----- Original Message -----

From: Concerned American (me)

To: Miss Informed Liberal

Sent: Friday, August 07, 2009 1:03 PM

Subject: Re: Okay, I had to respond...

 

It's interesting that you defend the current administration when you should be holding them accountable for their actions.  They've made quite a few mistakes, as have prior administrations. The compelling part of their mistakes however have been denials, staying the course (sound familiar?) and, recently, castigating their electorate as Nazi's and paid sympathizers when they've dared to show up at Town Halls and demand accountability and real answers. I guess, it's ok for the SEIU, ACORN, Code Pink and Move On to disrupt the Minutemen, but not ok for Middle and Conservative America to do the same? Unfortunately for the left and the extreme right, I am proud to report Middle and Middle Right American is finding it's voice and asking for accountability.

Unfortunately, there remains a lunatic fringe on the left where by this administration can do no wrong and one on the right where it can do no right. The fact of the matter is there are some folks in government that are trying, but not enough and not hard enough and there are some folks with their hearts in the right place. UNFORTUNATELY, having your heart in the right place qualifies you to be a Social Worker not my representative - it always, always, comes down to the facts the numbers and understanding and accounting for human psychology.

That being said, to your points:

1. The equity loss is an American private sector program exacerbated by lending gone wild thanks to the Dodds and Franks, both extreme left leaning career politicians, and their cronies in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It is immaterial when or how it started, it is material that it happened, it shouldn't happen again, yet it is persisting and continuing to erode. When forecasts call for 50% of all mortgage to be under water by 2011 that is certainly blame that can be placed on this administration AND congress. What has the government they done with TARP to help responsible homeowners out? Their answer has been to encourage Mae & Mac to further ease lending standards amidst another $9.9B loss in Q2/2009 - requiring another $6.1B in aid! Meanwhile, banks that have paid back TARP money, the same erstwhile Barney Frank wants to use that money to have government funded mortgage for condominiums!  Where is the accountability, internally, from the administration or from the electorate?  The dollar's losses started when we started borrowing more debt than we could service. Read that again, for a moment. We've only increased the current borrowing rate since this government took power. Increased it mind you, not in any way tried to mitigate it. The dollar has continued to slide since then. So again, where's is the responsibility in the current administration to make a change? What are they doing to fend off a double dip recession? What actions have they taken or engendered to reverse the root cause of this recession? The threat looms large of a double dip recession yet the government persists on doing everything except for addressing the problem.

On the topic of Palin baiting - I expect better from my fellow American's. Ad hominem attacks are a sign of a febrile mentality. On the topic of the Republicans/McCain/Palin having a better plan - it's immaterial as they're not in office.

Here's the point the fringes on both side miss and persistently ignore - this is what elections have become: It is not the best of us we elect, but the least of us we choose to rule over the rest of us. That's a significant problem. First, we should be electing the best of us. Second, we should always, always, hold those we elect constantly accountable. Finally, we should have measures in place so that no single entity in any of the 3 branches of government have the ability to build up a careerist power base. Learn from the Romans, who learned too late that free bread and circuses only appealed to the unproductive, lazy masses and discouraged growth.

2. I do place fault with the current administration and both houses for doing zero to not very much to address the root cause of the issue. Reference my points above for how they're only exacerbating the situation. Government first interfered by encouraging no-doc loans so everyone, worthy or not, capable or not, responsible or not, accountable or not, could own a house. If you're not holding down a job, and if you're not maintaining your finances, sorry, you shouldn't own a house. If you are, you shouldn't buy more house than you can afford. The banks were doing plenty fine maintaining capital to equity ratios that worked and enforcing loan requisites before the government decided, in the name of wrong-headed fairness, that everyone should have a home. Incorrect, we have plenty of opportunity in this country to make something of ourselves. If we choose not to, there should be no guarantee to be have the same treatment as everyone else. Now, the government, in an attempt to fix this, passed and extended TARP - yet none of those funds or actions to date have addressed anything resembling the root cause of this, if anything, again, refereeing to the points above, they look to exacerbate the situation. Where's the accountability?

3. Again, you blame the prior administration on the lack of oversight. Are they accountable? Emphatically so. Are they solely accountable? No. To that you need look no further than Dodd, Frank et al, as referenced in my point 1 above. Furthermore, since being entrusted with the reigns of government, the current administration has shown no indication of holding their own party responsible. Yet, at least until recently, the electorate has failed to learn a critical lesson. You can sweep the bums out of the alley, but until you clean up that alley and put up the bright lights of transparency and accountability, you're going to get more bums.

4. 1.Sorry, but on this I have to insert a hearty LOL. The government has harped and continued to harp on how IT will save Healthcare and how it's a fulcrum, a key to healthcare reform. Nothing could be further from the truth, yet they persist on banging on that drum. So, sorry, yes,it is a problem introduced and exacerbated by both the administration and both houses of government. What good is the Federal HIE CONNECT initiative and other Healthcare IT (HIT) initiatives if you have a significant culture issue to overcome in Healthcare - everyone from docs, nurses, other clinicians and especially patients need a reform in their attitude to healthcare, where personal accountability and transparency replace the current culture of laissez faire ignorance.

4. 2. Most government bureaucrats are career politicians. Yet you want to trust them to make a decision on YOUR healthcare? What, in your mind, qualifies them to do so? What have they done to ensure the success of, say, Social Security? Medicare? Both on the way to bankruptcy. How well is TARP working amidst rising unemployment? Yet, given a string of failures I am to trust that the least of us elected knows more than the rest of us? Not by a longshot.  And since when did we decide to cede control of our lives to someone else?

4. 3. This persistent defense of the current administration and lack of accountability from defenders of the administration is worrisome. First, there has been NO talk of anything resembling tort reform and in fact  Tort reform is a key component of Healthcare reform yet Obama, after a lack of clarity during the campaign, came out decidedly against tort reform.
On the topic of direct hire - laws vary from state to state on the ability of hospitals to hire doctors directly and even within that state they vary wildly based on type of facility. The problem with contract docs is the same problem with contractors in any field. In general, they lack the level of engagement necessary and can hold a hospital hostage. Loose a Neurosurgeon because you won't fulfill his need, suddenly your ER looses it's Trauma designation and there goes revenue. So, regardless of sound business principles and reasoning - something missing in most hospitals - that need will be fulfilled.  Yet, nowhere in any language do you see any talk of addressing this issue. Again, here's where the defense of the current administration is non sequitur - it's a state and a federal issue that is being ignored as part of a larger healthcare reform push. Why?

