I'd ran across this article in the Journal The Democratic Strategist a few weeks ago and thought it very interesting... titled "Get Ready Democrats - Obama's opponents are getting set to 'unleash hell'", it immediately caught my attention. The author, James Vega, lays out the multi pronged approach to attacking the president he expects to see in the near future. I'd read SEVERAL articles on health care that day, and as I scanned through this one I could see glaring examples of Vega's talking points flash through my head in the images and headlines I'd recently read. In my mind, this was yet another piece on media spin and astroturf lobbyist which I book marked to go over more thoroughly later...
Finally today I go back and read the article more closely and two things immediately jumped out at me: 1. this policy referenced in the article was not health care at all, but economic policy and 2. it was written back in MARCH!!! Yikes! I would say that the names have changed but the game is the same, except the names really haven't changed either (Freedom Works)!
And speaking of Freedom Works, I saw Dick Armey on Meet the Press yesterday and that man is (pardon my french) a bitter, lying, sack of dung! He ACTUALLY started out by launching into how the townhall protester's behavior of late may not exactly be shining examples of civility but that their constant comparisons of the President to Adolf Hitler were merely the same type of hyperbolic rhetoric used by the group MoveOn.org against Bush during his administration!!! A charge that has been discredited six ways til Sunday. David Gregory let the statement go unchallenged (because he's useless) but THANKFULLY Rachel Maddow did not. Armey's obvious contempt for Maddow and her outdated use of "facts" was obvious. THEN (because I have to much time on my hands) I went a'googlin' to fact check what he had said and stumbled upon Freedom Works website - wherein a separate blogger repeats the same lie AND I find THIS galling front page story! *SIGH* But I digress... for the sake of my soul and my blood pressure, I will move on from this topic but I will NOT be a David Gregory and allow it to float along unchallenged.
So take a moment to read this wise strategists article and use it as the backdrop on which to set - not just the health care reform "debate" - but oppositions approach to Obama policy in general. And reflect on what I thought was the most chilling part in the piece:
"On the contrary, the scope of his ambition to be a solidly progressive Roosevelt-style president makes him appear as a genuine threat -- not just for committed Republicans, but to a substantial group beyond. For many, this threat is so grave that insuring the defeat of Obama’s political program now takes priority over what might be best for the economy. "
Except you replace the word "economy" with other related policies like "health care", "America", or "our environment"... Same game, different names.
You know how you kind of get a thought in your head, but it isn't entirely fully formed... it just kinda clunks around until you can get a good handle on it? Then maybe someone says something to you that brings you back to that thought... or you read something that reminds you that something is gnawing at you and whatever you're reading is somehow related... and then - WHAM! - it all moves sharply into focus? Follow me on a journey...
“Call it fate, call it luck, call it Karma, I believe everything happens for a reason.” — Dr. Peter Venkman
Now, my personality tends to veer toward the obsessive and the whole issue of health care is a prime (if not obvious) example. I have a core belief that becomes almost like a thesis. I dedicate much time and emotional energy into backing up that thesis with as many facts as I can fit in a coherent argument (to, admittedly, mixed results!)...I quickly become frustrated with others who present their own core belief without equal due diligence. I see myself and others with views similar to mine being mocked and belittled by these same people. I argue back by pointing to more facts that blatently contridict their argument. These facts are disregarded and again only met with more insults and generalities. My frustration grows. Next thing I know the positive energy that fostered my original core belief and inspired me to work towards it's fruition has gone 180 degrees in the opposite direction. I am walking around a virtual cloud of negativity, stooping to my own base level of mockery and stereotypes...
Then I stumble across something positive and almost dismiss it out of hand because I am so bogged down in angry...
Exhibit A:
From droogie6655321 "I believe mankind is basically good. I don't believe this because I am ignorant of reality or because my ears and eyes are willfully closed. I believe this in spite of all the evidence to the contrary -- evidence which mounts daily.
