Americanpolitics

Though you had little peace in this life, I know you are finally at peace now. You have joined your beloved bothers, mother, father and sisters in a long awaited family reunion and while you will be missed, here on earth, you served your time exceptionally and I, for one, appreciate all that you accomplished. In fact as a result of your leaving, I am worried about the future because there will never be another like you who was on the side of “right” when it comes to inclusion.

Edward Kennedy demonstrated, in life, the true meaning of existence here on earth. He believed in people and he worked tirelessly towards the goal of inclusion. A champion of civil rights, woman’s rights, the rights of individuals with disabilities, children’s rights. We all should take a page from his life and live according to the way he lived with the thought in mind that, we are all one.

Family was important to him and though his loses where unbearable on many levels, he did not let the manner he lost his two brothers deter him from the needs of the people. In this he had more dignity, showed more strength of character than I have ever witnessed in my life.

I tried not to watch any of the news coverage of his death because I knew the coverage would involve a time in his life that was hurtful for me, a time in life when America was on a killing spree that was violently devastating, a time that is seared in the recesses of my mind and is threatening to once again become a reality.

However, last night I ended up watching a special on CNN called “Teddy Kennedy, In His Own Words” and just as I knew I would, I cried my tears of pain and anger, I felt the strong disillusionment and frustration with the murders of his brothers as well as Martin Luther King. I went back in time and revisited a time period that was emotionally taxing on my spirit, to say the least.

A time that saw the assassinations of not one good man (John F. Kennedy), not two good men (Robert Kennedy) but three exceptional men (Martin Luther King Jr.) and though he was not part of the memory of the life of Teddy Kennedy, I remembered the life of a fourth good man (Malcolm X) who took a moment but arrived at the knowledge, in his own time after his pilgrimage to Mecca, that we are all one.

Riding that wave of violence that rolled over America in tsunami fashion, during the 60’s and 70’s, indelibly scared my soul for life and as I cried with the memory of those times gone by, I found renewed strength in the courage of Teddy Kennedy.

A man who lost so much, as a result of the irrational acts of others, ironically, lived long enough to fight for the rights of others. A man who could have easily become bitter, even revengeful, chose to dedicate his live, his energy, his lasting empathy to the betterment of mankind, without prejudice. He is a man that was larger than life; he was a man with spirit and soul.

He was also a man with goals and one of his goals was to ensure that every American, through “right” not “privilege” be covered with medical care when needed. As early as the 70’s he saw this as an important consideration. He gave so much to “we the people” in America. It would seem fitting to honor him in death with the realization of his dream for universal health care.

It would be fitting to learn from a man who demonstrated, by action, the true concept of life; it would be fitting to recognize the message he attempted to send by the legislation he pushed forward in his nearly half a century of devotion to “we the people.”

As I watched the programming last night and realized how close we are to repeating the negativity that scared his life and mines, I wondered if this was a divine message to us to recognize how far we had traveled and to remind us of the pitfalls we had stumbled into on the road to this point in time. I wondered if we are reflective enough to see that if the madness surrounding health care/insurance reform does not end, we are headed to an ugly place that we have once been.

There will never, in my life time be another Teddy Kennedy. There will never, in my life time be another Kennedy family, who gave so much to “we the people,” in fact too much, to America. My question is, what can “we the people,” give back to them. More importantly what can we give, as a lasting memory, to Edward Kennedy; not the violence that threatened to disrupt his life, not the hatred that he fought so hard against.

For once let not the selfish, irrational, hatefulness engulf us in a manner where history will repeat itself but let us, in memory of Teddy, come together in a mission that he worked towards, all the days of his life. Let health care/insurance reform be “In Memory of Edward (Teddy) Kennedy” a man of courage, dignity, empathy and a spirit that only “God” could have created.

And that’s the way I see it!!!

With all the trash that I read bloggers saying, trash based on lies and jealousy; blogs coming from people with obvious thought processing handicaps; blogs based on racism and name calling, I am glad someone has finally stood up and objected.

Model Liskula Cohen (seen in above picture) took objection to being called a “skank” and a “ho” by a blogger, Rosemary Port, who she had met through Manhattan’s fashion scene. Port’s blog, entitled “Skanks in NYC” called the hot, 37-year old model an “old hag” – was it jealousy that led to those words?

