Dr. Nunamaker Deals With O-Care

Dr. Nunamaker Deals With O-Care — Dr. Doug Nunamaker of Wichita, Kan. has dumped all his insurance companies and he and his patients are all smiles. He said that after five years he couldn’t take the red tape.

Nunamaker has switched to a “concierge” system where patients sign up for $10 per month for pediatric services, $50 per month for those under 44 and $100 per month for all others which give clients unlimited access to the doctors along with all medical services that can be provided in-house such as EKGs and stitches.

Only cash –including credit and debit cards– is accepted.

He says his income — about $200,000 per year — is about the same as before since he was able to dramatically cut overhead but patient care is greatly improved.

The patients are strongly advised, however, to carry a high-deductible insurance for emergency room visits and  illness requiring hospitalization.

Hat tip Breitbart.com

Dr. Nunamaker Deals With O-Care

Mandated Public Sewers Should Be Unconstitutional

Mandated Public Sewers Should Be Unconstitutional

First, a disclaimer: “Obamacare” is about to be referenced, even though today’s topic is not regarding health care. So for those opposed, don’t immediately use this column as toilet paper.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Obamacare was constitutional on the grounds that it was a tax. Had it been a mandatory purchase, where government required citizens to buy something, it would have undoubtedly not passed legal muster.

Which makes the situation occurring in, but not limited to, Upper Providence Township, Delaware County, absolutely mind-blowing. The local government, via its sewer authority, has been mandating residents pay huge out-of-pocket costs to connect to the new public sewer system being installed throughout the township — even if one’s septic system is working flawlessly.

In other words, if your house is less than 250 feet from the road, which the vast majority are, you are required by a duty-to-connect ordinance to shell out big bucks for something you might not want, need, nor can afford (despite already paying substantial taxes). There are no opt-outs, negotiations, exceptions. You buy in, or else.

And “or else” is staggeringly severe.

But first, a brief primer:

While the sewer authority is officially a “separate” entity from the township, we’re going to dispense with the legalese and consider them interchangeable. The township council created the authority and chooses its members, so without question, if it disagreed with the program, forced sewers would have been a non-starter. Bottom line: They’re all in this cesspool together.

Several years ago, it was determined by paternalistic Upper Providence leaders — who obviously know what is best for the people — that building public sewers was the way to go. So they enacted ordinances requiring residents to participate in what amounted to a double-whammy initiative. (Disclaimer No. 2: I am not an Upper Providence resident, so am not affected).

The first step is to pay for the sewer line that runs along the street, known as the “tapping fee.” The bill? Six thousand dollars per household. (Technically, the fee is $5,700, but the sewer authority rubs salt in the wound by tacking on a $300 “permit application fee.” That’s great — making you pay for a permit after having a $5,700 bill shoved down your throat. Real classy.)

Here’s a thought for the township council and sewer authority: As stewards of the people’s money — and it is their money, not yours — you shouldn’t forge ahead on unnecessary projects, especially if the municipality can’t afford them. That’s a lesson Chris Christie has been teaching, and it’s paying huge dividends. Passing the buck to residents because you want a pet project is unconscionable.

And what if you don’t play ball? What if you don’t have an extra $6,000 lying around? What if you are a cash-strapped new homeowner, or have several tuition bills? What if your job is on shaky ground, or you already lost it? What if you are a senior on a fixed income, just trying to live your golden years, but are now forced to choose between medicine, food, heat (all skyrocketing in price), or forking over money to the government for something you don’t need?

In case you’re wondering, no financing is offered by Upper Providence. So for many, good luck getting a loan, since banks aren’t exactly lending to the under- or unemployed and retired seniors. And if you can’t foot the bill, the government can place a lien on your home, robbing you of your right to sell your most valuable asset. Where are we? Venezuela? Hugo Chavez, eat your decomposing heart out!

But that’s only the beginning. After the tapping installation is completed, homeowners are required, again on their own dime, to connect to the sewer line via private contractor within 90 days. The financial toll of that whopper? It varies, but another $6,000 to 8,000 is not uncommon (including yes, another permit fee!).

