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I know that I have been doing a lot of talking lately about health care, so I decided I would put forth my version of what this reform should look like. I acknowledge that most of these ideas are not my own, but they aren’t necessarily being considered together.
1) Allow for people to buy insurance across state lines. If it is cheaper in one state than it is in another, then people should be allowed to get the most bang for their buck.
2) Tort reform should be built off of what some states, such as Missouri, have already passed
3) Discrimination (monetary and coverage) due to age, health history, current (preexisting) conditions, etc should be banned.
4) The creation of health insurance coops should be encouraged. (I find this one and amusing compromise being considered because coops in their very nature “socialist”)
5) The government should be allowed to negotiate for cheaper drug prices and heavily utilize generic drugs whenever possible
6) Any company. doctor, hospital, etc that is caught defrauding ANY government program or agency, including Medicare and Medicaid, will lose ALL tax breaks and tax deductions for one year. A second offense will result in revocation for five years, a third for ten years, etc.
7) ANYONE making between $25,000 and $150,000 can apply to be covered by both Medicare A AND Medicare B (perhaps having to pay a premium between $25-$100 depending on income)
8) Anyone who makes less than $25,000 can apply for Medicaid
9) Anyone making over $150,000 are ineligible to apply
10) A dramatic increase in government support for preventative health care as well as healthy living
*numbers 7 and 8 would be the “public option”
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
A step in the right direction
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090824/ts_nm/us_usa_cia_abuse
It would appear that at last the Justice Department is FINALLY doing the job it should have been doing all along. Apparently the Justice Department is seriously looking at reopening investigations about prisoner abuse and torture. This is welcome news although it would have been nice to have come sooner.
The fact that this nation DID torture will remain a stain upon it for years to come, and one of the few steps to stop it from happening again is to prosecute those who did it. Now I know these people were doing what they thought was best for the country but I feel that every last one of them should be punished. From the highest office, down to the lowest ranked person. The excuse "I was only following orders" does not and should not help anyone in these cases. I understand that when an order is given you are expected to carry it out, however, it is also expected that if you KNOW an order is illegal and immoral that you DON'T carry it out. In a normal court case, if a person knows of a crime but allows it to continue and/or helps commit it, then those people are just as guilty as the criminal.
Once again we have to show the world that we mean what we say! If we tell countries its inhumane and immoral to torture, then we have to hold ourselves to the same standard. Investigate and prosecute everyone who was involved, both in planning and execution. I sincerely hope that the Attorney General agrees and that the fullest extent of the law is brought to bear upon ALL of those responsible!
It would appear that at last the Justice Department is FINALLY doing the job it should have been doing all along. Apparently the Justice Department is seriously looking at reopening investigations about prisoner abuse and torture. This is welcome news although it would have been nice to have come sooner.
The fact that this nation DID torture will remain a stain upon it for years to come, and one of the few steps to stop it from happening again is to prosecute those who did it. Now I know these people were doing what they thought was best for the country but I feel that every last one of them should be punished. From the highest office, down to the lowest ranked person. The excuse "I was only following orders" does not and should not help anyone in these cases. I understand that when an order is given you are expected to carry it out, however, it is also expected that if you KNOW an order is illegal and immoral that you DON'T carry it out. In a normal court case, if a person knows of a crime but allows it to continue and/or helps commit it, then those people are just as guilty as the criminal.
Once again we have to show the world that we mean what we say! If we tell countries its inhumane and immoral to torture, then we have to hold ourselves to the same standard. Investigate and prosecute everyone who was involved, both in planning and execution. I sincerely hope that the Attorney General agrees and that the fullest extent of the law is brought to bear upon ALL of those responsible!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
A rare two blog day..
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_RIDGE_TERROR_ALERT?SITE=UTSAC&SECTION=INTERNATIONAL&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
As if the aura of deception and lies around former President Bush’s Administration wasn’t bad enough already, Tom Ridge comes out with a book.
Supposedly as Director of Homeland Security, he was heavily leaned on to raise the “terror alert level” just before the 2004 Presidential election. This, I feel, merely throws gasoline onto the already blazing fire of illegality that seemed to have plagued the Bush Administration. Not only have we learned that intelligence was “padded” or faked to create a link between Sadam Hussein and Al Qaida, but that government agencies were told to do certain things for ONLY political purposes.