4. 4. I'm a conservative and I'm all for accountability. If someone wants to smoke and drink and they have higher insurance premiums, they, not I, should live and pay for those consequences. If someone slacks off in school, smokes pot and doesn't get a GED or a reasonable college degree, their health conditions rising from their lack of accountability should be their issue, not mine, and certainly not future generations of Americans. Now, if someone has a bonafide issue, thyroidism, abuse leading to mental issues, PTSD, Chronic Fatigue, Lupus, Asbestos poisoning, so forth, then there should certainly be something to cover them. The pothead down the street flipping burgers is on his own.

5. Well at least the cars are moving? Let me break this down for you: OUR tax dollars went into a program. That program also includes debt financed, largely, by China. We then use those dollars to buy foreign cars and the profits go to foreign companies. Last I checked it was GM and Chevy that went bankrupt, not Toyota, Honda and Nissan.  Furthermore (I drive a Dodge Charger), I patently disagree that American cars quality sucks. They are qualitatively competitive with their foreign counterparts these days. While we're on the topic - your tax dollars and Chinese financed debt bailed out a private company - Chevy - owned by a private finance group. It's not a publicly listed company. Why did that occur? Why did we allow that to occur? What's next, we bail out Joe's Pool Service or Sally's Cleaning Service?
Here's the link that show's Hummer H3's on the list of eligible CARS purchases http://www.edmunds.com/cash-for-clunkers/new-car-candidates.html#h

6. b) if he's not doing anything about it, if no one is doing anything about it, it IS their fault.  There's a problem, fix it. If you know there's a problem and you ignore the problem, it's still your problem to fix or find someone to fix. Yes I am elitist - if I can bust my ass - I suck at math yet I got a math minor - so can my fellow Americans. For someone who goes to college, get's a 2.7 GPA and expects a job in a recession? Come on. As for college - again - there are plenty, plenty of ways for anyone of any gender to get into college. They choose not to do so.
Your persistent defense of the current administration, instead of holding them accountable to deliver sensible solutions, is misplaced. Where was the electorate holding prior administrations - with an s - and both houses accountable? Where are they now? Accountability has been replaced with a complacency that a lawyer, a career politician, knows better than I or you do.

7. There are no children in the military, yet another fallacy perpetuated by the fringes. The minimum age is 18, 17 with parental consent. The minimum age to vote is 18. I don't see how that makes those volunteers children. Seems to me they're the most accountable and responsible of us all.  There are several fallacies in your assessment of the War on Terrorism and the Invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. Having lived (Kuwait for 17 years, during the Iran-Iraq war and just before the invasion)  there I can speak with more authority than the Reids and Pelosi's and the rest of the fringe moon-bats
First, Iraq has a history of using WMD's against Kurds, their own minorities and Iran during their own war. Mostly chemical agents. These WMD's were not lost; much as their airforce absconded to Iran during Desert Storm, their WMD's were transferred to Syrian safekeeping. You keeping notes of these countries so far?
Second, Iraq was actively involved in funding terrorism. They even gave payouts to families of martyrs.
Third, Iran and Syria have long funded terrorist groups such as Hezbollah
Fourth, this training occurred in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Fifth, to this day, Iran is actively funding insurgencies in Kurdistan and Eastern Iraq.

Iraq, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, with me so far? Pakistan needs to be on that list as a destabilizing influence.

Syria and the PLO made a battlefield of Lebanon. What used to be the jewel of the Middle East is now a shadow of itself as a Syrian client state in all but name. A parliamentary democracy destabilized and re-established under a shadowy autocracy. To their credit, the Lebanese people still struggle for true self determination even in the face of harsh reprisals and political assassinations. The fate of Israel lies on the same path, only ending in total destruction if they ever stop their struggle.

Desert Storm I & II was about restoring and enforcing sovereignty to Kuwait and the other Gulf States who were being threatened by Iraq. The invasion and stabilization was about ensuring that terrorists were forced to engage on a battlefield of our choosing, over there, and not here on American soil and in giving the centrist portions of the population the breathing room to put down roots and establish themselves and enjoy the fruits of democracy and liberty that they have strove for but been unable to achieve, the guns being in the hands of dictators (Second Amendment rights, bear that in mind too). It's not over by a longshot and instead of trying to get out we should be planning to stay for the next 2-4 decades. Again, I call into reminder the example of pre and post World War II Japan and Germany. There is precedent for this effort working.

I wish we never had to get involved. But in so long as we persist in being a democracy we have a responsibility to protect and collaborate with other democracies around the world and when we ourselves are attacked we have a responsibility to protect ourselves.

Here's the most facetious part of the argument; if this was for oil, where's all the cheap oil? How many American's are helping out T Boone Pickens? The path to renewable energy must first cover the current gap. Why not drill now, drill here and drill frequently? And when we do get to the turbines in the backyards, will we bow to the Not In My Backyard (NIMBY)isms?

There is a critical historical lesson here that us American's need to learn: the war on terrorism started in June 1968, when the PLO sponsored Sirhan Sirhan murdered RFK

The money for the madrases and the mosques comes not from Saudi - who are capitalist secularist Sunni Moslems, but through a network of fronts, via Iran and Syria and their Shia'a front organizations, such as Hezbollah - almost all of which is derived from smuggling, blackmarkets, racketeering, slave trade (yes, slave trade, black and white), heroin sales and a variety of none too savory activities.

So, I personally find it ironic that you would give your all to those poor folks. There's plenty of good ones don't get me wrong, but by and large their lot is self inflicted, reversing (reference the Iranian Student revolution). By giving your all you would only be exacerbating a situation where the fringes there (far greater than the 10-15% fringes here) believe in tribal law, stoning, hanging, cutting of limbs, honor rapes and killings and where it is acceptable for a man to beat his wife if she upsets him and a divorce is as easy as saying " I divorce you" three times. In most of those countries, if you're not a Muslim, you're a second class citizen. And if you're not the right kind of Muslim with the right ethnicity you're treated as a third class citizen. Dark skinned? Bangladeshi, Indian or Pakistani Muslim? Filipino? Well, come work in our homes and clean our streets and live fourteen to a room. Arab? Ah, that's a different story! Christian? Well, look, you can worship quietly in a corner, now come run our businesses and leave after a few years. Here's a bundle of money for selling your liberty while you're here.

Does the picture I draw begin to portray why, maybe, it's about more than giving all you have?


