Haves vs. Have-Nots

(yes, no, maybe so)

I know, I know ... I have a one-track mind. But just one more rant about health care! Well, one more for today.

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll was released today. You can see the entire poll results here.

A few statistics jumped out at me. The quotes below are from MSNBC. My comments are in red:

1. "Americans who have private health insurance disapprove of Obama’s job on health care by a 51-38 percent margin. Those who lack insurance approve of his job, 52-29 percent."

The difference in perspective is very clear. I have friends who have wonderful health insurance, who are completely at a loss to understand why I am so upset about the issue of reform. They used to send me emails ranting about President Obama's plans to "socialize" medicine and tell us all when it is time to die. But then I started sending emails back to them. Now I don't hear from them any more.

2."When read the specifics of his goals for health care -- like requiring insurers to cover those with pre-existing conditions, providing low-income families with subsidies to help them afford insurance, and raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for the subsidies -- 56 percent say they support Obama’s plan. Only 38 percent oppose."

What a difference a little information can make! This reminds me of the Facebook poll that many of my well-insured friends happily participated in -

"Do you want the Big Bad Government to take over health care?"

(Well, ok, it wasn't that blatant - but almost)

The month of August will be so critical, because the nay-sayers will be out in full force, promoting all kinds of misleading information.

~ The government wants to kill senior citizens.

~ We will all be forced into socialized medicine.

~ Aunt Susan will have to wait 17 weeks for her gallbladder surgery.

Instead of listening to this garbage, why don't we all share our stories? Let's explain to our friends what it's like to try to buy health insurance on the open market. Let's think about the choices low-income families are forced to make. Let's consider all the implications of using the emergency room (or, in my case, the self-serve blood pressure machine at WalMart) as our primary care physician.

Let's act like the United, Compassionate, Reasonable, Run-By-People-And-Not-By-Greedy-Corporations, States of America.

Please.

~~~

It's gonna be a long month

(wake me when it's over)

Hoo boy. It's obvious that Congress will recess in August without passing any type of health care reform.

Supposedly the senators and representatives will be going home to "listen to their constituents." But I already know that mine are not listening to me. I wrote them very clear, emphatic emails saying that I want real reform, with a public option.

They wrote back saying:
"I am committed to sensible, excruciatingly slow reform that will ensure continued contributions from well-padded lobbyists for years to come. If you would like to make a measly contribution as well, you can visit my website."

Meanwhile ...

~ The RNC is planning to spend $1 million on TV and radio ads in August. That should be fun.

~ Lunatic emails are circulating like crazy. My husband received one the other day entitled "Senior Death Warrants" warning about "extensive rationing" for senior health care. Vote for Republicans or you're all going to DIE!!! Where have we heard that before? Sigh.

~ And, of course, the "birthers" are insisting, despite numerous official verifications, that President Obama was not born in the U.S. and is not eligible to be President. Even Bill O'Reilly has debunked this one, but apparently the fringe is getting fringier by the minute - they're not even listening to Papa Bear!

I think I will spend the month of August floating in my pool, listening to my ipod ... and hoping I never, ever get sick. At least, not before I move to Canada.

~~~

Governor LesleyMo - Vote For Me!

(but first, send money)

Exciting news! I have decided to run for Governor of Texas. My official campaign will be launched as soon as I raise $12.6 million.

Here is the transcript from my first unofficial news conference, held today in my overactive imagination:

Q: LesleyMo, why have you decided to run for Governor?

A: Well, I have been watching our current Governor pretty closely. Not to mention the Governor before that, who as we all know went on to become the Assistant To The Vice President for 8 long years. I figure I can do a heck of a better job than either one of them.

Q: What's your beef with Governor Perry? He's pretty popular down here in Texas, you know.

A: Yes. I know. He has quite a knack for rilin' up the base. But let's face it. He is a bumblehead. He threatened to secede from the union because of the big bad government in Washington, and sent back the stimulus money - and then applied for a federal loan because, oops, we needed a little money after all. And NOW he is making headlines spouting off about how the states need to be in control of health care - but HIS state is one of the WORST states in the nation when it comes to health care. Hellooooo ...

Q: What about Kay Bailey Hutchison? Maybe you could just campaign for her.

