Americanpolitics

Photo courtesy of Yahoo News

While America never gives Obama the praise or support he is due on any level, he has no problem being consistently viewed in the positive by other countries. Washington’s ambassador to Beijing cited the fact that true to form, the news media in America, when discussing Obama’s trip to China, failed to take into account important progress on many issues.

Instead they criticized his visit as “not productive” and “failing to gain concessions on key issues such as Iran’s nuclear program, climate change and weak on human rights.” This according to a Yahoo News article I read yesterday morning.

On the other hand, in China, Obama’s trip was the top news story. According to surveys in China which suggests the views in China are primarily positive as it relates to successful communications and opinions of the American president. Citing the fact that “the visit yielded important progress on cooperation in areas such as clean energy, military-to-military exchanges and stopping the spread of nuclear weapons.”

While American’s criticized the “bow” Obama took, with Cheney even going so far as to say that American’s should not be bowing to any nation, China was viewing the President in a light of respect. Even though “good will” was earned by Obama’s visit through the eyes of China, those in America did what they do best when it comes to Obama and that is criticized, in an attempt to ostracize which goes to show how petty the American public is becoming in light of the election of the first black president.

And as if the criticism is not enough, Republicans are still playing their petty game as it relates to the health care/insurance reform debate. Saturday night I watched as the question as to whether the health care/insurance reform debate should continue on the floor of the Senate was voted on. To my knowledge, not one Republican voted to have this debate continued. It is not like the vote was to pass the bill the vote only determined whether the conversation would continue.

To add to the divisions the Republicans are striving for, the Catholic Church, through the voice of Bishop Thomas Tobin, is again attempting to show that they are the deciding voice of “who is worthy” in this life, in their attempt to take on the persona of God by passing judgments, by refusing Holy Communion to Patrick Kennedy for his support of abortion rights because of his “yes” vote on the health care/insurance reform legislation.

Photo courtesy of Yahoo News

From my reading of the Bible, there was a situation where Jesus was questioned about his breaking bread in the home of someone who was not a believer. Jesus’ answer, in essence, involved the truth that he was not here solely for those who believed but for those who did not believe.

If Jesus saw the potential in others, what makes this Catholic Bishop so intolerant of others - this does not seem “the Christian way” as far as my understanding of the Bible. What makes Bishop Tobin so righteous that he can pass judgment on another man? Who gives Tobin the right to judge another man’s soul? Furthermore, abortion, to my recollection, is not even mentioned in the Bible.

The more I listen to the lame excuses put forth by the Republican Party regarding this bill, the more I lose the little respect I had for them as a viable party to the government of the United States of America. The more they open their mouth, the more I see how unreasonable, irrational and petty they are.

The more they protest this bill with inaccuracies (that have been detected by others), lies, figures they pull out of the air for the purpose of distraction and deceiving, the more I am incline to believe this bill is just what the American public needs – this opinion based not on actually reading the bill just based entirely on the irrational actions of the Republican Party.

What is it the Republicans hope to accomplish with the division they are attempting to create? Who do Republicans impress by the criticism and lies, the refusal to work in a productive manner, as a unified team with Democrats, when it comes to health care/insurance reform? What is their real goal?

Whatever the goal is, it is obvious it does not have the best interest of the people at heart and the more they play these childish games, the more I question their sanity, their rationality, their service to “we the people.”

And that’s the way I see it!!!

Photo courtesy of New York Times

Father Henry Willenborg, the blood father of Nathan Halbach who was conceived while Father Henry was a practicing priest. Nathan, a twenty something year old young man who is dying of brain cancer, who has had little contact with his “righteous” priest father during his entire life as the church sought to keep this indiscretion a secret and pay off the mother of Nathan in the guise of child support payments in exchange for a pledge of silence regarding the identity of Nathan’s true father.

Pedophiles, gay couplings, illegitimate births, molestation of under-aged children both boys and girls, accusations made, cover-ups, lies, deceit, payoffs, law suits and protection of the guilty – all have been acts the Catholic church, its priest and administrators have been guilty of yet, they are taking a strong stand against the health care/insurance reform as it relates to abortions.

After Representative Patrick Kennedy, of America’s favorite family Kennedy’s, questioned the stance the Church was taking against health care/insurance reform, as it relates to abortion, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin fired back in a radio interview stating that “If you freely choose to be a catholic, it means you believe certain things, you do certain things. If you cannot do all of that in conscience, then you should perhaps feel free to go somewhere else.”

