Hurricane Earl took aim at North Carolina on Thursday and is on track to lash its barrier islands with dangerous winds and pounding surf before cutting a path up the U.S. East Coast.If you hear a distant fanfare this weekend as you huddle around the last barbecue of summer, chances are it is Labor Day signaling the start of the home stretch to the Congressional mid-term elections. From here on out, we’ll see more ads, more posturing, more mudslinging, and great herds of political pundits thundering across the land with all the enthusiasm and grace of buffaloes in a rut. And no one will be more aware of all that than a man whose name is not on any ballot, and yet has everything on the line: President Barack Obama.An oil and gas platform operated by Mariner Energy burst into flames on Thursday and unleashed a mile-long oil sheen into the Gulf of Mexico, in the region’s first major offshore disaster since BP’s oil spill began in April.Coming fresh off of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” reunion (did you all catch that horror show? One word: cray-cray) is the announcement that Bravo is set to release yet another Real Housewives franchise, “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” next month.Hollywood loves a good formula, and this fall movie season is rife with tried-and-true plot setups that will give you deja vu.From Baltimore to Lancaster avenues and along Market Street in between, University City is abuzz from the arrivals of college students and professors back after summer vacation.Tiger Woods fans have put up with the philandering, the text messages and the domestic spats. Now comes what may be the hardest thing of all to tolerate: losing.While breast-enhancing surgery has become almost a norm for American women, men are also heading to the plastic surgeon’s office more often — to have their man-boobs (moobs) removed. If you are what you eat, then most Cape Codders would be a clam — or maybe a lobster roll A land named for a type of fish should abound with chances to sample tasty seafood, and Cape Cod does not disappointSo you squandered an estate note on a bachelor’s degree, then trudged through more entry-level hardships and thankless internships than should be legally permissable, only to backslide into a self-esteem shattering, résumé-derailing grind, several tax brackets below your dignity. 
President Barack Obama’s first full fiscal year budget, which covers Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2010, will bring with it a round of new and increased taxes. And if you ask some economists, they’ll tell you to prepare for one of the worst misuses of tax money in history — Obama’s health care plan.
Health care already takes nearly 20 to 25 percent of the total U.S. budget every year. But in 2010, Obama plans to dredge up an extra $634 billion for a reserve fund to pay for government health care options over 10 years.
That’s a lot of cash. So why does the government need more?
“It doesn’t,” said Dr. William Winkenwerder, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs under former President George W. Bush. “We already spend 50 percent more money per person for health care than any other country,” he said. "There is enough money already in the system to fund excellent health care for all Americans, if it is properly spent."
Sury Anand, CEO of New York-based Atlantis Health Plan said the market simply needs more competition among insurance providers.
“As is planned now, it is unaffordable and unnecessary,” Anand said. “The emphasis should be refocused on ... affordability. Government generally tends to be less creative and less flexible than private industry. “
Robert Levine, a doctor and author of “Shock Therapy for the American Health Care System,” breaks down how Obama’s health plan can be paid for without new taxes.
• 30 percent of health care costs go to unnecessary care: $800 billion
• Administrative costs make up 20 percent of health care costs: $500 billion
• Cut unnecessary care by two-thirds: save $600 billion
• Cut administrative costs in half: save $250 billion
• Total savings: $850 billion; Obama wants $634 billion.
Every year, Congressional representatives are able to sucker billions of dollars out of the budget for special interest projects in their own states. While President Obama has made repeated promises to cut down on wasteful government spending, more than $7.7 billion worth of earmarks got through his budgets.
Guerrilla “goth”
Missouri’s Rep. Sam Groves saw how “goth” culture was spreading among teenagers. With $273,000 from the government, Groves set up a study with an outreach group.
Flight of fancy
A 2005 audit showed that the Defense Department had spent nearly $100 million on unused commercial airline tickets from 1997 to 2003. The tickets were refundable, but the Pentagon never filed for reimbursement.
Lawn care
Hundreds of thousands of dollars are earmarked for a study on how best to protect lawns from ringworms. It also funds research into replacing natural grass with other products resistant to worms.
How can you tell a politician is lying? His lips are moving. No, I’m not trying to be funny. It’s true. You see, for us average people, we have to use common sense and stay within our means day to day or face bankruptcy. Our motivation in all of our day-to-day transactions is all about value versus cost. When we buy something, be it a car or a donut, if the price justifies the value and we can afford it within our means, we buy it. Politicians don’t have to do this. Their motivation is getting re-elected. They do that by buying votes. They hope you’re not smart enough to realize that they are using your money. Worse, when there isn’t enough of that, they just borrow or print more as if there will never be a reckoning.
Now President Obama wants us to buy his story on health care. Namely, there are roughly 50 million people without insurance who should have it and we need universal government-directed coverage to get it. His friends in Congress have had their aides write a 1,700 page bill that no one has actually read to reorganize one sixth of the American economy. And he wants us to believe that the government, which has NEVER run ANYTHING efficiently, will do this right. Yeah, sure.
Look, here is all you have to know. There are 300 million Americans and 250 million already have insurance. If you cover the other 50 million while not dramatically raising the amount of hospitals, doctors and nurses, the only way to control costs is through rationing. It’s just supply and demand. All that talk of squeezing cost savings out of the system is nonsense. The politicians are lying. They are simply creating a new entitlement program with which to buy votes and damn the cost later.
I think we elect political leaders the way crazy people date. You know, we keep dating the same person over and over again and each and every time we believe that THIS time will be different. And then we feel betrayed and bitter when our hopes and dreams are dashed on the rocks of betrayal. President Obama is our latest crazy date. Mark my words, he and President Bush are going to end up commiserating over drinks one day about how it all went wrong. Answer: They tried to buy our approval as opposed to earning it.
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