healthcare (61)

by: Trent Derr - American Exceptionalism

 

By now most of us realize how Obamacare is designed to take control of healthcare decisions away from individuals and place them in the hands of bureaucrats.   After all, Obama, Pelosi, and Reid understood that as government gains more control over healthcare, the politicians have even greater powers to “sell” favors by granting exceptions, waivers and special rules that favor their friends and those who will donate to their campaigns.  This became all the more evident recently when 38 additional Obamacare waivers were granted to businesses in Nancy Pelosi’s district.

 

Unfortunately this level of institutionalized corruption in our Federal government has become commonplace.  What isn’t as apparent is how Obamacare is designed to take money out of all of our wallets by enacting additional taxes and penalties.  These taxes include increased Medicare taxes, penalties on plans the government feels offer to good of coverage, penalties on those who chose to not buy insurance and an excise tax on pharmaceutical companies.

 

1)     Beginning in 2013, payroll taxes from Medicare will increase by 62% for households that the government has decided are “higher income”.

 

2)     Similarly, Obamacare created a new 3.8% Medicare Tax on interest, dividends, royalties, rental income, capital gains, and annuities.

 

Continue...

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ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS, MR. PRESIDENT

"Actions speak louder than words." An old tried & true proverb said to me by my Mother over an entire childhood, and passed on by many common sense thinking families. Obama's State of the Union (SOTU) pep rally was so full of hyperbole, I lost count.

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS, MR. PRESIDENT
Obama used his SOTU speech to disguise his liberal agenda in free-market, conservative rhetoric. http://bit.ly/fcGj5k

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Health Care Revisited!

As a nation that was founded by mostly Christians, one of our core principles is that it is a morale obligation of those that have been blessed with superior talents and gifts to help the needy. This includes providing basic health care to those who are in need but not in a position to afford it on their own. Christianity is not the only religion that preaches this belief. One of the basic Pillars of Islam as stated in the Koran is Giving Zakat which means ‘giving a specified percentage on certain properties to certain classes of needy people. 

Our core value of helping our neighbor is why we needed to improve our health care system. Now we must decide what is the best way to do it. Another reason is that it is presently inefficient. The government is not protecting the free market to allow it to contribute to the solution..
Lord Acton, the British historian, said in 1887; "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."
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Hello everyone, I know lots of people are psyched with the latest news out of Virginia.. I know I am!  I am one of the unlucky residents of Massachusetts who is unable to afford healthcare.  My employer doesn't offer it, and instead of the state offering to assist me in purchasing it, they decided to fine me $2,000 in 2009.

 

I am currently in a court battle with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  I know there are many Massachusetts residents who know about my ongoings but I don't believe it's reached nationwide coverage.

 

The Boston Herald has run several articles on my case, I've been interviewed by several radio shows, and did a quick television interview on NECN.

 

I should also  add that I am representing myself in this lawsuit against the state, considering I cannot afford to hire an attorney.  His or her fees would outweigh the cost of the fines anyways.  I have filed a Motion for Judgment with the Superior Court and I have a hearing scheduled on January 6th, 2011.  I honestly have no idea what's going to happen!

 

If any of you folks are on Facebook I'd love for you to visit the page I setup to keep people in the loop.  Here's the link: Merlina vs. Massachusetts

 

The state has hired a private law firm to fight me.  The latest news from the Herald is that they are paying those lawyers $125/hr to fight my case.  It must be nice to have unlimited resources.  I on the other hand am just a 29 year old guy who cuts glass for a living in Peabody, MA for a small family business. *sigh*

 

Keep up the good fight!

 

Michael Anthony Merlina

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“Cheer up, Multiple Sclerosis; you can always serve as a very, very bad example. By the way this would be a truly excellent blog for all MS patients to read. Patients hold tremendous potential for self-cure as knowledge and behavior change.” Rajjpuut


18 Vital Questions about Multiple Sclerosis;

One Possible/Probable Answer

The Ol’ Health Educator, will put down his political pen here and return to his roots. Rajjpuut has noted repeatedly that agencies such as the American Medical Association (AMA) seem to show high propensity for and deep, deep satisfaction with “nihilistic answers” to questions about disease. In a phrase, nihilism is surrender to nothingness or meaninglessness . . . they just “give up” on good research medicine and latch on to the easy and highly profitable answer: “auto-immunity.”

For quite awhile there was only one suspected auto-immune disease, now there are over sixty of them. Not surprisingly, none of the auto-immune diseases is considered ultimately curable. Not surprisingly the auto-immune patient requires a lifetime of treatment by the doctor and/or the drug. Not surprisingly expensive and risky (involving many side effects or a few serious or deadly side effects, or both) solutions produced by the pharmaceutical companies amount to lifetime drug regimens for the purpose of controlling symptoms and or pain but NOT for the purpose of curing anyone of anything . . . . This is the obvious example of what is meant by the term “nihilistic medicine.”

Not surprisingly, all of this nihilistic medicine is wreaking havoc on the health care costs the nation faces. The results of nihilistic medicine are beneficial for doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies (more profits, more patients, lifetime subscribers); but not necessarily a help to the patient or the governments state or federal or the taxpayers. In short, it appears that nihilistic medicine is a specious way to claim to have an answer . . . while actually abandoning the questioning process . . . that is, giving up on real science . . . and nihilistic medicine is personally and fiscally a disaster for the patient and for the government.