So, yes, this administration and congress has as much to be held accountable as the prior one does, as the one before that, and so forth - everyone on both sides of the aisle. A message of Change must be backed up with a solid, sensible plan not half-assertions and lack wit drafts. Audacity of hope must be backed with a purpose driven hard work effort that takes into account the needs of the many, not the needs of the few and self-aggrandizement. Unfortunately, so far, they are carrying an unwarranted arrogance and have as yet to make a decision that brings about an improvement in our lots or even set us on that path.

When was the last time you heard any politician clearly state what they were working on and laid out a road map and held themselves accountable to the promises they made? No, it's all about personal attacks and now, painting the electorate as a rabid bunch of twits.

It appears the tide is starting to shift and more American's are speaking up and holding their elected officials accountable. The next step would be to hold themselves accountable and that too may be coming. But in no wise should one ever let any elected official at any level RULE you when they are our EMPLOYEES.

Respectfully, Passionately, Your Fellow American

On Fri, Aug 7, 2009 at 10:53 AM, Miss Informed Liberal wrote:

Hi Concerned American (me)

 

I re-read your letter and have responded.  The main thrust of my response is that I do not feel that we can blame the current administration for all of the problems that we have, and I credit them for the changes that have been initiated and have occurred.  This did seem to be where you were going with the initial email.  So here goes with my ultimate respect.

1. The Stock Market is not the economy. Job losses continue to mount, equity continues to erode (equity was gone long before Obama got in.  The erosion has stopped in my county and is meagerly working it's way back up), and the dollar is the lowest in about two decades , with TRILLIONS of dollars of DEBT and DEFICIT that BOTH administrations (not just the prior one) are responsible for. There is still a very real chance of a double-dip recession. Ask yourself, when did the dollar plummet and why?  Would McCain and God forbid, Palin have done any better?  Did they have a plan?

2. Sales figures are as relevant as the Dow. How many of those are pre-existing homes sold for a net equity loss? How many of those are new homes sold for LESS than existing homes, in an effort to get inventory off balance sheets? Im sure the majority sold for a net equity loss.  This is not because of the current administration.  Fact is that the housing inventory is slowly decreasing and that is what is needed to get the values to stabilize or even get better.  Back to greed... What about the idiots that kept building and building when they knew that it was going to eventually come to a screeching halt?  How did that happen? Not the current administrations fault.  But the good thing is that they are now being sold.  They have to go before our RE situation can correct.  

3. Sure. They couldn't be lower. And they're not doing a lot of good. Lending is still sclerotic as best.  Lending is a whole other animal that still cannot be blamed on our current administration.  The banks took advantage of a Clinton era action that was designed to make owning a home affordable for lower income individuals.  Clinton did not plan to have the banks lend at adjustable rates to us and then have it eventually destroy the economy.  The boom started around 2000.  The adjustable rate mortgages became wildly popular in 2001.  I know this because I am one of those horrible speculators that took advantage of those rates and my first ARM was in 2001.  I think the lack of oversight was part of the old administration...  

4. HealthCare Reform IS Critical. BUT
     1. Information Technology doesn't mean a DAMN unless you can reform the CULTURE of care (I work in a hospital system on the IT side :)   This is a problem caused by and encouraged by our current administration?  I dont think so.

     2. Single Payer is NOT the answer - the government can't run anything except the deficit and the budget up. Crossing state borders and enabling groups to purchase coverage brings around competition. An individual should not have to seek out insurance in another state to get affordable healthcare.  We should all be able to get it without having to search the country.  In addition, I think a government bureaucrat might make better allowance decisions than an insurance company employee that benefits from denying coverage...  Not sure about that but Id be willing to give it a shot.  Anything is better than the private structure at this point.  Govt certainly does not deny anything from Medicare recipients.  I work in healthcare and I know that the Medicare card is the golden ticket.

     3. Where is the talk of tort reform? Where is the talk for pay for results? Where is the talk of enabling direct hire of docs and moving away from contractors?  I do not understand how tort reform plays into healthcare reform.  Its just at the 8 month mark.  I think the admin will eventually get to tort reform but that guy has a lot on his plate...  What do you mean by direct hire of docs and moving away from contractors?  Are you talking about PCP's/Hospitalists/admitting physicians?   All of this that you are speaking of is not caused by the current admin...

     4. The Patient must a) be held accountable for their lifestyle and BE INVOLVED with their care.  But I understand that this is something that the conservatives are unhappy about.  See the wild accusations from my first response.  I myself do not want to be penalized because I hate vegetables and fish.   I also like to drive fast, drink alcohol and have a smoke here and there.  Should I pay more?  How do you suggest that we keep track of that?  Big Brother?   

5. Yes, Nippon says "Ah So, Domo Arigato American Suckers" - 4 out of the top 5 cars sold were foreign, Ford was the 5th.  Also, did you know the Hummer H3 was on the list of cars you could buy? Hmmm. Well at least the cars are moving.  I dont think it is the current administrations fault that American cars suck so badly. I drive a Saab.  How about you? And yes, the Hummer thing, if true, is completely idiotic.

6. Gore didn't invent the Internet. Clinton moderated his governing under Newt Gingrich's contract with America when the Republicans took control of Congress. (Oy...) Let's be honest, it's never JUST the president, it's Congress AND the executive that need to be held accountable, regardless of party affiliation (Yah).  Also, PS, our high paying IT jobs are a) still being outsourced b) we're hiring foreigners to fill those jobs because (Not Obamas fault) c) MOST Americans are too damn lazy to get a real college degree and WORK - let's hear it for Philosophy Majors and 2.7 GPA graduates who expect to get a real job (Psych major, 2.11 GPA- goofed around, Masters degree 3.7, small business owner, doing well, paying 570.00 a month for healthcare because of thyroid and breast cancer- Concerned American (me) do you think that the people that could not qualify to get into college because of money or lack of smarts or someone who was never expected to go to college are too damn lazy too?, are you being a little elitist?) Let's give credit where it's due, the government did jack during the dot com boom and Greenspan's incredulous lowering of the interest rate led to an artificial dot com bubble, killing off at least a decade or two of technology growth that the private sector, not government, was funding. What was government busy trying to do? Tax sales over the Internet, charge for content transmitted on the Internet and generally get in the way of innovation.  So mistakes were made in the past, I like my white sandy beaches and my fresh air.  I do not like the fact that every spent fuel rod at the St. Lucie Nuclear plant is still in an unsafe building that any plane could crash into and zap the entire vicinity with the radiation from the plutonium that has been collected for over 25 years.  There is no where to put it.  I do not like the fact that FPL has me captive.  I do not like the fact that my government felt the need to control the middle east because of the dependency of my country on oil, the prices of which they cannot even regulate.  Ill go into their lovely relationship with Saudi Arabia, our "friends," who compose a large percentage of terrorists that feel that us infidels need to be put to death, when I get to your response to me about not having to give Iraq any more protection or money.  Moreover, I do believe that it is possible to create affordable clean and green energy. I think the power companies have been protected by former administrations and they need to begin to invest in clean green.  I think that our economy can be re started by investment in new energy technology.  Ever wonder why it would take at least $40,000.00 to have solar power installed on your home?  None of the power companies want you to be off the grid.

