SissCoKids Blogs

Open Letter to the Honorable President Barack Obama:

2010-01-30T11:34:00.000-08:00

Dear Honorable President Obama:

For eight years, the Republicans could have cared less about reforming the health care system of our nation. As long as they could line their pockets on the misery of those needing health care services, they were content and happy to be in control of a failing system. So why now are we bending over backwards to support their ability to pro-offer opinions/solutions to solve the health care crisis when it is their failed policies that were in existence for eight years that caused much of our nation's financial problems and deficits?

If we, the voters, wanted the Republican's solutions/opinions, we as a public would have voted for that. We didn't. We voted for the change you promised. Now, respectfully sir, we will know you by what you do, not what you say. Although what you say sounds like it tastes good, we can't eat words. We need real jobs, real shelter, real health care and real food. We are watching your actions to match your words.

While you are bending to meet the Republican agenda half way, we on the bottom have not even been given the time to stand up straight after spending eight (8) long years bent over. It would appear your compromises and attempts at bi-partisanship just allow us to move 1/4 up from the ground, still bent over to serve as sex slaves for the wealthy and the corporations of the world. We didn't vote for that.

Where is the change you promised?

Justice, Ohio Style - Is Chief Justice Moyer's proposed reform, reform at all?

2010-01-03T16:30:00.000-08:00

POST-SCRIPT:
SissCoKids has been informed that Ohio's Chief Justice Thomas Moyer has been appointed to an eleven member advisory committee that is part of a new national effort aimed at assisting state-based efforts to end the election of judges entitled the O'Connor Judicial Selection Initiative as reported in the Republican leaning corporate newspaper, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio in Editorials Christmas Cheer(s) published on Christmas Day, 2009. The below article stands corrected that this initiative to take away your vote is not merely Ohio based and is now a national effort and the prescription below still stands.

Don't be fooled. This push to take away your vote is not to ensure integrity in the judicial system. It is to cover up the money trail that leads right to the top!

Appearances of Impropriety! Republished, January 3, 2010!

Chief Justice Thomas Moyer wants to change the way justices are selected for the Ohio Supreme Court. He is concerned about the amount of fund raising and campaign donations needed to secure this high office, opting instead for a structural change in which the Governor and a review panel (no doubt comprised of lawyers) would select Supreme Court Justices, or in the alternative, a system of public financing of judicial election campaigns! (see The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio, November 17, 2009, Page B2.

In plain words, Chief Justice Moyer wants to take away your vote.

It would appear now for reasons protected by confidentiality clauses that are imposed on parties and citizens (complaining), constructed by the judges and lawyers themselves, and written into the Ohio Administrative Code, the Ohio Revised Code, as well as the Rules of the Court and the Disciplinary Counsel Rules, that the Chief Justice is suddenly concerned that the money trail so prevalent in the lower courts just might be traceable to one or more Supreme Court Justices or candidates thereof, demonstrating major appearances of impropriety.

Doesn't it make one wonder what is occurring behind these moves? And if Chief Justice Moyer is successful in his campaign, will it actually rid the courts of these major improprieties, OR will it just destroy the money trail that is easily traceable and trackable through campaign finance disclosure laws?

Right now under the present system, you can trace the money from the lawyers, firms and/or businesses hands directly to the judge at the local court, the county court, the court of appeals, the campaign caucus(es), clear up to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Should the system change, do you really believe or think that lawyers and judges will stop doing their dirt, OR is the real goal to get rid of the money trail that proves their dirt with motivation?

Appearances of propriety are just that -- an appearance. My solution: Get rid of the confidentiality clauses and start holding these lawyers, judges and justices to a higher standard as leaders of the community and officers of the court and have a rotating public citizens panel (whose members are publicly randomly selected) review the complaints filed against offending officers of the court for their misconduct, with their infractions being sternly dealt with, instead of the present review in secrecy by their potentially equally infracting peers, creating a quid pro quo environment. Limit all donations to these campaigns to $25 per individual and/or corporation with full disclosure codified (written into law) and free and equal public service air time. Prevent judges from ever presiding over any case where they have received any gift and/or contribution from any party, forcing them to take cases where they have no vested interest.

The current system by which attorneys and judges are reviewed is a joke and rarely holds accountable the offending party (ies), despite what you see on the carefully scripted public television display (Channel 25.2 Cleveland). The decisions rendered by the courts of Ohio are all too often made in the back rooms of the court houses and area taverns with the courtroom just being the theater where the actors play out what is already decided in secrecy. One would be hard pressed to find integrity and honor in Ohio, although it may exist somewhere within. You can bet the recent high jacking of our country's financial system had attorneys at the root of the rotten vine, engineering and protecting the greedy at the expense of the masses. Let us not forget that most of our legislators that helped to codify these confidentiality laws are attorneys themselves. For the most part, they are the only ones that could afford to buy these offices. You can bet in most instances, you don't become a legislator without being an attorney, unless you have sold your sole to the caucus (also staffed by attorneys) for money to do their biding.

Should I have an inkling of what is really going on behind the scenes to initiate such a conference to change Ohio's Legal System (and I may very well), I would be prevented by law from telling you. So much for free speech and whistle blower laws! Under the present system, it is more important to the lawyers and judges to protect the appearance of integrity with secrecy in the midst of corruption, rather than revealing the truth! Their much aligned reputation, in my opinion and experience, is often well deserved.

Happy New Year Ohioians and Citizens of the United States!

Justice, Ohio Style - Is Justice Moyer's proprosed reform, reform at all?

2009-12-18T10:48:00.001-08:00

POST-SCRIPT:
SissCoKids has been informed that Ohio's Chief Justice Thomas Moyer has been appointed to an eleven member advisory committee that is part of a new national effort aimed at assisting state-based efforts to end the election of judges entitled the O'Connor Judicial Selection Initiative as reported in the Republican leaning corporate newspaper, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio in Editorials Christmas Cheer(s) published on Christmas Day, 2009. The below article stands corrected that this initiative to take away your vote is not merely Ohio based and is now a national effort and the prescription below still stands.

Don't be fooled. This push to take away your vote is not to ensure integrity in the judicial system. It is to cover up the money trail that leads right to the top!

Appearances of Impropriety! Republished, January 3, 2010!

Chief Justice Thomas Moyer wants to change the way justices are selected for the Ohio Supreme Court. He is concerned about the amount of fund raising and campaign donations needed to secure this high office, opting instead for a structural change in which the Governor and a review panel (no doubt comprised of lawyers) would select Supreme Court Justices, or in the alternative, a system of public financing of judicial election campaigns! (see The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio, November 17, 2009, Page B2.

In plain words, Chief Justice Moyer wants to take away your vote.

It would appear now for reasons protected by confidentiality clauses that are imposed on parties and citizens (complaining), constructed by the judges and lawyers themselves, and written into the Ohio Administrative Code, the Ohio Revised Code, as well as the Rules of the Court and the Disciplinary Counsel Rules, that the Chief Justice is suddenly concerned that the money trail so prevalent in the lower courts just might be traceable to one or more Supreme Court Justices or candidates thereof, demonstrating major appearances of impropriety.

Doesn't it make one wonder what is occurring behind these moves? And if Chief Justice Moyer is successful in his campaign, will it actually rid the courts of these major improprieties, OR will it just destroy the money trail that is easily traceable and trackable through campaign finance disclosure laws?

Right now under the present system, you can trace the money from the lawyers, firms and/or businesses hands directly to the judge at the local court, the county court, the court of appeals, the campaign caucus(es), clear up to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Should the system change, do you really believe or think that lawyers and judges will stop doing their dirt, OR is the real goal to get rid of the money trail that proves their dirt with motivation?

Appearances of propriety are just that -- an appearance. My solution: Get rid of the confidentiality clauses and start holding these lawyers, judges and justices to a higher standard as leaders of the community and officers of the court and have a rotating public citizens panel (whose members are publicly randomly selected) review the complaints filed against offending officers of the court for their misconduct, with their infractions being sternly dealt with, instead of the present review in secrecy by their potentially equally infracting peers, creating a quid pro quo environment. Limit all donations to these campaigns to $25 per individual and/or corporation with full disclosure codified (written into law) and free and equal public service air time. Prevent judges from ever presiding over any case where they have received any gift and/or contribution from any party, forcing them to take cases where they have no vested interest.

The current system by which attorneys and judges are reviewed is a joke and rarely holds accountable the offending party (ies), despite what you see on the carefully scripted public television display (Channel 25.2 Cleveland). The decisions rendered by the courts of Ohio are all too often made in the back rooms of the court houses and area taverns with the courtroom just being the theater where the actors play out what is already decided in secrecy. One would be hard pressed to find integrity and honor in Ohio, although it may exist somewhere within. You can bet the recent high jacking of our country's financial system had attorneys at the root of the rotten vine, engineering and protecting the greedy at the expense of the masses. Let us not forget that most of our legislators that helped to codify these confidentiality laws are attorneys themselves. For the most part, they are the only ones that could afford to buy these offices. You can bet in most instances, you don't become a legislator without being an attorney, unless you have sold your sole to the caucus (also staffed by attorneys) for money to do their biding.

Should I have an inkling of what is really going on behind the scenes to initiate such a conference to change Ohio's Legal System (and I may very well), I would be prevented by law from telling you. So much for free speech and whistle blower laws! Under the present system, it is more important to the lawyers and judges to protect the appearance of integrity with secrecy in the midst of corruption, rather than revealing the truth! Their much aligned reputation, in my opinion and experience, is often well deserved.

Happy New Year Ohioians and Citizens of the United States!

Justice, Ohio Style - Is Justice Moyer's proposed reform, reform at all?

2009-12-11T07:51:00.000-08:00

Appearances of Impropriety!

Chief Justice Thomas Moyer wants to change the way justices are selected for the Ohio Supreme Court. He is concerned about the amount of fund raising and campaign donations needed to secure this high office, opting instead for a structural change in which the Governor and a review panel (no doubt comprised of lawyers) would select Supreme Court Justices, or in the alternative, a system of public financing of judicial election campaigns! (see The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio, November 17, 2009, Page B2.

In plain words, Chief Justice Moyer wants to take away your vote.

It would appear now for reasons protected by confidentiality clauses that are imposed on parties and citizens (complaining), constructed by the judges and lawyers themselves, and written into the Ohio Administrative Code, the Ohio Revised Code, as well as the Rules of the Court and the Disciplinary Counsel Rules, that the Chief Justice is suddenly concerned that the money trail so prevalent in the lower courts just might be traceable to one or more Supreme Court Justices or candidates thereof, demonstrating major appearances of impropriety.