To achieve the political changes that we wish to achieve, we must change hearts and minds, to use a tired phrase. To change the hearts and minds of others, our own hearts and minds must be patient, calm and above all compassionate.
If you think me naive, consider the fact that everyone who's ever stood up and told us to get along and love one another, from Jesus to Gandhi to RFK to MLK, has wound up the victim of a violent end. Clearly, there's something in the message of compassion that ugly people with ugly hearts fear.
So while they may be ugly, we must be beautiful. We must do beautiful things. We must act beautifully to each other. We must treat the other side beautifully.
This is just another way I've found to say something I've been saying for years. I hope it has meaning for you. There is strength in compassion. It's a beautiful thing."
Somewhere in the back of my mind, a tiny *click* goes off.
But that was a stupid diary! droogie IS naive! Hasn't droogie SEEN these people? Or heard the absolute sewage they spout? Isn't droogie as INCENSED as I am over how corporations, lobbyists, and corrupt politicans are chipping away at our human rights? Stupid, naive droogie...
But the diary sticks in my craw because somewhere down deep under all my anger, I recognize it's simple truth.
Exhibit B:
blackwaterdog writes in his GBCW (Goodbye Cruel World) diary that "I've seen every president all the way back to Gerald Ford. And i never saw a more hard-working, persistent, smart, cool and full-of-good-intentions president than Barack Obama. I look at him and i see a man taking a country in one of the most difficult times since World War II. Inheriting a perfect shit-storm. I see him getting closer than anyone else, ever, to a health care reform. A reform that no matter how it'll look in the end, would be a huge improvement from the current situation. I see him not being even slightly scared by the threats and the racism and the awful signs and the repulsive hate. I see a civilized, intellectual, good hearted and so-very-stubborn president trying to do things that his predecessors just ignored for years. Things we all knew will take years to do. Obama himsef said so back in his victory speech: "We may not get there in a year, we may not get there in one term, but we will get there". And then i come here, and it's all so depressing. It's all doom and gloom. So many bad vibes. Almost zero patience. Almost a complete amnesia about how long it took to get into this mess, and what a super-human effort it would take to get out of it. Effort, and time. Long time. More than 7 months, anyway. So this is goodbye from me. At least for a while. I wish you all the best and i'll pray for Obama's safety every day, because i've seen first hand how tragic can be the end of a visionary and forward-looking leader, when right wing lunatics decide to eliminate him and the left leaves him all alone."
I grumble, embarassed. I stop blogging for a few days. Sure, I am busy with real life: husband, kids, work, bills, dinner, bedtime fits... Who needs the additional stress of yelling to this empty room?
Exhibit C:
A coworker I adore and respect, and who has been given access to my closely guarded e-life says to me "I think you are getting way too into the politics thing!"
I cringe. How can anyone NOT feel this same level of passion? Look, this has ALWAYS been a passion for me, I say. It's just now there is the internet... and I feel this NEED to educate... to motivate... Of course, I understant her concern isn't my for my interest in politics, it is for the obsession and potential vitriol.
But her words stick in my craw as well. (To be fair, I don't really know what a "craw" is - but for the purposes of this diary it is the place where those unformed thoughts clunk and poke.)
Finally - WHAM! - it comes to me that I am no longer fighting the good fight. I'm throwing mud too. I'm shouting, "I know you are, but what am I?" I'm having a tantrum, throwing stones from my glass house. (Not to mention, devolving into a torrent of figurative language!) I need to be beautiful. I need to do beautiful things. I must act beautifully to others and treat the other side beautifully. Or really, it would be all for nothing. There is strength in compassion. And it IS a beautiful thing.
Thanks to droogie, blackwaterdog, and (coworker's name redacted)! I am recentering.
I think maybe Bill S. Prestion, Esq. said it best: "Be EXCELLENT to eachother."
It is with a heavy heart that I write this post...
