Bernie Sanders is the ONE!

I chose this picture of Bernie Sanders because of the masses of people that show up for him and his message for a better America.  One million online contributors have donated to his campaign.  Bernie Sanders does not want or ever need to have a Super PAC.  We the people are his Super PAC.  We the people are the political revolution.  If you care to find out who Bernie Sanders is then you need to Google what his positions are on any issue.  He has voted consistently for the same issues he backs today for his run for President of the United States of America for decades.  He doesn't flip and flop because it polls better to be for or against anything.  Little known fact, Bernie does not pay for polling from his campaign.  It would not change his mind so why spend the money to ask? 

I am an online news junkie and for the life of me I can not see how the main stream media is not picking up on the fact that Bernie Sanders is beating the hell out of Hillary Clinton across the country?  Hillary shows up in Boston and a few folks show up.  Bernie Sanders shows up and the facility can not hold the 32,000 people that want to see him speak.  This is not the first time this has happened.  Seattle maxed out capacity, LA maxed out capacity, and the list goes on.  Everywhere Bernie Sanders wants to speak they have to upgrade capacity sites and still make room for people that can not fit into the facility.  If I were the person with the job of booking Bernie after the first debate, I would be looking at huge football stadiums and asking the recently tax free NFL to support democracy for free.  Cause this is America, the land of the free (bernie sanders is against citizens united decisions by the the supreme court that allows billionaires to buy elections).

Anywho, back to Bernie Sanders.  People put this label on him that he is a Socialist.  Wake up!  Teddy Roosevelt, a Republican, was a Socialist!  He broke up the big lobbies that controlled everything.  (bernie wants to break up the too big to fail banks and wall street firms) Teddy even protected land by starting the National Parks program. (bernie knows that global warming is proven by SCIENCE and we need to confront it now as a nation)

Then we have FDR that served four terms because America was broken and broke from the Great Depression.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt tried every idea that came across his desk to get America back on its feet.  The New Deal was a work in progress.  He put people to work building bridges, building damns, building our infrastructure that we all take for granted today (bernie sanders is proposing creating 13 million jobs to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure).  FDR created the first safety net called Social (socialist) Security to take care of our elderly that at the time were shuttered off to poor farms or cast into the street if they had no family to care for them.  That would be the check our retired friends and family get every month to support themselves after paying into a system that is OUTSIDE the federal government budget (bernie sanders wants to expand social security not repeal it).  Then FDR created the GI Bill for all of those that returned from WWII.  One of the most successful programs in history where 5.6 million veterans went to school or got other training to become part of the boom in future years (bernie sanders will pay for his college for all for free is by putting a tax on speculation on wall street.  we bailed them all out, time for pay back).

We can't fail to mention Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, the man that created the boom of the 50's by building our highway system that started right here in Saint Charles, MO.  Then went on to expand Social Security to people that are disabled (bernie sanders wants to expand social security and medicare and not cut it). 

Fast forward to LBJ creating Medicare.  July 30th, 1965.  Holy crap, socialism hit America again.  If you are poor and elderly, this is your medical plan.  Medicare is one of the most efficient healthcare plans in the world today.  You may get away with double or triple billing an insurance company but Medicare with fine your ass for being incompetent.  Fast forward to Obama and he creates the Affordable Care Act that our friends on the right like to call Obama Care.  It is an amazing plan that despite all the doom and gloom opponents has actually dropped the rising costs of healthcare insurance.  17 million people have been added since it inception and the writing of this post.  If more states signed up for expanding Medicare then the number would triple or more of new people paying into the market (bernie sanders wants a Medicare for all system that is paid for)(everything bernie sanders proposes is paid for)

Last but not least, Bernie Sanders has been in the forefront for veterans and fighting to get them the benefits they all deserve for all of his political career.  Most of those bills were killed by the GOP controlled congress because they are such Hawks but do not care about the people coming back home that need care.  Send you to war and forget you after they put the flag down to accept a check from the companies that profited from you service to America.


Rock ON Bernie Sanders!  Loving what you are saying and backing you 100%. You are picking up the momentum and pulling the centrist people on the right like Morning Joe your way as well.  (you don't have any hidden email accounts I hope???).

Papamoka

PS.

For all you young college kids and high school kids that want a future that is better than what your parents had, scream at the top of your lungs who you support!  Vote for Bernie Sanders.  Make your generation the one that made a difference.  Show up at every event in massive numbers.  Bernie can not do this alone.  He needs your voice now and he will need you voice once he is President.  He can't do it alone.  Be a part of the political revolution!

Alison Lundergan Grimes (D)

When most people think of Kentucky they think of the beautiful countryside.  A state rich in natural wonders and proud people.  Good people.  I tend to think of Kentucky as the battleground for national politics and Mitch McConnell.  One man in this country that has controlled the agenda against the president and America for five long years with one simple answer.  NO!  Mitch McConnell has to go and so does his NO against American progress.  Let us put a spy glass over how Mitch voted on issues that effect everyone.

No to unemployment extensions.
No to job plans.
No to anything to do with women rights.
No to environment issues.

