I am outragedged at the treatment and lack of respect toward the President of the United States of America. Barack Obama is a man who worked tirelessly to advance himself and eventually become the most powerful man in our country. He truly is the epitome of the American dream. How disheartening and appalling it is to witness a total lack of respect toward him!
This is the first time a president was banned from speaking in some schools. Presidents have been speaking to school children for years and this is the only time it caused such a ruckus. This is America, the land of the free, and we are censoring our own president? This is a clear act of racism and it makes me feel very upset to see people behaving this way.
These attacks from the right wing have gone too far and have created a baseless frenzy which has led to blatant lack of respect toward President Obama. How must it look to other countries when they see congressmen texting on their cell phones and shouting during a speech by our president? Rep. Joe Wilson's comments were deplorable, something a child would do, not a member of the government. And, it seems hypocritical of Rep. Wilson to call the president a liar, and yet fail to mention that he receives most of his political backing from the same lobbying groups that have ties to the insurance companies. I believe Rep. Wilson should resign after his behavior during President Obama's speech. How can he control his state when he cannot control his mouth?
Weeks later, I received a thirty-thousand dollar bill which was denied by the insurance company. The reason was that, although we went to an in-network hospital, the hand surgeon was out of network. After multiple calls, letters, trips to the personnel office where I worked and sleepless nights, the insurance company agreed to review the claim. Weeks later, they agreed to honor the out-of-network physician, but they continued to deny the claim stating that he had too many surgeries in one day. There are no words to describe the low feeling in the pit of my stomach when I read that letter. The next few weeks were spent trying to plead with the not-so-friendly insurance representatives to re-review the claim as well as stop, or at least hinder, the bills and threatening non-payment notices that were coming in the mail every week.
I was happy to find out later that the insurance company decided to pay the claim. Feeling a sense of relief, I called the doctor’s office and let them know the check would be coming soon. The next day, I received a letter from the insurance company denying the eight thousand dollar anesthesia bill. I guess they felt my son should have been awake during the operation. I was back at square one. Once I fought this denial, they refused to pay the follow-up care and rehabilitation bill.
In the end, I ended up paying thousands for the follow up care, which the insurance company adamantly refused to pay for, and deductibles. Not only was it a great financial burden, it also cost me many sleepless nights, many tears, many fights and a lot of worry. This whole process lasted over a year.
I am, however, very aware that I am lucky that I had insurance for my son. I know very well that if I did not have insurance, the hand surgeon would not have come to the hospital and worked to reattach my son’s fingers. He would have simply deemed the fingers nonviable and the surgical resident on call would have amputated them, thus ruining my son’s career that he worked so hard to attain. I work in the medical profession. I have seen this situation many times before.
Is this the high standard of care that we are fighting to protect? Is healthcare reform really so bad? I definitely think an overhaul of the system is necessary to prevent situations like mine, and to help the unfortunate victims who have lost their jobs and benefits. Not just as Americans, but as human beings, we should have a moral responsibility and obligation to care for our fellow man.
I am outraged at the attacks led by the Republican base. I believe it is the height of hipocrisy to claim to be the voice of religious rights and then deny insurance coverage to millions of Americans. Isn't the backbone of every religion to "Love One Another"?
I am also appalled at the constant barrage of criticisms of the Obama administration. Although I do not agree with the handling of every situation, I do support most of the president's agenda. I am appalled at the attacks and outrageous lies presented by the GOP and the media coverage of them.
Sadly, after the election, I became complacent and slowly stopped visiting barackobama.com and attending events. I realize now, that our grass roots movement didn't stop when President Obama took office. It is just as, or maybe more, important now as ever. I refueled, and ready to become as active as I was. I hope you are just as angry as me and will continue to fight for what is right.
Or is "Facebook" The MOST annoying, DIFFICULT (AND I just noticed, you can't spell "DIFFICULT" when speaking of "Facebook" only! ) without the word "CULT"...What ARE we getting OURSELVES Into? Ever been there?
One finds oneself in hopeless concentric circles that twist your mind into a wet rag! Once you answer ANY question and commit to following along, YOU ARE STUCK! MY ADVICE?
Don't let it happen to you! When "Invited" Let the moment pass! Unless you LIKE MASSIVE headaches! That WILL burn into your very soul, like a hot coal of MALEVOLENT WILL (UNLESS that is your kind of "Thing"!
That's my advice to Y'all!
Your Humble Servant and Friend, Steven Severson =) Bless Y'all!
