Freedom, Prosperity & Peace Ron Paul 2008.com

"Freedom, Prosperity & Peace". This is the message I want to send to

the world, not "Subservience, Loss & War".

 

Restore the Constitution

 

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect

Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for

the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the

Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and

establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Join the Revolution.

 

Check him out for yourself, don't believe me or most of the biased media, they don't want you to know about Ron Paul. He's truthful, intelligent & has a real plan to restore our country. RonPaul2008.com

I can't believe no one has made any comments about my statement. I know this is not great, but it is my statement. Please, please, please check him out. RonPaul2008.com

 

Hilary= criminal. Let's not forget Vince Foster. Will we ever know the truth?

Barack= More of the same, with probable moves in to Iran!

McCain= Definitely, more of the same & a move in to Iran.

Romney= He's just a multimillionaire with too much time on his hands. He has no idea how the average American lives or what they need!

Huckabee= seems like a nice guy, but I don't want someone asking God for all his answers.

 

Ron Paul= Honest, intelligent & no political crap! He tells it like it is. He will restore our freedoms compromised by the Patriot Act, get us out of Afghanistan & Iraq, Korea, Germany, Etc. Protect our homeland with a strong military. Repeal the Income Tax amendment. Get rid of the non-Federal, Federal Reserve. Bring back the gold standard & make our money worth something. Stop the plans for the North American Union! Promote friendly relations with all nations while staying out of their business. Donate the Vatican City sized Baghdad American Embassy we are building to the Iraqi Government. Get rid of Blackwater mercenaries. Follow the Constitution written by our forefathers. Never invade a country that does not pose a threat to us. Get out of NATO,NAFTA, CAFTA. Investigate the CFR & Trilateral Commission. We need Ron Paul, for the long Haul! Really investigate what happened on 9/11. He is not in business with the Bin Laden's, like Bush. Don't you think enough of our soldiers have died & American people in 9/11?

 

They never should have gone there in the first place. The Iraqi's just want to live in peace. We threw them out of their jobs, we took over their schools. L Paul Bremmer created this insurgency. Let him send his children to fight it. It will continue until we withdrawal. We must get out. We are occupiers! This is wrong! Free the Iraqi's from the war mongers who make lots of money on Wars. Look at the Oil Company's profits, look at Halliburton's profits. How about Nancy Pelosi's husband's profits off this unjust War? Read, investigate & join the Revolution to take back out country from these crooked politicians & their family & friends! No one should profit monetarily from War, it is insane! It is obscene!

 

I'm tired of illegal wire taps, warrant less search & seizures, no habeas corpus, inhuman torture. I want my country back. Impeach Bush & Cheney & put them in jail where they belong. I'm tired of Executive signing statements nullifying our laws. I'm tired of crooked voter policies. I'm tired of wondering if my vote will get counted or if the electronic election is rigged? Diebold are crooks! It's time for a Revolution. Dr. Paul has started a revolution & we will not be suppressed. It's too late to stop it now! The mainstream media is blacking out Ron Paul because they don't want the average American citizen to hear his truths & messages. Plus the same people that own the Federal Reserve have conveniently & slowly purchased all of our mainstream media. There is no longer a free press, only a free Internet. They are afraid of him & our revolution. If he is not nominated at the Republican Party, we will write him in!

 

I apologize for sounding so adamant about Ron Paul. I am more adamant about restoring our freedoms & ousting the current ruling class in Washington. We need less government rules & regulations. Our government was designed to protect our American citizens, not invade their privacy & inflict harm. It has become a "we" against "them" mentality. "We" are suppose to be the government, it says "We the people", not "We the ruling elite".

 

I am a Patriot & I love my Country! Live free or die!

I agree with you about Ron Paul being the most competent candidate. He's defending the constitution of the US, and I don't believe that enough people really understand the significance of that point. Our constitution is one of the most brilliant documents ever written and I see no other candidates who are steadfast in defending that. Not only that, but he's a breath of fresh air compared to these other "pushing the company line" candidates that's we've seen for years and years.

 

Regards,

Maria

Here, here, Maria! :)

Hi Jayme,

 

I love your political poster and I love your overall message. I totally agree with just about everything you said. I too have been impressed by Ron Paul's courage and conviction to go against his party's line and speak the truth. Unfortunately truth is not always pretty, so he did not get the traction he deserved and he never became the 'darling' of the right wing nor the press. His lack of charm may have been one reason, unfortunately.

 

 

I myself have been an Obama supporter - so my only disagreement with your statements is what you said about him. I don't think he would be 'more of the same' and/or 'make a move into Iran'. On the contrary, he represents the biggest change of all of them and at this time in our history Americans want change. They are tired of being fed lies, tired of the policies of fear and division, and they yearn for a leader with true integrity, a vision and a message of hope.

 

Obama has all of these qualities - and most of all he is able to inspire people. In Europe he is already called the new Kennedy. I think his willingness to talk even with our enemies, something this administration never did, will mend a lot of fences and help restore our reputation. No more 'cowboy diplomacy'!

 

Hillary is also well qualified, but 20 years of Bush and Clinton reigns are plenty. A Baptist minister, who wants to change the constitution, or McCain who wants to stay in Iraq for 100 years and sang "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran"? I think not. Ron Paul has no chance, I am afraid, so take another look at Obama. He is the right man, the best person, for this time in our history.

 

Warm regards, Barb

 

Re: Adam Kokesch video, I participated in that march in Wshington, DC on Sep, 15, 2007 - it was great!

 

http://photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=766556

 

 

It's a worthy artistic statement, and I appreciate your political sensibilities. While I am not sure Pnet is the best place for us to hold political debates, I guess there is no reason why not. Mr. Paul has many good positions, and he is the rare politician who will say what is true, not what the sycophants want to hear. But his of social policy is troubling. I believe in the federal government. Not the one we have, but the one the Constitution created. I believe in every American having health care and an environment that is not toxic. I don't think anyone but Obama offers the ability to inspire people to do better. Frankly, because he is one of the few who comes into our lifetime who can inspire, I worry that someone or some group will prevent him from carrying his message forth. If he gets the chance, he is our last chance at getting things right, because we (the U.S.) are spinning out of control, and we'll be taking a lot of other folks with us. Keep up the activism and keep thinking about how we can save this country, and hope it is not too late.

I am an RN, my husband is a Physician. I have worked as his Office & Business Manager for years. Most people are completely unaware of what is happening & about to happen with our health-care system. Yes, we all know about the increased cost for insurance coverage, but that's "not" the "real" story.

 

I was going to write a long, passionate explanation, but you probably would not believe me anyway. It sounds rather like science fiction. Have I written my Legislators? You bet I have, but they either don't understand or are being lobbied by those with lots more money (Insurance companies & Pharmaceutical Companies) than us lowly health-care workers can afford.

 

Just remember that I warned you. Health-care, as we know it, is on the verge of take over & major changes are soon to come. If I went into great detail you would most certainly think I was nuts. I assure you I am not nuts. Admittedly they have driven me nearly nuts, but not completely :) I've just been doing this for such a long time & have a really firm grasp on the reality of the situation. The information is out there, you just need to do the research.