What ever the reason behind the words, Cohen decided to do something about the criticism and obtained a court order to force Google to reveal the identity of the blogger. The 29-year old Fashion Institute of Technology student, Rosemary Port feels betrayed by Google for outing her and has filed a $15 million federal lawsuit against Google for revealing her identity and “breaching its fiduciary duty to protect her expectation of anonymity.”

Port (seen in above picture) has said that as a result of being outed, people are now taking pot shots at her on the Web but says she believes those people have a right to their opinions and their anonymity. My question is why hide behind anonymity. That’s like talking behind someone’s back. If you feel what you are saying is relevant, and you cling to your right to say it, based on free speech, then why is it so important to hide who you are.

Where do you draw the line on free speech? Why does a court have to decide what is “right or wrong” when it comes to free speech? What happened to common sense, respect, truth, and what makes an individual think they can say what ever they choose to about another individual and expect to hide behind anonymity and privacy as they speak out against another and invade that person’s privacy with lies and name calling.

People are getting fired from their jobs for things said in blogs; Employers are searching social networking sites, in some instances, to get a better understanding of applicants by what they post on their sites and still people are clinging to the misconception that freedom of speech is all inclusive; that you can say whatever you want to say, but fail to recognize that in some cases there are consequences to what you choose to say.

In filing a court case, Cohen was not attempting to take away anyone’s free speech but defending her right to live in privacy; live in the absence of ridicule and lies being spread about her. Your free speech should not be allowed to encroach on my freedoms without consequences and in this case the consequences happened to be the rendering of Rosemary’s identity.

When I witness all the lies floating around concerning health care/insurance reform, the lies innuendoes and exaggerations put out about the President of the United States of America, the hateful words being used to describe his desire and, what appeared to be, the desire of the people for policy change, I cringe and ask myself how this is possible.

Real freedoms demand responsibility, common sense and freedom of speech should involve truth, respect as well as a basic understanding of the “power of words” which some bloggers refuse to consider as they spew their lies, innuendoes and negative conclusions based on lies, jealousy, racism, hate, manipulations, aggression and fears while hiding behind the anonymity of the web.

If you feel strongly enough to say it why hide behind “privacy or anonymity” – I’m glad Rosemary Port was outed!!!

And that’s the way I see it!!!

e.l.f. Step-by-step Instructional DVD

The war in Afghanistan worries me considerably - more than the war in Iraq. Not simply because of the fieriness of the Taliban/al-Qaeda but because of the history of the United States’ involvement in the ongoing chaos that seems to be inherent in those lands in the Middle East and in particular their past involvment with Afghanistan.

A Brief History Taken From Wikipedia

From December, 1979 to February, 1989 Russia and Afghanistan engaged in a war that has been referred to as the “Soviet’s Vietnam.” The Soviet Union was in support of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan and in opposition of the Islamist mujahideen resistance, however, the link between Afghanistan and Russia has a long history.

In 1885, The Panjdeh Incident, which was an encounter that occurred when Russian forces seized Afghan territory south of the Oxus River around an oasis at Panjdeh. Many Soviet Muslims in Central Asia, at one point, had tribal kinship relationships in both Iran and Afghanistan.

After the Soviet withdrawal, in 1989, Afghanistan continued to receive funding and arms from the Soviet Union until 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed. In 1992 a leading general of the Afghan government army switched sides to join allegiances to the Mujahideen and captured the city of Kabul. The Mujahideen and the Taliban grew strong.

In the mid-1980’s, the Afghan resistance movement, assisted by the United States, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, PRC and others, contributed to Moscow’s high military costs and strained international relations. The CIA provided assistance to anti-Soviet forces through the Pakistani intelligence services, in a program called Operation Cyclone.

A similar movement occurred in other Muslim countries, bringing contingents of so-called Afghan Arabs, foreign fighters who wished to wage jihad against the atheist communists. Among them was a young Saudi named Osama bin Laden, whose Arab group eventually evolved into al-Qaeda.

Lessons Learned Or Time For Retribution

Did the collapse of the Soviet Union have anything to do with the high cost of military expenditures in Afghanistan? If so, is that the plan the Taliban/al-Qaeda is attempting to initiate against the United States as we fight two wars against the hatred of the Taliban/al-Qaeda.

Is Russia, who has never really been on friendly terms with the United States and during Bush’s 8-year rule, became even less ingratiated with the United States, supplying the Taliban/al-Qaeda with enough explosives and arms to keep Afghan/Iraqi insurgents armed and dangerous?

