Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Wed afternoon... so much for part 2!

So much for saying that today's show will be a two-parter! Part two will be blog only, plus a great video for your viewing pleasure.

Today was not a great day. Actually, it was just one little thing that was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back, and just underscores another reason why we need Barack Obama to be elected president come November 4.

You might have heard that I lost my job a couple of weeks ago. Well, when you find yourself suddenly unemployed, there's the issue of health insurance. To buy some time, we just bite the bullet, and shell out the cobra bucks.

I haven't gotten the cobra paperwork yet, but had the insurance deductions taken from my last check -- post firing, at the end of the month. So, imagine my surprise when I took Alison to the doctor today, only to be told that my insurance was "inactive". Inactive!

I got home, called the radio station, to be told that I was only covered through the end of the month of August! The payments that were deducted from my last check covered the last half of the month.

This is the only industrialized country that has such an archane health care system. Even Obama's plan doesn't go far enough for my liking, but John McCain's plan is basically don't get sick or you're screwed.

Now, I was in a fairly foul mood before this transpired, because of the "news" of Obama's saying that if you put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig, and the phony outrage (as Obama accurately portrayed it) of the right in saying that Obama was smearing Palin.

Listen to his statement in context, and you know exactly where he was coming from. My message to the right: methinks you doth protest too much. You're the ones who made the association!



Give me a break.

Where are the clips of McCain using that same line, numerous times, when referring to Hillary Clinton's health care plan (again, better in any way, shape or form than the nothingness that's been put forth by McCain). Well, here they are.





Why is it ok for John McCain to use that phrase in direct reference to Hillary Clinton, but not for Barack Obama to use it, not even in connection with Sarah Palin, but with John McCain?

The Republicans and the crybabies on the right are grasping at straws, trying to divert the American people from what's really important, and they get away with it time and time again.

But even more than that, what's gotten me down today is how mean-spirited they are. And they get away with that too. I was struggling earlier today to come up with the description of what they're all about, but I think I got it. It's the culture of mean.

And it's the bumper sticker mentality they're so good at, and they get the lemmings repeating their lies for them!

I heard Thom Hartmann today put forth a great bumper sticker line: Jesus was a community organizer; Pontius Pilate was a governor!

I like it. But I have a problem with that too... I have three bumper stickers on my car. The Move On sticker that has Endless War with the less crossed out and replaced with this, an Obama sticker, and a round magnet with the Obama logo on it.

Some neanderthal though it was within his or her rights to take a pen to the Obama magnet and write GOP on it. My initial thought was questioning who raises people like this.

All you have to do is look at Sarah Palin for the answer.

I promised you a laugh too. This video, sent by my favorite 16-year old listener, Noah Gray, who is also a wonderful budding documentarian. You can see his work at www.cateatcatproductions.com. Watch and laugh... but beware, bad language ahead...

7 comments:

MikeEmm said...

Healthcare insurance in this country never leaves me wondering why I have desired nationalized healthcare. I am a child diabetic and should consider myself lucky that I got the job that I had and it included healthcare and life insurance. Two things a person with diabetes can't get. Have it diagnosed at 12 and you have no protections and a sure thing your medical cost will get the best of you.

The there are the devices. As time changed I went from taking a leak on a stick to testing my blood at home, an amazing thing, that insurance companies try to regulate at every step. There are new devices that read your blood glucose every minute and you can improve your control to an amazing degree. Insurance carriers don't think you need it. The things the doctors have wanted me to have and the insurance companies have denied makes me wonder who is setting medical standards for care.

Anonymous said...

Nicole - I'm with you. I was laid off myself around the same time you were and shelled out the cobra bucks. I'm safe for now and for as long as I can afford.

It's really simple in my book. Our health is not a privilege we have to earn, it's a right. I don't make this statement lightly nor do I think it's true about most things in life. But health care should be doled out to EVERYONE not for those with a job, the right job, the right employer who is somehow viewed as gracious for granting us our own good health.

This country is a joke until this issue is resolved once and for all. And neither man or party is willing to do what it takes.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry to hear you are having trouble paying your bills. Also, I really hope your daughter doesn't have anything too serious and is well soon.