 

You should be afraid, very afraid! A few clues. The average US Physician makes less than 150,000.00/year/ a fact. Where is all that Health-care money going? The average age of a US Physician is 55. (Oh shit! That's way too old.) Who wants to increase their revenues? The government? The private sector? The insurance companies? Who wants a huge piece of this enormous pie? The answer my friend is not the actual health-care giver. Do "your" homework! The answer may catch you a little off guard.

 

I can't resist. Just one clue to point you in the right direction: Humana (the 2nd largest insurance company in the US) reported a net income of $833.6 million dollars in 2007 (this according to Bloomberg). In 2006, they netted only 115 million dollars. For those of you who don't understand what "net" means. It means the amount of money they "pocketed" after they paid out all their liabilities. Basically, their profit! Now don't rush out & buy Humana stock, it's all about to end. Our kindly American government has convinced us all, via our extremely biased mass media, that we all "need" universal health-care coverage. (I wish I could buy stock in the US government &/or the Federal Reserve :) I guess that would be in the form of Government bonds? Tax free government bonds no less. I wish I had the money to buy these bonds :( Sadly, I'm just a lowly health-care worker married to a lowly, highly educated, health-care provider. There's gold in them there hills & mountains of Insurance paperwork:) I'm going to have to go to work for Wal-Mart:) Less hours, more pay & better health insurance benefits :) I think I just might qualify as a "Greeter" :) "Hi, welcome to Wal-Mart:)"

I think there is a lot of truth to what you say, and our government is considerably less than efficient. However, letting millions and millions of people go without proper health care is not an acceptable alternative for me. I happen to be a compassionate person who thinks a country this rich and this powerful can do better. I also believe that the insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies are holding our health hostage to their profits. We don't turn police protection over to private profit (and when we do, such as Blackwater, look what we get), and I think it's time we recognize that health care is as important as the need to be crime free. This nation is failing in health care. You, might be far more knowledgeable than I as to the causes. But is it rational for people to have the highest costing health care in the world, and be somewhere down in the mediocre range in such things as infant mortality and other key measures of quality?

 

I'm a firm believer that we need a shakeup. The country is on the verge of ruin. We have the wealth and the power to do better. It is being squandered by foolish elected officials (our fault) and greedy bureaucrats. Corruption has become the norm and is no longer the exception. We can clean it up if we have the will and the intelligence. Maybe it's too late. Mr. Paul makes a lot of sense, and I think he is mostly honest and sincere. But his rigid ideology is not the answer in my book, nor is he seemingly electable. I think we must recognize that all the presidential material in the world will not make a damn bit of difference if we do not make a shift in the people we send to Washington. Abe Lincoln himself couldn't do a thing if he didn't get some good people in Congress to help him start moving in the right direction. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer. Our country is awash in debt and fighting an endless useless war. The Chinese have most of our money and our manufacturing ability, and the Arabs have the oil that our economy depends upon. We might both agree that these are difficult times.

A few facts: Why I'm not voting for Obama, Clinton or McCain, I'm writing in Ron Paul :) Call me crazy, call me a kook. I don't care, most of all, call me a Patriot!

 

1-Obama's wife is a member of the CFR. Very, very concerning to me. Clinton & McCain both were members of the CFR.

 

2-Obama "has" taken lobbyist money in his past. Admittedly, he has stopped during his run for President, but the facts remain unchangeable, he has taken money in the past. Both Clinton & McCain have taken lobbyist money.

 

3-Obama has no personal experience with our health-care system. He is a Lawyer not a Physician. His actions are motivated by those individuals that surround him. He is depending on them to give him the correct answers. He has no real clue as to the real problem, nor do I think he has enough real experience to run this troubled nation. Maybe in 12 years, yes. Neither McCain nor Hilary have any first hand experience with health-care, no matter what they say.

 

4-Obama with regard to 'Executive Signing Statements". Obama said the problem with Bush's signing statements is "not the device itself", but rather that Bush has invoked legal theories that most constitutional scholars consider "dubious" when reserving his alleged right to bypass certain laws.

 

"No one doubts that it is appropriate to use signing statements to protect a president's constitutional prerogatives; unfortunately, the Bush administration has gone much further than that," Obama said.

 

Obama has made no statement as to "how" these signing statements should be better controlled other than to "protect a president's prerogative". We're just suppose to "trust" him? Hum..... I don't think so! I want that loop hole closed!

 

5-Those of you who think Obama is the next great American hope, you might want to investigate a little further. Not just him, but the people whom he surrounds himself with. AKA Media? Basically a front for a huge political propaganda machine. Clinton & McCain also used them. They use psychology as their media to orchestrate each move Obama & you make. (Just like all those TV commercials that convince you you "need" to buy that special something because it will make you happier, prettier, smarter & a little better &/or a more respected person) BUNK! What slogan (Yes we can), what music, how he dresses, how his wife dresses, what words he uses to appeal to you, the voter. If he were "that" terrific, the actual truth would be enough to sell him as the next President. I don't want any political propaganda, I want the hard, cold facts. I absolutely refuse to be manipulated by cheesy, psychological trickery. I am tired of being sold a worthless bill of goods. I'm sure you've heard of Sigmund Freud. What about Edward Bernays, his nephew? Check him out!

 

I suggest you: Read this article by Donald Sevener titled: "Media consultant David Axelrod sells Democratic politicians just like Pepsi sells soft drinks. But don't blame him if you get one-calorie candidates". Axelrod is the brains behind AKA Media, they "sell" politicians. That's all! So try to keep this in mind the next time you watch Sen. Obama. What is he selling? A sense of "Calm", a sense of "Control", a sense of "Intelligence"? A sense of "Honesty", "Integrity", "Unification of our Country" &/or whatever else "they" had decided will sell him as the man to vote for as our next President.

 

6-"We cannot win the fight for hearts and minds when we outsource critical missions to unaccountable contractors," Obama said. This in reference to military contractors, specifically BlackWater. "The use of private military contractors appears to have harmed rather than helped the counter-insurgency efforts of the U.S. mission in Iraq." another statement by Obama made in Oct. 07. Nothing more has been done. It was all words, no action! We need actions! Not just self affirming words!

 

OMG wake up & smell the coffee. Snap the heck out of the daze they have created, it's just not real! It's not anymore real than owning a Mercedes makes you rich. Or the previous premise that "smoking made you sexier". It's all a bunch of bull! You owe it to yourself to find out a little about the following questions:

1-CFR, what is it's function?

2-Non-Federal Federal Reserve, who owns it, what is their function?

3-The Jersey Girls, who are they & what did they find out?

4-9/11 where does the money trail lead?

5-Why did we miss Osama Bin Laden? 1000 cars in a caravan, how could we miss this?

6-Never in the history of "any" steel skyscrapers has one collapsed to the ground. How could we have 3 that collapsed? All in the same day?

7- Why would President Bush & VP Cheney not testify under oath to the 9/11 commission? If they were telling the truth, why not?

8-How hot does jet fuel burn? At what temperature does steel melt? These are facts, not fiction.

9-Why were the 120 or so members of the Bin Laden family allowed to fly out of the US the day after 9/11, when every else's flights were grounded?

10-Why was Pakistan's leader of the ISI in Washington the day of the 9/11 attack? Who was he meeting with?