Doesn't it make one wonder what is occurring behind these moves? And if Chief Justice Moyer is successful in his campaign, will it actually rid the courts of these major improprieties, OR will it just destroy the money trail that is easily traceable and trackable through campaign finance disclosure laws?

Right now under the present system, you can trace the money from the lawyers, firms and/or businesses hands directly to the judge at the local court, the county court, the court of appeals, the campaign caucus(es), clear up to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Should the system change, do you really believe or think that lawyers and judges will stop doing their dirt, OR is the real goal to get rid of the money trail that proves their dirt with motivation?

Appearances of propriety are just that -- an appearance. My solution: Get rid of the confidentiality clauses and start holding these lawyers, judges and justices to a higher standard as leaders of the community and officers of the court and have a rotating public citizens panel (whose members are publicly randomly selected) review the complaints filed against offending officers of the court for their misconduct, with their infractions being sternly dealt with, instead of the present review in secrecy by their potentially equally infracting peers, creating a quid pro quo environment. Limit all donations to these campaigns to $25 per individual and/or corporation with full disclosure codified (written into law) and free and equal public service air time. Prevent judges from ever presiding over any case where they have received any gift and/or contribution from any party, forcing them to take cases where they have no vested interest.

The current system by which attorneys and judges are reviewed is a joke and rarely holds accountable the offending party (ies), despite what you see on the carefully scripted public television display (Channel 25.2 Cleveland). The decisions rendered by the courts of Ohio are all too often made in the back rooms of the court houses and area taverns with the courtroom just being the theater where the actors play out what is already decided in secrecy. One would be hard pressed to find integrity and honor in Ohio, although it may exist somewhere within. You can bet the recent high jacking of our country's financial system had attorneys at the root of the rotten vine, engineering and protecting the greedy at the expense of the masses. Let us not forget that most of our legislators that helped to codify these confidentiality laws are attorneys themselves. For the most part, they are the only ones that could afford to buy these offices. You can bet in most instances, you don't become a legislator without being an attorney, unless you have sold your sole to the caucus (also staffed by attorneys) for money to do their biding.

Should I have an inkling of what is really going on behind the scenes to initiate such a conference to change Ohio's Legal System (and I may very well), I would be prevented by law from telling you. So much for free speech and whistle blower laws! Under the present system, it is more important to the lawyers and judges to protect the appearance of integrity with secrecy in the midst of corruption, rather than revealing the truth! Their much aligned reputation, in my opinion and experience, is often well deserved.

Merry Christmas Ohioians!

MESSAGE FROM SENATOR SHERROD BROWN

2009-11-10T07:37:00.000-08:00

An Important Message from
Senator Sherrod Brown about
Health Care Reform

Dear Friend,

You may have seen a lot of me lately. I've been speaking out and setting the record straight on why it's critical that health care reform legislation includes a public option. And now that the House has passed it, it's now up to the Senate to act.

I refuse to sit by watching families struggle to make ends meet while political pundits, ultra-conservative media talking heads, and the Republican Party blatantly spout misinformation and resort to fear-mongering. It's not only ludicrous -- it's dangerous and will end up costing our nation dearly.

As one of my most steadfast supporters, you know how important it is that we pass meaningful health insurance reforms -- which will provide each and every American with quality, affordable coverage.

We all know how difficult enacting these important changes is proving to be. At every turn, big pharma and big insurance -- along with their cronies in Washington -- are throwing up roadblocks and undermining our Democratic reform efforts.

I recently spoke about this very issue on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Watch it here:

http://www.democratsenators.org/o/9/t/13/tellafriend.jsp?tell_a_friend_KEY=347 .

Including a strong public option in the Senate health care reform bill would be a major victory for taxpayers, middle-class families, and American businesses.

It will inject much-needed competition into the insurance marketplace, keep HMOs honest, and ensure that families across the country have their choice of affordable, quality health plans.

Meanwhile, the GOP is doing everything possible to derail a strong public option and cling to the status quo. They're bending over backwards trying to protect their big-money supporters in the insurance industry, who are only concerned about their bottom line -- while my Democratic colleagues and I are looking out for the best interests of our citizens.

We must deliver reform for all Americans, many of whom have lost so much already as a result of the housing crisis, the financial meltdown, and the recession in the last year.

You can help spread the word by forwarding this email to as many people as possible; just click here:

http://www.democratsenators.org/o/9/t/13/tellafriend.jsp?tell_a_friend_KEY=347 .

Thank you again for your support. Together we will finally put middle-class families ahead of the insurance industry.

Sincerely,

Sherrod Brown
U.S. Senator, Ohio

P.S. Time is running out to ensure a public option is part of health care reform legislation. Help me get the word out by clicking here:
http://www.democratsenators.org/o/9/t/13/tellafriend.jsp?tell_a_friend_KEY=347 .
Set the record straight about the public option -- please forward this email to everyone you know. Thanks for doing your part.

HAS AMERICA LOST ITS LEADERSHIP?

2009-09-28T07:14:00.000-07:00

As we wait for word on what our elected officials will decide concerning matters of health care, the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars, the economy, etc., we seem to be losing our hope and our steam for change.

The spirit of hope and enthusiasm for change exhibited during the election is dissipating, if not already dissipated. What happened to our majority vote? What happened to enacting the changes that were promised if we elected the present leadership? How did we go from a majority country that wanted change to a country paralyzed by division? Why did the majority party decide not to implement the changes the masses voted for? Why did the majority party decide to placate the minority party and allow the minority party to frame the argument? Is there any way to restore the hope of change that we all had. It would seem by indecision that the status quo of corruption and greed has prevailed once again.

The real question, "Where is our leadership and guidance in all of this?"

We, as a country, are desperately looking for leadership and guidance. Where is it?

When Is It NOT Okay To Scream Fire?

2009-08-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

HAS SARAH PALIN GONE TOO FAR?

Over and over again, Sarah Palin has made these outlandish, irresponsible statements regarding the proposed health care reform of the new administration. She has alleged that there will be death squads to decide who lives and who dies:

http://www.apnews.myway.com/article/20090808/D99Uj4B00.html

Sarah Palin claims there will be rationing. What does she think we have now?

Right now, under the present system, we have families that have no health care (Isn't that a form of rationing?). Right now, under the present system, we have families struggling to scrape up enough money to make their high cost health insurance premiums, often times having to take high deductible, catastrophic plans, because they can't afford the high premiums (Isn't that a form of rationing?). Right now, families that are able to pay the health insurance premiums to the already wealthy insurance companies, can't afford to use their health insurance due to the high deductibles and the high co-payments (Isn't that a form of rationing?). Both Medicaid and Medicare have limits (rationing) right now on benefits and services. It is ONLY the wealthy that enjoy FULL QUALITY HEALTH CARE, not the average Joe, the middle class, the elderly, the poor or disabled. These folks are already rationed!

What Sarah Palin really means to say is that the very wealthy who pay premiums, and can easily afford the deductibles and co-payments, who enjoy services, benefits and testing galore, whether it is necessary or not, may have provided to them ONLY the necessary services, as opposed to the Cadillac plans that are provided at the expense of the masses (the poor, elderly, the middle class and/or the disabled).

If you or I stand up in a crowded theater and shout fire, we can be held both civilly and criminally responsible for our actions and the results of those actions. If there is no fire and someone is damaged, either physically, financially or otherwise, you can bet we would be held accountable.

Why then, is Sarah Palin allowed to pray on the fears of the middle class, the poor, the elderly and/or the disabled and make outlandish statements to the point of inciting violence at the town hall meetings? There is not one shred of truth in Sarah Palin's claims. And make no mistake about it. She represents the wealthy.

To our senior citizens, the middle class, the poor and/or the disabled: For heaven's sake, use your mind. Sarah and Todd Palin are secessionists. They want Alaska to pull away from the United States. How can you even begin to think anything seriously about what this woman says. She has NEVER had the welfare or best interests of the citizens of the United States. She and her husband ADVOCATE the State of Alaska to secede from the Union so that they can keep their oil profits. Use your head and think. Universal health care available to all, minus the profits paid to insurance companies, will allow standard, affordable health care for all, not just the greedy and wealthy. And if the greedy and wealthy have to live on just a little bit less, then so be it. They will always have enough money to buy their Cadillac needs.

Where is our humanity?

We need our government representatives now to hold Sarah Palin personally accountable for her outlandish screams of "fire" in the theater of "health care." She is intentionally causing needless division among our citizens and needlessly scaring the hell out of our senior citizens, our poor, our middle class and our disabled with false statements advocated by our wealthiest of citizens. Sarah Palin should be held both civilly and criminally responsible for every act of violence she has perpetrated. If Charles Manson can spend life in jail and never actually kill someone, then she certainly has to be held accountable for her incendiary comments.

Sarah Palin deems herself and her family to be a better class of people than the rest and doesn't think that the poor, the elderly, the middle class and/or the disabled should be provided health care, or only minimal health care. The wealthy think the poor, the elderly, the middle class and/or disabled are not worthy. See Bill Kristol's interview with Jon Stewart of the Daily Show broadcast on July 27, 2009 (these are their words, not mine):

http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/239178/mon-july-27=2009-bill-kristol

Call and email your senators at http://www.senate.gov/ and your representatives at http://www.house.gov/ . Let them know you support a universal, single payer health care, or at the very least a "public option." Don't let fear rule your better judgment.

What has Sarah Palin done for you lately? George Bush and his party left this country in a mess. Let's work together to try and solve these problems.

A house divided cannot stand!

Health Care News from President Barack Obama - The Real Truth the Republicans Don't Want You To Know!

2009-07-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

Health Care News from President Barack Obama:

Dear Friend,

If you’re like most Americans, there’s nothing more important to you about health care than peace of mind.

Given the status quo, that’s understandable. The current system often denies insurance due to pre-existing conditions, charges steep out-of-pocket fees – and sometimes isn’t there at all if you become seriously ill.

It’s time to fix our unsustainable insurance system and create a new foundation for health care security. That means guaranteeing your health care security and stability with eight basic consumer protections:

No discrimination for pre-existing conditions
No exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles or co-pays
No cost-sharing for preventive care
No dropping of coverage if you become seriously ill
No gender discrimination
No annual or lifetime caps on coverage
Extended coverage for young adults
Guaranteed insurance renewal so long as premiums are paid
Learn more about these consumer protections at Whitehouse.gov.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Over the next month there is going to be an avalanche of misinformation and scare tactics from those seeking to perpetuate the status quo. But we know the cost of doing nothing is too high. Health care costs will double over the next decade, millions more will become uninsured, and state and local governments will go bankrupt.