In accord with the most recognized portion of the Hippocratic Oath, Rajjpuut would suggest “First do NO Harm” is the essence of real medicine and nihilistic medicine does harm and should be replaced by real medicine at each and every juncture. Let us take one apparently insoluble “auto-immune disease” Multiple Sclerosis (MS), for example. What is MS? A protective “sheath” of myelin surrounds our nerve cells. This myelin sheath becomes damaged in MS victims and doesn’t repair itself. It’s about time something good was associated with Multiple Sclerosis. “Cheer up, Multiple Sclerosis; you can always serve as a very, very bad example. By the way this would be a very good blog for all MS patients to read. Patients hold tremendous potential for self-cure as knowledge and behavior change. Let us now examine MS from the point of view of asking seemingly obvious questions . . . would you be surprised if our search led us in a positive direction and away from auto-immunity’s convenient medical conventionality and from nihilism altogether?

NOTE: at first it was thought that myelin for the nerve sheath never could be “regenerated” but some of the most recent research since late 2009 seems to point in the contrary and positive direction. Brain stem cells can apparently be “tricked” into recreating or repairing the myelin sheath. This would amount to a refutation of the auto-immune hypothesis about Multiple Sclerosis. The process has been triggered semi-naturally (with physician intervention); now the drug companies want to avoid all of nature (which works NOW) and find an artificial way of recreating the effect (presumably with all the inherent side-effects and risk) . . . in other words, even with a possible CURE at hand, medicine is here and now more concerned with profits???? Label that as the second “bad example” connection to MS (medical nihilism via the “convenient” auto-immune description was the first connection) we’ve encountered.

Rajjpuut first became aware of the world of MS when his ex-wife was diagnosed with the disorder in late 2001. Awhile later one of his girlfriends was also diagnosed. His natural curiosity took over and generated the following questions . . . by the way, some of these questions are quite elementary while other require actual SCIENCE, dear reader. Do not be afraid, if a question seems ‘beyond your ken’ just skim over it . . . the big picture is what’s vitally important, and all of us can understand clearly and deeply what that big picture is and how it can impact us personally as both taxpayers and patients. That big picture is abundantly clear to anyone who respects the ideas behind the scientific process regardless of how much in-depth science he or she understands. Back to those questions . . . .



1. Why is Colorado, where Rajjpuut lives, the highest incident U.S. state for MS?


2. Why is Colorado Springs the highest incident large city in the highest incident state for MS?


3. Why do women suffer from MS at a rate roughly 2-4 times as great as men?


4. Why is MS less prevalent on the coasts?


5. Why is MS far more prevalent in urban settings than in rural areas?

6. Why is there an increased risk of developing MS among smokers?

7. Why is there an increased risk of developing the progressive form of MS from Relapsing/Remitting MS among smokers?

8. Why is there an apparent acceleration of MS progression and of movement from R/R MS among smokers?

9. Central Nervous System Dilators pioneered as an MS treatment during the 1950’s by Bayard Horton of the Mayo Clinic were apparently quite successful with few or no side effects in relieving acute attacks promptly and often prevented progression? Why?


10. MRI examinations today frequently depict a lack of correlation between symptoms and lesions in MS (often called the “clinico-radiological paradox). What’s going on? If demyelization is the fundamental essential lesion in multiple sclerosis, why is there often no correlation?


11. Trials of sex hormones show they improve lesions as well as MS symptoms; and L-arginine, zinc and magnesium supplements also seem to lesson symptoms. Why?


12. What role do deficiencies of endothelial and neuronal nitric oxide and elevated levels of inducible nitric oxide play in MS? Is this symptomatic or causal?


13. Is better detection the reason MS incidence has risen so dramatically in the last 40 years, or are some environmental factors (external or internal toxins?) exacerbating the situation?

14. What about the “brain leak” theory of MS? That theory says free hemoglobin scavenges nitric oxide avidly, which may create deficiencies especially in the central nervous system, with its greater vasodilator tone. Could depletion of endothelial nitric oxide shift blood from the arterial circulation to the venous circulation in MS sufferers as in diabetics? Could multiple sclerosis result from too little blood in arteries and arterioles leading to vasospastic symptoms? Meanwhile could too much blood in veins and venules lead to blood-brain barrier leakage and lesions?

15. Is there a logical reason or reason why acne and Multiple Sclerosis incidence may be linked?


16. Is there any logical reason for continued loyalty by many to the idea that MS is an anti-immune condition?

17. Is there one over-arching theory that might explain all these factors?

18. Several hundred MS “reversals” have been documented. About a dozen verified instances of reversal after lightning strikes have occurred. What the hell is going on?



The more Rajjpuut read about the disease, the more certain he become that these factors/these questions need to be explained and understood.

An obvious main or, at least, exacerbating factor seems to jump out from the first eight questions and indeed (upon further, deeper study to all of these questions): OXYGEN! The clearest correlation for Question #1 is that higher altitudes = lower oxygen levels. Question #1’s obvious correlation? Colorado is the state with the highest average altitude among the 50 states. As far as Question #2, Colorado Springs, the 49th largest city in the country, is easily the highest large metropolitan area in the country roughly 750 ft. (14%) higher than “Mile-High” Denver.

As far as correlation between oxygen and Question #3, Women’s bodies and their unique chemistry may make them far more vulnerable than men to MS for any number of reasons. Exploring the OXYGEN HYPOTHESIS among women more deeply . . . women tend to be smaller and society until recently encouraged female physical fitness far less than it did male activity so generally speaking females are less efficient VO max processors than men. Additionally, hemoglobin and iron are more problematical in females during their menses which makes females more likely prey for anemia again potentially lessening oxygen-use efficiency.

A factor also noticed and which may not have any bearing on the issue is that females are about eight or nine times more likely than man at any given moment to be engaged in dieting, skipping breakfast and sometimes fad dieting that is just plain nonsensical healthwise . . . which could spark nutrient deficiencies. I've seen nothing about dieting, eating 3-5 regular meals daily, good nutrition, or having a good breakfast in the MS literature, but common sense says, good habits are important and could play a role.