In addition to liens, homeowners also face a summary offense and fines of up to $1,000 per day for not connecting, and no, that’s not a misprint. So now the government can bankrupt you and render your house unsellable, all for the high crime of using an operational septic system that isn’t legally banned in a situation where there are no aggrieved parties.

And what if you just forked over $20,000 or $30,000 for a new septic system? Tough excrement. You get a minimal reprieve of a few years before you are required to hook up, but that’s it. Those unlucky people get doubly flushed down the toilet, losing their investment and paying for a totally unnecessary sewer connection. To top it all off, residents also must pay to have their septic systems professionally pumped out, have holes punched in the bottom prior to backfilling, and remove lids from the existing tanks. Not cheap.

How can the government be so utterly callous with the hardship they cause? The answer, directly from its website, is nauseating:

“From a philosophical view, if government and industry continue to put off spending, the recession will only continue. Projects such as this sewer project are in fact good for the economy and provide jobs for companies and employees.”

Gee, what a great rationale for upending people’s lives! Seriously! What planet are these nincompoops living on? Uranus?

Do they have any idea how the local economy could really be booming if residents didn’t have to shell out $15,000 for a project that is no more ecologically sound than the septic systems it replaces? How many home improvement projects of real value could have been constructed? Or new businesses that may have started? Or new cars that would have been purchased? Nights out on the town? All curtailed or completely kyboshed because of Big Brother.

Yet the free market could have easily solved the problem. If most people on a given street opted for public sewers, they would be able to sell their houses for substantially more than those who remained on septic. Prospective buyers, anticipating they might want to connect at a later date, would factor that into their lower offer price. A win-win, as individuals, not the government, would have chosen what was best for them. Case closed.

Instead, for those who don’t connect, the government snatches away the right to sell their house, while potentially fining them incalculable sums, creating immense animosity where there should be harmony.

The only thing more surprising than this in-your-face bullying is that too few expressed public outrage or tried to stop the program in court. It’s too late now for Upper Providence residents, but perhaps not for others in the region, such as those in Edgmont Township, where their government is moving in the same forced-sewer direction.

But give Upper Providence credit for one thing. On the “History” section of its website, it states that the area once “was an open and free land.”

At least they got the tense correct.

Mandated Public Sewers Should Be Unconstitutional

J.D. Hayworth To Speak In Philly

‘Recovering congressman’ J. D. Hayworth of Arizona will be the keynote speaker at the Independence Hall Tea Party Association’s 5th Annual Independence Day Celebration, reports Association President Teri Adams. His topics will include the widely unread 1200-plus immigration bill now being debated by the solons in Washington.

The event will be 1-3 p.m.,. July 4 at the Independence Visitors Center Ballroom at 6th and Market streets, Philadelphia, and which has an excellent view of where it all started.

Tickets are $7.50 for students, $15 for everyone else.

Also speaking will be  New Jersey Republican Senatorial Candidate and health expert, Alieta Eck, MD, who will provide timely commentary on the state of ObamaCare;  American Center for Law and Justice Executive Director Jordan Sekulow, who will address the IRS scandal and the lawsuit filed by 25 Tea Party Groups which included the Greenwich Tea Party Patriots of South Jersey; WHPT talk show host Dom Giordano; Chairman of the Pennsylvania Teenage Republicans Chairman Brandon Posner, and Tory McClintock of the Montgomery County Young Republicans.

The Association will also distribute its annual Betsy Ross Activist Awards which are going to for Delaware, Jason O’Neill of that state’s Faith and Freedom Coalition; for New Jersey, Brenda Roames of the Greenwich Tea Party Patriots of South Jersey, and for Pennsylvania, Stephanie Lieberman, an original board member of the IHTPA and activist.

Patricia Peteraf will be given the Betsy Ross Lifetime Activist Award. Karen Miller of the Pennsylvania Conservative Council and a former member of the West Chester Area School Board will get the George Washington Leadership Award.

