Monday, November 12, 2012

In Sickness, In Pizza, and In Health - A Healthcare Manifesto

"The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect
So hard to earn, so easily burned
In the fullness of time
A garden to nurture and protect"
~ Neil Peart
Dear Powers That Be:
The United States of America is one of the richest countries on the planet, yet we are one of the only industrialized nations that fails to adequately insure its people with basic healthcare needs.  With the looming 2014 deadline for the Affordable Care Act to fully take affect, I’m seeing more and more rich CEOs wanting to cut back on staffing and/or cut employee hours just to not have to extend them healthcare insurance.  Well, fuck them!!! 
The rich have gotten free rides for a very long time in this country and are used to pulling the strings of government to work for them.  Now it’s time they get back to working for US!!  The rich only care about themselves and their bottom line.  They don’t give two shits if we live or die – just as long as we keep buying their shit!!!  We can’t boycott all of them, but we can sure turn the tide on them when we storm the gates in Washington and let our Senators and Representatives know that WE are in charge – not the corporations, not the rich millionaires/billionaires, but the working class who built this country with our sweat and blood.  Remember – it’s WE THE PEOPLE!!! 
As an American, we can do better for our people.  Here is what I demand:
  • An affordable national healthcare system, or Medicare For All.
With this new system, I demand that no religious organization or religious person have any say on the new system. With that I demand:
  • No restrictions on Birth Control for women.
  • Easy access to abortion.
With this new system, I demand no exclusions for any of the following:
  • Age (including Senior Citizens), race, gender, sexual orientation, Military status, pre-existing medical condition, mental health status, HIV status.
With this new system, I demand:
  • No child be turned away – no matter of citizenship status.
With this new system I demand:
  • Affordable prescription drugs for all.
  • Limited Patents on all drugs.
  • The Federal Government will have powers to negotiate lower drug prices (thus eliminating the need to import from Canada for the same exact medications made here in the USA).
With this new system, I demand:
  • No one with mental health disorders be turned away or left on the streets.
  • People with mental health disorders be treated with dignity and respect.
  • More education and awareness for those with Autism and related disorders.
With this Manifesto, I demand from my Government:
  • A law passed giving the people an allotment of paid sick days by employers.
  • A law passed increasing the Minimum Wage as the cost of healthcare will no longer be a burden on employers and can now pay employees a living wage.
  • A law passed to ensure employees are guaranteed vacation time – a well rested employee makes productivity rise.
Now that this has been said, here is a graphic of some of the companies who are going to cut employee working hours just so they won’t have to provide health insurance to them:
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Now some might cry “it’s Socialism” – and you know what???  Who cares!!!  I call it caring for one another.  If you are too stupid or selfish and don’t give a shit about your fellow citizens, you can fuck right off!!!  You don’t like it – move!!!  But good fucking luck with that – you’ll have it almost anywhere you move (via):
Norway  - 1912 –  Single Payer
New Zealand –  1938 –  Two Tier
Japan –  1938 –  Single Payer
Germany –  1941 –  Insurance Mandate
Belgium –  1945 –  Insurance Mandate
United Kingdom –  1948 –  Single Payer
Kuwait –  1950 –  Single Payer
Sweden –  1955 –  Single Payer
Bahrain –  1957 –  Single Payer
Brunei –  1958 –  Single Payer
Canada –  1966 –  Single Payer
Netherlands –  1966 –  Two-Tier
Austria –  1967 –  Insurance Mandate
United Arab Emirates –  1971 –  Single Payer
Finland –  1972 –  Single Payer
Slovenia –  1972 –  Single Payer
Denmark –  1973 –  Two-Tier
Luxembourg –  1973 –  Insurance Mandate
France –  1974 –  Two-Tier
Australia –  1975 –  Two Tier
Ireland –  1977 –  Two-Tier
Italy –  1978 –  Single Payer
Portugal –  1979 –  Single Payer
Cyprus –  1980 –  Single Payer
Greece –  1983 –  Insurance Mandate
Spain –  1986 –  Single Payer
South Korea –  1988 –  Insurance Mandate
Iceland –  1990 –  Single Payer
Hong Kong –  1993 –  Two-Tier
Singapore –  1993 –  Two-Tier
Switzerland –  1994 –  Insurance Mandate
Israel –  1995 –  Two-Tier
United States –  2014 –  Insurance Mandate

Friday, July 20, 2012

Shapes of Things


"Time stand still-I'm not looking backBut I want to look around me nowSee more of the peopleAnd the places that surround me now 
Freeze this moment a little bit longerMake each sensation a little bit strongerExperience slips away..." ~ Neil Peart

Reflecting on the tragedy in Aurora, CO, today makes one think about how precious life is, how precious friendship is, and how precious family is.  I"m not going to discuss the tragedy, nor my thoughts on what happened, but to reflect for a bit.