A: I dunno. She doesn't seem a whole lot better. She voted against the stimulus, and then criticized Perry for not taking the money. She also thinks Health Savings Accounts are a dandy idea. Argh. I'll rant about them another time. I need to design my campaign buttons first.

Q: So, you'll be running as a Democrat?

A: No. I understand that Kinky Friedman might be running. I don't want to bump him out of the race. Texas needs all the kinky people it can get. I'll run as an Independent.

Q: And what's with the $12.6 million? How did you come up with that figure?

A: Well, Kay Bailey Hutchison has $12.5 million in the bank, ready for her campaign. So I figure I'll just need a little more. That, plus the power of my wildly popular and far-reaching blog, plus the headlines I plan to make by giving a resignation speech over and over in red stiletto heels directly in front of a turkey beheading before I am even elected, and I will be a shoo-in! There's no stopping me! Send in your donations today.

Oh, and here is my official campaign slogan. Pass the word!

LesleyMo For Governor: Let's mess with Texas.

~~~

UnitedHealth Profits are enough to make you sick

(the key to success? just make more money. it's easy.)

Just when we finished celebrating the good fortune of Goldman Sachs, now we have to break out the party hats and balloons for UnitedHealth, the country's largest health insurer.

UnitedHealth reported super-duper profits this week. Here are a few quotes from the Wall St. Journal the AP and the Washington Post. The comments in red are mine.

UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s second-quarter earnings more than doubled amid prior-year charges and an increase in revenue, though enrollment continued to decline as U.S. unemployment mounts. (Wall St. Journal)

Hmm ... so they have figured out how to lose customers and still make huge profits! I wonder how they do it?

Revenue rose to $21.66 billion from $20.27 billion on increased premiums, which grew partly due to price increases. (Washington Post)

Oh! They just raised prices. That's so clever.

Commercial enrollment, which includes employer-sponsored coverage, has already fallen by 1.3 million people this year. But the company's public and senior business, which includes Medicaid and Medicare coverage, grew 15 percent year over year to 7.1 million people in the second quarter. (Washington Post)

Plus they make big profits through Medicaid and Medicare, which of course are funded by our tax dollars. Great plan, guys.

The Minnetonka, Minn.-based company said its profit more than doubled compared to the same quarter last year, when hefty legal charges weighed down earnings. (AP)

What's that? Legal charges? Are those from that pesky lawsuit where UnitedHealth was accused of setting up their OWN company to determine what "usual and customary" charges should be, and then using those numbers to shift costs to their customers instead of PAYING CLAIMS like they are supposed to do?? That lawsuit?

Have we had enough of these insurance companies yet????? Is there ANY question that they need to be reined in?

UnitedHealth recently was one of three health insurers awarded multibillion contracts by the Defense Department. (Wall St. Journal)

sigh.

~~~

Conspiracy Theory

(yes we did. is that good or bad?)

~ Date: July 2008

~ Location: Secret Bunker

~ Participants: Anonymous, high-ranking government officials. Let's randomly call them GWB, DC, and Whoever Was In Charge Of The Republican Party At That Point (Probably Rush Limbaugh, but we'll go with RP).

DC: Thanks for coming, W.

GWB: No problem. You know I'm always at your service. Hey, could you read this book to me? It's my favorite.

DC: Not again. You know the caterpillar comes out just fine in the end.

GWB: Pleeeease? Just once?

DC: After we have a little talk. This is important. Focus. RP has some information.

RP: Things are not going well for McCain.

GWB: What do you mean? I thought the polls were pretty close so far.

RP: Exactly. He could actually win. This is not good.

GWB: Don't we WANT him to win??

RP and DC: NO!!!!

RP: He has to lose. It's our only hope. The economy is sinking like a rock. The housing market is a mess. We haven't done a thing about health care. Not to mention the auto industry, the wars, unemployment, Social Security, Medicare, gitmo -

DC: Stop crying, W.

RP: We have a plan. We lose this election. We get Obama in the White House. The poor sap will have no choice. He'll have to spend money like crazy to try to get out of this whole fiasco. He'll try to get health care reform through. He might even try to close Guantanamo. And all we have to do is sit back and criticize!

DC: It's beautiful! I love it!

RP: We've got the talking points ready. He's a socialist. He's bankrupting the country. He's leaving a legacy of debt for our grandchildren.

