She's against the idea of purchasing health care across state lines.
"It's a maze out there of health care coverage. And if all of a sudden you have someone in Adel they have to call somebody in Vermont to figure out your problems -- that would be really unfortunate and you'd see some real stress on people."
Really?
My wife and I do that now for our health care, as well as car insurance and our homeowner's.
Even if they're in Iowa, they have to call.
Later on she lamented about the lack of competition, it's hard to convince someone like Aetna to come here to compete when Wellmark already has such a 70 percent share of the market.
Open state borders to insurers and they don't have to build here to compete!
A Quinnipiac poll showed a majority, 57 percent, said health care reform should be abandoned if it will "significantly" add to the deficit.
Mr. Obama has promised that any reform will not add to the budget imbalance, but 72 percent of the registered voters surveyed by Quinnipiac said they did not think Mr. Obama would be able to deliver on that vow.
A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll showed that 42 percent thought the current health care reforms were a bad idea, while 36 percent thought them a good idea.
A National Public Radio poll shows 47 percent opposition to the Obama health care reforms in Congress, with 42 percent support.
NPR!
It speaks volumes if NPR couldn't find a majority to support it.
Here's another reason why John Edwards is Phony Joanie.
In his latest TV ad, Phony says...
"When I'm president, I'm going to say to members of Congress and members of my administration, including my Cabinet: 'I'm glad that you have health care coverage and your family has health care coverage. But if you don't pass universal health care by July of 2009 - in six months - I'm going to use my power as president to take your health care away from you.' "
The crowd he's speaking to breaks out into applause, showing those that support the Phony don't know shit and the scientific community is united in that fact.
Phony Joanie has now had to admit, in a phone interview with the Ragister...
that a president would not have the power to unilaterally pull health care coverage from federal employees or members of Congress.
The Multi Millionaire trial lawyer said he would use "the power of the bully pulpit".
The woman I met in Indiana who just lost her job, and her pension, and her insurance when the plant where she worked at her entire life closed down......She needs middle-class tax relief that will help her pay the skyrocketing price of groceries, and gas, and college tuition.
I may be wrong, but it sounds like she needs a job.
The college student I met in Iowa who works the night shift after a full day of class and still can’t pay the medical bills for a sister who’s ill – she can’t afford four more years of a health care plan that only takes care of the healthy and the wealthy...
This isn't the first time he's used this college student (?), I first heard it come up in his opening statement at a CNN debate.
I've met a young woman who gets three hours of sleep a night because she has to work the night shift even as she's going to school full time, and still can't afford to provide the health care for her sister who's ill.
If you're working the night shift, you're not sleeping at night and the scientific community is united in that fact.
Are there any health care plans in this country that would cover your sibling?
Does Obambi's health care plan do that?
The man I met in Pennsylvania who lost his job but can’t even afford the gas to drive around and look for a new one – he can’t afford four more years of an energy policy written by the oil companies and for the oil companies......He needs us to take a permanent holiday from our oil addiction by making the automakers raise their fuel standards, corporations pay for their pollution, and oil companies invest their record profits in a clean energy future.
How's that help him get a job?
This is the one we've been waiting for, with the change we can believe in?
Apparently Biden is hard of hearing, because here's what McCain said in his acceptance speech...
I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them. I will open new markets to our goods and services. My opponent will close them. I will cut government spending. He will increase it.
My tax cuts will create jobs. His tax increases will eliminate them. My health care plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and keep good health care insurance. His plan will force small businesses to cut jobs, reduce wages, and force families into a government-run health care system where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor.
Keeping taxes low helps small businesses grow and create new jobs. Cutting the second-highest business tax rate in the world will help American companies compete and keep jobs from moving overseas. Doubling the child tax exemption from $3,500 to $7,000 will improve the lives of millions of American families. Reducing government spending and getting rid of failed programs will let you keep more of your own money to save, spend and invest as you see fit.
My fellow Americans, when I'm president, we're going to embark on the most ambitious national project in decades. We are going to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don't like us very much. We will attack the problem on every front. We will produce more energy at home. We will drill new wells offshore, and we'll drill them now. We will build more nuclear power plants. We will develop clean coal technology. We will increase the use of wind, tide, solar and natural gas. We will encourage the development and use of flex fuel, hybrid and electric automobiles.