Anyone that knows me, knows that I love me some Whole Foods. So you can only imagine my shock and disappointment when I read THIS recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal by John Mackey, founder of Whole Foods, on health care reform.
Sadly,I will no longer be shopping there. There are only a few businesses that I shop at purely out of love and not necessity and WF was my absolute favorite. My "mecca" (as I have referred to it on several occations), Whole Foods introduced me aromatherapy, homeopathic products,and medicinal extracts. *sigh*
But you know what? This is a wonderful opportunity to shop for some of those specialty items that WF has always offered under one roof at some of the smaller, LOCALLY OWNED health and holistic stores in my community. That is what I should be doing anyway! I will miss my mecca, with it's ridiculous variety of foofoo foods, personal care products, suppliments, wine, and knowledgable staff... but it's time to practice what I preach. So I am voting with my dollars and voting with my feet.
First though, I feel morally obliged to publicly refute John Mackey's suggestions on health care:
SUGGESTION: Remove the legal obstacles that slow the creation of high-deductible health insurance plans and health savings accounts (HSAs).
What obsticles? I have access to a HSA through my employer. In fact, MOST of my friends do too! Of course, most of my friends have good high paying jobs that offer health care benefits in addition to HSAs and dependent care spending accounts... unfortunately I dont' know a single unemployed or underemployed person that has this option and even if they did, by definition, they are likely not in the position to take advantage of it!
It's worth going to the original article to hear Mackey describe his "generous" benefits to WF employees... and as I was reading it, I was thinking "big effin' deal, his employees are what? 22? With strong personal interests in healthy lifestyles? Their average health care costs are unusually low! And few of those employees make enough to afford out of pocket costs for preventative care with a $2,500 deductable!" Then, I can across this highly critical article on WF business practices that confirmed and fleshed out my speculations:
"For nearly 2 decades Whole Foods CEO and co-founder John Mackey has managed to maintain his multimillionaire status while Whole Foods employees remain in the $8 - $13 hourly wage. With a turnover rate of 25% per year and an average employee span of only 4 years, most “team members” will never reap the benefits of seniority."
Yep, that sounds about right.
SUGGESTION: Repeal all state laws which prevent insurance companies from competing across state lines.
Now, while I TOTALLY understand why people say such laws are "anti-free market", blah, blah, blah... I will tell you that personally I think limiting insurance companies from competing nationwide has a tangible upside because it keeps all the insurance companies from identifying a single state with overly sympathetic (weak)representatives to all pile into (and to pour money into). While I know this rule can also be pointed to as the reason so many markets are essentially dominated by a monopoly, I would worry that health insurance would end up like the banking and credit card industries - with all the big companies fleeing to the state with the weakest regulation so as to maximize their profits. Yes Delaware, I'm looking at to you... SUGGESTION: Enact tort reform to end the ruinous lawsuits that force doctors to pay insurance costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. These costs are passed back to us through much higher prices for health care. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this because it was debunked several times during the last administration, but businesses love to claim that if you just stopped holding them accountable and dipping into their profits, they will stop charging you so much. Bullshit. Tort reform has no correlation to the cost of health insurance. Quick examples can be found here and here and here.
SUGGESTION: Make costs transparent so that consumers understand what health-care treatments cost. How many people know the total cost of their last doctor’s visit and how that total breaks down? What other goods or services do we buy without knowing how much they will cost us?
What does this even mean? I know how much my last doctor visit cost! I get a statement from my insurance company about my visit AND one from my doctors office confirming what the insurance company was billed, what they paid, and what my copay was. How hard is it to open and read a bill? If I am somehow missing Mackey's point, I appologize. Maybe he is looking for a broader sort of transparency? Well, I found THIS great website that allows users to "analyze their health care spending and make smarter decisions"! Sounds perfect! Maybe Mackey just isn't good with the google...