Moving on to Question #4, the coasts, are by definition, found at sea level hence, lower than 99.999% of the inland areas of the country with more oxygen available. Additionally, coastal diet is far more likely to include fish with its attendant fish oil (deficiencies implicated in Alzheimer’s, high blood pressure and heart attacks) which aids in oxygen processing.

Question #5, people in rural areas are less likely to face high levels of air pollution (smog) than city dwellers. In particular: diesel fumes, ground level ozone contamination and INHALED nitric oxide contamination are brutal every-day facts of life in our largest cities. (By the way: INHALED nitric oxide is confusing in many respects to the layman. A. it is NOT nitrous oxide (laughing gas) once used as anesthetic. B. Our bodies naturally create nitric oxide and it is one of the most important gases found in our blood stream (as reflected in the Nobel Prize for Medicine awarded to Dr. Louis Ignarro) which we will discuss later as it relates to MS. C. Many people realize that nitric oxide is also an important negative component of tobacco smoke. In any case, the obvious effect of air pollution is less oxygen allowed to reach the lungs, heart, brain and every cell of the human body than one would expect from clear, pure country air.

Talking about pure, clean outdoor air . . . well the contrary situation is created by smoking. Questions #6, #7 and #8 indicate that the “personal internal pollution” of smoking may exacerbate MS (earlier onset; quicker progression; worse symptoms) and again ties in to Oxygen.

Question #9 is way beyond the scope of this stumbling/bumbling comment. Peter Good’s thought-provoking website on nitric oxide and MS seems to indicate that there was great success with the CNS

vasodilator histamine diphosphate during the late 40's, the 50's and 60's. Today’s “fashion” calls for different meds with greater potential for dangerous side effects. CNS vasodilation with histamine not only consistently relieved a disease now thought to be incurable, it thereby demonstrated that its fundamental lesion may be something entirely different from demyelization . . . beyond even Rajjpuut’s oxygen hypothesis, this is real science . . . exploring the question about what is MS, really?

Having said that let's skip ahead and examine Question #16, is there any logical reason for continued loyalty by many to the idea that MS is an anti-immune condition? As a result we regard MS today as incurable because its primary lesion is thought to be relatively irreversible disintegration of myelin sheaths in the brain and spinal cord. That thought pattern has been in place for roughly 55 years. Neurologists who successfully treated MS with vasodilators thought the lesion was REVERSIBLE because the underlying cause – a diminished blood supply in the brain and cord (leading to OXYGEN lack there) was treatable. Because of the autoimmune assumption, workable theories and workable treatments (and cures?) have been relegated to the trash heap. Certainly some MS cases have reversed 100% (see the question on lightning strikes).

Question #10, since MRI results seem NOT to show continued and progressive demyelization as the fundamental and unvarying effect of MS and they don’t rule out oxygen as a key factor, we can continue to keep an open mind toward blood and oxygen as the fundamental truth of the disease. Lest anyone decide that I’m seeking oversimplification of a complex problem . . . Siblerud and Kienholz (1994) compared red blood cell concentrations and hemoglobin levels of MS patients who had their mercury amalgam dental fillings removed against blood values of MS patients who retained their amalgam fillings:

MS subjects with amalgams were found to have significantly lower levels of red blood cells, hemoglobin and hematocrit compared to MS subjects with amalgam removal.... The MS amalgam group had significantly higher blood urea nitrogen and lower serum IgG.... A health questionnaire found that MS subjects with amalgams had significantly more (33.7%) exacerbations during the past 12 months compared to the MS volunteers with amalgam removal. Obviously, while we’re still talking about the blood’s ability to deliver oxygen . . . every indication is that a wide variety of toxins and negative effects might stimulate that same over-arching undesirable effect. The specific trigger may vary from case to case, but the indications are that oxygen and blood might well hold the key to understanding MS.

Just as in AIDS, the possibility that the immune system is responding to an agent like a virus is countered by the reality that no such agent has ever been identified. We know that once identified, if transmitted to any animal or human in clinical experiments that theory could be proved. Retrovirus, where art thou????? In truth, endogenous retroviruses have not yet been proven to play any causal role in this disease. According to PO Behan and A Chaudhuri of Glasgow University, together with BO Roep of Leiden University (2002) contend there is little support for contemporary views that multiple sclerosis is an immunological disease. And not surprisingly, according to them, there is little benefit from treatments based on this misconception. In any case, since no "smoking gun" for MS has ever been found, isn't it a little short-sighted to UNCRITICALLY say that it MUST BE an autoimmunity problem?

Questions #11 and 15 again brings up questions of gender. Women, who typically undergo puberty earlier than men, get MS more often and earlier and its path is less likely to be predictable and progressive compared to male victims. Some success has been had treating with either or both male and female hormones. Additionally, L-arginine creates nitric oxide in the blood which dilates blood vessels. Zinc and magnesium are under-appreciated nutrients which play vital roles in human health. And then there’s the question of acne. Looking at #15 For both men and women the doctor-approved use of strong prescription antibiotics for extended periods of time in treating acne brings us back to the fundamental question raised earlier about the Hippocratic Oath’s main principle (First do NO harm) . . . upsetting all the positive bacteria in one’s gastro-intestinal system seems like a harmful answer to the clear skin problem. For women specifically, anti-acne medicines and make ups seem to exacerbate the probability that the individual will contract MS later in life. Again, the specific (toxic?) trigger for MS may vary from case to case, but there are no indications here that oxygen and blood do not hold the major key to understanding MS and certainly there is no outright refutation for that idea to be found in this question. Let’s look more deeply . . . .