11-Why did Colin Powell resign?

12-Who is David Addington & John Yo? What significance do they play in what's happening today in our government?

13- Who's Vince Foster? What happened to him?

14- In Iraq for 100 years? OMG what a mess. Talk to some Iraqis, ask them what they think will happen if we leave immediately?

 

I just want facts, facts, facts. Let me be the judge of who I think is the best candidate for the President!

 

It is simple to fall under the magical spell of the beautiful political propaganda machine. But we owe it to ourselves, our children & our grandchildren to resist this process & look at the facts. Who "is" the person best suited to be our next President? Please don't decide until you look at all the facts, avoid the fantasy! I don't care whom you vote for, but make it an honest vote, not a vote made while living under false delusions that pander to your wants & expectations. Smack....wake the heck up!

 

One of the main problems I feel America faces today is that our mass media news sources, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX, MSNBC are no longer able to report truthful, pertinent information. They also are "selling" propaganda. Take a reporter aside, ask them off the record, if they are being censored? The overwhelming answer will be "Hell yes!". Just don't buy it anymore! Demand truth! It's out there, but you do have to expend some energy to get it. It is no longer spoon fed to you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jayme, I started to reply to your last message, but then saw David's, and he said it so much better than I could have ever done. I agree with everything he said, so will add just a few quick points.

 

As we all know, the cost for health insurance has increased tremedously. More and more people are either under insured or forgo insurance alltogether. Employers provided healthcare is in decline as well. The number one reason for bankruptcies is now medical bills. How can we continue like this? We do need a 'shake up', as David put it.

 

I lived about one half of my life in Europe and one half here, so am very familar with Universal Healthcare. There is no need to be afraid, trust me. Though no system is perfect, Europeans as a whole certainly would not want ours. Access to health care should be a right, not a priviledge, and it certainly should not bankrupt people on a large scale.

 

I know you are looking at it from a different angle, but wouldn't it be nice if insurance companies had no more say as to the treatments recommended by doctors, and if you could reduce that 'mountain of paperwork' you mentioned? It can be done.

 

And as far as you becoming a greeter at Walmart for 'more pay and better health insurance benefits' - better check it out. A large number of Walmart workers are on Medicaid at present. Who pays for them? You and me, of course. So yes, we do need a change.

 

Warm regards, Barb :)

I agree with you to some extent about a few things. In my small, rural KY community (some of the poorest people in the nation) around 35,000 people. I see no one doing without health-care. I see those that choose not to get health-care because they are too lazy or just too ignorant. But the majority of indigent people, adults & children receive descent health-care for nothing. You are being manipulated by the press & government. It's just not true. Most, if not all Physicians, choose to provide health-care to the indigent for free or at a greatly reduced cost! This is nothing new, it's been happening for centuries!

 

In a years time, my husband himself writes off over 20,000.00-25,000.00 of debt for free care to indigent. Plus, he probably gives out over a million dollars worth of free medication that was provided for free to him by the pharmaceutical companies. Yes, it's probably well over a million dollars. Do we get a tax deduction? Not a chance! We are a "service" industry. We just don't get paid & we get no tax deduction. Give us a tax deduction for the amount of care we give to those in need, we'd gladly treat the indigent for free! They don't want to give us a tax deduction because they know we do this without a deduction, out of the kindness of our hearts! How stupid are we? Why give us a deduction for something we are going to do anyway? The whole system is evil & vile! It is a ridiculous, oppressive situation controlled in a large part by our Federal government already.

 

They would rather pander to the uninformed & show us a mother sobbing over her health-care woes or a snot nosed, dirty child, implying they need health-care. I am sure somewhere (in an under served area without many physicians) there are some that do go without health-care, but it's rare, not the norm! The facts are that the majority do get the heath-care they need. Yes, there are exceptions, like those where someone needs a treatment that their insurance company just won't approve. These are not the indigent. These are working Americans with an Insurance company, that doesn't want to foot the bill! Not the indigent without the money for health-care!

 

So please, think again! Health-care is BIG business for the Insurance companies & our government. They want the biggest slice of the pie they can get! They are greedy & want more money. It's similar to our teacher's salaries. I read an article the other day that stated for each 25 children most American school systems bring in over 250,000.00 dollars. Yet the teachers salaries remain some of the lowest in the world. Who's taking that money? It sure isn't the teachers in the trenches! Something is wrong & no amount of music or slogans are going to cure it!

 

 

In response to your statements. This is the USA. Free market, free enterprise. I know that both my husband & I will refuse to allow someone (whether it be the government or a national insurance company) dictate to us when our office will be open, who we will see & how many people we will see in a day. It's just not going to happen. No matter if the stipend they pay him is more than he has been making. We will not be dictated to. This is the USA for crying out loud.

 

Do you think for one minute that the grocery stores or Wal-Mart would let the government dictate to them what their prices would be? I don't think so!

 

I could absolutely solve this problem in about 6 weeks. I have looked at it from all sides.

 

1-Give the physician tax credits for all the indigent treatment they give.

2-Do away with the time consuming, invasive computer oriented claim filing.

3-Take the Physician out of the insurance loop. If we didn't have to file claims, meaning we must all have sophisticated computer systems & hook ups & staff to numerically code each visit, we could lower our prices about 40%.

4-Tort reform. Put limits on what Lawyers can sue for. I know some OB/GYN's whose malpractice insurance is in the 80,000.00 bracket! Pediatricians are in the same boat, one can sue up until the child turns 18. What a mess. Do not allow Lawyers to advertise on TV. Against the Law! Also, stop Pharmaceutical companies from advertising on TV. Against the Law!

5-Allow the AMA to police it's self.

6-Stop telling doctors what they can & can not prescribe!

7-Quit allowing foreign medical physicians into our country to practice. It's almost so bad, it rivals the illegal alien laborers. With exception, they are really good at getting the American system down pat. For example: There is a town about 30 miles away that has a large conglomeration of foreign physicians. When a patient ends up in their hospital, they refer this patient to as many physicians as they can. I had one patient who went to the hospital for a minor problem. Probably shouldn't have even been admitted. However, while there, she was seen by an endocrinologist, a gastroenterologist, a cardiologist, an ENT, & a urologist. All friends of the admitting physician. She was a Medicare patient. All of these physician saw the patient for 2 minutes & wrote a short note & charged Medicare for their consulting services. Even though they were completely illegitimate referrals. I'm sure there are American physicians that may do the same thing, but I have noted, foreign physicians do it much more frequently. It is a way to get paid more money for very little work.

 

I have several more ideas, but they are a little more complicated & would require a little more knowledge of medicine to institute. But these would get us started on the right road!

Don't get me started on Medicare Part D, it is a joke! We were getting our Medicare patients "free" medication, brand name. After they started Medicare Part D, now they must pay for it & they can only get generic! It's a scam to take more money from the elderly. That's all!

 

Believe me, I know exactly how this system works. Any elderly patient that was doing without their medicine had a physician who was not in touch with the reality of today. So, I must stop. I get so upset it nearly sends me into a rage! Every Pharmaceutical company had a really well run indigent program. "Every" medicine was available with exception of narcotics. Not allowed in KY. Allowed in lots of other states.