 

7. We are? You sure about that? And that's a good idea right? What's next, we're out of Afghanistan? We abandon Pakistan. Sayona Nippon and Korea? As someone who had the misfortune to grow up in a Middle-Eastern Moslem country let me make something clear to my fellow Americans - America is and will always be hated by radical Muslims (lot more of those than you think). They want you a) dead b) converted and dead c) converted and enslaved. Do you see "peace" anywhere in that list? No. Now, while my solution would be rather Roman, it's an enlightened age and not applicable (remember where I learned my lessons on dealing with these folks, eh). So while the enemy is cutting heads off innocent contractors, killing journalists and hiding behind women and children in places of worship, American soldiers are braving enemy fire and need 3 or MORE confirmations before opening fire - 6 times in this one case. (these people would not be targets if they werent there, our children in the military would not be dying if we werent there )  It's all fine and well to ask for us to be disentangled from foreign involvement. Where it up to me, the Monroe Doctrine and the Wealth of Nations is all America needed to continue it's prosperity. But it's not. We've become successful and rich BECAUSE of those doctrines and the sweat and blood of our forefathers, now we can pretend everyone will love us. It's in human nature to be envious and much as we would like it otherwise only the destruction of Israel (a problem created by the French and British) and the abandonment of millions of people to the repression and dark ages of modern Islam where women are treated like chattel and have no rights and where there is one law and one law only, submit. The enlightened way, since we can't take their response of killing everyone and themselves, is to bring stability, peace and democracy to those countries, a process that will take decades. Remember the state that Germany (Facist) and Japan (Imperial) were in at the end of WWII? Now they're democratic and both place in the top 5 by GDP of national economies.

 

Concerned American (me) I have very strong feelings about the people that suffer in all of the third world countries and the middle east.  It breaks my heart. If I could give up everything to help/save those people, I would.  I really would.  However, I do not feel that any country has the right to invade another country because it does not like its government or its religion. I do not condone genocide or any of the human rights violations that are occurring.  However the US is not above all others and does not have a right to just overtake a country because "Saddam tried to kill my daddy," or because Bush thought that starting a war would be the best way to re-start a failing economy, or because of a desire to control an integral oil pipeline, or because of enrichment of his buddies, or because of some stupid deal he made with the Arabs... I know that you are not so naive to think that he really cared about Iraq's people...  Its back to greed and power my friend.

 

What if another country were to invade Florida and force their political and religious beliefs on us?  Would that be ok? 

 

Now I am for protection of our country.  Let's think about this.  Who is the real enemy?  Is it Iraq?  Did the suicide bombers come from there, did the majoity of 911 terrorists come from there? Is Iraq the country that is funding the Mosques that are built in this country that teach the Moslems to hate and kill the infidels???  I know a little about that and it does appear to me that it would be the Saudis that are financing those mosques.  Where does that money come from?  Oh, it comes from us?  US??  We buy the oil! Independent, Clean and Green would help that situation...  No more money for them means no more money for their US hating mosques in our country. 

 

Also, it is unconstitutional for the US to invade a country with out being struck first. 

Respectfully, again, you should be incensed at the shareholders and board of directors of those companies (all of them public, except Chrysler!) for not holding themselves and their representatives responsible for their actions. (I am)  Then, every American voter should be incenses at themselves for not holding their ELECTED representatives responsible, next. (Especially the local ones!) Again, it's not just the President - that's a facetious argument. While Bush certainly never met a spending bill he didn't like, let's not forget it was a Democratic congress that put those spending bills in front of him. (Huh?) It was the Barney Franks and activist groups that threatened to sue or disrupt any bank that wouldn't give out loans to just about anyone. (Banks had no problem lending money to anyone and they screwed themselves.. It was not the current administration that did that) 

 

No doc anyone? While Obama might have his heart in the right place, Pelosi and crew are having a grand old time ruling the roost. (Ah, you do see!  And I agree!)

Respectfully, this is neither a D nor an R problem, but a distinctly American problem where the ethic of work and accountability has been replaced with the ethic of laziness and blame. YES YES YES! And I truly am not throwing stones but I do sense that you  are blaming the current administration for all of this crap that we are discussing.  It is not necessarily so.

 

I suggest those wanting to make a difference start here: http://www.goooh.com/ and stop reading from EITHER parties crib notes...

 

Ill check it out.

Finally, on healthcare: any system that has to spend money to save money is not going to work. (I wish I had the stats on how many people would buy healthcare and how much would be paid out.  Is it not possible that the people who do not spend a lot of healthcare money but still pay in will equalize the expenses for those who do? And yes, something needs to be done about the ridiculous costs, I pay all that money for insurance and still received a 4,000.00 anesthesia bill from my last 3 hour surgery)   Any system that taxes instead of incentivizing is not going to work.  I do not want to pay more taxes as much as the next person, however,something has to give with this health care reform.   Similar experiments in Hawaii and Massachusetts aren't quite bearing the fruit they should, yet, we're to a) trust elected officials - who are largely lawyers and lifetime careerist politicians b) to VOTE on DRAFT and INCOMPLETE bills that they haven't c) read.  (Yes, the elected officials stink.  We totally agree.  I must say that my friend in Boston has a small business and I witnessed herself and her partner suffer through many medical maladies for the first 4 years that they had the business.  They were finally forced to obtain health care coverage and I have not heard one complaint from them.  I am surprised by this.  The only thing I ever hear her say about the whole thing is when she is sick... she says that she has insurance and will go to the doctor.  Ah...  It warms my heart.  My guess is that her companies costs for healthcare for her employees is probably tax deductable so she probably doesnt mind.  She is one to complain loudly about things that she is unahappy with, especially political things.)   This would be like you or I signing off on a mortgage (a promissory note) without reading it, then being upset at the person who wrote the contract when they came for our liver in year 3. Caveat Emptor, always. When a company or a household is undergoing a financial squeeze, it doesn't go seeking MORE money so it can operate more effectively. FIRST, it reduces costs by reducing it's own spending. Why do we accept that our government can a) make those arguments, and b) have a clue what to do?