Questions #12 and #14 are best answered and best understood together through the insights of Peter Good: “Two signs that endothelial nitric oxide may be chronically depleted in multiple sclerosis are that patients tend to be very heat-sensitive, and their platelets are sticky. Sensitivity to stress may reveal depletion of the parasympathetic transmitter neuronal nitric oxide. Other reasons to suspect endothelial nitric oxide depletion in multiple sclerosis are apparent deficiencies of sex hormones; magnesium, and zinc. Estrogen, testosterone via estrogen, and magnesium all utilize endothelial nitric oxide, the primary endogenous vasodilator, to relax vascular smooth muscle. The (most simple and straightforward explanation) of multiple sclerosis might be that too little blood in arteries and arterioles leads to vasospastic symptoms, while too much blood in veins and venules leads to blood-brain barrier leakage and lesions.” A recent Nobel Prize based upon L-arginine and nitric oxide gas in the blood being a "trigger" for the body seems to offer a promising area for further study. In any case, Oxygen's potentially primary role would be in harmony with this data.

Question #13, is easily dealt with, in principle the last 40 years have seen a precipitous rise in all manner of environmental toxins. Polluted foods (steroids in meats, for example), side effects of certain pharmaceuticals, residential toxins (such as arising from carpet liners, asbestos, etc., etc., ad nauseum), the preponderance of intimate electronic devices such as cell phones, and just plain stress all could easily be regarded as potential triggers somehow setting in motion the conditions leading to diminished blood and oxygen to the brain and spinal cord. Obviously, we live in toxic times, but is this toxicity really where MS comes from, or perhaps what exacerbates MS? There is NO necessary connection here to Rajjpuut’s oxygen hypothesis.

Question #17 (Is there one over-arching theory that might explain all these factors?) In answering the previous 16 questions we have laid the groundwork for open mindedly considering that “Yes, there could be, perhaps not . . . but maybe . . . and for now the overarching theory that holds the key to understanding MS seems to be: a theory of diminished blood or oxygen supply.

Question #18 is both the most esoteric and the most fundamental. MS reversals are not uncommon; did they all get re-myelinized? More startling, there are many documented cases of complete MS reversal following lightning strikes. How lightning could ever "re-myelinize" the nervous system is a mystery far, far beyond the question of how lightning could possibly reverse the symptoms. Like many earlier questions this suggests that demyelization is NOT the fundamental result of Multiple Sclerosis. Could this question too tie into Rajjpuut’s theory of an oxygen or blood connection to MS?

Rajjpuut wishes to thank the reader for his immense patience. This was not an easy read (nor write). The main point here is that claims that the American medical system is the “best in the world” may need to be approached on a case by case or disease by disease basis. Certainly the AMA seems to be a counterproductive agency. Clearly the notion of auto-immunity seems to be a convenient end point for doctors and medical researchers and pharmaceutical companies and highly inconvenient for patients** and taxpayers. Thanks again.

Ya’all live long, strong and ornery,

Rajjpuut
** Of course, If I'm an MS patient, the key question is how do I get well, is there a way? Based upon the fact that a large amount of diseases and infections (including cancer) do best in zero- or low-oxygen environments, in Europe, some treat many ailments including MS with "food grade" hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). They typically use, say 8-15 drops from an eye-dropper in a large glass of clean water and claim this oxygenates the body and can undo MS's ravages. Interesting, IF true. Obviously a doctor should be consulted. and asked to do his best research. Obviously the difference between EXTERNAL H2O2 and "food grade" internal hydrogen peroxide is crucial. The hydrogen peroxide used for outside the body in relatively large quantities is weaker (typically 3%) and contains potentially poisonous additives. The hydrogen peroxide called "food grade" is typically stronger (8%-35%) contains no additives and has a higher degree of purity and is used in VERY TINY amounts. The reader and his/her doctor will have to do their own research. Not surprisingly, the AMA is against the procedure which is relatively cheap and purportedly done rightly, has NO side-effects. For more information go here:
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GET SET FOR BIG PREMIUM HIKES

As Speaker Nancy Pelosi lectured to her flock of minions, "We have to pass the bill, so that you can find out what is in it", truer words were never spoken. It is well known that this bill was not read by the majority of congress; members of congress had to be bribed [with our tax dollars] in order to vote for the bill; there were backroom deals we will never hear about [unless a "Deap Throat" eventually comes forward]; the public, at a joint session of congress, were, in fact, lied to by a president of the United States.

GET SET FOR BIG PREMIUM HIKES

Obama pledged to "bend the cost curve" on health insurance. But he's bending the truth instead http://bit.ly/dmlcpM

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WILL PRESIDENT OBAMA FACE THE FACTS?

Can you feel the momentum shifting? More and more Americans on both sides are becoming disappointed with the president and his failed policies, including the Gulf oil leak, which might have been the tipping point. Obama likes to put fancy words on his fancy redistribution of wealth, but you can't camouflage a declining economy, or a declining housing industry, or declining employment when people live it every day.

WILL PRESIDENT OBAMA FACE THE FACTS?

The core obstacle standing in the way of job creation... is out of control big govt http://bit.ly/bS6H7h

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OBAMA'S TRUE COSTS COMING TO LIGHT

The more time we have to truly examine the Health Care Reform Bill, the worse it gets, which is why so many Americans were up in arms about it. Just as in Obama's election, we knew the truth, but the lies were well hidden. The hope is this bill can be repealed, but the truth needs to be exposed on its dangers.

OBAMA'S TRUE COSTS COMING TO LIGHT

Remember how Congress kept gaming the system... http://bit.ly/ct1kCE

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OBAMA'S HEALTHCARE BUREAUCRAT

Now that obama has put his little signature on his healthcare bill itis up to the bureaucracy to really screw it up...remember obamaknocking the US Mail Service?

Bureaucratic heads make up the rules of the game to attempt to meet the goals and intent of the legislation.

Chosen as bureaucratic head of the Medicare and Medicaid services unit of thefederal government and thus a major portion of obamacare is DonaldBerwick.