No to veterans with disabilities.
No to healthcare for all.
No to equal pay for equal work for women.
No to  immigration reform.
No to keeping the government open.
No to anything that comes out of the White House.

What did Mitch McConnell vote yes on?


Yes to end AFCA (Obama Care) for the billionth time.
Yes to cutting Social Security and Medicare.
Yes to cutting food stamps for the poor.  Even if 1 in 5 in KY need it.
Yes to blocking Wall Street reform.
Yes to corporations are people too.
Yes to extending tax cuts for the mega rich.


Mitch McConnell's idea of government is not about governing.  It is his way or the highway.  He might have learned that under George W but that is not reality  Mitch probably said no to infrastructure repair for his self centered agenda because it was on the president's agenda of things that he swore to never let the president do.  When your Chevy or Ford falls from a bridge in Kentucky, or California, or New York, or Miami, or Boston, or wherever you are in America you can thank Mitch for saying no to fixing our nations infrastructure.     

Our nation needs to ditch the Mitch and elect Alison Lundergan Grimes to Mitch McConnell's seat in the senate.  There is one thing we American's always do, we see a wrong and we make it right.  Mitch has millionaires backing him while you have unemployment extensions in limbo or thankful for a job that just pays the minimum bills.  Mitch has to be ditched.  VOTE HIM OUT.

I live in Missouri, but Mitch McConnell is an American problem which makes him all of our problem and needs to be out of office.  How do we little folks do this?  We take five bucks and mail it or send it to his political opponent Alison Lundergan Grimes.  She's a Democrat that will not be taking checks from people that will destroy the way of life in Kentucky or the rest of America.  She has their back and our back and I sent my five bucks.  Why did I do that?  I love my country with the same reason that Thomas Jefferson did.  We can fix it by voting out the bad apples.  The tree of liberty doesn't always have to fed with the blood of patriots.  Sometimes all it needs is a vote to oust the bad blood.

Donate here if you can afford a few bucks...  http://alisonforkentucky.com/


From the roots can only come new growth.  We must be united to send Mitch home.  Nationwide we have the power to send him home by having Alison Londergan Grime's back.  She's the new growth in the garden of plants that need weeding.  That is how democracy works.

We all need a government that is not bought and paid for by special interests.  Your donation, no matter how small can out do the millions Mitch McConnell will get from his paid for friends that control his vote on any topic.  Nationwide, we can ditch the Mitch if we all work together.  Rock on Alison!  Got your back.

Papamoka

Grayson Embraces KISS Theory for Healthcare

Having worked in quality control for most of my adult life I am a very large supporter of the KISS theory. Keep It Simple Stupid is the entire theory. Basically, anyone should be able to follow the directions you give them if you keep the instructions as simple as possible and if you can't do that then you are stupid.

Congressman Alan Grayson of Florida has embraced the KISS theory, wrapped it up lovingly in the public option, and delivered it to the House of Representatives to deal with healthcare for all Americans once and for all. An opt in if you will plan. Not 1600 or 2200 pages long as most political hacks on the hill would like to propose for health care as they stuff it full to overflowing with pork; Grayson’s proposal is four (the number 4) simple pages long and you can read it for yourself. CLICK HERE

My quick summation is that it allows Medicare access for all citizens and permanent residents. It provides an age bracket for determining premiums. The brackets are: under 19, 19 to 25, 26 to 35, 36 to 45, 46 to 55, and 56 to 64. Beyond that, the existing Medicare age categories apply.

Video Link of Representative Grayson submitting the bill...


Or you can read it in its entirety as it was proposed by Congressman Grayson for yourself seeing that this is a CUT and PASTE HERE:

