I Choose to See the Glass as Half-Full on Health Care

Hello Papamoka Bloggers! It's been a roller-coaster of a week trying to ride the ups and downs related to the health care debate in Washington and across the country right now. To be really honest, the reason it took me so long to post this week was due to extreme conflict within my own mind about how to react to events. I don't like to blog unless I feel well-informed and comfortable about an issue, and this one has pushed me to the limit.

First of all, I would like to say that I think the Republicans and a few bought-and-paid-for "conservative" Democrats are doing a great job lying about the health care debate. Like the president says, they are out there sewing fear hoping to terrorize the electorate. They are using every opportunity to skew the debate, distracting people from the real legislation.

It's sad to say that their tactics are working somewhat, since most of the national polls are showing a decline in support for the health care initiative overall, however, it's interesting to note that when the polls actually tell people what's in the primary legislation, the overwhelming majority of Americans favor it. It's also important to point out that most of the polls are misleading, manipulative and unworthy of reporting.

I don't wish to get into the nitty-gritty of the debate in this post seeing that I want to talk more about why we need to stay focused, but suffice it to say that after talking to a few Washington insiders this week I feel better about the delay and most of the legislation being debated in the House and Senate.

The bill forged by Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) led by Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Ted Kennedy (D-MA) are very positive. Their work along with a few other Senate committees provide some kind of public option and clean-up most of what is wrong with the health care system in America. Hopefully the Senators will be able to find common ground during their August break.

We should be highly skeptical about the legislation coming out of Senate Finance led by Baucus (D-MT) and Grassley (R-IA) pushing for eliminating employee health benefits in favor of ineffective health cooperatives, but the good news from what I hear is they do not have the support of the majority of Democrats in the Senate.

I also hear they've earned a bit of a bad rep lately. The other Senators fully realize just how much health care industry money has been pumped into that committee, so much so that it's been embarrassing for many in the Senate. FYI, after working up there, Senators do keep an eye on their colleagues and donations - often looking for motive before a vote. They don't always like it when committees sellout to overzealous industry profiteers.

Donations from lobbyists work best when the amounts donated to each politician remain secret. When the process takes time and legal reporting leads to open accounting (past legislation thanks to Democrats), it can create conflicts between officials. There are signs it is beginning to happen in relation to the Senate Finance Committee, as some Washington insiders report many are tiring of Baucus and his industry friends.

There is also the fact that most of the committee chairs and co-chairs receiving the bulk of the money represent less than 3% of all Americans - a fact that sticks-in-the-craw of many elected officials.

The other side of this debate is - of course - the Republican lies. They are bigger and better than ever. Again, despite the August delay, I'm hearing good news from my friends in Washington. There are signs the Republicans may have gone too far once again. They may have "jumped the shark" in their opposition to health care. Many are reporting that their latest lies - the elimination of Medicare, loss of personal health care choices, and forced living wills and early death - may be one step too far to say the least.

It doesn't matter if Hannity, Limbaugh and others repeat the lies ad nausea, as long as they can easily be disproved. In the end, the lies themselves can ruin the credibility of the opposition.

The polls show that when Americans learn about the primary legislation, they support it. The bulk of the legislation goes far enough to solve most of our health care problems. The special interest groups have been spending millions on ads and the polls haven't changed that much. Most important, the president and others are willing to sacrifice their valuable political capital (something most politicians won't do) to get a bill. If the legislators spend August learning about the options and informing their constituents, then we may just have a chance to change the system come Fall.

To me, the glass is half-full. To me, the signs are pointing in the right direction.

It's easy to get discouraged these days when it comes to Washington, politicians, corporate greed and especially all the Republican lies. It's harder to actually do the heavy lifting, oppose the "ends justify the means" crowd" and fight the good fight. That's what we need our politicians to do. We need them to stay focused, and to ignore the ignorant rants of the uninformed. We need them to follow the president's lead, stay strong, and pass real health care reform for the majority of Americans who support it.

PS - Please consider contacting your elected representatives often to remind them we support real health care reform with a strong and effective public option.

Michael Boh

Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Republicans are the Used Car Dealers of American Politics

Hello Papamoka Bloggers! I will admit the time will come when the Republicans become acceptable to the majority of Americans again, but I'm hoping - and praying - that time will be far into the future.

Why? The most important reasons are probably trust and past performance. They do not deserve our trust after discovering so many ill-gotten gains and broken promises, and their poor past performance proves they adhere to principles and policies that are clearly detrimental to the American middle-class.

