Showing posts with label ACA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ACA. Show all posts

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Division cannot rule the day..

It's both fascinating and disheartening listening to conservatives these days. Some seem to believe that anyone receiving any benefits at all are greedy moochers. Tim Armstrong, the CEO of AOL, decided to blame two sick babies for reducing 401K benefits. It was a smokescreen for bashing the Affordable Care Act, but of course he went there. Outrage ensued, and the contribution structure was reinstated. But this typifies the lies told throughout by conservatives to keep the vitriol going. It's easy to blame the uninformed. After all, if they actually read a newspaper, or watched TV, they'd know something, right? But how is anyone supposed to know anything when there is so much confusion about it? Well, if conservative media outlets, pundits, and legislators would start telling the truth, and let everyone make decisions based upon facts, then we might actually get somewhere.

Take for example the most recent information from the CBO on the ACA reducing jobs in the future. The fact is that some people work only to pay for their health insurance. With the Affordable Care Act, these folks may be able to reduce their hours further, start a new business, go to college, retire sooner, or stay home and raise their kids. Of course if we had single payer which didn't tie health insurance to our employers, then this would be a non-issue. We would be born, receive a health care card, pay in to the system on a sliding scale if we made enough money to do so, probably in the form of taxes, and then go to the doctor when we need to. Simple. Until conservative heads explode and scream socialism. They need to get over that. If you're healthy, you can work and contribute to society. If you're not, then you shouldn't have to choose between getting the care you need and, you know, living. 

I know what that's like. When I attended college, my parents refused to let me work summers. I had to keep attending college, because in my mother's view, if I took a summer off to earn money for tuition and expenses, I'd never go back to finish my degree. She was ridiculous. Finishing my degree was a given. Eventually, I lived on my own, had a part time work study job, and after much compromise, I received additional money each month from my mother which she told me I couldn't spend. I know. My entire childhood was one impossible situation after another. I lived on approximately $350 per month. I had to pay for my apartment, phone, utilities, and my bus pass. And I had to have enough for food. I didn't. I became so ill that a co-worker left a bottle of multi-vitamins in my inbox at work. I spent a year and a half alternating between bronchitis and a staph infection, finally resulting in a kidney infection. The medicine was so expensive ($25) that I couldn't afford it. I had to beg my mother to come down to the university clinic to take me to a pharmacy and pay for them. She finally relented after a huge argument. The clinic staff stood there, dumbfounded as they listened to my side of the conversation and just stared at her when she arrived to pick me up. She bitched the whole way to the pharmacy and I was so upset that I couldn't speak. She made a fool of herself while at the pharmacy as she denigrated me for being sick, complaining she had to drive "all the way into downtown Portland" after work to do this for me. She lived seven miles from the university.

It's this "catch-22" position in which many people now find themselves. No one asked for the financial crisis and it's clear that it was created by conservative policies. Trickle down never trickled down for the rest of us like our one percent overlords promised. We do what is asked of us and we get nothing but nonsense. We're treated like we're moochers for wanting unemployment insurance to take us through difficult times that politicians created. We're treated like takers when we want affordable health insurance and like socialists if we want that to be a single payer system.

However, we're not the people who should be ashamed. The unabashedly unashamed in our country are dividing us at an alarming rate. And it feels like they do it for sport. Racism, sexism, and any other ism are ruining this country. The conservatives have created such division by lying about almost everything, couching it in racism and sexism. And if they don't get their way, they simply obstruct. They lost the presidency the last two times, so they nearly bring the country to its knees by shutting down the government. It wasn't enough to bring about the sequester which harms struggling Americans, they had to risk our country's credit rating in the process. They confuse everyone about the reality of the debt ceiling, which should confuse no one because most people have a credit card. We all understand finance charges and interest. If I don't pay off my credit card, I incur finance charges. Simple concept. It doesn't give the President a blank check to fill out with that pen he's now threatening to use. And while we're on the subject of credit, how much do we still owe for both wars? The Bush Administration lies us into two wars, doesn't pay for it because of the whole "we'll be greeted with flowers" idea, telling us that we'll be in and out in no time and oil profits will fund the war. Right. Things never turn out the way they say..

Here's the thing. You can't blow up the economy and then take it out on the American people by killing any and all jobs programs offered up for vote. Blowing up the economy was bad enough, but to not help Americans find work? What's wrong with you people? (HT: Ann Romney) The answer is to apologize, then get out of the way and let intelligent people try to fix it. And you can't stand by and gripe about how that happens. You caused the mess. If you can't do anything to actually help, then for the love of all that is holy, shut the hell up. The last thing any of us need is your divisive and destructive input to screw things up any further. You clearly do NOT know what you're doing.