But he's NOT INFALLABLE, in fact, he's completely wrung about so-called "clean coal" there is no such beast! Don't get me wrong: I AM all for ""Green Jobs" (a quick aside here; it is currently storming here. Wouldn't it be a kick, were I struck DEAD after fighting cancer for so long?) Gotta find the "Funny" when it gets handed to ya!
Where was I? Oh yes! Green Jobs! "Clean Coal" I used to canvass, or rather, DIRECT CAVASSING ON THIS VERY ISSUE! So believe me when I tell you There is no such thing!
I am well informed on this "Issue"! AND CONSIDER myself, as others do too, something of an expert on the subject at hand. And I'm here to tell ya, while I've seen the jobs CREATED regarding the subject(my Brother's division is funded through this initiative!) and it's GREAT, BUT we need to watch this!
nOT ONLY DID WE sell out of Compact discs, garnering the Hospice $120 in donations, you BOOSTED MY "ACTIVITY LEVEL" HERE to 10 out of 10 which makes me very happy! So many of YOU showed up, it was HARD keeping track of y'all RELATIVE TO THOSE FROM MY "CAREPAGE" AND hOSPICE STAFF so thank you again!
We are currently trying to set up a page whereby one can view items thatvhave yet to sell, order "prints" a kind of "one stop" dealio many of the best stuff is still available! Once its up and running, you'll hear all about it! Until then, thank you again for helping it be as Friar John called it, the MOST successful Art show he'd been to!
Thats all I have tonight! God bless you ALL!
Steven Severson
ANOTHER TWO of you have signed up for "my art show!
I cannot believe YOUR LEVEL OF RESPONSE! I BELIEVE it is a total of 6of you, Which is "roughly six more than I could have hoped for.
I have been bragging BIG TIME at my other Blog ABOUT you guys and your level of commitment!
This is REALLY all I have for time for now!
See ya tonight! God bless you! Love you all!
Steven
Having been involved in grassroots animal welfare/rescue/rights for 20+ years, I was one of those people who eagerly and anxiously awaited news on what Barack and Michelle were going to do in regards to adopting a puppy for Sasha and Malia. I was a lead dog, if you will, in pushing the idea that they should adopt a rescue and preferably a shelter dog. I was heartened by Barack's comments that HE really wanted to get a rough and tumble shelter dog. But! as usual I was careful to not just hear what I wanted to hear. I was acutely aware of the other issues President Obama laid out when discussing the new family member.
First, during the campaign, Barack always stated that he had promised the girls a puppy. A puppy. P.U.P.P.Y. Right off the bat, we knew this was going to rule out a whole lot of rescue dogs who tend to be older. This is fair enough for young girls getting their first dog. I got a puppy as a kid, too. There's something about being young and getting a young animal. You can relate to it. And you can grow up together. By the time I was 30, I started liking the idea of adopting adult dogs. They come pre-trained and you miss all that puppy teething, high energy bother.
Secondly, and really importantly, Malia has allergies, so her parents wanted to be sure she had a pet she could be close to and comfortable with. I won't argue whether or not hypo-allergenic breeds truly exist. Let's just agree that some breeds cause less allergic reactions than others. I know, for instance, that I am allergic to some cats. Not many. But occasionally I run across one that just makes me miserable. Anyway, this issue was a key issue in selection of the dog and rightly so. Consider if they chose a dog to find out later that it made Malia sick. One of three things would happen here and none of them good: Malia would have to suck it up and be miserable OR the dog would just have to not spend time with the family when Malia was present OR the dog would have to find a new home. This is a scenario that is not uncommon and all too often the dog ends up in a shelter or a back yard. (In fact, I know animals that were left behind in Katrina because a family member in the evacuation vehicle was allergic.)
Now, because of my involvement with the animal community and my involvement with the Obama campaign, people who are unhappy with the choice of Bo have felt it necessary to take this issue up with me and I have received a range of reactions from "I'm very disappointed" to "Obama broke another promise and killed a shelter dog". Well. As one who was calling for them to adopt a shelter dog, I understand a little disappointment. But I got over that pretty quickly. Look. The little guy, in my mind, IS a rescue. He didn't fit in with his first family, so he ended up with THE First Family. I hear all sorts of conspiracy theories about how this is a set up and the dog was really bred for the Obamas. I don't really buy that, but even if it were true... to harp on that would be to miss our opportunity as members of the animal welfare community. We can scream about conspiracy because we wanted a different outcome or because it feels good, but what message then are we sending when we have the platform to send a message... that this person most of our country really admires tricked us all so he could get a purebred... and if you're going to emulate him, well, then it's your turn to fake a need to get a purebred?