Like many on obama's team, Berwick comes from the private sector as head of a non-profit in MA (Institute For HealthcareImprovement) that consults with hospitals and such on how they cancontain costs.

He has received criticisms as head of this organization for apparently not worrying about containing his ownsalary...which I assume is passed onto hospitals who hire hisconsulting firm.

The medical journal Modern Healthcare criticized Berwick for making $769,000 in 2003, $630,000 in 2004, andtax filings for 2008 show he earned $637,000 (so reported the BostonGlobe 3/31/2010).

Facts released by his consulting non-profit but personally profitable institute have also been criticized.

In 2006 researches found problems with his institutes claim that they had"averted" 122,000 deaths through a program focusing on better controlof hospital errors and infections.

The researches allege that 14% of hospitals never submitted data about the program and not all ofthe data submitted was audited (same Globe story).

If you listen to the 2008 documentary Money Driven Medicine you will hear Berwickbemoaning the culture of competition in the healthcare industry...he'sagainst competition in the healthcare field.

Has obama not repeatedly told us that his healthcare plan would promote competition?

If Berwick sets the rules according to this ideology then how willnon-competitive Medicare/Medcaid progams look to future members?

Berwick likes to take a business approach to medical care; such as qualitycontrol programs, "lean manufacturing," and "optimizing flow" ...whichmeans sort of like having checkout times from a hospital like they doin motels.

Berwick was made an honorary knight from the UK for his great help in revamping their healthcare system.

The HealthCare Economist on 4/28/2008 did a piece on healthcare plansaround the world and included this information on the Berwick-revampedGreat Britain system based on the Michael Tanner book, The Grass Is NotAlways Greener: A Look at Healthcare Systems Around the World:

- Great Britian spends 7.5% of GDP on healthcare (at what cost?);

- long waiting lists for treatment are "endemic;" there are 750,000people on admissions waiting lists; 40% of cancer patients never see anoncologist; "minimum" waiting times are mandated so that hospitals willcut costs and must be followed or they lose funding;

- rationing "pervades" the system; rationing is "explicit" for services such askidney dialysis, open heart surgery and terminal ill care;

- patients have little choice of providers;

-there is little access to specialists;

- physicians and nurses are basically government employees;

- due to contract negotiations over pay and work hours, few physicians are available nights and weekends;

- due to low pay there is a shortage of specialists.

Berwick must be confirmed by the Senate.
Call your Senator today.
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Yet Out Of The Other Side Of His Mouth...

When obama hooks up the corner of his mouth to the side of his face during a speech, it must make you wonderwhat he is trying to hide, or how is he trying to deceive us with theuse of pretty words.

The body language gives him away.

Katie "Jane, you ignorant slut" Couric suffers the same affliction.

Let's consider obama's takeover of the student loan business and his healthcare bamboozle.

obama's recent gobbling up of private sector business comes in the formof his giving the government full control of the federal student loanmarket.

The problem obama says is that the subsidies the government was payingto banks to run the program was merely a sweetheart deal for the banksand was needlessly costing the government billions of dollars.

So obama takes away the middleman and another revenue stream from thebanks (that ought to help the economy) and says that students willapply for and receive their student loans directly from the federalliberal government.

Doing away with government paid subsidies for student loans will save us billions.

However, speaking out of the other side of his mouth, obama iscurrently on another 'obama tour' trying to indoctrinate the citizenryinto accepting the notion that government paid subsidies to theinsurance industry is change that is good and will also save usbillions.

How does that work when the insurance industry surely dwarfs that ofthe student loan industry and the subsidies will thus be larger?

What role for taxes and fees and fines not called taxes?

obama says this healthcare program is an important first step, abeginning. Does that mean he will eventually bump his head and realizethat paying subsides to insurance companies has also cost us needlessbillions, thus, the government will now take over offering healthcareto it's 'citizens' directly?

And what strings will be attached to student loans? Will applicantsonly receive cash if they attend some college created by the governmentthat has a professor named Sharpton, Jackson, Wright, Pelosi, Reed,Geithner, or Emanuel?

Will applicants have to major in community agitation as theorized by the likes of Saul Alinsky or those at ACORN?

His strings have been there before. Many recipients of his jobsprogram money said thanks, but no thanks, due to government mandated'strings." Not all states applied for Sec. of Education arne "I haveno educational degree" Duncan's recent funding program due to it's'strings.' Under obamacare insurers must offer health care plans thatmeet minimum requirements....requirements set by obama's government.

America wake up.

Before obama steals your alarm clock.







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OBAMA'S PLAN IS NOT WORKING

Yet, similar to how he won the election,his admirers and most important, he himself, are satisfied that usingrhetoric to exaggerate the extent of his successes will be enough toindoctrinate far too many of the voting citizenry with a belief insuccessful change.

The nation's unemployment rate as of February 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, remains just under 10%.

This despite the promise that billions for a shovel ready jobs bill would bring it down below 8% within a year.

And they've added billions more to it while also tying every bill that comes before them as being a jobs creator.

The rhetoric and the reality do not match.

Then there was the trillion dollar purchase of mortgage backedsecurities...to save people's homes and ignite the home buying market.

For the past 12 consecutive months foreclosures have averaged over 300,000per month and sales of new homes in Feb. 2010 fell by 2.2% to an annualpace of only 308,000, the slowest rate of growth since records werefirst recorded in 1963.

The government's purchase of these securities is expected to end this month, the special $8,000 tax breakis due to end in April, mortgage rates are expected to rise, and withonly 170,000 mortgages restructured as part of this plan, they areapproimately 3.8 million restructured mortgage short of their goal.

The rhetoric and the reality do not match.

Then there's the transparency we were promised. Bloomberg News and Fox Newshad to file separate lawsuits, which a federal appeals court ruled onin their favor, to gain access to documents that show which banksreceived emergency short term lending from the the Federal Reserveafter obama's government denied their requests.