Idiots!  At least someone is trying to change things. I pray that the banks are held accountable.  

The culture of healthcare in America needs to change, at ALL levels, but, hey, again, it's easier to whinge and blame than actually take some accountability. I'm not saying YOU are but too many of our fellows American’s are.  And in the midst of all this, the various healthcare bodies are being staffed not by folks like epatientdave but by former HealthCare IT and Insurance carrier executives, the same folks responsible for the stagnation of healthcare. And Gods please no doctors or nurses either. Where's the outcry on that?

So a bureauccrat would be worse than former Healthcare IT and Insurance execs?  I am still willing to give it a shot.  It would cost me at least 200.00 less a month...  I hope..

Regards

Miss Informed Liberal

----- Original Message -----

From: Concerned American (me)

To: Miss Informed Liberal

Sent: Thursday, August 06, 2009 4:04 PM

Subject: Re: Americans, Please read this and pass along..

 

Maybe someday a face to face debate over brews and burgers, eh? 

As for Greed - again, it's a lack of personal accountability and responsibility - government workers\contractors who let Madoff get away with his Ponzi scheme, shareholders who ignored their board ballots, voters who elect the same dimwitted, lackwit, unaccomplished yet highly polished pedagogues over and over again. The same folks, who instead of welcome open discourse and debate from the people who voted for them instead see them hoisted out of their office, label them as Nazi's all the while using YOUR and MY hard earned money to buy themselves some fancy transportation while lecturing those same autoexecs who DARED to fly to DC for using that same transportation.

I'm not for giving anyone in government a chance. They broke that trust too often. I'm all for holding them accountable, regularly.

Greed. So delicious a topic. I refer you to the following youtube clip from Milton Freedman lecturing Phil Donahue on greed and I also highly recommend both his "Capitalism and Freedom" - now in the FORTIETH edition and On the Wealth of Nations here and here

Brews on me some sunny day my fine, fellow American.

On Thu, Aug 6, 2009 at 3:43 PM, Miss Informed Liberal wrote:

I don't have the time or the will to try to argue the points that I would like to argue with you right now.  I am impressed that you are so intelligent and thoughtful.  I do not see any point in attempting to convince you to agree with me on my opinions.  

 

But... I do want to share with you the one, overriding thought that I have in reading your response.  It is that capitalism has been hijacked, overpowered and destroyed by greed.  I believe that this is the essence of the failure of all other governmental structures.  We voted on election day and it appears that the majority of us agreed that something had to change.  Lets give it a chance.  

 

Miss Informed Liberal

----- Original Message -----

From: Concerned American (me)

To: Miss Informed Liberal

Sent: Thursday, August 06, 2009 3:08 PM

Subject: Re: Americans, Please read this and pass along..

 

With Respect:

1. The Stock Market is not the economy. Job losses continue to mount, equity continues to erode, and the dollar is the lowest in about two decades, with TRILLIONS of dollars of DEBT and DEFICIT that BOTH administrations (not just the prior one) are responsible for. There is still a very real chance of a double-dip recession.

2. Sales figures are as relevant as the Dow. How many of those are pre-existing homes sold for a net equity loss? How many of those are new homes sold for LESS than existing homes, in an effort to get inventory off balance sheets?

3. Sure. They couldn't be lower. And they're not doing a lot of good. Lending is still sclerotic as best.

4. HealthCare Reform IS Critical. BUT
     1. Information Technology doesn't mean a DAMN unless you can reform the CULTURE of care (I work in a hospital system on the IT side :)
     2. Single Payer is NOT the answer - the government can't run anything except the deficit and the budget up. Crossing state borders and enabling groups to purchase coverage brings around competition.
     3. Where is the talk of tort reform? Where is the talk for pay for results? Where is the talk of enabling direct hire of docs and moving away from contractors?
     4. The Patient must a) be held accountable for their lifestyle and BE INVOLVED with their care

5. Yes, Nippon says "Ah So, Domo Arigato American Suckers" - 4 out of the top 5 cars sold were foreign, Ford was the 5th.  Also, did you know the Hummer H3 was on the list of cars you could buy? Hmmm.

6. Gore didn't invent the Internet. Clinton moderated his governing under New Gingrich's contract with America when the Republicans took control of Congress. Let's be honest, it's never JUST the president, it's Congress AND the executive that need to be held accountable, regardless of party affiliation.  Also, PS, our high paying IT jobs are a) still being outsourced b) we're hiring foreigners to fill those jobs because c) MOST Americans are too damn lazy to get a real college degree and WORK - let's hear it for Philosophy Majors and 2.7 GPA graduates who expect to get a real job.  Let's give credit where it's due, the government did jack during the dot com boom and Greenspan's incredulous lowering of the interest rate led to an artificial dot com bubble, killing off at least a decade or two of technology growth that the private sector, not government, was funding. What was government busy trying to do? Tax sales over the Internet, charge for content transmitted on the Internet and generally get in the way of innovation.

7. We are? You sure about that? And that's a good idea right? What's next, we're out of Afghanistan? We abandon Pakistan. Sayonara Nippon and Korea? As someone who had the misfortune to grow up in a Middle-Eastern Moslem country let me make something clear to my fellow Americans - America is and will always be hated by radical Muslims (lot more of those than you think). They want you a) dead b) converted and dead c) converted and enslaved. Do you see "peace" anywhere in that list? No. Now, while my solution would be rather Roman, it's an enlightened age and not applicable (remember where I learned my lessons on dealing with these folks, eh). So while the enemy is cutting heads off innocent contractors, killing journalists and hiding behind women and children in places of worship, American soldiers are braving enemy fire and need 3 or MORE confirmations before opening fire - 6 times in this one case. It's all fine and well to ask for us to be disentangled from foreign involvement. Where it up to me, the Monroe Doctrine and the Wealth of Nations is all America needed to continue it's prosperity. But it's not. We've become successful and rich BECAUSE of those doctrines and the sweat and blood of our forefathers, now we can pretend everyone will love us. It's in human nature to be envious and much as we would like it otherwise only the destruction of Israel (a problem created by the French and British) and the abandonment of millions of people to the repression and dark ages of modern Islam where women are treated like chattel and have no rights and where there is one law and one law only, submit. The enlightened way, since we can't take their response of killing everyone and themselves, is to bring stability, peace and democracy to those countries, a process that will take decades. Remember the state that Germany (Facist) and Japan (Imperial) were in at the end of WWII? Now they're democratic and both place in the top 5 by GDP of national economies.

