Health Care, Compassion Compromise or Crap?

This is a response I wrote to a woman in Wisconsin who feels since her daughter has cancer and is going off their insurance that we, the citizens of the United States owe her full health care coverage. She did not suggest that pre existing conditions be allowed, she did not suggest health insurance costs should be controlled or that frivolous law suits be banned or regulated in some reasonable way. I just couldn't let this one go. Making it personal does not make me approve of socialized medicine in fact it really annoys me. Fight me with facts, don't try to make me feel bad.

Do I feel bad that her daughter, like mine, has a preexisting condition that will make it hard for her as she steps out on her own? Of course I do. That doesn't change the way I feel about health care 'reform' as it's being pushed through with back room deals, payoffs and 1AM votes.

Does Washington really think we aren't paying attention? If they know we are, then the obviously just don't care.

Dear *****,

I frequently hear the statement “the Federal Government will be paying for it”. Excuse me? WE are the federal government! They have no money to spend or mis-spend unless they tax the citizens who pay taxes (keep in mind 65% of Americans don’t pay at all nor do “undocumented workers” (read that illegal aliens) and they are in fact included in the House bill)

Our daughter will be in a similar boat as yours when she moves out of our coverage. But if they move into federal health care, they won’t have coverage for three years anyway, a virtual death sentence. Then when coverage is provided, by necessity, it will be rationed, just like every other tax funded state or federal program is today. Ask anyone who has applied for any kind of assistance from food to fuel.

At the very foundation of your argument for your daughter’s plight is the idea that the entire country should be responsible for her medical care. I don’t believe that should be the case for your daughter, my daughter or anyone else’s. Family should take responsibility for family, not expect others to do so. As much as we need health care reform, and we certainly need that, we need to remember that first and foremost we are responsible for ourselves. I didn’t have my children expecting the government would be their parents and I don’t expect the government to take care of me either.

The actual changes that would help aren’t being discussed because this issue has little or nothing to do with care or compassion. It is in fact a brazen play for even more power invested in the federal government, and relinquishing yet another aspect of our lives to people who think they are smarter than we are who think we all need to be taken care of because we can’t make decisions for ourselves; this is best evidenced by the punitive effect of not buying insurance, opting for Medicare or the ever threatened public option should this bill be passed. Violators will be fined and or jailed. Delightful, I wonder what the quality of health care in jail will be?

There is nothing in the constitution that permits the federal government to force citizens to buy health insurance or any other “product” for that matter, but then the Constitution seems only a passing distraction to this administration.

Something must be done, I agree. But socialized health care is not the answer. It hasn’t really worked anywhere it has been tried save at the lowest level or maintenance type preventative care. Ironically we are already being set up to lose that aspect in the care we have now.

******

I didn't mean to jump on her in particular, but the entitlement aspect of her comment just rubbed me the wrong way once too often. And I really did hold back much of what has been roiling about in my mind these past few days as I watch with renewed dismay the way the people in DC wheel and deal not for us and our benefit but for themselves and their posterity.

It is too much to hope that in the 11th hour they will suddenly hear us and listen to that still small voice of Olympia Snowe from Maine who asks "Why the rush? When no one has read the bill and no one (literally) knows what all is in it or how it will play out---when it doesn't even take effect for a long time----why the rush to pass it before Christmas? Why not let people read and study it and take a more educated vote when congress is back in session? The irrational answer is---we don't want to know what we are voting on. I still say, it doesn't seem real. I don't vote on little things unless I have read them and understand it."

It will be interesting to see if the Democrats really push this through. Make no mistake folks, we are watching.

Salem IL 11/11/09

People who know me have often heard me say, “A little persecution never hurt anyone.” Most people hear that and think I'm joking and while I rarely correct them, there is a more serious meaning. It's been my experience that people who are persecuted for something they strongly believe in usually come out the other side of the trial with a keener sense of themselves and a firmer belief in whatever is was that got them into trouble in the first place.

The state of our Union, this event and an unwitting friend who loves Halloween, gave me a fresh opportunity to think about freedom, responsibility and persecution.

Every year my friend plans a huge party with a special theme, this year it was super heroes. I don't know about you but I have always loved the notion of a super hero ! A seemingly regular Jane or Joe who swoops in at the last minute to save the day. Always a dramatic entrance and usually in a great costume.As I pondered my costume choices I quickly eliminated the well known female heroines. I lost my waist somewhere between my second and third pregnancy, and I knew I couldn't do justice to the costumes. My husband was going as Clark Kent, and momentarily I considered going as Lois Lane, not a super hero but the hero's girlfriend.

I briefly considered Happy Bunny, a sometime personal hero of mine. Happy Bunny often says what we're too polite to say out loud.More than once lately I have wanted to say to my representatives, “You're Stupid, and that's sad” I think I actually say that but I generally use way more words so I come off as reasoned and polite and they don't bump me up to the top of the black helicopter list, I'd say being flagged as a radical tea party trouble maker at the White House is notoriety enough.