Where was Bishop Tobin, during all of the perversions that were taking place with his priest and all of the cover-ups that followed? Why is it that those priests were not excommunicated from the Church or at the very least relieved of their duties as priests?

While abortion is a personal choice, a woman’s choice and an individual loss of an embryo that has yet developed into a thinking, feeling person, the crimes against impressionable, sometimes vulnerable, thinking, feeling people and in too many cases children, committed by “holy men” is a far bigger crime with lasting consequences that affects a lifetime of living.

For those of you, who think religion and politics are two separate entities, think again. Religion has always been part of politics and will continue to be a driving force in decision making as the Bishop calls upon the Catholic majority in the Senate to ban abortion in the health care/insurance reform legislation currently on the table.

The hypocrisy of the Catholic church is enough to make me recognize them for who they truly are – controlling dictators who feel they are exempt from the very Word they preach. In their arrogance they feel they can not only provide absolution, a gift only God can provide, but they feel empowered to judge as only God can judge.

It seems to me, that they have forgotten that they are merely messengers of the Word. On no level do they themselves meet the high standards of God yet, they feel powerful enough to dictate and demand higher standards from those who follow them. Jesus taught through example, the best way to teach, yet the example taught by the Catholic Church is “do as I say and not as I do, for I am the ‘father.’”

Even God does not attempt to take away free will, choice, so who gives the Catholic Church, the Senate, the Congress or any other human being this power that they consistently attempt to wield against others. In life, ultimately, I have but one father and that is the father up above.

The man responsible for my earthly presence was my dad, daddy, papa but my father is someone totally different and as the King James version of the Bible I read states “call no man father but he that is the creator” (not a direct quote but close enough to the true meaning) and I have therefore always questioned the Catholics for using that term to address its priest as I now question their righteous attitudes towards abortion in light of their condoning the scandalous sins of their priest.

And that’s the way I see it!!!!

The SurfShelf - Treadmill Laptop Holder and Shelf

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia

Based on a law from 1976, federal funds are restricted from being used for abortions, except in cases of rape; incest; or to ensure the life of the mother. However, earlier this year Democratic leaders allowed a provision that would give permission to people to use subsidies to buy insurance that cover abortion but implied that only funds from individuals or employer paid health care premiums could go towards paying for the abortion.

Subsequently, a large portion of Democrats are now against this wording because it puts responsibility on insurance companies to determine what is private money and what is government money, a simple task that could be performed by computer programming or data entry.

There is so much hypocrisy involved in the debates against the health care/insurance reform that it reeks of legislative obstruction based on nothing more than political posturing and support of the insurance industry, who in turn supports politicians.

First it was the cost of the health care reform, but in the same breath, politicians are willing to spend billions of dollars, which over time turn into trillions, on wars you have no possibility at “winning” even stooping to paying low level Taliban, the so called enemy, to switch sides and fight with you.

Second it was the “public option” where politicians kept the lie going that no one wanted the public option because no one wanted government involvement in health care decisions citing, as the main reason the fact that health care is a private decision between patient and doctor only. Yet, Republicans endorse a bill that would extend Medicare/Medicaid, a government run heath care/insurance mechanism, to millions of additional Americans.

Now if, as they so vehemently attempt to persuade the American public, government has no place in the decisions made between doctor and patient why is it now, a concern of theirs whether abortions are covered in the so called “public option” provision.

Abortion is a very private matter. It is a freedom of choice for a woman that has been interfered with for as long as I have been in the world and longer. The pursuit of abortion has lead to death, sterilization, pain and suffering for many who have had to seek abortion through black market, unscrupulous providers and abortions will continue to take place regardless of who pays for them.

However, the real bottom line is if I am forced, through mandate, to partake in medical coverage through insurance, paying my hard earned money, even if a portion of this mandated coverage is subsidized by the same government that forced me to become covered and on the one hand you resent government involvement but on the other hand you deny my right to abortion, which is a private decision made between my doctor and me, how hypocritical is that.

According to an article I read this morning on MSNBC News, even a majority of house Democrats are concerned that provisions in the health care legislation now on the table could lead to public funding of abortion. With Republicans opposing the bill based on the public option and the Democrats opposing the wording regarding abortions, the derailment of the bill seems to be a reality that sparks on both sides of the isle for different reasons.

