Sad When They Don’t Quit in Time. Case in point: Senator Grassley

It is hard to let go, to release one’s grasp on power and privilege. Sometimes a top athlete holds on for additional seasons of declining performance; fans watch sadly–and with some embarrassment–for the player who did not leave with their game intact.

The same holds true for political leaders.

Senator Chuck GrassleySenator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) served the nation and his state well in a career of public service: as an Iowa state legislator (1958-1974), three terms in the House, and five terms in the Senate. As ranking minority member of the Senate’s Finance Committee, even now he holds a pivotal position in determining U.S. law.

His service and principled actions earned my respect. But, his unprincipled remarks have lost that respect.

This summer he told an Iowa senior citizen that if that man wanted health care equivalent to the health care Grassley enjoyed then he should “go work for the federal government.” Turns out Grassley is almost fully funded by the people who would like our health care system to stay just the way it is now.

Sorry, it gets worse:

Last week Grassley attacked the public option aspect of the health care bill, calling it “socialism.” Then he went on to defend his own participation in government farm subsidy programs. His words speak for themselves as he admits that as a congressman he has “lived off the public tit all these years.”

Full Text:

“For the first 16 years I made $3,000 every other year as a state legislator. Now do you expect me to live on $3,000 every other year? No I was a factory worker for 10 years and I was a farmer for that period of time and I farm with my son now. So if you’re trying to make a case that I’ve lived off the public tit all these years, I think you’re saying correctly in the years I’ve been in the Congress but not the years before I came to Congress.” (Watch it above.)

He should have quit while his career was untarnished. Please, Senator Grassley, it’s time to step down.

C-SPAN interview with Grassley

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The Power Of The People

How It Can Bring Down A Demagogue & How It Can Make Our Public Servants Listen To Us In Terms Of Health Care Reform

The twenty-four hour period immediately following President Obama’s address before Congress on September 10 produced a graphic demonstration of the power of the people. During the president’s address something previously unheard of occurred when South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson in an act of overt boorishness, heckled the president and called out the president as a liar. Ironic that this tool of the right wing extreme chose to act out right when the president was debunking the claims of the real liars who, despite the documented facts, continue to try to spread the lie that one of the objectives of the proposed health care initiative would be to euthanize (i.e. kill) elderly Americans.

joe Wilson, through his ignorant political posturing has just put Rob Miller, his Democratic opponent in the 2008 election, and his opponent in the 2010 election on the map, as a nationally known and well funded, viable candidate who could tip over Wilson’s apple cart. In this last twenty-four hour period, the netroots of the Democratic party (via ActBlue) have raised approximately $697,000 in donations for the Miller campaign, from 19,018 Americans disgusted with the fear and ignorance that the Republican party continuously tries to foist off on the public. This is a great example of the power of the people when they want to be heard.

If you were outraged by Joe Wilson’s outburst, consider kicking in a few dollars to help unseat Joe Wilson by donating via ActBlue.

Another way of demonstrating your power is to tell your representatives in Congress what you think about health care reform. While we know that politicians of all political stripes seem to act as pawns of the moneyed special interests, they are also more fearful of the voting public, when it, the public, is able to form cohesive blocks of voters with common interests. This is a crucial time in our history, we have a chance to use our government and its resources to enact and execute policy that will serve all of the people in the delivery of something as basic to human rights, as the opportunity to have a long and thriving life.

Now is the time to speak and be heard by your representatives in Congress by emailing, writing or calling them. Congress.org has made the process of communicating directly with your representatives very easy. A link on their home page will enable you to identify your elected officials, find their contact information, and send them an email, or a letter, or get you their phone number.

I sent the following to my two Senators and Congressman today:

It is imperative that this Congress pass health care reform, that includes a public option; we can no longer allow vested commercial interests to dictate the availability of health care to our citizens. What might be passed now is only the beginning of real health care reform which must include changing the way we train our medical professionals and how they practice medicine and how they are given incentives.

Meaningful health care reform is more than wrangling the greedy insurance companies and profit driven pharmaceutical and medical testing and medical device industries. Meaningful health care reform is changing the paradigm so that delivery of health care is no longer a corporate profit center, but a manifestation of the intellect, decency and survival instinct of the human species.

I wrote summary of an insightful article by Atul Gawande about how mainstream, for profit, medical services are delivered today as opposed to how they are delivered using the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, etc. models. If you have not seen the original New Yorker article, you might consider reading my summary: “Health Care Reform: More Than Insurance“.

I am a senior citizen, a veteran, a voter and a taxpayer, and this is what I want to see from my representatives in government, nothing less than what is provided to citizens of other democratic industrialized nations.

