Here's to whose health?

It is as we feared, that massive, constipated, bloated healthcare bill is now law. Oh, give me a break!  The commerce clause, now really. The whole manner in which this law was initiated, written and passed stinks to high heaven. Now what are we to do? Unfortunately we must try and repeal this law, throwing out all of it because the wording is so dense and convoluted that it is nigh near impossible to tell the good, the bad and the downright ugly. Now it is time to create a bill that works for everyone, and I mean EVERYONE. We need imput from all, liberal, conservative and independent, libertarian and anyone else who might have a hand in the game.

My first question is WHY are we taking our young girls out of school, paying for a serious procedure (abortion) then bringing them back to school as if nothing had happened? I doubt that many parents would willingly give their consent if they thought that consent was for anything other than for sex education or transporting a child to the doctor or emergency room, while notifying the parents of the situation (accidents or illnesses). What if this abortion had caused severe bleeding... would the girl even tell her parents since the school authorities were in collusion with her to keep her parents from finding out? So the next morning (in this hypothetical scenario) Mom and Dad find her half dead from complications and profuse bleeding and are beside themselves when they find out the truth. And educators wonder why homeschooling is on the upswing. Parents should always have the final say in their children's healthcare, unless there are problems that should be addressed in the courts. Enough on that for now.

I have a few thoughts on things that I want to share with you. We do need to help subsidize people who want to become doctors. We need to save gas, right? And the most vulnerable  us, the elderly and our children need to have access to good healthcare. Why do we not have doctors fresh out of residency spend two years at our schools, at a modest salary, in exchange for a waiver of a portion of their school loans? Now our educators need some assistance and some of the elderly need companionship. I see five school buses going up my street with two or three kids and coming down with another one or two. Elderly volunteers could catch the buses and come to school. In the mornings the doctors could see the children and the volunteers could work in the classrooms, reading, helping kids who are having trouble and in general assisting the teachers. After they all have a hot meal (the only hot meal many will have that day), the elderly volunteers could see the doctor if needed and enjoy socializing with the other volunteers (many have become somewhat isolated because they are not able to drive or are not comfortable driving). At the end of the day, they board the buses and return home. This might cut down on problems now occurring one the buses thus allowing the drivers to fully concentrate on driving, possibly cutting down on accidents resulting in reduced insurance rates allowing more monies for actual education. Any thoughts on this?

Here There and Everywhere Else

I just read a story about 'anchor babies'. This is when people from all over the world come into the country to have their babies. This will keep them in the country and allow them to qualify for all available aid that the American poor can receive. Seems we now have a new twist to the problem. European travel agencies are aggressively promoting programs for what was once  available  to only a few wealthier patrons. Plane fare to a city of their choice a hotel or private home for ladies who will then have their babies, obtaining an American birth certificate which will keep them in the country and allow them to qualify for all available aid that the American poor can receive. The raping, I mean reaping of many benefits are what they are after. Looking down the road they see breaks on school tuition, and easy entry in and exit out because of the dual citizenship passports. This practice is catching on with other middle to lower-middle class Europeans, Asians, Africans and Middle Easterners who show up at hospital emergency rooms just in time to deliver and get that sought after birth certificate. You can see the possible problem. Then, of course baby's father and siblings come and stay and become eligible for all sorts of aid, complements of the U. S. taxpayers, which due to our own economic woes we now simply cannot afford. I must say, it kind of gets under my skin. I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't afford to raise another family. As my grandmother would often say, I've got enough on my plate! We must deal with illegal immigrations on every front and close loopholes like the anchor babies. Diplomats' American born children may have automatic immunity but they do not have automatic citizenship so no citizenship for these "anchor"children. We must change the law and put a stop to it immediately. Yes, just like that!

Next, we need personnel who have experience in what is essentially a paramilitary situation. Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California should be able to recall their own National Guard troops from other operations, both domestic and international, to reinforce the border guards. Many of our soldiers have been exhausted by far too many combat tours of duty. They need some time that they can slowly begin to unwind and begin to rebuild their relations with their families. They will become better soldiers and healthier and happier citizens, just by being closer to home. Congress  should  supply whatever equipment and supplies may be necessary to ensure the success of these operations and the safety of the personnel involved. We must remember these are primarily the states' militias, and as such should be used as the governor and the states  militias' top brass deem necessary. We should never have U.S. military personnel performing police operations on our streets. They must come under state control when they reenter the country. Now, I know this might initially stretch us a bit tight, but how can we in good judgment send armed forces all over the world while ignoring the plight of our citizens in the border states and the increasing danger to our country as a whole? Secondly, we will need to assimilate a large segment of illegal aliens who are now hiding in this country. Yes, I said hiding, underground, lurking in the shadows . Many are here, trapped in low paying jobs, afraid of being caught or intimidated by their employers or landlords, huddled in mostly substandard housing, sending back almost every cent they earn to their families across the border. We need to find a way to offer citizenship  to many and do it ASAP.