However, my wife works for a company that provides health insurance for people who live in other countries in Europe, Asia, Canada, South America, and the Caribbean Islands and want to receive medical care in the US. They pay over $30,000 a year to be covered in the US. Almost all these countries provide nationalized health care but these wealthy people don’t want to be treated in their system. Why? Because medicine in these nationalized health care countries doesn’t even come close to what we have in the US. It’s that simple. Your little girl won’t ever be turned down by the greatest doctors in the world if she needs treatment here in America.
A friend of mine’s wife died in Cuba because they didn’t have insulin for her. Meanwhile, Castro has teams of doctors administering the latest medicine and treatments to keep him alive. So much for Michael Moore.

JT said...

Without knowing what oral contract you and your employer made regarding the post firing health insurance deductions I am quite surprised to see what that place will resort to. People who run companies like are like animals that eat their young. Never knowing what to expect in this country full of friendly honest cheerful god loving Christians you would never even guess of someone doing something like that to another person.

If the funds were agreed to as COBRA funds then the company may be liable in court of law. I believe you must have deducted something in the one thousand dollar range and three times that amount plus and unlawful conduct may convince your previous employer to rethink their decision as it would be much less costly to them to simply allow you to run out the pre paid month of health insurance that they had already submitted payment for, not refundable to them. They are required to cover you until the end of the final employment month.

I am not authorized to give legal advice however pro se sometimes is the way to go.

JT said...

The Noah Grey video was very professional, not very funny. It seems like a reason for a liberal thinking person to vote for Palin.
No one, not even republicans, find McCain likable but they all love Palin. The video makes Palin likable. Please make another video showing how this end of times wacko will answer the phone at 8 PM, after she has had her most recent twin hatchling, twin baby boys named Gunner and Bandit, still in bed with her hubby.
If a girl wants to hunt I don’t care. If she is smart I’d vote for her. If she encourages the end of times and agrees to lie cheat and steal, possibly kill, for her best interests count me out.
This woman is trash.

VR said...

Hi Nicole, I know exactly how you feel regarding the campaign and the latest Faux outrage from the Republican machine. Yes, it's a machine who's sole purpose is to run over everything in it's path. But fear not, there is hope. First it was watching Pat Buchanan gush over Obama's speech but then last night watching MSNBC and especially Chris Matthew. It was definitely a Hardballs episode, watching him rip into McCain's Lackey was awesome. It is looking like the regular Media is reaching it's tipping point also. Hopefully we'll see more of the Media push back, get on issues and perform it's job as it's supposed to.

Anonymous said...

Nicole needs to stop shilling for Obama and the Democratic Party. The tyranny going on in this country is a bipartisan agenda supported by both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Voting for a fascist Democrat instead of a fascist Republican changes nothing.

The three Democrats running againt the Diaz-Balarts and Ros Lehtinen are Democratic Party stooges who who support the bipartisan fascist, globalist agenda. Joe Garcia supports the fraudulent war on terror against the fictional enemy of Al Qaeda. Joe Garcia also supports the free trade agreements that destroy family farms while claiming to support family farmers.
Garcia supports corporate welfare for businesses. Joe Garcia supports increased production of domestic oil at the same time he claims to be for clean energy.
Raul Martinez worships the terrorist state of Israel. Raul Martinez also wants to keep the embargo on Cuba. Raul Martinez also wants to give away our tax money to Cuban dissidents. Martinez even has the nerve to claim Israel has the right to make Jerusalem its capital when Jerusalem doesn't belong to Israel.
Raul falsely claims Iran is a threat to America and Israel and supports sanctions against Iran. Raul also falsely claims Palestinians have a rein of terror against Israel when in reality Israel has a rein of terror against the Palestinians. Raul also falsely claims Syria sponsors terrorism. Raul falsely claims the American and Israeli governments believe in the rule of law and protecting human rights. Annette Taddeo is also a whore for the state of Israel.

None of these people support an immediate and complete withdrawl from Iraq and Afghanistan. None of them oppose sanctions against Iran. They all worship the terrorist state of Israel. None of them call for ending free trade agreements and withdrawing from the WTO. None of them support impeachment of Bush and Cheney. None of them support establishing a living wage. None of them oppose deficit spending and corporate welfare. None of them support an independent investigation of 911. None of them support abolishing the privately owned central bank the Federal Reserve. None of them support a single-payer not for profit healthcare system. None of them support repealing the USA Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, the REAL ID Act, or any other legislation that violates the Bill of Rights and the US Constitution.