Feel free to copy and use any of this, or write your own message from your heart and send it to your members of Congress. We do have the power to influence the outcome of this critical national issue, let’s not let the opportunity pass us by.

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Lawrence ODonnell tells it like it is. And it’s f*%ked up.

And what it is, is this:

The majority of Dem’s in the Senate don’t give a shit what is IN the healthcare bill, they just want to pass A BILL. Nan Pelosi is on the same fucking page in the House of Rep’s. And if Rahm speaks for the Pres, Obama doesn’t give a rat’s ass what is in it either.

Twenty three worthless Blue Dogs will not vote for a bill w/the public option in it. One hundred progressive rep’s will not vote for a bill without the public option.

Ten to twenty million people will still not have health care insurance according to Lawrence.

And I fucking believe him. Because when Obama is pressed, he admits not all American’s will have health insurance. He won’t give a number..but he has admitted it several times in the last few months.

It’s getting harder and harder to support Democrats for me. It’s even harder to support Obama at this juncture. This issue is very important to millions of American’s, including me.

I am tired of friends and loved-ones dying from a lack of health insurance. Or, dying because their health insurance provider won’t pay for specific procedures that might save them or at the very least make what’s left of their lives comfortable.

Healthcare is rationed now people..fuck Sarah Palin and her buddies. Fuck all those selfish bastards that could give two shits if everyone in America has access to affordable healthcare, as long as they have healthcare.

I will vote for my cat in lieu of Democrats, after supporting the damn public option instead of universal, single-payer healthcare…only to see it fall by the wayside. I shit you not. I will not support another Democratic asshole if we get hosed on this lousy-ass public option.

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summer of discontent

mmm…. i haven’t been in the thick of things much this summer but things do appear to be heating up. it has been a cool, wet summer here in upstate new york thus far- leading to lots of mildews and fungal issues with plants- and tomato and potato blight spread by big corporate box stores. yeah! so, my garden is rather small and poor and it has me a wee bit worried.

the natives are growing restless– and quite a bit bolder. heady off the success and taste of power under the cheney/rumsfeld regime- the right wingers are truly unhappy about losing to a black man. i mean really- how are we supposed to keep minorities and women in their place behind white men if we elect a black man and he appoints a latina to the supreme court? not to mention that neither are probably even really american. he was born in hawaii/kenya and she is from puerto rico- those aren’t americans! and they want to take our guns and ammo- so we had better horde, horde, horde so the hordes of minorities don’t come breaking into our mcmansions and stealing our big screen tvs and loading them into our ford expeditions.

at any rate, all i have heard about lately are the completely irritating faux town hall meetings that are merely photo ops for the winger tea bag nut jobs with guns. the health care ‘debate’ is not even really- i mean the politicians barely even give the little people lip service anymore. they don’t need us. seriously. there is so much money in the status quo that nobody in a position to change anything is going to. not obama or pelosi or reid- and certainly not the corporatist rethugs- excuse me- i mean capitalists.

the ignorance and bile i have heard and seen is staggering. it overwhelms me that there are so very many people with so many negative emotions living in this country. the country that is supposed to be the best on the planet. you have gun toters at presidential functions- and while i secretly applauded the iraqui who threw a shoe at bush- i did not publicly condone it because that is a line really no one should cross. we have gotten to a place where there is no respect for anyone or anything. these asshats can proclaim to be proud and respectful of the american flag or the troops or whoever and whatever they want to- it’s a lie. respect is wanting the best for your family and friends- but also other people’s families and friends. there is no respect from the right for anything or anyone- not even themselves. there is absolutely no respect from the left for the constituents who voted them into positions of power to force a change.

there has been minimal change- and almost none where it truly counts. that tells me that the corporates have indeed won. the foxes are in charge of the henhouse and we, the people, are just sitting there laying golden eggs for our overlords. with this health care bill the way it is- you will be forced to have it whether you want it or not- unless you already have insurance. in that case, it’s simply a different master fleecing you.

enjoy the rest of the summer. can’t wait for congressional recess to be over and the circus to begin again. oh wait…..

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It’s $mart to Include Immigrants in Health Care Reform

National health care reform aims to insure as many Americans as possible because most agree it’s less costly in the long-run. But what do we do about the approximately 12% of the population that is foreign-born?

While including undocumented immigrants in any kind of coverage plan seems out of the question at this time, Congress is uncertain about permanent legal residents: US citizens-in-waiting. There’s lots of good data showing why it makes more sense to be inclusive according to the Immigration Policy Center:

• Immigrants are working and paying taxes.

• It’s better for all of us if everyone we come into contact with has preventive health care. It’s also better if people are treated early rather than wait until expensive health care is needed down the line.