DC: I'll go on a speaking tour! He's leaving us vulnerable to attack. Heh heh snarl snarl ...

GWB: But ... but ... how can we make sure McCain loses the election?

RP: We've got that all figured out. Have you ever been to Alaska?

~~~

Pick a BIGGER number!!!

10 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000
000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000
000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000

(one googol, the largest named number. why not pick this one?)

Here is the latest headline making the rounds:

Bailouts Could Cost U.S. $23 Trillion

Twenty-three trillion?? Really?? Well, no. The article in Politico explains:

"For the government to be on the hook for the total amount, worst-case scenarios would have to come to pass in a variety of federal programs, which is unlikely."

The article then goes on to rant and rave about what a huge number $23 trillion is, and how outraged everyone is. Outraged, I tell you!

Now, if you read a little deeper, you find out that the $23 trillion figure comes from Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general overseeing the TARP program. He is pushing for increased transparency and accountability from TARP recipients, which is a good thing.

But as I said, there is some dispute about his math. For one thing, the $23 trillion figure assumes that everybody who is eligible for a federal bailout suddenly receives the maximum amount all at the same time. It includes programs that have already ended. And it "does not take into account assets that back those programs or fees charged to recoup some costs shouldered by taxpayers," according to Andrew Williams, a Treasury spokesman.

So, what is the problem with publicizing a simple little number that represents a worst-case scenario?

The problem is, many people never go beyond the headlines.

We could end up paying $23 trillion?? We can't possibly afford to reform health care!! Obama is out to take over the world!! Maybe it's time to elect some Republicans!!

Hmmm ... I have a theory about all this.

Stay tuned.

~~~

Pick a number

(there are lots to choose from. just pick your favorite one!)

There are an awful lot of numbers being thrown around. They are very big numbers. I'm surprised nobody has gotten hurt.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is getting all kinds of attention, because they are in charge of estimating the cost of health care reform. Their preliminary number for the House plan was $1 trillion over 10 years.

BUT - an anonymous congressional aide said it could actually cost $1.5 trillion.

So that's the number the conservatives are running with. In fact, the Dallas Morning News used the inflated estimate just this morning in an article. I have also seen it in an AP story, right here. And I understand Rush Limbaugh has gleefully quoted the same figure.

Now, I really don't understand the importance being placed on this number. Why should a massive overhaul of our country's health care system cost NOTHING? Haven't we spent billions in Iraq? Are the conservatives screaming about that?

But fine. Pick a number. Stick to it. Sooner or later, it will catch on.

Then, this morning, I saw Ron Insana on MSNBC. He said that the vast majority of the uninsured are either children who could be covered under CHIP program, or illegal immigrants who presumably should be either kicked out of the country, or left on a street corner to die. Preferably not on my street.

Anyway, according to Ron, that would leave only 8 million people without insurance.

Once again, my brain is tired.

But fine. I did a little research. According to the NCHC, about 80% of the uninsured are citizens. And the number of uninsured children in 2007 (who may or may not qualify for CHIP) was 8.1 million. Let's stick with the 2007 figures, since that's what I found.

Total uninsured (2007) = 46 million
Minus # of noncitizens - 9.2 million
Minus # of children - 8.1 million
Total uninsured adults = 28.7 million

Your number seems to be a little off, Ron. Not that it matters. I'm sure you will stick to it. Maybe it'll even catch on.

Here's the number I pick: ZERO.

That is the number of Republicans I plan to vote for in my entire lifetime, if they kill health care reform.

It's a nice round number. I'm sticking to it. And I hope it catches on.

~~~

Sure is hot out here

(how hot can it be?? it's lincoln nebraska, for crying out loud)

From the always amusing Odd News section of Yahoo:

~~~

LINCOLN, Neb. – Lincoln police arrested a man who they said made up a story about being robbed to explain why he was walking around a city park naked. Police spokeswoman Katie Flood said the man was arrested and jailed Wednesday night on suspicion of indecent exposure and making a false statement to police.

Police found the man naked in a southwest Lincoln city park on Monday. He told police a man with a gun tried to rob him, but he did not have any money, so the robber took his clothes.