It appears that while Democrats are smiling in your face in an effort to get you to believe they are on your side, they are secretly working just as hard as Republicans to keep the insurance companies making money off “we the people” by the obstruction of the passage of this legislation.

Abortions are going to happen regardless of how they are paid for. I could walk into a doctor’s office and lie about being raped or choose a doctor who is willing to do abortions. I could also find a person who, from past knowledge of the process, use the unsanitary method of a coat hanger to abort my baby or any other method they are using these days – you can not stop me if that is my goal, even if I have to pay for it myself so what is the point of the debate and what are you really preventing, nothing but the passage of the legislation.

And that’s the way I see it!!!!

BJYK 12 inch Human Hair Weave (This whole health care debate is as phony as a weave but like a weave - it looks good)

The parallel universe of everyday life and politics has me wondering who is most crazy, me or the politicians.

I’m just saying, based on the desires of the politicians, we are spending billions of dollars annually supporting other countries (which over time equals trillions), yet they bitch and moan about supplying the people of America with reasonable costs for something as basic as health care on the basis of the expense.

Let the politicians tell it, we where successful in our efforts in Iraq when we paid low level Taliban to switch sides and fight on our side against the Taliban. Yet, people are still dying, car bombs and suicide bombs are still going off in areas that are “protected” by security check-points that allow bomb carrying individuals to enter guarded areas. This is a clear indication that these vehicles and people are not being adequately checked before entering any given area – what’s the point of having the check-points.

More to the point, who are the people charged with the responsibility of searches at these check-points? Could it be the same people who where paid to “be on our side” in the battle against the Taliban?

Leaving the war in the Middle East behind, as we should be doing in reality, and looking at health care/insurance reform, the parallel universe becomes even more obvious. Over and over again Republicans are saying “no” to government’s “involvement” in health care yet, their suggestion to the problem is to expand the government program of Medicare/Medicaid as a means of covering those individuals without medical coverage.

Also included in their plan was a stipulation that would make it mandatory for you, the citizen, to be covered. In some instances subsidies would be provided, by the “government,” to help cover the cost of the insurance coverage you choose.

All this “government involvement,” in covering the cost of insuring those who are uninsured, while choosing co-ops as an alternative to public options, none of which lends to the idea of lowering the basic costs of insurance but, instead puts the government on the accounts receivable ledgers of insurance companies.

Now Republicans and some Democrats, as well, who are all politicians are saying these things with a straight face and possibly a straight lie, that the public option that is on the table would give government too much control over your medical experience while they, themselves, attempt to use government money to pay the expensive premiums to the insurance companies.

On the other hand, the public option, to my understanding, allows the government to negotiate lower premiums with certain insurance companies, thereby setting up a competitive edge in the insurance business. This, according to my understanding would be the only involvement the government would have in the public option.

Even though at this point, I am unclear how they would negotiate these lower premiums or why those against the public option have the idea that this involves a “government takeover” of insurance companies, I say at face value the public option has more ability at achieving the goal of coverage and competition.

I do have to ask would the negotiations sacrifice services for lower prices or would the lower prices come as a result of group coverage alone, as is the case with most coverage coming from job situations at this time? My impressions are that this is not the case, that services would not be compromised however this is the case being made by those opposing the public option.

I feel as though what the Republicans are offering is the insurance version of the old bait and switch con game. I feel they show more love to foreigners than they do to their own people, who they were hired to protect and serve. I feel they are intentionally confusing the issues with only their best interests at heart. I feel “we the people” are being duped with a word game played by politicians that think they are smarter than us.

And that’s the way I see it!!!!

WebWatcher Computer Monitoring Software

Recently a poll was set up on Facebook “Should Obama be killed?” was the question. In the short time that it was posted, over 750 participants answered this question. Whether they all confirmed or denied the death of the president is anybody’s guess since once Facebook realized the poll was up, they took it down.

My point to this is to reaffirm what I have previously mentioned in other posts – that the attitudes being displayed during town hall meetings and tea parties would eventually escalate and provide the atmosphere of madness that would be conducive to murder.