According to Wikipedia, at one point the United States even supported the insurgents in the amount of $600 million in aid, per year, and during 1978, the United States began training insurgents and directing propaganda broadcasts into Afghanistan from Pakistan. Six months before the Soviet Invasion, in 1979, CIA aid to the insurgents within Afghanistan was approved.

With all of this happening, finally in 1988 and as the Soviet Union was preparing to pull out of Afghanistan after ten years of fighting with no real victory, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed, with over half of the people on this flight from the United States, in retaliation for the United States involvement in things that were happening in these Muslim/Islamic countries.

In view of the history between Russia and the United States in relationship to Afghanistan, can Russia truly be trusted. When Obama visited Russia earlier this year, one visual sticks in my mind as Obama and Putin were sitting on stage talking to the people of Russia, I looked at body language and felt Putin untrustworthy and now that I have briefly delved into the history I feel even more distrust.

Not to mention my recent conversations with a person I know from Russia in which I have received a basic understanding of the government and the way they do business against the people in Russia.

From what I have read and what I have discussed, I understand the Russian government to be corrupt, money hungry with a strong desire to control surrounding lands based on the dependency of those lands on Russia supplying them with natural resources needed to survive.

Yahoo News, this morning posted an article entitled “Russia’s Moves Raise Doubts About Obama’s Diplomatic ‘Reset’.” This article discusses the steps Russia is taking in defiance of the agreements discussed by Putin and Obama during Obama’s recent visit and ends with the following paragraph:

“The Russian leadership thinks that despite its rhetoric the U.S. is so heavily focused elsewhere that it is not really interested in the former Soviet Union,” says Dmitry Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, an independent think tank in Moscow. “The reset was done on the U.S. side; the Russians didn’t feel they had anything to correct.”

With those involved with evaluating the U.S. position in Afghanistan concurring that the mission is deteriorating there, are these words, coming out of Russia, sarcasm based on and referencing U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq?

Is Russia getting a private laugh on this U.S. involvement in these countries where Russia is supplying the ammunition to these countries, in an effort to distract the U.S. from Russia’s mission? It definitely gives my mind “food for thought” and quite frankly, I do not like what my mind is coming up with.

And that’s the way I see it!!!!

(Can We Climb Out Of This As Easily As We Climbed In?????)

Little Giant Ladder System Wheel Kit Accessory

How long before the realization dawns that killing Taliban/al-Qaeda does not decrease their numbers. How long before the realization dawns that any war against the Taliban/al-Qaeda strengthens their resolve to create chaos and take lives.

Just this past week, in one day, nearly 100 people were killed in Iraq where the “war is over” yet people are still dying on a daily basis at the hands of the insurgents who refuse to acknowledge the “end of the war.”

While I do not believe in war, any war, and have strong feelings about the war in Iraq as well as any war with the likes of the Taliban/al-Qaeda, I do love the courage and determination of our troops and would like to share with you the tribute done on MSNBC, “Honoring The Fallen.”

The recent election in Afghanistan, already plagued with allegations of fraud, is seen by the American government as hope, depending on the outcome of the vote, that it could stem the gains of the Taliban but is this simply grasping at straws in a country that seems inundated with Taliban.

Threats of violence against voters did serve the purpose of intimidation but not to the extent the Taliban had hoped for. Twenty-six Afghan civilians and security forces died in dozens of militant attacks and at least two people suffered injuries as their ink-stained fingers were cut off.

Can you truly expect to diminish the authority or the power of the Taliban by killing them off in groups, one by one or with something as simple as a vote for new leadership? Recently I had a conversation with a Russian associate of mines. He brought to my attention the fact that after 10 years of fighting in Afghanistan, his people came home without a victory and it would seem, by the shear will of the Taliban today, the insurgents just got stronger, wiser and deadlier, from these previous encounters.

A rising number of people, here in America, feel that the war in Afghanistan is not worth fighting with 36 percent who believe the U.S. is losing the war and 42 percent who believe the U.S. is winning, according to an article on MSNBC, but if we pull out now what are the chances that this will swell the heads of the Taliban and encourage them to commit another terrorist act on U.S. soil.