Flood said the man really took off his clothes because he was hot. He walked around naked for about an hour, but afterward, he couldn't find his clothes.

~~~

Hey when you're hot, you're hot. But a robber took your clothes? That's a pretty lame excuse. Next time try one of these:

- I took some Ambien. I'm not even awake. (fall down on a bench and start snoring immediately)

- I'm a Democratic Senator. I shared my clothes with everybody else in the park.

- I'm a Republican Senator. Did you happen to see a young lady run by?

~~~

Way to go!

(yay! capitalism is alive and well!)

Wall Street is so happy these days! Happy, happy, happy! Goldman Sachs has announced huge profits for the second quarter. In fact, they beat the estimates quite handily. I can just imagine all the stuffy old white men in $3,000 suits high-fiving each other. Brings a little tear to my eye.

Here is what Bloomberg.com had to say, a few days before the actual figures were announced:

July 10 (Bloomberg) -- "Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is poised to report the largest profit since it set earnings records in 2007, marking the return of a business model that was the envy of Wall Street before the financial crisis devastated competitors and spurred a government bailout."

And here is my rant (you knew I would have one, right?) -

What the heck??? Their business model was the ENVY of Wall Street??

- Their business model consisted, in part, of packaging worthless mortgages, disguising them as something else, and selling them for way more than they were worth, which was basically nothing.

- Their business model is based on manipulating financial conditions for their own best interests. I believe this is also known in some circles as The American Way.

- Their business model helped create the black hole that destroyed the lifelong savings of millions of Americans.

They are now earning huge profits by returning to the same business model, and we are supposed to be HAPPY about that??

Here is a link to a fascinating story called The Great American Bubble Machine. One section reads:

"The bank's unprecedented reach and power have enabled it to turn all of America into a giant pump and dump scam, manipulating whole economic sectors for years at a time, moving the dice game as this or that market collapses, and all the time gorging itself on the unseen costs that are breaking families everywhere — high gas prices, rising consumer credit rates, half eaten pension funds, mass layoffs, future taxes to pay off bailouts."

Democrats and Republicans alike have expressed excitement about Goldman Sachs' return to profitability.

Me, I'm not so sure.

~~~

O.I.C.

(stop reading between the lines! that's not allowed.)

Have you ever seen that old joke about ducks? It makes no sense, until you look at it a certain way. Here's a little part of it:

C.M. DUCKS
M.R. DUCKS
L.I.B.
M.R. DUCKS

(See em ducks? 'Em are ducks? 'Ell I be! 'Em ARE ducks!)

And on and on and on. It was very funny the first time.

Anyway, I haven't seen any ducks lately, but a few weeks back I kept seeing this face every time I turned around:

(this is NOT a face I want to see when I turn around)

Mr. Cheney was all over the news, talking about how safe he kept us back when he was President. I mean King. I mean - what was he again? - oh yeah. Vice President.

He defended the need for "enhanced interrogation" and said that anything goes in times of war. He even said that Obama is making the country vulnerable to terrorists. You remember, right? I complained about it in a previous post.

At first I thought he was on a book tour. Or maybe he was hoping to run in 2012. (Palin-Cheney 2012? There's an interesting thought!)

But then, some new headlines started to emerge.

• Massive Bush Surveillance Program Had Limited Effectiveness
• Pelosi Claims CIA Hid Details On Waterboarding
• Cheney Told CIA Not To Discuss Program With Congress
• Democrats Seek Criminal Investigation

O.I.C.
C.Y.A.

Makes perfect sense.

~~~

Somebody's watching me

(if nobody's watching me, how come these cameras are EVERYwhere??)

Somebody's watching me. I know it.

Here is my evidence:

1. Many of my favorite blogs contain a little thingy on the side that says, "Frisco Texas arrived at X:00 p.m." ...

2. When I go to Blog Catalog, each section I visit shows my little icon for the world to see. "Lesleymo has been here. You just missed her. Try Facebook, she's always there" ...

And 3. All of my online identities are now very much entangled. I'm on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Flickr. Anyone with a few hours to spare could find out that I am actually a gorgeous 22-year-old pretending to be a boring Baby Boomer.

Not to mention 4. Anyone with a basic Spy Kit from Toys R Us could also listen to my phone conversations, except that the only person I talk to is my 2-year-old grandbaby. She is part of my Baby Boomer cover.