What may shock most of you is that I may vote for them someday again, just like many of you, if I see them return to their roots and dedicate themselves to help ALL Americans, including average middle-class Americans. I do believe in a two-party system, however, I'm not holding my breath.

That is not the case today. Without a doubt, despite their rural, earthy American "red state" support, they are the party that represents the top percentile, or the richest and least vulnerable in our society. Until that changes, I will continue to fight them, going so far as to believe they are the party that lies to, and cons, average Americans into voting against their own best interests.

Why am I talking about the subject now. It's because of all the Republican hubris that has been polluting the airwaves lately. The minority opposition has been out there swinging at everything and anything that comes into its path. They seem to thrive on being the angry opposition. It's obvious to most observers they love it.

Anybody who listened to Dick Cheney's speech this morning could tell he loved criticizing without having to support any of his darkest points with real evidence. He proposed nothing new. It was more of his-way-or-the-highway crap! Thanks, you're so helpful DICK!

What I'm saying is that there are healthy and unhealthy forms of opposition, and I think today's GOP specializes in the unhealthy. Their passions seem almost narcissistic, unproductive, and misplaced. They seem to like screaming into the wind, whether we're there to listen or not.

The GOP can say we were the same as the opposition all they want, but it's not true. I remember Democrats making valid arguments against most of Bush's policies, and it turned out we were right. Our opposition was credible, unlike the discredited, GOP broken record of today.

There is no doubt in my mind that their lack of compromise, stick-to-their guns while fighting for outdated solutions approach, gets in the way of making real progress on real issues.

They are more and more vocal about opposing everything that President Obama and the Democrats are trying to fix/achieve than anytime I can remember. They are ignoring the people, the mood, the trends away from the dark side, and the past poor performance of their own record. The whole thing is amazing to watch. It's also very sad.

Notable examples this past week involved people like RNC Chairman Michael Steele talking about it being the end of "Republicans apologizing" for mistakes of the past. Well, I don't know about you, but I don't ever recall them apologizing for anything. A matter of fact, I'm pretty sure they ALL pretty much claim their past performance to be successful, despite all the facts to the contrary. It's crazy, but overall it's true.

The idea they apologized for anything is both shocking and downright deceitful. In the end, it's simply another example of GOP message manipulation that has little basis in fact.

Other examples involve that fat-cat of Republicanism, the least "humane" human being on the planet, Rush "that lying sack of crap" Limbaugh. He has been out there daily dishing-up all kinds of lies in his usual gross attempt to manipulate the masses. He's like the proverbial demon in the wilderness, working hard to tempt the innocent into making bad choices. For him today, it's all about socialism, socialism, and more socialism.

He talks non-stop about longing for the good-old times when Republicans were in charge, the economy was good, and America was safer. His deceit is only surpassed by his lack of morals. He's right up there with Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld as a GOP poster-boy of illegal war, torture, corporate greed, anti-middle-class values, and anti-American policies and principles.

His "ditto-heads" can believe whatever the hell they want, but the the truth - the facts - speak for themselves. The man's an anti-American PIG!

The other cocky culprits of today's GOP involve the vast and equally out-of-touch right-wing-media and blogosphere - featuring FOX "News" and other "conservative" networks - who have been spewing propaganda in an attempt to undermine Democratic efforts to solve real problems for weeks/months now.

Most of their so-called alternative ideas/proposals - most that I took seriously and studied - have been nothing but propagandistic, rehashed versions of their old, discredited crap. Their sole purpose is to create the illusion of new ideas. Trust me, after careful review, it's repackaged BS! They remain deaf and dumb about the need for new approaches.

You know it's bad when that pinnacle of bi-partisanship, President Obama, begins to say - out loud - that Republicans can't seem to move beyond their own discredited, outdated, broken principles and policies of the past. The bottom-line is he's trying to find/create new solutions to big problems, and they're not.

There can be only one reasonable explanation as to why they are so stubborn about admitting past mistakes and looking at new alternatives. It is because they are BOUGHT-AND-PAID-FOR by special interests, corporations, and other forces that have no desire to help the American people - or even the American nation. It's obvious to me. What about you?

I'm not naive, I know there are bad apples in our Democratic community (especially the Senate), but for all intents and purposes today's GOP today is a compromised political movement/party. They are the used-car-dealers-of-American-politics, trying to get us to buy old, refurbished junk. They do not represent the best interests of the American people or nation. They cannot be trusted, and unless they begin to demonstrate real change, they should not be considered an equal voice in either government or the court of public opinion.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Layoff in America

My brother sent this one to me in an email. I wish I knew who the original author was but its a great picture.

