GOP Gripes Without Answers

I was just about to write on this exact subject - but this dude at CNN beat me to it and did a better job I'm sure. This is so relevant to me right now as I am being bounced from Doctor to Doctor trying to find an answer to a nagging pain in my abdomen. Nobody can seem to diagnose the pain in 6 months of being poked and prodded (literally) and the insurance co-pays and deductibles have seriously cut into my food budget. I've been prescribed antibiotics three times yet I have not tested positive for any infection. All this while listening to the GOP debates where every candidate yells to repeal "Obamacare" without any mention of an alternative.

This sentence best describes the article - please read the whole thing - it is important.

"The question is: What are GOP candidates saying when they promise to repeal health care reform but are silent on health care and poverty?"

The article is: Don't Take Away America's Healthcare Lifeline.

Health Care reform has only just begun. We don't need to step back - we need to move forward and quickly. Steps have been put into place to address insurance coverage for most Americans - next we need to address costs. It really should have been done the other way around by addressing costs first - but people die while debates take place. Let's not repeal "Obamacare" - let's revise it. Let's take a good thing and make it better.

The Public is Revolting

I've been writing this blog for over 6 years now under the title "The Public Is Revolting". For most of this time the public outcry was muffled in cyberspace in blogs like mine. But blogs are not that effective in getting change to happen because of the sheer number of writers and the difficulty of being chosen by the great Google decider. The people's voices need to be actually heard and it appears the time has come. People from all over America - in fact all over the world are taking to the street in protest of gross income equality, lack of jobs, corrupt politicians and corporate greed. The people are angry - very angry - and they are doing the only thing they feel they have the power to do - they are revolting. Many people watching this "Occupy" movement ask why the protesters are not marching in Washington in front of the politicians? There are several reasons for this - the largest of which is that government does not control wages (except the minimum) or employment benefits or bank fees, or most of the things this movement is about. But there is another reason why they are not specifically asking Washington for help. Washington has stopped. Literally stopped.

Two months ago today - in the comment section of this article, I made the following prediction:
"I predict the next two months will involve tons of tax payer money spent on another frivolous lawsuit (remember the Clintons?). I also predict we will still be bickering about the Presidents Jobs Bill because of GOP hostage taking and nothing will have been accomplished.

Nothing"

I wish I had been wrong. People are without work, losing their homes, losing their cars, some losing their lives while our elected officials hold our country hostage over tax breaks for the wealthy. This can't be allowed to continue.

Notice in the paragraph above I said "elected officials". We put those people in office. Usually the opposition between the two parties is a good thing because it creates a system of checks and balances. But in the mid-term election of 2010 something terrible happened - the Tea Party. It's not that the Tea Party candidates are not doing what they promised. The problem is that this obstruction is exactly what they promised to do. They signed pledges that they would not raise taxes under ANY circumstances. Well guess what - we have some very big circumstances and they are holding true to their pledges while America suffers.

In a two party system, compromise is not an option - it is required. Otherwise we have a one party system. Any elected official that signed a pledge not to compromise under any circumstances is not working under the established government of this country. They should have not been elected in the first place because their actions are unconstitutional. These officials either need to revoke their pledges and agree to compromise or should be removed from office immediately! Only then can our established system of government continue. In future elections any candidate that would sign such a pledge should be immediately disqualified. This is not how America works.

Until then the people will continue to revolt. We will not sit back and watch a government in stagnation while corporations send our jobs overseas. We will not allow bankers to steal our homes and our savings. We will not allow the burden of the economy to fall only on the working poor. We have numbers, we have power we have votes and we are revolting!

Send Halliburton The Bill

I can't believe I'm going to write another article on something Michelle Bachmann said but she is a Presidential candidate and once was a front runner and therefore speaks for a lot of those in her party. Her current message is that we should send a bill to Iraq and demand payment for our efforts in their liberation. Now I have to admit that the war was extremely expensive for this country. The problem is that they didn't ask for our help. What Michelle fails to remember is that we took preemptive action when we started that war killing thousands of innocents in a mighty show of "Shock and Awe". Then we occupied their country for almost a decade against the will of most of the surviving residents. Now we should demand payment?! It reminds me of the dude on the street who cleans my windshield when I stop at a light and expects payment. Actually, for that analogy to be correct the dude would also have to break my windshield and murder my spouse and kids. Here's your dollar!

Michelle is either sadly ignorant of the facts (surprise!) or she is illustrating what the real purpose of our GOP lead invasion was. Sadly both are likely true in this case. It wasn't about liberating the people from an evil dictator. It wasn't even about weapons of mass destruction. It was about profit. Those that started the war knew well in advance that it would be a quagmire - a very profitable quagmire. They also expected to rape the country of it's natural resources - more profit for Halliburton and those in the oil industry.

Sorry Michelle - I don't think Iraq owes us anything but forgiveness.

On this Veterans day - I want to make perfectly clear that we do not blame the brave troops who fought in this war or any war. Many of our brave soldiers lost their lives simply following orders. American troops did their jobs well- as usual - and their service to our country is always immensely appreciated. To those brave Veterans and all those serving our country around the world we say THANK YOU!

It's Not the President They Want Out

I had an appointment for a medical scan today where I waited to be seen for over an hour in a crowed waiting room. Why medical professionals think they can overbook and waste people's time like that is beyond me. Anyway we were all sitting quietly for quite some time when someone foolishly decided to start a conversation on politics. I didn't say much and just nodded and smiled because I wanted to see what the current political temperature was amongst this group of mostly seniors. As it turns out everyone waiting were Democrats and it wasn't long before the conversation got loud and heated. You would think with all the media coverage and Tea Party rants about President Obama's "failed" policies that they would be mad as heck at the President. But they were not complaining about President Obama at all. In fact everyone in the room felt that the President was doing a great job with the unprecedented opposition he has had to deal with. I must say the anger at the Republican obstructionists and the disgust at the current GOP presidential candidates was more intense than I was expecting given this age group. In an election year, one has to consider the fact that the other side could possibly win the election. While nobody in that room felt it was remotely possible, they all agreed that any one of the current contenders would be a disastrous choice for America. The conversation ended shortly after a patient at the front desk shushed everyone because he couldn't hear the person at the desk - that's how loud and heated this discussion was.

Quite surprising given the fact they were all in agreement.