Conservatives lost the presidency because of the way they think about, well, everything. They target voters, women, children, veterans, unemployed, healthcare, and apparently bridge traffic to control the narrative. The problem is, we're not listening anymore. The more you denigrate us and try to take our rights away, the more we detest you. And that translates into voting for the other party. Any other party. At this point, newborn infants running the country would be an improvement. Division has never gotten anyone anywhere except alone. Conservatives would do well to understand that concept. As many are Christians, you'd think that unity would be natural.

We have a chance in November, and then again in 2016 to get the country back on track. We can't do that with the current conservative viewpoint. Either they have to become compassionate and sane, or progressive and compassionate Americans have to be the adults in the room and deal with them in the best way possible..by voting blue. 




Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Oh, SCOTUS..Again?

It's fascinating to live in a country where we have the separation of church and state. Fascinating because every time I turn around, someone wants to live as if we don't. We have a Constitution and a Bill of Rights which are supposed to protect us from various and sundry nefarious things..yet someone somewhere always wants the Supreme Court to say they can get as nefarious as they want.

Justice Sotomayor granted the Catholics a stay regarding the birth control mandate in the Affordable Care Act. SCOTUS is going to hear a case in the near future on the issue, so I suppose that's why she granted it. But following that logic, then anyone sitting in jail awaiting trial should be released on zero bail. I mean, why not? If the Catholic Church and anyone else can discriminate against people while awaiting trial, why shouldn't criminals be let out to do whatever they want to do while they await their trials? It's true that no one is protected, but then who cares about that? Certainly not Justice Sotomayor.

Isn't it great that some people get to choose which laws they follow..and with the blessings of the highest court in the land no less! How about letting all the folks in prison for cannabis out? Most of us want legalization in this country anyway, so throw open the doors and let them all go home. So they want to get high. Who doesn't? Especially now when everything is such a mess in this country.

Look, we have separation of church and state for some pretty good reasons. Which religion wins the prize here? Christianity? Really? Two words..Duck People. You know who I'm talking about. The guy who thinks men should marry 15 year old girls..right. We really want his interpretation of the Bible running the country. Or how about the Westboro Baptist people? Do we want their interpretation of the Bible running the country?

Religion, as expressed by many of our more conservative lawmakers, has nearly brought this country to its knees. I believe their distorted religious ideology is at the very foundation of their lack of compassion for the American people..our brothers and sisters..illustrated by their draconian policies that leave everyone by the roadside. If that's not clear evidence that our founding fathers were on to something when they included this idea in the Constitution, then I don't know what is. And now the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has said that sequester cuts have a negative effect upon public safety. Well, lot's of things do, sir..like your Citizen's United decision, and your Voting Right's Act decision. You keep us safe by protecting our rights, not diminishing them.

We're the United States of America. It's the united part that matters here. Sometimes it means that we have a neutral way to co-exist. That's what the Constitution is, in a sense. There must be a way to respect the beliefs of some without infringing on the rights of others. So we all have to agree to give up something when in the public arena, if you will. If you want to do business out in the world, then you can't decide to discriminate while doing so in an effort to stay true to your belief system. It's your belief system. It might be shared by others in your immediate vicinity, but that's about it as far as it goes in terms of relevance. Beyond that, your beliefs should govern only your life. 

It may sound cliche, but we're better than this. Vote Blue next time..besides, our national conventions are more like love fests, and not an empty chair in sight! Just sayin'..

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Underestimate Women at your Peril

SCOTUS has decided to weigh in on the employer/birth control part of the Affordable Care Act. That's all women need. Although the court ruled the ACA constitutional, this part is troubling. 

When did an employer have the right to decide what medicine I can have? In all the years I worked for other people, and was lucky enough to have health insurance there, the only issue I faced was, did I have chiropractic, dental and vision. Sometimes I had to get pre-approval for procedures, but never did the subject of birth control come up. So either this was done behind the scenes, or it didn't happen. So why now?

I can only surmise that this has to do with the Tea Partyesque attitudes that seem to have brought our government to a virtual standstill. This need to control women is both diabolical and pathetic. 