It’s time to act and reform health insurance, drive down costs and guarantee the health care security and stability of every American family. You can help by putting these core principles of reform in the hands of your friends, your family, and the rest of your social network.

Thank you,
Barack Obama

Editor Side Note: On the Daily Show broadcast on Monday, July 27, 2009, conservative columnist, Bill Kristol, that was credited with stopping Hilliary Clinton from passing universal health care during the Clinton Administration, admitted that the govenment supplies and administers the best quality health care available. He stated with agreement that the common or poor folk don't deserve quality, affordable health care. Hear for yourself, the Republicans admitting that Barack Obama's plan is the best quality, affordable health care for all: http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/239178/mon-july-27-2009-bill-kristol

Next Week: ?

Exciting New Health Care News from Congressman Dennis Kucinich

2009-07-18T16:08:00.000-07:00

The following email has been posted at the request of Congressman Dennis Kucinich,whom I have immense respect. Please make it part of your day to read. Thanks. Your input is appreciated.

Exciting Healthcare Update

Dear Friends,

With your support, your phone calls, your emails, we won a major legislative victory today for a state single payer health care option in the House of Representatives in Washington, DC. The House Education and Labor Committee approved the Kucinich Amendment by a vote of 27-19, with 14 Democrats and 13 Republicans voting yes.

The amendment propels the growing single payer health care movement at the state level. There are at least ten states which have active single payer efforts in their legislatures. They are California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington. The amendment mandates a single payer state will receive the right to waive the application of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), which has in the past been used to nullify efforts to expand state or local government health care.

Under the Kucinich Amendment a state's application for a waiver from ERISA is granted automatically if the state has signed into law a single payer plan. With the amendment, for the first time, the state single payer health care option is shielded from an ERISA-based legal attack. Now that the underlying bill has been passed, as amended, by the full committee, we must make sure that Congress knows that we want the provision kept in the bill at final passage!

The state single payer option was one of five major amendments which I obtained support to get included in HR3200. One amendment brings into standard coverage for the first time complementary and alternative medicine, (integrative medicine). Another amendment drives down the cost of prescription drugs by ending pharmaceutical industry's sharp practices manipulating physician prescribing habits. An amendment stops the insurance industry from increasing premiums at the time when people are not permitted to change health plans; and finally an amendment imposing a requirement on insurance companies that they disclose the cost of advertising, marketing and executive compensation expenses (which generally divert money from patient care).

Please make sure you post this message on your social networking site, ask all your friends to get involved and encourage everyone you know to sign up at www.Kucinich.us so we can build full momentum behind this movement for real health care.

Let's do this!

Dennis

JUST MAYBE WHY SARAH PALIN LEFT!

2009-07-06T20:15:00.000-07:00

Some things are just more important than country and world events!

I have watched and listened for the past few days to commentaries from all the major networks theorizing why Sarah Palin quit her job as Governor of Alaska before the end of her term. Everything from aspirations for the Presidency, state and federal investigations, legal fees, and so on. I, also, listened to Sarah Palin's press conference and I have to admit, it first seemed bizarre at best, but her words stuck in my mind.

I'm no Sarah Palin fan, but I marginally sympathized with her watching the Republican Party use her during the campaign to bolster the old, tired image, honorable as he may be, of John McCain. Even though I supported Obama during the campaign, and still do, I often felt that she was being treated unfairly by a press ready to destroy anything in its' path for the sake of the sale of magazines and newspapers or to increase viewership. She seemed so naive.

As a parent of a severely disabled or Differently Abled Adult, I would cringe every time she claimed to be an Advocate for the Disabled, knowing full well that she represented a party that represents the wealthy. The same party that has demonstrated time and time again, that it cares nothing for the elderly and poor, let alone the disabled. The same party that nullified the American With Disabilities Act by exempting all of the small business and governments, while at the same time standing up and stating that 95% of all the new jobs were going to be created by the small businesses. They knew full well that 95% of America was not going to be accessible to the disabled. They stood up and touted that George H. W. Bush, Sr. passed the American With Disabilities Act, while at the same time failed to provide proper funding for it. All the disabled represented to most Republicans were dollar signs and a burden on the budget. That statement may, in part, be true for both parties today as States struggle to meet their budgets.

Often during the campaign, I would see Sarah Palin traveling about without her "severely" disabled son, with a whole entourage of people ready to deal with him. She often would grab him for a photo opportunity as she spoke of her advocacy and then handed him right back to the nearest person, pretending that she really knew what it was like to raise a severely disabled child in America on limited funds.

Well it now occurs to me that after being beat up by members of the press and her own party and after careful consideration of her circumstances and as her child grows and she begins to realize that he is not progressing the way a typical child does, that, perhaps, just maybe, the real reason Sarah Palin has decided to quit politics, at least for now, is that God has placed into her arms her greatest and most important challenge to date.....her "special" needs son. Being the dedicated, and what seems to be honorable person that she is, maybe she has finally decided her true calling and realized the real work that lies ahead for her! Her place may be with her family for now.

If that's the case, God bless Sarah Palin in her new endeavors. She is in for much work, heartache, joy, blessings and challenges as this unique individual that God has placed in her life reveals himself to the world. Sarah Palin will need all of our prayers and support and maybe, now, with her financial troubles, Universal Health Care with a single payer option. Godspeed Sarah Palin.

SINGLE PAYER HEALTH CARE PLAN NOW

2009-06-19T18:54:00.000-07:00

REAL CHANGE IS SINGLE PAYER HEALTH CARE

Please call your Representatives and Senators now and tell them we need real change, the real change we voted for in November, 2008.

We need to take the profit out of health care. We need to make sure that all citizens have access to quality, affordable health care. If everyone is not included in the plan, we will have nothing more than rationed health care for America's most needy and at risk citizens. Let's not give our health care dollars to insurance companys like AIG (AIU) to party on in Las Vegas. Let's put our citizens and people first! It is the right and honorable thing to do. For what you do for the least of those, you do for the greater good. You or your family are an accident away from needing health care and or exhausting whatever coverage you may be fortunate enough to have! Health Care is a right!

Don't believe the hype that the government can't efficiently run a system. Ask any senior citizen on Medicare now if they would rather not have it and the answer more often than not is they can not do without it. It is their lifeline to quality, medical care, with their choice of doctors, hospitals and care providers preserved. The wealthy can still buy "extra" coverage for themselves and their families. We need a basic Single Payer Health Plan for all.

Please call your federal Representative and your Senators and let them know that you want them to support House Bill HR676: http://www.house.gov and http://www.senate.gov and write the White House and let President Barack Obama know that we will not settle for anything less than REAL CHANGE! http://whitehouse.gov/contact

If you're in doubt, watch the following video posted by Marcy Winograd, currently challenging

Representative Jane Harman for the House of Representatives from Southern California in 2010: http://winograd4congress.com/petitions/single_payer_video.php

There is no more important issue for America today to secure America's financial future. Please take two minutes of your time and call.

CORPORATE TREASON MUST STOP!

2009-06-08T15:24:00.000-07:00

STOP THREATENING AMERICANS AND HOLDING US HOSTAGE!

Aren't we as Americans just a little bit more than tired of being threatened by Corporate America! Aren't we more than just a little bit tired of hearing Corporate America threaten to ruin our country if we don't bow to their every wish and demand. Corporate America seems a little less than grateful when for decades they made their wealth off the backs of hard working Americans, only to find that instead of being grateful for their presence in the world, they threaten to take our jobs and national security trade, technology and manufacturing secrets overseas.

There is no other name for it than TREASON!

On June 5, 2009, there appeared an article on the Bloomberg Press (http://www.bloomberg.com ) that is entitled, "Ballmer Says Tax Would Move Microsoft Jobs Offshore (Update 3)." Apparently Microsoft Corporation, Chief Executive Officer Steven Ballmer states Microsoft, the world's largest software company, would move some employees offshore if Congress enacts President Barack Obama's plans to impose higher taxes on U.S. Companies' foreign profits. The tax incentives to defer paying corporate rates as high as 35 percent would end such incentives to keep foreign profits tax-deferred so that companies would invest the profits in the United States of America, see http://www.bloomberg.com .

Microsoft founders gain their knowledge at American educational institutions, and grew to the large conglomerate that it is today on the backs of Americans. Shouldn't Microsoft be more grateful! The founder, Bill Gates, is one of the wealthiest people on the face of the earth. Their workers are paid well and receive good benefits. Shouldn't they be willing to share their good fortune with the very country that made it possible for them to be so successful. With all of their overseas antitrust litigation, there was a time when I sympathized with their woes, but not now.

Not when our country is on the verge of economic collapse. How dare the CEO Ballmer threaten to harm America further! How dare he threaten to remove our technology, trade and manufacturing secrets along with our jobs to an overseas location! This country is in a time of war! Young men and women and some not so young men and women have given their life to the armed services to serve this country. Mr. Ballmer, there are American men and women still on foreign shores defending your right to live, let alone prosper! Have you no shame!

When Sarah Palin, stands up and states, the "Government wants to "Control The People," why is that suppose to scare me (see http://www.realclearpolitics.com , 6/4/2009)? Is it suppose to scare me more than Corporate America controlling the people? It doesn't. We, as a people, have seen the control and depths of Corporate America, not to mention the foreign Corporations, particularly from China (see gypsum board, asbestos, pharmaceuticals, lead paint in toys, etc.), that have put our people at risk by subjecting the American public to less than safe products, robbing pensions, profit sharing plans, life insurance policies, life savings, stocks, bonds, securities and houses. All in the name of greed!

Perhaps you don't believe in the inherent evil of man. Maybe you need another reality check-up. In that case, just click on over to http://www.counton2.com and check out the news article for June 5, 2009 that is entitled, "South Carolina Funeral Home Closed After Dismembering Corpse to Fit Casket." The funeral director, rather than order another casket that would fit the body, proceeded to use an electric saw to cut off James Hines' lower legs so he would fit in a case that he was too tall for. The family requested a larger casket because Hines was 6" 7" and couldn't fit in a normal casket. The casket was prepaid prior to his death and the funeral home didn't want to pay for a larger casket. The funeral home was willing to sell him a casket that they knew was too small to get his money prior to death. All in the name of greed!

The stories of American Corporate Greed and Welfare are endless from Katrina to Wall Street to shining sea!

