There's a letter in today's "Annie's Mailbox" column from a person whose doctor will no longer see him/her as a patient...because they are on Medicare, and that doesn't pay out enough to the doctors. While I can see the doctor's point of view here, this is still very, very wrong.
I posted about it on my personal blog:
http://www.ailurophile.com/stuph/index.php/site/comments/just-one-reason-why-im-voting-for-barack-obama/
There is something seriously wrong with a country that cares so little for the elderly folks, who have worked hard all of their lives, and are now getting the shaft like this.
Oh, and if you visit my personal blog, feel free to snag one of the "Cats For Obama" graphics that I made, for use on your own blogs and websites. Anything that can be done to spread the word and campaign for Barack will help!
I just got this SPAM email. As you can probably tell, this is NOT from the real campaign, even though they try to make it look and sound like it is. Just look at the email addy in the subject line.
From: "Barack Obama" <BarackObama@ehb128.com> To: "Subscriber" <catmommy9@meowmail.com> Subject: Join our campaign Date: Wed 10/15/08 06:26 PM
This is no ordinary time, and this is no ordinary election. After eight years of failed policies that have devastated America's economy, it's never been more important to bring change to this country. That's why I'm running for president. But I can't do it alone. Sign up today to join our campaign for change. You'll receive campaign news, invitations to events in your area, opportunities to get involved, and information about how to register and where to vote. If you'd like to update your email address or other contact information, please click here. If you wish to stop receiving emails from the Democratic National Committee, you can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link at the bottom of the messages you receive. Millions of Americans, in all 50 states, agree that Washington hasn't been working for our families, and that it's time to put an end to the insider politics that have favored lobbyists, special interests, and giant corporations. You can join them, and help to bring the change we need. With less than a month until Election Day, time is running out to make a difference. If you agree that America can't afford another four years of more of the same, join our campaign today. Thanks, Barack Paid for by the Democratic National Committee. Approved by Obama for America. Call (847) 866-9600 for more information 1007 Church St. 5th Floor, Evanston, IL 60201 Copyright © 2007 ConsumerBase LLC. All Rights Reserved We support ethical practices. This email was sent to catmommy9@meowmail.com by ConsumerBase LLC because you have not previously unsubscribed to our email solicitations. By clicking on any link in this email, except the unsubscribe one below, you are reaffirming your interest in receiving future emails. Please know that we respect your right to be taken off our email lists. Removal is automatic through our system. Please click here to start that process.
The links take you to a site that looks a lot like the real thing. But it is NOT my.barackobama.com, it is a spoof site that someone set up to steal your personal info, and perhaps any money that you might want to donate to the real campaign.
Please do NOT click on these links, and give them any money or anything. The only people who should be getting emails from the campaign are those who signed up via this, the REAL website.
If you get a suspicious email, mouse over the links in it, but do not click. If they go to anyplace other than the barackobama.com domain, be wary. If you want to donate to the campaign, it's easy enough to do it right from this site, then you know your money will go to where you want it to, and not to some loser scammer.
I swear, people get skeevier by the day!
EDITED TO ADD: I did some more digging around, just to make sure, and I found this interesting blog post:
http://www.planetmike.com/2008/03/22/guess-whos-searching-for-you-style-spam-is-back/
Different spam, same scamming outfit. PLEASE be careful, people!
Have you seen this? It's a very cute site called Cats For Obama. As a human owned by six cats, I fell in love immediately. If you are a cat person, too, please go and check out the cute pics. Submit your own if you have one!
http://www.catsforobama.com/
My cats have their own purrsonal blog, and Dusty decided to submit a (yeah, okay, it's Photoshopped) pic of herself to Cats For Obama. She put it on her blog here:
http://www.purrfectwebsite.com/?p=266
The pic of Barack that was used in Dusty's pic was one I took at the Portsmouth Brewery up in Portsmouth, NH. They had that pic of Barack hanging on the wall, and I snapped a pic of it when we were there last Sunday.
I looked around to see if they had any pics of John McCain, but I didn't see any. Good! It's clear to me who the owners of the Portsmouth Brewery are supporting! Very cool! Thanks to Peter Egleston and the staff at the brewery for showing their support for Barack. New Hampshire is definitely a battleground state, and I'm happy to see anyone there, especially a long runing and respected business, supporting Barack.
Oh, and they have some really great food and beer there, too. If you are ever in the area, please do go and check it out!
I was reading a friend's personal blog...she supports Barack as well...and she posted this most disgusting video. She was as sickened by it as I was.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRqcfqiXCX0
I just can't wrap my mind around the idea that people in this day and age still think this way...or should I say NOT THINK at all. Very, very scary.
I think Barack did very well in the debate last night. As for the line from McCain about how if he wanted to run against Bush, he should have done it four years ago...hogwash! Me and a lot of my friends call McCain "McSame". A vote for John McCain is a vote for four more years of the same old, same old.
I don't think this debate did anything to make those who were already decided to change their minds, but I hope it helped lead those who are undecided to vote for Barack, for real change.