And here's how I believe we can accomplish this.

We should offer to all able-bodied men and women, between the ages of 18 and 27, who are in the United States illegally but are not convicted or charged with a serious crime, the opportunity to learn English if needed, join our military, go through training, and honorably serve the U.S. overseas for a period of from two to four years earning not a general discharge, but an" honorable discharge." In exchange, these individuals and their immediate families (spouse, children, parents and grandparents only) would be afforded U.S. citizenship status upon completion of their military obligation. The families could stay in the country on a provisional visas until this military obligation is completed. This time could enable the family to also learn remedial English if needed. Anyone who signs up are doing this for their families and the weight of this responsibility should help them to undertake this role very seriously.

I firmly believe that a country's residents must be able to communicate with each other.  Regardless of whether your linguistic background is one of the many dialects of Spanish, or Mandarin, or Russian, Farsi, Japanese, or Arabic, etc., we still need the one mother tongue, and for past two hundred and thirty odd year "the one" has been the English language,

By bolstering our troop numbers overseas with these new volunteers we free up our National Guard to return to America to begin to clean up our border, help our farmers and ranchers protect their property, thereby allowing the state, county and local law enforcement to do the jobs they were hired to do. Having soldiers closer to their families is something we need to make happen as quickly as possible..The amount of tours of duties some have been forced to endure is an absolute shame! So these solutions seems to be a win-win situation to me! 

Here's to your health!

Talk about your flashpoint! Everyone has an opinion about the health care crisis and all they want to do is shout each other down. I have my own and since this is my forum, here is my opinion! Although this is very a complex problem, I don't believe that 2000+ pages are necessary to put together a bill that can address our needs. First let's agree that everyone knows we need to fix this, and we also know that what is going on now is political posturing. So let's try to get beyond this. Getting the existing problems under control is an absolute necessity, and doing so will require a multi-pronged approach of reforming Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and Immigration.

Medicare: a general overlook. Most elderly look at this as their absolute right…after all they paid into this program all their lives, and now at sixty two or sixty five they feel it's their just due, but consider this, 40-45 years ago FICA was a very small deduction because salaries were quite a bit lower. As wages increased so did the deductions up and until the  $120,000 wage cap is reached (at which time any income over this amount is not subject to the Medicare tax.) Even at, say, 7% accrued interest on the amounts paid in are not that significant; an operation, hospital stay, expensive prescriptions, possibly physical therapy or nursing care can easily wipe out everything a person has paid into for their entire working lives. Now at sixty two - sixty five a large portion of our elderly population have another good 10-20 years of, unfortunately, slowly deteriorating health. As you can see, this problem alone has already bankrupted Medicare. Now about that income cap, it must be removed. It is unfair as it shifts more of the burden on the middle class.

Also one of the things that has bothered me for years has been watching actors on television making pitches for companies, usually insurance companies, stating things like,"if you are on Medicare like I am…" Why are they on Medicare? As I have stated I believe there should not be a ceiling limit on Medicare taxes, income, all income should be taxable, while lower family incomes should be the deciding factor on being able to qualify for this benefit. This Medicare deduction should just be considered a necessary existing tax  on the wealthy, sorry Michael Moore, but you really did ask for it. Share the pain! I also get incensed when I hear people say that they really don't need Medicare, but since it is available, what the heck, they might as well take it. If someone hands you cash, grab it, morality be damned. So many people are barely making ends meet trying to pay their portion of medical expenses and not having to resort to eating catfood while you will draw yours to use for something frivolious. Where is your conscience? WAKE UP PEOPLE! This nation is in pain and sinking fast. And yes, I am talking to every man and woman of this country.

"Now is the time for all good men (and women) to come to the aid of their country"... hackneyed and trite yes, but relevant.