I have lived through the murder of a president before. It had a profound affect on me and the way I view politics in America. Truth be told, as a result of the turbulent times I was raised in, the narrow minded views of politicians in that time, the resistance to change during that time, the hate, racism, irrational attitudes and the murder of four good men during that time I lost all interest in politics.

Now, all these years later, the climate is ripe for a repeat of the negativity that pushed four people over the edge to feel justified in taking the life of another human being. When will the madness stop, lessons be learned and the violence viewed for what it is – shear insanity.

Over the past few weeks, I have fought a losing battle to stop watching the news. I could not understand why the first thing I did when I got home from work was to turn on the news to see what had happened in the world while I was not watching. As angry as the news had begun to make me, I just could not stop watching. I realized that my obsession is based purely on expectations.

I expect the political climate to become worse as issues arise for the President. I expect those who are against the President to continue to circulate lies that create misunderstanding and hate. I expect the media to emphasize the madness as opposed to emphasizing the support of the President.

I expect to witness the increased hatred for the President via the news coverage and I expect to one day rush home, turn on the news and hear that an attempt has been made on the life of the President. My hope is that it is only an attempt and that the climate that is brewing does not allow for the actual death of the President.

We, as a nation, sit in constant criticism of the political make-up of other countries yet what we are displaying to other countries is an ignorant display of hostility, maliciousness, corruption, hysteria, lies, divisions, hate and stupidity.

You speak of the legitimacy of the President in Iran, Afghanistan yet according to the voices that are being heard most frequently here in America, the legitimacy of our President is in question – never mind the fact that these allegations have been proven false in the case of President Obama.

While the number of death threats continues to rise, against a legitimate President of the United States of America, Congress continues to cloud the issues of health care/insurance reform and even though word is getting out just how much money those involved in the decision making regarding health care/insurance reform, are being paid by the insurance/medical industry, the debate continues and the momentum increases to deny “government intervention” in the health care reform.

General McCrystal, in what I feel is an attempt to undermine the President, let his need for more troops “leak” out as he verbally petitions for more men in Afghanistan. This shines a negative light on the President as people like McCain endorse the concept of more men in Afghanistan, creating more division on crucial issues faced by President Obama.

Even the coverage of the story of Derrion Albert takes on a new meaning when I witness the glee I have seen at the fact that Obama went to Copenhagen to bid on the 2016 Olympics and lost that bid for Chicago to host the Olympics in 2016. There have been 36 other deaths of children in Chicago; was the timing of Derrion’s death conducive to showing the violence in Chicago as a means of undermining the Presidents bid? If so this is a sick and demented display of fake sympathy and, I for one, am appalled at even the thought of the ugliness.

Truth is as I witness the things going on in American politics I am beginning to question every action. The games are out there setting the stage for dissention and divisions, brewing anger and hate with the hope, I would say, that someone takes the President out before any change can be instituted and although many would deny this reality, the truth is in the denial of why there is such an intensity to the division, on every subject, in the first place.

Verbal denial serves no purpose because actions tell the real story and the story America is writing is filled with hate, disrespect, violence and lies – recognize!!!

And that’s the way I see it!!!

Abraham Lincoln : A New Birth Of Freedom

There is so much beauty in the world, be it manmade like the above picture or natural like the sight of a sunrise, isn’t it time to enjoy the beauty and forget the war. Vietnam should have been a major lesson learned for America, yet 40 years later we are in another war, in a foreign country with the same prospect of “losing” this war.

What is the “main objective” of the war in Afghanistan? Is our arrogance the only thing holding us to a war that has been going on for eight years without even coming close to the objective of catching Osama bin Laden – if that is the objective?

Billions of dollars, thousands of lives later and what have we accomplished. Even General Stanley McChrystal, after his recent evaluation of the war in Afghanistan, has said the situation is deteriorating but says we can win this if we change directions.

What would be considered a “win” and what will eventually be the cost in lives and dollars? Each month the death toll reaches a new level. What this says to me is that the more troops we send over there the more lives we lose.

The Taliban seems to be getting stronger even though, at one point, there was a running tally of how many of the Taliban had been killed. Yet, we have not put a dent in their numbers or hampered their aggression.

Arrogance, conceit, egotism, superiority, pride, overconfidence, self-importance, are these the only things keeping us fighting a war that has no real benefit other than the fact that if we walk away now, the greatest military in the world, these adjectives will take a hit. Have we convinced ourselves that pride is more important than human lives?