SUGGESTION:Enact Medicare reform. We need to face up to the actuarial fact that Medicare is heading towards bankruptcy and enact reforms that create greater patient empowerment, choice and responsibility.
Um... yep... The problem with this overly simplistic "solution" is that it treats Medicare like some kind of compartmentalized program, seperate and unique from the problems in the private health care sector. To reform Medicare IS to reform health care! The same unsustainable system responsible for the impending bankrupcy of Medicare is just as responsible for the sky rocketing insurance premiums in private health care! True "patient empowerment, choice and responsibility" are impossible without a total overhaul of the health care industry as a whole.
And last, but not least, my favorite of all his suggestions:
SUGGESTION: Finally, revise tax forms to make it easier for individuals to make a voluntary, tax-deductible donation to help the millions of people who have no insurance and aren’t covered by Medicare, Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Uh huh. Really? Sure, I'll mention this to the folks I know that have paid taxes into this system for years and years and years - only to now find themselves without employer based insurance and a preexisting condition they can not afford to treat out of pocket but are also unable to qualify for affordable private plans. "Sorry about your luck but I'm sure the generous citizens of this fine country will be willing to check a box on their tax forms and throw some spare change your way..." Mackey should be embarrassed and ashamed.
As an added bonus, Mackey goes on to state:
"All countries with socialized medicine ration health care by forcing their citizens to wait in lines to receive scarce treatments."
And so I have found that my "mecca" was no mecca at all... I was willing to turn a blind eye to suspicious behavior in the past. I didn't realize the extent of our differences. And as is often the case, I am confronted with the reality that my mecca is ME. The practices of WholeFoods and the beliefs of it's founder are not supportive of me and I am no longer supportive of them. Peace.
If you feel the same and would like to make those feelings heard at:
World Headquarters Whole Foods Market, Inc. 550 Bowie Street Austin, TX 78703-4644 512.477.4455 512.477.5566 voicemail 512.482.7000 fax
Simple proof that these protests have nothing to do with the protesters "having there voices heard"...
Because it's not about getting more information about the bill because there are a zillion different places they can go online for that. It's not about offering suggestions because certainly they have not contributed to a solution. It's not about reforming a broken health care system because they say ours is the "best in the world" and they just want to keep what they've got. Or even a moral opposition to a public plan, as many of these protesters openly admit to being on Medicare or receiving VA health coverage. It's not about health care at all! It's a tantrum. They want to shame, intimidate, and shock. If it were about simply having their voices heard, a meeting with representative seems to be IDEAL, but they don't want that either. They've been instructed to make a fuss (preferably on video)and an actual conversation between two individuals will not suffice. They will not be happy until they (bullying white conservative christians) are back in power. When Bush proposed the single biggest expansion of public health care since Medicare was created in 1965, AND PASSED IT with no plan on how to fund it, they were no where to be seen. Crickets. Tumbleweeds. I am sick with the hypocrisy of it all.
5. Eighteen thousand Americans DIE each year due to lack of health care: THAT'S 50 A DAY.
6. Nearly two-thirds of American personal bankruptcies are related to health care costs.
7. Businesses - particularly small businesses - cannot afford to provide health insurance for their employees under the current employer based private insurance system, and will be forced to either drop their coverage or go out of business unless a public option is passed.
8. One-sixth of all our government spending is on health care, twice as much as any other country spends out of its budget. Our nation pays $2.5 trillion for care costing $912 billion.
10. So - if you'd rather spend more taxpayer money, bankrupt businesses, AND pay $16,800 a year for your family's private insurance coverage in exchange for a policy that can be dumped the second you actually need it, then the current system is great for you. If you'd rather spend less, wait less, have less of a chance of dying, and want to remove the corporate bureaucrat from between you and your doctor, then a public option is the way to go. Right now, even if you're lucky enough not to be dropped by your provider when you need urgent medical care, your private insurance company can overrule your doctor's advice for life-saving treatment and only offer to cover something cheaper; a public option would remove that middleman and leave these decisions where they belong, between the patient and doctor.
