Barack Obama grew the federal bureaucracy a bit more recently by creating a new agency within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to monitor global warming. According to a press release, this new bureaucracy will provide information to individuals and decision makers as we are “witnessing the impacts of climate change … including sea-level rise … earlier snowmelt and extended ice-free seasons in our waters.”

That’s just what we need – more liberal bureaucrats paid with your tax dollars to justify more Big Government liberal policies like cap and trade energy taxes. Of course, yesterday’s planned press conference at the National Press Club to promote the new agency had to be cancelled because of the snow storm that shut down Washington, D.C. for the past two days.

And so much for that snowmelt. As Washington continues digging out, we’re bracing for another 10 to 20 inches of snow tonight and tomorrow. I guess Al Gore came out of hiding, saw his shadow and guaranteed us six more weeks of winter! With each falling flake, Al’s global warming theory looks flakier and flakier.

By the way, cap and trade is not working as planned in Europe. But some are trying desperately to resuscitate it in the U.S. Senate, despite the many obituaries written lately for this massive energy tax.

We’ve all heard of death bed conversions, but a leading liberal luminary has been caught on tape making a death panel confession. Sarah Palin got pilloried for suggesting that government-run healthcare would lead to “death panels.” But in a 2007 speech at the University of California at Berkeley, former Clinton Labor Secretary and Obama economics advisor Robert B. Reich essentially admitted that Palin was right.

Reich began his address by telling the audience that he was going to deliver a speech about healthcare as if he were an honest candidate who “did not care about becoming president.” Reich continued, “In other words, this is what the truth is…” Are you sitting down for this? Here’s an excerpt:

“…particularly you young healthy people…you’re going to have to pay more. …And by the way, … if you’re very old, we’re not going to give you all that technology and all those drugs for the last couple of years of your life… It’s too expensive…so we’re going to let you die.

“Also, I’m going to use the bargaining leverage of the federal government … to force drug companies and insurance companies and medical suppliers to reduce their costs. What that means, less innovation and that means less [sic] new products and less [sic] new drugs on the market which means you are probably not going to live much longer than your parents.”
So, let’s summarize the kind of healthcare program that Robert Reich wants: “you’re going to have to pay more,” “if you’re very old … we’re going to let you die” and “less innovation … means you are probably not going to live much longer.”

That’s pretty shocking stuff. The media just couldn’t believe it when Sarah Palin suggested that government-run, socialized healthcare would lead to “we’re going to let you die” death panels. But that’s exactly what Reich said, and you can listen to him say it here.

To the bean counting bureaucrats, your life is a burden, not a blessing. So Big Government is going to dictate what healthcare you can and cannot receive. Need critical surgery? Maybe not. Suffering from serious pain? Sorry. Need cancer treatment? Too bad. How could anyone possibly call that “reform”? Sadly, many politicians do.