The Whitehall Guard Fife and Drum will be on hand to play traditional colonial
music.

There will be a reading of the Declaration of Independence and  refreshments.

Animal Fighting Paraphernalia Vote In Pa. House

Animal Fighting Paraphernalia Vote In Pa. House — The Pennsylvania House passed legislation last week to protect animals by addressing an aspect of animal fighting, reports state Rep. Jim Cox (R-129). House Bill 164 would create the offense of possession of animal fighting paraphernalia, which would be defined by any device, implement, object, facility, space or drug used, or intended to be used, for animal fighting or to train an animal for fighting.

Possession of animal fighting paraphernalia would be graded as a third-degree misdemeanor, with a penalty of up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $2,500. If enacted, the law would aid in the prosecution of animal fighters since investigators often find the tools of the trade rather than an animal fight in progress.

The bill is in the Senate for consideration.

Animal Fighting Paraphernalia Vote In Pa. House

Fish And Chips — Tonight’s Meal

Tonight’s meal was fish and chips with the fish being cod and battered in Chef Bill’s special covering. The chips were of two types — the traditional and delicious fried potato circlets, and plotskis which are a grated potato pancake and, in this case, covered with shredded, melted cheddar cheese.

The meal began with cantaloupe gazpacho. The wine was a simple Pinot gris.

Richard Matheson Tribute

Richard Matheson, one of the most influential writers of the last century, died June 23 at the age of 87. He was a graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism. In the name of courageous journalism we present this tribute:

Matheson, by the way, also gave us that Trilogy of Terror episode where the little voodoo doll chases around Karen Black, and, of course, zombies with his short story I Am Legend adopted to the big screen numerous times under several names.

Richard Matheson Tribute

Philly Archbishop Gives Dire Warning

 

“IRS officials have, of course, confessed that they
inappropriately targeted conservative groups — especially those with
‘tea party’ or ‘patriot’ in their names — for extra scrutiny when they
sought non-profit status. Allegations of abuse or harassment have since
broadened to include groups conducting grassroots projects to ‘make
America a better place to live,’ to promote classes about the U.S.
Constitution or to raise support for Israel.

“However, it now appears the IRS also challenged some individuals
and religious groups that, while defending key elements of their faith
traditions, have criticized projects dear to the current White House,
such as health-care reform, abortion rights and same-sex marriage.”

Terry Mattingly, director, Washington Journalism Center; weekly column, May 22

Let’s begin this week with a simple statement of fact. America’s
Catholic bishops started pressing for adequate health-care coverage for
all of our nation’s people decades before the current administration
took office. In the Christian tradition, basic medical care is a matter
of social justice and human dignity. Even now, even with the financial
and structural flaws that critics believe undermine the 2010 Affordable
Care Act, the bishops continue to share the goal of real health-care
reform and affordable medical care for all Americans.

But health care has now morphed into a religious liberty issue
provoked entirely – and needlessly — by the current White House.
Despite a few small concessions under pressure, the administration
refuses to withdraw or reasonably modify a Health and Human Services
(HHS) contraceptive mandate that violates the moral and religious
convictions of many individuals, private employers and religiously
affiliated and inspired organizations.

Coupled with the White House’s refusal to uphold the 1996 Defense of
Marriage Act, and its astonishing disregard for the unique nature of
religious freedom displayed by its arguments in a 9-0 defeat in the 2012
Hosanna-Tabor Supreme Court decision, the HHS mandate can only
be understood as a form of coercion. Access to inexpensive
contraception is a problem nowhere in the United States. The mandate is
thus an ideological statement; the imposition of a preferential option
for infertility. And if millions of Americans disagree with it on
principle – too bad.

The fraud at the heart of our nation’s “reproductive rights”
vocabulary runs very deep and very high. In his April 26 remarks to the
Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the president never once used
the word “abortion,” despite the ongoing Kermit Gosnell trial in
Philadelphia and despite Planned Parenthood’s massive role in the
abortion industry.

