So It Passes

I just have one question about this supposed fix to the health care system. Where is the money going to come from? Aren't we broke? Aren't we in a recession where the economy is shrinking? Okay, that's three questions. But those are three questions I would love to have real answers to and not the gobbledygook we get from politicians. Has a steady diet of that crap made anyone else nauseous? Four questions.

Is anyone else as sick of this as I am? Or is it just a bunch of right wing nuts who are too stupid to know what's good for them and really we need the government to take care of us? Six questions.

With all the supposed resolutions the health care legislation will bring, why do I only have questions? Seven.

Harvey Goes to Washington

It's not the six foot rabbit but my six foot brother. He's a business owner who employs 30-40 people and has been in business about 15 years. During that time he's had almost no turnover in staff. It's like one big family, and my brother feels so strongly about their livelihood (and his too) that he is at the capitol talking about the health care bill and visiting all of the undecided congressmen that he can.

I talked to him yesterday morning, and he said it was surreal because he felt like he was in "The Distinguished Gentleman." It seems most of the congressmen's offices have the requisite good lookin' hottie sitting at the front desk to screen out the people the representatives don't really have time to nor even want to see. Fair enough. So Harvey figured out pretty quickly that the offices don't have any back doors, well, doors that open somewhere other than the main hallway. All he had to do was wait for these guys to exit so he could speak to them, and so far he's talked to almost 20 of the supposed 40 who are on the fence (at last count anyway). Of course they are all polite and give politician's answers (non-answers). But Harvey's not going to let that stop him.

I realize that everyone is not in a position to do what my brother is doing, but I respect him for making the sacrifice of leaving his business for a week. He really can't afford to do that, but he is just that committed, and in case you're wondering, no, he is not part of any group. He is merely an individual who is exercising his freedom to speak to our representatives. Go Harvey!! As he put it to me, "I had to do this because if things turn out badly, I want to be able to look myself in the mirror and know that I did everything I could."

May we all be able to live with ourselves if it turns out badly. But I hope that people are not so overwhelmed at this point that they feel they have no voice. That's a lie. Please don't believe it. SPEAK YOUR MIND to your representative. Do something. Whether they appear to be listening or not, they are listening. You still have the power of the vote, and they know it. So don't be shy. Today, it's not too late to send an e-mail or spend a few bucks on a telegram, and if you're not sure where to send it or how, I can help.

First you have to figure out who is your congressman if you don't know already. After you've accessed your representative's page, you can click on his/her contact page to see where to direct your e-mail or to send a telegram. I'm doing both because if the system is down or they're not reading their e-mails, something will get through. If you're sending a telegram and not sure of which service to use, here are a couple of options below, and please note Western Union no longer does telegrams.

Telegram US -- this is a private company despite the appearance of the screen; the link is to the same day option.

American Telegram -- you can scroll down to the same day option.

EDIT:

I hope this guy is right. We'll see. In the meantime, it's still a good idea to contact your representative. Frankly, none of us do that enough, and that's why the country is in a mess.

What price dignity?

So I've been thinking about Joe Wilson's shout out at the President's speech the other night, and given the scolding Obama was unleashing, I think Joe's comment was appropriate. Okay, so it wasn't "dignified." Well, is being dignified always the best way? War is sometimes necessary, and it's a stretch to call it dignified. We're in a war if you haven't noticed. Maybe no shots are being fired, but we're in a war.

Oh yeah, there are some rules in Congress, but hey, there are some rules in the Constitution as well, and I don't see a lot of respect for those. To please our "liberal friends" I guess our conservative reps were supposed to sit there very dignified and let Obama mischaracterize the health care reform the Democrats are promoting. But don't take my word that it was mischaracterized. Read the Bill.

Frankly, my friends, we've dignified ourselves right out of a bunch of freedoms. The ugly truth is sometimes you have to fight fire with fire and hang whether or not someone thinks you're dignified or hip or intellectual. I'm sick of a few people cowing common sense because it's not always hip or nice or God forbid "intellectual."

I Did Nothing

I hope that we as a people are not guilty of doing nothing when it comes to holding our government officials to account. Sadly, we've been guilty of it for way too long. We have been so free and rich (even if we're poor by American standards) that we couldn't be bothered. We no longer have that luxury, and frankly, haven't had it in a while. But now it's becoming very apparent.

The bill being proposed to fix our health care system is pretty far reaching. It will allow the government an entry into our lives as we've never experienced. Several passages present dangerous precedents when you read the bill, and I hope you will read it or make an attempt. If not, then you might live to regret it.

As for me, you may not know me and may think I'm knee jerking. It doesn't matter what you think of me, but it does matter what you think of this health care bill, and you won't truly know what to think if you don't read it for yourself. I hope you do. The link to it is listed below.

Link to the health care bill being proposed as of this date August 11, 2009:

http://docs.house.gov/edlabor/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdf

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any party. I am registered as an independent.