According to the author, it's worth noting: The numbers are purposefully lowballed/rounded down in order to avoid a subsequent conversation devolving into bickering that distracts from the main points being made. In that spirit, the one big change from the earlier posting of this top ten list is the $16,800 figure being added as the average American family's health care costs, instead of a higher estimate. Lastly, the statistic about the average Canadian family paying less than $2000/yr is based on a single Canadian paying $40 a month, times 12 months ($480/yr) times a family of four ($1920/yr).Thank you to ShadowSD at Dkos for creating and sourcing this information, and for providing it in a word document for easy copying and printing. Download the word document HERE.
Take these FACTS to folks that have been repeatedly fed misinformation from FauxNews... Spread the word, spread the TRUTH!
THE SECURITY YOU GET from health insurance reform:
No Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions Insurance companies will be prohibited from refusing you coverage because of your medical history.
No Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays Insurance companies will have to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses.
No Cost-Sharing for Preventive Care Insurance companies must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics.
No Dropping of Coverage for Seriously Ill Insurance companies will be prohibited from dropping or watering down insurance coverage for those who become seriously ill.
No Gender Discrimination Insurance companies will be prohibited from charging you more because of your gender.
No Annual or Lifetime Caps on Coverage Insurance companies will be prevented from placing annual or lifetime caps on the coverage you receive.
Extended Coverage for Young Adults
Children would continue to be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26.
Guaranteed Insurance Renewal Insurance companies will be required to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full. Insurance companies won’t be allowed to refuse renewal because someone became sick.
Unconscionable Math is a great post that delves into the true number of individuals whose claims are being denied health insurers, with a break down of why .5% is an illusion.
*shameless plug for Taunter Media btw, he does a great job with economic issues and is adept at taking complicated financial information and breaking it down in digestible bits...
THIS flyer was leaked by a volunteer with Freedom Works and got all kinds of attention on the blogosphere yesterday... Personally, I don't find anything terribly offensive or shocking about encouraging folks to be more active in their local politics. I know of several liberal action groups that are also fervently trying to rally grassroots level support at townhall meetings themselves, so the outrage is rings a tad false. What I do take offense to though is this implicit encouragement to manipulate the conversation and ridicule representatives. The whole purpose of a townhall meeting is to have a discussion and exchange information - these people are turning them into a chance to get attention (as apposed to a chance to listen to what the bill entails, ask questions, register educated question ABOUT HEALTH CARE REFORM, or make any constructive suggestions) from the media.
Now, I can not prove it - but I am willing to bet it's not a coincidence that the author of the leaked memo happens to have a penchant for video taping himself cornering his local representative and suddenly TODAY OperationEmbarassYourCongressman.com is launched. Wanna know what else seems like quite a coincedence? No videos of Republican reps on the site (they claim no one has sent them any).
UPDATE: The latest in what feels like a string of coincidences... on the OperationEmbarrass homepage they provide a link to a listing of townhall meetings and suspiciously includes the phrase "(hosted on another website I don't manage)". That site? TeaPartyPatriots.com. Guess who is a member at TeaPartyPatriots.com...
Interesting "Health Care for Dummies" article at TheHill.org detailing the intricacies of the Health Care debate.
HERE is a little something else to keep in mindwhile you are reading about how health care is "too expensive" for your government to provide.
How would you feel if YOUR child died because they could not get the medical/prescription coverage they needed? How would the dollars spent on these wars seem to you if YOUR child could be helped or saved for a few hundred dollars a year in prescription or medical interventions?
Well here you go, the House has released "America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009". It's just a scant 1,017 pages of insomnia relief. Or I guess insomnia-inducing, depending on your take... Regardless, it's good to have a copy of the actual bill so when some talking head starts going on and on about how page gives President Obama personal permission to kill your grandma, you can read up on exactly how he plans to do it...
