Political Nutrition

Ted Kennedy fought for decades to see that all Americans had access to affordable, quality health care. He didn't live to see his dream fulfilled, but it came true in many ways, today. "You will be the president who at long last signs into law the health care reform that is the great unfinished business of our society," Kennedy wrote. "For me, this cause stretched across decades; it has been disappointed, but never finally defeated. It was the cause of my life." We salute you for that, Senator. You represented the American People with dignity and honor. And more importantly, respect. And then, there's John Boehner, The Eternally Tan Congressman from Ohio, where as we all know the sun shines brightly all winter long, who proclaimed on the house floor tonight that Congress needs to reflect the common values of the American People...and vote No. Common Values? These include what? Throwing stones from glass houses? Pots calling the kettles Black? Oh there ...

saw a wonderful video, which speaks so eloquently to my current dilemma. How does one debate with another who just doesn't have any legs to stand on? Like a snake for example. Well, here's a video I watched this morning. Very funny. But oh so sad cause it's soooo true. People are opposing something they know nothing about. I kept asking for details, real objections, and got nowhere. As did these inquiring minds: Health Care Reform Opponents state their case That's it for today folks. This tells the story way better than I ever could. Enjoy.

Everyone is asking the question. What will happen if we don't pass Health Care Reform? Easy answer, Obama approval ratings plunges. Dems get voted out of office and Republicans regain control. And Health Care for Americans takes another nose-dive. But how will that impact life in America in 2011? Hmmm. I'm no psychic, but here are some predictions: The top 10 insurance companies will see their stocks rise 200%, with net profits soaring 1000%. All remaining sickos on the private insurance rolls will be dropped, and subsequently will simply drop dead. More babies will die at birth, or prematurely. Many of the working poor will end up without treatment for the most basic illnesses, and eventually they will end up dead too.  So we'll see an even greater reduction in the population. Can the Republican naysayers possibly think this is good for our Country? OF COURSE THEY CAN! Here's why. That dramatic plunge in our population will result in a fabulous reduction in Fe...

According to the Federal Government's own website "Federal employees, retirees and their survivors enjoy the widest selection of health plans in the country." So if you are listening to Federal employees (aka Congress) telling you we don't need Health Care Reform, maybe you can see why. If the taxpayers can't have the health care plan their "employees" enjoy, then we should indeed start over. No more health insurance for public employees until their employers have it too. Seems simple to me. Any takers? I thought not. Because it is way too easy for the "anti" Health Care Reformers to say no, when it has no impact on them. How can they empathize with something they don't understand? I find it difficult to understand their point of view. Really. I find it almost impossible to comprehend how one can look at the disparity in our health care system and not be overwhelmed with sadness. As a nation, how did we ever let it come to this? ...

If one could just slice right through all the rhetoric, just for a moment, and take a really serious look at what is happening, maybe we could all come to a real consensus on Health Care Reform. But this morning, I was stunned by yet another quick video clip from the Tea Partiers. Dressed in their expensive suits and ties and designer dresses, they all looked quite the fashionistas. Ranting and raving about Health Care Reform. "Kill the Bill" they shout. Yet all I can hear is the word Kill. Kill. Kill. That's what they will be doing to thousands of Americans. Killing them. Not just with their words, but with their actions. The diabetic who can no longer afford insulin. The Heart Patient who can't afford the Statins. The Cancer Patient who can't afford the Chemo. These are Real Americans. Real People. Who, for one reason or another, are not lucky enough to be insured. Nor poor enough to be taken care of under our Medicare system. Hard working Americans who simpl...

I'm having a difficult time with this one. Karl Rove writes a book, and titles it Courage and Consequence. So much material here, almost 600 pages, I'm not sure what to do. Certainly not read it. That would be a waste of some serious valuable time. And Money. And brain cells. But the title alone is enough to give you pause isn't it? Just the use of the word Courage in the title evokes other worthy writings, of Courage and greatness. Perhaps John Fitzgerald Kennedy's Profiles in Courage comes to mind. A collection profiling individuals who exemplified the essence of courage in their lifetime. Or  a classic tale....The Red Badge of Courage. Giving us a window to the soul of a soldier caught in a conflict he could never fully comprehend. And therin lies the problem. The word Courage itself, for me, is almost blasphemous when used by Rove. Here is a man (and I use the term loosely) whose ego has gone unchecked for so long he cannot identify or acknowledge that his own l...

The Inaugural event for the Coffee Party Movement was held today. Where? All over. In Coffee shops from Burbank to NYC. I don't know what happened at each of them. I was here in Tucson, attending one of several. It was a real, honest to god Coffe Klatch. People holding on to their favorite brew, and sharing their thoughts about the state of our country. And for the most part, we all agreed. Not on the issues, nor on their resolution. We agreed on the fundamentals. That our discussions would be civil. Respectful. Honest. It was fabulous. I, who am notorious for a) being right, all the time and b) never shutting up and c) being right, all the time actually did something I never ever do. I yielded. I allowed other voices to not only be heard...but heard by me. I listened. Which was really quite remarkable. What's more? I learned something. I learned that while I may know a little about some things, I certainly don't know everything about everything. But I learned I have th...

