The debate about health care is getting ugly. In some cases, it is getting violent.
I can't even begin to list all the misinformation being spewed forth on this issue. The most egregious affront to liberty is the use of the tactic that involves demonstrators appearing at the town hall meetings of members of congress, and shouting down anyone else who wants to speak. That does not promote debate; it is an attempt to kill it.
Actually, the worst thing may be telling seniors that Obama's health care plan is going to kill them. Unbelievable.
Beware of the insurance industry, fighting for its profits by paying lobbyists and others to kill health care reform. This is BIG money. They will not give up without a fight, and that fight is ugly. It reminds me of the newsreel footage I've seen of union battles in the first half of the 20th century. Ugly. Dangerous. Deadly.
Here are some links, for those who are interested.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07312009/watch.html
I just wanted to post this, cuz I'm always looking for way to still have hope for real healthcare reform that will work for my children and myself...
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Private-sector-signs-on-for-cnnm-15194800.html
I'm never sure what is going on in DC, but I can hope that we are making progress.
It doesn’t surprise me that Rush Limbaugh says he wants President Obama to fail, or, more precisely, “I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation.” Limbaugh is self-absorbed, and makes money by being provocative. Unlike our elected leaders, he does not need to think about the greater good of our country’s prosperity. He is interested in his own prosperity. And good enough for him. That is the capitalist way. The American Way.
It also doesn’t surprise me that members of the Republican Party feel stuck between not wanting to offend Limbaugh and his followers and not wanting to sound like they bear our new president ill will in seeing his efforts fail. Which do you support – a bully who can hurt you if you stand up to him, or the people who elected you?
What does surprise me is that no one is defining what failure means. Has anyone asked if “wanting Obama to fail” means 10% unemployment? 15%?
Does failure mean more foreclosures? How about a Dow at 5000?
I wonder if Obama failing means another trillion or so dollars paid to banks. Or is it buying auto companies, Or letting them go bankrupt and adding even more to the unemployed?
I wonder if those who listen to and agree with Rush Limbaugh think this kind of failure is ok, if it proves that conservative ideology is superior to other views.
Of course, I am one of the lucky ones who still has a job, so I can afford to think about these things.
Those who are not so lucky may also wonder: With all the crises we face as a country, why would you want any president to fail?
Please consider organizing a visible gathering, preferably ON THE STEPS OF THE CAPITOL, if you are near that area.
I believe we need to combat the lies that Republicans are spouting on CSPAN, that they represent us, the American people who are out here hurting, and paying their salaries. Tax breaks, for the unemployed? That equals a BIG ZERO. We need jobs, and investment in our crumbling, out-dated infrastructure.
I think we need to be out there, and have our voices heard, and be VISIBLE, and hopefully be interviewed, and hopefully our crowd will be full of Democrats, Republicans, and Independants.
It is time for the PEOPLE to be seen and heard on this issue, we need to move forward, and those people in Congress are not doing a very good job of speaking for us!!
Thank you!
Maybe enough people figured out that the party whose president lied to us to get us into a war, spent us into record deficits, helped bring about a recession, embarrassed us in front of the world, ignored the Geneva Convention, sanctioned torture, and tried to rewrite the constitution so our republic looked more like a dictatorship wasn’t the party to reward with another four years in power.
Maybe enough people figured out that running a campaign that tried to paint your opponent as a terrorist, socialist, Muslim, un-American, unknown, radical-preacher lover, born in Kenya wasn’t the best way to promote your own agenda and make your issues known, especially when your rallies seemed to degenerate into hate-fests that were one step away from KKK gatherings.
Maybe enough people figured out that pandering to the religious right, selecting an ignorant incompetent as a running mate, making statements that the economy was sound when it wasn’t, and ignoring the facts that the war in Iraq will never be “won,” were enough to signal a total disconnect with reality, and drive voters away.
For whatever the reason, the Republicans lost this election, and they deserved to lose.
For all the right-wing hate speech spewed forth, for all the closeted racism, for all the disgraceful performances from Focus on the Family, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, and others, the Republican Party could not counteract the positive messages from Barack Obama and the Democratic Party.
Calls of “What has he ever done?” didn’t come close to “Yes, we can!” Claims of being unpatriotic didn’t counteract the power to inspire others. Smears, lies, slander, and slime could not, would not stick to someone whose message was positive, whose demeanor was presidential, and whose vision was clearly articulated.
And so, despite what must have been the dirtiest campaign in my lifetime, John McCain and the Republicans lost this election.
Perhaps, as the GOP works to rebuild itself, it might take a lesson from the Obama campaign. Look at the people who elected him. Look at the people who are now involved in politics. Figure out that the young, the non-white, the people of many faiths or none are a force that needs more than hate, negativism, and bigotry to motivate them in an election. They need a vision for the future that is positive. They need a leader they can trust with their future. They need to be heard.
