Will Obama’s legacy be a disappointment?

I have been so disappointed over Obama and his Presidency.  I still like the man.  But I am angry at what has happened and what has NOT happened.  I have this sense of abandonment.  I feel like someone pulled the wool over my eyes.  I keep looking for reasons to NOT write him off.

But then I watched “By the People”, an HBO documentary about the election of Barack Obama.  I suddenly realized that if you listen to his early speeches on why he wanted to be President, he has not faltered from that.  He spoke of running this country without the fear tactics of the Bush Administration, he spoke about running this country without the distractions that are all too common in all Presidencies, and he spoke about correcting the image of America around the world and correcting the disastrous foreign policy of the Bush Administration that took America one giant step backward in the big game of political hopscotch.  I was ready to pick up my stone and my chalk and go home. 

“By the People” reminded me that Barack Obama’s launch into the political stratosphere was hard-fought and based on truth.  Modern political campaigns are long and exhausting.  What may start as a few simple ideas to define any candidate and his platform, end up with a mountain of campaign platform ideas.  The more the candidate fields questions from the incessant 24 hour press, the more his platform expands until every single backer of that politician can identify with several of the candidate’s ”opinions” .  For example, Barack Obama did not promise an end to “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” early in his campaign.  That came about later when he was pressed for a position.  But now, the gay community is overwrought with anger and feelings of betrayal.  I’m sure Barack Obama believes in what he said – he wants to eliminate that policy.  But is it now or was it ever the bottom row of his political pyramid?  I don’t think so.  Health care reform, yes, gay rights, no.

So after taking a long, hard look at where Barack Obama is today, just 10 months into his Presidency, I don’t feel so let down.  Barack Obama has always wanted his Presidency to be about Us, not about him.  He has always wanted the American people, and by default our representation in Congress, to participate in this democracy.  It is not just Barack Obama and his own agenda that should lead the country, it should be the country that leads his agenda.

Yesterday, I listened to Barack Obama’s eulogy at the memorial services for the victims at Fort Hood.  Not only did this man meet with every family of the people who were killed, and not only did he meet with the individuals who survived but were injured, he was late in giving the eulogy because he refused to cut his visit with these victims and their families short.  He knew why he was there.  He was there to express grief and condolences on behalf of the people of the entire United States.  And when he finally did give his speech, he mentioned each of the victims by name, every single one of them.  He didn’t just say their names; he told us all a little bit about each one of them.

As I listened, I realized that this is what an American President is supposed to be.  Honorable, honest, caring, empathetic, and strong.  He proved to me in those moments that we can turn to him during difficult times and he will lead the way.

In reality, it is too soon to evaluate what Barack Obama’s presidential legacy will be.  I was fearful that in my own disappointment, I would jump on the bandwagon and become an Obama detractor.  While I don’t agree with everything he has done, or NOT done, I still support this man and trust that he will bring America out of the cold, dark place we are in; and lead us into the light.  No President, and no Presidency is perfect.  I think that all we can hope for in a President is honesty, intelligence, hard work, and compassion.  I’m glad we have that.

Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins are fired

Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins don’t care about your health.

Mainers think that we have elected these women to represent us, our issues, our needs, and our views in a legislative body that governs our Country.  It would be awfully nice if that were true; that they actually listened to their constituency and spoke on our behalf in Congress.  But that is not at all what is happening. 

Why do certain individuals run for public office?  I would think it would be because the individual believes he or she can offer good ideas, new ideas, to solve the problems of our nation and to better the lives of the people in it, especially the people from the State they represent.  But more often than not, voters are left scratching our heads and thinking “what are these people thinking, that’s not what we want”.

People in Maine are suffering.  They need to see doctors, dentists, specialists, mental health professionals, surgeons, and the list goes on and on.  Maine is no different from any other State but Maine is where I live so that is what I will speak to.  In a million years I never thought I would find myself in a position where I did not get the health care I need because I simply can not afford it.