And now we have great rhetoric being hurled about on his healthcare "reform." We havethe line in the sand with Iran being continuously redrawn. We haveChina telling us no, Israel telling us no, and Russia making it looklike Carter is still President.

obama's track record leaves us with little hope.

While those that criticize him do so for the most part with remarkably little informed criticism, the rhetoric wins.

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Seven Lessons For The Tea Party

What went right and what didn't during the health care fight.By Ambreen AliThe tea partyers who waited anxiously outside the Capitol until House Democratspassed the health care bill late Sunday night were back at work before lawmakerswoke up the next day.Mark Meckler of Tea Party Patriots, the largest coalition in the movement,was already in California meeting fellow activists Monday morning. In Georgia,his colleague William Temple was making calls to Congressional offices.Since last spring, their grassroots conservative movement has grown alongsideand in reaction to the health care debate. Now, with Democrats putting the finishingtouches on the bill, the activists are trying to draw lessons from their first big legislativefight and plan for the next.We asked tea partyers and those who study them what they have learned:You don't always win.Even the best grassroots campaign can't guarantee results. Some activists believethe health care bill would have passed no matter what, but that the tea partiessucceeded by drawing out the debate."We almost destroyed it," Temple said of the bill. He credited the town halldisruptions, national rallies, and Republican Sen. Scott Brown's victory with slowingdown the Democrats' legislative agenda.Brown's victory in Massachusetts special election in January cost Democratstheir Senate supermajority and dampened the momentum around health care.Don't give up.The morning after health care passed, Temple was busy making calls to theoffices of Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) to express disappointment for thelawmaker's yes vote."Let’s not be reactive, let's keep our agenda," he said.Tea party leaders around the country had the same hopeful tone.Some like Julianne Thompson of the Georgia Tea Party Patriots are backingstate initiatives to temper the national health plan and campaigning for conservativecandidates ahead of midterm elections."I believe 1994 will be a mere shadow compared to what is going to happen inNovember of this year at the ballot box," she said, referring to the midterm electionswhen Republicans regained control of the House after four decades.Be part of the process.In the weeks preceding the final House vote on health care, some tea partyersswitched from picketing outside the Capitol to meeting with those inside.Thompson said Members paid more attention to the activists willingto sit down with them."It's easy for them to look outside and see a rally going on and go backinto their office and ignore it," she said. "When you have a line of 50people waiting in your office, that's something you can't ignore."Mark Williams of Tea Party Express in California said his group is focused on"infiltrating the political party infrastructure." He encourages tea partymembers to run for local offices and positions within the political party committees.He is heading to Nevada this weekend, where he will introduce former Alaskagovernor Sarah Palin at a kickoff event for a 40-day bus tour to Washington, D.C."We have to take over from the grassroots up," he said.Vote.Many tea party leaders are setting their eyes on the November election,when they hope to punish the lawmakers who passed the health bill."Elections have consequences. We're where we are at todaybecause of the last election," Meckler said.Dominate the debate.The hundreds of tea party activists who picketed outside Capitol Hillin the final week of the debate may not have swayed enough lawmakersagainst the bill, but they drew attention."[The protest] paints a stark picture in the mind of the American publicthat you have a Congress that's completely out of touch with the people,"Meckler said.That was the idea behind an early tea party success: the town hall disruptions.Conservatives showed up to local meetings with protest signs and angrily shoutedat the lawmakers who were laying out the health plan.Instead of talking about the bill's details, people focused on the protesters."The tea party people were able to shout down what was being said aboutthe health care plan," said David S. Meyer, a University of California at Irvineprofessor who studies protest movements.Control your own.Since there is no official tea party group, pretty much anyone can start a localtea party or show up to a rally. That has been both a boon for the movementand its Achilles' heel.Leaders were put on the defensive when a handful of activists shouted racistand homophobic epithets at Democratic lawmakers last week."We all have an obligation to distance ourselves from any kind of racism or bigotry," Meckler said. He added that his group, the Tea Party Patriots, has zero tolerancefor such behavior."If someone like that shows up to our rallies, they are unceremoniously removed,"he said. Meckler noted that not all tea party groups have that policy.Use resources wisely.Not every activist can afford to leave their jobs and come to Washington, D.C.,to lobby. Nor should they.Modern technology has played an instrumental role in propelling the tea partymovement forward.Whether it is Facebook groups, the Tea Party Nation social network,or the many e-mail lists the groups use to coordinate their efforts,activists have found that they can do a lot from home.Temple said he encouraged fellow activists in Georgia not to go toWashington, D.C., this past week."Rather than tiring out our own people and spending all our money,we've got the Internet. We've got phones," he said.Ambreen Ali writes for Congress.org.
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OBAMA WINS WAR OF RHETORIC

..but the republican effort was quite lame.

Despite what the majority of the public thinks (50.8% opposed,RealClear Politics poll average, 3/28), obama and the main stream mediaare all giddy over the passing of obamacare.

He has won the war of rhetoric and since we will not know for sure thatthis bill is a front and a fraud for another 7-10 years, obama has thewon the privilege to run about the country as egotistical as ever.

Some in the media will print what lies in the bill below obama'sguess-work rhetoric and expose what the bill really means to theaverage American.

Despite the sensibility of some of these discoveries, some exposed byfacts, obama has the advantage in knowing none of it will be actuallyproven until his presidency is dead and gone.

What a wonderful position for a sleazy politician to find himself.

obama has put off the guts of the bill for another 5 years and untilthen he and his foot soldiers will be able to cast any opposingopinions on the bill as right-wing, tea-bagging nonsense...as politicsas usual and as actions of the status quo.

He'll use pretty speeches and half-assed comedic statements on thestump to energize and indoctrinate his already blind supporters inbelieving his continued rhetoric.