Medicare's billing errors are killing us (the taxpayers), affecting the quality of our healthcare and our economy, and we are paying the price for these errors. Too much red tape and too many hands in the pot. It is time we simplify this boondoogle of a program, not only for the elderly and handicapped who now depend on it, but also for the overworked and underpaid professionals who take care of us.

 As many are not aware, Medicare puts a cap on what they will pay for each procedure. These payments are already inadequate and the payments have just been cut again, leaving many physicians and therapists disheartened and disillusioned; and with so much of their income based on an increasingly aging (Medicare) population, well, this, as you can see, is causing a generation of future doctors and nurses to question whether they want to saddle themselves with the tremendous burden of loans necessary to become a doctor while at the same time significantly delaying their income producing years.

Healthcare professionals sacrifice so much to achieve their goal and their commitment to our health is undeniable, especially primary care doctors, who are the most  overworked and underpaid of all. These selfless doctors are the ones who see us regularly, they know our names, our histories and interact with secondary care for us. They are our number one defense against illness, and with Medicare's paltry payments to these doctors, it forces them to take on more and more patients to make ends meet, the results being that they can barely take enough time with each of us (to our determent,) Couple this with expense of running an office, their own charity with indigent patients and outrageous insurance premiums to protect against lawsuits (but torte reform is for another blog,) many are now thinking about retiring or going into research. I know, four of my doctors are considering their options.

See even this small portion of overhauling will need more than a few weeks or even months. There are no quick answers, we didn't get into this mess overnight and now that everyone sees the necessity of reworking such a huge entitlement program we could take the time and produce a healthcare program that would, indeed, be the model for all nations; after all, people now come to our country to receive treatment, because even in its existing form, we have the best healthcare can offer. We all know we want everyone to have not just adequate, but really good healthcare. We, whether Democratic, Republican, Independent, or whatever, know having healthcare as a good thing, but we simply cannot begin to add people to our current healthcare system (or the one just passed by Congress and signed into by President Obama) while we are bleeding so many doctors. 

This is just one facet of the problems we face. So, any ideas? Why don't you give these problems some serious thought, discuss it around the dinner table or in the car with your children and then blog me at thetruthtzar.blogspot.com/2010/04/"here's-to-your-health_27.html with your serious suggestions. We can "build it stronger, better and cheaper," so let's hear from you and please keep it civil...because hopefully we can get suggestions from some of your children get them involved; plus I just don't like to hear inappropriate  language, the kind that would get grandma to wash your mouth out with soap (homemade lye soap!)

Illusion or disillusion? Solution or Dissolution? Two Thousand Twelve BE THERE!

The Announcement

Throughout the primaries right up until now I

would sometimes rather ferociously, vent my

frustrations at the television, the radio, computer,

my spouse and my children (who now try to duck

me whenever they see me starting to get wound 

up) and anyone else I happened to waylay, so to

speak. I make no excuse for my opinions, I am
proud to be a citizen of this great country, and of
my state, my county and my fair city. We all 
love our homes dearly but I am afraid we are not 
dealing with our problems in a timely and 
deliberate manner. It will require a lot of 
discipline to getus back on track but we can do 
what is necessary; and besides I would love to 
tell my children "Itold you so" for years t come. 
And so, to thatend, I am climbing down off this 
fence where the bobbed wire is snagging just 
a little too closefor comfort, to declare my 
intentions.


To Run Or Not To Run...aahhh That Is The Question
                                                or is it?


Well, well, some week we had. Everyone scurrying
around, registering, paying their fees and trying to 
get their faces in front of as many camera as possible.
Why has it become such an expensive and annoying 
process to offer oneself for public service? So in 
protest I have decided to "throw my hat into the
ring (so to speak)" and run as a non-funded, write-in
candidate for the presidency in the 2012 election!


Why? Why Not?


I like most of my ideas better than many I have 
heard from quite a number of people and I will listen
to or argue the merits of any other ideas that are 
rooted in common sense. Just keep any and all
suggestions PG13 or mildly R-rated. I reserve the 
right to delete any comments or arguments I find
to be specious, offensive or just downright stupid!


OK In The Beginning


This blog may not appeal to every one's taste but
hats alright.  I just need to set these thoughts free 
or I'm afraid my head will explode.
But not now. It's tired...I'm late
So I'll just say, 
                      And in the end, the love
                         you take
                             is equal to 
                                the love you...