Senators Snow and Collins earn about $170,000 a year, this year.  They are also entitled to lifetime benefits after serving for just five years, including health insurance and a pension.  Members of Congress are eligible for a pension when they reach the age of 50 if they’ve completed 20 years of service. Members are eligible at any age after completing 25 years of service or after they reach the age of 62.  When they retire, they are eligible to receive an annual salary equal to as much as 80% of the three highest grossing salary years.  So even if their ONLY income was that of their Senator salary they could retire after 5 years in some cases and earn about $136,000 a year, EVERY YEAR, IN RETIREMENT.  They ALSO  have choices in health care too numerous to even begin to explain on this page.

What’s the bottom line?  Senators like Snowe and Collins don’t have to care what happens to you and your family.  They don’t care if you have health care.   They just have to last long enough to retire with a government pension.  And the more years they are a Senator, the bigger their pension will be.  So they do everything they can do to keep the contributors happy so that the Senators can spend lots of money to get re-elected, so that the Senators can continue to amass a fortune.  And if you are interested to see what a Federal Employee’s health insurance plan looks like, click here

So while Maine’s portion of the 47 million uninsured in this country continue to suffer, and while untold numbers of “under-insured” citizens in the State of Maine continue to go bankrupt and live in poverty because of health care costs, Senators Snowe and Collins don’t worry about such trivial things.  They need those campaign contributions from the health care industry, and will do anything to keep those contributions coming, so that each of them can stay in Congress as long as possible, to receive lifetime health benefits and Pension benefits that are a crime when compared to the CITIZENS THAT ARE PAYING FOR THESE BENEFITS.  Yes, it all comes out of your tax dollars.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that our illustrious government representatives get an AUTOMATIC cost of living increase unless they elect NOT to let it happen.  What would you do if every year your salary would be adjusted upward for a “cost of living” increase unless you got all of your co-workers together and “voted” not to accept the increase.  Pretty nice gig, huh?

When the first Continental Congress was formed, Benjamin Franklin proposed that elected officials not be paid for their service.  In the end, that obviously did not happen.  But why do U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives earn more than the national average salary.  That’s what they should make, about $40,000 to $45,000 per year. That’s the average salary of all the workers in the United States.  As for health care and pension benefits, they don’t work harder than anybody else and don’t deserve more than the people they represent.  So they certainly should not get more in benefits that the average U.S. worker.   Congress doesn’t even work a full year like the rest of us.  The MOST number of days that a Senator like Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins would work is 153 in 2009.  Subtract from that the trips they take paid by the taxpayers, or trips they take paid for by lobbying firms, and then they get so many days off to campaign if it is an election year; what do we have left.  I don’t even know the answer.  Nobody will tell me the truth.  HOW MANY DAYS TO YOU WORK, MS. SNOWE?…MS. COLLINS?….ANYBODY?

This government was designed to be for the people and by the people.  Right now, “the people” are hurting and struggling.  Yet Senators like Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins have a gross take home pay of about $3,270 a week.   A WEEK.  But that number only applies if they actually work every week.  They don’t.   Again, the 2009 schedule calls for Senators to work 153 days.

Nothing I am saying here is new information.  I am just saying that something has to change.  If you took all of the money out of politics, you would be left with people who are there because they want to be there, and want to make a difference.  Instead, we are stuck with people who make a lot of money, amass retirement benefits and life long health insurance, and yet the country is suffering.   Don’t you remember reading the book “Animal Farm” in junior high school?

Olympia Snowe has said that she doesn’t trust any “government-run” health care system.  But she sure trusts the government enough to funnel my tax dollars into her paycheck, her pension, and her own health plan.

Like I said, Maine’s so-called “moderate” Senators are probably no different from any other Senators.  But I can only speak about Maine Senators because that’s where I live.  We all wish they were in it for the right reasons.  But when Maine’s Senators don’t want Maine citizens to have universal health care, for all, I have to wonder why they are our Senators.  What do they think they are accomplishing for us, and why are they financially benefiting so much for doing nothing except saying “no”.  I have no idea what these women are “for”.  I only know what they are against.  At this point, they are against me; and you.