Men have no right to control anything about women. At some point, this will be made clear to everyone, because we're not taking it anymore. The battle lines have been drawn. And we're more effective than you can imagine. So step back or prepare for battle, because here's some things we're tired of:

  • our children dying at the hands of nut jobs with guns. 
  • our state and federal governments oppressing our vote, our income levels, and our constitutional rights. 
  • going to prison for defending ourselves from crimes committed against us. 
  • our children going hungry because 3/4 of us work at minimum wage jobs and the Tea Party wants to take food stamps away from the most vulnerable among us.
  • making less than our male counterparts doing the same job. 
  • the government viewing poor people as drains on our society, while politicians lay prostrate at the feet of the rich who fill their election coffers.
  • undocumented families living in the shadows, willing to incur employer abuse so that they can live here. It's slavery and it's illegal.
  • our veterans not mattering..oh they matter when you need them to protect us, but then you leave them, and their families, by the wayside when they come back home.
I could go on, but you get the point. Here's the thing. Time is running out for misogynists. Women are stronger than you. Together, we can do anything, including putting you where you belong. 

Underestimate us at your peril.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Another day..another hearing..

I got back home this morning from my walk in time for the end of the love fest for Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. I guess it lasted for hours and maybe I should be thankful that I missed most of it. SSDD..same shit, different day. Tea Party/GOP members of the committee went down the yellow brick road with their Kansas references. Sec. Sebelius is the former governor of Kansas, hence the comments. But they weren't in praise of anything. I saw committee members interrupt her, while claiming that she wouldn't answer their questions. I heard nothing but contempt from these people, and it was disgusting.

I would ask the committee if the conservative members really wanted any answers at all today. And when are we going to have a hearing that grills the Tea Party/GOP in the same manner on the effects of the shutdown, and the endless obstruction they've engaged in while President Obama has been in office? Jesus..he won. Get over it.

The American people know who the troublemakers are. And if the guys don't know, women do. Women know who the culprits are. We know which members of Congress are hurting our children, our families, our financial security, our basic safety, and our constitutional protections. We know which lawmakers are more concerned with controlling women's bodies and which lawmakers follow the law and respect our privacy. We know who wants to suppress our vote. We know who kisses the collective asses of the 1% and who couldn't give a damn about the rest of us.

At least Secretary Sebelius is trying to do something positive for the country. Yes, there have been glitches. And all of that should have been fixed before its launch. All the GOP/Tea Pary have done is obstruct and lie. They would do the country a favor by simply staying home and not ruining things anymore. We're moving in a positive direction on health care that we haven't seen in a long time. I would have preferred single payer, but I know that's coming. It will be the next step in the evolution of this process. The GOP/Tea Party need to stop obstructing and be part of the forward momentum.

The Sisterhood is alive and well and we're tired of all this crap. And..we will vote..and you might not like the result. If you don't live in a state with it's own exchange, and you have to go to healthcare.gov, hang in there. This will eventually be a memory and you'll have health insurance. 

And to my Sisters out there..you know what you have to do. At the end of the day, it always comes down to us anyway. We clean up messes and dry tears. And Goddess help anyone who gets in our way.
 

Monday, October 21, 2013

Keep Calm and #GetCovered!

Healthcare.gov is having some glitches. Did anyone think this wouldn't happen? It's software, people. Yes, it would have been better if the glitches didn't happen, but as I said, it's software. When in our lives has this not happened? And of course, the Tea Party and its cohorts are jumping on the "fire her" bandwagon and are going after Kathleen Sebelius. I hope she doesn't get fired because the website will be fixed and people will get health insurance.

And yet the GOP/Tea Party continues to lie about the non-existent death panels, socialized medicine, and the destruction of small business during the process of covering people with health insurance. Glitches aside, these people simply don't want people to have low-cost health insurance. They call themselves Christian, yet they lack the simple compassion that Jesus embodied toward everyone. Giving people access to affordable health insurance is not a socialist concept. It's a Christian concept..at least in the way I understand Christianity. Isn't it time we actually had insurance that covered our health without worrying about whether or not it will continue to cover our ailments as we get older? Why on earth do these people think this is a bad thing?

Look, I know computers can be irritating. Unbeknownst to me, Facebook was down today. I didn't see it, but I understand how easy it is to have terroristic thoughts about computer-related anything. And that's all I'm going to say about that. ;-)

If you've ever been without health insurance, as I have, it's not easy. We had to sell our truck to pay off our youngest because he was our out of pocket C-section baby. The first was too, but we had insurance for him. I made monthly payments after he was born, and when we were down to the last $400 owing on our little darling, we sold the truck. I didn't like the truck anyway, but we have property and we could have used it.

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned is dental insurance. I would hope they included it but I bet they didn't. At some point, we have to understand the connection between our health and our teeth. So if dental insurance isn't covered, it needs to be. We went without dental insurance for so many years, I could only take the boys to the dentist once a year instead of twice for cleanings. The oldest had braces and I paid $90 per month for years to pay that off. I had to change dentists when the dental technician basically called me an unfit mother when she found out that we couldn't afford twice yearly cleanings. I was so glad when we finally got dental insurance. Not every job we had offered it. Eventually the VA offered it and we jumped at it. It's not the best, but it's better than nothing.