We are not only caught between a rock and a hard spot on the subject of health care/insurance reform, we are caught there regarding our fight against terrorism. If Iraq is any indication of the power of a vote, I would say that the election in Afghanistan will have no immediate or long term affect on the way things are done in Afghanistan and for anyone to believe different, they are lying to themselves, based on hope and frustration.

By year’s end, there will be a total of 68,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, population of a small city. This number does not serve to intimidate the Taliban but it would appear it only influences the determination to recruit more and more people and to become more violent towards the influx of American troops.

At what point do we approach this from a different perspective, at what point do you realize that brute force is not the answer. After realizing this, what would be a viable alternative to this brute force?

How do you effectively reach someone who has chaos, control and destruction as their only agenda? Who is giving support and weaponry to the mission of the Taliban/al-Qaeda and why is this support being given?

If Iraq is the model for victory in Afghanistan, I would say it is time to re-evaluate the mission because it is obvious after six years in Iraq, the madness continues and so shall it be in Afghanistan.

And that’s the way I see it!!!!

Serenity Orchids

A hero’s welcome or the guilt of a country. Was Abdel Basset Ali Al-Megrahi the “fall guy” for the Libyan Government? I vaguely remember this incident from when it happened but I was to into living my own life to be concerned with what was happening in another country – naive me thought it could not touch me if it were happening somewhere else.

I do recall that the blame game that ensued after the bombing resulted in several theories being tossed around in the initial stages of the investigation back then. This morning I decided to research what those theories involved.

At one point they had suspected that one of two female American college students had allowed her Arab boyfriend to talk them into carrying aboard the plane, unbeknown to them, packages that contained the 1 ½ pound bomb. Then the CIA had concluded, in fact they were “confident” that Iran was somehow involved in the desecration of Flight 103 but they had no sufficient evidence to seek an indictment.

Finally, 15 months after the bombing, Czechoslovak President Vaclav Havel admitted to supplying the Libyan government 1,000 tons of Semtex, the explosive that was in fact used to blow up Flight 103. However, during that time period, black market Semtex was being sold throughout the world to countries like, Syria, North Korea, Iran and Iraq to name just a few places Czechoslovak was selling the 100 tons per month, of Semtex, they were producing.

It would only take 200 grams of Semtex to blow up an aircraft; 1,000 tons would last an eternity and I can not help but to wonder, is Semtex a component of the enhanced road side bombs being used in Iraq and Afghanistan today. During the 80’s and 90’s these communist countries, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union, and Russia were experiencing a central fiscal crisis caused by the fact that more regions refused to remit tax revenues.

However, I digress, In November 1991, criminal charges were brought against two Libyan Intelligence Officers, Abdel Basset Ali Al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah, and the evidence supposedly, also suggested involvement by higher-level aides to leader Moammar Gadhafi.

After all the political games where played out, the initial refusal to turn the accused over to Britain or the United States, sanctions placed on Libya to attempt to force them to turn over the accused, negotiations as to where the trial would be held, sanctions ending with the agreement, by Libya, to turn the accused over to Scottish authorities, trial to be held in neutral Netherlands, to threats made by the FBI and other top Justice Department officials that the arrest of these two individuals did not mean that the investigation was over and that the United States would not rest until all those responsible were brought to justice.

After all the drama and accusations were played out, only Abdel Basset Ali Al-Megrahi was held accountable for the crimes perpetrated against the passengers of Flight 103. Lamen Khalifa Fhimah was acquitted. No other Libya government official was ever indicted and since being imprisoned, Gadhafi’s son says that the “terrorist’s” freedom was always “on the table” during trade talks between Britain and Libya.

For me, this whole thing speaks loudly that al-Megrahi was not the sole person responsible for this terrorist act but was instead the “fall guy” for the mission. While the family members of Flight 103 felt a level of closure with his conviction, those who were ultimately responsible were never prosecuted. With his release, a sense of relief has been experienced by those who knew that Megrahi was not alone in his crime, thus the hero’s welcome.

I may be wrong but That’s the way I see it!!!!

FTD Eternal Light Arrangement

Even Democrats are pushing back on the topic of public options, as the confusion and lies continue regarding what is best for the American public. Democratic Senator Kent Conrad, of North Dakota has publicly stated that the public option plan may not make it through Congress. He seems to think co-ops are a better alternative but he is not the only one, most Republicans feel this is a better option.