 

I ask you, why is Kentucky's Medicaid program contracted through a company out of Pennsylvania? Because they can make money, that's why! It's all about money, which I agree it should not be. But our government can not even handle what it has right now, let alone adding the entire nation to the list. Look at the VA. It's an abomination. Look at Medicare, it's funds stolen for War funds. For the last 3 years Medicare has cut it's payment to physicians. How much longer do you think we can last? A year? Two years?

 

My parents worked hard every day to raise 5 children. Because my parents remained married & made just a little too much money, we did not qualify for any educational assistance. I paid for my own college education. How about Barack & his wife Michelle. Did they pay for their education? Or did my father pay for their education? I often wonder. Who paid for Bill Clinton's education, my father via his taxes? I wonder? My father couldn't afford to pay his own children's way to college. This is exactly what happened to our own children. We made just a little too much. So.... they did not qualify for assistance. This is outrageous!!!

 

It's a sad day when more than 55% of your income is spent on paying your taxes & insurance coverage. But that's the way it is for the hard working, responsible middle class today. It is not a conducive environment that encourages people to work hard. There is no prize, just more taxes!

Okay, I've finally had the chance to get back to this discussion and catch up with everything you have said. I hear you, sister! Have you read, "Rule by Secrecy" written by Jim Marrs? It sounds like you have. That's very interesting that Obama's wife is/was a member of the CFR.

 

I almost never watch TV. However, one day last week at my mom's house, she had the TV turned on to the news. What the media was saying was "Obama, Obama, Obama" and about how he would likely win it because of personality. So when I hear Baerbel saying that we need charm in the white house, and when I hear David say that Obama will save the day (paraphrase), I cringe a little. That's exactly what the media told you to say, and you're forwarding their well-prepared line. Think for yourselves!

 

If we get national health care, our taxes are going up. That's a brutal, but invariable truth. In fact, in Massachusetts (called Taxachusetts by some) we already have mandatory health care, and trust me, since its inception, the Massachusetts residents have not become healthier. So much for bleeding hearts. While you're paying more taxes, David, the rich are getting richer.

 

Jayme, when you refer to the media being censored, you are right on the money. "Lions for Lambs" touched on this by way of Meryl Streep's reporter character: what she could say, what she couldn't say, what she would be ALLOWED to say, and so forth.

 

I took an elective on Politics in college. On the first day of the class, the professor told us that the New York Times would be required reading daily outside of class. He added important instructions: he said that we had to understand that the media is controlled and that they cannot tell the real story. So when reading the articles we would have to read between the lines to figure out what the real story was that was not being told. This was enlightening and I never looked at reported data the same way since. It's a useful exercise that I recommend for anyone.

 

Add to the mix big pharma's continuing and increasing influence and you see we need a change for sure. Bigger government means more intrusion into our lives.

 

Regards, Maria

I had decided I was going to stay out of any further debate, since it is obvious that nobody is changing their positions, but some of what is said is so patently unuseful, that I cannot help but correct a few misstatements. This country has record deficits, is in a stupidly and criminally begun war, has no manufacturing capability and thus a tremendous drain of our funds to those who do make things, has been taken over by politicians who have raped and plundered the public trust for the benefit of the wealthy, will be at the mercy of the Arabs for oil, and is now considered a dangerous buffoon by most other countries, including our allies. And you tell me we don't need a new paradigm! Simply saying we are not going to do anything but withdraw from foreign engagement, cut taxes and spending no matter who it hurts, and have no plan for taking on the oligarchical class that you so happily support is not my idea of an answer.

 

Common sense tells us that a change of not only the presidency, but the congress as well is imperative. This will require someone who can gather support from the masses. Ron Paul or John McCain are not such people (Hillary either). We need an FDR. Someone who can get people to realize that they are going to have to roll up their sleeves and start chipping in. We are as in a great a danger right now as we were when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The rich don't care (why should they?) and the masses are too ignorant and to much into me first philosophy.

 

And I have no illusions about Obama saving the day. It may be too late to save anything. I just know that if we don't wake up and start using our intellectual abilities instead of our venal desires as our operating compass, there will be little future for my grandchildren. I've always lived well. So, too, has my immediate family. I could join my friends on the golf course and not care. I could say like so many conservatives that it's okay to rape and pillage the earth and our fellow man in the interest of making money. I don't have much to lose. But where is your sense of how we do something positive for millions of less fortunate people? Jayme talks about all the free medical care she and her husband hand out, and implies that nobody goes without medical care in our country. That is clearly b.s. If you wish to come to California, I'll be happy to take you to folks who have no access to the system. Blame them if you wish. That's generally your approach. It's their own damn fault. Right?

 

I have a good health care insurance plan. Currently I pay $1,069.00 per month for my wife and I. No dental. No eyeglasses, hearing aids, etc. Medicines and other medical care amount to $500.00 per month. And do I get world class medical care for that kind of money? NOT! Tell me we don't need a change. I ran a business for almost thirty years. I paid health insurance for every employee and their family for a very long time. But it became impossible to maintain. It doesn't do much good to pay health insurance until you go bankrupt. So eventually I paid only for the employee. Is this the right direction? NOT!

 

Mr. Paul is irrelevant. He will not and cannot be elected. Knowing that, we have someone available who can bring a bit of inspiration to the process. Someone who might get enough unselfish people together to make a positive change. I'm not optimistic. I'm only hoping we can save our butts. Hope. That's about all we have left in the last days of the democratic experiment.

 

And, Maria, your comment about if we get health care our taxes are going up. How about we just shave a few billion off the Iraq stupidity program and apply that to taking care of people instead of killing them? How radical, eh? Taxes don't have to go up. They have to be better spent. But if they do go up, wouldn't it be best to apply the brunt of that to the richest folks. Statistics show that the rich are getting richer and the divide between the poor and the wealthy is widening. At some point this will result in an extremely volatile mix of poor people with no hope of moving up the economic ladder and a wealthy privileged class that has to hire armed guards to protect themselves and their families. Sound like a third world nation? Yeah, it is. And guess what. That situation usually results in either revolution or dictatorship.

 

 

 

 

Maria- I was smiling as I read what you wrote about the New York Times :) It is so true. We "must" learn to read between the lines :) But we must also "demand" unbiased news! Independent thinkers, I think that's the term that best describes what we need to be today.

 

David- As I read your words, I thought to myself, this is a person whom, without realizing it, supports just about everything Ron Paul stands for & his policies. Have you ever really read anything about him? Or have you just been listening to the mainstream media's paraphrasing of him. As for Health-care. I think you are old enough to remember back to the 70's, before our government became heavily involved with our health care system. Most of our hospitals were either "community based" or run by some "religious affiliation". They were basically, not for profit & had little if anything to do with our government. This kept their costs down to an affordable level. In 1974, I was in the hospital 5 days for the birth of our son, it cost 360.00. In 1977, I spent 3 days in the hospital for the birth of our daughter, it was 660.00. Imagine that!