.....................................................................
(Original Signature of Member)
111TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION H. R. ll
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for an option
for any citizen or permanent resident of the United States to buy
into Medicare.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Mr. GRAYSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on llllllllllllll
A BILL
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide
for an option for any citizen or permanent resident of
the United States to buy into Medicare.
1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Option Act’’
5 or the ‘‘Medicare You Can Buy Into Act’’.
VerDate Nov 24 2008 01:09 Mar 09, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\TEMP\GRAYSO_059.XML HOLCPC
March 9, 2010 (1:09 a.m.)
F:\M11\GRAYSO\GRAYSO_059.XML
f:\VHLC\030910\030910.001.xml (461322|4)
2
1 SEC. 2. UNIVERSAL MEDICARE BUY-IN OPTION. (a) IN GEN2
ERAL.—Part A of title XVIII of the Social Security
3 Act is amended—
4 (1) in section 1818(a), by striking ‘‘or 1818A’’
5 and inserting ‘‘, 1818A, or 1818B’’; and
6 (2) by inserting after section 1818A the fol7
lowing new section:
8 ‘‘UNIVERSAL BUY-IN
9 ‘‘SEC. 1818B.
10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(a) Every individual who—
11 ‘‘(1) is a resident of the United States;
12 ‘‘(2) is either (A) a citizen or national of the
13 United States, or (B) an alien lawfully admitted for
14 permanent residence; and
15 ‘‘(3) is not otherwise entitled to benefits under
16 this part or eligible to enroll under this part;
17 shall be eligible to enroll in the insurance program estab18
lished by this part. An individual may enroll under this
19 section only in such manner and form as may be pre20
scribed in regulations, and only during an enrollment pe21
riod prescribed in or under this section.
22 ‘‘(b) ENROLLMENT; COVERAGE.—The Secretary shall
23 establish enrollment periods and coverage under this sec24
tion consistent with the principles for establishment of en25
rollment periods and coverage for individuals under sec26
tion 1818, except that no entitlement to benefits under
VerDate Nov 24 2008 01:09 Mar 09, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\TEMP\GRAYSO_059.XML HOLCPC
March 9, 2010 (1:09 a.m.)
F:\M11\GRAYSO\GRAYSO_059.XML
f:\VHLC\030910\030910.001.xml (461322|4)
3
1 this part shall be effective before the first day of the first
2 calendar year beginning after the date of the enactment
3 of this Act.
4 ‘‘(c) PREMIUMS.—
5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of sub6
sections (d)(1), (d)(2), and (d)(3) of section 1818
7 insofar as they apply to premiums (including collec8
tion of premiums) shall apply to premiums and col9
lection of premiums under this section, except
10 that—
11 ‘‘(A) paragraphs (4) and (5) of section
12 1818 shall not be applicable; and
13 ‘‘(B) the estimate of the monthly actuarial
14 rate under section 1818(d) shall be computed
15 and applied under this paragraph based upon
16 costs incurred for individuals within each age
17 cohort specified in paragraph (2) rather than
18 for all individuals age 65 and older.
19 ‘‘(2) AGE COHORTS.—The age cohorts specified
20 in this paragraph are as follows:
21 ‘‘(A) Individuals under 19 years of age.
22 ‘‘(B) Individuals at least 19 years of age
23 but not more than 25 years of age.
24 ‘‘(C) Individuals at least 26 years of age
25 and not more than 35 years of age.
VerDate Nov 24 2008 01:09 Mar 09, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\TEMP\GRAYSO_059.XML HOLCPC
March 9, 2010 (1:09 a.m.)
F:\M11\GRAYSO\GRAYSO_059.XML
f:\VHLC\030910\030910.001.xml (461322|4)
4
1 ‘‘(D) Individuals at least 36 years of age
2 and not more than 45 years of age.
3 ‘‘(E) Individuals at least 46 years of age
4 and not more than 55 years of age.
5 ‘‘(F) Individuals at least 56 years of age
6 and not more than 64 years of age.
7 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT.—An individual enrolled under this
8 part pursuant to this section shall not be treated as en9
rolled under this part (or any other part of this title) for
10 purposes of obtaining medical assistance for medicare
11 cost-sharing or otherwise under title XIX.’’.

In the nutshell it’s the KISS theory that will put both political parties’ politicians to the test if they can comprehend how to KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID. If Nancy Peolosi, the Speaker of the House, can't understand the KISS theory or principal then she needs to pass the gavel to Alan Grayson and he will run the hill like it should be run.

Papamoka

Related posts:
Grayson Kicks Big Business Butt
Alan Grayson in Floridas 8th

Political Weakness in the Masses

Back in 2008 we had an election that changed the face of American politics by not just voting in a Democrat President but an African American President for the first time in our nations history. It is part of the dream of Martin Luther King, Lyndon Johnson, Robert Kennedy, Teddy Kennedy, and his brother and President John F. Kennedy. And now that the vote is done, President Obama is in service to his people and he needs our voices more now than ever.

Sometimes I wonder if God were actually looking down on what is going on in America today and can truly favor this nation of so many for much longer. Jesus Christ, his only son, came to us to heal the sick, nurture the poor, and comfort those less fortunate. And when our nations leader and President proposes healthcare for all and he is lambasted as the Anti-Christ according to all right wing pundits?

Video Link


I’m sure that Ann Culter would call me a Liberal fanatic, ungodly, juvenile, heathen bastard. I will simply turn the other cheek and wonder to myself where the hell she got that Adams apple? But I am not making millions of dollars off of exaggerated books to spin hype up so high that one neighbor would consider torching another’s house.

There is a difference between talking politics and simply spreading hate of your fellow Americans. It’s something I’m thankful to have learned over the last few years. You can’t love America if you don’t love American’s. We all come from all over and we just need to figure out how to deal with that. The melting pot of America is boiling and we all need to turn the heat down just a bit.

We are all still American’s to the core, the spirit, and to the end. Now more than ever the people need to speek up for what is right, just, and what you voted for.

Papamoka

Remember the Name Dawn Smith

Dawn Smith is a vibrant young woman that has a brain tumor. She also has healthcare from CIGNA that she pays for. And that is the dilemma and problem with our healthcare system. CIGNA takes her premium payments but when the cost of her healthcare is to high, CIGNA just says “NO”! Then they more than double her premiums and nobody can stop them from just saying “NO”! Or can we? My thanks to MoveOn.ORG for sending me this email and video…

Video Link



The whole debate about healthcare isn’t about giving away the treasury of the country but holding companies like CIGNA to the fire when they fail to fulfill the obligation they accepted when they cash people like Dawn Smith’s healthcare premium check. In Dawn Smith's case, the check cleared and she drove off the lot with a lemon when it comes to her healthcare provider.