Sen. Obama thinks we can achieve energy independence without more drilling and without more nuclear power. But Americans know better than that. We must use all resources and develop all technologies necessary to rescue our economy from the damage caused by rising oil prices and to restore the health of our planet. It's an ambitious plan, but Americans are ambitious by nature, and we have faced greater challenges. It's time for us to show the world again how Americans lead.
Technically Biden is correct, it wasn't A word.
Biden stressed that there’s a sincere and close friendship between himself and his running mate.
As close as with his "personal friend, great friend" of 30 plus years, John McCain, who he's actually endorsed on various occasions...
"America would be well served"
"I would be honored to run with or against John McCain, because I think the country would be better off--well off no matter who..."
As Barack said, what do they think we are, completely stupid?
The Ragister makes it seem that CONgressman LeonardBOZO-well had an epiphany on health care because of his town halls.
A minor exception is Rep. Leonard Boswell, who staked out support for the public insurance option during meetings in Sigourney and Des Moines. The Des Moines Democrat said he had long been open to the position but had not committed to the stance endorsed by House Democratic leaders.
His mind is so open, his brains fell out years ago.
Bleeding Heartland noted on June 9th that BOZO-well still supported a health care reform bill containing a public option that would go into effect immediately.
Also mentioned is how BOZO-well signed on Health Care for America Now's core principles on health care reform.
Today Rick Campbell, one of our senior members at age 87, is here to reminisce a bit and give us a history lesson.
He says he is so old that he learned to drive an internal combustion engine car (remember those) with a manual transmission.
He once owned a typewriter.
He remembers when bicycles had one speed, phones had two-party lines, and cameras had something called film.
He is from a different time; almost a different world.
I'm sure all of us are far too familiar with the tragic events of 2010, so Rick is not going to plow that fertile field again.
Instead, he is going to give us a personal look back at the conditions which led up to that fateful year, in a speech titled "2010 Was Not A Good Year To Be President."
Yes, 2010 was long ago and far away.
As we look back on history, it appears that some Presidents had an easy ride- times of growth and stability.
Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Bill Clinton come to mind.
Those were good years to be President.
Others were elected just when the Republic was facing terrible crises: Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, George W. Bush.
They rose to the occasion, even though they were controversial and widely hated while in office.
Not such good years to be President.
Just a few years prior, in 2008, the country began foundering.
We were in the sixth year of the Iraqi Occupation, and the economy was flat.
The mainstream press clearly wanted a Democrat elected.
Although we didn't know it until some years later, oil producing nations had colluded to secretly buy their own oil on the open market, driving oil prices to shocking levels above the true demand price- reaching a high of $162 a barrel in October, 2008, just before the general elections.
Their purpose was simple: to effect regime change in the United States.
And of course, the U.S. economy was already in a real estate slump and also suffering the curse of stagflation; slow growth and high inflation.
There were a million home foreclosures.
Independent truckers went under by the thousands.
Airlines failed. Airlines with names now long-forgotten: United, Delta, Northwestern, American.
All now merged, of course, into the one lone U.S. carrier we love so much: Southwest.
Against this backdrop of weariness of the war on terror, and economic distress, the American people were ripe for a demagogue, and they certainly got one in Barack Hussein Obama.
He and his running mate Kathlene Sibelius inspired them with vague notions of hope and change; of a world in which diplomacy settled all international problems, of free universal health care, of abundant alternative energy, of peace and love.
It was a vision too good to resist.
The Republican nominee, a name you probably haven't heard in years, anyone?
Yes, it was John McCain, an obscure Senator from Arizona had no clue how to run a national campaign, and a platform nearly as liberal as Obama's.
The selection of Condoleeza Rice as his running mate looked brilliant at first.
Unfortunately, black voters viewed her as white, and women voters viewed her as one of the guys.
Even so, the McCain/Rice ticket would have won the election if it weren't for the fact that 16 percent of conservative Republicans voted for, anyone remember?
That's right, Bob Barr, another name that's a footnote in history.
After Obama's narrow win, thanks to recounts in Broward County, Florida, the country was positively giddy.
A Democrat House, Senate, and President.
At last an end to gridlock in Washington.
Camelot!
When Congress convened in January, 2009, the 44th President of the United States did something unique in history: he made good on his campaign promises.
Certainly most Americans never really thought he was serious during the campaign.
But whether because of inexperience, idealism, or simply incompetence, he followed through.
