Will there be a Public Option?

Currently the Democrats and the Republicans in Congress are doing their usual "good cop, bad cop" routine. The Democrats act as if they will create a Public Option in the new health-care reform package, while conservative Democrats and Republican make noises about stoppid this from happening "by any means necessary."

In fact, the Demo leadership is playing a dangerous game by pretending to support a Public Option while quietly hoping that the conservatives destroy it. Then they can blame the Republicans while taking credit for their half-hearted efforts. IN FACT, neither the Dems nor the Republicans want to give up the enormous amout of money they are currently pulling in from the Health Industry and the Insurance companies.

Save Health Care!

The easiest and most efficient way to solve this problem is by expanding the Medicaid program. This is the program that pays for medical care for the extremely poor.The easy way is to decide to pay 80% of all major medical costs for families making less than $250,000 a year. Further, Medicare will pay 100% of all major medical costs *if* the family has already purchased a minimal level of health care insurance to cover their basic health care needs. This will influence many families to get health care coverage and drastically lower the cost of basic health insurance.This would be the easiest and least expensive way to save health care, and it would probably also get significant support from the insurance and health care industries.

U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins -- "The Great White Dope"

Yesterday, a video of Lynn Jenkins appeared, from one of her town halls, where she states that the Republicans need to find a leader "a Great White Hope" who can challenge Pres. Obama. She then listed off several white congressmen (note that I said congressMEN) who might challenge Obama in 2004.

I guess Jenkins is either too ignorant or too dumb (or both) to realize the racist connotations of her remarks. Back in 1909 there were a lot of sports fans who were looking for a "Great White Hope" who could defeat the World Champion, Jack J0hnson, who was black. They wanted a white boxer who could prove the superiority of the White Race by defeating Johnson.

This was the same attitude that led, in the Berlin Olympics of 1936, for the Nazis and other white racists to look for a runner who could beat Jesse Owens, a black man. Hitler planned the Olympic games to showcase the resurgent Germany and, he hoped, the greatness of his racial purity theories. Nazi propaganda loudly trumpeted the "Aryan Racial Superiority" and attacked the racial "inferiors" of blacks, jews, etc.

When Owens won four Gold Medals, Hitler left the stadium rather than be present for the awarding of these medals. He did not want to have to shake Owen's hand.

Obama in Montana

"Obama in Montana"-- full text at the end of this post.


I received this as an email, although the exact same message is posted on dozens of Right-wing websites. This seems to suggest a conspiracy to stack the deck at Obama healthcare forums. Frankly I don't see anything here that justifies the hysteria. After eight years of Bush going to specially set-up forums where the makeup of the audience was tightly controlled, I wonder why these guys finally got around to complaining about how political rallies are being stage-managed these days (meaning the last 15 years, or so).

I am particularly interested in this topic because back in 1992 I went to a rally for Pres. Bush in Joplin Missouri. I carried an anti-Bush sign to the rally and was threatened with arrest at least three times. At an earlier rally for Bush at Branson, MO, people were literally beaten up by a group of guys wearing t-shirts labeled "Bullies for Bush"--again, no one seemed to care much about this. It took me two months of contacting media outlets before an article was published in the New Republic exposing the brutish tactics of the Bush Republicans. Here is the citation for the article, if you want to read it:

The New Republic Vol: 207 Issue: 20 ISSN: 00286583 Date: 11/1992 Start Page: 14
Subjects: Presidential elections, Political ethics, Political dissent, Harassment, Freedom of speech

Note that all the facts in this story were verified by professional editors and the story itself has the backing of its publisher, The New Republic. Unlike this so-called "truth" email, someone has done due dilligence to make sure the events described in the article really happened as they were described.

Compared to what happened in 1992, this event in Montana seems rather tame, at least to me. What are the main complaints of this post?

1. 900 tickets to the event disappeared.