There are many reasons why I want Barack to be our next President. The health care issue is just one of them. Here is my story...
My husband and I are solidly middle class people. He works as an engineer and makes decent money, and has health insurance for us through his job. However, the insurance company in question, which shall remain unnamed, is horrible. We pay out the wazoo every week for it, and we get almost nothing but aggravation in return. They go out of their way to get out of paying for ANYTHING at all. Our previous insurance company, one of the better ones, was one we never had a problem with. Mike's company switched to the cheaper plan in order to save money.
It has been a nightmare since Day One. Mike had to have his appendix out a couple of years ago. They found some cancer in the appendix. Although they surgeon said he thought he got it all out during the appendectomy, he recommended a colonoscopy. It was scheduled and done.
But then we got a bill for $900 for the anethesiologist. Sorry, not in network, we no pay, we were told. WHAT? He was supposed to let the doctor stick whatever up there with no anesthesia? We had to fight and fight eith this insurer to get it paid for. Meanwhile, our credit was getting bruised from being turned over to collections and all. We didn't have the $900 sitting around to pay the bill, and why should we? We have the stinking insurance, we pay for it. Therefore, they need to pay.
Oh, it gets better. Earlier this year, I was having some strange symptoms, which I later learned were due to hormone fluctuations in menopause. These can often mimic the sypmtoms of a heart attack, so I thought I was having one. I was home alone one day, things were really bad, so I called 911, and an ambulance came and took me to the hospital. They kept me overnight, ran a bunch of tests, and sent me home. There was nothing wrong with my heart, and they had not yet figured out the hormone thing. It took me two more trips to the ER until someone would tell me that this is what it was.
Meanwhile, I was getting bills for the ambulance (I only took the ambulance once, the other two times I made Mike come home from work and drive me), the cardiac tests, and other stuff. I turned off my phone due to harassing phone calls. I GAVE them the insurance info when I was there, but when they saw what company it was, they figured they might have better luck collecting from me than from the insurer.
Once again, we fought and fought to get these bills settled.
Once it was finally realized that my symptoms were due to hormone-induced panic attacks, I was prescribed anti-depressants and was told to find a personal care doctor to see. I had never bothered to have one before. It took me forever to find someone who took this lousy insurance plan, but I finally did. When I went to the first appointment, she sent me for a mammogram. I'm 48 years old, I guess it was time.
A week or so after the mammogram, I got a call wanting me to come back for a second one...probably nothing, but they wanted to make sure. I did not go, because the bills were still coming in from other stuff, and I knew that in Massachusetts, insurance is only required to pay for one mammogram per year. So I was pretty sure that this second one would not be paid for. If, on the off-chance it was, and it turned out that I had cancer, who knows what would be paid for then? I knew I did not want to sit in some hospital, probably getting substandard care, due to who our insurer is, worrying about dying anyway and leaving Mike mired in debt. All of this while he was paying hefty premiums for insurance at work.
We are required by law in Massachusetts to carry insurance, so we could not just cancel it. We also found we couldn't afford any good policy on our own, especially if pre-existing conditions were involved. Even on our income, it was too much. Not if we wanted to eat and pay our rent and all.
Oh, and it gets even better. The doc put me on generic Prozac for the anxiety because that was all the lousy insurance would pay for. It was fine for a while, then I started suffering horrible side effects. I was hesitant to go back to the doctor for several reasons...for one, I was too sick to get up and go on my own, and I didn't want to make Mike take so much time off of work...he'd already done enough and I didn't want him to lose his job. I also didn't want to hear a lecture about not going back for the second mammogram, some of these doctors seem to think we have unlimited funds for this sort of thing. We don't. We also make too much money to qualify for MassHealth or anything.
And then I got a letter from the insurance company, telling me that I was no longer able to see this doctor anyway, as she had decided to stop taking the insurance we had. So I could not go back if I wanted to, not unless I had the cash to pay out of pocket. Which I don't. It took me forever to find this doctor, I knew it would be almost impossible to find another who'd take it. I guess I could have gone to Mike's doctor, but I really don't like the guy.
I weaned myself off of the Prozac and am doing much better now. I'm using OTC herbal stuff to deal with my menopause symptoms, and they work just fine. But there's still that mammogram thing to worry about. Luckily, this story may have a happy ending after all...Mike's company says that they are getting rid of the lousy insurance and going back to the old one that we never had problems with. So now I can get any treatment I might need, I hope. We shall see.
Barack understands this sort of thing. I remember how he talked about how his mom was dying of cancer, and she was more worried about the medical bills than in concentrating on getting well. Nobody should have to go through that. No doubt that worry over money kills more patients than any disease out there.
Barack says that every American should have the same quality health insurance that he and his fellow Senators and Congresspeople enjoy. I truly believe that when he becomes President, he will work hard towards meeting that goal. Health care should be a basic human right, not a luxury that only the wealthy can afford.
And that is just one reason why I support Barack Obama. Thanks for reading!