Are we so blinded by our arrogance, our egos, our view of America and Americans self-importance in the world that we fail to recognize that we have been here before and what costs where incurred then, in Vietnam?

There are, at the present time, 62,000 American troops in Afghanistan. Sometime later this month it is expected that General McChrystal will ask for between 21,000 and 45,000 more troops to assist in the “new direction” of the war. What kind of new direction would require more troops armed and ready to fight and die unless the war was going to continue as is – a war, a battle, lost lives, more aggression?

Wouldn’t defense spending be better served protecting America on American soil? Wouldn’t defense spending be cut drastically, with the availability of more money going to “Intelligence” if we were not attempting to assert our arrogance in a country that is divided, on the whole as well as within each individual, on what they really feel about America’s intervention?

What exactly has Intelligence, Homeland Security and the likes been able to garner regarding plots to attack America on American soil and is this not the best defense against future terrorist attacks?

While we spend billions of dollars on a war that just does not seem to be serving a purpose nor drawing to an end after eight years of engagement, here at home we have people who are unemployed, people including children, with no medical coverage, people living below the poverty level and those who live on the streets.

Schools in disarray as programs, for the betterment of our children, discontinued because of budget cuts, police officers and firefighters getting laid off. My question becomes what are the priorities of the American people and how do we best serve the needs of the people.

While it is ok to send our kids off to die in lands far from home, it is not ok to provide medical coverage for every individual and child in America. While it is ok to show indignation over the release of the Lockerbie bomber as he lies dying in a hospital bed, it is not ok to stop the terroristic acts of war in another country – the same level of terroristic acts that created people like the Lockerbie bomber, the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

I don’t know, for me there is something definitely wrong with this picture, as well as our collective priorities. I strongly believe that war is not the answer – when you change minds, you change hearts. When hearts are changed, more is accomplished – the key is in finding ways to change the minds. Neither brute force nor legislation has proved a means to this end of changing minds, so where do we go from here.

And that’s the way I see it!!!!!

Eight of the bailed out banks are beginning to repay their obligations to the tune of $4 billion in profits to the U.S. government according to a report in the New York Times on Sunday.

That brings the total from $700 billion to $696 billion. Although there is still a long way to go, progress is being made even from the smaller banks, which, in addition to the $4 billion collected from the larger banks, $35 million has been collected from the smaller banks.

This is a hopeful sign that at least some of the money the government invested will eventually see its way back to the rightful owners. Will this revelation have a positive impact on the prospect of health care/insurance reform? Hardly!!

Republican Senator Michael Enzi, which echoes the sentiment of many opponents to the reform, has said that the Democratic proposal will restrict medical choices and affect the country’s finances. Like many who oppose the legislation, he is harping on the “possibility” that the bill will increase deficits and the national debt. A bi-partisan agreement will never happen with this proposed legislation.

As news of the contributions made by pharmaceutical, health care and health insurance industries to the Democratic Blue Dog Coalition to the tune of over half a million dollars, I can better understand why they have been successful in delaying the vote on health care overhaul proposals. Will this delay eventually cause the push for health care/insurance reform to buckle and fail?

Obviously, the cause of the Blue Dogs’ decision was encouraged by the donations received from the health care organizations contributions. These revelations of contributions received by the Blue Dogs is, according to a watchdog organization called the Center for Public Integrity, were more than contributions to other congressional political action committees during the same period. Thus making their effective delay a conflict of interest as far as I can see.

There is so much “self-interest” in the “debate” over health care/insurance reform that I believe the only way to pass this legislation is by an enactment by the President himself. Bi-partisanship will never happen because the desire is not there and not for the reasons given by those who oppose the legislation but because of the shear money involved that is greasing the palms of those who are in the position of passing the legislation – hypocrisy and greed at its best.

Even Canadians are beginning to scoff at the rhetoric of Americans regarding health care as the lies increase and the violence is displayed for the world to see.

While there are pros and cons regarding the health care system in Canada, the fact is that treatment is available for all. Although tweaking of the system could be made, there are other countries with universal health care that are more effective – American could take a page from the most successful and write its own book.

The point being that a plan needs to be decided here in America which could be tweaked at a later date but instead of considering this concept, the “debate” goes on. When will the debate end and the concept be put into motion? I say the time is now!!

And that’s the way I see it!!!!

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!!!

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.

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