Now Ridge does say that the Department of Homeland Security did not raise the level on this occasion despite the pressure but to me that doesn’t make this any better. In fact it makes me wonder how many times they DID raise it for simply political reasons. That entire election was centered around the idea that if a Democrat got elected to the White House, that the country would be in mortal peril from day one. If there were other times before the election when they were told to raise the threat level and did raise it, they could have very well swung that election.
To be fair, I do thank Tom Ridge, Scott McClellan, and Colin Powell for coming out and saying what they have said about the Bush Administration, however, I also question them. These three all seem to be reasonable, honorable, and righteous men. That being said, I have to wonder why they did not go public about such things while they were IN OFFICE! They were all in positions of power from which they could have drastically altered events. I know that you have to be loyal, especially in politics, to the people have put you into your positions but I also know that at some point you have to say enough is enough. By coming out after the fact, they seem to be saying “yeah there was bad shit going down but my career at the time was more important.” Sure, its easy to fight behind closed doors, but wouldn’t the right thing have been to take it out into the open when the closed door approach wasn’t working? I understand that some disagreements need to stay behind closed doors, but when lies are being weaved the way they were, then you have the RESPONSIBILITY to act! In the business world and in the justice system, anyone who knows wrongs are being, or are going to be, committed but who fail to stop them are often prosecuted along with the actual perpetrators. I admit that standing up to your bosses is not an easy thing, but who ever said that the RIGHT thing was the EASIEST thing.
As if the aura of deception and lies around former President Bush’s Administration wasn’t bad enough already, Tom Ridge comes out with a book.
Supposedly as Director of Homeland Security, he was heavily leaned on to raise the “terror alert level” just before the 2004 Presidential election. This, I feel, merely throws gasoline onto the already blazing fire of illegality that seemed to have plagued the Bush Administration. Not only have we learned that intelligence was “padded” or faked to create a link between Sadam Hussein and Al Qaida, but that government agencies were told to do certain things for ONLY political purposes.
Now Ridge does say that the Department of Homeland Security did not raise the level on this occasion despite the pressure but to me that doesn’t make this any better. In fact it makes me wonder how many times they DID raise it for simply political reasons. That entire election was centered around the idea that if a Democrat got elected to the White House, that the country would be in mortal peril from day one. If there were other times before the election when they were told to raise the threat level and did raise it, they could have very well swung that election.
To be fair, I do thank Tom Ridge, Scott McClellan, and Colin Powell for coming out and saying what they have said about the Bush Administration, however, I also question them. These three all seem to be reasonable, honorable, and righteous men. That being said, I have to wonder why they did not go public about such things while they were IN OFFICE! They were all in positions of power from which they could have drastically altered events. I know that you have to be loyal, especially in politics, to the people have put you into your positions but I also know that at some point you have to say enough is enough. By coming out after the fact, they seem to be saying “yeah there was bad shit going down but my career at the time was more important.” Sure, its easy to fight behind closed doors, but wouldn’t the right thing have been to take it out into the open when the closed door approach wasn’t working? I understand that some disagreements need to stay behind closed doors, but when lies are being weaved the way they were, then you have the RESPONSIBILITY to act! In the business world and in the justice system, anyone who knows wrongs are being, or are going to be, committed but who fail to stop them are often prosecuted along with the actual perpetrators. I admit that standing up to your bosses is not an easy thing, but who ever said that the RIGHT thing was the EASIEST thing.
What were they thinking?!
You know, just when I thought I couldn’t get more disgusted and more concerned about Blackwater and the government, it gets worse.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CIA_SECRET_PROGRAM?SITE=UTSAC&SECTION=POLITICS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
This story really pisses me off. WHAT THE HELL WERE OUR LEADERS THINKING! What dumb ass goes to a private company and says “Hey can you help us assassinate some of them there terrorists?” I mean seriously what the hell!? I’ve said it before and I will say it again, THIS COMPANY AND ALL THE ONES LIKE IT NEED TO BE TERMINATED! I am not comfortable AT ALL with the idea of a heavily and well armed militia getting government contracts! Hell these guys are probably better armed and have more personnel than some countries have for their armies!
This is another major story and I hope that it paves the way to the elimination of companies like Blackwater. By the way, I hope you all remember the debate a few months ago about the CIA and whether or not it ever deceived Congress:
“Panetta then informed the congressional intelligence committees about the program for the first time the next day.”