It has been the few honorable people in government that have stood up with the people to say NO MORE! It is why the American population voted for change in 2008. Without holding our United States Senators and Representatives accountable for the laws that are passed in this government, where would we be? It was the removal of regulatory laws that caused our current financial crisis. America was asleep while the mice played at the United States Capitol during the Reagan years forward.

So Mrs. Palin, if I have to choose between being controlled by the Government or Corporate America, I'll take my chance at the voting booth, campaign hard for those issues and people that I believe and think can make a REAL CHANGE every time. Sometimes it doesn't work quite that way, but with perseverance, truth, justice, honor and integrity with enough tenacity will almost always WIN eventually!

Mr. Ballmer sir, you should be charged with threatening treason in a time of war! You should be removed as a Chief Executive Officer of an American Corporation because you no longer serve the interests and goals of America. You no longer believe in keeping America safe and viable and have stated so.

President Obama, please freeze the assets of Microsoft and appoint a Chief Executive Officer that has both Microsoft's and America's best interests at heart and have the United State Justice Department charge Steven Ballmer with treason, along with Governor Rick Perry of Texas!

It is time to circle the wagons, gather the horses and preserve the union!

Next Week: Let's see if I still have an email account!

HEALTH CARE COSTS

2009-05-28T17:44:00.000-07:00

WHY DO DEGREED PEOPLE THINK THAT THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO EARN MORE THAN THE AVERAGE WORKER?

I realize this topic is not popular. The subject is greed. When is enough, enough! If you think about the three fields of professions where people make more money in a day than most make working a month or in a year in some cases, you focus on those in the professions of finance (banking, stock broker, insurance etc.), legal (attorneys) and those in the medical professions (pharmaceuticals, doctors, researchers).

Most of these people are undoubtedly bright, and have worked hard for their degrees. There is no argument there. Many have achieved their degrees on tax payer dollars in the way of grants, scholarships and low interest or low cost loans. Many don't even bother to pay their loans back and in years past, that has been overlooked. A chosen few have achieved their degrees on generational wealth that they have had bestowed upon them; wealth that all too often has been made at the expense of others.

Let's realize that these gifted individuals show their gratitude to society by graduating and demanding salaries that are far in excess of what the average person makes. Making more than even those average people that have been in the work force for decades. On both sides of the aisle and those in the middle, they work for the glory of themselves. They have been led to believe that they somehow deserve more than the average person working decades. Worst yet, the average person working has been programmed to believe that these gifted individuals deserve to coast through college on taxpayer paid low-cost loans, scholarships, grants and gifts from their families and that they somehow deserve to make more. WHY?

Do they work any harder than someone who sweats in a welding or machine shop for eight to ten hours a day, trying to support their families and paying their taxes? Do they work any harder than the department store worker who normally gets paid nominally and has to stand on their feet on a concrete floor all day? Do they work harder than the carpenter, the electrician, the brick layer, or the concrete finisher? Anyone who thinks so has never done an honest day's work in their life. Sure they are bright, but let's not discount the knowledge and expertise gained through years of work experience.

Sure they deserve to perhaps start work at a salary commensurate with their years of seniority for time spent at educational institutions; and, perhaps, in line or slightly above the average wage earner for their given working region, but do they really deserve to earn two, five, ten, fifteen times or more than the average worker? How many houses or cars are enough?

This greed has made it unaffordable for everyday hard working people to buy their shelter, food and clothing needs. This greed has made medicine unaffordable and has caused the average hard working Americans not to seek much needed health care and has forced others to buy these high deductible health care policies that are worthless in times of real need. This greed has caused our banking institutions to fail and has allowed the rip off of billions in the way of pension dollars and life savings and investments.

These same individuals want you to believe that it's all the unions' fault. Nothing could be further from the truth. Unions have done more to lift the wages of every American over the last seven decades than anything else. Henry Ford's philosophy was to provide an affordable product, and a livable wage to every worker so that they, too, could afford his product. That philosophy did more to make other employers compete with each other for workers and to provide livable wages which lifted the standard of living for most. I might add that Ford Motor Company did not ask for or receive any bailouts and they have a union.

It was only when the greedy bankers, insurance companies, attorneys and health care professionals thought that they deserved much, much more than the average worker that caused employers to start screaming about health care costs. This is not new. Since the late 1970s and on through the 1980s, employers across America have assaulted the blue collar worker, which was the base of American manufacturing, by removing hospitalization benefits, limiting wages and threatening the American worker that they had to compete with the rice patty farmer in China. Rather than stand up in America and scream at their legislatures to stop the excessive greed, Corporations touted free market enterprise and they no longer were loyal to America or Americans. They not only threatened, but proceeded to take the jobs, technology and wealth overseas. Now they gripe why Americans are no longer loyal to them.

Why were these Corporations and their executives not charged with treason?

When we talk about containing our national budget, a large part is health care costs comprised largely of Medicaid and Medicare spending, why don't we talk about taking the PROFIT out of health care and limiting the large excessive salaries that have caused our nation such hardship. We could forgive all college loans and make education free if graduates worked for the good of the country and its' people, rather than themselves. Aren't humans valuable and deserving of the most basic of human services?

We need a universal single payer health care system for all Americans. It is the only way to ensure that the public system is not rationed health care for the poor. We need to eliminate the profit out of health care so that we can still pay our physicians a fair market rate and provide quality, affordable health care for all. How much more we would get for our premium buck if we all pulled our money to pay directly for health care services and eliminate the insurance companies and health management organizations (HMOs). Medicare manages to run an efficient system and it is only the large population of baby boomers approaching retirement that threatens it. If everyone paid into the system, the taxpayer system would reap the benefit of profits to be redistributed to the taxpayer, rather than the insurance companies and the HMOs. Those workers could be re-employed to assist health care management through a single payer Medicare system at salaries that could be sustained and supported.

Your taxpayer paid degree does not give you the right to rape the American public!

Next Week: ?

Attorney Referral Service: Social Security Administration

2009-05-13T07:36:00.000-07:00

SSA STANDS FOR SUPPORT SERVICES FOR ATTORNEYS

Each and every American is required to pay into the Social Security Administration's system as part of the planning for retirement and in the event of permanent disability. We dutifully pay and pay and pay into a system that promises to be there for us with the benefits when needed.
Then when needed, we are initially denied for the most part. Why?

The Why is the big part of the equation. Why would you be denied retirement or disability benefits initially if you qualified? My father was denied his disability benefits after paying into the Social Security Administration system for over 38 years and a stint in the Army in the Korean War where he suffered two bullet wounds for this country. In the summer of 1987 he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and denied his disability benefits by the Social Security Administration. The day his denial was issued, he had been in the grave for a month. He never had a chance to even appeal or use one dollar of his benefits. Why would the Social Security Administration deny a terminally ill person their due benefits? The answer is TO MAKE THEM OR THEIR FAMILIES APPEAL!

Remember, where there is corruption, who benefits? Follow the money! My father and others like him are made to file an appeal after being left destitute. They retain an attorney and by the time the initial appeal is heard (usually in excess of three years), they have been starved into submission and are willing to turn over 25% minimum of their benefits by way of fees to an attorney because, without one, they would starve. This starvation is system designed and is your reward for trusting a government that is alleged to have been constructed to serve its' citizenry.

Is it a government by the people, for the people, and of the people OR IS IT A GOVERNMENT BY THE WEALTHY, for the people, and OF THE WEALTHY?

Doesn't the government have a vested interest in denying your Social Security Administration benefits to you? The Social Security Administration is an attorney referral service. It intentionally keeps them employed with your money. Not on a pro bono (free) basis or a flat fee paid by the offending party (Social Security Administration) but with your hard earned dollars. In order to keep the attorneys in business, they have a vested interest in denying you your benefits, EVEN WHEN YOU QUALIFY.

By the time you get your benefits, usually reduced and far less than what is deserved, you are so hungry, you will agree to just about anything. Attorneys agree to reduced benefits on your behalf because in this quid pro quo system, there is always another you to feed off of. The SSA has guaranteed them that!

Some say you can't fight city hall. I say it is time to stand up and fight for good government and STOP the corruption!

It is time to limit and take the money out of the equation. If attorneys are Officers of the court, make no mistake about it, they represent the system first, themselves next and you last. Their priorities are their own pocketbook and justice is a far cry off! It is time to recognize that your attorney does not really work for you. That appearance is deceiving by system design.

It is time to have the attorneys paid for by the very system they really serve. Limit the paychecks of attorneys and make the Social Security Administration pay them a flat nominal fee that is aligned with the average wage earner of the region they practice in, regardless of whether the client wins or loses, and a bonus is paid by the government ONLY if the client wins. The client should NEVER have to pay for what they have been unlawfully denied. The client should not lose one dollar of benefits. Otherwise, the government would have a vested interest in denying same. If the client loses, they certainly should not have to pay fees, as it is their right to redress their government, emphasis added.

Does the Social Security Administration represent WE THE PEOPLE or the ATTORNEYS?

Please don't bother trying to convince me that the system can't afford to pay the benefits or that the system is going broke. Take the payroll cap off of the Social Security tax that the wealthy enjoy (attorneys amongst them) that allows them to pay a smaller percentage of their income into the Social Security Administration system and they will be solvent for years!

Next Week: Why do degreed people that go to college on taxpayer grants and loans think they have the right to earn more than the average wage earner that paid for their degree in the first place?

IS BARACK OBAMA THE ENEMA AMERICA NEEDS?

2009-04-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

TURDS EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK! OHIO HAS ITS' SHARE OF TURDS!

There is not a day that goes by in this great nation that we don't see, hear or experience the corruption from our government officials. Here in the great State of Ohio, we are rated fifth in the nation by the Department of Justice in their Report to Congress on the Activities and Operations of the Public Integrity Section for 2006. This report is required to be submitted pursuant to Section 603 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.

Ohio Congressman Robert Ney pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit multiple offenses, including honest services fraud, and to making false statements to the United States House of Representatives. Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to conspiracy and honest services mail fraud involving a Member of the United States House of Representatives, and tax evasion. During 2006 the Branch assisted United States Attorneys' Offices in the handling of vote fraud matters in Ohio, as well as other states.*

In 2006, the Section of the Elections Crime Branch of the U S Department of Justice worked with the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio to obtain the conviction of Ohio fundraiser Thomas Noe for making $45,400 in unlawful conduit campaign contributions. Noe pled guilty and was sentenced to 27 months of imprisonment.*

Federal public corruption convictions by district over the past decade show that Ohio has 538. And that's just the ones they wanted to catch. You have to really tick someone off in Ohio to get convicted of public corruption because most of the time, our government officials just look the other way.*

But the one thing you don't see on the list of federal public corruption convictions are the attorneys that cause so much of this corruption. A few years back, I was called into a major law firm that I was associated with by a newly made partner that I will call Mr. W. It's seems Mr. W. was slightly ticked off that I was trying to hold the Attorneys and Justices in the State of Ohio accountable for their actions and inactions on behalf of the disabled. Mr. W. wanted me to know that I had it all wrong. That I was an idealist who just didn't understand our United States System of Government, particularly the Judicial Branch.