So who is watching me? The CIA, of course.

There is a lot of hubbub right now over the Bush administration's top secret surveillance program, which the AP reports "was more far-reaching than imagined and was largely concealed from congressional overseers."

According to the AP story:
"The program included the wiretapping of American phone and computer lines and was intended to detect communications from the al-Qaida terrorist network." ... "most of the information gathered under the wider program ultimately did not have any connection to terrorism."

Former CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden has angrily refuted the implication that the CIA kept Congress in the dark. He insists that he had briefings with top members of Congress, and that he clearly spelled out exactly what was going on.

"One of the points I had in every one of the briefings was to make sure they understood the scope of our activity 'They've got to know this is bigger than a bread box,' I said," said Hayden.

Oh... yes, that explains it. Bigger than a bread box. Thank you for that clear and specific explanation.

Maybe I'm just being paranoid.

Silly me.

~~~

Spin spin spin

Last week on my "normal" blog I started playing a weekly game. It's called Heads Or Tails - The Tuesday Meme. Every Tuesday there is a new theme to write about. This week's theme is "spin" which of course is a perfect political topic.

So here we go!

Have you ever noticed that a simple headline can spin a political story even more than the story itself? Here are two headlines, talking about the exact same interview with Michael Steele:

Website # 1:
Steele: 2012 "Off the Table" for Palin

Website # 2:
Steele to Palin: "Sarah, come on in"
(subhead: He wants to see her engage in national politics)


Here are a few more headlines to illustrate my point:

Website # 1:
Obama on track to break records with congressional support
Obama a reliable ratings magnet for struggling networks
Obama can do no wrong, birth certificate mentions Line of David

Website # 2:
White House open to deal on health
Growing national debt may be next economic crisis
Obama can do no right, may have "666" hidden in hairline

Ok, maybe I made a couple of those up. But we all spin from time to time, don't we? Here are a couple more stories from today's news, revealing very creative spinning from ordinary citizens:


Police charge dad who drove with girl, 5, on lap

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Police charged the father of a 5-year-old girl with child abuse after the girl was spotted behind the wheel of a speeding pickup truck. The father was arrested Thurday when police saw his truck speeding and swerving on the city's west side. Police said the father told them he was trying to teach his daughter how to drive.


Man 'driving commando' pulled over for speeding

RISING SUN, Md. – A Delaware man faces drunken driving charges after he was pulled over for speeding in northeastern Maryland and a sheriff's deputy noticed he wasn't wearing any pants. A spokesman for the Cecil County Sheriff's Office says 41-year-old Jonathan Schultz "was driving commando."

The deputy smelled alcohol and noticed that Schultz was partially covered by a towel from the waist down. The Newark, Del., resident told the deputy he'd lost his pants.

No kidding.

Anyway, the moral of the story is - whether you are teaching your children to drive, feeling a little breeze down yonder while cruising the highway, or trying to sway someone's political thoughts - don't be afraid to spin! Everybody does it.

~~~

Palin Resignation, Chapter Two

The news has sunk in. The pundits and bloggers are going to town. Sarah Palin has explained her decision quite extensively. And everybody is trying to figure out what the heck she is talking about.

Nothing new there.

I'm a little surprised that there hasn't been more talk about the speech itself. You can read a transcript here. Or better yet, watch the video here.

Notice her speech patterns. She is talking so fast, she's practically gasping for air. There is a pressured quality to her speech. Her thoughts jump from one topic to another, particularly towards the end when she goes off-script. She is cheerful and upbeat, to say the least. And she has grandiose ideas, apparently inspired by God.

Let me digress for a minute.

My mom often exhibited these same characteristics. She was a bright, intelligent woman who would sometimes get lofty ideas - and then would make impulsive decisions. When she was in the midst of these decisions, she would adopt very specific speech patterns. Rushed, pressured, upbeat. Inspired by God.

Mom accomplished a lot during her lifetime. She single-handedly saved a historic railroad station from demolition. She was loved and respected.

She was also bipolar.

I don't mean to spread rumors, or to disparage Ms. Palin's intentions. She is a bright, vibrant woman who will probably impact politics for years to come. But if she is bipolar and she doesn't get treatment, we could all be in for a wild ride. The 'ups' tend to get higher and higher, and the subsequent 'downs' can be devastating.