Since Snowe and Collins work for me (I help pay for their salary) and they have not fulfilled their obligations to me, I am firing them effective immediately.

Olympa Snowe is a two-faced phoney on the Public Option

I did not know this until recently so I won’t fault anyone else for not knowing it either:  Triggers are nothing more than a way for a bill to die a slower death.

In the history of our Congress, “triggers” have almost always been ignored.

So all the talk from Olympia Snowe that she is so fair-minded and fiscally responsible that she can ONLY back a health care reform bill in the form of a trigger is a bunch of bullshit.  Adding a trigger to the bill is a simple way of killing the bill without having the balls to say you are killing the bill.

Here’s how Triggers work:  If a bill it not really supported by Congress, whether Democrat or Republican, these Senators and Representatives put a Trigger option in the bill, meaning that if certain criteria don’t come to fruition, then someone can “pull the Trigger”.  The problem is that the Trigger is never pulled.

Here’s an example:  One trigger came about in 1973.   At that time Congress enacted the War Powers Resolution. It gave the president 90 days after the start of any armed conflict to receive congressional authorization. If no such authorizations were granted, troops would be required to come home. Congress has never once imposed a 90-day deadline on any military action.

I live in Maine.  Olympia Snowe certainly doesn’t represent me in the U.S. Senate, although I pay her to do so.  She is representing her own interests.  According to the Huffington Post, Snowe has received more than one million dollars in campaign contributions from the health care industry.  I’ll say it again.  Snow has received more than ONE MILLION DOLLARS from the heath care industry.  Does that sound like incentive to PASS health care reform, or reject health care reform.  Susan Collins is no different so don’t be fooled by her either.

So this is why Ms. Snowe feels so adamant about having the public option be ONLY a trigger.  So it looks like she’s voting FOR health care when if fact she knows the trigger will NEVER happen, it never has before.  She is a cop-out, a coward, and does not represent the constituency in Maine.  She is nothing more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing.  She like  her power right where it is and will do anything to keep it.

If Olympia Snowe really wanted some sort of health care reform, then we’d already have it.  Again, I live in Maine.  I am underinsured.  I have called her office and got nothing but the run-around.  She doesn’t represent the people of Maine who pay her salary.  But the people of Maine don’t understand the nuances of politics.  Mainers are straight shooters, and unfortunately believe that Snowe, and Collins for that matter, are as well.  But they are not.

Call Olympia Snowe’s office.  They won’t tell you what she thinks or how she’ll vote because she is a coward.  But you can tell them what YOU think and what YOU want.  If we, as her constituency, don’t stick up for ourselves, then we have no one to blame but ourselves.  I beg you get involved in this health care debate or you will lose.  Even those with health care will lose.  Stop the insanity. And the lies.

Mika Brzezinksi is now the full blown food police

I have seen and heard Mika Brzezinski say a lot of stupid things over the years but this has to take the cake.

She’s beyond being the “food police” and is now the ”Body Police”.  On this morning’s “Morning Joe” she ranted into yet another diatribe that went way beyond her usual “Sugar kills, sugar is bad, you should be killed if you eat sugar” and went right into “Meat will kill you”.  The human race has been eating meat since its existence.  In fact, it was because of the human bodies ability to process meat protein that the human race developed and flourished into what it is today.

Brzezinski then said that she had no problem if other people ate meat as long as they “paid more”.  Paid more for what?  Taxes, health insurance premiums?  When is this going to stop?  When is enough, enough?  I hate the term “slippery slope” but if we were ever on one, now is the time.

Mika Brzezinski hates fat people; she thinks that most American’s are obese monsters who should just die.  Well let me tell you something.  Listening to her, and her fascist views on obesity, give me so much stress that I think SHE should pay more to be on TV because the stress levels I must endure by listening to her are going to kill me.