What? This happened at all sorts of sporting events. Has this idiot ever tried to get a ticket to a Green Bay Packers football game? or any event where a popular college team is playing. A certain number of tickets are always set aside for special guests, alumns, etc.
For the last 8 years, Pres. Bush only spoke at venues that were closed to ALL outsiders. All of the tickets were handed out to safe Republicans. No one got in who might say something embarrassing about the phoney war in Iraq. So-- big freakin' deal.

2. The protesters did not get to stand right where they wanted to.

Jezuus, this one really pissed me off! When we protested Bush in 1992, the rest of my friends were herded off to an "official protest area" that was surrounded with crime scene tape. The protest area was behind a hill and about a half mile away. A police officer tried to take a camera away from a college student because he took pictures of the cops. Why don't you whiners just suck it up! You were close enough to see the hanger, which is more than my friends got.

3. They served lobster.

I find this detail a bit hard to believe. Would anybody in their right mind serve lobster in Montana? And who ate the lobster? I suspect that this is just a manufactured lie. The fact is, there are no verifiable names on these posts or emails. The person who "vouches" for the original email is also anonymous! So is there anyone with a real name who can really state that this stuff happened? I don't think so. The email smells to high heaven. Montana is beef country, and this detail is included to stirr up the readers.

4. Furniture was shipped in.

Okay, so what? I imagine that this was paid for by the Democratic Party. Back when I went to the Bush rally in 1992 there was all sorts of stuff shipped in too, but in this case the federal government (meaning my taxes and yours) paid for the shipping because Bush was supposedly there to announce federal funding for Highway 71. Yeah, that's right, I was threatened with arrest three times and got to pay for the Bush rally, too!

5. Union members were bussed in to the rally.

Again, this seems unlikely. This detail might sound more believable if the forum where held near a large city, but that doesn't seem to be the case. This sounds like another lie to me.

6. Some of the union members seemed a bit too feisty and combative.

Jeeeeesus! I had a huge Missouri State Trooper face me down. This guy was 6'3" and looked like he could kill a bull with his bare hands. He threatened to arrest me immediately if I didn't leave the area. Other people at the rally were also threatened physically. A group of Campus Republicans (the rally was held at MSSC in Joplin) threatened a young couple who held up an anti-Bush sign. Even worse stuff happened at Bush rallies in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and in Branson, Missouri.

I found out later from a local newpaper editor that the Missouri State Police were ordered "strongly encouraged" to donate their free time to provide security for the Bush rally. The Governor of Missouri (a Republican, of course) told them to use their vacation days and go to the rally in Joplin. Jeeeeeeeeez!, no wonder that trooper was so pissed off! He was basically forced to be there. I guess I was luck to leave that day with all my parts intact.

Anyway, here is the email. You can believe it or not. Personally I think it was manufatured in some Right-wing loony's basement. It is rather cleverly put together, but the lobster bit was probably a bit too much... to much gilding the lily, I think.

---------------------------------------
HERE IS THE EMAIL.
---------------------------------------

Subject: Fw: Montana

Friends,

Rest assured that I am erasing every name on the emails that I received. I feel that with the current "Big Brother" in Washington, it is better for everyone if we all erase any names on emails that might be interpreted as "fishy".

This was received from a very reliable source that I have know for over 40 years. No question about its authenticity. This was sent to me today from a friend in Maine. Please read and
forward on. Joan received this today from one of the ladies that was in our water
aerobics class - scary. This is from a friend who lives in Bozeman, Montana. Thought you
would be interested in the truth about how his visits are orchestrated. Her husband is a former Navy pilot and Delta Airlines captain. I left her name off.

Hello All,

By now you have probably heard that President Obama came to Montana last Friday. However, there are many things that the major news has not covered. I feel that since Bill and I live here and we were at the airport on Friday I should share some facts with you. Whatever you decide to do with the information is up to you. If you chose to share this email with others I do ask that you DELETE my email address before you forward this on.