Likewise, as Anthony Esolen recently noted so well,
NARAL Pro-Choice America’s public statement on the conviction of
abortionist Gosnell was a masterpiece of corrupt and misleading
language. Gosnell was found guilty of murdering three infants, but no such mention was made anywhere in the NARAL Pro-Choice America statement.

None of this is finally surprising. Christians concerned for the
rights of unborn children, as well as for their mothers, have dealt with
bias in the media and dishonesty from the nation’s abortion syndicate
for 40 years. But there’s a special lesson in our current situation.
Anyone who thinks that our country’s neuralgic sexuality issues can
somehow be worked out respectfully in the public square in the years
ahead, without a parallel and vigorous defense of religious freedom, had
better think again.

As Mollie Hemingway, Stephen Krason and Wayne Laugesen
have all pointed out, the current IRS scandal – involving IRS targeting
of “conservative” organizations – also has a religious dimension.
Selective IRS pressure on religious individuals and organizations has
drawn very little media attention. Nor should we expect any, any time
soon, for reasons Hemingway
outlines for the Intercollegiate Review. But the latest IRS ugliness is
a hint of the treatment disfavored religious groups may face in the
future, if we sleep through the national discussion of religious liberty
now.

The day when Americans could take the Founders’ understanding of religious freedom as a given is over. We need to wake up.

American Catholics are called to observe a second annual
“Fortnight for Freedom” through July 4. For  information, see
the website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Hat tip Cathy Craddock

 

Philly Archbishop Gives Dire Warning

Grilled Chicken And Shrimp — Tonight’s Meal

Tonight’s meal by Chef Bill Sr. was grilled chicken and shrimp with  sides of grilled green and yellow bell peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes, and baked fresh carrots. All had been marinated  in a teriyaki-honey sauce.

The starch was homemade knishes provided by a neighbor. Thank you, Mrs. Ziv, they were delicious.

In lieu of dessert was a tray of blue Gouda acquired by Chef Bill as a Father’s Day present –thank you Robert– that was partaken with the Muscat de Patras, the sweet Grecian wine that had been sipped throughout the evening.

House To Vote On Transportation Fee Hikes

House To Vote On Transportation Fee Hikes — The  House Transportation Committee completed a series of public hearings on Senate Bill 1, a multi-year, comprehensive transportation funding plan, reports state Rep. Jim Cox (R-129). The committee received testimony from various stakeholders and industry representatives, including Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary Barry Schoch, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale and representatives from public transportation systems, construction and engineering interests, agriculture, trucking, rail freight and others.

Senate Bill 1 aims to raise an additional $2.5 billion a year for transportation funding, with an additional $11 billion overall over five years, by proposing to:

–Remove the cap on the Oil Company Franchise Tax, which is charged at the wholesale level, over a period of five years.

–Reduce the State Liquid Fuels Tax over a period of four years.

— Make vehicle registrations valid for two years instead of one and increasing the net cost by $32.

— Make driver’s licenses valid for six years instead of four and increasing the net cost by $6.25.

The House Transportation Committee expects to vote on the bill this week.

Pennsylvania has some of the oldest transportation infrastructure in the country, Cox said. The governor’s Transportation Funding Advisory Commission has identified the need for an additional $3.5 billion annually to support maintenance and repair of the state’s roads and bridges, as well as public transportation systems.

You know Jim, ending the prevailing wage requirements might just cut the cost of those infrastructure improvements to the point where we don’t need these burdensome fee hikes.

Just sayin’.

House To Vote On Transportation Fee Hikes

Picnic With The Patriots In Delaware County

Picnic With The Patriots In Delaware CountyPicnic With The Patriots — The Delaware County Patriots had its 3rd Annual Picnic in the Park, today, June 23 at Pavilion 17 in Ridley Creek State Park. The company was great, the conversation interesting, and the food delicious.
Picnic With The Patriots