It's here. The Coffee Party . The one I, albeit humorously, suggested way back in my early blogging. Ok, not just humorously, but cynically. Having become completely despondent and sickened by the behavior of our self-proclaimed political messiahs, I wanted to crawl into a trunk and board a freighter for anywhere but here in the USA. So I am excited. What will the new Coffee Party members do? What will they espouse? Or perhaps they won't be the new Talking Heads. Perhaps they will take a new tact. Might we see a resurgence of civility and dialogue? Debate among intelligent, articulate, thinkers? Great minds meeting to finally turn the tables and begin solving some of our most pressing problems? And we do have problems. If only our elected cronies officials could agree on what actually constitutes a problem. For me, Government is first and foremost charged with the HEALTH, WELFARE AND SECURITY of our nation. It cannot fix an economy based on stupidity and greed. It cannot p...

Once upon a time, leaving on a jet plane was an excellent way to go. Flying was exciting. You got little wings to pin on your shirt. They served real food and the seats were comfy. Everyone was treated like a valued individual. All passengers were important. And then came deregulation. Competition. Meant to lower costs and improve service. Hah! Well that backfired now didn't it. One can never travel these days without the extra legroom they so generously offer if you'll pay the price. I will. And then so do all the clueless passengers in the back who don't. Because to give us more, they take from them. I'm sure they realize it is getting a little crammed back there in economy. They thought economy plus was probably a scam. Trust me. 5 extra inches is a slice of heaven. Makes you wonder how much the airlines spent to retrofit each plane to have that "extra legroom" up front. And how fast they recouped. Anyhoo... Sunday I was off to Orlando. Off for a few ...

Yeah, I know who Oscar is. But for me, this is just like the Golden Globes. It's not that I don't like movies. Or that I can't appreciate people wanting to be honored for their work. But if you think about it, the glitz and glamour of Hollywood is really somewhat foreign to most of us. I guess for many people it is a true distraction from our economic and environmental plights. And that's ok. But for me, truthfully, it's silly. Because I have only seen one damn movie on the list. I've actually been to the movies once this past year. That's One time. or 1x. Uno. I saw Sherlock. It was fabulous. Actually got two Oscar nods. Art Direction and Score. Probably too entertaining. You're probably wondering why didn't I see Avatar? Everyone raves about it. I don't want to see Avatar. I don't even like the name. Or the concept. It reminds me of the Schwaab commercials. Hello. Anyone remember them? Noone gave them an Oscar. See I didn't like those...

So today we got the dreaded call. The car is done. As in bodyshop done. As in one who shall remain nameless had a little "incident" with a wall type done. $589 worth of done. So that of course meant shelling the bucks out of pocket, since there's a $500 deductible anyway, why raise your insurance rates? So, they don't take checks, and there's a daily limit on our debit card. So I told my husband look, put it on the credit card. "Wait! Stop!" I said. "Let's check the interest rate first." Now, we have every intention of paying it before there is any interest, but we never really use the card so I had to absolutely know first. Once I had it in my head, there was no turning back. Now hubby isn't what you'd call a techie. He and computers have this love-hate relationship. But he put his game face on, and went to venture into online banking land to look up the rate. We got through the log-in in record time, a mere 45 minutes. From th...

Aaah the old walk a mile in my shoes ploy. An oldie but goodie certainly. Senator Jon Kyl thinks unemployment benefits are a "disincentive" to find work. Really. So, let's unemploy Jon Kyl and see what happens. We will make a special exception for him too. No unemployment. And no federal benefits either. He'll have to live off his savings. Which while substantial in the big scheme of things, he's no millionaire. And no job service assistance either, because we here in the State of Arizona can't afford to provide it. While we are at it, we will cancel his federally funded and subsidized health insurance and make him go on Cobra. And we will do our very best to ensure that there are no opportunities here in AZ for an unemployed politician. Except maybe border patrol. He'd be good at that. Set him up down there with as little support as possible from the federal side. Here's a guy who has the unmitigated gall to imply that unemployment insurance pro...

Yup. Saw it on Facebook today. The Weight Loss Diet! Click here! Wow. Who knew there could be such a thing. It must be the breakthrough we've all been waiting for. I mean a diet that promises weight loss. As opposed to what? The Weight Gain Diet? The eat till you blow up like a hippopotamus diet? Or I want to be a size 42 diet? The I hate my wardrobe and want an excuse to shop diet? Or my personal favorite, I want two seats on a plane diet? And, what I'd really like to know is, with the intense target marketing tools available, which allows them to pinpoint precisely the exact people that are likely to click their ad, HOW THE HELL DID THEY KNOW I WAS FAT! See I'm not all that paranoid about privacy, or lack therof, on Facebook. I have everything locked down pretty tight. If you aren't my friend, you can't see my stuff. And that includes my photos. So they can't possibly know. That means they are just guessing. This is very different of course from the GOP a...