Feel free to go to MoveON.ORG and sign the petition that is forwarding your comments to the CEO of CIGNA. Then by all means feel free to contact your Congressional member to demand the system get fixed. Without the public option then all insurance companies can chuck the bird at everyone paying a premium for healthcare. Regulation of the insurance industry alone will not fix the system. Competition is the only way and if it comes from the government, all the better.

I wonder how much of a salary the CEO of CIGNA, H. Edward Hanway took over the last few years that was based on how aggressive his company was towards NOT paying out benefits for major illnesses. Better yet, how much in bonuses did he receive over the last few years that were funded by letting people like Dawn Smith fade away in the complaint department or just up and die? Brain tumor, how long could she keep complaining. Las Vegas odds would be with CIGNA on keeping the bulk of her premiums. Stamps are cheaper than an MRI or CAT scan last time I checked.

H. Edward Hanway gets the Papamoka Fundamental Unjust Corrupt Kevorkian Utopian Proffesional award this week. I’ll have to think of an abbreviation or acronym for it. Feel free to send suggestions in the comments.

Papamoka

Will Farrell on Healthcare for all

Video Link

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

Donate today to save your insurance company executive!

Papamoka

Mary Magdalene Health Care

When Harry Truman was President he was beside himself thinking that he was so despised by the people he served. History proved the people of the time wrong. It took a few decades for another President, George W. Bush to suffer the same circumstances. As much as I personally disagreed with W, I can’t say what history will tell us what he couldn’t or wouldn’t tell the American people. Tricky Dicky part II is doing his best to let the bird out of the bag but the former President is silent and that speaks volumes. It’s easy to speak from the bleachers as a Vice President when it wasn’t your signature on the orders written as the President. Thirty, forty, or even fifty years from now nobody will know who the hell Dick Cheney even was. Rightfully, I think so.

Test for you political afficianados that read these posts, who was President Gerald Fords Vice President? Don’t cheat! No Google searching allowed for this honest question. Think about it? Do you know who it was?

The country is in the middle of a serious debate when it comes to our healthcare system and rightfully so. Both sides agree that our healthcare system more or less sucks. Businesses can’t keep up with the spiraling out of control costs, workers and employees can’t afford to share more of the cost either. We need to fix it and we need to fix it now. One thing is certain is that there has to be a showdown at Big Sky and we have to fix the problem now!

Video Link

(I highly suggest listening to the song while reading the post.)



President Obama may lose some popularity trying to get healthcare for all passed but he ran on and promised the American people that voted him into office that he would fix the healthcare problem. You can’t care for a person with brain cancer by dropping off an apple pie as a neighbor. Or even offering to help out with the laundry or helping out with household chores while a mother cares for a child with Leukemia. It's a nice gesture but it does not pay for the care that a loved one needs to survive or live through a very much curable disease or condition. If the insurance isn’t there to cover your particular illness, you will not get the care you need.

God loved his only son so much that he let him die for our sins and here we are arguing over what is due to Caesar 2009 years later because we forget the words of Jesus Christ. We live in the richest and most powerful land in the entire world and yet we don’t give a rats ass about our own peoples basic healthcare needs. And yet we spend hundreds of billions to care, feed, defend, even shelter people thousands of miles from our own shores. Can we look in our own back yard for just a minute? Can we care for Americans first and then share some of the bounty?

The show down is coming in the Congress and it is up to the people that voted for this President to speak up loud and clear. It is up to the business owners that know full well that they can’t or will not be able to offer health insurance even five years from now if it is growing at 20% per year to their employees to speak up. This isn’t a Democrat or Republican issue, it is a simple American issue. Employers can’t afford to offer the benefit if the cost of health insurance doubles every four or five years. That is the common sense of this entire issue. Small businesses just starting out need the public option just to survive. People working at minimum wage need the public option. Single mothers with dead beat fathers need the public option. Divorced wives with husbands in mid life crisis need the public option. Unemployed and forgotten heroes families from past wars need the public option. And yes the Mary Magdalene’s of this nation need the public option to get off the drug addiction that drives them to their only source of income to feed their addiction. This is unforgivable that this nation is even arguing about healthcare for all when we have so much that has been granted and blessed on us. Some people call America a Christian nation but if it comes time to put your money where your mouth is then the churches empty. Jesus would cry or should cry that his sacrafice was for not. I guess the Bible is only good for Sunday services. Monday through Saturday are discretionary as to how the money changers will work best to your personal advantage.

We need to get our act together America or the next declined healthcare need may just be yours. Don’t worry about the Congressional politicians declaring doom and gloom, they have healthcare for life just because they were elected. Even if they serve just one term. Fully paid, no deductibles and free prescriptions. Speaking from the congressional pulpit is easy if the issue will never have any effect on your life.

“Lepers in our midst need not fear care of the body in this life but your soul may just be lost if you ignore the care of your brother or sister.” That isn’t a bible quote, just my thoughts and my personal belief.

