No Rant Today

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I realize, my gentle snowflakes, that each and every one of you has been waiting with baited breath for me to climb up on my soap box and start another rant on the health care reform mess. You know, "Medicare for All*" or something like that. [*A really good, clear discussion, of Medicare expansion comes about paragraph 6 at the previous link.]

Well, you must wait some more. I do not know whether or not I will ever be able to gain the momentum to rant again on this particular subject.

You see, I am almost catatonic with disappointment. Everyday the single payer option is chipped and chipped and chipped. I fear for it's fate.

Although there is a "public option" in the House bill, there is none in the Senate version. And there is no mention of single-payer in either. That does not bode well for the single-payer plan when the conference committee meets to try to mash the 2 different bills into something everyone thinks will pass in both houses.

Once again, we the American people are about to be screwed by Congress.

Then next election, we will vote 'em back in again--the very same a-holes that sold us down the river will once more sit in "those hallowed halls." They will be free to take their obscene "contributions" (i.e., PAYOFFS) from big Pharma, insurance companies, AMA, etc.

No wonder they laugh at us and refuse to do what we elected them to do.

Apparently, the average American voter has the memory span of a gerbil. And apparently there just aren't enough of the rest of us to make a difference.

Maybe, in a final effort to get their attention, we should require that members of Congress buy the same coverage they want us to use via this "reform."

I reiterate, I am almost catatonic with disappointment.
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They May Be Talking, But Are They Saying Anything REAL?

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Well, I listened/watched to the health care system overhaul sessions that were broadcast on C-Span yesterday and early, early this morning.

I now know who actually wrote that letter that McConnell and his compadres sent to the White House: the insurance industry. How do I know?

Everyone (even many Republicans) was trying to be positive and offer actual things that might be of benefit to getting more bang for our health dollar spent. THEN, the guy representing Blue Cross/Blue Shield spouts off -- almost word for word quoting of that infamous letter. If the government offers a plan, it will be unfair competition. AND it will put the insurance companies out of business because they just can't get their overhead costs down low enough to compete. (Crocodile tear here.)

And here I thought that the "free market system" was the holy grail. I guess not, though. At least not if you have to actually compete. Not if you don't have a virtual monopoly on the industry (there are only 3 or 4 providers left). Not if you have to take all comers--even those with pre-existing conditions. Which the insurance companies have now broadened to include even a single convulsive episode in infancy and even pre-mature births and even broken bones in childhood.

What is so terrible about a government-run, single-payer system? I still have yet to hear any argument against it that is not extremely easily refuted by the facts as they currently exist. Medicare works. Ask anyone who has it. And those Republican congressmen/women sure do love their government run health care coverage.

If you ever needed proof that the Republicans in power don't care about you and me, just look at this one issue.

Under a single-payer system, everyone pays in a modest amount; preventative care can increase (thus decreasing the number of many of those costly ER visits); no one will have to declare bankruptcy due to catastrophic medical expenses; I just don't see a down side.

Send the message to the White House. Health Care for All. Sign the pledge. Check out the offerings at the site.

If anyone asks, say "Medicare for All."
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How Does Your Electric Company Do Power Cut-Offs?

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I didn't miss this so much as I wanted to ignore it. So, it took The Mills River Progressive to prod me a bit and now I am mad. (That nasty wolf is apparently creeping over and stealing food from the good wolf. Honestly, I have been trying to keep him from getting anything, but he is a crafty creature.)

I have been following for some time the trashy treatment our veterans receive after they have served us will everything short of their all. It usually makes me so mad I have no words. So, I will borrow these from The Mills River Progressive.

Do you care? Do something.

• This is how America values its veterans and cares for the elderly and infirm.

• A World War II vet, medic, and purple heart award winner froze to death inside his home after the power company in Bay City, Michigan installed a device on his power supply that shut it off. City Electric Light and Power stated that Marvin Schur hadn't been paying his bills, but they never bothered to call him or check on him, nor explain what they were doing to his power supply. He was found frozen to death inside his home by neighbors who were checking on him. He had several coats on, and his feet were frostbitten. The Coroner said that he died a slow, painful death. That was Mr. Schur's final reward for his exemplary service to this country, and a lifetime of paying taxes. He was said to have paid his bills on time without fail for over 50 years, but apparently was exhibiting signs of dementia. His wife had died two years earlier, and they had no children.
• This is a glaring example of what "our" government really values. There's an endless supply of money for greedbag financiers, shysters, and cheats, but spending money on health and human services for everyone is "socialism". How many people die in this country because they couldn't afford the tests or treatments that could have saved them? How many of our elderly and ill die alone, hungry or cold? This is a goddamned disgrace!
• Purple Heart vet freezes to death in his home.