Respectfully, again, you should be incensed at the shareholders and board of directors of those companies (all of them public, except Chrysler!) for not holding themselves and their representatives responsible for their actions. Then, every American voter should be incenses at themselves for not holding their ELECTED representatives responsible, next. Again, it's not just the President - that's a facetious argument. While Bush certainly never met a spending bill he didn't like, let's not forget it was a Democratic congress that put those spending bills in front of him. It was the Barney Franks and activist groups that threatened to sue or disrupt any bank that wouldn't give out loans to just about anyone. No doc anyone? While Obama might have his heart in the right place, Pelosi and crew are having a grand old time ruling the roost.

Respectfully, this is neither a D nor an R problem, but a distinctly American problem where the ethic of work and accountability has been replaced with the ethic of laziness and blame.

I suggest those wanting to make a difference start here: http://www.goooh.com/ and stop reading from EITHER parties crib notes.

Finally, on healthcare: any system that has to spend money to save money is not going to work. Any system that taxes instead of incentivizing is not going to work. Similar experiments in Hawaii and Massachusetts aren't quite bearing the fruit they should, yet, we're to a) trust elected officials - who are largely lawyers and lifetime careerist politicians b) to VOTE on DRAFT and INCOMPLETE bills that they haven't c) read.  This would be like you or I signing off on a mortgage (a promissory note) without reading it, then being upset at the person who wrote the contract when they came for our liver in year 3. Caveat Emptor, always. When a company or a household is undergoing a financial squeeze, it doesn't go seeking MORE money so it can operate more effectively. FIRST, it reduces costs by reducing it's own spending. Why do we accept that our government can a) make those arguments, and b) have a clue what to do?

The culture of healthcare in America needs to change, at ALL levels, but, hey, again, it's easier to whinge and blame than actually take some accountability. I'm not saying YOU are but too many of our fellows American’s are. And in the midst of all this, the various healthcare bodies are being staffed not by folks like epatientdave but by former HealthCare IT and Insurance carrier executives, the same folks responsible for the stagnation of healthcare. And Gods please no doctors or nurses either. Where's the outcry on that?

Regards

Concerned American Citizen (me)

On Thu, Aug 6, 2009 at 2:16 PM, Miss Informed Liberal wrote:

Concerned American Citizen (me),

 

While I will always love you and respect you I do have to let you on to some thoughts that I have regarding the state of our economy and our present administration.

 

1.  The stock market is now booming.

2.  Residential home sales prices have increased in Palm Beach County in the last quarter.

3.  Interest rates are LOW. 

4.  I have been on the "cancer schedule" for years and was unable to obtain my own personal health insurance policy        until the threat of Healthcare Reform forced BCBS to offer me a conversion policy that costs me 570.00 a month.  I am self employed.

5.  450,000 new automobiles were purchased in that first go round of cash for clunkers program.

6.  Our government is investing in what is likely to be a whole new economy in developing safe and clean alternative energy.  Think about how Clinton and Gore sunk all of that money into computer technology and eventually did get a computer in every home (not to mention a budget surplus).

7.  Most importantly, WE ARE GETTING OUT OF IRAQ!

 

Yes, I am incensed that Wall Street and the banks are getting away with billions of dollars of bailout money and that they are doing nothing to modify those (including mine) mortgages and do not use the money for the earmarked purposes.  However, I am not giving up hope.  Much of that money is slated to be paid back with interest. The current administration had to come in and try to put out all of the fires that were left burning by the former administration.  Maybe, if we can get Healthcare reform taken care of, the administration will be able to spend the time needed to nail BOA and the rest of the abusers of this bailout.  I remain hopeful. 

 

I received a very interesting interpretation of the Healthcare reform act that explains much of the bill and answers the wild accusations that the talking heads are alleging.  I hope that you will read it. It is below.  

 

Here are the facts. Anyone can verify them by reading the bill at http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h3200/text

Actual itemized contents of the Health Care Reform Bill:

"Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure!"

TRUTH: This is not an "audit," it's a study. Moreover, the bill states (pp. 22-23) that the report will "include any recommendations the Commissioner deems appropriate to ensure that the law does not provide incentives for small and mid-size employers to self-insure or create adverse selection in the risk pools of large group insurers and self-insured employers." This is almost directly the opposite of the email's claim.

"Page 29: Admission: your health care will be rationed!"

TRUTH: Page 29 continues to define the "essential benefits package" and discusses limits on what Americans will have to spend on health care under this minimum standard. In no way does this section stipulate the rationing of care.

"Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process)" 

TRUTH: Page 30 begins to describe the Health Benefits Advisory Committee which establishes certain minimum standards for health insurance plans. In no way does this committee deny treatments and benefits to Americans with health insurance.

"Page 42: The 'Health Choices Commissioner' will decide health benefits for you. You will have no choice. None." 

TRUTH: Page 42 begins to describe the Health Choices Commissioner's duties. The idea that this person will decide what benefits Americans receive is patently false, given that most Americans will keep their current plans under reform, and Americans within the exchange will have the choice of purchasing many different kinds of health plans. Rather, the Commissioner will establish minimum standards to protect Americans.

"Page 50: All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free healthcare services."

TRUTH: Pages 50-51 contain a provision stating that discrimination will not be allowed in the provision of health care services. Nowhere does the bill state that non-US citizens will be provided free health care services. The bill prohibits federal dollars from being used for undocumented immigrants.

"Page 58: Every person will be issued a National ID Healthcard." 

TRUTH: Page 58, in the context of a discussion of administrative standards, mentions that "determination of an individual's financial responsibility at the point of service and, to the extent possible, prior to service, including whether the individual is eligible for a specific service with a specific physician at a specific facility...may include utilization of a machine-readable health plan beneficiary identification card." In no way does the bill state that such a card would be national, or that it would be issued to every person, or that it would, in fact, be used at all.

"Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer." 

TRUTH: Page 59 continues the discussion of administrative standards, and authorizes electronic transfers of money within the government. In no way does this provision grant the government access to individual bank accounts.

"Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans (read: SEIU, UAW and ACORN)" 

TRUTH: Here's what page 65 says: "Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish a temporary reinsurance program to provide reimbursement to assist participating employment-based plans with the cost of providing health benefits to retirees and to eligible spouses, surviving spouses and dependents of such retirees." No mention is made of unions or community organizations.

"Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to participate in a Healthcare Exchange." 