Hmmm……now I’m just going to hazard a guess here but if Congress was in the dark about these contracts, then wouldn’t that be the CIA lying to them? If I were the chairman on any of the intelligence committees, I would be demanding a FULL investigation. If the CIA has blatantly lied to Congress about this, then what other skeletons are buried in their closet? Let the “I do no recall that” bull shit begin…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CIA_SECRET_PROGRAM?SITE=UTSAC&SECTION=POLITICS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
This story really pisses me off. WHAT THE HELL WERE OUR LEADERS THINKING! What dumb ass goes to a private company and says “Hey can you help us assassinate some of them there terrorists?” I mean seriously what the hell!? I’ve said it before and I will say it again, THIS COMPANY AND ALL THE ONES LIKE IT NEED TO BE TERMINATED! I am not comfortable AT ALL with the idea of a heavily and well armed militia getting government contracts! Hell these guys are probably better armed and have more personnel than some countries have for their armies!
This is another major story and I hope that it paves the way to the elimination of companies like Blackwater. By the way, I hope you all remember the debate a few months ago about the CIA and whether or not it ever deceived Congress:
“Panetta then informed the congressional intelligence committees about the program for the first time the next day.”
Hmmm……now I’m just going to hazard a guess here but if Congress was in the dark about these contracts, then wouldn’t that be the CIA lying to them? If I were the chairman on any of the intelligence committees, I would be demanding a FULL investigation. If the CIA has blatantly lied to Congress about this, then what other skeletons are buried in their closet? Let the “I do no recall that” bull shit begin…
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Three things for this day
Ok so this blog is going to jump around because its on three different subjects.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090817/ap_on_re_us/us_obama_protesters_guns
First off, this “trend” of people carrying their firearms to protest President Obama is asinine and frankly down right dangerous! When you have people comparing him to Hitler, calling him “racist”, “socialist”, etc (all of which are in themselves fucked up) at these protests the last thing you want people to have is a LOADED GUN! One guy in Phoenix, where the President was speaking to the VFW National Convention, had a AR-15 (the civilian version of the military’s M-16 Assault Rifle) slung over his shoulder! Seriously, what the hell?! I’m not saying the people with the guns are planning something, but by simply having them near the President, these (I’m sure law-abiding citizens) are creating a huge opportunity for people who AREN’T law-abiding. Do these people not understand that if their weapon was stolen and then used to attack the President, that they would be as guilty of attempted assassination, or assassination, as the person who pulled the trigger? I have no issue with the second amendment but come on people, use your god damn common sense!
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_13135039
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1916656,00.html
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/pat-advocacy/endoflife/003.html
Secondly, Republicans, and Democrats, need to pull their heads out of their asses and stop this “death panel” nonsense! All of these Senators and Congressmen know what is and is not in the bill, and yet they refuse to flat our say it! It is NO WHERE in the health care bill being discussed, and the only thing that was remotely close was “end of life counseling” which ended up being taken out because of the “death panel” bull shit. By refusing to clearly state this, these people continue to feed this rumor mill that is hurting the debate more than it is helping! To be clear, end of life counseling has nothing to do with killing people! It is simply a plan that you and your doctor talk about, and change whenever the patient wants, that spells out the kind of care you want to receive if/when you can no longer make the decision yourself. It has NOTHING to do with the government telling you what care you can and cannot receive! A “do not resuscitate” order, is an example of what would be part of, and is considered, end of life care. You are telling your loved ones and doctors that in the event your heart stops and/or you stop breathing, to not perform CPR. End of life counseling will HELP families! If a person has laid out all of the care they want to receive before they become incapacitated, it takes A LOT of pressure off of that person’s family It takes away, or at least reduces, the guilt the family could feel for decisions they have to make. What if their loved one didn’t want to be resuscitated, but since there was no documentation the family decided to have that person resuscitated. The family may feel guilty for doing it, and the patient could be upset at them for not honoring his/her wishes. End of life counseling makes tough decisions a little easier, and reduces costs of medical care that wasn’t necessarily wanted by the patient.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=7582130
The last thing involves the unwillingness of this state it change its liquor laws. This “quota system” for liquor licenses needs to be scraped! It hurts this state’s economic growth by limiting the number of bars and restaurants that can serve alcohol. Now this may not seem like a big deal for people who don’t drink BUT I would bet that some businesses won’t even attempt to come to Utah because of all the hoops they have to jump through to serve alcohol. This system has obviously outlasted its usefulness, and in this time of economic recession this state needs to make itself as enticing as possible. If people are going to drink and drive, the number of places they can drink won’t make one damn bit of difference. The responsibility of reducing drunk drivers rests with the drivers themselves and the places that serve them. End of story! You can have a drunk driving problem, even if you just have one place that serves alcohol, if that establishment refuses to monitor how much a person drinks.