Second, she thinks there should be a tax on people who are overweight.  So what is it, 30 cents a pound?  How does this work? And what about when Brzezinski was pregnant having her babies.  Maybe she fell outside the “normal limits” of weight gain for her pregnancy.  Should she pay more taxes, or more in insurance premiums for that?  I say YES. On top of the FAT tax.

Willie Geist said to her “So you don’t think it is OK, or my choice, to have a Big Mac once in a while?”  Brzezinski first said “NO” because it’s bad for you”.  (According to whom?)  And when Willie said “why”, Brzezinski said “because I have to pay for your bad health”.

Really.  Really!  Really?  I believe Willie has his own insurance.  Mika is not paying his co-pays or deductibles.  And if she’s talking about the fact that she has to pay more in insurance premiums to cover the cost of people in bad health?  Then I say, If she was paying for Willie, or me, then I would have WAY better insurance than I have. 

Does that also mean that I pay more for health insurance because Mika has children.  I must right?  If Mika thinks that all health care costs are spread out equally among then I must be paying for her pregnancy, pre-natal vitamins, the birth, the afterbirth, and any “special needs” her children might have, or devlop.  Well, I don’t want to pay for that.  I don’t have kids and don’t want to pay for people with kids or the kids themselves.  So screw her.  If she had a premature baby, LET IT DIE, because I don’t want to pay for it.  Fuck her.  That’s exactly what she is saying about people who DARE to eat meat.

I am confused about whether she is a Republican or Democrat; but she is acting like a typical Republican.  She thinks she can legislate what you put in your body and if you don’t think and eat like her, she has no use for you.

Who knows what bottled hair bleach does to your health.  I don’t want to pay for that either.  She suffers from Self-righteous indignation, from a woman with such low self-esteem that she lashes out at everyone and anyone who isn’t perfect in her eyes.  It is sad.  It is maddening.  And most of all, it is a slippery slope when we project our own fears, opinions, and moral judgment on everyone else around us and never take a look at ourselves.  She is doing EXACTLY what she accuses others of doing.

She acts like a woman who was molested by her father, brother, or close family member.  She is addicted to being thin and eating right all in an effort to gain acceptance by somebody who harmed her.  Politically and journalistically, she is in WAY over her head.  And I don’t know how you go from majoring in “Sitting in a chair” and minoring in “Talking at the Camera” (they go together, you know) to thinking that she is the self-appointed, spokes-model for the American diet.  What is really going on here?  Why would someone who outwardly has a pretty good life get SO worked up about a Big Mac.  Me think she doth protest too much.  Something doesn’t add up.

Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins – Maine’s phony Senators

As a citizen of Maine, I have called the offices of both Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins on several occasions.  For some reason these two women get some sort of credit for being moderate Republicans.  What the hell is a moderate Republican.  Considering that Snowe and Collins are the only two Republican representatives in Congress from all six New England states, one might think that Moderate Republican means a Democrat.  And now that Olympia Snowe has voted to allow the Baucus Healthcare Reform Bill to move forward to the full Senate, she has somehow become more important than she was yesterday.  Saint Snowe.  I don’t think so.  And apparently others are questioning it as well.    Everyone thought she would have a seat at the next bargaining table up the chain.  She won’t.  And she doesn’t deserve it.

On Tuesday, October 13, 2009, after the Senate Finance Committee sent the Baucus Healthcare Reform Bill to the full Senate, Snowe was touted as the focal point of the entire health care debate.  The truth is that the Finance Committee didn’t need her vote.  The vote was 14 to 9, but without her, it would have been 13 to 10.  Still a win for the Democrats in my estimation.  So all we really got was the appearance of bi-partisanship because ONE Republican vote yes.

My last phone call to Stowe’s office was about a month ago.  I asked what her position was on Healthcare.  I got the standard answer, which wasn’t an answer at all.  “What is your position on healthcare?” was all I got.  That and “Senator Snowe hasn’t come up with her final position yet”.  Really!?  The whole country is fighting for or against health care reform but Senator Snowe from Maine hasn’t decided what her position is yet?  I don’t understand why these Senators can’t just state a position.  I pay your god damned salary so TELL ME WHAT THE HELL YOUR THINKING!