Yesterday, Obama took the opportunity to speak to religious leaders and reporters on the subject of health care. His mission was to ask those people to “spread the word and speak the truth” about health care/insurance reform.

To have to go to such extremes to attempt to dispel the lies that have been used to manipulate the people is a sad commentary of the use of free speech in this country. An estimated 140,000 people participated in the call organized by over 30 faith-based groups.

While many in the world believe that it is a core ethical and moral obligation to provide medical coverage for all of its people and have indeed set up the availability for their people, here in America medical coverage is motivated my money which overtime has turned into greed as medical cost and coverage have risen to a level that has become out of reach for many.

To have to stoop to lies in an effort to manipulate people for the purpose of keeping things as they are speaks volumes of the moral fabric and trustworthiness of those responsible for leaking untruths into the health care/insurance reform debate.

To attempt to introduce co-ops as a viable means of cutting health care expenditures is suspicious, at this point. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Seattle Washington as well as other communities in America have been operating under co-ops for years. Some participants in the Minnesota area have been members in the co-op there for 25 years.

The co-op in Minnesota, run entirely by a board of directors, says its primary goal is to make health care affordable and a key to that is to lowering administrative costs. Another focus is on solving health care issues for its members with a long term emphasis on preventative medicine. It all sounds good as long as you are young and healthy.

However, my question becomes, if I have a pre-existing medical problem how would I be viewed by the Board of Directors upon applying? What would motivate this co-op to accept my bid for membership if the reality of my medical problems, would constitute more expenditures for them? Would a physical be a standard requirement for the purpose of accepting a bid?

On a nationwide scale, with childhood illnesses such as Autism and related dysfunction that are lifetime dysfunctions, coupled with illness such as cancer, diabetes and the likes and a board of directors that would hold the authority to deny your membership, by nature of your specific illness, how would these co-ops even come close to the challenge of covering the uninsured or being compatible with the concept of covering people with pre-existing aliments.

The idea of co-ops feels like just another distraction. A bipartisan sponsorship of a health care/insurance reform bill feels like a non existent possibility. Republicans say this is what they want but actually what their actions show is that they will not be satisfied unless things are done solely the way they want them done.

To continue this debate and allow for more lies and distraction to infiltrate the process is ludicrous and exhausting. Co-ops have less of a potential to cover those with current medical issues, they have the power to refuse more people than they would accept based on life styles, pre-existing disorders or the way medical research is going, if you have a predisposition/family history/gene of certain illnesses you could be denied access. How does this help the cause of covering the masses?

Think about these things and recognized that the idea of co-ops is not as compatible to the over all goals of the current health care/insurance reform bill. Think about these things as you listen to the lies being spread about the supposed government “takeover” of health care as the lies about rationing, death squads, and the like are put out in an effort to distract you from making the right choices and confuse you into believing that what the Republicans can offer you is a much “wiser” choice.

And that’s the way I see it!!!!

Sparkle Dress

When will we learn the story of big business and how it eventually allows greed to become its main goal? Co-ops in medicine have a very real probability of becoming the next big business here in America, if Republicans have their way.

Co-ops in medical care would allow for individuals to bid on which medical coverage they want; allowing you to become “share holders” in the medical arena depending on which bids are accepted. This would also supposedly, allow you to share the cost of medical care with people across America.

All of the details of this are not clear since it is a work in progress, however it does not feel like such a great option because choosing a medical plan is complicated enough, sometimes, without adding another step of bidding. Plus, it would take time to implement this program. This does not allow for everyone to be covered it just gives you an option of coverage, IF your bid is acceptable.

We have seen it with the housing market, banks, car manufacturers, insurance companies, all taken to a level of greed that has damaged our economy to the level we are currently at, yet we have not learned from those mistakes and are seriously considering, following the Republican lead, and rallying around co-ops in medicine.

This option feels shady to me. At least with a “public option” more control can be maintained over expenses and more people could be covered, although this is also based on choice since the availability will be there at a savings of 10-20 percent cheaper than other policies. For a family of four that is not a really big savings but I guess some savings would be better than no savings. Public options could also eventually lead to single payer providers.

Although Obama attempted to point you in the direction of reality, by saying the public option was merely a sliver of the totality of the 11 hundred page proposed bill but was getting 90 percent of news coverage, those in opposition of the bill cite this as a make or break point to the legislation.

One of the aims of the bill is to cover those people who are currently not covered by medical insurance. The question you should be asking yourselves is; will co-ops serve this purpose in the best way?