So don't listen to the GOP or their insane Tea Party faction. They don't care about you. No clue who or what they care about, but it isn't you. Or me. You don't have to go online to sign up. You can also call and sign up.

We have a chance here to do something great for this country. We have a chance for things to get better from here. We've seen how bad it can get when lunatics are let loose in our government to do as they please. It's hilarious when they say that they need to take back their country. I suggest they go find some other country to take back, because they're not getting this one!

Keep calm and #GetCovered! 
Update: here's the phone number
1-800-318-2596

Friday, October 4, 2013

Stop comparing the Affordable Care Act to sexual assault.

Bill O'Reilly compared Obamacare to a vicious motorcycle gang coming after your daughter. The brothers Koch sponsored an anti-Obamacare ad that depicts an over-sized Uncle Sam with a speculum in hand, ready to do untold things to the college girl on the table. GOP governors are signing transvaginal ultrasound bills into law, because after all..freedom. They're also trying to circumvent a woman's constitutional right to have an abortion if she chooses. 

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?????

As a survivor of sexual assault, I take issue with these derelicts who equate anything that isn't sexual assault with anything that is. I'll be 56 in a few days. I live with what my father did every day of my life. It has controlled everything about me. In many ways it ruined my chance of ever having a normal life. But then, I don't know what normal looks like anyway. Now that he's dead, you'd think I could move on. But it doesn't work that way. These days, I take it a day at a time, sometimes a minute at a time. Because life goes on and you have to deal with all of it.

We need to be so careful when we compare one thing to another. Pennsylvania's Governor just compared gay marriage to incest. Trust me when I say that it's not. This idiot needs to be thrown out of office. Would he like me to explain the difference? Would he like details? Because if an incest survivor knows the difference between that and two gay people getting married and the Governor of Pennsylvania doesn't, then he shouldn't be allowed to govern anyone.
Go visit that Sandusky guy in jail. That's what a predator looks like. It's not the Affordable Care Act. The only predators there are the ones who are lying about it. You have to ask yourself, why? Why would anyone want people to suffer without health insurance? What's in it for them? Is it money? Is it power and control? Honestly, I don't care what it is. I just want it to stop. Life is tough enough. When lawmakers in Congress lie about our new health care law, all they do is hurt the very people who need it the most. This should be a criminal act. They should be arrested, prosecuted, and then thrown in prison. You don't lie to the American people about anything, but certainly not about a law that can actually enhance and protect their lives.

And for the love of all that is holy, stop stressing out survivors with this crap. We have enough to deal with. And there's a whole bunch of us out here. And guess what else.. We're consumers and voters. We can stop buying all kinds of things, stop watching all kinds of channels, begin voting for better legislators.

Yes. We. Can.


Sunday, September 29, 2013

As the shutdown looms..

My husband is a disabled Vietnam veteran who receives benefits from the Veteran's Administration each month. This is what happens when something goes wrong while in service to our country. We promise to take care of our veterans. They take care of us and, in turn, we take care of them. 

Unless you're a Tea Party Republican. Those people don't care about anyone. It's almost as if they're living in an alternate universe that's bleeding into ours. They don't make any sense and clearly do not understand what governing is. These mentally challenged individuals believe that they can control spending by not raising the debt limit. Trying to reason with them only falls on deaf ears. It's a fairly simple concept, really. I'm sure they all have credit cards. If they don't pay off the balance each month, they have to pay, say it with me now, interest or finance charges on the remaining balance. Or, say you finance a car you want to buy. You'll pay a certain amount of interest on that loan. Same thing happens when you buy a home. It all adds to the debt you owe. That's what the debt ceiling thing is. Voting each time to agree to simply pay the bills we've already agreed to incur is stupid and pointless. We owe the money. And although I know that old school Republicans exist, they're either too intimidated by these people, or they just don't care anymore to stop them. And now the Tea Party Republicans want to bail on our fiscal responsibilities. How can they hold office if they don't understand this? If this were a business, they'd be fired.

Somehow, they've even managed to incorporate the idea of freedom, into the equation. Unfortunately all they've really accomplished in my estimation is reducing freedom to an unrecognizable slogan or buzzword. And yet, they seem to be the biggest control freaks around. They want to force women to have vaginal ultrasounds before having an abortion, a constitutionally protected medical procedure. They know they can't win elections so much anymore because of how insane they are so they re-draw the districting lines or find other ways to suppress the vote. It's always in areas that typically vote for Democrats, so I guess they think if they stack the vote in their favor, they'll be back in control.

