Government of Venezuela has decided to give public health a very high priority, placing major emphasis on the training of large numbers of new doctors under a program entitled, “Barrio Adentro”. This program is designed to bring medical services to every community, many for the first time. Venezuela’s new Constitution approved by popular referendum and enacted in 2000 guarantees all citizens the right to health. To achieve this, it seeks to consolidate an effective primary health care network under a single ministry.

Four working days will be spent in the Capital, Caracas, planning for data collection, and meeting officials in the Ministry of Health, UNICEF, PAHO, and selected NGOs. An additional two working days will be spent in Caracas after returning from the field to prepare a final report. The remaining time in the field will provide opportunities to study rural and semi-urban health policies and services west of Caracas in Barquisimeto and Valera. Students will study existing conditions, programs strengths and weaknesses, and emerging plans.

How great is Venezuela?

Blessed dictator President Hugo Chavez' tightening totalitarian grip on the economy of Venezuela may lead to anarchy. This system would no doubt parallel Michael Moore's favorite health care provider--Cuba.

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that the students will use this trip to investigate how not to do health care, but instead inspire them to emulate a failed system in an emerging totalitarian dictatorship, and bring it here.

Not Wardo (Churchill) related, but in the same academic ballpark--left field.

--Speaking of Ward, Drunkablog has an update:

Churchill criticized celebrations of Columbus Day and the anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. He said the major difference between European settlers’ genocide of Native Americans and Nazi Germany’s holocaust during World War II was that Germany lost.