Based on the process of co-ops, I would say no and furthermore, I would venture to say that over time it would have more of a possibility to increase cost of medical insurance as bids become more and more inflated, unless caps were put on the amounts to use as bids.

A second aim of the reform is to drive cost down. Co-ops are not proven, actually, to drive cost down, nor are public options so in the end you have to wonder why out of 11 hundred pages, this has become the big issue that it has become unless it is just being used by the opposition to create confusion and division.

Caught between a rock and a hard spot, with Republicans saying they will not pass the bill if a public option is in and Democrats, who support the bill, saying they will not pass a bill without a public options, it is time to move on to Plan B.

Plan B seems to be forgetting bipartisan participation and pushing the bill through with 51 votes instead of the 60 vote requirement, under normal circumstances. This could be a make or break plan of action to take by Obama and his Administration.

If the plan passes, goes into effect and is successful in the mission of reducing health care costs, providing health care to those who are not currently covered and runs smoothly, Obama wins and wins big and Republicans are left looking transparently stupid.

On the other hand, if these things do not happen, Obama ends up carrying the burden of a failed plan of action and Republicans, who are already too full of themselves, will get the opportunity to say, “I told you so” and gloat at the failure.

Whatever the decision, make it quick because all of this debate and division is not good for the people or the country and quite frankly, I’m tired and bored with the discussion that is going no where as I watch the lies build and the rage and fear increase.

And that’s the way I see it!!!!

Correction: “Bid” as in co-ops could mean a verbalized claim to a particular health care coverage not necessarily a “choice” in payment. This just dawned on me after I wrote this post so I will research just what “Bid” means in relationship to co-ops.

Spiderman Black Suit T-Shirt XXL

When Nancy Pelosi called those in opposition of the health care reform who were disrupting town hall meetings “un-American” people stood in judgment of her statement, among them Lou Dobbs (who is getting more and more questionable in my eyes) and Glenn Beck. However, the opposition is characterizing anyone who is in opposition of the proposed bill “real Americans” in an effort to draw another invisible line of division between the American public.

Let’s look at the difference in the meaning of those two descriptive words. To be un-American is to be against what works best for the whole of America. To be un-American means that you disrespect the laws, the Constitution, the well-being of the nation; to be un-American means you thrive on division, believe in superiority of one people over another, while disrespecting the rights of other Americans in an effort to manipulate the outcome of a situation based on your needs alone.

I would say Pelosi’s characterization of those involved in disrupting town hall meetings with angry shouts and sometimes violent, aggressive behaviors, while manipulating the concept of “free speech” to mean they are the only ones entitled to “free speech,” acted in ways that were very “un-American.”

On the other hand, the only “real American” are the Indians who lived in this land long before the white man came over, brutalized the Indian way of life and massacred their people. How ironic that the same white people who are speaking the loudest in opposition of the health care/health insurance legislation would use the words “real Americans” in their efforts to draw new lines of division in the sand.

The term “real American” is so divisive, so arrogant and so unrealistic, as to imply that anyone who is for the proposed legislations is not a “real American” even though the consensus among many of those opposed to the legislation is that there is a need for health care/insurance reform.

I’m beginning to wonder just how dense Americans are. How many town hall meetings have to be held, how much information has to be disseminated, before some people get a fundamental understanding of just what is in the bill. The bottom line is that those who oppose the bill will continue to oppose the bill regardless of the true information put out there because their agenda is personal.

Those who oppose the bill are motivated not by what is good for America, but are motivated by continued divisions, control and on some levels hate. Bottom line is you can not change the mind of someone intent on creating confusion and divisions and, as is being demonstrated more and more, when one basis of opposition is tackled another one appears with the same goal in mind, and none of the biases by the opposition are based on reality.

Rationing being one cry by those in opposition yet rationing happens in the current system. Rationing has been explained repeatedly, by doctors as well as by those who have experienced rationing in the current system, yet people who oppose the bill still cling to rationing, as a point of opposition.

Death squads, an extreme exaggeration of “end of life consultations” and since the inclusion of this voluntary consultation was being used as a distraction in an attempt to dissuade others from buying into the concept of the bill, this language was removed from the proposed bill.