"Good night, and good luck"
-Edward R Murrow
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090817/ap_on_re_us/us_obama_protesters_guns
First off, this “trend” of people carrying their firearms to protest President Obama is asinine and frankly down right dangerous! When you have people comparing him to Hitler, calling him “racist”, “socialist”, etc (all of which are in themselves fucked up) at these protests the last thing you want people to have is a LOADED GUN! One guy in Phoenix, where the President was speaking to the VFW National Convention, had a AR-15 (the civilian version of the military’s M-16 Assault Rifle) slung over his shoulder! Seriously, what the hell?! I’m not saying the people with the guns are planning something, but by simply having them near the President, these (I’m sure law-abiding citizens) are creating a huge opportunity for people who AREN’T law-abiding. Do these people not understand that if their weapon was stolen and then used to attack the President, that they would be as guilty of attempted assassination, or assassination, as the person who pulled the trigger? I have no issue with the second amendment but come on people, use your god damn common sense!
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_13135039
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1916656,00.html
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/pat-advocacy/endoflife/003.html
Secondly, Republicans, and Democrats, need to pull their heads out of their asses and stop this “death panel” nonsense! All of these Senators and Congressmen know what is and is not in the bill, and yet they refuse to flat our say it! It is NO WHERE in the health care bill being discussed, and the only thing that was remotely close was “end of life counseling” which ended up being taken out because of the “death panel” bull shit. By refusing to clearly state this, these people continue to feed this rumor mill that is hurting the debate more than it is helping! To be clear, end of life counseling has nothing to do with killing people! It is simply a plan that you and your doctor talk about, and change whenever the patient wants, that spells out the kind of care you want to receive if/when you can no longer make the decision yourself. It has NOTHING to do with the government telling you what care you can and cannot receive! A “do not resuscitate” order, is an example of what would be part of, and is considered, end of life care. You are telling your loved ones and doctors that in the event your heart stops and/or you stop breathing, to not perform CPR. End of life counseling will HELP families! If a person has laid out all of the care they want to receive before they become incapacitated, it takes A LOT of pressure off of that person’s family It takes away, or at least reduces, the guilt the family could feel for decisions they have to make. What if their loved one didn’t want to be resuscitated, but since there was no documentation the family decided to have that person resuscitated. The family may feel guilty for doing it, and the patient could be upset at them for not honoring his/her wishes. End of life counseling makes tough decisions a little easier, and reduces costs of medical care that wasn’t necessarily wanted by the patient.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=7582130
The last thing involves the unwillingness of this state it change its liquor laws. This “quota system” for liquor licenses needs to be scraped! It hurts this state’s economic growth by limiting the number of bars and restaurants that can serve alcohol. Now this may not seem like a big deal for people who don’t drink BUT I would bet that some businesses won’t even attempt to come to Utah because of all the hoops they have to jump through to serve alcohol. This system has obviously outlasted its usefulness, and in this time of economic recession this state needs to make itself as enticing as possible. If people are going to drink and drive, the number of places they can drink won’t make one damn bit of difference. The responsibility of reducing drunk drivers rests with the drivers themselves and the places that serve them. End of story! You can have a drunk driving problem, even if you just have one place that serves alcohol, if that establishment refuses to monitor how much a person drinks.
"Good night, and good luck"
-Edward R Murrow
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
More on Health care
I have a few more points to add to my view on government health care.
First, all of this nonsense about the idea that the government will dictate what procedures a person will and won't be able to receive needs to end. Sure a woman won't be able to get her breasts enlarged to bigger than her head but explain how that is any different than currently private insurance policies. In fact I would bet that most people have policies that won't cover any cosmetic surgery unless it DIRECTLY affects a person's health. If this idea of government dictation is such a concern to people, then why aren't they out trying to destroy private insurance companies?
Also, for those of you who are so against government health care and yet vehemently pro-life, I urge you to think before you speak. By trying to repeal Roe v. Wade, make a constitutional amendment banning abortion, or pushing to allow the states to decide on it on their own is blatantly contrary to your argument. It is extremely hypocritical to argue AGAINST government health care and claim that it will give the government the power to dictate treatment on one hand, and then call for the government to restrict/eliminate a legitimate medical procedure on the other. That is nothing more than RESTRICTING and DICTATING what procedures a woman can or cannot have!