Papamoka

Friday Night Music 9-04-2009

One thing in my life is certain, my baby girls will always love their daddy and I will always love them. When you really get down to basics, all Americans really love America and always will. I’m seriously troubled by the mass media exploiting the worst of both sides of the political aisle when it comes to every legislative or political discussion. Fox News is just as guilty as MSNBC with lighting the torches and passing out the pitch forks to the masses.

I’m not going to say one side is better than the other in this post but I find some of the media tactics pretty disgusting. One side of the political spectrum is raising the worst of the base so the other side retaliates, then it gets spun into hyperbole that has nothing to do with the original issue. Pick an issue, it doesn’t matter anymore. Our nation has become a media generated revolution waiting for first blood to be spilled.

Can we stop in the name of love for America. I hope we all at the least have that in common.

Video Link



It isn’t so hard to listen, think, and come to the middle of the discussion without beating the life out of your political opponent when it comes to any issue that is an American problem that needs to be solved. We are all better than what we see and hear as the real debate.

Papamoka

Are Republican’s Goose Cooked on Healthcare

Now that Democrats are willing to go it alone without the help from their respected colleagues from the Republican Party in the house and senate it is not a surprise to see the minority political party begging for a super majority on any healthcare legislation. Translation, they can’t stop the progress of the current congress no matter how many antics they pull against healthcare reform. I personally think that some of the elected officials on the right are bought and paid for by the people that donated so much to their campaigns over the years of public service. But we need to redefine public service in their cases as servants to the folks that wrote the mega checks.

For the purpose of explaining Calvin Ball in the link below, that is from the now defunct Calvin and Hobbes cartoon strip where Calvin made up all the rules and they changed every time he played the game to please himself and win the game. Something the political right is trying to do now with the current debate on health care reform. Matthew Yglesias has a great piece on this game of legislative Calvin chess over at Think Progress…

Republicans Calling for Super-Supermajority for Health Care

In order to become law, a health care bill needs to secure a majority on the House Ways & Means Committee and also the House Energy & Commerce Committee and also the House Education & Labor Committee and, of course, the full United States House of Representatives. It also needs a majority on the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Health Education Labor & Pensions Committee. And, of course, it needs a majority in the full United States Senate. Then thanks to the calvinball rules we’ve been playing with for the past 25 years, it actually needs a sixty vote supermajority to pass then Senate. After that, it would be subjected to presidential veto.

That’s a number of legislative hurdles that goes far beyond anything else found in major democracies. Naturally, key Republican Senators have decided that what’s needed is more calvinball. - Think Progress

There is just one thing that all politics comes down to and that is money. Political donations come into political campaigns from every cause imaginable and some of those donations just might influence a candidate, a congressman, a senator, or even a president. The insurance and pharmaceutical industry has their butt cheeks puckering in fear over this health care debate and their check books are wide open to defeat any healthcare reform. Money is no object to throw up in opposition to common sense when it comes to the billions in profits they see every single year.

This debate isn’t entirely about gutting health care as much as it is about tossing the Robber Baron’s out of health care. If competition is the basis of capitalism then the health insurer providers should be able to compete with the government with a public option. Everyone on the political right side of this debate claims that the government is bloated with fat and bureaucracy, which in turn makes one think that the government couldn’t even come close to competing with a private insurer and that nullifies their argument against a public option.

Or we could just do nothing and let the CEO’s of every private health insurance company buy another yacht, another vacation home, or just jet off to some distant land where they will be out of ear shot to hear the screams of millions of Americans without any health care plan other than the emergency room. And for the record, because you didn’t check the box where your mom or dad died from some form of cancer, the procedures you need now to save your life are no longer covered by your HMO. Deal with it!

Papamoka

Health Care Debate Violence

It doesn’t surprise me that this simple discussion about healthcare for all Americans has become violence prone. All sides of the debate are getting pissed, miffed, angry, and riotous and it makes no sense. Is it not fair to say that the argument on the right is being fed misinformation from organizations that just don’t want healthcare for everyone? There isn’t a Republican I know that would walk away from someone that was injured or bleeding on the street. Same goes for any Democrat, Green, or Independent that I know. Democrats are not being told the whole truth either given the White House’s recent backing off of a deal with the pharmaceutical companies that would have negotiated prescription drug pricing for people on Medicare.

I find it stupefying when you see people estimate healthcare for all Americans at one trillion dollars but leave out the fact that that is a Washington budgetary term that is in fact spread out over ten years. So the discussion should move to what can be cut in the federal budget to pay for health care for everyone? Can we cut tax subsidies for oil companies that are basically having a freebie on oil leases on public land and seas? Or can we even go so far as to cut the spending for maintaining a military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan and bring our troops all home and hopefully in one piece?

One thing is certain, America needs to fix its health care system and it will not get fixed when everyone is yelling and screaming at one another. It certainly won’t fix itself or even remotely heal with violence breaking out at Town Hall meetings to discuss health care. It’s one thing to discuss an issue, it is entirely another when violence becomes the high point of any political reporting on what the changes of our health care system are or can be.