I have great friends!!! I had great friends growing up, some keep in contact with me via Facebook, and some have decided my political views (or views in general) weren't of their liking so they cut me loose (their loss).  I have great friends who I met along life's path and glad I met them.  I have met a strong circle of friends on Twitter and enjoy conversations with them, too...

“Facebook is for friends that are now strangers. Twitter is for strangers that should be your friends."

Each day, I look forward to seeing what my friends have to say or what they are doing, whether it's the mundane or the funny or the sadness or joy.


Saturday, July 07, 2012

Grand Designs

“Democrats never agree on anything, that's why they're Democrats. If they agreed with each other, they would be Republicans.” ` Will Rogers

There’s a lot of infighting, it seems, within the Democratic Party…  This includes the “Clintonistas”, “Firebaggers”, “DLCers” & “Blue Dogs”.  You see, I don’t give a rats ass about you, nor do I care what you think or what you do.  The only objective is to defeat the GOP this November.

I see this quit often on Twitter where one person may something about one candidate and another person will take offense to the tweet..  Sure there are self-centered bastards who blog or tweet – most of them have names, but I’m not going to name then because everyone knows who they are.  They need to suck it up and take one for the team.

Sure, the Clintonistas are still sore Hillary lost. Sure, the Firebaggers are critical of most everything President Obama is trying to do  (let’s see them try doing shit when with over 200 teabag obstructionists in the House and less than 60 Democrats in the Senate). Sure, The DLCers are fucking losers, but so are the Blue Dogs (They sold their souls to Wall Street).

So here’s a novel, and not so new idea:  Put away the bickering, put away the snide remarks, and most of all, put away the bullshit!!!  You are DEMOCRATS!!!  Act like human beings to one another.  Act together as a cohesive unit!! We have a Presidential election to win, We have to regain the House and keep a solid majority in the Senate. After the election, you can go back to being what you were, whatever that might be.  In the mean time, grow the fuck up!!!

 

Wednesday, July 04, 2012

Freedom

“We can go from boom to bust
From dreams to a bowl of dust
We can fall from rockets' red glare
Down to "Brother can you spare-"
Another war-another waste land-
And another lost generation...” ~
Neil Peart
Or
“Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose,
And nothin' ain't worth nothin' but it's free” ~
Kris Kristofferson
Let me preface by saying I’m an American first, a Democrat second, and a self admitted bleeding heart liberal.  I make no bones about it and have stated as much in my previous writings.

When Thirteen Colonies declared their independence some 236 years ago from the British Crown, they did not know what the future had in store for them.  They only longed for the freedom to live where they made their own rules, lives as free men under a new flag.  They wanted to shed the King and totalitarian rule.  Although British by birth, in their hearts they were American.

Now, to this time and this place… Where thirteen colonies are now Fifty States…. Here in the 21st Century…

Cast away the royalty, but gain the rich and powerful…  my how times have changed.  They are still making the rules.

But what does it get you???  Lower taxes?? Sure – I’ll go without decent road and bridges to drive on.
More money for Defense??  Sure – let’s fire a few thousand teachers in the process.  Who needs teachers anyway – our education systems are failing, we’re near the bottom in math and science, we don’t teach music and we teach to a test….  Kids don’t need books…  But someone out there decided we need the biggest and the brightest bombs our tax dollars will buy.

No need to increase the minimum wage??  What about those starving people who can barely scrape by on the pittance they are paid working in a big box store or fast food joint!!!  The standard of living rises, but wages fail to rise with them.  Two dollars 20 years ago doesn’t buy what two dollars will today…  But hey, Freedom isn’t free!!!  Now you have to work 2 or 3 jobs – to make ends meet.

We don’t need Healthcare reform??  Tell that to the family who has to sell everything just to be well, even go bankrupt in the process. They didn’t need that house or car… But the rich and powerful insurance companies and corporate-owned hospitals got theirs, in not only money, but someone’s blood and dignity!!!  So much for “promoting the General Welfare” of the people.

Our nation spends more on defense that all of our allies combined, and who does it benefit??  Defense contractors.  Our roads are crumbling, bridges and schools falling apart, teachers having to buy supplies for their classrooms out of their own pocket.  That’s not Freedom – that’s Neglect!!!  Neglecting our own for the sake of what??  A fucking plane or bomb??  Where does it end.

We have starving people in this country – do they feel this Freedom??  No, they don’t.  They fall through the system.  They are the invisible citizens. Liberals look out for them, while  conservatives want to take it all away.  Mentally ill people walking the streets when they should be taken care of. Families evicted from homes, with no assistance from the Government sworn to protect them, yet the banks who loaned them the money are bailed out.