 

I agree, all Americans need to take more responsibility for themselves, but this starts at home. We have to hold our own children accountable. But please do not give me a reference like FDR, as a great American savior of the American people. Obviously, you are not aware of the "real" history. FDR & Pearl Harbor were what can only be called a horrible "scam". Our government, including FDR, knew of the planned attack on Pearl Harbor. They knew the Japanese fleet was steaming towards Pearl Harbor & they knew exactly when they planned to attack. They were warned by various other countries with first hand intelligence reports of these facts. But.... they chose to do nothing (not even notify the Officers on Pearl Harbor), but they chose to sacrifice those American lives in order to gain support from the American public to enter into WWII (prior to that day, there was no support for this War). Over 1 million men enlisted the next day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. FDR & his cohorts used the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor to manipulate the American public into entering WWII & thus through military contractor's needs & profits, to get us out of the "Great Depression". Which, by the way, was also manipulated upon the American public by the Federal Reserve (& perpetuated by those within the Federal Reserve). It was a case of mass manipulation. Sorry, but I have to be honest, all I want is the truth.

 

Then, we rationalized the need to drop 2 atomic bombs on Japan, which killed, injured & caused future harm to millions upon millions of Japanese human beings. The USA is & has been the largest threat to peace on this earth for at least the last century. Why do we think we have all the answers for everyone else in the world? I just don't buy it. As Maria so wonderfully stated above & I paraphrase, our American press basically sucks! We do not get the full & complete story. How could we Americans be expected to come to a correct conclusion with erroneous information as our basis for our judgements. Tom Brokaw, Barbara Walters members of the CFR. Kind of like going to War in Iraq because they had WMD's & were sponsoring Terrorists. We all know that was a lie. But at the time, they paraded Colin Powell out to the UN, where he pointed out the mobile WMD's on satellite images. Note, he resigned upon Bush's 2nd term. Smart man, he was used! Now there's a candidate I could vote for!

 

I am not a neoconservatist, I am a traditional conservative. I completely agree, we need to take care of our own people first. Before the American government & the CIA & the NSA & whatever secret governmental agency became involved, Americans donated their hard earned money to "help" feed & "give" medical care to those in the world less fortunate. Today, our government is involved in drugs for arms (Iran Contras). Bush just promised fighter jets to Pakistan's Dictator, this while Musharraf allowed his female political competitor to be assassinated because he refused her more security? What's wrong with that picture? We just appropriated billions in aid to Pakistan. Which... they will shift around & use their own money to buy the jets from us while their people continue to live in poverty & be subjected to horrible atrocities. This is very wrong!

 

We can NOT continue our policies with regard to our world & expect that everyone should love us! Hell, how could they even like us? They fear us! I do too! Have you read the reports about L. Paul Bremmer? The guy who was appointed by Bush as the "American" dictator who took over in Iraq after we first went in? These are eye opening, you should investigate them. It makes perfect sense, why after his appointment, the insurgency in Iraq was born a new! It reminds me of what our American Patriots did when confronted by the British rulers in America.

 

Here's a little bit of history: The last President that suggested phasing out the Federal Reserve was JFK. He issued Silver Certificates via Executive Order 11110. 4 months later, he was assassinated. Makes you wonder?

 

I'll let you in on another secret, anyone who shows up at any hospital must be given treatment. They can not be denied treatment because they have no insurance or can not pay. In California, the illegal aliens have virtually broken the health-care system. They know this secret well.

 

We Americans have created the illegal alien insurgency. Employing these illegal aliens, paying them next to nothing & giving them no benefits, just to increase our bottom line. These employers should be arrested & jailed. If we can arrest & jail a person who smokes &/or grows marijuana, then these people should do really hard time! They are using people adversely for monetary gain.

 

Things will not change until people start educating themselves & their children. God knows we can't depend on our current educational system that's run by our government. The "dumbing down" of the average American may have reached it's pinnacle. Americans are waking up & asking questions & reading! I have great faith in our American people. They "are" waking up. Once they do wake up, it will be an amazing experience. I hope I live long enough to see it!

 

Don't count the Ron Paul supporters out yet :) There may not be enough of us at present to effect his election, but..... we may greatly effect the current election :) Instead of voting for the lesser of two evils, how about, "None of the Above" :) I think they should all go back to their drawing boards :)

David, you're doing some wild extrapolating on my statements here. Please do not do that. I don't support an oligarchical class. I work for a non-profit, silly! In fact, I have two jobs. I wish I had the luxury to retire as you do. I just don't feel that wealthy Bob should be penalized so that poor Bill can be rewarded, yet that is what you suggest. Rewarding poor Bill with a handout degrades Bill because Bill gets something for which he has not exchanged. In fact, I don't know if you realize this, but you've spouted communist doctrine. Communism's creed is (and this has to be stated in an apathetic tone, of course), "to each as is his need, to each as he can give". Only problem here is that this did not work out too well for the Soviet Union because they oftentimes were unable to buy a basic item such as bread. I don't believe in a welfare state. When the large wave of immigrants came from Europe to the US, there was no welfare system. People had to make their way, and they did. That's the American dream, not handouts. People don't achieve excellence by welfare.

 

It is true what Jayme says about hospitals not refusing care to people. They treat everyone. So people do get care they need.

 

You are right to state that taxes need to be better spent, but to state that taxes don't have to go up is ill-placed idealism, in my opinion, like whistling past the graveyard.

 

Also, Jayme makes another good point: Have you read anything about Ron Paul? You do believe in a lot of the things he stands for.

 

As an additional note, one of the things I like about Ron Paul is the fact that he is opposed to TeenScreen.

Maria, your charge about David 'spouting communist doctrine' is laughable. Your professor said "read between the lines", not "plant false evidence" there - big difference!

 

Jayme, the claim, that no one is denied treatment at a hospital, no matter his or her ability to pay, is not quite true. It is emergency treatment only, one can NOT get chemo therapy for instance - isn't that correct? Also, most of the cost for that care is shifted to taxpayers by our federal, state and local governments, and to the privately insured by our hospitals, physicians and insurance company. A 2005 study found, that this shift added a hefty 8.5% to our premium. So we do have socialized healthcare in a way, albeit a very lousy version, which still leaves too many out and bankrupts about 2 million Americans every single year! Those, who don't see the need for change must have their heads someplace where the sun does not shine.

 

 

Finally, Jayme, your statement "the USA is & has been the largest threat to peace on this earth for at least the last century" is a shocking one, indeed. A threat yes, even our closest allies, the Brits, expressed this in a recent poll, but the "greatest?!" I can not agree with you here. Hitler's Nazi-Germany still holds the award in that category, sorry.

 

Barb

Yes, you keep laughing Barb.

Maria- I think you understood what I was saying.

 

Barb- You are right about raising out health care premiums. But... as for Chemotherapy, you are right, but most, if not all hospitals have a system in place to cover these costs for those that can not afford them. I kid you not! Those that suffer from no insurance & high bills have just not made the effort to investigate their options. Most hospitals have someone assigned to just this problem. I have worked in hospitals, I know the facts. Usually, they are grants & endowment funds given to the hospital thru some purpose. All you have to do is ask! If you don't ask, you get not help.