He point blank informed me, "that it is not about truth, honor or justice. It's about what we want to make it about." You see, I had it all wrong. I believed for a good part of my young adult life that the government was about what I was taught in high school. But I was wrong. I have since had about 15 years of post graduate political education that clearly demonstrates that the Judicial Branch of the United States Government is about COLD HARD CASH!

Don't believe me. Pick a municipal, county or Supreme Court Justice in Ohio. Then, scan the attorneys that practice consistently in the so-called "random" assignment of cases before that judicial candidate. Next, go to the Secretary of State of Ohio's website: http://www2.sos.state.oh.us/portal/page?_pageid=34,56478,34_56508&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
Make sure you allow yourself some time because you need to search, search, and search some more. The best place to start is on the "Candidates Committee" tab and select the "Contributions to Candidates." Open that up and just plug in your attorneys last name and see who and how much they contributed to your sitting judge.

Don't stop there, you know there are pacs and such. Places where attorneys can contribute to their own pacs and then make second, etc. donations to the judicial candidates. Sometimes, candidates and attorneys run for offices they know they have no hope of winning, and some don't even want the offices, but this candidacy allows them to accept legally campaign contributions that they get to keep if they don't spend it, as a reward for, perhaps possibly throwing a case in someone's favor or allowing them to use the funds for a different race.

Next go to the "PoliticalAction Committee/PCE" tab and open the line that says "Contributions to PACs and PCEs." Again, plug in your attorneys name and see what comes up. Don't ignore same or different addresses. When you get to the year, open each year up in a different window. Then open up the contributions, the other income, the expenditures and in-kind contributions, etc., making sure to copy what is relevant. In many instances, their wives (that don't work) and employees, make large donations to their PACs and PCEs and then make separate donations to the candidates. Sometimes they use multiple office and house addresses.

If you are real industrious, start searching the other states for your attorneys operations and their political donations from out of state. In some instances, they leave off a letter or two of their name, like Kelsey to Kelsy or similar such listings. You have to be determined, but when corruption exists and you don't understand why or how you just got screwed in court, FOLLOW THE MONEY!

These donations often total thousands of dollars. The Judges and Justices of the Courts of Ohio want the citizens of Ohio to believe that these donations mean nothing to them and don't influence their decisions. The very donations that buy them their next job and feed their families. They want you to believe that they are above human nature and can sit in judgment of these cases that they have a conflict of interest in.

Few bother to recuse themselves, because after all these TURDS and the TURDS they serve have sold their souls and could care less about the appearances of improprieties and the Code of Professional Responsibility that they swear to uphold when they receive their license to operate. They operate in Ohio with impunity, because they hide under a cloud of "CONFIDENTIALITY" under the Ohio Disciplinary Counsel, which is just more of the same. The Appearance of Integrity is more important than the TRUTH! It is a quid pro quo environment that polices itself with the same lack of integrity that Nixon and his staff exhibited.

The corruption in the State of Ohio knows no political party. It occurs on both sides of the aisle and is most only called into question when someone from outside the state who has even more money is offended or when the offending party fails to play the game the way it is set up and makes them self a target for the wealthy and politically powerful. Some may say that these Turds are the exception rather than the rule. It is not to say there are not some very decent and honorable attorneys and justices, but do your own searches and make up your own mind.

The real question is whether President Obama through the United States Justice Department can receive the enema of change and flush out these TURDS before our government is bankrupt and hold these offending parties accountable.

Let's see if OUR ENEMA OF CHANGE CAN FLUSH OUR SEA OF CORRUPTION through a filter of the United States Justice Department and flush out those TURDS so that real change can occur leaving a SEA OF REAL INTEGRITY. Now here is a health care plan.

*All statistics are taken from the United States Department of Justice's Report to Congress on the Activities and Operations of the Public Integrity Section for 2006.

NEXT WEEK: We will see how this one goes! ?

TREASON, TEXAS STYLE

2009-04-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

CAN THE GREEDY SWIM AND FOR HOW LONG?

Well, after reviewing news reports on the net recently, it appears not long!

I just read that Governor Rick Perry of Texas is threatening to have a vote to secede from the union of the United States. Texas was admitted to the union in 1845 and did secede during the Civil War. They were only allowed to re-enter the union after they ratified the United States Constitution's Thirteenth Amendment that banned slavery.

Governor Perry is incorrect. Texas is not allowed to secede from the union, see Texas versus White, U.S. Supreme Court, 1869.

But more importantly, why would he tout this treasonous act. Governor Perry of Texas obviously feels that Texas is being treated unfairly or unequally than the other states. It appears that Texas has more than its' share of billionaires that are yelling about their taxes being raised three (3%) percent after write-offs. He and more than a few of Texas citizens are complaining about unfunded mandates. Laws that are enacted that they have to follow and fund without the help of the federal government, or that are partially funded by the federal government.

All of this complaining is for one purpose. So that they can individually keep more of their money, regardless of its' ability to serve the greater good.

Texas wants autonomy (self-control), and after their selection of former President Bush, who was elected by questionable circumstances (see death of pilot, Akron, Ohio), got us into two of the most expensive wars in history. So here is a solution: Let's let Texas solely fund the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War and use all of their own citizens as soldiers over there (It's probably a price the wealthy would be willing to pay as long as the poor are the ones serving). They can re-elect George Bush, Jr. and Dick Cheney as their leaders and reimburse us all for the WALL that was constructed with our tax dollars to keep them safe from Mexicans. They can refund the United States Treasury all the FEMA tax dollars plus interest from years of disasters from numerous tornadoes, hurricanes, droughts and floods and they can pay the United States damages for causing the price of oil to skyrocket. (Just a side note, they may want to rethink choosing Bush and Cheney, as they may have to submit their newly chosen leaders for war crimes trials before the Hague.)

My bet is that they would apply for foreign aid from the United States to subsidize their new budget.

If Texas were allowed to secede, what would happen to their more vulnerable citizens? One has to look no farther than Austin, Texas where it has been reported that wide spread abuse occurs on a regular basis against the mentally retarded across the state, see
http://www.nospank.net/n-r15r.htm ,
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/12/04/12042008wacMexiaSS.html , and http://www.texaskaos.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3645 .
These are not my stories, they come from across the nation.

Without the protection of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Individual with Disabilities Act, Amendments I through XXVI of the United States Constitution, but not limited to, ALL OF THESE ARE UNFUNDED MANDATES, Texas would have the ability to re-institute slavery, institutionalize the disabled and even execute the same as non-human, if they so desired. These unfunded mandates are collectively agreed upon by representation from all fifty states and they are equally imposed on all fifty states. They are debated and instituted by our elected representatives for the good of ALL. Without them, God help the citizenry.

Why is it that when corporations take our trade secrets and jobs overseas and Governors (Governor Perry of Texas, Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska) spout secession from the union, it is not considered a treasonous act? Of course it is. They only want to go steady when they benefit. As long as they are on the receiving end, it is fine, but when it comes time to contribute their fair share, they want to run and hide. Not much of a marriage is it!

President Barack Obama has been fairly elected by a majority, I repeat, a majority, of the citizens, and suddenly, Texas feels and thinks that the vote of a democratic republic people is not valid. Shame on Governor Perry. This country is in its' worse economic shape based largely upon the policies touted by the far extremist right that caused deregulation and created the climate for the "legal" looting of our financial system. If there is one state that needs to stay and work on making this country a better place, it is TEXAS, since their choice for President created the current MESS and gave us the Patriot Act that they are currently screaming about since it now is being used against them and their extremist behavior! Now suddenly the shoe is too small for the other foot.

So let's rescue Texas citizens from the far right extremism that exists and send the full force of our American Government to protect them against this new tyranny, ALL IN THE NAME OF GREED! Let's call this behavior what it really is, TREASON! Contact your United States Representatives
( http://www.house.gov/ ) and Senators ( http://www.senate.gov/ ) and let them know you want them to move for hearings on Governor Perry's statement of treason. Let them know you want them to seize the assets of any entity that takes our jobs and trade secrets overseas at the expense of the American population. Most of these corporations made their money here off the backs of hard working Americans, and when it still wasn't enough, they went overseas in their attempts to get more. They have no loyalty to America, only their greedy selves.

STOP TREASON: ( http://www.house.gov/ )
( http://www.senate.gov/ )

Next Week: ?

CURSES TO THE TAX DAY TEA PARTY

2009-04-03T16:49:00.000-07:00

USE APRIL 15, 2009 FOR MORE PRODUCTIVE THINGS:

I debated all week long what this week's topic would be. There were so many to choose from amidst the falling economy, poverty, discrimination and the list goes on. For weeks now, we have heard about the debate concerning President Obama's budget. All the yelling going on, particularly from the far right about how unfair it is to raise taxes on the rich. Most of those yelling purport a belief in a higher power than themselves, stating they tithe to the churches they attend, and wanting to keep more for themselves. The wealthys' answer to all of this is to throw an old fashion tax day, April 15, 2009, tea party.

Apparently, this is the way it works. If you are making a net taxable income of $500,000.00 per year, that is after you have written off all of your exemptions, expenses, write-offs, business trips, mileage, and so forth, you now pay a 36% tax or $180,000.00 in taxes, leaving you with a paltry sum of $320,000.00 per year to exist on. Under President Obama's plan, the current tax breaks would cease to exist raising this tax to 39% of those individuals that make over $250,000.00 per year after write offs. On a net income of $500,000.00 a year this tax would be $195,000.00 leaving the wealthy with only $305,000.00 per year in livable income.

OH MY! HOW WILL THEY ALL CONTINUE TO EXIST! Remember, this net income is after their business reinvestment income, their donations to their own foundations, their expenses for trips abroad for business of course, and any other loophole they can find to exempt income. After exemptions, their real tax rate is more closely to 15 to 20 percent, and some are not even paying that. It is apparently enough to send Rush Limbaugh fleeing from New York for his life!