When you really look at America, we have a diverse culture and collection of people. We can be best of friends on Facebook or Myspace and yet not recognize one another and become violent with one another over healthcare? Does that make sense to you? In the end, if the violence wins the day and kills healthcare for all Americans, what has the political movement on the right really won? David Frum has his opinion on that…

Makes me wonder if outside influences and special interests on both sides are pushing the buttons to force matters and discussions regarding healthcare into a violent end. Otherwise, I think we can all agree that Kate Smith had it right with her inspirational rendition of God Bless America. At the end of the day, we are all still Americans and we can not and should not ever forget that.

Video Link



Papamoka

Biden - Palin Debate Winner

I’ll start off with just one reference from Governor Palin. Who the hell is this guy McClellan in charge of the military in Afghanistan? I think she meant to say General David McKiernan. That was a stumble on her part and one of many throughout the night and the debate. One thing was very clear was the fact that Governor Palin did not directly answer many of the questions she was asked. Biden did so with facts and figures and to some that may seem boring but this is not the television series “24”! It's politics that in this time in our nations path needs facts and figures to move forward.

Joe Biden spoke from facts and corrected many of the topics that Palin went off topic on. She was quoting voting records of Obama, Biden, and McCain and Joe Biden knew the facts behind each of the votes which Governor Palin was not privy too. Big mistake on her part on specifics.

It seemed that most of the questions coming to each of the Vice President candidates was answered more so on what the men actually running for President will do. Which is what you would expect in a VP debate. All but one, the role of Vice President and what it entails. Governor Palin sought the same stretch of executive privilege from the Bush administration where as Senator Biden stated the Constitution and the dangerous damage Cheney has morphed the Vice Presidency into.

Asked on what each of the Vice President candidates Achilles heal was, Governor Palin skipped the question entirely and offered just a stump speech of the McCain platform. Senator Biden listed several items that he is weak personally first then went on the Obama platform strengths.

All said and done, Governor Palin tried her best to hold her own but she was up against an encyclopedia of information on government and voting records. For every point she tried to make for McCain, Biden could recite several votes where McCain voted against it from health care, to taxes, to energy issues, and where she was wrong on Obama‘s votes in the Senate.

Two key phrases did come out, Bridge to Nowhere against Palin and a correction to Biden from Palin to get the phrase right? Drill baby Drill! That would be a drill here and everywhere in America point from the Governor. And of course Biden pointing out the fact that John McCain would not sit down with Spain, a NATO member becacuse he thought it was a hostile nation against America?

Biden pretty much linked McCain to Bush over and over again and that will be the mud that sticks to the wall of this debate. What also will stick to the wall is the fact that Governor Palin did not answer many of the questions thrown at her. She dodged the questions to go back to previous points that Biden had made. Gwen Eiffel had to ask the questions back to Governor Palin repeatedly.

On a scale of one to ten I would give Governor Palin a six overall and Senator Biden an eight.

Last thought, when the debate was over the two candidates families all came up on stage and stayed there for a long time interacting with one another. One of the things that warms my heart is children, Joe Biden bent almost all the way over to talk to the Palin family younger kids. Biden went beyond what is normal in a post debate format and introduced his wife, family and grandchildren to Governor Palin and her family, and talked with Governor Palin’s father for a good spell of time.

Update 10/03/08 and must see video from Rachel Maddow...

Video Link



Papamoka

Cross Posted at Bring It On!

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Healthcare and Elections

This is a picture of my Dad, he died in 2003 from the devatating disease of Alzheimers and dementia. A decorated Purple Heart Veteran from WWII and Korea. I have his burial flag from President Bush and the United States Military for the service he gave to his nation. I display it honorably in my living room. His name was Jack and I loved him more than anyone will know. This quiet veteran kept many secrets on what he went through in WWII that raised me is the real reason behind this post.

This post has nothing to do with the current election process. It has more to do with future elections and where this nation will head in those elections. Healthcare. Pure and simple.

When the fact of your elderly parents that raised you in the 1960’s, 1970’s and even the 1980’s start to get sick with age then healthcare is more important than ever. Healthcare is what keeps mom and dad around and one political party is against national healthcare and one is not. Stuffing your mom or dad in a corner is the only answer the right wing side of politics is offering where the left is telling you that there is a better way! What avenue would your own parents have chosen for you when you were a child that was sick? The best choice or just the screw you of politics from the right wing party of where it just isn’t important or they just don’t care? That is so far from Christian thought processes where you honor your mother and father that it is not even funny!

This was an interesting story over at MSNBC News about the caring for our elderly population…

When Your Aging Parents Need You

Caregiving can bring guilt and anxiety—and it can be a gift as well.
By Sally Wadyka for MSN Health & Fitness

For most children, their parents are the people in charge of taking care of them from infancy and even into adulthood. Mom and Dad were there to bandage your boo-boos, sing you to sleep, and soothe you when you were sick. But as the population ages—and more are afflicted with age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's, stroke and cancer—the tables are often turned on parents and their now-adult children.