TRUTH: That's true! Plans have to have a minimum standard of benefits, bat can offer other plans as well. But that's fair, isn't it? Private insurers can continue to operate outside the exchange if they wish - should the government establish no standards for the exchange? In that case, how could reform end insurance industry abuses and help to control costs?

"Page 84: All private healthcare plans must participate in the Healthcare Exchange (i.e., total government control of private plans)" 

TRUTH: This section says is that if private health care plans want to operate in the Exchange, they must provide a basic benefit package. 

"Page 91: Government mandates linguistic infrastructure for services; translation: illegal aliens"

TRUTH: Some American citizens are more comfortable speaking a language other than English, especially in a sensitive situation like a consultation with their doctor. This provision in no way opens the door for coverage of undocumented workers.

"Page 95: The Government will pay ACORN and Americorps to sign up individuals for Government-run Health Care plan." 

TRUTH: Page 95 makes no mention of ACORN and Americorps; all it says is that the Commissioner can conduct outreach to vulnerable populations, making them aware of their options.

"Page 102: Those eligible for Medicaid will be automatically enrolled: you have no choice in the matter."

TRUTH: People who are eligible for Medicaid will not have to face the burdens of paperwork and other bureaucratic struggles. Far from depriving people of choice, this measure will ensure coverage.

"Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No 'judicial review' is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply, private insurers will be crushed."

TRUTH: This section describes rate-setting under the public health insurance plan option, which will compete with private insurers, who can set their own rates. Because of inherent advantages like their established administrative and provider frameworks, private insurance companies will not be "crushed" by government competition.

"Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages." 

TRUTH: The government will negotiate rates with providers under the public health insurance plan option. However, private insurers will continue to pay their own rates.

"Page 145: An employer MUST auto-enroll employees into the government-run public plan. No alternatives."

TRUTH: This is simply not true. Employers with more than 20 employees aren't even eligible to participate in the exchange, let alone the public plan, until several years after the exchange launches in 2013. Moreover, no employer will be forced to participate in the public plan.

"Page 146: Employers MUST pay healthcare bills for part-time employees AND their families."

TRUTH: Employers are required to pay some benefits for part-time employees on a basis proportional to what they pay for full-time employees. No language on this page or the next stipulates coverage for the families of part-time employees.

"Page 149: Any employer with a payroll of $400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays an 8% tax on payroll"

TRUTH: The payroll penalty applies to employers with payroll over $500,000 who do not provide insurance to their employees. The percentage for employers with payroll from $500,000 - $750,000 is 6%. Employers do not have to offer the public option to avoid this penalty, they can offer private insurance if they wish.

"Page 150: Any employer with a payroll of $250K-400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays a 2 to 6% tax on payroll"

TRUTH: This is false, see above.

"Page 167: Any individual who doesn't' have acceptable healthcare (according to the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income."

TRUTH: Pages 167-173 detail what "acceptable health care" means (basically, insurance coverage) and also allow for many different kinds of exceptions to this rule.

"Page 170: Any NON-RESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans will pay for them)." 

TRUTH: Non-resident aliens do not have to pay the penalty for not having health insurance, nor will the receive federal assistance, because they are not required to purchase health insurance. They are not exempted from individual taxes generally.

"Page 195: Officers and employees of Government Healthcare Bureaucracy will have access to ALL American financial and personal records."

TRUTH: This is a gross overstatement. For the purposes of determining affordability credits for Americans who need financial assistance in purchasing health insurance, employees of the Health Choices Administration will have access to tax information that the federal government already keeps. As is clearly stated on page 196, "Return information... may be used by officers and employees of the Health Choices Administration or such State-based health insurance exchange, as the case may be, only for the purposes of, and to the extent necessary in, establishing and verifying the appropriate amount of any affordability credit described in subtitle C of title II of the America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 and providing for the repayment of any such credit which was in excess of such appropriate amount.''

"Page 203: "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax." Yes, it really says that."

TRUTH: This quote is taken out of context, and is in fact referring to a calculation used in the bill. Full context of quote: "'(4) NOT TREATED AS TAX IMPOSED BY THIS CHAPTER FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.-The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax imposed by this chapter for purposes of determining the amount of any credit under this chapter or for purposes of section 55.''

"Page 239: Bill will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors and the poor most affected." 

TRUTH: This section has nothing whatsoever to do with reducing services.  It makes much needed changes to the way in which physician reimbursement is recalculated every year.  The bill will, in fact, create much more opportunity for seniors and the poor to receive necessary care.

"Page 241: Doctors: no matter what specialty you have, you'll all be paid the same (thanks, AMA!)" 

TRUTH:  Page 241 does not say this.  Nowhere does it say this.  It does say that physicians will be grouped into certain categories regardless of specialty.  These categories merely determine if the physician is engaged in primarily therapeutic or preventative care.

"Page 253: Government sets value of doctors' time, their professional judgment, etc."

TRUTH: There is no good response to this assertion as it appears to have been made up completely. The section deals with 'misvalued codes' meaning that the government is potentially not paying an acceptable rate for a specific service.  This will allow the government to, for example, pay more for services that require more payment, such as high-overhead procedures.  The author of these criticisms  separately attacks the bill for paying the same rate to all doctors, then attacks again for paying different rates.

"Page 265: Government mandates and controls productivity for private healthcare industries." 

TRUTH: This section amends the Social Security Act to include productivity measures.  There is no mandate or control of anything.  This merely updates the way in which doctors and hospitals are paid through Medicare.

"Page 268: Government regulates rental and purchase of power-driven wheelchairs." 

TRUTH: This is simply not true.  This slightly amends existing guidelines for payments for medical equipment, in this case power-driven wheelchairs.  This section introduces no 'regulations' that are not in the Social Security Act.

"Page 272: Cancer patients: welcome to the wonderful world of rationing!"

TRUTH: Overusage of the hot-button word "rationing" is a way to deflect attention away from the actual language of the bill and incite unjustified fear.  This section only compares costs incurred by cancer hospitals to costs incurred by similar hospitals, and adjusts payments to reduce the possibility of fraud and abuse.

"Page 280: Hospitals will be penalized for what the government deems preventable re-admissions." 

TRUTH:  This is almost correct.  The section is one of the first efforts at targeting excessive readmissions.  Excessive readmissions are physically and emotionally damaging to patients, while simultaneously putting them, and the health care system, in far more financial risk than is necessary.  The American Hospital Association recommended reduced payments for avoidable readmission in testimony to Congress.

"Page 298: Doctors: if you treat a patient during an initial admission that results in a readmission, you will be penalized by the government." 