These same people yell and complain that their tax dollars are being misspent, used for Medicaid (you know, all those lazy disabled and elderly people that no one wants to hire and are expected to miraculously exist without income or job on usually less than $500.00 per month or $6,000.00 per year, some not even making that.) Their answer to that is for you to show up at their Tax Day Tea Party to protest the taxes that they pay.

First of all, don't waste your time. No one likes to pay taxes, but in truth, they are a necessary thing. Even Christ recognized that there was a need for government and stated, "to render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar." Taxes pay for useful things like the police, fire departments, city, village and township maintenance workers, schools, colleges, day care, hospitals, judges, courts, sewers, clean water, roads, and, yes, government benefits and services. Where would you be without these things? And even if you didn't have need for these things today, can you imagine the lawlessness in our society without these things!

Don't you think their time would be better spent on trying to limit the income of people that make more than ten times the average person, than trying to stage a tea party to protest what we already know is necessary. Were the poor, lower and middle class families suppose to save for their retirement by investing in wall street, insurance companies, and banks that have already proven their inability to be trusted? And what about all the corporations that have sold us worthless or dangerous products, managed by these same wealthy executives. I am not against people making more money because they have worked a little harder, or gone to school by being blessed by an education, but don't you think there is something horribly wrong when you make more than ten times the average person and it is still not enough?
Is there no limit to their greed?

These same people talk about a sense of welfare entitlement. Isn't it the same mentality to talk about corporate welfare or a sense of entitlement to exorbitant amounts of income? Do you know how hard many laborers, construction workers, tradesmen, nurses, Walmart workers, child care workers, teachers and care takers work who struggle to make barely above minimum wage to five figures, all the while paying their fair share of taxes without the benefit of the corporate loopholes? Certainly, no less hard than the wealthy!

I helped prepare taxes today for a 28 year old man who made a little over $12,000.00 in income working three different jobs, and, after deductions and exemptions allowed, this poor man had to pay almost $1,100.00 in taxes. That is criminal, yet he acknowledges he has a duty to pay. He already didn't make enough to live on. He has no hopes of immediately finding a job that will pay a livable wage in this economy, and must put off any hopes of a marriage, family, or college for the immediate future. Yet there are those that have a net income of $305,000.00 and they want you to show up at a Tax Day Tea Party!

For all of you tithing church goers, do you really believe that someone who makes $12,000.00 per year in income should pay taxes of $1,100.00 and tithe $1,200.00 with a net income of $9,700.00 per year while you have a net income of over $200,000.00 per year to live on? Which cardboard box did you want Christ to move in to and in what park is he allowed to set up a tent? What happened to, "whom much is given, much is expected?"

Don't talk to me about a Tax Day Tea Party. I am too, too busy advocating for those people that were promised jobs by the wealthy. The wealthy who promised to reinvest their bailout riches to create jobs for the mass populations and loan money to struggling home owners, while in reality the wealthy have been hiding and hoarding those riches at the expense and the tax dollars of the masses.

Maybe instead of throwing tea into the harbor on tax day, we should throw the wealthy recipients of tax bailout dollars! Now that's a real TAX DAY PARTY!

NEXT WEEK: CAN THE GREEDY SWIM IN HIGH TIDE AND FOR HOW LONG?

HIGH DEDUCTIBLE INSURANCE

2009-03-27T07:55:00.000-07:00

IS REALLY NO INSURANCE AT ALL!

You have been told your entire life that you need insurance. Probably our first experience is car insurance. Next, you're told you have to have insurance for your possessions. Then, it's health insurance, house insurance, life insurance, health and accident insurance and so on. We all dutifully pay and pay and pay in the hopes that if disaster strikes, that there will be the protection that we all think is there.

If you think about the number of homes in your community alone and the amount of premiums that are being paid to insurance companies to protect those homes, and then measure it against the actual amount of fires, floods, thefts and personal injury damages, it is not hard to see that insurance companies pull in tremendous amounts of cash that they keep for themselves. You can say the same thing about car insurances, health insurances, home insurance, health and accident insurance, etc.

Insurance companies have led the fight to make you believe that it is your responsibility to have insurance, even having laws passed, and their responsibility to have your cash so that in the event that you would need it, that the insurance will be there to help you. Just ask the victims of Katrina who paid their premiums faithfully, only to find themselves still in litigation trying to reap the benefits.

When the greedy insurance companies didn't have enough money, they decided to raise the rates so high that they had to come out with a "new product" with higher deductibles. That means that you are so poor that you can't afford higher premiums so you scrape up the $100 to $200 per month to buy these policies that carry deductibles of $2,500 or more in order to limit your punishment for your disaster. Most likely it is $2,500 you didn't have anyway and you can bet they will look to any excuse not to make good on their policies. You would not be hard pressed to pick up a newspaper and see someone is in a struggle with their insurance company trying to make a claim. In more than a few instances, you would have been better off keeping your premiums to pay on your disaster. Remember these struggles to receive payment occur when you are at your worst time of suffering.

How many of you have been given health insurance at premiums you can't even afford, but manage to short your food budgets enough to pay them in case of disaster, only to realize that you can't afford the deductibles or co-payments to even afford to go to the doctor?

Yet through all of this, the American Insurance Group (AIG), along with the investment companies and banks want you to bail them out for a system of greed that they all created. And let's not forget the Corporate Welfare. Why do you think there is such a cry for universal health care with a single payer system? Who do you think is going to be able to keep their cash on the old system where health care use to be one of the expenses that a corporation paid as part of a benefit package when they employed you?

You see the wealthy only scream about Medicaid when the poor, elderly and disabled benefit. Notice how much press the occasional welfare fraud or cheat receives in comparison to the press that the needy poor, elderly and disabled receive as they struggle to survive. This press, controlled by the wealthy, is to make you believe that everyone on welfare is some how less than human.

Wouldn't we all do better to take a tip from the Amish Community, where when disaster or catastrophe strikes, that the community all pulls together its' cash and resources to help the victims of disasters and eliminate the middle man who could actually care less about the community or its' members.

Who are the real thieves? The person struggling to survive or the Corporate conglomerations that have conspired to steal from the masses only to leave this country near shambles! Again, this is not about Democrat versus Republican. This is about those that have and want more than they need at the expense of those that have not or fast losing what they have worked a lifetime for!

Next Week: ?

WHAT IF GOD CAME BACK AS DISABLED!

2009-03-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

Would You Recognize Him?

Today, everyone is talking about the remark that President Obama made on Jay Leno's Tonight Show last night, Thursday, March 19, 2009. President Obama in a momentary lapse of judgment made a remark that his bowling skill was to be compared to the Special Olympics. I can't pretend that the remark was not disappointing. It was. However, the remark pales in comparison to the discrimination and disparate treatment suffered on a daily basis by this nation's population of Differently Abled!

As a parent of a special needs adult daughter, who happens to be Deaf, Visually Impaired, and Mentally Challenged, along with some other minor ailments, I can tell you from flat out experience, that the population of the Differently Abled have been the target of far worse abuses than the President's remark.

Far too many are forced onto the Medicaid and Supplemental Social Security roles because far too few want to be in their presence. They suffer from rationed health care and, some states, imposed a CO-payment on their prescription drugs while they live on less than $700 per month and most live on less than that. With their meager incomes or food stamps, they are forced to buy food that is less than nutritious and, for the most part, have no allowance for luxury items like toilet paper, soap or sanitary napkins and often are forced to choose between food and prescriptions. They are continually the victim of abuses and scams by, not only the private sector, but the systems of different governments internationally. They are looked upon as leaches off the financial system of most governments, while their abilities and contributions are either ignored or not valued at all.

We spend far too much money creating programs that provide jobs for politicians' friends and relatives off the backs of the Differently Abled. We provide workshops that pay them $65 per month in Ohio, and, then, the staff spends the day selling them back snacks and soda pop to take their $65 back to the state at $1.10 a can of pop and a $1.00 a candy bar. These programs do little to enrich or improve their lives and are nothing more than baby sitting services, with wild stories of events that go unreported in the interest of the state.

I announced the column topic last week prior to the President's remark based on the experiences that my daughter and others like her encounter on a daily basis that causes people, both sympathetic to the unsympathetic, to literally run away in fear when they encounter someone with such severe challenges. Each time it occurs, my heart breaks for her. And the place it occurs most is the very place it should occur the least: church, where she really loves to be.

It is not that most people intend to be rude or mean (some do), it is more that they are out of their comfort zone than anything else. Others can't be bothered, and still others are repulsed by her presence. I always sit back in amazement that no matter how she is treated, she always welcomes people into her life with a smile and, more often than not, a hug. When people are downright rude or mean to her, I stand back in awe in her ability to forgive, again ready to welcome that person in her life.

There are some well intentioned people that struggle to include her in their life activities, but they are few and far between, and I'm always grateful and thankful that they at least tried. They are more the exception than the rule.

So as long as people are uncomfortable with the Differently Abled and continue to under employ them and force them onto public benefits with all the same wants and desire that you yourself possess, they deserve a living wage benefit, not a program that pays someone else to benefit off of them.

Don't be too hard on President Obama for his momentary lapse in judgment. President Obama and his wife Michelle have spent a lifetime working on behalf of the poverty stricken elderly and disabled or Differently Abled and have done more on their behalf than Sarah Palin or the Republicans have ever done. It was the Republicans that convinced America that the people on Medicaid and Supplemental Social Security Income were lazy and just didn't want to work.

For the most part, the Differently Abled were forced onto these roles and live on a fraction of poverty and are unable to find a job, while the masses convince themselves with myths that they get everything supplied by the government. I'm here to tell you it is not true and that most are left struggling for survival and suffer horribly at the hands of society. Their families are punished a life time for these disabilities as their resources are re-allocated without due process of law to provide reduced benefits, and, far too often, these benefits are politically doled out.

Is this the way you would treat God? For those that have faith, didn't he say what you do for the least of those you do for me! For those that don't believe in God, is this the society that you want to live in? A society where greed and legal trickery rules the day while truth and justice are laid to rest? Remember, there for the grace of God go I.

You are an accident away from being Differently Abled! President Obama, we forgive you! Now help us!

Next Week: Lost Cost Premium Insurance with High Deductibles is NO INSURANCE AT ALL!

WHO ENGINEERED THE COLLAPSE OF MONEY?

2009-03-13T20:29:00.001-07:00

WHERE'S OUR MONEY? WHO TOOK ALL THE MONEY?

If you are like most Americans and lost money in a 401K plan, pension plan investments, annuities, dividends, stocks, etc., have you asked yourself why and where did it go?