Yes the majority of Americans have health insurance. But what is the harm in sacrificing a little to help those who can't get insurance for various reasons? If this country is such a Christian country, as a lot of people constantly boast, then shouldn't it reason people should be doing unto others as they would have done unto them? How would you feel/react if you lost your job, as well as all of your benefits including health insurance, and then a week later you find yourself in ICU for an extended period (two weeks, a month, etc) but with no way to pay for it? What if it was not only your life but the lives of your family that hinged on choosing to buy food or pay for medical treatment to save your own life? Wouldn't you hope that people around you cared enough to help you out, regardless of whether they knew you personally or not?
First, all of this nonsense about the idea that the government will dictate what procedures a person will and won't be able to receive needs to end. Sure a woman won't be able to get her breasts enlarged to bigger than her head but explain how that is any different than currently private insurance policies. In fact I would bet that most people have policies that won't cover any cosmetic surgery unless it DIRECTLY affects a person's health. If this idea of government dictation is such a concern to people, then why aren't they out trying to destroy private insurance companies?
Also, for those of you who are so against government health care and yet vehemently pro-life, I urge you to think before you speak. By trying to repeal Roe v. Wade, make a constitutional amendment banning abortion, or pushing to allow the states to decide on it on their own is blatantly contrary to your argument. It is extremely hypocritical to argue AGAINST government health care and claim that it will give the government the power to dictate treatment on one hand, and then call for the government to restrict/eliminate a legitimate medical procedure on the other. That is nothing more than RESTRICTING and DICTATING what procedures a woman can or cannot have!
Yes the majority of Americans have health insurance. But what is the harm in sacrificing a little to help those who can't get insurance for various reasons? If this country is such a Christian country, as a lot of people constantly boast, then shouldn't it reason people should be doing unto others as they would have done unto them? How would you feel/react if you lost your job, as well as all of your benefits including health insurance, and then a week later you find yourself in ICU for an extended period (two weeks, a month, etc) but with no way to pay for it? What if it was not only your life but the lives of your family that hinged on choosing to buy food or pay for medical treatment to save your own life? Wouldn't you hope that people around you cared enough to help you out, regardless of whether they knew you personally or not?
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Blackwater in the news again...
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=8258915&page=1
Once again we find Blackwater (aka Xe) in the news and NOT in a good way. This reiterates my previous ranting about this company and its roll in our government.
Armed “security” contractors in active war zones are the WORST thing to have ever happened to this nation’s Defense and State Department. They basically answer to no one because, thanks to Former President Bush, they are in a type of limbo in terms of accountability. For example, they don’t have to obey Iraqi laws and they don’t have to answer to the U.S. military so they basically are free to do whatever the hell they want.
This company has enough firepower and manpower to get basically whatever they want and the worst part is that our government is continuing to help them. People are worried about terrorists overseas, and yet if this company wanted they could do far more damage and cause a lot more deaths than the 9/11 hijackers. I’m glad their biggest contracts were cancelled but its not enough. I hope that soon, President Obama will cancel the rest of their contracts.
This company is dangerous and unpredictable and I hope that whoever hears this court case slams the hammer down! These people need to be shut down permanently! If you think I’m over-reacting I again urge you to read the book Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army by Jeremy Scahill
Once again we find Blackwater (aka Xe) in the news and NOT in a good way. This reiterates my previous ranting about this company and its roll in our government.
Armed “security” contractors in active war zones are the WORST thing to have ever happened to this nation’s Defense and State Department. They basically answer to no one because, thanks to Former President Bush, they are in a type of limbo in terms of accountability. For example, they don’t have to obey Iraqi laws and they don’t have to answer to the U.S. military so they basically are free to do whatever the hell they want.
This company has enough firepower and manpower to get basically whatever they want and the worst part is that our government is continuing to help them. People are worried about terrorists overseas, and yet if this company wanted they could do far more damage and cause a lot more deaths than the 9/11 hijackers. I’m glad their biggest contracts were cancelled but its not enough. I hope that soon, President Obama will cancel the rest of their contracts.
This company is dangerous and unpredictable and I hope that whoever hears this court case slams the hammer down! These people need to be shut down permanently! If you think I’m over-reacting I again urge you to read the book Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army by Jeremy Scahill
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