On Wednesday, August 5th it was announced locally that the President would be coming here. There are many groups here that are against his healthcare and huge spending so those groups began talking and deciding on what they were going to do. The White House would not release ANY details other than the date. On about Tuesday Bill found out that they would be holding the
"Town Hall" at the airport. (This is only because Bill knows EVERYONE at the airport) Our airport is actually located outside of Belgrade (tiny town) in a very remote location. Nothing is
around there. They chose to use a hangar that is the most remotely located hangar. You could not pick a more remote location, and you can not get to it easily. It is totally secluded from the public. FYI: We have many areas in Belgrade and Bozeman which could have held a large amount of folks with sufficient parking. (gymnasiums/auditoriums). All of which have chairs and tables, and would not have to be SHIPPED IN!! $$$$$

During the week, cargo by the TONS was being shipped in constantly. Airport employees could not believe how it just kept coming. Though it was our President coming several expressed how
excessive it was, especially during a recession. $$$$$
Late Tuesday/early Wednesday the 12th, they said that tickets would be handed out on Thursday 9am at two locations and the president would be arriving around 12:30 Friday.
Thursday morning about 600 tickets were passed out. However, 1500 were printed at a Local printing shop per White House request.

Hmmmm......900 tickets just DISAPPEARED.
This same morning someone called into the radio from the local UPS branch and said that THOUSANDS of Dollars of Lobster were shipped in for Obama. Montana has some of the best beef in the nation!!!

And it would have been really wonderful to help out the local economy. Anyone heard of the Recession?? Just think...with all of the traveling the White House is doing. $$$$$ One can only imagine what else we are paying for.

On Friday Bill and I got out to the airport about 10:45am. The groups that wanted to protest Obama's spending and healthcare had gotten a permit to protest and that area was roped off. But that was not to be. A large bus carrying SEIU (Service Employees International Union) members drove up onto the area (illegal)and unloaded right there. It was quite a commotion and there were specifically 2 SEIU men trying to make trouble and start a fight.

Police did get involved and arrested the one man but they said

they did not have the manpower to remove the SEIU crowd. The SEIU crowd was very organized and young. About 99% were under the age of 30 and they were not locals! They had bullhorns and PROFESSIONALLY made signs. Some even wore preprinted T-shirts. Oh,
and Planned Parenthood folks were with them.....professing abortion rights with their T-shirts and preprinted signs. (BTW, all these folks did have a permit to protest in ANOTHER area)
Those against healthcare/spending moved away from the SEIU crowd to avoid confrontation. They were orderly and respectful. Even though SEIU kept coming over and walking through, continuing to be very intimidating and aggressive at the direction of the one SEIU man.

So we had Montana folks from ALL OVER the state with their homemade signs and their DOGS with homemade signs. We had cowboys, nurses, doctors you name it. There was even a guy from Texas who had been driving through. He found out about the occasion, went to the store, made a sign, and came to protest.
If you are wondering about the press.....Well, all of the major networks were over by that remote hangar I mentioned. They were conveniently parked on the other side of the buildings FAR away.
None of these crowds were even visible to them. I have my doubts that they knew anything about the crowds. We did have some local news media around us from this state and
Idaho. Speaking of the local media...they were invited. However, all questions were to be turned into the White House in advance of the event. Wouldn't want anyone to have to think off the top of their head. It was very obvious that it was meant to be totally controlled by the White House. Everything was orchestrated down to the last detail to make it appear that Montana is just crazy for Obama and government healthcare. Even those people that talked about their insurance woes.........the White House called our local HRDC (Human Resource and Development Committee) and asked for names.

Then the White House asked those folks to come. Smoke and mirrors...EVERYTHING was staged!!!!!!!!!!!
I am very dismayed about what I learned about our current White House. The amount of control and manipulation was unbelievable. I felt I was not living in the United States of America, more like the USSR!! I was physically nauseous. Bill and I have been around
when Presidents or Heads of State visit. It has NEVER been like this. I am truly very frightened for our country. America needs your prayers and your voices. If you care about our country please get involved. Know the issues.. And let Congress hear your voices again and again!! If they are willing to put forth so much effort to BULLY a small town one can only imagine what is going on in Washington DC. Scary!!