Well, consider this: A large segment of our population is and were scheduled to retire within the next 5 to 15 years (the baby boomers). All of their lives, this large segment of the population, for the most part, played by the rules. They worked hard, saved their money, invested their money in 401K plans, pension plans, life insurance policies and annuities, stocks that were suppose to pay dividends and, let us not forget, that they all paid into the Social Security System with a guarantee that if they worked enough credit hours for the prescribed years, that they would have this benefit. All of this hard work and saving has been for what?

Only to have suddenly, when they needed it most, the stock markets collapse, the 401K pension plans and employee pension plans to lose their value, their mutual funds, life insurance policies and annuities have either lost money or have not kept pace with the sudden inflation caused by the United States Federal Reserve, and the Social Security that they were promised all of their life, they have been made to feel guilty for taking their share in their promised investment, being told that this system was even near collapse.

COINCIDENCE? BAD LUCK? PURE SERENDIPITY? I THINK NOT!

With the Bernie Madoff's of the world, both in the private sector and in the government, how long did you think they were going to let this money sit there? Whenever things don't seem right or downright stink, follow the money!!!!!!!

Who had the vested interest in seeing the masses of soon-to-be American retired persons lose their retirement nest eggs. Well, look who is benefitting now. Prior to the stock market collapse, there was wide and broad concern that there would not be enough workers to fill all of the jobs. Due to abortion, birth control and social engineering, we found ourselves short on young people to make up the workforce. Oh no, where were all of the wealthy people going to find their slaves?

Do you want to make Social Security solvent? Then vote to remove the cap that the wealthy enjoy that make above the $106,800. base (http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/COLA/cbb.html). You see they pay a lower percentage of their overall income into Social Security. They only believe in a flat tax when its' to their greedy benefit.

And did you really believe that the wealthy were really going to give you back the money you had worked all your life to save? They have used every crisis in the last 15 years to cause the population to lose their savings, starting with the inflated gasoline prices of the 80s and 90s' (Don't forget the gas shortages then that went away once they got the price where they wanted it!) to the 911 World Trade Center Bombings, to the current and sudden world wide economic crisis (that all of the sudden this week, after everyone has lost their life savings, is not so serious anymore).

If by now, you haven't been forced by loss of employment to sell to survive what you worked your whole life for, you probably have at least suffered the loss of moneys promised in years past by loss of 401K plans, pension plans, mutual funds, stocks, etc. and had to alter your plans for your retirement. If you had anything left after that, the current rate of inflation, caused by the United States Federal Reserve) has probably taken that too. Why there are even stories of people in their 90s forced to re-enter the market place after this fraud has been perpetrated upon the American population!

All of this occurred at a time that our nation is so indebted to other nations, after we convinced them to invest in our country's safe investments. We taught them all the economic lessons of their life. No wonder we weren't worried about our trade deficit in this country. We weren't going to pay it anyway. Just like the wealthy were not going to make good on our investments.

We have been asleep at the wheel of justice. We have allowed this government to become a nation of the wealthy, by the wealthy, for the people! Not only does the wealth not trickle down, the wealth that is down at the bottom is continually the victim of theft from the top!

Like Congressman Dennis Kucinich says, WAKE UP AMERICA!

Before you bail out the wealthy victims of greed that Bernie Madoff left in his path, think about the victims that actually worked for a living all of their life, only to have the wealthy steal it away and laugh. The economic crisis would have been solved already had we put the money at the bottom first. By the forced debt placed upon the population through various means, (see Blog of March 7, 2009 http://sisscokids.blogspot.com/) the money would have trickled up anyway, but at least it would have provided breathing room at the bottom and room to continue to stimulate the economy. If we can print money for the wealthy, we can well afford to print money for the poverty stricken elderly and disabled.

Don't be too mad at Bernie Madoff. The only reason he got into trouble and caught, was because he ripped off the wealthy too. Had he just ripped off the middle class and poor like most of the other wealthy people, he would have been secretly applauded for his efforts and lauded in private circles.

If there one thing the greedy wealthy don't like, it's someone even more greedy than they are! There is always that job at the fast food restaurant, right?

Next Week: Let's All Hope God Doesn't Decide to Return to Earth as a Disabled or Differently Abled Person -- We Wouldn't Recognize Him!

LIVING WITHIN YOUR BUDGET

2009-03-06T01:00:00.000-08:00

DOES THE SYSTEM REALLY WANT OR ALLOW YOU TO DO THAT?

These days, we hear plenty about budgets. The President's Budget, the Congressional Budget, the State Budget, the Municipal Budget and, yes, your budget. We hear screams from the right side of the aisle saying, you the citizen, should live within your budget. If you are struggling, these days, many on the right believe that it is your fault. You were somehow irresponsible with your money, spending it frivolously, or perhaps purchasing things from the many wealthy business owners on the right that kept telling you that you needed to buy their merchandise and on "CREDIT." Almost daily, you hear someone say we need to get the credit markets flowing again. This week, I want to examine the full possibility of those accusations.

Let's take the young man or woman, who is married, and two children. For the purposes of this study, we will have one worker, while the other stays home and attends to their children. If he or she is working, one (usually she) is statistically making less than the counterpart, and they have to spend almost what the second partner makes on extra clothing, child care expenses, and, don't forget that extra tax bracket; reducing that second income to almost nothing.

Let's say that we have an average factory worker (nonunion) or, Walmart, McDonald's, or Burger King worker making an average of $12.00 per hour. That figure in some of these instances is high. Most of these workers struggle with less. Now on a 40 hour week, 52 weeks per year, this worker would earn approximately $24,960.00 (just enough to put him or her above the poverty level to make them ineligible for government benefits, but not enough to get ahead. Now out of the $2,080.00 per month, the Federal Tax (Income and Social Security 15%), State Taxes (15%), and local tax (municipal 2%) on this income is approximately $672.00 leaving them with a net income of $1,408.00 for a family of four.

Next, you hear about this family of four living beyond their means. Well, let's examine that.

According to the Ohio Administrative Code 5101:4-5-01, last amended October 1, 2008, the average family of four is allotted a maximum food stamp allowance of $584.00 for an entire month. And, if many of you reading this are honest, you have to spend much more than this to eat healthy. This amount buys pasta, pasta, pasta. This leaves approximately $824.00 left.

Now with that remaining $824.00, we have to pay rent.

According to the 2009 HUD Fair Market Value Statistics for the Cuyahoga County area of Ohio, the average and fair market value rent for a two bedroom structure is $694.00 ($740.00 for Franklin County, Ohio). There are those out there that would say, you can find places to rent less than that. Places they would not live themselves and places where the crime statistics are altered daily. Now you are left with $130.00 to pay for your heating costs, electrical costs, phone costs, bus passes or car expenses, household goods insurance, state mandated car insurance, medical insurance premium, USE tax (sales tax), medical Co-pays (many can't even afford to use their health insurance after paying for it), dental care, life insurance premiums, used clothing, and so on. Many would say you need to take on a second job to make ends meet and many do take on second jobs, along with increased taxes, increased child care expenses, increased work expenses and, God forbid, an emergency occurs. There is no possibility to put away enough money for most emergencies, hence high interest, easy available credit cards. You now have been forced into a credit situation.

Wages have been stagnant by design for three decades. Between the United States Labor Department and the Federal Reserve, this was all engineered and planned. All the while over the last eight years, gasoline prices increased and that made prices increase on everything from milk to every product you buy, including utilities. Don't you remember George Bush, Sr. saying less is more, all the while he and his wealthy friends got more and more. You were suppose to be at home enjoying more family time on less resources. Don't listen to what he says, watch what he did and does! More is more. And what about Barbara Bush, after Katrina, standing in the middle of the Houston Astrodome and stating, "It's not like they're not use to being poor," referring to the Katrina victims. While Barbara Bush is recovering from heart surgery, at least she, personally, could afford the insurance paid for on the backs of the tax payer and afford the insurance co-payments, subsidized by her tax payer supported pension. I suppose with her reasoning, she would state it is not like the poor are not use to eating the lower cost pasta, at least they are not starving (maybe developing more heart disease and getting obese, but hey, they are not starving). I suppose with her reasoning, she would state that it is not like the poor are not use to being unhealthy and sick (We, the wealthy have made sure of that).

Don't forget it is the wealthy that look down their noses at the poor and think that people that have to file bankruptcy are somehow less hardworking or less than intelligent because they didn't have any health insurance, or car insurance, or life insurance (didn't they know they were going to die while they were struggling to live), all the while they knowingly paid them barely enough to exist upon while they got wealthy off the backs of other people.

Recently, I had a middle class secretary state to me that it was right to pay people that worked at fast food restaurants or department stores a lower wage because, after all, these were never meant to be jobs for adults to live on, just jobs to subsidize some kids' pay check. Ms. Secretary, the next time you are in Walmart, Kmart, Burger King, McDonald's, etc. look around at the workforce. These are the jobs many adults are forced to survive on. Thank God Ms. Secretary that you still have your job. These are the jobs that move America. All the while the average Burger King worker was being paid $14,000 per year (less than poverty wage), their parent corporation, Goldman Sachs handed out bonuses (BONUSES) to their top corporate executives totaling over $6.5 billion dollars, enough to pay each one of their workers an additional $18,000 per year, all the while many of their employees were forced to have their health care subsidized by the tax payer in the way of Corporate Welfare. The higher we are, the more it hurts when we fall!

The problem really is that the system, after years of corruption and greed, is at its' breaking point. People like Bernie Madoff have been allowed to operate by the wealthy in a climate of quid pro quo (You do for me, and I do for you). The reason Bernie Madoff will have a Plea Bargain or DEAL is because there are so many complicit in his actions, that they don't want him to name names. For $60 billion dollars, I am sure that many politicians, judges, lawyers, etc. benefited from his actions and, therein lies the Plea Bargain. Do they really want you to live within your budget? You have been strategically and economically enslaved by this nation for years. There is always that cardboard box, right?

Next Week: With all the baby boomers retiring, who had the vested interest to allow or engineer the stock markets to crash and insurance companies to fail?

GREEN ENERGY, WHO WINS, WHO LOSES

2009-02-27T18:37:00.000-08:00

Eminent Domain (land taking at reduced prices) -
Who Owns? - Who Pays?