I know, now, that I received no answers because there were no answers.  She voted “yes” on October 13, but as she said “today is today”.  Meaning, “don’t count on me for anything – I’m going to hedge my bet and see which answers will get me re-elected”.  I don’t care about your orphaned, rags-to-riches background, I really don’t.  You are there for six years at a time to represent ME.  When are you going to start?

I know so many people in Maine that don’t have health insurance and are suffering…badly.  And those that do have it don’t have very good health insurance, just like me.  I have coverage, but it doesn’t cover what I need it to cover.  So even with insurance my monthly expenses for medical bills and prescriptions are slowly and methodically driving me to financial ruin. 

Having said that, Olympia Snowe can’t possibly be representing her constituents accurately because if she was, she would be on her hands and knees begging other Republicans for a National Health Care System with a single payer.

Snowe is betting that there are enough rich Republicans in Maine who don’t want universal health care to re-elect her.  That’s it, that’s all.

Senator Collins is another story.  Well actually, no it isn’t.  It’s the same.  Collins is on the Insurance Industry payroll just like all the others.  Her public statements, both written and oral, have indicated she is flat out against what she calls a “Washington-run” health care system.  She is also against any single payer system.   Well, she is part of “Washington”.  Is she saying that she doesn’t trust herself not to run a corruption-free universal health care system?  Or is she saying that she can’t vote FOR health care reform because she can’t afford not to get campaign contributions from Aetna, Unum, or Blue Cross, all of whom have a big presence in Maine.  The answer?  Both.

I have called Senator Collins’ office many times as well.  I’ve asked what her position is on healthcare.  I get the same thing – “What is YOUR position on health care and I will relay that message to her”.  Here we go.  Another one of my “employees” who won’t tell me what her position is on health care reform.  I don’t know how the hell this woman got re-elected in 2008.  She’s sitting pretty now and must owe here contributors a LOT of favors.  Every time I watch her on television in an interview, she is cagey, evasive, and can’t seem to come up with just one straight answer; everything is hedged.

I dont’ believe that Senators Collins and Snowe should have health insurance for themselves, paid for by me, until all of the citizens of Maine have the same opportunities that they do to get coverage.  Why is this such a bad idea?  I pay their salaries.  She has one of the richest insurance plans available.  And I am going broke trying to pay for my medical expenses. 

Collins and Snowe:  You were elected by the people and for the people.  It’s time you did your jobs.  Listen to the citizens of Maine, not your own opinions and re-elections tactics.  You are in Washington to represent us, not yourselves.

Until you both give up your healthcare in solidarity, and until at least every Maine citizen has affordable, universal health care, I will continue to call you out, and call you nothing but phony.   You don’t know how lucky you are that the people in Maine who DON’T follow politics simply  recognize your name and pull the lever on Election Day.

Where’s my stimulus?

I hear this question all the time.  “If the government can give banks billions of dollars, why can’t they give average American’s a bailout?”.

Well, it’s true.  I hear these unimaginable dollar amounts being talked about, and given out, to Banks, Auto Companies, and god knows who else, and it seems everyone and their brother is getting money, but no me.

It was just announced that Wall Street will give out 140 some odd billions of dollars in BONUSES.  It’s sickening.  I am driving a 14-year-old car that has a trunk that leaks so badly I get 6 to 8 inches of standing water in my trunk every time it rains.  The air conditioner doesn’t work, and it’s starting to rust out.  This car did not qualify for “Cash for Clunkers” because it supposedly gets more miles per gallon than the government cut-off of 18 mpg to qualify for the program.

The average car price now, is about $22,000 dollars.  And that’s for a regular old standard sized American and Japanese cars.  I’ve learned over the years that when you buy a used car, no matter how much you know about cars and no matter how much you know what to look for, you are always buying somebody elses problems.  Otherwise they wouldn’t be selling the car.  How many people sell a car that they like and that runs great. 

