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Rep. Tom Price (R-Georgia) took the time to chat with us for a brief podcast today regarding his impressions of Don Berwick’s fractious testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee. A physician himself, Price pressed Berwick, the controversial head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, on questions regarding the rationing of care, whether it was a falsehood for the White House to claim “if you like your health care plan, you can keep it” and other key matters.

This line of questioning led to a side-by-side moment that is really made for TV — Berwick today saying: “I abhor rationing. My entire life has been spent fighting rationing.”

Compare that to a quote from Berwick in 2009: “The decision is not whether or not we will ration care — the decision is whether we will ration with our eyes open.”

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So, how was your Christmas vacation? Coffee and Markets is back from our holiday offseason to talk about what 2011 will bring, the rise of China, the challenge of microfinance, and Thomas Sowell’s take on Federal Reserve policy.

We’re brought to you as always by Stephen Clouse and Associates. You can find our iTunes feed at CoffeeandMarkets.com. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

China Post: A Chinese Century?
The Economist: Microfinance Under Attack
Uncommon Knowledge: Thomas Sowell on the Fed

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In today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Francis Cianfrocca to discuss Tim Geithner’s trip to the G-20 Summit, and Sarah Palin’s battle with the Federal Reserve.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. You can find our iTunes feed at CoffeeandMarkets.com. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

Will never weaken dollar to grow US economy: Geithner
Obama Post G20: ‘Instead Of Hitting Home Runs, Sometimes We’re Going To Hit Singles’
Sarah Palin: Fed Plan Is ‘Obama’s Clever Way to Punt the Tough Calls’
Obama’s Clever Way to Punt the Tough Calls: Driving the Dollar Down
(more…)

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On today’s Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Anne Sorock of the Sam Adams Alliance to discuss their in-depth study of the Tea Party movement, their successes and failures in the 2010 election and how they may influence governing in this upcoming Congress.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. You can find our iTunes feed at CoffeeandMarkets.com. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

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Veterans Day reminds us we owe more than just parades to the 22 million who served
Which Tea Party Candidates Won?
Sam Adams Alliance’s Research on the Tea Party Movement
Nominations for the 2011 Sammies Awards
(more…)

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In today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Ben Domenech and Francis Cianfrocca to discuss the the latest Fed actions, Wall Street numbers, earnings report expectations, whether the Democrats are wise to keep Nancy Pelosi, and President Obama’s declaration of the “New Normal.”

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. You can find our iTunes feed at CoffeeandMarkets.com. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

WSJ: Obama Warns of New Normal
Zerohedge: Zoellick Talks Gold Standard
WSJ: Ford and GM Rise, Chrysler Sinks
Cianfrocca: Bernanke Treats the Fever, Not the Infection

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In today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson, Ben Domenech are joined by Francis Cianfrocca to discuss Bernanke’s latest QE2 moves, the GOP’s opportunity society, and why health care, not the economy, may have been the biggest issue in Tuesday’s election.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment.com and Stephen Clouse and Associates. We’d also like to let you know that we’ve set up a standalone site at CoffeeandMarkets.com for easier browsing of our past broadcasts.

You can subscribe to the podcast by following the links above, and if you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

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How the Republicans can fulfill their pledge
Democratic Pollster: The Economy ‘Was Not the Decisive Factor in this Election; Health Care Was’
(more…)

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In today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson, Ben Domenech and Francis Cianfrocca are joined by Texas Governor Rick Perry to talk about his new book Fed Up! – Our Fight to Save America from Washington, why Francis should move his business to Texas and whether or not Governor Perry will run for President in 2012.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment.com and Stephen Clouse and Associates. We’d also like to let you know that we’ve set up a standalone site at CoffeeandMarkets.com for easier browsing of our past broadcasts.

You can subscribe to the podcast by following the links above, and if you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

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Fed Up!: Our Fight to Save America from Washington
Perry Re-elected in Texas Governor Race
Also by Rick Perry – On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts Are Worth Fighting for
Governor Rick Perry on Twitter
Governor Rick Perry on Facebook
(more…)

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In today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Liberty Pundits’ Melissa Clouthier to talk about yesterday’s elections, what Republicans will do going forward, and how 2012 will be impacted by who won last night.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment.com and Stephen Clouse and Associates. We’d also like to let you know that we’ve set up a standalone site at CoffeeandMarkets.com for easier browsing of our past broadcasts.