 

Here's an example of HC at it's worst. I had wrist & arm surgery a couple of years back. I had fallen & broken my arm. The first ortho that did the closed reduction should have referred me to a hand surgeon, but his arrogance prevented him from referring. So, in the end I ended up having to have hand surgery. I spend almost 1 year recovering from the break, to the time I could actually use my hand. Anyway, I had outpatient surgery. I was in the hospital from 9 am to 2pm. The bill they sent me & my insurance company was 27,656.00. They charged 1400.00 for a 14.00 plate & 650.00 for each of the 8 screws they used, which in fact only cost .25cents each from the manufacturer Stryker. It was ridiculous! So... after the insurance company made them take their write off's for being a BCBS provider, the total cost to my insurance company was 1200.00. What's wrong with this picture? Hell, I was paying BCBS 659.00 a month for my husband & myself. We had a 5,000.00 deductible,(which I had met a long while back) then it was 80/20. I would have been willing to pay the hospital 2000.00 or even 2500.00 if I hadn't had to pay BCBS 659.00 per month. But "NO". We can't get a contract like that as a private person. If I had not had insurance I would have been responsible for the entire amount. This is unfair to say the least. This is proof that those who don't have insurance get over charged constantly. so what to do?

 

We'll let's ask Michelle Obama, she works at a hospital in Illinois. She took a 195,000.00 pay raise in one year, the year her husband, Barack, became a Senator in Illinois? Let's ask her! All of us as Health care professionals have maximum charges we can make with regard to Medicare. We have been threatened by a 10% cut to go into effect July 1, 2008. How about we make the charges all fair. Increasing the allowable charges for Medicare by about 10 % would just about do it. Then make those the maximum charges allowable for everybody! Insured & uninsured. Put a "freeze" on them for a while. Not permanently, just until we get this economy under control. This would be one help. How about we allow people without insurance to be able to buy into an insurance "network" without any coverage, just the ability to get the same rates as the insurance companies. I'd pay 100.00 /mo. just to belong to BCBS or Humana's network so that the insurance companies couldn't over charge me!

 

But you know something, we have gotten so involved in this political infighting, we may be being mass distracted. The world is really a frightening place right now. Look at Russia with Putin! I watched a Frontline special last night. He has effectively taken over as "ruler" of Russia. Controlling their media, controlling the youth though mind control tactics. He's like a rock star over there. I also watched a segment where news casters asked the youth following Barack "what he had ever accomplished". One thought he was the only Black Senator, OMG. One said she just liked his music & how he dressed. Not one could think of one accomplishment. It was eerily similar to what Putin is doing to the Russian youth. And then, what about Pakistan? A crime, a real crime! It looks like we are being set up for some "National State of Emergency" which will prevent Bush from stepping down. Montana just passed a bill that prevents the Feds from entering Montana in the event of a National Emergency. Very scary! It's just way too much to try to understand. I don't pretend to understand what exactly is happening, but I think it is ominous!

Jayme,

 

Okay, so we agree - the cost for uninsured care is mostly shifted over to the rest of us, insurance companies charge way too much, and healtcare providers get too little. However, I don't think Michelle Obama is responsible for all this, and neither are you. And I still doubt that any uninsured person can go to a hospital for ANY kind of care, it has to be pretty serious or emergency care. You may very well be correct about the availability of grants and endowment funds, but I doubt they are handed out as freely as you make it sound. And they certainly would not cover the healthcare costs for 47 million people.

 

Here are two personal stories relating to health care: My daughter visited me in Florida a few years ago. She, husband and small child had insurance for several years to the tune of $1,200 a month (more now). On her last day here we had to take her to a clinic, because of severe stomach pains. The diagnosis was "stomach flu, it's going around". She returned to New York that same evening. In the middle of the night the pains became intolerable and her husband rushed her to a hospital nearby. Emergency operation at 4am - ectopic pregnancy, which had burst - she was told if she had come in a little later she may not have made it. The bill came to $25,000. BUT.....the insurance company denied payment, because "the hospital was not on their approved list". It has not been settled to this day.

 

Other story, an acquaintance, in her own words: "You are wrong about hospitals not being able to garnish your wages and putting a lien on your home!! They can and yes they will. They did it to me! They also affected my credit to the point of being unable to buy a second house.

 

I HAD health insurance, BC/BS. I was diagnosed with cancer, I had to have a hysterectomy and chemo. My insurance company decided to drop me using a lame excuse. The hospital refused to give me chemo and then came after me full force for their money for the hysterectomy. They got a judgement they garnished my wages and put a lien on my existing house. I had to obtain attorneys I had to fight fight fight, not only for my life but for my wordly possesions.

 

This is not an isolated situation. Since my younger sister and I were diagnosed 90 days apart, her insurance company did the same to her. They dropped her, after she got out of ICU the hospital practically threw her out of the hospital. The same as me, she went for chemo was turned away to die. She too had to get attorneys and fight fight fight. I know it shortened her life, she died at the age of 26.

So don't say it can't happen. Yes, it does, and yes, they can destroy your life financially and yes they will!"

 

Fact is most Americans are unhappy with our health care system as is. If health care was equal in importance to faberge eggs or flat screen TV's then it would be ridiculous to assert that everyone is entitled to it. It is on a different level, however, and the health of each and everyone plays a role in the health of our nation as a whole. We are already slipping behind in longevity, yet we are paying much more than people in other countries.

 

Furthermore, it is ridiculous to opine what will and won't work based on its resemblance to a political ideology. Democracies or Democratic Republics, as we fancy ourselves, evolve continuously. The bad ideas are thrown out, the good ideas are kept. If the concept of a Democratic Republic hadn't evolved since the inception of our nation we'd be third world. So what is wrong with plucking the more desirable tenets from another discipline and applying them to our own in the name of human progress? Nothing at all, in my opinion.

 

You say the world is really a frightening place right now. I disagree. There have been much more frightening times in the past. But then again, I never signed on to our administration's fear mongering. Of course there are terrorists, and of course we have to go after them, but not by invading countries which are no threat to us. WMD? I don't think our administration ever seriously thought there were any. $275 million every single day for this war of choice and we are slipping deeper and deeper into debt by the minute! Our next president -Obama - sure will have has work cut out, he is inheriting a total mess. But knowing he will change the tone and the direction I do feel optimism for the first time in years.

 

Barb :)

It's a long one:

 

I believe all your horror stories, I have no doubt they are true. But, and this is a big but, allowing our already proven inept & inefficient government to take over our health care system is not going to stop this. It's like putting a band-aid on an arterial bleeder. It just isn't going to keep the patient from bleeding to death. As an RN, with a Physician husband(Solo-Family practice), I agree, health care IS broken. Believe me, there is no one that realizes it more then us. But, again having the Health Care system taken over by our government is NOT the answer. I must ask, have you ever SEEN the US Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)? Well, I hope you never have to. The CFR's are conglomeration of legal bullshit, written by lawyers, for lawyers & they contain so many errors & loop holes, you could drive a Mack truck through them. This is what happens when Lawyers write laws for Doctors or anyone they know nothing about. Doctors don't write laws for Lawyers? Why? Because Doctor's know very little about Law. Thus, the converse is true!

 

I worked for L&R (Licensure & Regulations) for about 6 months as an RN, who reviewed HC institutions. What a joke, I had to quit! It made me physically ill! Here's an example:

 

Let's say the Legislators decided (someone lobbied big bucks for this) that all hospital hallways have to be 12 foot wide. OK. So, I get to this hospital to survey them & measure their hallways and on 2 floors the hallways are 11 ft. 9 inches. Ut oh! What do I do? Well, legally I have the right to make them close those floors until they correct the problem. As I stand there in that hallway, I see no problem with traffic flow, the 3 inches isn't missed. This is just how complicated the system gets.