Take care of yourself, Sarah. I don't agree with your politics, but I wish you the best.

~~~

Sarah Palin Resigns

Wow. Here's a stunner: Sarah Palin has just announced that she is resigning as governor of Alaska.

After numerous ethics investigations and even more numerous media circuses, she said she is tired of the "superficial political bloodsport" that has been aimed at her. This is certainly true. Honestly, she has lasted longer than I would have.

She also said "We are not retreating, we are advancing in another direction." So perhaps she is stepping down so she can concentrate on a presidential run in 2012.

Either way, I am sure to have plenty of blog topics for months and months to come.

For now, I'll leave it at "wow."

~~~

Climate Change: That's Hot

(what are YOU smiling about??)

The debate is over. Climate change is real. I can prove it.

I don't have time to issue a 98-page report, as EPA economist Alan Carlin recently did. You may have heard about his report. Or maybe not. It was silenced by his boss, possibly because it was written by an economist and not a scientist. Or possibly because it contained opinions and ideas (as opposed to, say, research or facts) which had already been considered and rejected by the EPA.

The silencing, of course, made the news. Especially the Fox News.

But all of this debate and drama is quite unnecessary.

As I said, I have the proof.

I know that climate change is real, because I once painted my bathroom.

That's right. I painted my bathroom. It was a small bathroom. But it had very large, Hollywood-vanity-style light fixtures. Two of them. They looked like this:


They were quite ugly. And amazingly hot. By the time I finished painting, my body temperature was 107, the drywall in the ceiling was bubbling, and the grass on our front lawn was brown. The neighbor's lawn too.

All from 8 little lightbulbs. Multiply that by however many bulbs are in a typical house, and multiply that by however many houses are in the world, and you end up with precisely ... a whole lot of heat.

Hey, I'm no economist. I don't have time to look up all those numbers.

But trust me, I'm right.

And don't tell me about those squiggly bulbs that save energy and stay cooler. They take several seconds to light up. We're Americans. We're busy. We don't have time for that either.

~~~

My brain is tired

(poor little brain. go take a nap.)

It takes a lot of work to stay informed these days. You'd think it would be easy - after all, there are 857 news channels going 24 hours a day. Not to mention websites, blogs, newspapers, facebook and twitter.

(I won't mention radio because I rarely drive anywhere and when I do, the grandbaby is usually with me so we are listening to Mister Sun, Sun, Mister Golden Sun 492 times in a row.)

Sometimes, just when I think I have an issue figured out, somebody throws me a curve ball. So then I have to go read, research and ponder all over again. (At this point I would rather read Just Me And My Puppy with the grandbaby.)

This morning, for example, I came across this headline:

AMA President: Group open to government-funded insurance

Really? That's good news! I thought they just recently said they were against it. Let's see what they are saying now:

###

(from CNN - click here to read the whole story)

The new president of the American Medical Association ... said Wednesday the group is open to a government-funded health insurance option for people without coverage.

Dr. J. James Rohack told CNN that the AMA supports an “American model” that includes both “a private system and a public system, working together.” ...

Rohack ... suggested Wednesday that the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program available to Congress members and other federal employees could be expanded as a public option. That would avoid having to create a new program from scratch, he said.

“If it’s good enough for Congress, why shouldn’t it be good enough for individuals who don’t have health insurance provided by their employers?” Rohack said.

###

Wow. That sounds great, right? So, what is this Federal Employee Health Benefit Program, exactly?

###

(from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management - click here for the link)

"The Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program can help you and your family meet your health care needs. Federal employees, retirees and their survivors enjoy the widest selection of health plans in the country. You can choose from among Consumer-Driven and High Deductible plans that offer catastrophic risk protection with higher deductibles, health savings/reimbursable accounts and lower premiums, or Fee-for-Service (FFS) plans, and their Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO), or Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) if you live (or sometimes if you work) within the area serviced by the plan."

###

Hmmm ... so this "public option" would allow us all to choose between various PRIVATE insurance programs from the various PROFIT-DRIVEN companies who are currently making a total MESS of our physical and financial health.

I'm going to go listen to Mister Sun now.

I'm going to read Just Me And My Puppy.

And I'm just going to pray that I don't get sick. I can't afford it.

~~~