And on Tuesday, November 4th, 2008, they were.
As vandalism goes, it’s a very minor thing.
In respect to the US Constitution, however, it may be much bigger.
Someone stole my Obama sign last night.
I had purchased two signs last spring, and they were both taken during the summer. The latest sign lasted about a week.
I have to wonder if this is someone’s idea of political protest. Is Obama merely a candidate someone doesn’t like, or does it go deeper?
Are there racists in my neighborhood?
Of course, I’ll never know, because I doubt that whoever took my signs will come forward and admit to it, but I am sad that this would happen.
We need to be able to disagree, without trying to silence opinion that differs from our own. For myself, I am quite capable of letting my neighbor’s McCain sign stand proudly in his yard, without feeling the urge to pull it out of the ground.
Wish others had felt the same way.
Dear fellow educators, seniors, friends--if we win, what do we do to keep our representation meaningful? Barack has campaigned differently, and if elected it will be all of us donating time and money to a noble cause. What do we do next? How do we make our voices heard? Should there be a grassroots "advisory" group that requests access to Obama's administration? How do we prevent the administration from forgetting who put them there, given the many overwhelming crises with which they will have to deal.
Is the next step a "voice of the people" organization that has a place in an Obama administration?
I sent the e-mail below to the campaign.
Sherryll
I wrote the following to the campaign:
Hi--we have supported B.O. financially and politically since "day one." Now that it appears he may win (no complacency), I wonder how his huge constituency of idealistic supporters will be able to raise concerns. To that end--will there be a "team" in an Obama administration that "listens" to the grass roots who worked hard, and spent money (often when we did not really have it) to see this happen? I know there is a transition team--and I hope there will be an Ombudsman in every state with whom we can communicate--and I do not mean about petty things, but rather about matters of substance? Has this been discussed? Sherryll --
The bad news is, we missed out on the opportunity to vote for a true, down-home, kitchen table, aww-shucks, gee-whiz ticket because we have McCain-Palin running instead of Huckabee-Palin.
If Americans like Caribou Barbie's style, they'd love seeing her run with Gomer Pyle.
The good news is, maybe CBS will see the light, and bring back Hee-Haw.
Am I wrong in thinking I don't want the government to bail out companies who have made bad financial decisions?
Aren't these the same companies who pay their "fat cat" CEOs multi-million dollar salaries?
Didn't they take bunches of bad mortgages and "package" them, as if this would make them good investments?
I am scared.
I do not (duh) trust this administration.
I do not want to put taxpayers on the hook for 700 billion dollars (or more).
Am I wrong?
Have you seen McCain's web-site? The way it is structured? Have you considered his message of change? Have you looked at his effort to change America by encouraging service to one's community? These are all outcomes given, first and foremost, by the Obama campaign. In structure and central message, the McCain campaign is a shameful attempt at imitating success.
Certainly, imitation is the greatest form of flattery, but the American Citizen is both more intelligent and more discerning than your average fool, Repulican may they be. Put a pig in a polk or provide her/him with makeup and the pig will still be smarter than McCain and his tribe. Push your friends and neighbors. . . I was fired up in the primary, but nothing compares with the fire I feel now. Barack Obama for President!
Give up on Sarah Palin, guys. If Dan Quayle can get elected...
McCain is the one to attack.
I'm afraid that there will be an eventual backlash from picking on this little grandmother-to-be. Just watch how it gets spun.
Meanwhile, Teflon John is trying to salute the flag, while running from Bush.
Maybe if he got a Reagan tattoo...
I've seen some pictures, and read something about how you maybe are a bit perplexed by people who seem to have a "reverence" for you, like that video of you with the lady and her young daughter who were crying when they met you while you were out canvasing. It probably seems a little over the top, I'm sure!
I thought I would try to explain it to you, because I know that I would have the same reaction, and I get tears in my eyes at so many videos, and during your talks, or speeches. I just cried again watching the video of you and Joe Biden popping into a restaurant in Indiana. I think it is because it is such a rare feeling, to actually BELIEVE that someone is so sincerely on our side. Times really ARE so unbelievably difficult right now, many of us are nearly lost in trying to find a way to survive and to give our kids a fair chance. And we soooo want to believe in the possibilities, so it truly has the feeling of a miracle, to finally feel that things are going to be ok. It's not that we think you are a messiah, or a savior or anything, it is just FINALLY we are seeing someone who believes in US, and THAT gives us faith and hope for our future, because you will give US the chance to make it work. It is overwhelming after what we have been through. I hope you understand and don't think we are crazy, those of us who may cry over you so much.
And thank you, and Joe Biden, for being such great role-models for families. It is exciting to think of our leaders being someone we can look up to, and I can only hope THAT will have a "trickle-down effect"
I couldn't resist.