So all I want out of the trillions of dollars being shuffled about this country from one place to another to a bunch of people who don’t deserve it, is my $22,000 to go buy a decent car.  If I were able to get that money and buy a car, the first person that benefits is the car dealer, and its employees.  Then, I would be way more likely to go on road trips like I used to do.  I don’t take road trips now because I don’t trust my vehicle.  But if I go on a road trip, then restaurants, motels, retailers, liquor stores, supermarkets, gas stations, and their employees, all benefit from me spending money.  It’s called the economy, stupid.   Giving money away to people who already have money doesn’t stimulate shit.  The rich will just have bigger bank accounts but they won’t spend more than they spend now.  To grow the economy, there must be a GROWTH in spending, not the status quo.  Plus if I got a new car, I wouldn’t be contributing negatively to climate change.  Cleaner vehicles are good for the environment regardless of whether you believe in climate change or not.

We hear all about deficits and debt.  But there is still enough money in this country, controlled by the top 10 percent of all Americans, to pay off America’s debts.  So don’t tell me the country is falling apart.  The rich are STILL getting richer and the poor are still getting poorer.  I’m just trying to make it to the middle class.

Bail me out!  Stimulate me!

David Letterman: leave him alone.

The media is ready to pounce on David Letterman for using humor to explain to the public how someone tried to extort money from him.

David Letterman owned up to what he did.  This is more than I can say for most people who live public lives.  How many times have public figures denied, denied, denied, and then when the facts come to light and there is undeniable proof of their actions, THEN they admit to it and try to explain it away.

Letterman neither denied to tried to explain it away.  Above all, Letterman is a humorist.  You can NOT fault him for using humor during his explanation.  He didn’t give any excuses for his actions and he tried to be as honest as he could.

But the media is already crucifying him.  The morning talk shows are already saying how reprehensible David Letterman is for making a joke out of the whole thing.  That is NOT what he did.

He never said whether or not these affairs happened since he was married or not.  He did not force himself on these women, it was their choice to have sex with him.  The only thing he is guilty of is bad judgment.  Who among us hasn’t made some bad choices in life.  I can’t count mine on 2 hands and 2 feet.  Can you?

So before anyone points fingers at David Letterman, I suggest you take stock of your own life.  And I mean your whole life, not just the parts you choose to remember; and if you can say you’ve never made a bad choice, then you can have an opinion about David Letterman.  And even if you feel like you can have an opinion.  Keep it to yourself.  This is a matter for David Letterman and his family, not us.

He did his best to tell his side of the story before all of the conjecture.   This story was bound to go public because he had to testify before a Grand Jury so it is a matter of public record.  As a comedian, how else would he tell this story except to apologize to the women who had to admit now that they had sex with him.

 David Letterman is a human being.  And I believe that all humans are very much the same.  If you were being black-mailed for something you did, how would you feel, how would you handle it.  Don’t for one minute think that David Letterman is not embarrassed, humiliated, and hoping that he can just get through all this somehow with his life intact.  That’s exactly what I would be doing.

Lyndsey Graham should be careful about denouncing Glenn Beck

The liberal media, with whom I usually agree, missed the point.   South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham appeared before a group of Washington media and was asked what he thought of Glenn Beck, the Fox News crybaby.  Graham referred to Beck as a cynic, crazy, and not part of the Republican Party.

The liberal media gave Graham props for being the first Republican to formally denounce Beck and his hate-filled speeches about President Obama being a racist and hating white America.  No less that 64 advertisers have pulled out of Beck’s show because of his comments.  But I digress.

Senator Graham needs to be careful.  Because Glenn Beck is crazy enough to “out” Lindsey Graham as a big homo.  Graham already looks like a dike in drag, which seems kind of the reverse of what it should be, but nonetheless, it’s true.  I have thought, and many others have thought, that Lindsey Graham is a closeted homosexual since the first time I ever saw him.  I don’t care if he is one way or another.  What I care about is hypocrisy.