OR shall we point out to people the many things the first family did right in adopting a dog?
They planned ahead and waited to adopt until the family had time to train it and take care of it. They prepared the children for the responsibility that they all would need to share as they welcomed a new family member into their home. They did their research and found a breed that would suit their needs... regarding allergy issues, trainability, disposition, personality, space requirements and energy levels. They didn't go shopping around to breeders, but instead adopted an already 6 month old dog - which means half its puppihood has already passed. And they found the dog through a friend with whom they have a really close personal connection... and who has health issues of his own such that he may not be around for too long.
The standard put on this president for adopting a dog is beyond anything any other president has had to live up to pet-wise. He never promised to adopt a shelter dog, he said he hoped to get one. He advocated against puppy mills and by all accounts, this dog is not from a puppy mill. It appears to be from a responsible breeder. I won't argue whether or not responsible breeders truly exist. We will never get rid of "breeds" altogether. Dog people are forever going to like certain breeds or even need them for utilitarian purposes.
The pet overpopulation problem is not caused by breeders or breed lovers or President Obama. It is caused by unmanaged stray populations, puppy mills, irresponsible breeders and owners who do not spay/neuter their pets for reasons ranging from ignorance to laziness. Period. Dogs and cats are euthanized in the hundreds of thousands in this country because people don't know about the existing holocaust, or don't care, or because they let their animals roam freely thus allowing them to reproduce indescriminantly or land themselves with the dog catcher (which "displaces" whatever dog was previously in that kennel... a euphemism for euthanasia).
The Obamas did their due diligence and did the best they could... and didn't do half bad, I think. Give them a break. They are first time pet owners. They will learn more as they go. Like we all have had to do.
Let's shine a light on all the things they did RIGHT. Let's use this as a teaching moment instead of yet another time that the animal rights folks look like crazy zealots. I've lost enough battles and animals to know the pain of the trade. I face it everyday. But I won't blame our president for that. His family got a second hand dog that won't make their daughter sneeze or itch and made a donation to the Washington Humane Society. End of.
Welcome to your new home, Bo. May you live long and know great love.
Now let's let the president get back to solving this whole war/economy/environment thing... wherein human and non-human animals suffer and die everyday.
I thank you SO much! I would like to ask an additional favor of you, though; could you email me at stevenvonspark@yahoo.com, so I can thank you personally? I like the personal touch! Also, I promise NOT to harrass you, spam you, or otherwise insinuate myself into your world!
I have enough to do in my own 'lil world! Most like the personal touch! And when asked are GLAD TO HELP OUT.
i like to get to know "my peeps"(not those sugary yellow chicks that make your teeth hurt just lookin' at them!) at whatever level with which they are comfortable. It has become 'round these parts, something of my signature!
I am a very open person, and delight in it!
So much so, my phone just died from lack o' power. Again, thank you folks SO much, and I SO look forward to your emails!
This WILL be very short! I have very little time! In fact, I shouldn't be takin' these moments.
But I want to be sure that ALL REPRESENTING the "Barack Contingent" get their opportunity to show up for "The Event" being held on This Friday Night, April 17th, 5pm-7pm. Your attendance, while not "MANDITORY", Would say much about the quality of folks I hang with HERE! And I like to show off my Obama "peeps"!
Details as to how to sign up (and how to get here!) are in previous posts!
ADDITIONALLY I am including a link that takes you DIRECTLY to my CarePage blog. It is:
www.carepages.com/carepages/HealingThroughHumor you can also join THAT SITE, and I HOPE you do! I have learned to love the word, "HOPE"! It is hope that got us a President in which we can be proud! In him, and our own selves! I literally would not be alive today, were it not for that "HOPE"! I just tested the link...you'll have to cut and paste, as it doesn't seem to be directly linking. It IS CASE SENSITIVE, so bear that in mind!
Thank you for your support and all you do for you, our President and his wonderful family, and listening to me rant, often "on and on"!
That's all I have!
Steven =)
I'm just gonna be Too Damn Busy to be blogging, given what I told y'all in my last post! A post to which I hope you ALL RESPOND, YES it was, as I admitted, a shameless act of not only "SELF" promotion, but ALSO for the Hospice as well!
As stated, it needs to be made CLEAR that Hospices are NOT "where people go to die", but rather be nurtured into a state, such is my case, where one lives, thrives, and creates!
Again, sign up! Details on how to get here are in my previous post!
It is gonna be ALL ABOUT shameless SELF PROMOTION! I tell you this so that you may (if you want!) to deal yourself out, were we playin' "Five card Texas Hold 'em"! But we're not, so I hope you'll play along!