TRUTH: This is patently false.  The section is about possible methods that the Secretary of Health and Human services might consider in order to address the growing problem of patient readmission.  This section does not, in any way, create a penalty, nor does it even mandate policy.  It merely provides examples of recourses that might be considered.

"Page 317: Doctors: you are now prohibited from owning and investing in healthcare companies!"

TRUTH: This provision only limits Doctor's investments in health care facilities that they refer patients to  The effort to limit self-referral has been ongoing for many years as an effort to reduce fraud and abuse.  This is, essentially, the medical community equivalent of insider trading.  Limiting this incentive works to put the patient's health above all other considerations.  Doctors remain free to engage in investment opportunities in areas that don't create a significant conflict of interest.

"Page 318: Prohibition on hospital expansion. Hospitals cannot expand without government approval."

TRUTH: This section regulates physicians' investment in hospitals to make sure that physicians are not unfairly benefiting from their power to refer patients to hospitals they have a stake in. The section does not prohibit hospital expansion.

"Page 321: Hospital expansion hinges on 'community' input: in other words, yet another payoff for ACORN."

TRUTH: In the ongoing effort to demonize community-based groups such as ACORN, every instance of the word "community" has become associated with that group's efforts.  In reality, this provision allows for anyone to provide input.  This includes homeowners, religious leaders, neighborhood groups, and others.  There are no payoffs.  There is no money exchanged in any way.

"Page 335: Government mandates establishment of outcome-based measures: i.e., rationing." 

TRUTH: This provision is included in order to allow the government to base payments on practices that work.  Nowhere does it say health care will be rationed.  The attempt to isolate what works and what does not work in Medicare Advantage plans only benefits the health care system in general.

"Page 341: Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs, etc."

TRUTH: The government can disqualify some Medicare Advantage Plans from receiving some additional payments, but only if those plans are not meeting necessary requirements.

"Page 354: Government will restrict enrollment of SPECIAL NEEDS individuals." 

TRUTH: This section only deals with how to handle special needs individuals who need to enroll outside of the open enrollment period.  Almost every type of plan operates with open enrollment periods.  This section does not create more restrictions.

"Page 379: More bureaucracy: Telehealth Advisory Committee (healthcare by phone)."

TRUTH:  This section merely expands existing Telehealth programs, which supplement but do not replace other health coverage, and provide a vital resource to Americans in rural and remote areas.

"Page 425-430: More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia?; Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory. Appears to lock in estate taxes ahead of time; Government provides approved list of end-of-life resources, guiding you in death; Government mandates program that orders end-of-life treatment; government dictates how your life ends; Advance Care Planning Consult will be used to dictate treatment as patient's health deteriorates. This can include an ORDER for end-of-life plans. An ORDER from the GOVERNMENT; Government will decide what level of treatments you may have at end-of-life." 

TRUTH: All of these hysterical claims have been debunked elsewhere. HR3200 provides for the reimbursement of a voluntary session of end-of-life counseling with your physician once every five years. This in no way means the government will make decisions for patients or encourage doctor-assisted suicide. Counseling simply makes patients and their families aware of their options.

"Page 469: Community-based Home Medical Services: more payoffs for ACORN." 

TRUTH: ACORN is not a Community-Based Medical Home.

"Page 472: Payments to Community-based organizations: more payoffs for ACORN."

TRUTH: This is clearly still referring to community health groups, not ACORN. 

"Page 489: Government will cover marriage and family therapy. Government intervenes in your marriage."

TRUTH: Covering marriage and family therapy, as many private insurance plans do, does not mean that the government "intervenes in your marriage." The types of individuals who are recognized as therapists are clearly defined on page 491; in brief, professionals only, not bureaucrats.

"Page 494: Government will cover mental health services: defining, creating and rationing those services."

TRUTH: This section expands government coverage for mental health services under various government programs, and ensures that all mental health services will be offered by qualified professionals.

 

Miss Informed Liberal

----- Original Message -----

From: Concerned American (me)

To: Miss Informed Liberal

Sent: Thursday, August 06, 2009 1:12 PM

Subject: Americans, Please read this and pass along..

 

Friends and Family,

I don't forward too may emails but decided this is important enough to take the time to go through my address book and send to you.  I copied and pasted the information below and encourage every to please read and pass along to keep it going. 

 

If you love America and our way of life, we must protest the changes that are happening!  Please listen to talk radio, read books and educate yourselves in whatever way you can to keep abreast of the political environment.  I know most of us have busy lives but our core American values are being imminently threatened! 

 

I did not copy and past the above paragraph from anywhere but comes from me and me alone.  I am very scared for our future way of life.  If you can do nothing else other than pass this along at least it will be something rather than idly sitting by letting this "happen" to us that we seem to have no control of.

 

As a group, we have much more power than if we stand alone.

 

Thanks for reading and hope everyone is happy and healthy.

 

Concerned American (me)

 

Copied and pasted from email I received below:

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Lou Pritchett rose from soap salesman to Vice-President, Sales and Customer Development for Procter and Gamble and over the course of 36 years, made corporate history.
Pritchett is one of corporate America 's true living legends - an acclaimed author, dynamic teacher and one of the world's highest rated speakers. Successful corporate executives everywhere recognize him as the foremost leader in change management. Lou changed the way America does business by creating an audacious concept that came to be known as "partnering."

TRUE - CHECK:  http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/youscareme.asp

or http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/p/pritchett-obama-youscareme..htm

Subject: Lou Pritchett Letter

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike any of the others, you truly scare me. You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.

You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of living in the world.

You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics against certain banks and corporations.

You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.

You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals.

You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider opposing points of view from intelligent people.

You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent and omniscient.

You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', repeatedly blaming someone else.

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America ' crowd and deliver this message abroad.

You scare me because you want to change America to a European style country where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector. You scare me because you want to replace our health care system with a government controlled one.

You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do.

You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaughs, Hannitys, O'Relllys and Becks who offer opposing, conservative points of view.

You scare me because, despite repeated requests, you've never explained how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education, and your upscale lifestyle and housing with few visible signs of support.

You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up in America and culturally you are not an American.

You scare me because for over half your life you aligned yourself in one fashion or another with radical extremists and have refused to publicly denounce radicals who wish to see America fail.

You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll.

You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus don't understand it at its core.

Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.

Lou Pritchett

This letter was sent to the NY Times but they never acknowledged it.  Big surprise.

Since it hit the internet, however, it has had over 500,000 hits.  Keep it going.