I finally decided on Rosie the Riveter. Not so much a super hero but an amalgam of what is great about America and a simple, economical costume. (trust me, I was cheap before the recession)I wore my sons blue Navy coveralls, the classic red bandanna, saddle shoes and a name tag that identified me as the Iconic Super Hero!

While planning my Rosie costume, I gave a lot of thought to what she represented, and that brought into clearer focus for me how much our country has changed since Rosie hung up her rivet gun.

Rosie knew something about being an American that many of us seem to have forgotten. She lived in a time when we still had reason to believe we could trust the people we sent to Washington.

Rosie knew about real sacrifice.

She knew that sometimes you had to step out of your comfort zone well before we had professionals explaining to us what a comfort zone was and the benefits of stepping out of it.

Those who were left behind while the men marched off to war rolled up their sleeves and got dirty doing the other work that had to be done.

Rosie knew it was up to her.

She was the embodiment of what was and is real and good about the United States of America at a time when we were respected around the world, by the good guys as well as the bad ones, even if it was sometimes a grudging respect.

A time when we had secure borders and took immigration seriously.

A time when the dollar was strong

the Constitution was still our foundation.

A time when we could trust our representatives to actually listen to our concerns and act on them.

A time when we taught our history in public schools and George Washington got more space in our text books than Marilyn Monroe or Michael Jackson.

A time when the idea of an attack on an American Military installation in the US was unimaginable and there was no question that we stood behind our military and the families they left behind when they went away to fight for our freedom and the freedom of those who couldn't defend themselves.

By our apathy over the past 50 or so years, we have as a country given the impression that we have relinquished our lives our fortunes and our sacred honor at the altar of personal security and peace at any cost.

None of us should comfortably sit back and blame anyone else for the state of our country's leadership. We have all fallen short, even if we have voted in every election, written to our representatives once twice or repeatedly and debated in the city square.

Of the people

By the people

For the people doesn't just happen,

it requires active participation all the time,by all the people,not just when we're pushed too far,that's just when we have to kick it up a notch.

I've heard it said that we're in this current fix because of the influx of new voters, some starry eyed and inexperienced; some of them shady and corrupt and of course there is some responsibility there. We've all heard the stories and see the videosand let's face it, we are not strangers to Chicago politics. Let me say that while many Young voters in America may know little or nothing of Rosie's America they can't take the entire blame for our predicament. They see the world through the lens of their youth, often under-educated by our public schools in the heritage that belongs to them, their only reality is the one they see, presuming the world is now as it has always been.

I heard George Stephanopolous say last week after the elections that some have called at the very least telling, that when the economy is bad the people punish the party in power.

Punish,

that's interesting isn't it.

How about we hold them accountable George.

How about we're tired of not getting dinner or a kiss before you take advantage of us.

How about you see this as a performance review and Oops, we're sorry but we don't require your presence at the table any longer.

And oh yeah, we want a Retirement Czar to take away that dream pension you managed to set-up for yourselves, unless you can prove that like Soldiers, Sailors, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard members, you served your country honorably and then oh wait, you only get a percentage of your active duty salary; and maybe later we'll think about taking away your medical care.

Just saying.

When the house squeaked their ridiculous health care bill through in the dark of night I actually listened to Nancy Pelosi say that they proudly stand with those who gave us Social Security and Medicare? You mean those programs that have been mismanaged, riddled with waste fraud and abuse, their coffers raided every time you add another entitlement program that needs money, and are what's that word …

broke?

Yeah I'd be proud of that too if I could get away with it with a straight face.

And what was the presidents argument for a government held public option to encourage competition in the insurance industry? Fed Ex and UPS. They're doing pretty well in competition with the Post Office, on the other hand, the post office does need a bail out too because …

they're broke.

I feel so confident that THIS time they'll get it right.

We've had our share of corrupt politicians from the beginning, They're like poison ivy, a sad fact of life. No matter how often you spray another plant pops up somewhere waiting to catch you as you walk through an otherwise beautiful scene. You have to be vigilant and every time you see a plant you have to spray it, kill it and hope you got it all. We can blame politicians all day every day but it won't change a thing until we actually hold them accountable to do the job we hired them to do. And kick them out when they don't. If we don't, we have only ourselves to blame.

Everyone is responsible Everyone is accountable.

We can't make people think differently because we will it.

We can't give our passion to our children.

We can't pass our patriotism down like an inheritance, but we can and surely must model what makes America great by rolling up our sleeves again. By doing the hard work of being engaged citizens in the most amazing political experiment in history and praying that others catch the spirit because they see it's worth having, even if it does mean a little persecution from time to time to keep us sharp.

I wonder, what would Rosie do?

I wonder, are we still super heroes disguised as regular Janes or Joes?

A little persecution never hurt anyone? That's not exactly true and to be fair what we're going through is nothing compared to actual persecution, at least not yet, but it sure got our attention didn't it?

so, what are we going to do about it?

Snap Out of It America!

Dear friends, I have heard too often lately the lamenting of what is actually by all accounts the majority of American citizens, that Washington is not listening, not hearing our pleas, disconnected somehow from the little people.

First off, Snap out of it.

Please!