Because we will not see the tragic consequences of this bill's passing until it slaps us up side the head.

obama's staff has told us that they have a mega-marketing campaignplanned to get the word out on what is in the bill. Shouldn't thishave been something they did months ago?

Actually they have, using the same rhetoric and dragging out some poorcrippled person or cancer patient to exploit for political gain.

They will not tell us what is actually in the bill or what it willactually mean to us, really, what they will tell you is how greatchange is and this is something you can believe in.

If you are not questioning why we never heard detailed specifics on howthis bill will work and its affects on the country from obama, his footsoldiers, and the media, then obama's rhetoric will fire you up sillyand you will clap your hands with glee while God blesses your ignoranceand the Constitution protects it.

We will be indoctrinated, not informed, with the message theadministration wants us to believe this bill will do and what itmeans. Unless we dig and search for the truth, obama has the advantageof hiding behind the curtain and providing us only with bright lights,pretty words, and stories of woe.

Most presidents will seek support from the public before a bill ispassed, obama has changed this method by first passing the bill nomatter what the public thinks.

Why?

Because he is well aware of how infatuated the public can be overpretty speeches and clever denouncements of the opposition's silly, offfocus antics; especially when supported by a biased and unprofessionalmedia.

With that infatuation, that indoctrination, obama can claim a hugevictory for change and thus an even bigger 'I told you so' at electiontime...yet, like his election, a claim based solely on style andlacking substantive substance.

It could have been different. Republicans in Congress should have donetheir job and reported to their constituencies the more egregiouselements of this bill. Similarly, the voting public could have donetheir research and added a little thought to imagine what couldactually happen under this bill and its affect on further legislation.

Republicans instead stuck by the "scrap it and start over" plan whichwas not a crowd pleaser and which was heavily criticized by the media.Not a good plan.

They played into obama's play on the obstructionist angle and they paid for it.

Then when they did offer 29 amendments to change the bill, obama's foot soldiers gleefully rejected the whole lot.

Yet it did not matter, obama has won the war of rhetoric.

obama could sleep with eldrick's leftovers now and it wouldn't matter for health care...he has won the war of rhetoric.

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We are in a serious financial crisis. Obama seems to feel he is playing with Monopoly money, but he is now in a danger zone of economic bankruptcy. He either does not have a clue about economics, or he is deliberate in his destruction. Why this man was never vetted is the mystery of the decade. The public is not aware of his academic career, or the subjects he took, or the papers he wrote, much less his grades. I would be curious to see his college writings, and his theses, irrespective of his "books".

With Health Bill, Obama Has Sown the Seeds of a Budget Crisis
http://tinyurl.com/yfyq4qu

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The VAT Cometh

The only way to pay for the behemoth government takeover health care bill is with taxes, taxes and more taxes. You conveniently won't hear much about the upcoming taxes until after the November 2010 mid-term elections, and of course the tax increases already implemented will not hit until early 2011 either. The big push will be the european-style socialized Value Added Tax, more commonly known as VAT.

The VAT Cometh
This massive new entitlement needs a cash cow
http://tinyurl.com/ykpo3f3

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Make no mistake, America is going through its second revolution. She has witnessed the full blown threat of government takeover, and this is not the foundation on which this country was based. This one is very different, because it's not blood in the street, but an awakened America engaged as never before at the polls, at TEA Party rallys, at town hall meetings, on the web, throwing their hat in the ring as a candidate, rounding up votes, holding meetings and seminars, sounding the alarm about backroom shenanigans, sounding off about losing education and freedom of religion in our schools, and becoming educated like never before in their lifetime. As Minority Speaker, John Boehner, said the other day, violence and threats are unacceptable.... channel it into positive change.

HERITAGE RESPONDS TO HEALTH CARE VOTE: REPEAL

http://tinyurl.com/yf6mdao

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FIVE REASONS NOT TO DESPAIR

We have much to be grateful for, and more importantly, a need to fight on for the all important November 2010 elections. They are only a short 7 months away, and as Erick Erickson of Red State said, the time for fence sitting is over. It's time to choose and campaign with all we've got, and keep our chin up. Proud to be an American.

FIVE REASONS NOT TO DESPAIR
The GOP has been better than expected
http://tinyurl.com/yfygm9r
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As we pick ourselves up from a gut-wrenching weekend, a battle has been won by Obama and company, but not the war on liberty. This is a new day, and there is no room for compromises. Bi-partisan should be removed from our language, because there is no such thing. The Libs would never compromise in any way, and neither should conservatives anymore. RINOs must be weeded out and defeated. We need to be bold. We need to be agressive. We need not compromise -- and lose. (Thank you Mark Levin for your inspiration)