People cry about their god and Jesus and whoever else they might worship, but do not follow the teachings. Feed the poor, heal the sick, blah blah blah… Hypocrisy abound with these people.  What ever happened to love thy neighbor – now neighbors are suffering along the political divide; left vs. right, liberal vs. conservative, Democrat vs. Republican…  We will never agree, but there can be a common ground to work from – not against.

So, this Independence Day, one should reflect on what will make this country better and shine once again.  This downward slope we find ourselves on where the top 1% control what the other 99% do is out of hand.  It’s not a matter of left and right, it’s a matter of being an American.  We have to find it within ourselves to make changes where they need to be made.  Build schools, educate our young, make college affordable, fix our infrastructure, care for the sick, feed the hungry…  I know it’s asking a lot, but as a country, we cannot fail our own..  We must preserve our future…  That is Freedom!!!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

The Poor, A Mental Disease, and Trolls.. Oh My!!!

I happened to see a video online (below) about a Democratic Pundit saying the word “Fuck” live on Fox “news”… no big deal to me since I drop F-bombs faster than the Pope can hide a sex abuse scandal.

 

What bothered me about it was Neal Boortz saying “Poverty is a mental disease”.  I took offense by that statement and I tweeted to this man the following: “Poverty is not a mental disease, @ XXXXXXX .... You think people choose to be poor??? You're an asshole!!!!” (Since then, he retweeted it to his minions rather than confront me himself, the coward that he and all RWNJs are on Twitter).

People do not chose to be poor.  Some are born into it, some are forced into it, and some become poor by their own design – but I do not feel it is a mental disease!!!  Where in the fuck he came up with that line, I’ll never know.

When I say “born into it”, it is just that.  You could be in parts of the world (or for the USA, for that matter) and live in poor areas – not having any idea of what might be out there that would be better.  You live day to day, trying to raise your family on the little money you make at the menial jobs that are available in your area and don’t have the means to leave and you’re stuck!!!  Nowhere to go, no one to help. Even with the meager amount of food stamps you might receive from the government, you’re barely scraping by.  Thus is your life in an impoverished city, town, state or country.

When I say “forced into it”, it means you might have had a comfortable living, but it all went away from something devastating – like medical bills.  Sure, you might have had health insurance, but you’re always one catastrophic illness away from the poorhouse, and this does happen in the good ol’ UsofA!! Yay Us!!! (I’m not going to get into the benefits of “Obamacare” but some parts of that law will prevent things like that from happening). When a family member gets sick, the insurance only covers so much, and the bills keep coming and you can’t keep up… Step by step, you lose your house, live in the car or lose your car…  You are now one of the working poor, praying to your god you don’t lose your job….  This is the America we live in – ashamed??  If you believe in what I do, you’re not, but if you are a conservative, you probably don’t give two shits!!!!

When I say “by their own design”, it means just that…  The over spender, poor budgeting, compulsive gambling… These are some of the ones I have less sympathy for, but there is help out there for them. They’ve made their bed, and they must deal with it.  The compulsive gambler has a disease and can be treated.  Poor budgeting: have someone manage your money. Over spending, stop!!!

But to say someone in poverty has a mental disease was uncalled for.  The Boortz-trolls keep telling me you can get out of it… They all seem to be living well with their internet connections to attack my statement, but you know what??  There are people who don’t have that fucking luxury!!  Why???  because when you’re down and out in this country, you become the unseen, the unwashed, and the ignored part of the population.  When you befriend a homeless person or acknowledge their existence by saying hello, then we’ll talk.  Until then, I don’t want to hear it!!!

Monday, January 02, 2012

My personal rules for a harmonious time in Tweetopia!!!

  1. I don’t get in the middle of squabbles between mutual tweeps.
  2. If I disagree with you, I won’t un-follow you, but I will call Bullshit when I see it.
  3. If you’re looking to fight, you’ve come to the wrong person.  I rely on facts, not feelings.
  4. I am a Democrat, but I’m not a lemming and will call out Bullshit on the President, Senators, Congresspersons of my party if they do or say something I disagree with – but I will not trash them.
  5. I have ZERO tolerance for racists.
  6. I have ZERO tolerance for homophobes.
  7. I have ZERO tolerance for religious preaching (to me).
  8. I have ZERO tolerance for people who beg for money.
  9. I have ZERO tolerance for Bots and Spammers.
  10. I am on Twitter to have a good time and make new friends. I am on Twitter to discuss politics.
  11. If you have issue with me, take it private to a Direct Message and not on the Time Line.  At least give me the common courtesy to not airing our issues to the Twitter-verse.

If there’s anything else, I may add more.