Subject: Fw: Montana

Friends,
Rest assured that I am erasing every name on the emails that I received. I feel that with the current "Big Brother" in Washington, it is better for everyone if we all erase any names on emails that might be interpreted as "fishy".


This was received from a very reliable source that I have know for over 40 years. No question about its authenticity.

This was sent to me today from a friend in Maine. Please read and forward on. Joan
received this today from one of the ladies that was in our water aerobics class - scary.

This is from a friend who lives in Bozeman, Montana. Thought you would be interested in the truth about how his visits are orchestrated. Her husband is a former Navy pilot and Delta Airlines captain. I left her name off.

Hello All,

By now you have probably heard that President Obama came to Montana last Friday. However, there are many things that the major news has not covered. I feel that since Bill and I live here and we were at the airport on Friday I should share some facts with you. Whatever you decide to do with the information is up to you. If you chose to share this email with others I do ask that you DELETE my email address before you forward this on.

On Wednesday, August 5th it was announced locally that the President would be coming here. There are many groups here that are against his healthcare and huge spending so those groups began talking and deciding on what they were going to do. The White House would not release ANY details other than the date.

On about Tuesday Bill found out that they would be holding the "Town Hall" at the airport. (This is only because Bill knows EVERYONE at the airport) Our airport is actually located outside of Belgrade (tiny town) in a very remote location. Nothing is around there. They chose to use a hangar that is the most remotely located hangar. You could not pick a more remote location, and you can not get to it easily. It is totally secluded from the public.
FYI: We have many areas in Belgrade and Bozeman which could have held a large amount of folks with sufficient parking. (gymnasiums/auditoriums). All of which have chairs and tables, and would not have to be SHIPPED IN!! $$$$$
During the week, cargo by the TONS was being shipped in constantly. Airport employees could not believe how it just kept coming. Though it was our President coming several expressed how excessive it was, especially during a recession. $$$$$

Late Tuesday/early Wednesday the 12th, they said that tickets would be handed out on Thursday 9am at two locations and the president would be arriving around 12:30 Friday.

Thursday morning about 600 tickets were passed out. However, 1500 were printed at a Local printing shop per White House request. Hmmmm......900 tickets just DISAPPEARED.
This same morning someone called into the radio from the local UPS branch and said that THOUSANDS of Dollars of Lobster were shipped in for Obama. Montana has some of the best beef in the nation!!! And it would have been really wonderful to help out the local economy. Anyone heard of the Recession?? Just think...with all of the traveling the White House is doing. $$$$$ One can only imagine what else we are paying for.

On Friday Bill and I got out to the airport about 10:45am. The groups that wanted to protest Obama's spending and healthcare had gotten a permit to protest and that area was roped off. But that was not to be. A large bus carrying SEIU (Service Employees International Union) members drove up onto the area (illegal)and unloaded right there. It was quite a commotion and there were specifically 2 SEIU men trying to make trouble and start a fight. Police did get involved and arrested the one man but they said they did not have the manpower to remove the SEIU crowd.
The SEIU crowd was very organized and young. About 99% were under the age of 30 and they were not locals! They had bullhorns and PROFESSIONALLY made signs. Some even wore preprinted T-shirts. Oh, and Planned Parenthood folks were with them.....professing abortion rights with their T-shirts and preprinted signs. (BTW, all these folks did have a permit to protest in ANOTHER area)

Those against healthcare/spending moved away from the SEIU crowd to avoid confrontation. They were orderly and respectful. Even though SEIU kept coming over and walking through, continuing to be very intimidating and aggressive at the direction of the one SEIU man.

So we had Montana folks from ALL OVER the state with their homemade signs and their DOGS with homemade signs. We had cowboys, nurses, doctors you name it. There was even a guy from Texas who had been driving through. He found out about the occasion, went to the store, made a sign, and came to protest.