In Obama's first One Hundred Days, the Congress passed his initiatives, and he signed them into law as he said he would.
He repealed the Bush tax cuts, increased capital gains taxes.
He enacted a windfall profits tax, and instituted price controls on gasoline and diesel fuel.
He passed universal health care, which added an additional 10 percent tax increase on all working Americans.
He signed the Immigrant Amnesty bill which created 12 million new citizens instantly, each with entitlements.
He closed the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, and summarily released all the detainees.
He repealed the Patriot Act, and cut funding for espionage, and eliminated all terrorist listening and wiretaps.
Most important, he began the complete and immediate withdrawal of all American troops from Iraq.
He ignored the advice of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who wanted to retain bases in Kuwait and Qatar.
Instead, he went with the recommendation of Secretary of Defense Dennis Kucinich, and ordered all troops back to U.S. soil.
Viola!
In One Hundred Days, by May of 2009, it was all done, and the vision was complete. He did exactly what he said he would do.
And so it was in the summer of 2009 that things began to unravel for Obama.
Of course, the economy needed a tax cut, not an increase, and unemployment quickly rose to 12 percent.
Even attorneys and economists were put in the bread lines.
Hard times.
Price controls on gasoline immediately led to shortages and gas lines.
The global cooling trend we have seen for the past 25 years first became obvious in 2009, exposing the CO2 global warming fraud.
People were justifiably angry.
Federal deficits increased massively because thousands of baby boomers, facing job loss and much higher taxes, simply gave up and took social security.
Although the superb U.S. health care system was thrown into disarray, the bright spot was the creation of the Federal Department of Health care, and the immediate hiring of 250,000 administrators, inspectors and auditors, the only job growth in any economic sector in 2009.
By February 2010, the U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq was complete. It was a very expensive undertaking.
And then in March, the gradual Shiite insurgencies from Iran turned into a true Iraqi civil war.
In May, Iranian tanks crossed the border and quickly took Baghdad.
Although the exact number is not known, at least 230,000 Sunni Iraqis died as we stood by.
Iran also quickly moved into undefended Kuwait.
President Obama did exactly what he said he would.
He sent Secretary of State Maria Cantwell to Tehran to meet with Iranian President Ahmadinejad.
After two weeks of high level talks, the United States agreed to allow Iran to retain Iraq and Kuwait to create stability in the middle east, with the understanding that Israel would not be disturbed.
Cantwell returned to Washington, and explained the agreement in her famous speech, in which she proudly noted that the Obama administration had finally achieved "peace in our time" in the Middle East.
So there was some surprise at the rocket attacks on Tel Aviv on August 14th.
President Obama said, "This is not the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad I knew."
The Obama administration decided it would be de-stabilizing to take sides in the conflict, and approximately 29,000 Israeli civilians died during the summer and fall.
American Jews were appalled at the inaction.
Yes, in 2010 most American Jews were Democrats, but because of 2010, they are solid Republicans today.
As awkward as it was, everything might have turned out all right for the Obama administration going into the fall mid-term elections of 2010, if it hadn't been for the dirty bomb in the Port of Long Beach.
The administration had cut funding for the inspection of containers, because they felt it showed a "lack of trust" in the international trading community.
It wasn't really a very big bomb, and thank goodness, not a real nuclear device, but nonetheless it contaminated some expensive real estate- Newport Beach, Palos Verdes Estates- and ultimately caused the death of 14,000 Americans.
People were especially annoyed that Disneyland had to be closed for decontamination.
And so, in the midterm elections, Republicans regained control of both the House and Senate, and the rest is history.
The impeachment proceedings against President Obama for "failure to protect and defend" were swift and nearly unanimous.
Vice President Sibelius resigned.
Newly-elected Speaker of the House, J.C. Watts, became the 45th President of the United States.
But you know the rest of the story well.
Republicans finished the war on Islamic fundamentalists, largely by aiming ICBM's at Mecca and Medina.
No Democrat has been elected President since.
Republicans have held both Houses of Congress.
History of Western Civilization and Economics are now taught in all public schools, and in English only.
Marriage is defined as one man and one woman.
And there are border fences, north and south.
We old codgers remember the ancient Confucian curse:
"May you live in interesting times."
Well, 2010 was an interesting year, but it was not a good year to be President."