On Monday, February 23, 2009, T. Boone Pickens, a wealthy oil billionaire hosted a 2 and 1/2 hour National Clean Energy Power Summit http://www.pickensplan.com/index.php, along with the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, Harry Reid, the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, Senator John Podesta, Former President Bill Clinton, Former Vice-President Al Gore, Secretary of the Department of Energy, Steven Chu, Senator Wurth, along with representatives of labor unions, Owens Corning, and Walmart. In total 28 "important" people at the big table. Their mission is to form a coalition and consensus across America to put in place a National Power Grid or a "Unified National Smart Grid" whose purpose is to supply energy, to build a new economy on green, renewable energy and, primarily, reduce our dependence on foreign oil in the interest of our national security.

What is green energy? It is the geothermal systems that use heat from under the ground to heat water systems that in turn provide the energy to warm houses, businesses, etc., along with solar and wind energy. These are renewable sources of energy. There is no questions about it, we need renewable sources of energy and we need a National power grid or grids to supply that energy. With that said, we, also, need to make sure that, once again, considering the powers at the table (summit), that the poor, elderly and disabled or Differently Abled citizens, along with the masses are not left out. We certainly had no one at the table representing the Poor or Disabled. Why is this important?

Let's not forget that President Obama just signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (stimulus package) for almost 1 trillion dollars. Wealthy people (like T. Boone Pickens, etc.) will now apply for taxpayer dollars and low interest taxpayer loan dollars to build a grid of windmills and solar energy cells down the center of the country or three different grids (east, west and Texas). Well, in order to do this, instead of a Nationalized green system that serves the good of all (for example: Cleveland Municipal Power, people owned power supported by Kucinich to provide competition and low cost power), T. Boone Pickens wants to have private citizens (like himself) build it with tax payer dollars and then own it or his heirs own it (he's is 85 years old). Then, he will sell the energy that we paid for with our tax dollars back to us. In order to do this, he needs a whole lot of land down the center or across our country that is currently owned by other citizens. For the most part, citizens like you and me (some farmers, elderly, disabled, and poor citizens).

Now, I'm not against eminent domain (the constitutional taking of land for government purposes for the public good) when it is for the public good (schools, fire stations, etc.), and, as long as the public has an interest and owns the facilities, and, as long as the individuals are aptly compensated for the taking of their land against their will. This needs to be done with full and complete disclosure. (The word "eminent domain" was not used in the summit but referred to as having access across America for transmission lines.)

I am against wealthy billionaires, whoever they may be, trying to sell the concept of the taking of land for private purposes with our own tax dollars so that they and their heirs can solely benefit while we all beg to to be served and have to pay back by way of taxes the monies and interest on the bailouts and stimulus packages and, then, have to pay for services for solar and wind energy that we paid to construct in the first place and will be paying for by way of taxes for years to come.

This is not new, privately discovered technology. This is old technology. If the government is going to fund it, then the people should own it and benefit from it, just like Cleveland Municipal Power (saving this public utility almost cost Congressman Kucinich his life). We now have to pay for liquid rock (oil), and next, instead of paying for liquid rock, we will have to pay for the sun and wind energy, after our public tax dollars have already funded it. If the government has seen fit to nationalize the banking system for security purposes (make no mistake about it, regardless of what they call it, it has already happened), surely, the public utilities are as much of a vital national security interest as the banks and should not be left to the wealthy to own at the expense of the tax payer and the private land owner.

When I voiced this concern to Mr. T. Boone Pickens in an email, the response I got back was "It’s important we focus on what we’re trying to get in, not the parts we don’t want some other guy to get." Make no mistake about it, T. Boone Pickens, along with the other corporate participants, serve their own self interests and care about the masses to the extent that they receive a benefit.

It was cited that Russia almost let the people of Ukraine freeze to death by cutting off their energy, and, that it was a national security interest to reduce our reliance on foreign resources. Well, I might remind everyone, that right here in the United States of America, in the state of Michigan, it was not too long ago that 93 year old Martin Schur, a World War II veteran, froze to death in January, 2009 after his electricity was shut off. Martin Schur was $1,000 behind on his utility bill. Allowing private citizens or corporations to own a necessity of life just creates a foreign entity on our soil. An entity you can't escape and are beholding to whatever they want.

Our elected officials deserve a lot of credit for bringing these energy issues to the table, and, I have no problem with paying T. Boone Pickens and others like him a fair wage for his work on a PUBLIC power grid owned by the people for the good of the people. But, and it is a big but, we need to adequately compensate those whose land will be taken with a fair market value (not the current intentionally caused depressed value) and ensure that the people of the United States of America will own the grid and the power. If wealthy billionaires want to own the power grid, they need to build it with their own dollars.

Contact your Congressional Representatives (http://www.house.gov/)
and your Senators (http://www.senate.gov/) and
President Obama (http://www.president.whitehouse.gov/)
and let them all know that we need to protect the masses from the greedy.

Next Week: Living Within Your Budget: Does the System Want or Allow You to?

Poverty and the Differently Abled and Elderly!

2009-02-20T16:44:00.000-08:00

Too often, the elderly and disabled (those that are Differently Abled) are forced to live in poverty conditions, mostly by system design. It is the moral shame of America. While some of the Differently Abled Citizens are gainfully employed, there are many more unable to work or unable to find gainful employment. Some that work are paid well below the poverty line or can only get part time hours and work with no less effort and no less wants or desires than our able bodied citizens. Those that must rely on Supplemental Social Security Income or Medicaid receive less than $600 per month, and, many receive a lot less. You see, for the most part, our society does not place much value on those that are not able bodied citizens. Supplemental Social Security Income or Medicaid does not refer to the lazy, it refers to the blind, deaf, severely hearing impaired, mentally ill, mentally challenged, the physically challenged, etc. Before you judge, remember you are an accident away from being Differently Abled!

The financial pie in this country is only so big. That's the whole job of the federal reserve. The federal reserve makes sure that the financial pie does not get too big. One half (50%) of the pie is allocated by system design to the top wealthiest 1% of the population. That leaves only one half a pie for the other ninety-nine percent (99%) of people. Forty percent (40%) of the remaining half financial pie is then allocated to the next ten (10%) percent of wealthy Americans. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to determine that the remaining 10% of the financial pie is allocated to what is left of the eighty-nine (89%) of the population.

In simpler terms, if there is $1,000 for 100 people to survive in total, in the American capitalist society, 1 person would get $500.00, 10 people would get $400.00 and the remaining 89 people would get $100.00 to split amongst themselves or $1.12 each. You see, the theory in America is that the top wealthiest citizens are somehow better, brighter, smarter, harder working, etc. than the rest and, they will then take their wealth and create jobs for the masses and, the wealth will trickle down. Well, the problem with this theory is that the top wealthiest citizens, along with the next 10% of wealthiest citizens, for the most part, are not only smarter, etc., they, also, happen to be more morally bankrupt, more greedy, more corrupt, etc. The wealth almost never trickles down, and if it does, they conspire along with the politicians to raise prices on those things the masses need, so they don't get too wealthy.

You see, who would fight their wars? Who would do their manual labor jobs? Who would do their dangerous jobs (i.e., coal miners, welders, police officers, etc.)? Your feeling of enslavement is not imaginary. It is designed by the wealthiest American men and women from the best families. You know, families like Stanford, Madoff, Lay, etc. Oh, these wealthy people donate to charitable (mostly their own) foundations where they donate just enough money to causes to buy them more bang for their buck; a good name and a "good" appearance of a moral value system. They just don't donate enough to make a real difference for the masses. Occasionally, they will raise up a minority person or group for appearances' sake, but, by and large, it is without any real meaning. One has to look no farther than the make up of Congress to see that!

Next, you say, but we have a vote. Do you? When you go to vote, do you ever ask yourself who draws the boxes and inserts the names for whom you vote? Sure you have a choice between Candidates R and D, but what if you want X? Well Candidate X is not in the box and does not have the funds to be well known enough to have his name written in by enough people at the ballot box. Candidate X has not yet sold his soul to the system. The real vote and power is in who draws the box! The wealthy draw the box. The electoral college ensures the wealthy will control the box. Who selects the people for the electoral college? The wealthy do.

Change you say. When all of the players are the same, and when all of the fights and debates are all about the same old issues, is there really any change? While you may get to spend your $13 per week for the next year that may enable you to take your family to McDonald's, the wealthiest of Americans took their bonuses of several million dollars a piece, subsidized by your tax payer dollars, and then supported congressman to gripe about your $13 per week allotment and the possibility that you may get universal health care (corporate welfare - they get to keep more of the profits at tax payer expense). When you hear wealthy people talk about the horrors of redistribution of wealth, make note that they don't mind redistributing the wealth of the common man by way of tax subsidies, tax breaks, corporate tax credits, bailouts, stimulus, etc. It is time we redistribute the wealth to the masses.

It is not about Republican versus Democrat. It is about those that have versus the rest of us. Their greed and arrogance is appalling. Is it no wonder the nation is struggling to survive! We need to make sure our President hears our voices and give him the voice and support he needs to effect real change: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ We deserve and will settle for nothing less!

Next week: Solar and wind energy at the expense of the masses. Who wins, who loses?

SissCoKids Blogs About Health Care

2009-02-14T16:22:00.000-08:00

Posted February 14, 2009

We need a National Single Payer Health Care System for all of us. This system would allow all to have health care and to take the profit out of the system. Right now a good portion of our benefit premiums goes toward supporting the insurance companies, increasing the cost of health care for all, with no real health benefit. We need to purge our third party administrators and insurance companies from our Health Care System in the United States.

Take the time to tell Congress that House of Representatives' Bill HR 676 needs to be passed.
Link to contact your Representatives at the U. S. House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/ Link to contact your Senators at the U. S. Senate: http://www.senate.gov/ Link to sign a petition for a National Single Payer Health Care System:
http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum935.php This needs to be passed before it is too late and before Congress decides on a bill that doesn't take care of all Americans.

So many times we heard from our citizens that are Differently Abled that they can't take a part time or full time job for fear of losing their Medicaid or Medicare benefits. So many times, especially lately, we hear from family, friends and clients that they've just lost their job or are in fear of losing their job and their health care. This problem could be yours tomorrow. You are an accident away from being disabled or Differently Abled! Look no farther than our United States Soldiers that went away healthy men and women, only to return needing benefits and services, most of all, many of them sadly enough, Heath Care.

Contact your United States Representatives and Senators today:
http://www.house.gov/ http://www.senate.gov/ Sign the petition to support a National Single Payer Health Care System: http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum935.php

A national single payer health care system would go a long way in aiding our economic recovery. Citizens could seek preventative care or less than critical care from physicians, saving our emergency rooms for what they do best, emergency and critical care. What we do for the least of those, we do for the good of all.