Lindsey Graham has been part of the Republican “family values” movement for years.  The movement’s platform includes anti-gay-marriage, anti-abortion, anti-universal health care, etc., etc.  He’s against gay marriage, gay adoption, and gay rights, all in an effort to make sure “people out there” know how much he is against homosexuality.  Me thinks he doth protest too much.

Mika Brzezinski hits new low on Grayson comments

What is worse than Mika Brzezinski using “Morning Joe” (weekday mornings on MSNBC) as a platform to pretend she’s a journalist?  Having to watch Mika Brzezinski pretend to be a journalist without Joe Scarborough there to put her in her place.  I watch “Morning Joe” for the guests.   It seems as if anyone involved with current events is a guest on that show.  Joe Scarborough pisses me off and co-host Mika Brzezinski annoys the hell out of me.  Yet still I watch.

This morning, Joe was not there again.  He had some surgery on his sinuses which can’t be pleasant, so I do wish him well.  But what his absence has left is a political talk show with only Mika Brzezinski to steer the ship.  Permanent guests Willie Geist and Mike Barnicle help, but Mika Brzezinski running the show? Oh man, what a week.

So today they were talking about Alan Grayson’s apology.  He didn’t apologize in the manner the Republicans wanted, but he did apologize to all the families and other loved ones of people who DIED as a result of not having health insurance.  He apologized for not getting the job done; the job being providing reasonable health insurance to all Americans.

Another semi-permanent guest, Pat Buchanan, weighed in.  Pat said something about how Alan Grayson was getting his 15 minutes of fame, and that he was the hottest thing going right now for the Democrats (see previous article on why that is).  Mika then asked the producer to put up the picture of Grayson again.  It was a picture of Grayson on the floor of Congress with his “charts” that say “Die Quickly”.  Mika actually said, while she was sort of laughing  (this is paraphrased but close enough) “So this is what’s considered HOT in the Democratic Party”.  She was taking
pot-shots at his appearance.  Alan Grayson was dressed nicely enough.  He appeared to be a bit portly and maybe didn’t belong on the cover of G.Q., but her best argument against him is that he’s not pretty enough?

For someone like Mika Brzezinski who talks almost everyday about how the media should have more decency, more integrity, and watch what they say, she comes out with a pot-shot against a politician because he isn’t skinny enough for her standards.

Well, Mika, I’m talking to you directly now and here’s my take.  First, take your own advice and keep the comments to yourself if they have nothing to do with the real story.  That’s what you preach.  Second, we all know that you are a runner and run 8 miles a day, every day.  You act as if a potato chip has never entered your virgin mouth (which bring me to a whole new topic on frigid women but that’s for another day).  Let’s face it, you are of Polish descent.  I don’t believe for one second that you haven’t gone to a family gathering where they are serving kielbasa and pierogies and you aren’t scarfing them down.  And third, I think you doth protest too much.  You are literally running a crusade against people who are overweight.  The reason you run your ass off everyday and preach about good eating habits is because you have such an inferiority complex, text book insecurity issues, and you live with the fear that other people will judge you in the same wat you judge others.

Making a comment about Alan Grayson’s looks, or appearance, is not right, not fair, not professional, and certainly not journalism.  You are not raising the journalism bar, your are doing the limbo right under it, and then claiming that other journalists aren’t up to your standards.  You are a hypocrite.

Alan Grayson’s remarks are not the same as Republican Death Panels

More fake disdain from the Republican Party and political fat-ass pundits today.

Recently in an after hours session of the House, Democrat Alan Grayson help up a sign that said “Die Quickly”.  His verbal assault went further.  He said that the Republican answer to health care is “don’t get sick, and if you do, die quickly”.

While we wall now this was a joke and a bad one at that, he was simply trying to make a point.  Let’s face it, the Republicans still can not come up with a health care plan but the are clairvoyant because they know that Democrat plan is wrong.  Wrong, Wrong, Wrong, NO, NO, NO.  But don’t ask them what the right plan is, they have no idea.  So I understand Alan Grayson’s opinions and tactics.