• Immigrants want to pay into the system and help offset other costs.

• Immigrants are generally younger and healthier and use less health care and cost less than U.S. citizens.

Health insurance works by pooling risks, using premiums collected from the healthy to pay for the medical care of those who need it. So the more people who pay into the health care system, the more the risk and the cost are spread over the entire population. Especially now with an aging U.S. population more money is going to be needed for health care for the elderly. With more people paying into the system, the more those costs are spread out.

Also, if more people are receiving regular health care and well care services, public health improves. It’s much more expensive when people don’t receive regular health care and wait until they’re very sick to receive care. Providing preventive care saves everyone money.

According to the IPC, U.S. citizens make up the majority of the uninsured. Legal and undocumented immigrants compose less than one-quarter of the non-elderly uninsured. While it’s true that non-citizens are far less likely than citizens to have health insurance that’s mainly because their work doesn’t provide health care or they are not eligible for government-sponsored health care. While undocumented immigrants don’t qualify, legal permanent residents-those we’ve admitted into the country on a permanent basis who work, pay taxes, serve in the military, become U.S. citizens-are also ineligible for most federal assistance programs for at least 5 years.

When health care costs are distributed across a broader pool of people, the overall costs for everyone goes down. By including immigrants, who are generally younger and healthier than U.S. citizens, we can lower overall costs. Immigrants will pay in, take less out, and receive less-expensive preventive care. It just doesn’t make sense to refuse to accept people who want to pay into the system.

Immigrants are the not the cause of the health care crisis, but they can be part of the solution.

For more information: Sharing the Costs, Sharing the Benefits: Inclusion Is the Best Medicine (July 22, 2009), Immigration Policy Center PDF

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moist weather blues

well, i just got done firing off emails to my ‘representatives’ in congress.  have you seen the fuckery that is passing for health care reform from the democratic congress?  it has been a high blood pressure week for me- a ‘representative’ from my area to the state government in albany staged a coup d’etat and took control from the democrats and put it back into the hands of rethuglicans- circumventing the will of the people and democracy.  the ramifications of this are scary.  these people will stop at nothing to get back into power- and that’s pretty obvious.

but i digress…. this is a post about powdery mildew.  what in hell is powdery mildew? , you may ask.  it is a fungal infection that plants get when there isn’t adequate air flow to keep them dry in warm, moist environments.  can happen to a variety of plants- it happened again to my rose bushes out in front of the house.  the people who owned this house before me didn’t know much about anything- tile, roses, etc.  i will transplant the roses in the appropriate time- so, i may have to wait- depending on which type of roses i have- and i certainly didn’t want the bushes to die- the roses are gorgeous.  now, the picture i am posting is not of my roses.  i don’t know that i have a picture hanging around of them- i’ll check… nope.  i’ll have to take one.  this pic is one from iowa i guess.  anyhoo…

fungus infections can devastate a plant- it can actually kill it if left untreated.  so, here’s what ya do- no, don’t go to your local agway or home improvement store- unless you need some pruning shears.  you prune away the affected areas- leaves, buds, flowers, stalks, etc., and then you take 1 tsp baking soda to 1 quart of warm water and add in 1 tsp of dish detergent (helps the baking soda stick longer) and you spray both sides of the leaves and the whole plant.  it works as an antifungal- doesn’t cure the plant but prevents more from developing.  you really have to prune away the affected areas.  i don’t even compost that.  i set it out at the curb.

the best thing is prevention- put roses where they have adequate air circulation and prune appropriately.  i ended up also having black spot which is also a fungal infection- and the baking soda mixture will take care of that too.  i’ll let you know how that goes.  the other preventative measure- spray at the beginning- when plants are just beginning to bud.  i forgot- and this is how i got fungi.  i should have sprayed at least a couple of weeks ago.  i will have to continue spraying all summer as long as the humidity and rain persists.  hopefully, i have the fungi under control.

now, i just have to watch out for japanese beetles.

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health care

neither presidential candidate has a health care proposal that i care anything about.  i realize that the insurance companies and big pharma are powerful interests with lots of money and weight to throw around.  so, imagine my surprise when i ran across this today:

5,000 doctors challenge private insurance system

i couldn’t find any recent polls- although i am sure they are out there in this poll happy season- the most recent is zogby in may and npr/aspen in february of this year.  i am guessing that most folks would be for socialized health care- or call it national health care if that’s more palatable.  much of the debt in this country- and the deaths- come from underinsurance or none at all.  it is going to take powerful groups like the ama and citizens grassroots movements to get this going- but as the boomers start to age and the government stops paying for medicaid and medicare- that’s going to get folks’ attention.

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