According to statistics from the National Institute on Aging, there were 37 million people age 65 or older in 2006; that's about 12 percent of the population. But by 2030, as the Baby Boomer generation ages, that number is predicted to rise dramatically. Projections forecast that approximately 71.5 million people—about 20 percent of the population—will be 65 or older. Alzheimer's disease currently affects 5 million Americans, and strokes, which also afflict about 5 million people, are the number-one cause of adult disability. - MSNBC

Make no mistake about it, when your mom or dad gets seriously sick and you as the child face it head on, it is an overwhelming life changing event to you as the child. My own father passed from the effects of Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. There was no help for him from anyone but my family during those first initial years of the disease. You feel lost, helpless, and frustrated as your parent fades into oblivion. You are crushed when he or she no longer remembers your name even. Then you read in the papers, blogs, news web sites and everywhere else where science and research is stifled because of politics not only for your own parents illness but many other peoples illness by your own government. Politics and research are two things that should never mix. One is lying to get the ends of your means and the other is researching to find a solution to stopping the end of ones means.

In my own Dad’s case he drowned in his own fluids eventually. Something I would never wish on anyone. That is the fate for a larger than life population of America if research is not in thoughts of our elected leaders. This is a double edged sword, pharmaceutical companies need to invest in such research but the expansion of research must lead into other avenues of science in America. That is where the National Institute of Health comes into play. Breakthroughs in science are possible but it has to be funded by the people representing the people in our government.

The future welfare of this nation is not about us, the children of the greatest generation but how we tackle the illnesses facing the greatest generation. It all comes down to healthcare. One party wants to give that gift to all and the other wants to shun you to the grave.

You decide? And your children will decide, and so will there children over time. No matter what political philosophy you follow, there is not one single American that wants to hear that there is nothing more they can do for their mother or father from their parents doctor. Especially, when research was gouged, gutted, and nailed to the cross of politics.

When we as a people get the fact that Healthcare is really important in America then we will see that only one political party is interested in changing the way we all look at it in America.

Americans need to think out of the box and I hate that phrase. Look at your sister or brother and think that one in three will face many medical issues in their life that could take their life. Many of which could be detected early and prolong their life. In the next couple of decades, science as we don’t know it now could cure the polio of our time that is Alzheimer’s disease but our government and our elected leaders need to get behind it. Research in science is important to your future healthcare and your children’s future. You vote our elected leaders in, vote for the people that can change the status quo. Not just nationally but locally!

For now, could we think more about healthcare in America in this election or is it something for the next generation of politicians to tackle? How soon are you going to need the kind of serious health care my dad needed?

Papamoka

Grinch AKA Bush Kills Kids Health Bill… Again

Separated at birth is our current Commander in Thief and the Grinch who stole Christmas. If you took the time to compare the two it might not be as far off a thought as you think. With his hefty and mighty veto crayon he swiftly cast the medical care of 10 million kids in the “Do Not Recycle” bin out in the back of the White House today... AGAIN!

His rationalization for vetoing the bill is that it is the beginning of socialized medicine? Maybe the President has not visited an emergency room in any city in America lately. Socialized medicine is already here! It’s just the most expensive form of medical health care there is and we all pay for the poor using the Emergency Room with every payment to our HMO provider whether we like it or not.

If there ever was a clear cut example of what not to do as an American President then this guy is going to be mentioned more times than anyone else. He clearly fit’s the phrase from the movie The American President where it was said “For someone that loves America but clearly can not stand American’s”. Rough paraphrase but it fits W to a tee.

Bush vetoes children's health bill a second time
Wed Dec 12, 2007 7:02pm

By Caren Bohan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday vetoed a bill expanding a popular children's health care program for the second time, angering Democrats who are locked in a fight with the administration over the budget and spending.

Pushed by the Democratic-led Congress but also supported by many Republicans, the bill was aimed at providing health insurance to about 10 million children in low- and moderate-income families. Taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products would have been increased to pay for the aid.

Bush vetoed a version of the bill in October but Congress quickly passed another one that included some changes but not enough to satisfy the White House.

"Because the Congress has chosen to send me an essentially identical bill that has the same problems as the flawed bill I previously vetoed, I must veto this legislation too," Bush wrote in a message to the House of Representatives.

The fight between Congress and the White House over the health bill is one in a series of clashes over spending that have arisen as Bush approaches the start of his final year in office. -Reuters

One of the obvious problems with the bill is how it was to be funded and those funds discharged. There was no money in it for the “Bush Too” crew of political hacks. If Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi had linked some (more than half) of the money from the bill to be directly paid back to any oil company or the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia then it might have had a chance at passing.

It is very obvious that this President does not care one iota about his own peoples health care. He does not even care about our own military wounded soldiers coming home for care in our military hospitals unless the Washington Post blasts the negligence across the front page to embarrass him. Even then he only tosses a white wash over the issue and moves on to where the money is.

Sometimes I wonder if he has CADD, that would be Conservative Attention Deficit Disorder. Federal programs that don’t send money his friends way just can not seem to hold his attention span long enough. Out comes the veto crayon and he tries his best to color within the lines but those pesky flash bulbs always make him mess up.

Back to the emergency room kids. Socialized medicine? Ridiculous!

Papamoka

Feel free to link to or steal this post...

Cross posted at Michael Lynn Jones and Bring IT ON!