Costs have been addressed repeatedly with Obama saying that two-thirds of the cost will be taken care of through savings allocated from the Pharmaceuticals, from savings achieved by cutting down on waste and abuse in current programs and that he would continue to seek out other ways, besides tax increases for those making less than $250 thousand per year.

Those in opposition have cited government involvement in health care is a dangerous thing, yet government is involved in health care already and some of those citing government involvement are currently using government provided health care services such as Medicare/Medicaid as well as some “free clinics” that get the majority of their funding from the government.

The opposition does not stop there however they have invented new reasons for the opposition; everything from, I like my current doctor and do not want to change doctors even though in reality when you are covered by employment, sometimes an insurance company is taken off the list of available choices you have through your employer and while in most cases you are able to still keep the same doctor, because your doctor accepts more than one type of insurance, sometimes this is currently not possible.

The loudest cry, at this time is, why rush into this reform, lets get it right. There is no time better than the present time to get this done. The need to get it done has been known for at least a decade, but because of “special interest” it keeps getting put on the back burner to be revived at a later date. The time is now!!!

Most industrialized nations have already initiated governmental health care. In most industrialized nations it seems to be working to the extent that every one is at least covered, life expectancy is somewhat higher in those nations and medical expenditures are greatly reduced, per individual, than here in America.

Opposition will continue to be out there, based on the lies they tell themselves, based on the agendas they have and being un-American. I, for one, am sick of hearing the debate, sick of the lies swirling around, that have no backing other than to confuse the issues and instill fear – nothing is going to change on that level.

Just get it done; the only real way to see if it is workable is to put it in action. My only request is that Obama read the bill in its entirety before he puts his signature on it because through it all Obama is the only one I have 95 percent trust in.

And that’s the way I see it!!!

Rum Soaked Sultanas

As the death tolls rises in both Afghanistan and Iraq, one has to wonder how effective the efforts to stop the madness, that seems to thrive in these areas due to the shear will of insurgents determined to keep the violence going, has been.

What is the real goal of the insurgents? Is it simply the desire to see the U.S. troops gone from their land? Do they want absolute control over the people in the region, too weary from previous poverty, corruption, control, violence and death to mount much resistance to the mission of hate and more violence the Taliban/al-Qaeda wishes to force upon the people?

In the after math of the election fiasco in Iran, the violence perpetrated on the innocent people who were jailed for protests in the streets are just now coming to light. Yesterday, I heard a description, on a radio talk show, of the torture some of these people endured as a result of protesting the election.

Over 4,000 people were eventually arrested. One witness spoke of the torture of a man who was beaten, his fingernails ripped out and he was repeatedly raped. The man ended up in a hospital, in a coma and eventually died as a result of his injuries. How is this allowable and why aren’t those responsible for this inhumane brutality punished.

What makes a human being subject another human being to such violent torture? Where has the conscious of mankind gone to allow this treatment to happen to anyone, for any reason? It seems that some people in the Middle East have crossed a line of brutality that they can not seem to, nor do they want to, come back from.

If this is the method of control that has been used in that area over the years I can almost sympathize with their absurd actions of suicide bombings. I would rather die in an instant, with a bomb strapped to my body than suffer the indignities I heard described by the witness of the torture of this man mentioned above.

Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, what is happening in that land. I watched a special on CNN, “Generation Islam.” This special told of the recruitment of young children by the Taliban/al-Qaeda to become suicide bombers. The bodies of the little people were rocking back and forth in prayer, singing a song about how their bodies would be in tiny pieces after a bombing.

This affected me. How can this be allowed? This behavior is beyond sick and yet it is happening in real life. When I think of those little kids being brainwashed and sent off to die and kill, it turns my stomach and breaks my heart. Why can’t these people be stopped? Why can’t this torture be stopped?

As contagious as hate is it seems to be spreading like a cancer through the body of the inflicted. Torture, brutality, bestiality, rape, murder all signs of a sick mind in a “normal society” yet becoming the norm in society.

This is a scary world we live in and unless something is done about the violence it will be spreading to a community near you. Terrorists come in many forms. Is this the way you want to live your life – in fear, under the threat of torture if you do not behave in the manner dictated?

When you allow one group to succeed in terrorist acts, others will follow, as a means to an end, as we are seeing in the world now. How long before the terrorists are in a position to control you.

And that’s the way I see it!!!!