AIG Splurges… AGAIN!

AIG is begging the government for another $40 billion and yet they are out partying it up and still splurging like thier corporation has a bottomless checking account. While most companies in the same position as AIG would be cutting spending, reducing staff, and basically gutting the corporate budget, AIG executives are having the time of their lives. Over at ABC News they have this to say about the latest AIG spendathon…

Another AIG Resort "Junket": Top Execs Caught on Tape

KNXV Discovers $343,000 Secret Gathering, AIG Signs and Logos Hidden

By BRIAN ROSS and JOSEPH RHEE
November 10, 2008

Even as the company was pleading the federal government for another $40 billion dollars in loans, AIG sent top executives to a secret gathering at a luxury resort in Phoenix last week.

Brian Ross investigates the insurance giant's "seminar" at a posh resort.

Reporters for abc15.com (KNXV) caught the AIG executives on hidden cameras poolside and leaving the spa at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort, despite apparent efforts by the company to disguise its involvement.

"AIG made significant efforts to disguise the conference, making sure there were no AIG logos or signs anywhere on the property," KNXV reported.

A hotel employee told KNXV reporter Josh Bernstein, "We can't even say the word [AIG]." - ABC News

It takes some audacity to beg for cash with one hand and pass out hundred dollar bills with the other. We covered the first smack in the face to taxpayers back on October 8th. That little party cost AIG almost $500,000 at a posh hotel in Monarch Beach California.

You can check out the confrontational video from the reporters on this issue with the top executives here.

Papamoka

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Gas Profits Not High Enough for Exxon

You see it in the papers and news reports all the time that the price of gas at the pump is market driven but that is not the complete truth. All of the good old boys on Wall Street and in the boardrooms of big oil companies would prefer to have you believe that that factoid is the truth. If you believe that the price of gas and oil is market driven then you need to check into your local UFO outpatient clinic. Health insurance is not required.

Traveling the streets of your city and town and you see the prices at the pump proudly posted in big numbers at the curb where neighboring stations are almost always a penny difference per gallon in pricing. That would be simple competition at its basic form. Now travel five miles down the street where you just might see the same name brand gas station but the prices are higher or lower? Did the super tanker trailer truck from the same corporation come from a different distribution facility? Chances are that the same tanker truck delivered the exact same gasoline to both of the gas stations on the same day. Zipping over to the Washington Post you can see what Exxon thinks and how they treat their franchisees.

Peeved at Prices? Don't Blame the Dealer
Awash in Profit, Exxon Fights for Pennies While Raising the Rent

By Steven Mufson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 25, 2008; Page A01

Now, however, Rezazadeh says she cannot stay in business. Credit-card fees are eating her profit margins. Exxon, which owns the station land, last week handed Rezazadeh a new lease raising her rent about 30 percent over the next three years. She stuck a copy on the window of her station to show customers who are angry about soaring pump prices. Rezazadeh has told Exxon that she cannot make money with the rent that high. Her territory manager's reply, she said, was simple: When you go, leave us the keys. - Washington Post

One of the things I found interesting in this article is the manipulative factor that Exxon has built into its franchise agreement. Every facet of the business is dictated by the Big Oil company down to the exact location as to where you the consumer will grab your favorite candy bar from. That’s no different than being the owner of a Big Burger franchise. But the Big Burger franchise do not have different prices from neighborhood to neighborhood for the same burger and fries do they?

Then there is the mega corporation making ten billion in profits per quarter that manipulates it franchise owners to such a point that supposedly only an eight penny margin is allowed by the Exxon station owner. The only ones making a sizable and excess profit on gasoline at the pump is Exxon. That still isn’t enough cash flowing into Exxon so the stations where they own the land Exxon is allegedly pushing the rental or lease fees up thirty percent simply because they can. That would be similar to those old comedy skits starring Lilly Tomlin as a phone operator where she snorts at the customers complaint and simply states “We are the phone company sir, we can do whatever we want!”

One of the only assumptions you can get out of reading the article is that Exxon sees a bigger piece of the greed pie down at the local franchise level and is slowly pricing them out of business. When one station owner is told by the Exxon district manager to leave the keys for them when they are forced out of business then the writing and business plan is on the wall. Ten billion in profit is not enough for Exxon and they want more!

Pay attention Congress! It’s starting to look like the Exxon Mobil merger was a huge mistake and the all powerful corporation born of that merger has started to eat its young to get even fatter. Time to break out Teddy Roosevelt’s big stick and break up the mother ship.

Papamoka

Syndicated to Bring It ON! and To the Center

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