WHERE THE CLICHÉ 'PYRRHIC VICTORY' COMES FROM
http://tinyurl.com/ylj3x78

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A Nation of Fools by Peary Perry(sign up for new columns at www.pearyperry.com)George (Washington) must be turning over in his grave…What a week. What a travesty to this country. Rarely has anyone currently alive observed such an abuse of the political process as that which we have seen these past few days. It is almost too unbelievable to describe. When Princess Pelosi said we were watching history in the making. She was right. We have never seen abuse such as this before and I pray we never will again in the future.Where to begin? There is so much to choose from. Let’s start with Vice President Biden who is always good for a laugh. He introduces the President and forgets that his microphone is own when he whispers to the anointed one that … “This is a big f****** deal.” Nice talk from the second in command of the United States. Here’s a role model for our kids. But I suppose our children shouldn’t be too upset, they hear this language on the television thanks to the liberals in Hollywood. Just another day at the office.Princess Nancy has been grinning so hard since Sunday; it appears her face is frozen. I love her remarks about us having to pass the bill just so we can see what is in it. I didn’t know it has been working this way. I guess I always assumed that our elected representatives were supposed to read and discuss, even debate, pieces of legislation first, before they made it into a law. It just goes to show you how much I know.Of course the special deals and perks which were given out in order to secure the 216 votes necessary to approve the legislation were just deemed as ‘ business as usual’. Nothing new, it’s done all of the time. Everyone does it. What’s the big deal?I’m sure they are correct, it probably is ‘done’ all the time, but that doesn’t make it right, does it? I want laws passed because the people writing and voting on them agree with them not because they give up their votes for bribes. I want lawmakers to make decisions and pass or vote down pieces of legislation because this is what the people in their districts tell them to do, not for what is given for their votes. I want people running this country who have ethics and morals, not thugs and gangsters who slip in and out of back rooms with sex, lies and videotapes. That may be too harsh, perhaps I should have just said judgeships, hospital dollars and special exemptions to the rules.Speaking of rules, how about that paragon of legislation named Alcee Hastings? While he is sitting on a rules committee the other day attempting to determine whether the healthcare bill would be legal to vote upon or not, he professes that “There are no rules, we have no rules, we make them up as we go along.” That really warms the cockles of my heart and I know it does yours as well.What is sad to me is the fact that a large portion of our country labors under the misapprehension that the government can take care of us all from the cradle to the grave for free. It ain’t going to happen. It didn’t happen in Russia, China, North Korea or other communistic/socialistic countries and it won’t happen here. As a friend of mine said this morning… “when everyone is riding on the wagon, who will be pulling?” Think about it. Adding 32 million more people to a healthcare system that is already broke isn’t the answer. Fixing the problem for the existing one and then making some changes is the answer. The democrats believe that selling watermelons for 50 cents each when they cost you a dollar each means you need to buy a bigger truck in order to make some money.The good news? The people are fired up and mad at what has just happened. Our challenge is to keep up the momentum and vote the rascals out. Keep those cards and letters coming, support anyone who is running that is not an incumbent at this time. Make those rallies….as they say in Texas….come early, stay late and be loud.Remember the (ALAMO)-----All Lawmakers Are Moving OutComments go to www.pearyperry.comComplaints go nowhere….
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March 21st 2010:
Stupak caves. Obama funds largest Abortion increase since '73.


We lost a great battle today in the quest to stop funding abortion with our tax-dollars.
But I say thank you, to all who joined our fax-campaign and sent nearly 1.4 million

petitions to Congress to save the unborn. Your voices are never in vain.
Ezekiel 3:19 declares,

"If you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way,

he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul."
Together we prophesied truth to power; their blood is not on our hands.

Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) and his 12 so-called"pro-life" Dems
caved in today, and sold their souls to vote"pro-abortion" and fund child-killing
on an unprecedented scale. While Stupak boasted his district suddenly received

over $700,000 for airport upgrades, he also dared to claim victory after trading his

vote for a phony executive order that President Obama knows cannot overrule his

new "health" care law that funds abortion.

Two Democrats both admitted the executive order is a sham,

that will not reduce abortion funds by even one penny.

The new abortion funds in the Senate bill, which just passed with HR 4872 on a
219-212 vote,"can't be changed by executive order, because an executive order
can't change the law,"
admitted pro-abortion Democrat Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL)

on Fox News.

Retiring Democrat Marion Berry (D-AR), one of just a handful to courageously vote

against the bill, agreed:"Despite the recently announced Executive Order addressing

this issue, I remain concerned that this legislation does not go far enough to satisfy

my concerns. As a pro-life Member of Congress, I believe that abortion is fundamentally

wrong, and taxpayer money should not be allowed to support it.

"If only Stupak had such a conscience as Berry.

Obama's proposed executive order contained two false statements:

1) "The Act maintains current Hyde Amendment restrictions governing
abortion policy and extends those restrictions to the newly-created health
insurance exchanges."
(The new law does no such thing, and never did, or there would be no need
for this misleading executive order, that won't stand up to any court challenge,
so abortions will be funded by law.)

2) "Under the Act, longstanding Federal laws to protect conscience
(such as the Church Amendment, 42 U.S.C.§300a-7, and the
Weldon Amendment, Pub. L. No. 111-8,§508d-1) remain intact...
prohibit[ing] discrimination against...health care providers because of
an unwillingness to provide...abortions."
(The National Right To Life Committee rebuked Obama's false statement, saying,
"Nor can the order correct the omission from the pending legislation of the
necessary conscience-protection language ...
(the 'Weldon language').")

So no thanks to Bart Stupak, who caved in like the traitor Benedict Arnold,
or Judas Iscariot for his 30 pieces of silver, we must now all pray God will
change the government this November, to oust ALL who voted for this bill,
and demand its full repeal.

Stupak stripped of 'Defender of Life' award he was to receive this week
March 22, 2010,
by Bridget Johnson

An anti-abortion group has stripped Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) of a
"Defender of Life" award he was supposed to receive Wednesday night.

Stupak was to be honored at the annual Campaign for Life Gala of the
Susan B. Anthony List for his efforts to get the Stupak amendments
toughening up restrictions on abortion funding inserted into the healthcare
bill voted on Sunday night.

In an 11th hour negotiation, and refusal by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
to vote on side bills, Stupak accepted an executive order from President
Barack Obama to ensure funds wouldn't be used for abortions.

"By accepting this deal from the most pro-abortion President in American history,
Stupak has not only failed to stand strong for unborn children, but also for his

constituents and pro-life voters across the country,"
Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund President Marjorie Dannenfelser
said in a statement.

"Let me be clear: any representative, including Rep. Stupak, who votes for
this healthcare bill can no longer call themselves 'pro-life.'
The Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund will not endorse, or support in
any capacity, any Member of Congress who voted for this bill, or votes for
this bill in any future election."

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