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Logical, rational, thought processes would do a lot towards calming the irrational actions and words that have been thrown around at these recent town hall meetings. Although the people seem to want more specifics, the bill is not completed so specifics are unavailable just a verbal premise of what the bill should cover when the final legislations is brought in for a vote.

Rationally thinking, how can you give specifics on something that is still being debated and undergoing changes?

The news media and the general public latched on to the words from Obama’s mouth regarding AARP, they took it to mean that AARP was on board with Obama’s plan however, the plan is incomplete. AARP is “on board” with the concept of health care/health insurance reform and admits that they do see a need for a reform.

It seems as though you are missing the forest getting blinded by the trees (the forest being the larger picture of the need for health care/insurance reform, the trees being individual words)

Everyone knows that Obama has been in constant dialogue with AARP on the subject of health care/insurance reform. What Obama said was “AARP would not endorse a program that undercuts Medicare.”

In saying that, did he mean to imply that AARP was on board now or was this not so much a definitive claim of endorsement by AARP but rather a verbiage used to placate older Americans who are being led to believe the bill is out to “get” them.

Knowing that AARP would not back him if they were not, indeed, on board as he supposedly suggested, it seems to me this statement, verbalized in a very public place, was more a phrase to, logically thinking, placate.

Why would you think Obama is in constant dialogue with an organization that works exclusively with older Americans, to ensure they have quality benefits at reasonable rates, if his plan was to make older Americans leave this earth “before their time” by facing “death squads” or somehow undercut the coverage they are now being offered.

The majority of the people in Congress are “older Americans” or heading in the direction of being older Americans, why would they short change themselves out of life expectancy by creating a bill that would take away their right to live after a certain age? Rationally thinking, I can not see that happening.

If you erase the lies, by incorporating rational thought processes, you would see that some of the things being said about the health care/insurance reform do not make sense.

Another thing that is being hounded by the opposition is the cost of the program. In an effort to cut costs on Pharmaceuticals, Obama cut a deal with Pharma to reduce costs by $80 billion dollars. Instead of applauding this concession there are those who said he could have reduced the cost by double that amount and still others who condemn his actions as being somehow devious or less than “transparent.”

Generic versus Name brand drugs is a focal point of some in the medical fields; natural versus expensive pharmaceuticals is also an issue when it comes to medical costs. Therefore in order to bring down medical expenses, generic medications and natural cures should be delved into when deciding on how to bringing the cost of medical care down. Wouldn’t Pharma/Pharmaceutical companies be the organization to do the research on generic medication and wouldn’t it take funding to accomplish this research?

Over medicated Americans, using prescribed pharmaceuticals, which are proving to be gateway drugs to the more popular street drugs such as heroin and cocaine, are causing addictions to rise in communities that are the middle to upper-class populations. Natural remedies would seem less intrusive.

Logically, rationally speaking, if “we the people” are staunchly against raising taxes on the one hand, but vehemently against our children being burdened with the cost of setting things right, that we helped create (emissions, recession, health care/insurance reform) and Obama, trying to keep to his word of not increasing taxes to satisfy we, the selfish people, finds another way to reduce the cost of the health care/insurance reform, why do we sit in judgment.

The bottom line is that Americans are not being rational. They are showing that if they do not want to work with you, they will find any reason not to, even if it is not rational or logical because the result of division and uncooperativeness is the goal. Therefore, regardless of what you do or say to appease them, they have their walls up, their ears closed and they cling to whatever they need to in order to fight the cause.

Instead of protesting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq where American lives are being lost and billions of dollars going to reconstruction and alternative crops, we protest what everyone is telling us is something that needs to change in our country and that is health care/insurance reform – we must seem like idiots to other countries who have long ago set up similar means of health care for their people.

Instead of protesting the current state of the political games that have been and are being played, at the expense of “we the people,” we choose to protests something that allows for inclusiveness and wellness for all Americans.

While opposition insist on stating that the United States has the best medical available, some Americans are going to other locations such as India to get “better” care, even Farrah Fawcett in her battle with cancer left America in search of a better cure. When reality smacks you in the face, do not turn the other check to denial, the purpose of the smack is for recognition.

As is being demonstrated time and time again people listen to those who have an agenda of their own and cling to the propaganda, even when the lies have been shown to be lies they would rather cling to them, as is the case of the “birthers,” because if they accepted truth then they would have to “accept” the bearer of truth. Are these rational acts?

And that’s the way I see it!!!!

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