However, Republicans are comparing this to Joe Wilson’s “YOU LIE” comment at a joint session of congress.  Republicans are saying that Grayson should be censured or reprimanded in some way.  They say it is an unacceptable outburst of hate and misinformation.

Hmm.  Let’s think.  Wilson was the first person EVER in the history of the Congress to interrupt the President by yelling out disagreeable remarks during a joint session.  There are rules of conduct in Congress and Wilson stepped way over the line by yelling out “YOU LIE”.  He owed the President an apology and owed the Congress one as well. 

Alan Grayson merely put up a sign in a late night session of Congress when almost nobody was there.  None of the Republican leaders in Congress stuck around to hear all of the debates and to listen to “the juniors” like Grayson when it was his turn to speak.  It was below them.  The place was almost empty.  If it weren’t for C-SPAN catching it on tape, I’m not convinced many would have noticed Grayson’s remarks.  Bringing theatrics and visual aids is a long-standing tradition in Congress.  Grayson was trying to make a point.  Maybe Republicans don’t want you to die quickly, maybe they do, but it was a joke.  Not a funny joke, more of a ploy to get some attention.  A tactic to expose Republicans for what they are: in the pockets of the health care industry, and doing everything they can to maintain the status quo.

Alan Grayson’s sign CAN NOT be compared the Republican’s “Death Panel” crusade.  Republicans flooded the airwaves, both on talk radio and television, trying to convince the American public that Obama’s health care plan includes Death Panels and that they want to kill off grandma.  That tactic was real, scary, and many people truly believed it.  This is the perfect spot for a comment about the ignorant, hate-filled Republican base but I’m going to rise above it).   The words “Death Panel”  became part of the Republican mantra for weeks on end, and even when they knew it wasn’t true, Republicans still would not come right out and admit it there was no such thing.  They would talk in circles so as not to have to blatantly admin THERE ARE NO DEATH PANELS IN THE HEALTH CARE BILL.  I’ve heard them on political talk show saying things like “well there’s no real proof but if you read between the lines. yadda, yadda, yadda, and “government takeover of healthcare” blah, blah, blah.

Alan Grayson was trying to get people to WAKE UP.  For some reason, many politicians don’t understand, or just don’t want to understand, that without OPTIONS from which American’s can choose for their own healthcare, then there is no reform.  Covering pre-existing conditions isn’t going to cut it for people who DON’T HAVE INSURANCE anyway.  For people who don’t have insurance, or are under-insured, everything is a pre-existing condition.

The public option needs to be nothing more than an extension of Medicare or Medicaid to everyone who want it or needs it.    Placing some puny little rules on insurance companies doesn’t stop those insurance companies from jacking up prices and forcing Americans through miles of red tape to get the coverage they are due.  There is no way to enforce the “new rules” that might be imposed on insurance companies.  If an insurance company wants to cancel your policy, they will now cancel an entire line of business.  For example, they could easily say “Healthcare Plan A is being discontinued because it is no longer profitable”.  This is well within their rights.  If they can’t cancel individual policies, what is to stop them from cancelling insurance on a wide-spread basis using loop holes in the legislation.  Nobody can force an insurance company to continue a product that they are losing money on; so they will just discontinue it.  It happens every day.

And here’s one last thought:  My tax dollars pay for Federal Employees healthcare, yet I don’t have adequate healthcare myself.  What if we take away all healthcare for Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court until Congress can figure out a way to give  all Americans the same health coverage that they have.  Then they can apply for it and fill out all the paperwork just like the rest of us.  If a federal employee is single, he will pay about $160 a month (or $77 dollars per semi-monthly paycheck) for his insurance.  But he will get one of the richest plans in this country.  I pay about that for myself and have a $3,000 deductible before my “insurance” even kicks in.  Yet, I am paying for this sample employee’s health insurance.  We could have the same illness and he will live, and I will die, because I don’t have $3,000.

Do you folks even begin to get this yet?