In the next couple months this health care debate is going to get ugly. These are big changes involving LOTS of cash, and everyone with resources and a vested interest is going to be spinning "facts" in the media... Don't take any one's words at face value until you know who they are and where they are coming from! If you hear something that sounds shocking or terrible or wonderful or unbelievable - write down the quote and source and when you get the time RESEARCH THEM!
And, if you start seeing coverage on the news about disruptions in town hall meetings or constituents demonstrating their opinions by hanging effigies of their congressional representatives... keep in mind that stories like these are just distractions. Media loves the crazies. And stories about the crazies so much easier (and more entertaining) than unraveling the tangle of special interests in health care. Or reporting on a 1,017 page bill.
Educate yourself, communicate with your representatives, be mindful of their voting record, and hold them accountable for their actions.
** Actually, I want to be sure to clarify that last point there - hold your representatives accountable at the ballot box and ABSOLUTELY NOT through violence. This is what it means to live in a democracy. This is what separates us intelligent Americans from "the nutters". The ones crying how they need to take back their country... go for it! On the 2nd Tuesday in November. See you there.
This topic has come up in my conversations with people on political topics in the past and I think it is incredibly important in the upcoming media coverage of the "Health Care debate" to be sure to screen your source. Please feel free to use these same tactics anytime you find yourself faces with a "news story" or (gawd forbid) a PAC ad...
If a "professional in the medical field", a politician, or a pundit makes a comment regarding proposed changes to health care that seem shocking: 1) reflect on what you just heard, 2) grab paper and pen and write down the quote that struck a nerve, 3) reread the quote and scrutinize the viability of the statement in its own right, 4) get online and research the person that made the statement.
Good sites to check out a person or topic: Media Matters, FactCheck.org, and (yes) Wikipedia. Or for funzies, just google them and keep track of the type of websites that quote that individual. Or google the "think tank" or "patients rights advocate" or the "grassroots organization" they represent. You deserve the broader picture and sadly, in modern media we have been left to do our own research. Don't allow yourself to be spoonfed "facts".
I was lucky enough to catch Jack Lessenbery's essay on Michigan Radio... here are some highlights (rather, the lowlights) regarding Michigan's state budget:
"The government now thinks we are looking at a total general fund and school aid deficit of $2.7 billion dollars. But before we can tackle that monster, we first have to solve this year’s shortfall."
AND
"According to the latest forecast, the state has a current deficit of more than $1.4 billion in the general and school aid funds. We have only two months to make up the difference. The good news is we can do that. Thanks, that is, to the federal stimulus money. But that leaves a lot less to cover future deficits. In fact, there won’t be nearly enough to get us through the year starting October 1.
And after that, we are looking at the edge of a cliff."
(emphasis mine)
AND
"So here’s a suggestion for the governor: What your citizens need is for you to come on statewide TV and take some time to explain all this." "That what leaders do. That‘s why, in fact, we elected you."
All I can say is, "YES!!! What I can't understand is why this isn't the #1 news story on 6:00 news and the headline on every newspaper/newssite in the state right now! Or every day previous for the last year or two..."
This is coming folks, that's why I am harping on you to Build Your Safety Net!
I have the hardest time understanding why it is that regular people have any problem with reforming health care in this country... the evidence is irrefutably negative on the performance of our current system! America does NOT have the best health care in the world! We are fat, unhealthy, with low (and lowering) life expectancy and avoidable chronic disease. We are #1 in the COST of our health care though!!! So, I guess we have that going for us... not.
Recently I read an extremely interesting paper extrapolating the current rate of inflation in the cost of health care for the average American family another decade out... and you know what? The question isn't even "will I still have my health care coverage in 10 years?" -- it is instead, "will I have any coverage?"
Build your safety net people! Call your representative! In the remaking of health care, will he/she be representing YOU or Medical Industry?