But let's look at what they do when Republicans (Tea Party or not) are in control. They lied us into two wars. They ended the Assault Weapons Ban. They crashed the economy. They enact laws typically on the state level that endanger workers' rights and women's rights. They seem to favor only protecting corporations instead of protecting people. They don't believe in climate change and they don't care if the earth is polluted out of existence. They pay homage to the 1% because that's who fills their election coffers. And then there's the racism. That filters into everything. It's part of why they voted to reduce the SNAP program by almost 40 billion. And don't even get me started on immigration reform or the whole, corporations are people my friend crap. This is compassionate conservatism at its finest.

And now they want to shut down the government unless we defund the Affordable Care Act. Never mind that the ACA is covering kids until they're 26. Never mind that pre-existing conditions will be covered. Never mind that it's going to save people money. Never mind that millions will have health insurance for maybe the first time ever. Never mind the facts, because as we all have seen, the GOP doesn't ever let facts get in the way of decision-making. Instead, they make stuff up out of whole cloth and expect the rest of us to buy it hook, line and sinker. Well, we're a whole lot smarter than that.

The country is in a mess. Crazy people always come out of the woodwork when these things happen. Many of them were elected to Congress. If we don't get them out of office, our country will never get back on track. The American people deserve better than these lunatics. We cannot stay home in 2014. We have to stand up and tell these morons that we deserve better than what they've given us. Vote.

Monday, September 23, 2013

That stupid Koch brothers' Obamacare ad..

So just when I think the Koch brothers couldn't go any lower, they do with this ridiculous ad that suggests that Obamacare is like being sexually assaulted by your government. I'd love a couple of minutes with these two pathetic excuses for human beings, let alone men, to tell them what I think of them. But there's no point. They're old now. If they can't understand why this was offensive and cruel, then they're idiots to begin with. Talking to them will solve nothing and will change nothing. 

But I'm going to say it anyway. No. Obamacare is not like being sexually assaulted by your government. I'm a sexual assault survivor and I should know. Trust me. Those of us who are, know the difference. To even suggest this is beyond over the top. They have gone too far here. Too far.

Did they think it was funny? Because it's not. It's creepy and sick. Like they are. To try to scare college aged women from buying insurance that can help them stay well is shameful. They should be embarrassed. But they're not. They're liars. Where are the parents? Are letters pouring in to the Koch brothers' offices? Are parents protesting outside their homes? How dare they intrude in our children's lives this way, presenting lies in a way that only confuses the issue.

I know what it's like to be sick while attending college. I spent a year and a half being so ill that I probably shouldn't have even been there. I had very little money to live on and I couldn't take proper care of myself. My parents didn't care what I was going through. I remember when I wanted to take a summer off and just work instead of doing both and my mother imploded. So they didn't help me at all, but what I did have was their health insurance. Without that, no telling what would have happened to me. It was court ordered due to my parents' divorce. Otherwise, I would have had nothing. 

I watched that ad in disbelief. When it became apparent that this was rape oriented, I became so nauseous that I nearly threw up. Here's the thing. No matter how we're assaulted, the experience stays with us forever. In my case, I'm an incest survivor. All I could see while watching that commercial was my perpetrator's face. If that's what I saw, can you imagine how other survivors reacted? Can you imagine the terror? I can. Because I felt it. And I haven't been calm since.

There is something seriously wrong with the people who made this ad. It never should have been allowed to be shown. What they're doing to innocent survivors is horrific. We've been through enough. We don't need to see stuff like this. I don't care who doesn't like the Affordable Care Act. I would have preferred single-payer. Can you imagine the ads they would have run if that had happened?

These scumbags used rape to sell a lie. And if people believe that lie, they will suffer for it. And why this isn't a criminal act is beyond me. So sorry you can't handle a black guy as our president. He's more intelligent than you; he's more savvy; he's more compassionate. Most importantly, he's a father. He actually understands what it means to BE a father. Get over it. He won twice. He's all the things you aren't and never will be. And if we're lucky, we'll keep moving in this inclusive direction and the bad guys will never be in power again. 

Because that's what all of this is. All this upheaval. The war on women, on cannabis, on children, on seniors, on the poor, add any name you want..it's all about the last vestiges of what is passing for conservatism these days. It's all about lying for the purposes of regaining control. They're evidently not satisfied with the drama they've created, they want more. Well, we're tired of it. A week from now, we'll find out if the idiots are going to cause the government to shut down. And if it does shut down, what then? Will we point our fingers at the appropriate people? Or will we enable it for the next time?