If you are wondering about the press.....Well, all of the major networks were over by that remote hangar I mentioned. They were conveniently parked on the other side of the buildings FAR away. None of these crowds were even visible to them. I have my doubts that they knew anything about the crowds.
We did have some local news media around us from this state and Idaho. Speaking of the local media...they were invited. However, all questions were to be turned into the White House in advance of the event. Wouldn't want anyone to have to think off the top of their head.

It was very obvious that it was meant to be totally controlled by the White House. Everything was orchestrated down to the last detail to make it appear that Montana is just crazy for Obama and government healthcare. Even those people that talked about their insurance woes.........the White House called our local HRDC (Human Resource and Development Committee) and asked for names. Then the White House asked those folks to come. Smoke and mirrors...EVERYTHING was staged!!!!!!!!!!!

I am very dismayed about what I learned about our current White House. The amount of control and manipulation was unbelievable. I felt I was not living in the United States of America, more like the USSR!! I was physically nauseous. Bill and I have been around when Presidents or Heads of State visit. It has NEVER been like this. I am truly very frightened for our country. America needs your prayers and your voices. If you care about our country please get involved. Know the issues.. And let Congress hear your voices again and again!! If they are willing to put forth so much effort to BULLY a small town one can only imagine what is going on in Washington DC. Scary!!

Do Cherokees Make Better Lovers?

Several American tribes tend to look down on the Cherokee. The tribes located west of the Mississippi, in particular, tend to scorn the Cherokee and especially any Whites who claim to be of Cherokee descent. Every time a White states that he (or she) has Indian blood, the Sioux (or Cheyenne, or Apache, etc.) in the room snickers at this, in part because it seems that every other White has some Indian blood--and it always seems to be Cherokee.

There is, however, an explanation for this.

The Cherokees are better lovers. In fact, they are so prolific because they follow the old rule"
"Make love, not war."

Actually, it would be more accurate to say that the Cherokees are simply better at reproduction (let's keep this scientific)

There are three reasons for this:

1. Cherokees are better looking than other indians.

My grandfather, Ray Lee, was a tall, thin man who was very distinguished-looking. After WWI he was a professional wrestler (back when it was real) in Southeast Missouri and was a regional champion. He wrestled as "Ray the Indian" and was undefeated until he retired.

My Uncle Gene is also quite good-looking. He is not a male model, but a few years ago he appeared in a photo layout in Southern Bride.

2. Cherokees have more money.

Cherokees have always been good with money. My ancestors took the indian name "Dollar"--well I guess it's not exactly indian, but they had that last name--and they did fairly well as farmers.

3. Cherokees can hold their liquor.

This is the last, and more important rule.
Actually the rule reads "You should consume less alcohol than your date."

Enough said.

Sarah Palin in 2012 ?

There is talk that Sarah Palin is planning a run for the Presidency in 2012.

Amazing!

After barely surviving 8 years of arrogance and stupidity, why would we put a George Bush wannabee in the White House ?

Is Our Economy Really Failing ?

The American economy has been in a slide for over a year. So why _now_ are we needing a $700 billion bailout ?

It is because the White House has decided that McCain is going to lose. And so Bush's friends and political allies on Wall Street want to make one last grab for the cash. They want to get their hands -- one more time -- into the cookie jar and grab as much as they can before George leaves office. They have dropped their hypocritical cant about "leaving thing to the marketplace" and are pushing for government intervention in the Market.

This Bailout is proof (as if we needed it) that they are all about using the government to fill their own pockets.

The news is full of the proposed $700 billion bailout. The fact is that no one can know with any certainty what will happen if the bailout goes through. All we can know for certain is that Bush will try to "capture" as much of the $700 billion as he can for his political allies-- and the taxpayers will be out $700 billion dollars in taxes.

The bestselling economics book "The Black Swan" shows that we cannot predict the future. So why should the taxpayers saddle themselves with this enormous debt?

Whether or not the bailout goes through, the only thing we can be certain of is that the American Middle Class will have to carry the burden of this disaster for decades.