You can subscribe to the podcast by following the links above, and if you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

Melissa’s podcasts at libertypundits.com
Melissa’s blog at libertypundits.net
Today’s vote was repudiation of a Washington that refuses to listen to Americans: John Boehner
CNN’s Election Center 2010 Results
TNL – Last night’s live blog of Election Day
Rick Perry wins a record third four-year term
(more…)

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In today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech discuss what comes next — they are joined by RedState’s Erick Erickson to talk about today’s elections, what Republicans will do once they take over in Washington, and the role Erick and RedState have played in the conservative movement.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment.com and Stephen Clouse and Associates. We’d also like to let you know that we’ve set up a standalone site at CoffeeandMarkets.com for easier browsing of our past broadcasts.

You can subscribe to the podcast by following the links above, and if you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

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Good Morning. It Is Election Day.
A Special Note to Our Democrat Readers in Washington
Midterms 2010: Americans aren’t stupid – but they are angry with Barack Obama
(more…)

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In today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Francis Cianfrocca to discuss predictions for tomorrow’s election, and how the market might react.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment.com and Stephen Clouse and Associates. We’d also like to let you know that we’ve set up a standalone site at CoffeeandMarkets.com for easier browsing of our past broadcasts.

You can subscribe to the podcast by following the links above, and if you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

Final Gallup Poll sees historic GOP wave into ‘uncharted territory’ of a 60-seat gain or beyond
The Cook Political Report’s Election Predictions
(more…)

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In today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Francis Cianfrocca to discuss the latest GDP numbers, Obama’s fiscal train wreck, and his views on the economy shared this week on the Daily Show.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. You can find our iTunes feed at CoffeeandMarkets.com. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

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(more…)

Next week, thanks in no small part to your hard work and efforts, a great number of newly elected individuals will head to Washington and to statehouses across the country. At that point, the question they will ask themselves and their staffers is: what do we do now?

At the Heartland Institute, we’re committed to presenting ideas founded on a proper understanding of the role of constitutional government and the importance of liberty as the key to restoring American prosperity. So we’ve prepared a new book called The Patriot’s Toolbox.

It’s a 270-page book which gathers our Legislative Principles providing guidance on good public policy, including 80 principles for restoring our freedom and prosperity. Each chapter boils down to ten principles the most important facts and ideas, giving you the ability to become a more effective spokesperson for pro-consumer, pro-liberty reforms. We’ve already distributed free copies to 34,000 elected officials and candidates for public office, but requests for additional copies are pouring in — and we want to meet demand.

With that in mind, we’re happy to offer free copies to BigGovernment readers, activists, candidates, bloggers and allies.

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Apologies for our technical difficulties — about 5,000 of you tried to download this podcast at once, and our server couldn’t handle it.

In today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by the one and only Michael Barone to discuss next week’s election. We’ll also touch on job losses from Obamacare.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment.com and Stephen Clouse and Associates. You can subscribe to the podcast by following the links above, and if you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

Congressional Report: Obamacare Costs America Nearly 800,000 Jobs
Michael Barone: The Trouble With Big, Bossy Government
Michael Barone: Our Country, The Shaping of America
Real Clear Politics Latest Election Polls

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In today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Francis Cianfrocca to discuss what America can learn from the austerity measures and big budget cuts in Europe, as well as discussion on the real unemployment rate and the Juan Williams NPR firing.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. You can find our iTunes feed at CoffeeandMarkets.com. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

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Early Voting Numbers in Texas
Hitler’s Nemesis Still Carries a Big Stick: Theodore Bromund
Shocking Video: 60 Minutes Admits Unemployment is Actually 17%, 22% in California
(more…)

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In today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Francis Cianfrocca to discuss the the latest Wall Street numbers, China’s move on precious metals, Obama’s economy and the role of public sector unions in the November elections.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. Our standalone site is at CoffeeandMarkets.com for easier browsing of our past broadcasts.

You can subscribe to the podcast by following the links above, and if you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

US Stocks Waver As Energy Sector Climbs, Telecom Falls
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Here’s What President Obama Said At Marissa Mayer’s House Last Night

When President Obama sold his health care plan to the American people, he did so based on the broad notion that government really can run your life better than you can, even when it comes to your own health care. He did this in spite of massive evidence to the contrary from all walks of life, confident that Washington bureaucracy knows best.

Yet even before the major portions of Obamacare have been put in place, government bureaucrats are already falling behind and failing to keep their legislative promises to us. A new report from the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, commissioned by Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and others, finds astounding proof of the total administrative failure in implementing Obamacare. Coburn, who last week introduced an innovative new legislative package to stop Medicare and Medicaid fraud, continues to take the lead in pointing out the administrative problems of this big government regime.