 

OK, If I choose to close the 2 floors for the minor infractions, the entire hospital could loose it's governmental reimbursement for the patients on these floors, via Medicare, Medicaid & many Insurance companies follow suite with Medicare. Lots of lost revenue. So, now we're in big trouble. If I choose to overlook it & not document it as a problem, well then we'll be OK right? But, the CFR says 12 feet! So I "must" document the problem (Remember, I work for the government) but I also document that I observed no traffic problems with this lack of 3 inches in width. Everything is OK, right? Hum..... Not!

 

This is how ignorant HC is right now! Let's imagine 6 months later, while on one of these floors, Joe Smith had an Abd. Aneurysm rupture. While the Hospital staff was rushing him to the OR, they encountered 3 person's in the hallway in wheel chairs. Inadvertently, Jane Doe was knocked from her wheelchair & broke her hip. This fracture in turn lead to pneumonia & a UTI with sepsis & she died. Miraculously, Joe lived! Jane Doe's family is furious with the hospital. They feel the hospital killed their 80 year old mother with that hip fracture. So, they hire themselves a Lawyer, who starts his investigation at L&R. First, he wants to know if there have been any reported violations for this hospital. In this report, he sees where I documented the hallway on this particular floor is 3 inches shy of the 12 foot requirement. However, I saw no traffic flow problems. Remember, I was obligated to document it. Do you see where this is leading? Right into a courtroom where the hospital will settle for some undisclosed amount to avoid the expense & further investigation into their 3 inch shy hallway's! Also to avoid others from suing!

 

The CFR's are riddled with stupid, idiotic, outrageous regulations like this example. Someone, lobbied, some Legislator, to add their 2 cents into the CFR. If you saw the CFR book you would faint! Today, it is safe to assume, if you walk out your door & cross the street you have broken several Federal or State laws! I kid you not! If more regulation was the answer, all of our problems would have already been solved :) We'd be living in Utopia!

 

While this is just a small example, it is a valid one. I agree, some regulation "is" necessary, but most is not. Here's another example: Say you are in a wheel chair (W/C)& you need to get your hair cut. Your regular beauty salon is NOT wheel chair accessible. The front door is only 32 inches wide & your wheel chair is 34 inches wide. Also, there are 4 steps up & no ramp into the salon. What now? Should we regulate & pass a law that "ALL" businesses are W/C accessible? Make your salon put in a new door, add a ramp & then provide a W/C accessible restroom? At what cost? Or, should you just find a new beauty salon that caters to W/C patients? I say the latter. In a free market, if enough people in W/C's stop coming to your regular salon, your salon will make the changes themselves. They will notice that their business is failing to reach all the people they want to reach. We do not need a legal mandate! But we have one! Oh Yeah! We, for example, have 4 restrooms at our office, 2 staff, 2 patient. One of the patient bathrooms is obviously, W/C accessible. We didn't need a law to 'make' us provide it. We knew we would see patients in W/Cs. But..... there is a law (somewhere) that dictates just how high up the sink must be, the grab bars must be, etc. I really don't know how builders do it when they build anything to do with HC. The regulations are outrageous & overwhelming. Thus, why Architects & Builders "specialize" in HC & they charge an arm & a leg more than a normal building would cost!

 

What is the answer? Well it's very, very complicated, too complicated for our Government. They just aren't that smart! Hell, they think the "Internet" is the cause of violent, radicalization of our Citizens, not the fact that they lied to us & got us into a War in the Middle East. Or the fact that our kids are dying everyday over there, no that's not the cause. Nope, it's all the Internets fault! Yeah, right! They are so removed from reality, they are simply clueless. We need to kick almost all the 'bums' out of Washington & start over fresh!

 

Medicine is an ART! not a SCIENCE, like everyone wants to believe. There is a difference. One practices the ART of Medicine, not the SCIENCE of Medicine. Will people ever get this through their head?

 

Universal Health Care will NOT solve our problems with HC. Like my example above, it would be like putting a band-aid on an arterial bleeder. The patient is still going to Damn well die! If the dollar value keeps falling, it will all be a moot point anyway. NAFTA, CAFTA, & many other policies we have in place make us destined to fail. One more example & I'll leave you all alone, maybe:)

 

Let's try Education, In 1980, they formed the Federal Department of Education. It was 'suppose' to improve the education of our children. Did it? Nope! It has regulated it's self to death! It took the major educational control away from our local school boards & teachers & made unrealistic regulations regarding teaching practices. Has Johnnie gotten any smarter? Nope, he's gotten more ignorant. A large majority of the population either home school or send their children to private schools, who are not required by law to do the same things our public schools are required to do. Do our teachers receive a more just salary? Hell, no! But a bunch of Fat Cats sit up in Washington & bankroll a ignorant study to find out why kids like french fries over apples! (just a made up example). Hell, I can tell you why! Kids love junk food. That doesn't mean we have to give it to them all the time!

 

We need to wake the hell up! While we were all sleeping, our government has basically taken over our lives. I don't know about you, but I don't want or need anyone to protect me from that hallway that is 3 inches too narrow or a bathroom with a grab bar placed 2 inches too high or spend my hard earned dollars studying & figuring out why kids prefer french fries to apples! Jane Doe was 80 years old for God's sake, accidents happen!

 

One more, I can't resist :) I live in KY, my mother lives in Ohio. Saturday, Ohio had a major snow storm. She was telling me it was a "Level 3" snow emergency. I asked, "What does that mean?" She explained that no one was allowed on the roads or highways. They risked being arrested. I smiled. I said, surely you jest? In the first place, common sense dictates that unless it was a real emergency or unless you just wanted to try out your new 4-Wheel drive SUV for fun, you should stay home :) I, personally, don't need any "law" to tell me to stay home in a snow storm. Kind of like a law telling me to come in out of the rain! This is ludicrous! I'd be mad as hell if I was living in Ohio & I thought my legislators had this kind of time to sit around & actual come up with this kind of "regulation", a law regarding when I can & can't drive my car in the snow!!!!! God save us from the Legislators! Next they'll be regulating at what temperature we must put coats on our kids!

 

You just can't regulate common sense!!!!!!!!!!!!!NO matter how hard you try!

People need to act responsibly with common sense. We should not be held responsible for those that act irresponsibly or lack common sense. We need to get away from the thinking that our US Government is going to take care of us. Read the Constitution & it's Amendments. The government 'is' responsible for somethings, but everything else we should be able to govern ourselves via local & state governments. Should we Federalize all of our Policemen? Our Garbage collectors? How about all of our city Mayors? How about we Federalize all Plumbers, Lawyers, Auto Mechanics, Beauticians, Rn's, Car Salesmen, Interior Designers, Supermarket owners & employees, ETC. ? I could go on and on. We all have the 'right' to have leak-free plumbing & appropriate legal counsel, & a car that runs properly & our hair looking nice, a great car salesman, our houses looking perfectly decorated & food of course, we need that to live (are they next?).