As many of you already know, I have an "EVENT" for which you can sign up (and I hope many more of you do; it is VERY EASY to do so; see "events" to the right? A quick search SHOULD yield a result that lists my shameless pluggery!
I am currently LIVING as opposed to the miscontsrued perception of what Hospices are really all about!
They are NOT a place where people "go to die. They are a place where one goes to live, thrive, and in my case, create some of the finest "Artwork" I've ever put out!!
Ain't she SWEET? We all know the tune...sing along! (see her walkin' down the (now heavily guarded) street/ the kind of girl I'd like to meet/ Ain't she sweet!)
I never before really cared about "First Laidies" until Michelle burst upon the scene. All of the recent ones, with the exception of Hillary, seemed to be either NUTS (witness Barbara!) or hoplessly shallow (you'd have to be to put up with "43"...a number to which he couldn't count; which has been scientifically proven; and we ALL know how much they held science close to their hearts!)
I, of course, cannot bring any of the First Ladies from Jackie-O back into the fray, as THEY all had class and even inluence!
Did everyone call their local Representatives yet? If not, get on the stick! We all worked hard to get Barack elected; votin' for him isn't enough in today's world. We are MORE than obligated to do more than sit on that vote!
We must, as vocally as possible, SUPPORT THE VISION for which we voted! And if that means using some cell phone minutes, so be it!
Barack is speaking right now "across the pond", as they say! Strange to see an "American Style Town Hall Meeting" taking place in a foreign country.
Yep! I will very shortly, be workin' with Daniella, a Hospice volunteer, on my artwork for the upcoming "big event" y'all have heard about! She is a real sweetheart, as are SO MANY 'round these parts.
I left for our two-hour session, and now am back! Of course, to you, no time elapsed; that's the nature of "linnear" time; perception is key. Dylan has a song entitled "Time Passes Slowly" whereas Tom Petty has a song called "Grew Up Fast", and on top of that, the old saw that states "a watched pot never boils". Go figure...I'm not really sure what I'm gettin' at here- other than time is as much as how we perceive it as it is a function of planetary speed on it's axis and around the Sun.
Enuff of the Metaphysics...for now, that is!
What else do you wanna know? We worked on two of my unfinished projects, one called "Reaper" and the other titled "Alien". The latter is inspired by a song from a fellow who died from cancer rather suddenly (his wet, hacking cough was much more serious than he thought, and by the time he had it checked out, he was, I believe, two weeks or so from death...I suppose I could look it up, but my meaning is clear!).
In any event, there's a line in the song that goes, "...mind of glass and a mask of ice..."; I find it very compelling and as such, it moved me to creating a three dimensional piece whereby a "mask of shattered ice reveales beneath yer "classic" gray alien face. Its lookin' pretty good in the early run.
And "Reaper" is also a three dimensional project. It will display "The Grim Reaper wearing a placard that says "Will work for food" as well as cleverly holding my signature by way of his wussy complaining!
Short post tonight...I have to go to beddy early for an *:30am Doctor appointment. Nothing serious; just lookin' into my vision, which sucks more and more as each day passes...or perhaps it is my perception of time passing!
We Obama people are something else! I have received a grand early response to my request of you to attend my "Art Show"..! I am SO looking forward to, not just the event, but meeting those of you who DO attend.
Again, the Date and time: Friday, April 17th, 5PM, Directions are on my previous post!...I think; I have short term memory loss from all the radiation this brain could possibly take. I will check, and if you see no new post, then it is there!
Turns out i DO have to edit this post to include what's going on with the "Art Show"! Details are as follows:
Just very busy! I am living it up at a Hospice called "HospiceCareInc." and I'm doing very well, thank you! I post to a blog through their "blog" frequently.
For those who are interested in doing so, please go to:
www.carepages.com/carepages/HealingThroughHumor
Note that the addy is CASE SENSITIVE, please.
There, are the details regarding my daily life, what its like where I'm at, and so I'm told, many are amused by my rantings and ravings! I will try to keep blogging here if I can find the time!
Keepin it brief for now!
Like our President & the loyal opposition. We take March Madness serious in this houshold!!! And my power forward is on game! So back up! It's gonna be a Carolina team, not sure which one yet but it is gonna be one!
I would like to see DUKE get there and now that they are pissed off at the President they might, They just have to make a way, where there is no way, and know that if you are trying, you are failing, you either are doing it or you are not! But I will still be happy if the Tarheels win :)