According to the report, HHS has already missed one-third of the deadlines contained within the legislation for the first six months under Obama’s law. Below the fold is a list of the seven missed deadlines. Additionally, there were four deadlines where CRS could not reach a conclusion based on their research — meaning even more could have been missed. And this is just at the six month mark — imagine where we’ll be by 2014!
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In this week’s edition of Coffee and Markets, featuring The New Ledger’s Francis Cianfrocca, we’re talking about the challenges facing Wall Street, a new survey of consumer sentiment, and Paul Krugman’s call for World War III to rescue us from economic disaster. We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment.com and Stephen Clouse and Associates.

We’d also like to let you know that we’ve set up a standalone site at CoffeeandMarkets.com for easier browsing of our past broadcasts.

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You can subscribe to the podcast by following the links above, and if you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

Related Links:

TNL: Castro’s Lie
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DC Examiner: Trapped in the Medicaid Ghetto

“We have a lot of Re-education to do,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said this week. And no wonder — once you’ve started with Rationing and Redistribution, it’s the third R of out-of-control government!

Sebelius claims senior citizens need the re-education the most, because they “have been a target of a lot of the misinformation.” Of course, what’s really happened is that Americans have learned more about Obama’s law, and what they’ve learned, they don’t like. The facts are now inescapable, for Sebelius and for the politicians who advocated for this measure — facts that detail the false nature of the case advanced by the president and his allies, and the true ramifications of this wrongheaded reform package foisted upon the American people. They’ve learned that they can’t keep their plan, even if they like it; they can’t count on lower costs; they can’t count on lower deficits; and they can count on more bureaucracy, more rationing, and more IRS involvement in your daily life.

Today, fewer than one-in-three Americans believe their family will be better off under ObamaCare. The same survey Nancy Pelosi touted last month as showing some positive views on the measure illustrates the movement. The Kaiser Family Foundation found that “support for health reform fell over the course of August, dipping from a 50 percent favorability rating in July to 43 percent, while 45 percent of the public reported unfavorable views.”

Americans have these views because of the litany of broken promises within Obamacare, detailed across thousands of websites, hundreds of reports and dozens of research papers released since its passage. They have these views not because they need to be taught a lesson by Kathleen Sebelius, but because they’ve noticed how the politicians and activists with all those big promises are awfully quiet now. They can’t even make the claim that the legislation will reduce costs or lower the deficit any more without getting laughed out of the room.

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During his presidential campaign, there were few subjects Barack Obama was more unequivocal about than transparency. He committed to bringing the sunlight, and bringing it hard — five days guaranteed for legislation posted online, debates held openly on C-SPAN, online access to all aspects of stimulus projects, and so on.

The news this week, of course, is an indication that these were all just words:

President Obama has abolished the position in his White House dedicated to transparency and shunted those duties into the portfolio of a partisan ex-lobbyist who is openly antagonistic to the notion of disclosure by government and politicians.

Handing Norm Eisen’s duties off to DNC lawyer and political hack Bob Bauer is just one of the more audacious aspects of this decision. So The New Ledger’s Brad Jackson and I sat down for a chat with Jim Lakely of the Heartland Institute about the nature of the transparency joke, the president’s technology policies, and the future of broadband and net neutrality.

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Listen and learn. You can subscribe to our podcast feed by following the links above, and if you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show (there’s a good bit of news at the end about jetpacks).

On this week’s Health Care News podcast, Avik Roy, one of the most insightful writers about health care policy today, took the time to discuss with me the White House’s decision to bypass the nomination process of the U.S. Senate to recess appoint Donald Berwick as head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Listen to it here:

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People have asked me this week why this recess appointment is such a bad thing. Well, this video clip shows why, in an honest expression of the anti-market views Berwick holds from the man himself. Here’s what he says:

“Please don’t put your faith in market forces. It’s a popular idea that Adam Smith’s invisible hand would do a better job of designing care than leaders with plans can. I do not agree. I find little evidence anywhere that market forces, bluntly used, that is, consumer choice among an array of products with competitors’ fighting it out, leads to the health care system you want and need.”

These two paths run in opposite directions: the path toward market based solutions, where people direct their own care with their doctors, making decisions for themselves, and the path toward bureaucracy based solutions, where unelected experts — “leaders with plans” — determine people’s care, making decisions for them. Berwick is clear about which path he believes America must follow.
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