 

Federalized HC is just pl

Jayme,

 

 

I will try to make this brief and also my last appearance on here. :) Yes, I mostly do agree, federal bureaucracy needs to be limited, but I also think, if we like it or not, much of it is necessary. As a libertarian, you trust the free market more than a central government - as a liberal, I do not. (At least in general, for I do have a real problem with our present administration, but that's beside the point!)

 

 

You hail the 'free market' and 'free enterprise', but obviously business exists solely to make money, as it should. There HAS to be oversight to protect the consumers and the environment. Too many regulations can strangle business, but having none can be even worse. Remember the Savings and Loan scandal? Deregulation at its worst, which cost us, the taxpayers, over 120 billion, and we may be heading for another bank bail-out right now. It is apparent that our free market does not learn from mistakes, it will never regulate itself, profits and greed will always be the dominant factor. And look at history. Coolidge's laizzes fair policies of the 20s was one of the major reasons for the big depression of the 30s. Experiments in Chile and New Zealand also show what happens when there are no regulations and everything is privatized. A few got extremely wealthy, but in the long run the fate of the majority grew much worse: with the social safety net diminished, poverty increased by more than 30%, there was a marked increase in violent crime as well as suicide rates, natural resources were plundered and the environment polluted.

 

 

So your 3 inch shy hallway story is regulation gone awry (ficticiously anyway), but all in all oversight is a good thing and necessary. WITHIN REASON it has to exist for balance, for the protection of the work force, for safety, for the environment, and for he rest of us and those that follow. The federal government CAN be effictive and smart, we - the people - just have to hold it accountable, stay better informed, and not accept the bending of facts and/or outright lies. You say 'throw all the bums out', just getting rid of most of the lobbyists would be a good start already. They yield way too much influence. According to you federalized health care is "just plain wrong, it will not work". I don't agree. Obviously you have never been to Europe or Canada, for it can and it does work. I have been there, I have experienced it. I have friends and aquaintances in many of the European countries and Canada, and they are all quite happy with their health care. No system will ever be perfect, but the negative examples of long waits with Universal Healthcare or other problems as spread by our media and/or our insurance companies, are few and far between, and they could be MORE than matched with horror stories of our own system. Not sure if you saw the 60 minutes special recently about "Remote Area Medical", which set up in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was heartbreaking on one hand and embarrassing on the other. Embarrassing that this is happening in our country.

 

 

Americans spend more on HC, yet are falling behind in overall health and longevity compared to other industrialized countries, the costs keep going up and more and more people forego insurance all together. They just can not afford it. As we all know Hillary's reform plan was shot down 15 years ago, did the conservatives come up with a better one in all those years? If so, I have not heard. Some of your own ideas may be an improvement, but still leave the uninsured uninsured. You mentioned a band-aid cure. This to me would be it.

 

 

 

I realize that the term 'socialized healthcare' makes some people curl up in a fetal position and complain 'this is the USA for crying out loud'. But again: it makes no sense to decide what will and won't work based on its resemblance to a political ideology. Let's judge a thing on it's own merit. Civilizations evolve. If we had not changed and evolved since our inception we would be 3rd world. There is nothing wrong with plucking the more desirable tenets from another discipline and applying them to our own in the name of human progress. Not to do so would be utterly stupid.

 

 

 

As I said before, our health is NOT a commodity like Farberge eggs or flat screen TV, it can NOT be trusted to insurance companies who seek maximum profits, try to influence doctors about which care to give or not to give, and pay bonuses to adjusters who deny valid claims. With healthcare bills being the main reason for bankruptcies right now, with close to 50 million people unsinsured and millions more underinsured, it is obvious there needs to be a change from the status quo. To stay the course would be disastrous. I myself am fine, I have decent coverage, but being a liberal, I do have a social conscience. As the 'richest country on earth' and as a 'Christian nation' we should make health care accessible to all, not just to the more affluent in our society, and we should make it accessible with out bankrupting 2 million people a year. It's the right thing to do.

 

 

 

Okay, 'nuff said. I appreciate you initiating a political discussion on this site. Some may think it is not the right venue, but why not?! We have different political views and will not agree, obviously. Also you are looking at the issue from the viewpoint of the provider, I from that of the consumer, which makes a difference. Let's hope people smarter than us will tackle this issue in the near future and make the right decisions. There are two out there who could. I have hope. With that I am stepping down from this soap box. No "smack, smack" from me, just a friendly good bye. Take care, Barb

 

 

"Socialized Medicine" will not work. HMO medicine came close to this. It nearly put most Physicians out of business & provided terrible care to the insured. I love people, but, if you don't have to pay much for something, it becomes deemed as pretty much worthless & is abused often. Being directly in the middle of Health Care (I'm an RN, my husband an MD), I saw what it was like when people only had a 5.00 copay! If the appointment in the office didn't suit them, they went to the ER.

 

So let's try this again. Let me use an analogy. Let's say all "Legal" advice & work were covered by a socialized plan. Do you not believe the legal profession would be overwhelmed within 2 weeks? I would guess, 90% of the requests would be frivolous, 10% legitimate. It's a slippery slope we are teetering on. If we make "Health-care" an inalienable right for all, then what about "Food" or "Electricity" or "Gas" or "Gasoline"? How about the right to have a "Home"? What about socializing our "Banks"? We all need money.

 

To say that Health-care is a "given right" is like saying reasonably priced eggs is a given right. We can not live without food. We can not live without heat for our homes. We would slowly but surely parish without both.

 

The depression of 1929 was not caused by anything other than exactly what is happening today, the control of our central bank (the non-federal Federal Reserve)by a few very ruthless people. For example, who just purchased the failing Bear Stearnes? Yep, JP Morgan & with a low interest loan from the Federal Reserve no less. At a little over 2.00 a share! Wake up & smell the coffee Dorthy :) We're not in Kansas anymore! Millions lost their life savings in this soon to become a scandalous deal!

 

This is the USA, not England, not Ireland, not Germany. We live in a Republic. You have to take the bad with the good. I prefer to remain free, not be over regulated by someone who has no idea what they are doing! The USA is immensely "larger" than any of the countries you mentioned above. This makes a huge difference. If you think health care is bad now, just wait. Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. Most Physicians will drop out of the system & operate on a cash only basis. Physicians can "not" be forced to participate in socialized medicine. You will see the best & the brightest dropping out. If only 50% of the physicians drop out, it would create a huge hole & what will happen next? You will be waiting in line for months, if not years for non-emergency surgery, like gallbladder removal. Who would want to become a physician in the future if they knew they would be required to work very hard & long hours to receive a small stipend from the government? No one! Thus, our already decreasing Physician numbers would become an even more critical problem.

 

It's not the "Health Care Providers" that need regulated, it's the Insurance Companies, their lobbyists & the profits that they are encouraged to make. Humana's profits in the last year have skyrocketed, but their payments to Health Care providers has decreased. This "is" the problem, not the Providers. Providers are set for a 10% cut, across the board, from Medicare come July of 2008. It will cause us great loss in revenue. We may have to cut one of our staff. We only have 3 full-time, 2 part-time staffers. One of those full-time positions is the Physician :) Life is short, too short to buy into the ridiculous antics of our political, money making machine. How about we regulate the Banks & forget about regulating the Health-Care System? :)