This came from my friend Cal, I believe the author is unknown.
During the event, which we opined on yesterday (And Giggles), Harkin stated -- "supporters have to fend off "misperceptions, outright falsehoods about the bill ... and some of that lingers yet today."
Like those from Harkin that the law reduces the deficit.
John McCain delivered a good speech for a man who's not so comfortable talking in that setting or about himself.
It was tough for him to get into a rhythm in the beginning, with the socialist scum (like Code Punk, er Pink) that snuck into the building to make a spectacle of themselves.
He did an excellent job spelling out Republican Party beliefs...
"We believe in low taxes, spending discipline and open markets.
We believe in rewarding hard work and risk takers and letting people keep the fruits of their labor.
We believe in a strong defense, work, faith, service, a culture of life, personal responsibility, the rule of law and judges who dispense justice impartially and don't legislate from the bench.
We believe in the values of families, neighborhoods and communities".
Pointing out the differences between himself and Obama...
I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them.
I will open new markets to our goods and services. My opponent will close them.
I will cut government spending. He will increase it.
My tax cuts will create jobs. His tax increases will eliminate them.
My health care plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and keep good health care insurance. His plan will force small businesses to cut jobs, reduce wages, and force families into a government-run health care system where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor.
I felt he hit the mark on job retraining, education and energy.
The main reason I support John McCain is his ability to keep this country safe first!
We face many threats in this dangerous world, but I'm not afraid of them. I'm prepared for them. I know how the military works, what it can do, what it can do better and what it should not do. I know how the world works. I know the good and the evil in it. I know how to work with leaders who share our dreams of a freer, safer and more prosperous world, and how to stand up to those who don't. I know how to secure the peace.
McCain's speech was the best at the end...
I fell in love with my country when I was a prisoner in someone else's. I loved it not just for the many comforts of life here. I loved it for its decency; for its faith in the wisdom, justice and goodness of its people. I loved it because it was not just a place, but an idea, a cause worth fighting for. I was never the same again. I wasn't my own man anymore. I was my country's.
I'm not running for president because I think I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in its hour of need. My country saved me. My country saved me, and I cannot forget it. And I will fight for her for as long as I draw breath, so help me God.
If you find faults with our country, make it a better one. If you're disappointed with the mistakes of government, join its ranks and work to correct them. Enlist in our armed forces. Become a teacher. Enter the ministry. Run for public office. Feed a hungry child. Teach an illiterate adult to read. Comfort the afflicted. Defend the rights of the oppressed. Our country will be the better, and you will be the happier. Because nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than yourself.
I'm going to fight for my cause every day as your president. I'm going to fight to make sure every American has every reason to thank God, as I thank Him: that I'm an American, a proud citizen of the greatest country on earth, and with hard work, strong faith and a little courage, great things are always within our reach. Fight with me. Fight with me.
Fight for what's right for our country.
Fight for the ideals and character of a free people.
Fight for our children's future.
Fight for justice and opportunity for all.
Stand up to defend our country from its enemies.
Stand up for each other; for beautiful, blessed, bountiful America.
Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. Nothing is inevitable here. We're Americans, and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.
I lightheartedly (HA) call this blog a Newz Liter, but my question(s) to Congressman Tom Latham about co-ops highlighted the press's coverage.
Radio Iowa reporter O. Kay Henderson captured the audio of Latham's Indianola town meeting and her online story features his answer(s) to my question(s).
I first asked Latham, 43 minutes into the meeting, what his thoughts were on the new buzzword "co-ops".
Latham's answer was, "I don't think anybody knows what it is yet."
While true, I didn't find his answer complete, so I rephrased my question.
He pretty much provided the same answer.
Still feeling like he was doing a political dance around it, I said that I was sorry I wasn't being clear and that I wanted to know how he felt about the federal government providing the seed money for co-ops.
The crowd, that others estimated at 150, was overwhelmingly made up of those who oppose the Dummycrats desire for health care reform.
I've been wondering for a while, and to Chris' chagrin she's been my sounding board, are we really talking about health CARE reform or health INSURANCE reform?
As I recall yesterday's meeting, there were no real problems people had with the quality of the care they receive, with one woman relating her son's cancer treatments had cost her $200,000 but she'd gladly pay that and more because he survived and has thrived.
The town meeting was polite, for the most part, but did get a bit cantankerous, especially at the end.