Every poll I have seen in the past two weeks shows the discontent of the voting public regarding the direction in which Washington is careening, need I add at break neck speed.

Call call call, write write write, then call again, get on the internet and use it for all it's worth as a social network. Talk talk talk, but not just around your kitchen table. That's a good start but not enough. Talk to others. You'll be surprised to learn how many of us are actually scared that if we don't do something NOW the United States of America that we grew up in will be stolen away from us and not even in the dark of night! It's being abducted as we stand in the bright light of day, slack jawed feeling powerless to stop it.

The United States of America, that started as a dream of what could be accomplished when citizens are allowed freedom to dream big and work hard has been eviscerated and it's very heart is laying on the altar of what many think is security.

This month of August holds for us an opportunity to put a face on our frustration. Our non representing representatives are taking a break from the rigors of Washington, going on “vacation” as it were from the joy of spending money that they don't have, of posturing and pontificating of their undying concern for us, the little people, who are singularly and collectively unable to think for or care for ourselves, so in their pompous condescending manner they step in to parent us. They're coming home to tell us why we should be good little boys and girls and let them do what's best for all of us because after all, they know what's best.

In a word,

Crap

Reread paragraph four, call, write, and speak your mind.

Go to the events that your representatives from Congress and the Senate hold whether they attend or they send their staff people. Require them to actually answer questions not just broadcast their talking points. Tell them that you will vote them out of office if they do not hear the voice of the people.

And when they don't listen, vote them out of the cushy jobs that they cling to in Washington. Send them back to their home states tuck tail. Then lobby for a change in the retirement plan for these people who have abused their power and the privilege of serving the people of this country. Rescind their ridiculous retirement packages and make it retroactive. I recommend the formula that the military uses when a member of the armed forces retires honorably after 20 year of actual service. A percentage of their annual salary at retirement not their whole salary after only one term in office.

Push for term limits. If it's a good idea for the president, why not congress and the senate. The founders didn't foresee career politicians, we don't need them there for continuity, we have the civilian work force for that.

And oh yeah, if the health care package they're trying to force us into is so great, they all have to settle for it as well. Let's see how they like rationed care and a bureaucrat in DC deciding with a flow chart what care they should have.

I've been dissatisfied with the antics of our leadership since my high school civics class. I've debated, nagged, pushed, argued (in both the traditional and irate sense) and cajoled and been frustrated with people who complain and shake their fists but don't do anything to change, really change government. Not change for change sake, but change that represents the actual will of the people. It's past time to accept the obligation and privilege of being an American citizen by being aware of the actions of our legislators and holding them accountable.

I've haven't missed an election since the 26^th Amendment was enacted. How about you?

I was interviewed today by a lovely young man from a local television station. He'd called this morning to ask about my involvement in the upcoming Tea Parties, more than 500 if them scheduled to be held across America this Wednesday the 15th of April, two of which I am directly involved in organizing.

We spent about a half an hour together, talking about the frustration level of tax paying citizens and the many issues that have us up in arms so to speak, demanding that our non representative representatives pay attention or find new jobs.

I suggested that it's not just the nearly 1600 page stimulus package that was pushed through and voted on before anyone but the authors had read it. And it's not just the $850 Billion and growing price tag, or even really the pork tucked into every nook and cranny of the bill.

It's not just the 20 Million Illegal aliens who are poised to profit from the Dream Act that will fast track them to citizenship ahead of all those immigrants who are following the rules, and based on the felony either they or their parents committed when they came into this country initially.

Maybe it's the fact that more than 90% of mortgages are being paid and the ones that aren't are likely to remain delinquent regardless of the bailouts and the barn-door-closing reflex of the administration

Or maybe the 300Billion tax payer dollars being paid for non citizen welfare programs, or the 2.5 million Americans who lost their jobs last year while foreign workers continue to be brought into the country to fill those positions at a rate of 1.5 million a year.

Or how about the fact that members of congress have once again managed to get a pay raise, recession or no and that every elected representative who serves one term will get that salary for life as part of their retirement package. (Oh sorry did I neglect to mention that the base rank and file salary alone is now $172,000 annually? The Speaker of the house takes down $223.5 and the majority and minority leaders make $193.4 add perks) Pretty good for a part time job.

The frustration that's boiling over all over the country is caused by these and so many other offenses perpetrated on us by the people we have placed in positions of authority, expecting them to actually represent our needs and concerns. What were we thinking?

The bail out boondoggles are bad enough, and if it were only that, it would be enough and about time people woke up and smelt the garbage Washington has been selling us.

Have we been sleeping too long? Or is there still time to take out country back? We must start by asking the questions and recognizing we no longer get what we pay for. We'll be paying and paying and our children will be paying the interest and someday we'll realize we don't remember what we initially bought, we've been paying so long and then there will be another stimulus package.

It was a lovely conversation, and we covered a variety of issues. But we've been talking too long, it's time to put feet on our frustrations and do something about real change. The kind of change many thought they were voting for in the last presidential election. Too bad change turned out to be business as usual with a twist of outrageous.

I'll be at the tea parties on Wednesday, let's see what we can brew up!