*****I See My Dreams has cross posted this piece... Thx BJ!

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Mitt Romney and Health Care is an Oxymoron

Health care for all of our nations citizens is just as important as a roof over every citizens head. Mitt Romney the former Governor of Mass a Two Sticks is proposing a scam in his latest “Health Care Plan”. Just like W he is proposing to push even more back on the plates of the states and the dinner table is already overcrowded. What scares me the most about Mitt is that he was a Governor and had more pushed back onto his plate by his patron saint George W and he is proposing more of the same? If that doesn’t make you shake your head and go “Hmmm” then I don’t know what will.

I’m a Liberal and I don’t hide that fact at all in any of my pieces. I simply believe that healthcare for all of our citizens should be a right and not a hypocritical oath obligation by over stressed hospitals with full emergency rooms. While Mitt and George think it is okay to pass the buck I do not.

Our nations treasury is a hot bead for privileged projects and waste by people that dare to call themselves statesman. Let us just accept that for a fact. I don’t think Social Security is busted. Medicare is not busted and some reports actually state that Medicare is run far more efficiently than any HMO in America.

Our nations health care is busted and just like the poor houses and Potter’s graves of pre Social Security should be the path of the HMO corporations of America.

Over at the Boston Herald they have this to say about Mitt’s version of NOT health care…

Romney proposes market-based health care changes
By Associated Press
Friday, August 24, 2007 - Updated: 05:24 PM EST

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -The nation’s health care system should be overhauled through plans tailored to individual states, not through a federal government takeover, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Friday.

As Massachusetts governor, he signed a law aimed at helping people who lacked health insurance. He is trying to take an issue popular among Democrats and put a conservative spin on it.

"A one-size-fits-all national health care system is bound to fail. It ignores the sharp difference between states and it relies on Washington bureaucracy to manage," Romney said. "I don’t want the people who ran the Katrina cleanup to manage our health care system."

Snip A Rooooo

"The problem of the uninsured is a problem for all Americans," he said, because those who can pay for health insurance help foot the bill for those who cannot.

Instead of using federal money to reimburse hospitals for treating people without insurance, that money should be used to help low-income people buy insurance at a lower cost, Romney said.

"No more free rides," he said. "Everybody pays what they can afford." - Boston Herald

Everybody pays what they can afford? That’s a nice sentiment if you are sitting on a couple hundred million Mitt!

Mitt Romney and his idea for healthcare is to blame the poor for not being able to afford to pay for health care. If that doesn’t work the plan that he and the Democrat lead legislature enacted penalized the poor for not paying for health insurance via a tax penalty. Umm, I tend to think that the poor amongst us will feed their families first and secondly provide a roof over their heads. Mitt’s saving grace health care plan in this state slapped the poorest amongst us just for the sake of being poor.

Every legal American has a Social Security card, why can we not have a national health care right? Beside the fact that HMO’s across America would fold like a deck of cards and all that political graft would go bye bye? That is a line of thought to think about.

All of the people of our nation that work pay into Medicare already so why not take the next step and just expand Medicare for all? HMO’s are a bottomless pit for profit and the medical and health care system is broken. If all employers and all employees are on the same paying field then is that not a fair and balanced way to go? If Mitt Romney’s logic is right that we are all paying for the poor of America and their health care then lets just make it an American right! Just like Social Security this is an issue that once enacted needs to be the third rail of politicians.

Mitt lives in an imaginary world because money is not a problem for him because one hundred or two hundred dollars is nothing to him. Millionaires tend to think that way while they are bitching out the $7.50 an hour minimum wage (Mass Min. Wage) landscaping worker for trimming the hibiscus just a little too much.

Our nation needs healthcare for all and rather than building the private HMO mansions and office buildings that pop up everywhere we need to insure all Americans and their healthcare needs. Look around your city or town and the best of money is spent on magnificent office buildings with an even grander moniker stating what HMO lives there. Yet each year the HMO hikes the rates through the roof to employers who can not pass all the added cost onto their employees. One of the largest budget items in any business no matter what size is healthcare and that cost is paid by the employees and the employer for most companies. If you are lucky then your employer picks up the bulk of the cost. This line of thought would lead me to think that Conservatives would be spear heading a national health care plan but they are not.

Mitt’s plan is more of W and his smoke and mirrors team. Nope, not biting the bait Mitt. John Kerry was a flip flopper but he did not have the shoe collection you have Mitt. What is going to be Mitt’s position next week? I’ll tell you what it is… what you want to hear to vote for him.

Stuffed shirt political award goes to Mitt Romney for pushing health care for all Americans back on the states. Health care for all of America will only be fixed when it is made a right as an American citizen.

Till that happens, promises from political pulpits will be made and broken and campaign contributions will be deposited to protect private HMO and prescription drug companies interests. Somebody point out the Roosevelt in this crowd of money for nothing politicians. It took guts to change America back then, today it takes cash to pocket your convictions in the form of contributions to political campaigns.

My worst fear for America is that she has been totally taken over by the money changers in the temple so to speak. No laws to fix the wrongs will be passed unless the correct amount of silver passes through the temple that is our Congress.

Papamoka

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