It's going on the back of my car right now.
It wasn’t a debate, nor was it neutral territory, so I wonder how to evaluate tonight’s “Saddleback Civil Forum on Presidency.”
Both candidates did well, I thought, though Obama’s answers tended to be more introspective, and the audience clearly showed more enthusiasm for McCain. Should we call it a draw, because there were no huge gaffes, and Obama held his own in a venue that favored more conservative views?
I am reminded of a passage from Sam Keen’s Hymns To An Unknown God:
“Religion offers authorized answers to life’s most agonizing questions – creeds and catechisms. I was visiting Mother the other day, and she told me a joke that characterizes the nature of religion. ‘A Sunday school teacher asks his class: ‘What little gray animal climbs trees, gathers nuts, and has a long bushy tail?’ A little boy answers: ‘I know the answer is supposed to be Jesus or God, but it sounds like a squirrel to me.’’ No matter what the question, the answer for Christians is always Jesus or God.”
This is how many of John McCain’s answers sounded to me. Black and white, pat answers to difficult questions – no thought required. At one point, when a question was being asked about education, McCain gave a quick, three-part answer before the interviewer had finished asking the question. He seemed well-practiced at delivering party-line responses.
I think I’d prefer a president who thinks.
The abortion question, when does life have human rights, produced another knee-jerk, automatic response from McCain: “At conception.”
Obama’s confession, that it was “above his pay grade,” shows that this is not an easy question to answer.
Score Obama one point for humility and another for introspection.
Score McCain one for a perfect, two-second sound bite.
For me, I need more than sound bites, pat answers, or knee-jerk responses. These may work for the Religious Right, but I need more.
So, my response to tonight’s forum?
I turned off the TV and started reading Dreams from My Father.
Rosa Colquitt is opening her home to join with others in celebrating Senator Barack Obama's Presidential Nomination Acceptance Speech on Thursday evening, August 28th, 6:30 p.m.
Delight us with your favorite side dish and/or dessert. Rosa will provide the main dish and beverages.
Live on a big screen TV, be "in the moment" at the Democratic National Convention and hear the message that will CHANGE A NATION. Join us to share the historic moment when Presidential Candidate Barack Obama moves one step closer to uniting America.
Please RSVP to confirm our count. You'll be sure to get a front row "luxury viewing box seat" to Invesco Field, without standing in line and avoiding the congestion and traffic. :)
Thanks in advance for sharing this historic evening with Friends of Obama. We Are the Winds of Change and the Movement that Drives this Campaign!
I don’t mean to brag, but after filling up my 1998 Sienna, it looks like I got over 23 mpg on the last tank of gas.
Usually, I’m lucky to get 20, and in town, it’s less than that. What accounts for this 15% increase in fuel efficiency?
First, properly inflated tires. I had my tires rotated at Salem Tire last week, and the mechanic noticed that the front tires were wearing on the sides. So, after putting them on the back, he inflated them to 42 psi.
I’d never put that much air in a tire, but he reasoned that it would help even out the wear, noting that the upper limit recommended for the tires was 44 psi. The owner said, “It’ll also give you better gas mileage.”
It did.
Second, I’ve been riding around with my windows and moon roof open more, using air conditioning less. Using air conditioning eats into fuel efficiency, so a little fresh air saves gas and money. (Side note: my pickup is an exclusive “260” system – two windows rolled down and sixty miles an hour.)
And, on this tank, I had two trips to Lincoln City. Usually, I’d get 20 mpg on a tank with trips like this.
Barack Obama was just in junior high during the oil crisis of the seventies; however, John McCain was old enough to have experienced it as an adult. How then, does Obama give good advice regarding increasing fuel efficiency, and McCain pooh-poohs his ideas, mailing his supporters tire pressure gauges in mockery of Obama.
I remember the ads of 1973-75. “Inflate your tires.” “Avoid jackrabbit starts and sudden stops.” “Plan your trips,” etc. Good driving advice that should be followed all the time. Advice that my dad followed. In fact, in my experience, old men are usually pretty good at common sense ways of saving money. It comes with age and experience. Where the hell has McCain been, then? In the back pocket of the oil companies, like Bush and Cheney?
I don’t want to insinuate that we shouldn’t be drilling for oil. Maybe some offshore drilling is warranted. After all, Paris Hilton seems open to it.
But, if you want to see some real results right now, take a few simple steps like the ones I’ve mentioned here. Start off with a trip to the tire store. Yes, they’re in business to sell tires, but they’re also experts at what they do, and can offer good advice on how to get the most out of your investment.
Too bad my dad is gone. He’d know that what worked in the seventies will also work now. Obama’s advice is sound. And McCain is full of… hot air.
